(NAME-MCE) International Community School

[Cindy Lutenbacher]

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The New York Times   piece on the International Community School 
really only touches the surface of this amazing school.  My older 
daughter Rocio was a student at ICS from its opening day in 2002 
until she graduated from it in May of 2007.  The spirit of the place 
is just phenomenal because it really walks the talk on community and 
on the values of community, while still focusing on each child and 
nurturing the maintenance of his/her culture and language of origin.

She and all her friends would still be a part of ICS, if we had been 
able to make a middle school happen.  But we couldn't, for the 
financial matters were too overwhelming.  In Georgia, charter schools 
don't get as much per student (plus our teacher/student ratio is kept 
low) and we get nothing for facility rent, utilities, supplies, etc. 
But the need for a middle and high school is there, for many of the 
kids who went on to middle schools in their neighborhoods are being 
utterly trashed by their teachers and schools.  I worry daily.

I'm on the board of ICS, volunteer at Saturday School, and am on its 
steering committee, and my daughter and her two best guy buds tutor 
in Saturday School.  Maunglwin and Maungkyaw (Rocio's guy friends) 
are from Burma, but they've been in the U.S. two years, so they 
jointly tutor Baby Boy in Saturday School.  Ro helps in the Saturday 
class where Tuesday studies.

I tend to be snarly and cynical, and my politics are way left of 
left, but this place continues to amaze me.

If anyone has any questions to which I can respond, I just wanted you 
to know that I'm out here and on this listserv.

Be well, all,

Cindy Lutenbacher

Morehouse College


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/us/25school.html?th&emc=th