Does Size Really Matter?

How does Neuwirth, a small charter school, compare to the traditional large LAUSD school, Dr. Maya Angelou, down the road?

Ever wonder what high school would be like at a different school? How the pros and cons of a school can have an impact in providing a “real” high school experience. Well you’re in luck because today I will be exposing the flaws and the positive aspects that the school we “love” so much has. 

Down the road is Dr. Maya Angelou, a public school that is funded by LAUSD and is able to give them many resources such as a football field, two big buildings, a library, etc. Neuwirth, on the other hand, is a  charter school that literally has no space for any fields or libraries and we get funded by some rich people named Patti and Peter. Maya Angelou has many classes that are offered to students during school time such as Music, Health, and Language classes like Spanish and Italian. Neuwirth, on the other hand, barely has any electives that are optional for students and even then those few that are worth applying for aren't available for most students due to the amount of students wanting to join that elective and limited space this school provides. They have a student store that is open to students everyday during lunch hours which includes chips, Gatorade, ice cream and snacks all for the low low price of one dollar. That’s already better than our school which tries to sell us $1 bolis, and it’s far better from our so-called student store which was open during after school hours once upon a time and has gone silent ever since. Their school food is even far better than ours. Unhealthier? possibly, but it tastes better. Diego, a student attending Maya Angelou says this about the food, “The school lunch here tastes delicious and is healthy and nutritious.” While our school’s food has had its ups and downs, we gotta give props to the chocolate milk which has remained standing through all this commotion. Hector E, a student attending Alliance, tried the food and said this about the taste, “eww this is yucky ucky. I prefer starving over eating this”. 

Dr Maya Angelou isn’t always as bright as it seems, as Diego states, “There are also many bad things about Maya Angelou Community High School.” The school has an assigned police officer that is stationed there to patrol around the school during school hours. The school unfortunately still seems to lack discipline and authority, allowing there to be massive amounts of fights and altercations taking place, which typically ends with no one being blamed or being held responsible. The worst problem there is the “contraband/drug problem” as mentioned by Diego. Many students there attend school with drugs and weapons in their possession. The walls and toilets are constantly written on and tagged. 

While our school is far from the perfect school, being a small school has helped build a community and strengthens the relationship within the students and teachers and if we add on a little bit of strict security we have a pretty stable school security system built here at Alliance. Every high school brings their own unique experience to the table. And even within the same high schools, kids will experience their own moments creating their own unique experiences. 

Taking into consideration the different aspects a high school provides isn’t a very common luxury that students need to think about; most of the time their parents will choose for them. With this lack of choice many students often have to unwillingly sacrifice an experience they might have enjoyed at another school. But this sacrifice also allows them to enjoy the different experience they’ll have at the high school they do attend. The friendships and bonds they create, the embarrassing moments one will have, and even the happy moments will all be different depending on where you go. 

Neuwirth although having their flaws provides its own amazing experience that many had the honor to have. Maya Angelou, also having its flaws, probably also provides its own amazing experiences, but as a student that didn’t attend, I can only be left to wonder.