Tooting Their Own Horn
"One of the things the public schools can do is to launch a PR campaign," says school committee member Robin Harris, who is assistant principal at the Banneker Charter School. "There are some wonderful things happening in the public schools that the average parents is not aware of."
Harshbarger, too, says the district doesn't get enough kudos for what it already does right.
"We have to inform people that we have one of the best drama programs in the country, and an award-winning science program," he says.
Already, it seems there's a glimmer of hope.
"This year I saw an increase in the number of private school parents at the high school open house," D'Alessandro says. "We got some of them convinced to come back."
But D'Alessandro is by no means resting on her laurels when it comes to increasing enrollment.
"We're working diligently on it every day," she says.