Thanks. Yes, I agree: Most of the comments here have been polar so far, and most of the objections seem to be based upon little more than reading the headlines.

I have a nagging suspicion that the only way to reach broad agreement on whether the plan will work (or not) is... by trying it. Perhaps it can be tried on a small number of schools at first, and then gradually expanded to more schools if the results are promising, or nix the whole plan and revert to the old ways otherwise. I would propose starting with the schools that enroll children closely related to the authors of the plan.