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"It's not the brick and mortar that makes schools; it's the students, it's the teachers, it's all the entire faculty and staff, it's the parents, it's the community, it's everybody working together that makes a school." -- DERRICK MUHAMMAD, Principal of Alfred E. Beach High School in Savannah, which today cut the ribbon on a brand-new state of the art campus that cost just $40 million ... $10 million LESS than the "cost overruns" of the new NAHS.
All of you trying to paint this as an issue of not wanting to fund education, or Southerns being ignorant and poor, just don't get it. BUILDINGS LOADED WITH EXCESSIVE LUXURIES DON'T EDUCATE KIDS! Good teachers, stable homes and a supportive community do! The track record of APS is abysmal, and spending $147 million on a BUILDING simply to try and win favor with a bunch of rich white people is shameful.
Again, I point to the new Beach High School in Savannah, a $40 million facility that serves a largely impoverished inner-city neighborhood that's been neglected for years, yet last year made NATIONAL HEADLINES for academic performance. It's not about bricks and mortar; it's about what's inside.
You want to link to statistics that will prove this or are you just spouting hyperbole?
Are you serious? North Atlanta High School couldn't even pass AYP. No school in Fayette County has EVER failed AYP ... EVER! It has a graduation rate of 60 percent! Standardized test scores are abysmal. It's been mired in administrative controversy. Fayette County High in Fayetteville, which has demographics surprisingly similar to North Atlanta, is one of the top high schools in the state.
As the parent of a three-year old in the North Atlanta High School cluster, I can definitely say that this gives me incentive to commit to keeping our child in the public school tract. That said, this building does strike me as a bit of overkill. Ultimately our decision to keep our kid in public school here will depend on the learning environment created by the teachers and students, and not by the brick and mortar surrounding them.
Are you serious? North Atlanta High School couldn't even pass AYP. No school in Fayette County has EVER failed AYP ... EVER! It has a graduation rate of 60 percent! Standardized test scores are abysmal. It's been mired in administrative controversy. Fayette County High in Fayetteville, which has demographics surprisingly similar to North Atlanta, is one of the top high schools in the state.
"It's not the brick and mortar that makes schools; it's the students, it's the teachers, it's all the entire faculty and staff, it's the parents, it's the community, it's everybody working together that makes a school." -- DERRICK MUHAMMAD, Principal of Alfred E. Beach High School in Savannah, which today cut the ribbon on a brand-new state of the art campus that cost just $40 million ... $10 million LESS than the "cost overruns" of the new NAHS.
All of you trying to paint this as an issue of not wanting to fund education, or Southerns being ignorant and poor, just don't get it. BUILDINGS LOADED WITH EXCESSIVE LUXURIES DON'T EDUCATE KIDS! Good teachers, stable homes and a supportive community do! The track record of APS is abysmal, and spending $147 million on a BUILDING simply to try and win favor with a bunch of rich white people is shameful.
Again, I point to the new Beach High School in Savannah, a $40 million facility that serves a largely impoverished inner-city neighborhood that's been neglected for years, yet last year made NATIONAL HEADLINES for academic performance. It's not about bricks and mortar; it's about what's inside.
Half the school is BLACK, and most the "rich black people" that live in Buckhead go private. Just like most "rich white people."
Maybe you should go complain about the schools on the southside. But those are alright because they are not "rich white people" neighborhoods?
Maybe you should look at the APS links you posted. See how many "rich white people" are enrolled in HS from the "rich white people" neighborhoods.
I am not saying there are zero affluent white or black children in the school, but they are not the majority.
I think it is great the city is able to provide theses amenities while keeping taxes at reasonable rates.
i'm concerned not because i don't want APS to be a great school system, but is this going to be the new standard for high schools in atlanta? if so, that's fine, but we ought to expect the same investment in getting the students a foothold to be able to go to college and whatnot... it seems to me that graduation rates, test scores, whether or not the school offers AP or IB, etc., should be the primary focus, and if there's money left over, this sort of stuff is nice to have. but i haven't seen that sort of thing coming out of APS... i'm concerned that the money is being spent in the wrong place.
APS poured $50M into a total renovation of Jackson High over the past year, and didn't have to acquire any land. If you back out land acquisition costs and construction overruns from the NAHS project, it's in the same ballpark as Jackson in terms of dollars spent to completely rehab a high school. Drew is spending, what $70M to build there new high school (not sure if land acquisition is in that number).
Big construction projects are expensive, particularly when you have to do major asbestos and soil remediation, and have to buy land in one of the most expensive areas of the state. It's not like there are iPads built into the desks, massage chairs in the hallways, and a Whole Foods cafeteria.
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