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Hi everyone! I did a search of this forum and didn't find anything, so here I am.
My little one will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. We are zoned for Brook Glenn Elementary, and I registered her there. I am not originally from this area of SC (moved to this area when my late husband and I got married), so I don't know much about the schools.
When I tell people where she is slotted to go to Kindergarten, literally everyone has had a negative reaction. They tell me I should check out Taylors Elementary or Brushy Creek. (I think I missed the deadline for school choice anyway, but maybe there's some way to still get her in somewhere else?) Despite the negative reactions, no one will get specific with me about why they don't like Brook Glenn. I'm a little baffled by it.
From my research on the Great Schools website, it gets an 8 out of 10 rating. The only thing I can see is that it seems to be a little more racially diverse, but I don't consider that a bad thing. Is there something I'm missing here? Can anyone give me more info on Brook Glenn Elementary? Did you or your kids go there? Did you purposefully NOT send your kids there? If so, tell this non-Taylors native why please! Thank you, and sorry this is long, I'm a rambler. She is only 5, and she's been through a lot with her daddy passing away, and she is nervous about starting K5. I don't want to make the wrong decision for her.
You'll come to find out down here that "bad school" is white people slang for "racially diverse school" or better yet "that school has a lot of black people". In the specific case of Brook Glenn its more like "they have a lot of Hispanic kids".
Brook Glenn Elementary School, 2003 East Lee Road, Taylors, South Carolina 29687-3543
Brook Glenn Elementary opened to relieve overcrowding at Brushy Creek Elementary (1344 Brushy Creek Road, Taylors, South Carolina 29687-4007). Two years ago, several neighborhoods along Strange Road, including Windsor Oaks, were rezoned from Brushy Creek to Brook Glenn.
I have not heard anything negative in regards to Brook Glenn Elementary.
You'll come to find out down here that "bad school" is white people slang for "racially diverse school" or better yet "that school has a lot of black people". In the specific case of Brook Glenn its more like "they have a lot of Hispanic kids".
I agree with this. Although segregation was officially outlawed years ago, people here still self-segregate. It's just not considered polite to state your racism it out loud unless you're pretty confident you're talking to a fellow racist.
Ok...thank you both. I was beginning to think that might be what the issue is, sadly. I mean, I am white, and I have no issue with sending my white child to a school where there are "a lot of Hispanic kids". If there is something about the school that would be truly detrimental to her, then yes of course I should try to get her in somewhere else. I don't consider diversity detrimental.
And now I am wondering if I'm surrounded by racists.
I agree with this. Although segregation was officially outlawed years ago, people here still self-segregate. It's just not considered polite to state your racism it out loud unless you're pretty confident you're talking to a fellow racist.
When we lived in South Georgia years ago I frequently had people talk to me assuming I held their same racist beliefs. I usually found a polite way to let them know I didn't agree with them. Sometimes with co-workers it created an uncomfortable situation.
I haven't had that here except with a few local relatives that hold those kinds of beliefs.
I remember a well researched article I read 5-6 years ago that had looked at student performance across the nation by a lot of uncomfortable categories (race, gender, socio-economic class, etc.). The strongest correlation they found for school performance was percentage of children receiving free or reduced lunch. In essence, the poorer the students, the worse they did academically. It is sad that being poor reduces your chance of success. How we break that cycle is a difficult problem to solve but one we as a society should address.
When we lived in South Georgia years ago I frequently had people talk to me assuming I held their same racist beliefs. I usually found a polite way to let them know I didn't agree with them. Sometimes with co-workers it created an uncomfortable situation.
I haven't had that here except with a few local relatives that hold those kinds of beliefs.
I remember a well researched article I read 5-6 years ago that had looked at student performance across the nation by a lot of uncomfortable categories (race, gender, socio-economic class, etc.). The strongest correlation they found for school performance was percentage of children receiving free or reduced lunch. In essence, the poorer the students, the worse they did academically. It is sad that being poor reduces your chance of success. How we break that cycle is a difficult problem to solve but one we as a society should address.
Some of the first people I met here, including co-workers, assumed I was conservative and told me completely racist jokes. I would usually just smile awkwardly and shake my head. My former boss was the worst, making fun of one of our Asian clients all the time, calling Obama the Kenyan, etc. It was awful.
It makes perfect sense that poorer kids do worse in school. If both parents are working insane hours, plus doing all the household duties, they just aren't there to help the kids. Not to mention they can't afford extra-curricular activities and preschools that help kids develop, or even proper healthcare. When you are constantly struggling to eat and keep a roof over your head and clothes to wear, everything else suffers including school.
Compare that to a lawyer or doctor who works fewer hours, has a spouse at home, a maid, house maintenance done, etc.... of course their kids have a much better shot at doing well. Their parents are present and able to give their kids what they need.
All the more reason not to self-segregate, in my opinion. All the more reason for a progressive tax structure. All the more reason for medicare for all. All these things other countries have figured out to address these problems as a society. Turns out they work.
It makes perfect sense that poorer kids do worse in school. If both parents are working insane hours, plus doing all the household duties, they just aren't there to help the kids. Not to mention they can't afford extra-curricular activities and preschools that help kids develop, or even proper healthcare. When you are constantly struggling to eat and keep a roof over your head and clothes to wear, everything else suffers including school.
Compare that to a lawyer or doctor who works fewer hours, has a spouse at home, a maid, house maintenance done, etc.... of course their kids have a much better shot at doing well. Their parents are present and able to give their kids what they need.
I think that explains a lot of the gap. In poorer families, particularly single parent families, the parent is working 2 jobs just to feed everyone and there is no time left to read to young children, help with homework, etc. You also have the added problem that past a certain point, the parent may not have the education required to help with the homework even if they had the time.
Where I work, we sponsor schools with tutoring but purposefully pick schools that have a large percentage of lower income students. The idea is that the more affluent schools already have the resources they need.
The thing is, and forgive me because I truly don't know much about the Taylors / Greer area, but Brook Glenn is an 8 out of 10 on the Great Schools website. I think that is based on test scores, which I realize doesn't reflect everything else about the school, but, it seems like they are performing pretty well, despite whatever background / neighborhood / whatever some of the kids come from. They must be doing SOMETHING good there, right?
I asked another mom yesterday why she didn't send her daughter there when they were zoned for Brook Glenn, and her response was that some of the neighborhoods that filter into the school are not the best and she was afraid her daughter would be exposed to some things that she was trying to shelter her from.
I don't even really know what that means. These are elementary school kids, ya know? What is my daughter going to be exposed to?
I asked another mom yesterday why she didn't send her daughter there when they were zoned for Brook Glenn, and her response was that some of the neighborhoods that filter into the school are not the best and she was afraid her daughter would be exposed to some things that she was trying to shelter her from.
What neighborhoods are she considering not to be the best?
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Thank you, and sorry this is long, I'm a rambler. She is only 5, and she's been through a lot with her daddy passing away, and she is nervous about starting K5. I don't want to make the wrong decision for her.
Brook Glenn Elementary School, 2003 East Lee Road, Taylors, South Carolina 29687-3543
