Time to Consolidate Long Island Districts (Elmont, Franklin Square: foreclosure, buy, magnet schools)

[ClarkStreetKid]

Originally Posted by fopt65

No system is perfect and there will always be better and worse schools, but at least every student would have a fair chance to get a good education despite their own socio-economic background.

Every child does have a chance. Successful people have come from good and bad schools and from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Smart kids going to a "worse" school district will be at the top of their class and more likely to receive a scholarship to college than if they were just middle of the pack in a more competitive district.

So why not send your kids to Wyandanch Memorial High School?

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

So why not send your kids to Wyandanch Memorial High School?

Listen.. fact is... wherever there are low income families thrown together the school performs poorly. That's for several reasons. It has to do with upbringing and priorities etc. Low income areas have a high incidence of crime.. why? because it's the element that low income areas attract.. people that will commit crimes, etc. Drugs, prostitution.. gangs. Schools reflect that (and that's not saying that all peopoel taht are living in Low income areas ARE the criminal type.. BUT.. you get the idea). So of course, their students will not be performing well.

AND.. if your kid is surrounded by that AND not getting the re-enforcement at home about their education... then it will reflect in their school work. All schools teach the same curriculum across the board mandated by teh states. Some schools have AP classes, some don't. But maybe if schools in low income areas had students that performed or would show an interest in AP classes than there would be.. Perhaps those living in Wyndanch are too busy with ..uh umm.. other things.. that they are not focusing on their school work. Sad for the ones that AREN't focusing on "other things".

Now.. if you took your scholar and put him in that school he would perform well because he's being taught the same things as he would be in his other school (unless he was in AP classes that aren't offerd inWyndanch) Unless that child starts to take up the attitude of the majority of poor performing students around him.

The same can be said for the opposite. If you took a low income child and put him in a "better" school district that environment would rub off on him Im 'sure.. or it may not depending on how the parents attitude is at home toward school and school work.

Just my thoughts and my opinions.

And.. taxes are high on LI no matter WHAT school district you send your kid too.. There are no "cheap" taxes on LI.. not even in the worse of LI neighborhoods.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

First of all... it makes NO difference to me WHERE my child goes to school, as long as it is SAFE.. because as long as i participate, go over homework with my child and make a concious effor to help him learn at home.. the school district he goes to WILL not mean he gets a lesser education. They all teach the same curriculum mandated by the state.. IT'S THE CHILDS ATTITUDE TOWARD SCHOOL THAT HE/SHE PICKS UP AT AT HOME THAT WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE in their education.. not geography.

Yes it does. You could not be more wrong on this one. If you ever worked in a school you would know this. Brighter and average performing students suffer from curriculums being slowed down for slower children, ESL students, pull out programs etc. Students who have troubles at home due to poverty, absentee parents, drug issues in the home, etc often have behavioral/developmental issues that bleed into the classroom. And if you think that administration and teachers can handle this without the education aspect being interrupted for the entire class, think again. Teachers and admin have their hands tied and often problem children who are acting out due to being hungry, lack of sleep, lack of discipline at home, disruption in family life, etc etc etc, will surely take away from a quality education.

So you can help your child with their education all you want, but what goes on the classroom is where it all starts. You will have no curriculum to work on with your child if the teacher can't get through it in a timely manner due to classroom issues. And students from an area with more intact families, less of the above issues will likely perform better in the classroom. So if you want your child to be bussed to a school that is half of the above senario I mentioned, watch and see what will happen. It will not be as rosy as one would like to think. The only ones who will benefit in an education sense are those in extremely poor/struggling areas now. Brighter students, even average students, will pay the price.

I vote no on this one. No way. I don't care WHAT it saves me, not worth it.

[nbres]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

We paid $3,300 in county taxes on a 2500 sq ft home in an excellent area. The county just opened a two story elementary school to handle the growth of the area. I'm guessing our taxes will go up some.

Here are the specialty programs that are usually placed in the less than top schools. Kids are fighting to get into these programs as they help get you into schools like William and Mary, UVa and other top schools in the state.

Henrico County Public Schools :: HCPS Curriculum :: Specialty Centers: Area of Study

About the only problem with the system is kids have to be bussed out of their neighborhoods which isn't really a big deal except socially. My son plays sports and is a top string player so if he went to one of the magnet schools he'd have to give those things up.

Henrico County Schools look great from the website. Lots of interesting programs. Are you happy with your schools ClarkStreetKid?

The teacher salaries aren't bad at all either. Top pay is $68,000 not bad at all for that part of the country. I'm sure Virginia gets a lot of New York College Graduates to teach down there.

And your taxes are only $3300/year - thats awesome. I know people here that pay $10,000/year on a 50 year old cape in junk condition, but they can brag about being in a "good" school district.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

We're not talking SAFETY .. we're talking education and the quality of it. If hte school itself is UNSAFE.. that IS a different story.

Safety and the quality of the school's performance/ability to provide education go hand in hand.

Unsafe schools often rank poorly and safe schools often rank higher.

And the basis of that is based on the demographics in the school, income, race, etc. Try equalizing all that out and bright/even average performing students will only suffer. Will only benefit students who perform poorly b/c most school services will be catered to them.

[fopt65]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

So why not send your kids to Wyandanch Memorial High School?

Because I don't live there. I chose to live where I felt the neighborhood was a good fit for me and my family. If I had wanted to live in Wyandanch, then I would expect my children to go to that school.

[fopt65]

Originally Posted by nbres

Henrico County Schools look great from the website. Lots of interesting programs. Are you happy with your schools ClarkStreetKid?

The teacher salaries aren't bad at all either. Top pay is $68,000 not bad at all for that part of the country. I'm sure Virginia gets a lot of New York College Graduates to teach down there.

And your taxes are only $3300/year - thats awesome. I know people here that pay $10,000/year on a 50 year old cape in junk condition, but they can brag about being in a "good" school district.

Well, there's your answer why the taxes are lower in Henrico County......top pay is $68,000 for a teacher. Is consolidation going to magically lower our teachers' salaries?

[ClarkStreetKid]

Originally Posted by nbres

Henrico County Schools look great from the website. Lots of interesting programs. Are you happy with your schools ClarkStreetKid?

The teacher salaries aren't bad at all either. Top pay is $68,000 not bad at all for that part of the country. I'm sure Virginia gets a lot of New York College Graduates to teach down there.

And your taxes are only $3300/year - thats awesome. I know people here that pay $10,000/year on a 50 year old cape in junk condition, but they can brag about being in a "good" school district.

Very happy with the schools. The area has grown so quickly that the boys have been to two brand new elementary schools both of which were headed by exceptional principles who attracted smart top notch staff. Both my kids love their schools and are really thriving. As a parent you can't beat that.
BTW, I don't think the teachers are paid enough here. Early on we found out that teachers were buying extra supplies out of their own pockets which didn't sit well with us, so we now donate cash to the teachers to use as they wish with matching funds from my wife's company. That's how pleased we are and the kind of relationship we have with the schools.

Here's the area of Henrico that I live in...
MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Glen Allen, VA snapshot

Well, there's your answer why the taxes are lower in Henrico County......top pay is $68,000 for a teacher. Is consolidation going to magically lower our teachers' salaries?

I wouldn't think so, but that doesn't have to do with consolidation. The best you could hope for is a freeze on salaries, but consolidation could open up new ways to help struggling districts without harming the rich kids. The more affluent neighborhood schools would still be better by virtue of parents being able to financially support their local schools, but the poorer districts would at least be brought up to a functional level.

[nbres]

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

Safety and the quality of the school's performance/ability to provide education go hand in hand.

Unsafe schools often rank poorly and safe schools often rank higher.

And the basis of that is based on the demographics in the school, income, race, etc. Try equalizing all that out and bright/even average performing students will only suffer. Will only benefit students who perform poorly b/c most school services will be catered to them.

Read ClarkStreetKid's last post and I think you will see that consolidation doesn't mean the sky will fall.

There aren't that many so called "bad" districts on Long Island and even if those kids from Wyandanch and or Roosevelt were spread out among all the other schools (which wouldn't happen anyway) the impact would be minimal.

The underlying resistance to school district condsolidation is fear.

[watamensch]

What is the goal here? Better education? Lower costs? Leveling the playing field?