WCPSS Made The Front Page of The Washington Post - "In N.C., a new battle on school integration" (Raleigh: loan, schools)

[macjr82]

I know that what Wake County schools is trying to Wayne already has. It has created a situation where Goldsboro High, once a 4A school, is now 1A. I think it's school districts is more akin to gerrymandering where every housing project in Goldsboro ends up going to Goldsboro High. The end result is a school that's almost 100% black, most from underprivileged homes, and had a graduation rate of under 50% a few years back.


It drew some national attention and charges from the NAACP as well.
Charges Of 'Re-Segregation' At N.C. High School : NPR
NAACP Supports Judge's Order To Improve Test Scores At Poor-Performing Schools :: WRAL.com

That said there are a lot of good people trying to make changes for the better at GH and they've already come along way in just the past year or so. Still the problem never should've been created in the first place. Wake should not go down the same road.

[Special_Guest]

Originally Posted by metro.m

Raleigh and Wake county are falling apart before my eyes.

Being from Durham, and currently living in Raleigh, I had to endure endless comments when I moved here about how Durham was basically like living in Detroit or Afghanistan or someplace, and Raleigh was the Holy Promised Land, especially the schools. Now, in only a few years to hear people say, "I've got to get out of Wake County, the schools are falling apart"--and hearing that some of them are planning to move to Durham--makes me feel like I'm living in bizzaro world.

Here's my bottom line with the whole argument: I don't have any kids in the school system, but I am in favor of keeping the schools as they were before, since they obviously were excellent, and drew people to the area. Also, people are highly upset about the new plans. However, when were voting for the new board members, wasn't the voter turnout like 4%? That's what I think I read. It wasn't really a secret what was about to happen, folks were open with their plans for the school board. They were running articles in papers and commercials and everything. Why didn't more people go out and VOTE if they were so unhappy about the idea? It would have nipped all of this in the bud if it's not what people wanted.

[theS5]

Originally Posted by Beermat

I'm more surprized that the Washington Post is even interested in Wake County schools

Of course the WP is not interested in what happens in Wake County. They have an agenda and this story fits nicely within their agenda.

For those that know more about the accredidation, why was the NAACP empowered to question the policy of the board? Are they over stepping their boundries and is the board within its rights to tell this independant organization to either stick to their charter of take a hike?

Lastly, please, where is the study that shows lower income kids being bussed to higher income area schools perform better that they would if they were kept in their neighborhood?

Are there any studies showing the neighborhood schools suffering as a result of bussing?

[BurntHombre]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

HAH! I was right! TTT doesn't understand the power of the media -- whether that media is online or off.

He knows how to criticize it (as does Palin, another one he admires), but if he was truly an effective leader, he would know how to work with it and understand its very important role in our society.

On the contrary, I'm pretty sure Tata realizes that some people will write him off immediately upon learning of his political preferences. The fact that you don't like how he presents himself publically has nothing to do with his "understanding the power of the media."

[metro.m]

Originally Posted by Special_Guest

Being from Durham, and currently living in Raleigh, I had to endure endless comments when I moved here about how Durham was basically like living in Detroit or Afghanistan or someplace, and Raleigh was the Holy Promised Land, especially the schools. Now, in only a few years to hear people say, "I've got to get out of Wake County, the schools are falling apart"--and hearing that some of them are planning to move to Durham--makes me feel like I'm living in bizzaro world.

Here's my bottom line with the whole argument: I don't have any kids in the school system, but I am in favor of keeping the schools as they were before, since they obviously were excellent, and drew people to the area. Also, people are highly upset about the new plans. However, when were voting for the new board members, wasn't the voter turnout like 4%? That's what I think I read. It wasn't really a secret what was about to happen, folks were open with their plans for the school board. They were running articles in papers and commercials and everything. Why didn't more people go out and VOTE if they were so unhappy about the idea? It would have nipped all of this in the bud if it's not what people wanted.

I feel the exact same way.

[lovebrentwood]

The Wake County school board is not SUPPOSED to be aligned with any political party.

The new members, however, have made it so.

[metro.m]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

Wrong-o.

Right answer. This guy is obviously not right for this area, or any area involving a child's education.

[theS5]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

The Wake County school board is not SUPPOSED to be aligned with any political party.

The new members, however, have made it so.

What political party is the accreditation group affiliated with? How about the NAACP? Let's not be naive.

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by theS5

Lastly, please, where is the study that shows lower income kids being bussed to higher income area schools perform better that they would if they were kept in their neighborhood?

Cf. Gerald Grant, "Hope and Despair in the American City." Harvard University Press, 2009.

FWIW, the subtitle of the book is -- most ironically -- "Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh." From the Publishers Weekly review:

Grant (The World We Created at Hamilton High) persuasively argues that economically and racially balanced schools are the key to revitalizing declining cities. He compares the problem-ridden public school system of his native Syracuse, N.Y., with the superior schools in Raleigh, N.C., arguing that the disparity exists because the Syracuse school district has remained confined to the core city, while Raleigh merged city and suburbs in 1976, creating the Wake County district. Students are assigned to schools to ensure a healthy mix of children by race and socioeconomic class. Although some parents object to the busing, the majority are reportedly convinced that the results are worth the inconvenience. Whereas nearly half of Syracuse's ninth graders fail to graduate from high school, Wake County students produce high levels of success. Although Raleigh is the prime example here, other Southern schools are similar success stories—a paradoxical twist, as parts of the South, long fiercely resistant to integration, can show the way for struggling Northern cities. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in urban planning, race relations and education reform.

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by Special_Guest

Being from Durham, and currently living in Raleigh, I had to endure endless comments when I moved here about how Durham was basically like living in Detroit or Afghanistan or someplace, and Raleigh was the Holy Promised Land, especially the schools. Now, in only a few years to hear people say, "I've got to get out of Wake County, the schools are falling apart"--and hearing that some of them are planning to move to Durham--makes me feel like I'm living in bizzaro world.

Here's my bottom line with the whole argument: I don't have any kids in the school system, but I am in favor of keeping the schools as they were before, since they obviously were excellent, and drew people to the area. Also, people are highly upset about the new plans. However, when were voting for the new board members, wasn't the voter turnout like 4%? That's what I think I read. It wasn't really a secret what was about to happen, folks were open with their plans for the school board. They were running articles in papers and commercials and everything. Why didn't more people go out and VOTE if they were so unhappy about the idea? It would have nipped all of this in the bud if it's not what people wanted.

The most recent election drew largely from suburban Wake districts, IIRC.

The districts that have boomed in recent years with transplants from NJ, MA, NY, and other places with town/city-based school districts divided between the haves and have-nots, where you live in a "good town" with "good schools" for the sake of your kids.

Except the taxes get too high, and you and your "DH" can't have the lifestyle you want without both working... and you can never afford to buy a house... and the kids are CRAZY and materialistic.

So you move to Raleigh, where the schools are GREAT! And the taxes are low! And the housing prices are affordable!

And the schools are so good, you decide to go right back to the kind of system you came from.

....

Totally serious question: for those who move here from elsewhere with visions of town-based schools dancing in your heads, or who don't like the moderate to progressive politics in Wake and especially Durham/Chapel Hill:

Why didn't you move to Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama? You can have those things there! The politics are much more conservative!

Maybe it's because QOL is better here. There are better jobs here.

Well, why is that?