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raleighjayne, I don't know about that. I have a rising kindergartener, so I can see (at least out of my 6 choices) where people are choosing to send their children to school. I have one school on my list with 112 available seats and just 12 applications. There is another school on my list with 138 spots and 120 applications. Another has 55 spots and 60 applications. The 2 which are almost full (already) are top-notch schools. The ones which barely have any applications are not very good.
The school with 120 applications is a school which (according to some of the documents the school board published on their site a few weeks back) would only be 58% full if the students living closest to that school chose the school. The school with 12 applications would be overcapacity. But the application numbers are reversed from what those stats would suggest if people were truly interested in attending the school closest to home.
Clearly, people are NOT choosing their closest school. People are evaluating the ones on their list and choosing the best one (based on test scores, etc) It is still my opinion that most people would NOT give a hoot about going to their "neighborhood school" if it was not a good one. This was just a line people used because they didn't like children from other, less desirable areas bussed into "their" schools.
raleighjayne, I don't know about that. I have a rising kindergartener, so I can see (at least out of my 6 choices) where people are choosing to send their children to school. I have one school on my list with 112 available seats and just 12 applications. There is another school on my list with 138 spots and 120 applications. Another has 55 spots and 60 applications. The 2 which are almost full (already) are top-notch schools. The ones which barely have any applications are not very good.
The school with 120 applications is a school which (according to some of the documents the school board published on their site a few weeks back) would only be 58% full if the students living closest to that school chose the school. The school with 12 applications would be overcapacity. But the application numbers are reversed from what those stats would suggest if people were truly interested in attending the school closest to home.
Clearly, people are NOT choosing their closest school. People are evaluating the ones on their list and choosing the best one (based on test scores, etc) It is still my opinion that most people would NOT give a hoot about going to their "neighborhood school" if it was not a good one. This was just a line people used because they didn't like children from other, less desirable areas bussed into "their" schools.
Gave you a rep point and this would be true regardless of the diversity issue. Supportive parents are going to pick the best school for their kid especially if they don't have to pay tuition. Wake has an inevitable major challenge in pupil assignment. That challenge has become complicated by ideology, politics and mean spiritness. When all all of this has been sorted Wake will have Title One schools that are failing and will have to give those parents school choice of attending schools that are not failing and here they come back to your designated neighborhood school.
Tuborg - I believe you are right, so is Boocake. I could be wrong, but in the last few yrs it looks like more and more schools are becoming Title 1? If this is the case, and it continues, everyone will be fighting over many of the same schools. In fact, in certain areas, this is the case now.
I feel for Tata and those who have had to figure the mess we have. There isn't an easy solution. However, I do feel that the board, when led by Margiotta, rushed into making changes for the wrong reasons. I am so over this entire mess. I feel so very sorry for people moving here, and those with young children just starting off in WCPSS.
Clearly, now, as before, Cary has growth issues with not enough schools for their area. However, this is nothing new to the rest of us who have been dealing with this issue since the late 80's, early 90's. we have had kids in trailers, sent further distances while their school was torn down and rebuilt. Wakefield parents had to go thru this a few yrs ago when a large # of their kids were send to a temp campus further away.
Folks moving here or new to this area need to know that this will continue to happen with us being a hot destination. Every time we appear on one of those Hot Places to live lists, more ppl get the idea this is utopia and head here, sight unseen. Before the economy tanked, 100 ppl per day moved to Wake Co. Signs are that it is picking up again. It's going to be a long, bumpy ride for all of us.
Tuborg - I believe you are right, so is Boocake. I could be wrong, but in the last few yrs it looks like more and more schools are becoming Title 1? If this is the case, and it continues, everyone will be fighting over many of the same schools. In fact, in certain areas, this is the case now.
I feel for Tata and those who have had to figure the mess we have. There isn't an easy solution. However, I do feel that the board, when led by Margiotta, rushed into making changes for the wrong reasons. I am so over this entire mess. I feel so very sorry for people moving here, and those with young children just starting off in WCPSS.
Clearly, now, as before, Cary has growth issues with not enough schools for their area. However, this is nothing new to the rest of us who have been dealing with this issue since the late 80's, early 90's. we have had kids in trailers, sent further distances while their school was torn down and rebuilt. Wakefield parents had to go thru this a few yrs ago when a large # of their kids were send to a temp campus further away.
Folks moving here or new to this area need to know that this will continue to happen with us being a hot destination. Every time we appear on one of those Hot Places to live lists, more ppl get the idea this is utopia and head here, sight unseen. Before the economy tanked, 100 ppl per day moved to Wake Co. Signs are that it is picking up again. It's going to be a long, bumpy ride for all of us.
I have been following this for a few years and am aware of the over deal of how this all works. At the core of it all is the relative number of poor people in a school district. The trick is to minimize the number of Title 1 schools and the Free and Reduced Meal level at individual schools. The maximum threshold for poverty in Wake schools keeps rising as the overall number of low income qualifying students increases. If you remember Wake has continued over the years to increase the maximum target percentage of qualifying students for indvidual schools. The problem at the elementary level has gone over their ability to contain and with the changes in the diversity policy the county is headed in uncharted territory. There are multiple issues at play and not a clear honest discussion by the system about a number of them. Close in areas like Garner etc are going to continue to feel the pressure as they will be the easiest to pair failing schools with for school choice etc.
annesg--The stability that I'm talking about is that once you are in a school you won't be reassigned out of it. I agree with you that you don't know what school you're going to get when you enter the system, and that is an issue. I'm not a fan of this plan. But, it does offer stability once you're in a school and that is a huge improvement. Our elem school saw half of the PTA reassigned to another school for diversity. It took a while for our school to recover from that blow and many of those families didn't end up going to their new school anyway. They opted for charter, private, magnet and homeschool instead.
Boocake--you're right. There are some areas where people will be picking a certain school on their list rather than their closest one. Like Tuborg said, that will happen whether we have a diversity policy or not. I think some people may be thinking "hey, what do I have to lose by trying for a seat at Davis Drive" (or Brassfield, Leesville, whatever). Kind of like applying for a magnet even though you're ok with your base school. But there are definitely some schools that people will not want to attend even if it is their closest. You are right about that.
I was thinking of the people I've seen speak out recently against the plan. Most all of them are upset because they are not guaranteed a spot in their 'neighborhood' school. Some of the names I recognize as speaking out for the old diversity policy and against the 2009 Repub board. It strikes me as odd that they supported a policy that often moved other people away from their neighborhood schools but now want that for themselves. Many of these people are magnet parents who want to return to the neighborhood school and people who live in areas that have rarely (if ever) been reassigned in the past. It was ok for others to have assignments far from home as long as they weren't touched. Pet peeve of mine, and I admit its not indicative of the county as a whole, but drives me crazy nonetheless.
I will also admit to taking your comments a little personally. As somebody who has fought for change in the system and a return to 'community' schools, I've had my fair share of being called a racist and elitist over the years. I can honestly say that for me it has never been about wanting to get 'those' kids out of 'my' school, or of not wanting my kids to be around low income or minority kids. I have met very few people over the past 6+ years who feel that way. It's very easy to malign others' intentions without actually talking to them about it. I started out as a very ardent diversity policy supporter and had some pretty harsh views of those who weren't. But as I met and talked to others, I realized there's more to it.
I think that for the most part, people want to go to school close to home. I don't think we'll see many people choosing their 'regional choice' schools that are far from home. People may not pick their absolute closest school, but they don't want to be bused 10 miles away if given the choice. Of course there will be exceptions, but I think this is true for 90+% of families entering the proximity lottery.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have Title 1 schools. Low income students in Title 1 schools have access to programs that their counterparts in 'healthy' schools do not. I'm not saying that we should actively seek to create Title 1 schools or very high poverty schools, just that an increase in Title 1 schools isn't necessarily a cause for alarm. I'd rather my kid be at a school equipped with programs to help him than at one that is not. Of course, we must make sure that the Title 1 programs are actually helping the students and being used in the right ways but that's an entirely different thread.
Specific question here, looking for info until someone calls me back from WCPSS.
My son is at Salem elementary. We are currently in a rental. We found a house we want to put an offer on. Salem *is* listed as one of the choices for the potential new address. Can my son stay at Salem?
Specific question here, looking for info until someone calls me back from WCPSS.
My son is at Salem elementary. We are currently in a rental. We found a house we want to put an offer on. Salem *is* listed as one of the choices for the potential new address. Can my son stay at Salem?
Thanks!!
You can grandfather at the school you are at - no matter what.
You can grandfather at the school you are at - no matter what.
That's what I thought! But thank you for the verification!
I wonder what happens if we move there- and there is not already a bus in place for that street to Salem? Would I be responsible for transportation until July, when the next school year starts? Just pondering . . .
I think if they are offering Salem as a choice in the new 'hood you want to move to, then they have to provide a bus. If you chose to stay at Salem and you were moving to Wake Forest, you'd be on the hook for transport. That's my understanding of this whole thing. Of course, now we all know why there are so many transportation issues brewing for next year.
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