Here is "one" part of the solution for the Wake County School System (Raleigh: chapel, home)

[pierretong1991]

In most developed countries outside of the US, not everybody goes to college either. I just did a quick Google search and only 30% of people in Germany have completed a college degree of some sort. They put a lot of emphasis on apprenticeship and vocational training for the rest.

(Also a side reason why they can afford to give people free/cheap college vs. here where it'd never work for the amount of people going to college)

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by papilgee4evaeva

Two things:

1) Almost all the county high schools offer courses in CTE.

Rather than going through the process of converting entire schools into tech schools -- and thus forcing other schools to become overcrowded due to the displacement of students who don't have any desire or bent for technical education -- I believe counselors, teachers, and parents (and anyone else who has such a mentorship role) should do a better job of identifying students who would be best served by this sort of education and steering them accordingly. As a society, we tend to do a much better job of presenting tech school as a last resort instead of as a viable option.

2) As far as entire programs geared toward vocational education, these career academies exist and they're spread out across the county.

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment that not everybody needs to go to college... and I say this as someone who voluntarily spent way more time in college than the average person.

The bolded part is a huge part of the problem for sure.

[Ellen Pitts]

Originally Posted by The Villages Guy

Not to the extent that they should, IMO. I remember when I went to school, there was only one tech school and it was located in the city. There was a stigma about people going there as well. That needs to change.

I definitely agree that the stigma needs to change. We've got plumbers making $60k and lawyers making $45k. And we NEED plumbers!!

[RedZin]

Originally Posted by RaleighBill

..two major - but, unfortunately, controversial - ideas to your proposals: school choice, and vouchers.

I think North Carolina should amend the state constitution to include the right of any parent to send his or her child to ANY school they wish; whether the school is public, private, trade/tech, religious - it doesn't matter. Parents should have the choice of which school they want to teach their child, as long as that school is accredited in some form by the state. Also, the state should fully support homeschooling; perhaps homeschooling could be tied to school choice by "anchoring" a homeschooled child to a local school that can conduct annual evaluations of that child's progress.

I think this would immediately have two impacts on schools in NC: competition, and accountability. Schools will be forced to compete for students by tailoring their programs to the local community....and they would also be forced to be accountable to those communities for the quality of teaching they provide, how financially efficient they are while doing so, and whether they deserve to get funding from the state and federal government as a result.

I also think this state, and this country, should introduce a school voucher system for K-12 education, that's tied to school choice. In NC, the state spends a little bit over $8,700 per year, per pupil, for education. I propose that NC, and all other states, create a voucher system in which HALF of what they spend per pupil is given to families in the form of a voucher, for parents to pay for schooling at any school they choose. In NC, that would come to a yearly check (in the form of education voucher accounts, hosted at major banks or through the federal government) of about $4,300. Residents would still be paying for education through taxes, but they would immediately receive half of those funds per child for tuition and expenses at any type of K-12 school they choose.

Education Spending Per Student by State

These two ideas have been discussed for decades, but have always been hampered by the special interests (teachers unions who would see their power and influence reduced as a result), and politicians who are financially supported by those same special interests. The problem with the existing system is that the special interests and politicians in education don't have children's best interests at heart; if they did, they wouldn't stand in the way of school choice, or giving money back to parents in order for them to afford any school they wanted to send their child to.

The present system will NEVER improve, and will probably get worse over time, if the special interests and political contributions of those special interests to elected officials aren't dealt with. And the best way to do that, is to hold conventions and change state constitutions to allow the new policies to be implemented. North Carolina IS uniquely positioned to conduct this experiment, because it's in the median per state in terms of spending per child....and it has an existing tech/manufacturing/business base to rely on, in terms of employment.

The last thing I'll mention here (but not the least important) that needs to be addressed is the low median salaries of NC teachers. SOMETHING needs to be done about that, so that the best teachers are drawn to the state. Still working on that one....but I would consider some form of tax increase or incentives for businesses to contribute to a state-managed salary fund for NC teachers. We might also consider, perhaps for a short time period until the new education system is in place, either an amendment to the state constitution or a statewide referendum to mandate funds to raise the average teacher salaries and benefits in NC to at least 75% of the national average. Right now, NC is spending about $5,500 per pupil in salaries and wages...while DC, the highest, spends about $14,000 per pupil. I think raising NC's percentage so that teachers here are paid an average of $7,000-$9,000 per pupil will increase both the quality and pool of teachers in the state. That's an investment few people (other than the special interests and the politicians who are supported by them) would be against.

I completely disagree with vouchers.


Want your kid in private school? Pay for private school.

Plenty of people pay taxes to fund the public schools, yet do not have kids. That tax money is not a savings account for people to withdraw money from to fund their kids’ educations. It is money designed to ensure free access to a public school system that will educate all kids.

Want something else? Pay for something else.

School vouchers are ruining this country’s education systems.

[poppydog]

Originally Posted by RedZin

I completely disagree with vouchers.


Want your kid in private school? Pay for private school.

Plenty of people pay taxes to fund the public schools, yet do not have kids. That tax money is not a savings account for people to withdraw money from to fund their kids’ educations. It is money designed to ensure free access to a public school system that will educate all kids.

Want something else? Pay for something else.

School vouchers are ruining this country’s education systems.

Here, here! I agree also.

[Dire Wolf]

Originally Posted by poppydog

Here, here! I agree also.

I agree, too, but it's "hear, hear".

[poppydog]

Is it? I stand corrected. Learn something new everyday!

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Dire Wolf

I agree, too, but it's "hear, hear".

I thought it was "there, there" and "bless your heart"...LOL!

[BoBromhal]

allowing high socio-economic households to use vouchers is wrong. But allowing some low socio-economic families to leave a bad school for a better opportunity is a "right now" solution to the issue.

[pierretong1991]

Originally Posted by BoBromhal

allowing high socio-economic households to use vouchers is wrong. But allowing some low socio-economic families to leave a bad school for a better opportunity is a "right now" solution to the issue.

I could agree with this approach.