Wake County Approves Community Based Schools (Charlotte, Raleigh: middle-class, to buy, school district)

[VickiR]

Originally Posted by Beermat

Excellent point and it will be interesting on how this will impact property values over the coming 6 months - it will be interesting to hear the Realtors on this board opinions.

The effects of "good" schools and "bad" schools DOES impact home values and always has.

Prices of Knightdale homes are less costly than N. Raleigh or Cary homes. The schools in Knightdale have a huge impact on this.

What will happen if all of Wakefield fills the Wakefield schools without any less advantaged students filling the schools? The scores will most definitely go up and the Wakefield home prices will go up, as well.

Part of the reason people desire certain areas IS because of the schools.

Vicki

[Sluv]

Originally Posted by theS5

If it is an excuse, it isn't mine. The best that you can do as a parent is teach your children the value of the educational opportunity they have and instill in them a sense of responsibility for their own actions.

I agree. That is the best you can do as a parent. But the focus here should not be on parents. It should be on children. Children do not get to decide what their parents teach or do not teach them. Children do not get to pick the neighborhood they live in or the family they are born into.

Education is a key to social mobility. Some children in our community are born into families that do not necessarily value education as highly as you or I might. Is that their fault? In the interest of fairness, each child deserves an equal opportunity at a quality education.

[Plumeria99]

This entire situation is the perfect analogy of " Give a man fish, you have fed him for a day. Teach a man how to Fish, you have fed him for a lifetime.

Bussing the underpriveleged kids is not getting to the root of the problem. Its giving them the fish. What are they going to do bus the entire school ? So the kids are in the better school for what 5 or 6 hours a day. THen they are sent home to the same environment that contributes to the "lesser" school, poor learning environment. Not the answer.

The problem is not the school system it IS their enviornment that is not condusive to learning, it IS the parents that do not take responsibility in educating their children. But, I do believe that the environment can be taught, shown to become a positive, educational, influence in teaching their youth. Start with educating the parents, and the community. Teach them how to be responsible. There are mentoring programs as well. Moderator cut: Racist comments A positive community and environment always requires working at it.

Moderator cut: Racist comments

I guarantee you If the underperforming schools asked for help from successful communities in achieving positive performance levels, they would get it. People are always willing to help.

Moderator cut: Racist comments

Stick to your guns Wake County.

[RaleighLass]

Plumeria - wow, your post is ALL over the place! I guess you were pretty upset when you wrote this.
My questions to you are:
Do you live here, or is your knowledge of this simply from the national news
Are you familiar with our existing system of assignments
Just what is your understanding of the problems we have had which necessitated us being "rescued" by the new board members?

Your post is clearly on the side of the newer (5) board members rather than the (4) board members who were already on the board and have been working for years to maintain our "stellar" school system you referred to in your last sentence. As the new board (as it's now known) has just begun its changes, they have done nothing yet to make the system "stellar", this is not a judgement of them, it's a statement of fact, it is too soon. They were only elected recently.

Your analogy - if the kids at risk are in a school where other kids "know how to fish", then the chances are they will learn either from the teacher if they are motivated or, by osmosis - which often happens. However, if they are with other kids who not only DON'T know how to "fish", but have no inclination, and put pressure on the kid, saying it's not cool to learn how to "fish", and the kids' parents have not been taught how to "fish" - how will they learn?

Having said this, post reconstruction by the new board, there will be school in lower wealth areas that will be high or total minority(Hispanic and Black). This is what many are concerned about, including the NAACP. As we are already cutting our $1.2 B budget, and laying off staff and cutting services, where will the $$ come from to bring extra resources to these schools?

[Francois]

Originally Posted by RaleighLass

Your analogy - if the kids at risk are in a school where other kids "know how to fish", then the chances are they will learn either from the teacher if they are motivated or, by osmosis - which often happens. However, if they are with other kids who not only DON'T know how to "fish", but have no inclination, and put pressure on the kid, saying it's not cool to learn how to "fish", and the kids' parents have not been taught how to "fish" - how will they learn?

But if there are a critical number who "don't know how to fish" and the teacher has to stop and "teach fishing", then the ones who already do know how are spinning their wheels in school and their time is wasted. At just what mixing point do the "non-fishers" stop being enhanced by the "already fishers" and start dragging them down? I believe this is one of the primary worries of those who don't want their kids mixing with "those other kids", especially when doing so requires severe inconvenience such as catching the bus before 6 AM.

Disclosure: I have no children so it is something of a moot point for me, and I am not particularly "taking sides" on whether the new Board's ideas are "good" or "bad", though I definitely have some problems with the new Board's tactics in driving their agenda through.

[RaleighLass]

Francois...but you did grow up here and know how the school system works or worked, so you do have something to contribute.

i see what you mean. I have wondered this too. And have (in the past) asked my 6th grader this - she gets good grades and understands the value of her education. She said it rarely happens but can be annoying. Again, for her, in whatever class she has been in, it was a rare thing.

As for the early bus....I don't believe any child should have to catch a bus this early, it's ridiculous. I am not sure how many kids do have to do this..I would love to know the % and where they live v's where their school is, to understand the reasoning. In any case, I hope this is stopped. But if these are the kids whose school starts at 7:15am, then maybe this is the only way it will work?? I don't know enough to be able to say. I also think it's ridiculous to start school this early. But schools here have always started early.

PS - while I can understand parents being upset by this, they do have options, they could take their child to school. That's what I did (for a time) with my oldest who's now 30 and went thru WCPSS. I didn't look to the schools to address my every concern. I took it upon myself as the parent to take care of my child.

[Plumeria99]

All I am saying is I find it hard to beleive that only a bus load of children have potential to learn and be successful out of an entire school. What about the rest of the underperforming school, the rest of the students ? The focus on fixing the problem seems misdirected. If there is an organization that wants to help advance people, focus helping all the students , on the entire school and community. Make earning high grades the standard and make it "cool" to be smart. I think that is part of the problem, I know for a fact that in some circles it is not cool to be intelligent. change that mindset in the school. teachthe parents, elders in the comminity how to be role models and mentors. Bring in speakers like athletes,artists, authors, other profesionals to encourage and prove that success is attainable. organize simple things like community cleanups. It starts with the little things but it has to start somewhere.

[RaleighLass]

plumeria - I do wish you'd read our other threads about Wake County Schools so you would have a complete grasp of what's going on - rather than the soundbyte you received on NBC or wherever.
You really do not know the full story. And honestly, your suggestions are insulting. We have a very educated community here. No matter which side of the issue one is on, we all agree that the quality of a public school education in our county is very good.

Our teachers and PTA's are already bringing in outside speakers. And they have numerous complimentary programs in place. Please stop focusing on the NAACP, the issue is more than about what they think. It's how the changes will affect all children, property values, et al.

[RaleighLass]

Sayantsi - thank you for sharing this, it's so uplifting! It reminds me of the success the gentleman in Harlem has achieved.

When I wondered if this could be implemented in Wake County, I thought of the rules and restrictions that would get in the way. Do our teachers and principals have this much autonomy? I can hear the uproar if someone's child was made to earn their way into a class. Or having kids stand if they passed a test -parents would be whining as loud as their kids about this saying it was hurting the child's self-esteem.

In elementary school (WCPSS) my 6th grader had a young male teacher who was the best teacher either of my children has had. Within the constraints of the system's policies, he took control of his classroom in the most amazing way. He made it fun, respectful, orderly, and an engaging learning environment. He greeted each child with a handshake each morning, taught them how to say good morning, and look him in the eye....all things that parents should be doing. He was particularly gifted at teaching math. And so the children's scores improved. Children soared under this man's guidance. My daughter and her classmates were very sad to be moving on from his class. She still talks about him and how he was an awesome teacher.

I share this to illustrate that WCPSS does have teachers like those in the KIPP program and the gentleman in Harlem and it can produce similar results if allowed. It is up to the principals to recognize them and parents to appreciate them and help whenever possible to keep them in the system. Conversely, I've seen some teachers who need to go ahead and retire. They've lost their spark, enthusiasm, and are cranky all the time. I'm sure it's difficult to maintain momentum yr after yr.
Back to your reason for posting this. If we end up with schools of majority lower performing students. What radical plan does the new board have to turn these students around? KIPP is radical, Harlem project is radical...when compared to most school systems. If the same kids who are underperforming now, do so en masse when lumped together, our current system won't work for them as teachers will be overwhelmed. And, what happens to the kids who currently get good grades and love school, and are put into this environ?

Would you want your child in such a school?

My big beef with the new board is that they say we need change, but they need time to come up with a plan. Yet they have already started the changes without a plan. To me this is reckless. And, our system doesn't have enough money and is cutting back. Won't they need to put additional resources into the new hi poverty schools? Where will it come from?

I used to think like the new board's backers until I researched the issue and considered the impact of the changes, I just don't see it can be done with the current budget and staffing levels. I think they will be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

[theS5]

Actually, I could not agree more with Plumeria.
Why would you say that the comments are insulting? What we have does not work for the majority of at risk children.
What would be ideal are charter schools in the economically disadvantaged communities. They should be run by bright motivated educators who are not afraid to set very high standards. Make it a place that children aspire to attend, within their own community. Grassroots, within the community and earning their way will give children the best chance at long-lasting success.

"The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed"
Steven Biko

Originally Posted by RaleighLass

plumeria - I do wish you'd read our other threads about Wake County Schools so you would have a complete grasp of what's going on - rather than the soundbyte you received on NBC or wherever.
You really do not know the full story. And honestly, your suggestions are insulting. We have a very educated community here. No matter which side of the issue one is on, we all agree that the quality of a public school education in our county is very good.

Our teachers and PTA's are already bringing in outside speakers. And they have numerous complimentary programs in place. Please stop focusing on the NAACP, the issue is more than about what they think. It's how the changes will affect all children, property values, et al.