Best/Worst Neighborhoods?

[seanpecor]

I've said this before but it's worth saying again. School performance is largely pegged to the socioeconomic health of the parents within a school district. It's no secret that the poverty level is higher for children in City schools. Therefore, the statistical averages are dragged down in a City school by kids who have more hurdles both at home and within the microcosm of their urban neighborhood. Look closely, however, and you'll see that there are plenty of children - growing up in middle/upper-middle/upper class families - in those poorly rated City schools who excel and mature into great leaders.

Most of the best performing Roanoke County schools exist because many middle to upper-middle class families moved out of the City, and into the County suburbs during the region's "white flight" movement. Look at all of the kids attending Cave Spring and Hidden Valley and you'll notice that those faces are much, much whiter and less diverse than their City counterparts. This movement is perpetuated now by the advent of the Internet and the "report cards" that determine a school's "rating". As a result, more newly relocated families opt for County schools and homes, even when more attractive and conveniently located and less expensive homes exist within city limits. Most people are surprised when I tell them that next to Roanoke City, rural Franklin County is the 2nd most racially diverse district in the Roanoke Metro. Botetourt County is 97% white for goodness sake. Thankfully the 'burbs are continuing to diversify, but I'm still personally uncomfortable with how white Roanoke County actually is. I consider it something of a symbol of how the more affluent families of a few generations past essentially turned their back on the less fortunate among us.

As to the importance of the these school "ratings", I do believe that there certainly is value. But in order to be accurate assessment tools for parents, the performance statistics should be sub-grouped according to socioeconomic factors. Right now, school ratings do little more than tell you where the middle to upper income families are clustering.

Sean

[SV2012]

Live in Botetourt its the shizz too LB highschool is the shizz..

[Eeeee22895]

Vinton is changing. Here's why. It's the Bonsack effect.

Bonsack is a rapidly growing more upscale area that feeds into the William Byrd school system. Nobody who lives in Bonsack is from the area. Development of the large neighborhoods Huntridge, the Orchards, Samuel's Gate, and Plantation Gardens started in the 1990s. They residents are educated and their kids are adding badly-needed new blood and competitive energy to Byrd. Because of these students as well as some new pricier developments in Vinton, William Byrd is now the largest high school in Roanoke County, and they are rapidly catching up to the blue-bloods of Hidden Valley.

[540_804]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

I've said this before but it's worth saying again. School performance is largely pegged to the socioeconomic health of the parents within a school district. It's no secret that the poverty level is higher for children in City schools. Therefore, the statistical averages are dragged down in a City school by kids who have more hurdles both at home and within the microcosm of their urban neighborhood. Look closely, however, and you'll see that there are plenty of children - growing up in middle/upper-middle/upper class families - in those poorly rated City schools who excel and mature into great leaders.

Most of the best performing Roanoke County schools exist because many middle to upper-middle class families moved out of the City, and into the County suburbs during the region's "white flight" movement. Look at all of the kids attending Cave Spring and Hidden Valley and you'll notice that those faces are much, much whiter and less diverse than their City counterparts. This movement is perpetuated now by the advent of the Internet and the "report cards" that determine a school's "rating". As a result, more newly relocated families opt for County schools and homes, even when more attractive and conveniently located and less expensive homes exist within city limits. Most people are surprised when I tell them that next to Roanoke City, rural Franklin County is the 2nd most racially diverse district in the Roanoke Metro. Botetourt County is 97% white for goodness sake. Thankfully the 'burbs are continuing to diversify, but I'm still personally uncomfortable with how white Roanoke County actually is. I consider it something of a symbol of how the more affluent families of a few generations past essentially turned their back on the less fortunate among us.

As to the importance of the these school "ratings", I do believe that there certainly is value. But in order to be accurate assessment tools for parents, the performance statistics should be sub-grouped according to socioeconomic factors. Right now, school ratings do little more than tell you where the middle to upper income families are clustering.

Sean

I agree 100%.
I graduated from William Fleming High School, probably not the most desirable high school in the area but I loved it. There's so much to offer at that school that you don't really see in other schools (such as the emphasis on music, art, and theater).

Those school ratings would rank the school pretty low (I would imagine) but the education is there. Im a product of that school and i went on to receive a full scholarship to the college im at now and offers from several other schools as well. I scored in the 98th percentile on my SATs. I had the opportunity to be involved in some amazing extra-curricular activities. I went into college with almost a year's worth of credit that transferred from high school. The education is there. The quality teachers are there. And the diversity is definitely there.

As you said, the performance ratings are closely tied to the socioeconomic conditions of the area. A lot of the students in that area have so many hurdles to overcome just to get to school and get an education and its unfair to judge the school (or the individuals) because of this. The ratings tell you how the schools are 'performing' but they never tell you why they are performing at that level.

[Eeeee22895]

But Vinton is whiter than white, and until recently, William Byrd has done poorly in comparison with other schools across the board. Football, academics, band, you name it. But as I said, it's starting to change, and it isn't due to race or diversity. It's due to socio-economic forces.