Welp, Georgia, you're now close to dead last in highschool grad. rates (Atlanta: best cities, public schools)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

How come schools down south are having so many problems and they have money? Up north, the best neighborhoods always have the best schools bc the money comes from real estate taxes. So, how come even in the good neighborhoods in Georgia, the schools suck? Like, how could there be sucky schools in Vinings? How is that possible? What are they doing with the money then?

Here in the ATL schools in the best neighborhoods often get the least amount of money. Poorer neighborhoods often get significantly more funding. It's just how we do things down here.

And if you think about it, it makes sense. Why should a school in a well to do neighborhood get as much funding? Those people already have money.

[LovelySummer]

Arjay, I am, of course, all for poor students getting money. I did not grow up well off. But, I don't see what you're saying here. Each public school needs money to operate. Whether the children in the public school are more middle class or not, they still need a decent school. Just because the houses are more does not mean that the kids don't need new and good textbooks in the classroom. Right? Kids are kids and they all need the same thing to learn.

It sounds like you saying that the public schools in the more expensive areas should get less money from the state.

This is problematic all the way around, and may be part of the reason that Georgia schools suck so bad as compared to other school systems in the nation. I have a relative who has been teaching in GA schools for years and he says Georgia is behind other states because there was such a strong focus on an agrarian lifestyle that school was not put at the top of the list statewide. Up north, industry came earlier and thus, there was more of a focus on some of the academic subject matter that is required for that type of environment. And he said, Georgia is just starting to turn around after many years.

But, I don't get it. Like I said, up north, the real estate taxes in an area are taken to fund the school in the area. This results in poorer funding in areas with more apartments, however, those areas can then get additional funding. However, if a person cannot even get his real estate taxes allocated to the school around the corner that seems unfair to the taxpayer.

Also, I'm really surprised that if the state is just allocating amounts of money to a school based on how poor an area or how wealthy an area is deemed to be, that it has not been challenged in court.

Anyway, I am a strong proponent of education for children in economically challenged areas. I just thought it was odd that even in good areas, the schools suck. I don't see paying 6+ for a house and the school around the corner sucks.

Originally Posted by arjay57

Here in the ATL schools in the best neighborhoods often get the least amount of money. Poorer neighborhoods often get significantly more funding. It's just how we do things down here.

And if you think about it, it makes sense. Why should a school in a well to do neighborhood get as much funding? Those people already have money.

[LovelySummer]

RC,
Perhaps I am looking at the wrong data then. The house that I looked at in Sandy Springs was tied to a school that got a score of 5 on greatschools. Campbell got a 6. So, I guess I'm not understanding what people think of when they judge a school and say that it doesn't suck. A high school with a rating of 6 seems to suck in my mind. What is your criteria (not being funny, really trying to understand how schools can be evaluated from different perspectives since looking at the great schools score is obviously not telling the whole story for some).

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Campbell High doesn't "suck" .. it's actually a decent school. Not top notch like the schools in the areas with more money in Cobb like the schools in East Cobb, but still not bad. And the grade schools that serve Vinings (mainly Teasly Elementary, but perhaps also Nickajack Elementary on the outskirts) are actually quite good from what I understand.

Throwing money at the problem doesn't do much when kids don't have a basic support structure at home. Wealthier areas tend to be a healthier environment in many respects, and that has a direct impact on school performance from all of the studies and anecdotal evidence I've seen.

If a school caters to multiple groups of people, the only way to get a true idea of the school's performance in your own context is to look at how well children who are similar to your own kids perform at that school, since general numbers may not provide an accurate picture.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

But, I don't get it. Like I said, up north, the real estate taxes in an area are taken to fund the school in the area. This results in poorer funding in areas with more apartments, however, those areas can then get additional funding. However, if a person cannot even get his real estate taxes allocated to the school around the corner that seems unfair to the taxpayer.

That's just the way we do it here. The poorer areas need the funding. A lot of times poorer kids have to attend school in wealthier parts of town anyway.

I'm not knocking our more fortunate citizens, but they have the resources to fend for themselves.

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

How come schools down south are having so many problems and they have money? Up north, the best neighborhoods always have the best schools bc the money comes from real estate taxes. So, how come even in the good neighborhoods in Georgia, the schools suck? Like, how could there be sucky schools in Vinings? How is that possible? What are they doing with the money then?

It is because of expectations in these other areas. And I wouldn't even put it in the "up north" category. Like the article said, TN is one of the tops in the nation, and NC was pretty good too.

Since I am from the Midwest and am looking to move back to the Great Lakes area, primarily due to schools, I know that in that area, more is expected out of school. I also think the main thing here in GA that is driving down achievement is the divisiveness that is ingrained in many Georgians who think that just because they and their kind are okay, everything is hunky dory. It is like there is no true, community passion or spirit involved in improving schools here. It is like people do not understand that the more educated the ENTIRE populace, the better off this state will be, more businesses will want to come here, more people will be self sufficient. It is more of an "us vs them" mentality, as is exhibited below:

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Campbell High doesn't "suck" .. it's actually a decent school. Not top notch like the schools in the areas with more money in Cobb like the schools in East Cobb, but still not bad. And the grade schools that serve Vinings (mainly Teasly Elementary, but perhaps also Nickajack Elementary on the outskirts) are actually quite good from what I understand.

Throwing money at the problem doesn't do much when kids don't have a basic support structure at home. Wealthier areas tend to be a healthier environment in many respects, and that has a direct impact on school performance from all of the studies and anecdotal evidence I've seen.

If a school caters to multiple groups of people, the only way to get a true idea of the school's performance in your own context is to look at how well children who are similar to your own kids perform at that school, since general numbers may not provide an accurate picture.

People make too many excuses here when it comes to education on a state level and those excuses are primarily driven by racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status. Until this stops, GA will continue to be at the bottom of education statistics.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

RC,
Perhaps I am looking at the wrong data then. The house that I looked at in Sandy Springs was tied to a school that got a score of 5 on greatschools. Campbell got a 6. So, I guess I'm not understanding what people think of when they judge a school and say that it doesn't suck. A high school with a rating of 6 seems to suck in my mind. What is your criteria (not being funny, really trying to understand how schools can be evaluated from different perspectives since looking at the great schools score is obviously not telling the whole story for some).

We have neighbors whose kids are in the IB program at Campbell, and they seem pretty happy with the school in general. That's all I have .. a little anecdotal evidence, but then again I'm not a big fan of measurements based on generalized test scores.

The Greatschools rating may hold some weight, but look carefully at the nature of the comments. In a school like Campbell with a mixed population, I suspect the experience can vary quite a bit from student to student.

Subsequent edit: Looking at the Greatschools site, it looks like the rating given by individuals is 4 stars out of 5.

http://www.greatschools.org/georgia/...l-High-School/

Schooldigger gives it a similar rating:

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/GA/sc...37/school.aspx

Perfect? No. I'm sure it has serious issues, as many schools with a financially or racially diverse student population do, but that doesn't automatically make a it poor school. It's the experience that each student has which is important in the long run, isn't it?

[LovelySummer]

Residinghere,
I think that you are right. I am from the Midwest too and I've never seen so many comments (as I have in the Atlanta forum) that imply that people of different races have problems learning or that us v. them or that "it's ok if me and mine are ok" mentality. Guess it's a southern thing. It's truly unfortunate.

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

It is because of expectations in these other areas. And I wouldn't even put it in the "up north" category. Like the article said, TN is one of the tops in the nation, and NC was pretty good too.

Since I am from the Midwest and am looking to move back to the Great Lakes area, primarily due to schools, I know that in that area, more is expected out of school. I also think the main thing here in GA that is driving down achievement is the divisiveness that is ingrained in many Georgians who think that just because they and their kind are okay, everything is hunky dory. It is like there is no true, community passion or spirit involved in improving schools here. It is like people do not understand that the more educated the ENTIRE populace, the better off this state will be, more businesses will want to come here, more people will be self sufficient. It is more of an "us vs them" mentality, as is exhibited below:



People make too many excuses here when it comes to education on a state level and those excuses are primarily driven by racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status. Until this stops, GA will continue to be at the bottom of education statistics.

[roxyrn]

Teenage pregnancy is a huge reason why girls do not finish high school and for some kids, they quit at age 16 in order to work to bring in needed money.

[Dale Cooper]

Originally Posted by Columbuskidd92

I agree with this. I attended a math magnet school and I barely passed my math portion. Plus needing to pass the GHSGT in all areas with a score over 500 can stress the kids out.

Poor little kids.

[Motion]

Can someone explain to me how Georgia's graduation rate is hurting the state?


I mean has investment in the state been hurt because businesses are turned off by the state's graduation numbers? Georgia and Atlanta specificlly seem to be doing ok with businesses locating here even with our gradution numbers.


Iowa’s graduation rate is best in the country


Look at Iowa. It has the best graduation numbers in the country but I don't see investment flocking to that state in compraison to what were getting in Georgia and Atlanta. How exactly is Iowa benefiting from its graduation numbers?