CoA Annexing SW Fulton?

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

Very interesting. My husband works for APS and from what I can, they have a few nice offerings in that area that appear to be superior to Fulton Co counterparts over there. Perhaps they could do the same for newly-annexed schools in that area. I believe Beecher Hills and West Manor are two very well-known good international baccalaureate elementary schools in APS in the area. The only other IB schools in APS are in Buckhead basically so I think this is significant. None of the fulton co schools in that area are IB schools. Also, I am told that Mays HS is one of the best. They apparently separate the school's population into 5 or 6 academies with different foci (e.g., math and science, business, communications/journalism and then an academy for all girls and one for all boys, as I understand it. Each academy has its own guidance counselors, etc and so it is mosyly all college prep and the kids have more resources bc it is like going to a much smaller school). Also, APS has a system in which any child living in APS can apply to go to any public, charter or magnet school in APS. Fulton does not offer any charters on the south side of town from what I can tell. Now, I am told Stonewall Tell is a good elementary but that school might be annexed with the rest wouldn't it?

ETA: I also just found out that half the 8th grade at Sandtown Middle School failed the CRCT math portion and has to re-take. Apparently, heads are going on the chopping block soon. There is absolutely NO reason for a school pulling from such a financially stable population like that to produce that type of result. That is completely disgusting and parents, teachers, principal should all be accountablw. I would be at that school demanding answers THISMORNING. That is ridiculous.

Actually Fulton County has five charter schools in South Fulton...Fulton | Georgia Charter Schools Association

Parents won't be held accountable for anything. It's teachers that get left holding the bag when students don't perform well, and that should not be the case when so many factors are involved and can affect test scores. But it's typical for people to jump to the conclusion that teachers are subpar when students fail - like poor effort or lack of motivation on the students' parts couldn't possibly be the answer. What answers do you think you would get if you marched in with your demands? Teachers are not magicians.

[LovelySummer]

I was referring to elementary schools. I stand corrected. Based on your list, there is exactly ONE charter school at the elementary level in south Fulton. I believe this still makes my point about dearth of opportunities relative to the elementary school charters in APS.

Yes, I do believe that a number of teachers are subpar. After hearing this news about Sandtown Middle, I have explored a bit more and there is much disorganization over there is what I've learned firsthand from parents. So, yes, do blame the teachers - right along with the principal and the parents. There is no way that a pool of students coming from the Sandtown and Cascade area should be in such a state that 50% of the 8th grade class cannot pass the CRCT. Joe, these are not poor kids and this is not a poor area. Have you been to Sandtown? Sandtown and Cascade are is solidly middle class, middle-upper and upper.

My first question would be whether the grades the kids have been getting are aligned with their inability to pass the state exam. The other question I'd want an answer to is what were they doing to prepare the students. The teachers didn't know there was going to be a test on day one when they stepped into the class in August? WTH? They had plenty of notice.

You see, after having a niece in public schools in Georgia who teachers routinely passed along because she was a nice kid who tried hard (when she should have been held back we now learn) who never once suggested she might have a learning disability (which she does, we also have now learned after taking it upon ourselves to get her tested because NONE of her teachers ever mentioned it all these years that she's been struggling and we, as a family, did not have the expertise to realize, and we were just throwing thousands away on tutoring year after year after year), yes I do question so very many of these teachers and principals. And we are also learning on C-D that some schools have principals that don't even bother to get the kids math books or workbooks. So, yes, some teachers and schools are subpar. No, teachers and principals are not magicians but as I said early, Sandtown and Cascade are also not poor areas where the children suffer with the ills that other poorer children see. That is my view from the few visits I have had there and from a few professional colleagues that live in the area. There is no excuse for that performance.

I'm sorry but in my opinion, many of these schools have a typical government mentality. Same as the postal workers that are d*mn near moving in slow motion when you go into the post office bc they cannot be fired. I've been to the schools for meeting for my niece and the administrators are 15 minutes, 20 minutes late for the meetings, then they haven't read all the materials, you get vmail after vmail only to find out the person is no longer working in that capacity at the school at all. They are being run like government offices and the result in many cases is typical inefficiency, bloat, people in positions who should not be.

Look, my husband is a teacher, so I am not saying all teachers or principals. However, yes that Sandtown Middle School madness. Yes, I would be ticked off about that. Again, parents are to blame also.

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

Actually Fulton County has five charter schools in South Fulton...Fulton | Georgia Charter Schools Association

Parents won't be held accountable for anything. It's teachers that get left holding the bag when students don't perform well, and that should not be the case when so many factors are involved and can affect test scores. But it's typical for people to jump to the conclusion that teachers are subpar when students fail - like poor effort or lack of motivation on the students' parts couldn't possibly be the answer. What answers do you think you would get if you marched in with your demands? Teachers are not magicians.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Drewplanner

Then why would COA annex that area instead of an already established municipality?

You don't annex other cities, you annex unincorporated areas. No one is talking about Chattahoochee Hills. The Sandtown community is in unincorporated Fulton adjacent to the far southwestern leg of the CofA. Parts of Sandtown are in the city already.

[Larry X]

My wife and I believe that schools are just a formality. Kids go just to get a passing grade and to graduate the American school system. Everything is up to the parents. Its up to the parents to teach their kids how to study, do beyond whats expected, how to manage work & play, guide them towards a career, know right from wrong, be a leader and don't follow the crowd, sex education, etc. All teachers should be expected to do is teach kids from 8-3, thats it. Thats why we don't believe in private schools and all that crap, if kids get the proper guidance at home they will be prepared to attend any college no matter how bad their public schools are.

[arjay57]

The city of Atlanta needs to be careful it's not digging itself deeper into the hole with any annexation. Atlanta is already stretched to the max financially and doesn't even have money to operate its major parks, fill the potholes or repair the sidewalks.

Unless an annexation is a net economic positive, the city would be doing a major disservice to its existing residents as well as those in the proposed new territory. Atlanta simply can't spread itself any thinner or tax its citizens any more.

[Larry X]

Originally Posted by arjay57

The city of Atlanta needs to be careful it's not digging itself deeper into the hole with any annexation. Atlanta is already stretched to the max financially and doesn't even have money to operate its major parks, fill the potholes or repair the sidewalks.

Unless an annexation is a net economic positive, the city would be doing a major disservice to its existing residents as well as those in the proposed new territory. Atlanta simply can't spread itself any thinner or tax its citizens any more.

The Sandtown area is middle upper class, so maybe thats why they want it so bad.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by Larry X

My wife and I believe that schools are just a formality. Kids go just to get a passing grade and to graduate the American school system. Everything is up to the parents. Its up to the parents to teach their kids how to study, do beyond whats expected, how to manage work & play, guide them towards a career, know right from wrong, be a leader and don't follow the crowd, sex education, etc. All teachers should be expected to do is teach kids from 8-3, thats it. Thats why we don't believe in private schools and all that crap, if kids get the proper guidance at home they will be prepared to attend any college no matter how bad their public schools are.

There is some truth to this, but the reality of society today, is that a "bad" public school generally doesn't support a climate where much real learning can go on. It is like being a fish swimming upstream. There are high schools in DeKalb where nearly 1/2 the students in the attendance zone are attending other public schools. They aren't doing this because the English department has better teachers but generally it is because the school climate is better. Ask African-American families in S. DeKalb why their kids are travelling across the county to go to school.

Additionally, in systems not flush with resources, at low achieving schools there are likely to be fewer opportunities for higher achieving students.

I don't have the answer, there isn't a simple one, but I believe it starts with strong community (and parental) involvement in the schools. To many poor metro Atlanta communities lack the voices demanding better, not just of the school system, but of each other.

Originally Posted by arjay57

The city of Atlanta needs to be careful it's not digging itself deeper into the hole with any annexation. Atlanta is already stretched to the max financially and doesn't even have money to operate its major parks, fill the potholes or repair the sidewalks.

Unless an annexation is a net economic positive, the city would be doing a major disservice to its existing residents as well as those in the proposed new territory. Atlanta simply can't spread itself any thinner or tax its citizens any more.

It isn't residential property taxes that increase the "wealth" of a city, it is commercial property taxes. But word on the street is that Reed is interested in both this area and Druid Hills (including Emory) which bring virtually no commercial properties to the table.

[arjay57]

If either of those annexations took place I hope the residents are ready to see their taxes go through the roof.