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Working link - HERE (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/05/15/choice_schools_georgia.html - broken link)
Growing up out of state, we were allowed to go to any school we wanted to, so long as we had a way to get there. The buses in each district only went to specified schools for that area, so if you wanted to go elsewhere, it was up to the parents or public transit to get you there. That's what I did in High School - my district's school was pretty, well sorry - "redneck" and the central city High School offered lots of alternate classes (plus a good driver's ed class) that I wanted, so, I caught the public bus to school every day. The world didn't end. Local society didn't collapse.
However, this was in West Virginia and there wasn't a class system in place like there is here - everyone there was what you would call "poor", here. They just lived in varied areas. The "upper income" folks were very low in number there, so there was one private school those kids tended to go to and that was it. I suspect that yes, there will be some instances here of lower income kids going to more affluent areas, and as a result, you'll see some of those kids being pulled out by their parents to be home schooled or sent to private school.
A similar situation happened here not long ago in Powder Springs. McEachern High School had the reputation as being one of the best in metro Atlanta at one point. A certain number of Section 8 / Vouchered, and lower income families from the city migrated out this way and transferred their kids to the school hearing of their reputation and I'm sure wanting to get their kids out of the inner city school environment, and many local parents complained about problems soon after the influx of these new kids. As a result, some of the parents have moved a few miles North of the town to a new High School district and taken their kids out of McEachern to go to the newer system. Now, that being said, I asked some of the neighbor's kids (who are brutally honest) if this was their parents being racist or not about it, and they did say "no", that a lot of the newer kids coming in were gangbanger wannabees and were causing actual problems (fights, etc) that weren't there before, so it could be more of a discipline thing in this particular case - still, when the "migration" happened, the "for sale" signs went up. Yes, that COULD potentially happen in some of these cases coming up.
Because ghod forbid, anyone actually tries to FIX WHAT'S WRONG with the crappy schools so no one is FORCED to look for adequate accomodations elsewhere. While this can help the middle class students, whose parents are involved and are willing to provide transportation, how much will this really help the truly disadvantaged? The ones who rely strictly on public or school transportation, or whose parents have no interest in fighting for their children to get the best education?
I think we need more information on the specifics of this law. Will there be a cap on the number of students accepted out of zone? A cap on the distance one can travel out of zone? How are the better schools going to accommodate for extra students. It's bad enough we have to prove residency because of overcrowding.
What happens to the schools the people are trying to get their kids away from?
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
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Originally Posted by anadyr21
Because ghod forbid, anyone actually tries to FIX WHAT'S WRONG with the crappy schools so no one is FORCED to look for adequate accomodations elsewhere. While this can help the middle class students, whose parents are involved and are willing to provide transportation, how much will this really help the truly disadvantaged? The ones who rely strictly on public or school transportation, or whose parents have no interest in fighting for their children to get the best education?
I think we need more information on the specifics of this law. Will there be a cap on the number of students accepted out of zone? A cap on the distance one can travel out of zone? How are the better schools going to accommodate for extra students. It's bad enough we have to prove residency because of overcrowding.
What happens to the schools the people are trying to get their kids away from?
Interesting indeed. I wonder how similar it will be to the open school enrollment program in MN? That seems to have worked out well, as far as I'm aware...
Interesting indeed. I wonder how similar it will be to the open school enrollment program in MN? That seems to have worked out well, as far as I'm aware...
In Minneapolis, minority middle and high school students can opt to be bussed to suburban schools such as Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata. I drove school buses for First Student for awhile and I thought it was crazy to drive a full sized bus with 3-4 students from north Minneapolis to Wayzata, but it happens everyday.
As a the parent of minority students, my kids are bi-racial, I wouldn't opt for this option if I lived in Minneapolis because it would cause problems with regards to attending school events and conferences. But we have four kids. For just one kid, maybe I'd opt for it if the suburban school was a good fit for my kid.
I have a friend, a black woman, who grew up in Minneapolis and attended high school in Wayzata - she says she hated the long bus ride, but it was really a good thing for her to get out of the Minneapolis schools and experience a suburban school and a non-minority culture.
In St. Paul, they do not have this same busing policy, rather they have magnet schools and an inter-district school agreement. We live in a lower-income neighborhood [55119], and the neighborhood schools are rather poor in this area. So, I have my kids going to schools elsewhere in St. Paul - I have four kids bussed to four different schools each day. Kind of crazy, but each kid is at a school which works for him/her.
My third grade daughter, for example, is at Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School, it is ranked 10/10 at GreatSchools.net... from what I can tell, we cannot move into a comparable income neighborhood in Atlanta and still get my daughter enrolled in a school ranked 10/10. It's one of the things I pulled my hair out about when we started contemplating moving to Atlanta!
For parents who can afford to drive their kids to another school district, open enrollment has been an option in Minnesota since 1985. This is the same year I transferred, as a high school junior, from Shakopee High School to Benilde-St. Margeret's , if I'd known about the inter-district transfer option, I probably would've gone to Burnsville or Eden Prairie rather than the catholic high school - I just wanted to get out of Shakopee, which was, back in the 80s, still a hick farm town [now it's a booming suburb.] BTW, I am giving all this MN cities detail for RCSteiner - I know he is familiar with these schools
The point is, the ability to enroll in another district is sometimes also covered, transportation wise, in Minnesota - for the sake of desegregation.
Otherwise, it's always an option IF the school you want to attend has room for additional enrollments, and IF the parents can cover the transportation needs.
When we were in the Moundsview High School, I knew of a family who sent their kid to school each day, from out of district, in a taxi - it was cheaper than paying tuition at private schools & the school is ranked 10/10 at greatschools.net and often in the top 3 or 5 schools in the state.
Simply busing kids to out-of-district schools, and then back home to the city at night, or offering open-enrollment w/o transportation, shouldn't cause problems with increased crime or anything like that. Anyone who commits to an out-of-district daily commute is committed to his/her child's education. Of course, w/o providing transportation, this open enrollment idea simply becomes a way for middle class families to move their kids to different schools.
In reading the AJC article, it seems the major change in the new law is the fact students will be able to remain in another district w/o having to reapply each year. It is very important for students to have consistent learning experiences, so being able to stay in the same school district, without fear of not getting accepted the next year, is key to student's success.
And the permanency of out-of-district transfers under this new law also helps the really outstanding public school to better compete with private schools. Keeping your public schools competitive with private schools is really a good incentive for having an open enrollment plan in your state.
BTW, you want the education dollars which come with increased enrollment to go to the public schools in your distrcit, it helps maintain your home values!
If a district has older housing stock, and no room for new development, which is the case for the Moundsview Schools District in Minnesota, open enrollment can keep dollars coming into the district once the districts own enrollment diminishes due to a large percentage of the homes being occupied by empty-nester couples who do not have school-aged students. This, in turn, keep the housing values up in that district, so that when the baby boomers are ready to sell their home to a younger family, the quality schools in the district are still a major selling point for the homes in that district.
Without open enrollment, districts with no room for new growth and aging populations would, I suspect, suffer greatly as the district is forced to close schools and cut back on staff to accommodate the lower number of students in the district. I know Moundsview benefits from open enrollment, as does the Edina school district.
So really, if you have a good district, you should welcome open enrollment with open arms.
If you do not have a good district, maybe this will give you extra incentives to encourage your local school board to improve the schools in your district
I applaud the choice initiative in Georgia as a step in the right direction.
Last edited by StPaulEastSider; 05-16-2009 at 01:32 AM..
"A controversial bill signed recently by Gov. Sonny Perdue gives parents the ability to cross neighborhood boundaries and select almost any campus in their district — the closest ones, the ones with the best SAT scores, sports teams, etc. As long as there is room to teach the new students."
Seeing how schools are at or near capacity in many areas, I doubt this is going to create some huge migration of students. And the better schools that don't want to take anyone and everyone will just set themselves up so they're "full", and prevent kids from crossing borders to get in. Do you really thing that Pope, Lassiter, and Walton are going to risk destroying their rankings by letting anyone in Cobb County attend?
I read HB 251, and it says that it doesn't apply to charter schools. I wonder, then, if it applies to the charter districts here in ATL, specifically Marietta City Schools, Decatur City Schools and Gainesville City Schools. My guess is that it would not, but I'm not certain. All of the schools in a charter district at charter schools, but they are not stand-alone charters. Anyone want to chime in on this?
Also, to clarify something for this string. HB 251 only allows for transfers within a school district it does not allow you to transfer to a school in another district.. such as from DeKalb to Atlanta or Fulton, etc.
I'm quite pleased with this. We live in a less than ideal feeder pattern. The initial plan was to send our son to either a charter school or allow him to go to school in Cobb (I teach in Cobb--Cobb teachers can send their children to the schools in the feeder pattern where they work) but with this new law, we can simply send him to the school in the feeder pattern we hope to move in once the market rights itself.
I will say this--it's far from over (this battle)...I'm sure that parents in ideal feeder patterns will find some way to fight this...
There has to be room. I think many parents are going to be disappointed to learn that isn't open choice. The students in the attendance zone still take first priority.
Also, not providing transportation will be a real problem in some of the larger systems for families.
The state will write rules, but each school board will adopt its' own policy.
DeKalb already has a pretty generous choice program. I think Atlanta does as well.
My understanding is that the Super. in Gwinett fought hard against this bill. While Gwinnett has a policy about transfers, few seem to be granted.
Dove Diva,
I don't know what system you are in, but please don't count on this working the way you want it to. I suspect that it will be litigated and then I suspect the state legislature will most likely repeal it next year or change it to the point that it will be meaningless.
Charter Schools have to fill spaces by lottery, so this can't apply to them.
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