Whats going on with Schools in Charlotte

[shannaCT]

Originally Posted by kmway

People, I had mobile classrooms in a western state...in 1982.

For the love of god, you people bringing in 5000 extra kids with your mass NE exodus coming here and complaining is ridiculous. Yes the resources are stretched thin, we have historically had ineffective leaders...but the leadership has changed and we are doing our best to accomodate all of you New England refugees.

By the way, I was just 1500 miles away on a business trip and turned on the tv to find *gasp* stories about 1st week problems with buses and that school district did NOT have 5000 extra kids starting school yesterday. If you think 1st week issues and overcrowding are uniquely Charlotte issues, you lead a sheltered life.

Why r u picking on New Englanders? The original thread poster said she is from 'up North' and never mentioned where she is from... She could be from Minnesota for all we know. Anyway, I was under the impression that most of the refugees were from NY and NJ (just joking, NJ and NYers...).

There were only 2 people (I think) in this thread complaining-- where did this 'you people' thing come from? The rest of us really didnt have complaints... Im a New Englander and I was defending Charlotte from what I've seen and experienced so far...

Judging from your 'location', you have some type of grudge against us... Unless youre the organizer of every organization people are complaining about, try not to take stuff so personally.

Most people just get really anxious (defensive, zealous, proactive, take your pick...) when it comes to their kids' educations-- its not necessarily an insult to the people of Charlotte when they point out shortcomings that they have observed.

[findingmesomeday]

I repeat: California a leader in education? If there's one state I would not let my kids touch the public schools with a 10 ft pole, it's California!

Originally Posted by neoflex

She even attended a workshop back on LI before leaving and studies have shown that NY and California which are usually regarded as the leaders in education are actually behind when compared to the rest of the country. Don't let the state tests fool you.

[findingmesomeday]

I live in a small town in New England. My town consistently ranks in the top 5 Massachusetts school districts. Since MA consistently ranks at the top of the 50 states in terms of quality public education, you could argue that my kids are receiving a superb education. And for the most part, they are.

But guess what? We have overcrowding (too many people moving into town after the school ratings came out), property tax overrides (serve the same purpose as bonds) that don't pass and impact the schools. The seniors are loathe to see their taxes go up even more--higher than the mortgages they ever paid on their now paid-off houses. And they put up a good fight. We have a school committee that takes a lot of grief for not thinking things through, not managing money very well and every year when the school commmittee and superintendent ask the town to put another override on the ballot citing the usual scare tactics (no money = less computers and technology! Teacher cutbacks! Increasing class size!) it polarizes the town.

I think the situation I'm in is repeated to some degree in almost every school system across the country. For sure there are some public school systems across the country I wouldn't put my dog into, but for the most part, I think NC is doing a good job educating its children.

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

I live in a small town in New England. My town consistently ranks in the top 5 Massachusetts school districts. Since MA consistently ranks at the top of the 50 states in terms of quality public education, you could argue that my kids are receiving a superb education. And for the most part, they are.

But guess what? We have overcrowding (too many people moving into town after the school ratings came out), property tax overrides (serve the same purpose as bonds) that don't pass and impact the schools. The seniors are loathe to see their taxes go up even more--higher than the mortgages they ever paid on their now paid-off houses. And they put up a good fight. We have a school committee that takes a lot of grief for not thinking things through, not managing money very well and every year when the school commmittee and superintendent ask the town to put another override on the ballot citing the usual scare tactics (no money = less computers and technology! Teacher cutbacks! Increasing class size!) it polarizes the town.

I think the situation I'm in is repeated to some degree in almost every school system across the country. For sure there are some public school systems across the country I wouldn't put my dog into, but for the most part, I think NC is doing a good job educating its children.

A very good response. I'm familiar with many of the "sought after" eastern MA school districts that you've described and that's exactly what's happened. The big thing was the MCAS scores and which districts had the best averages. You've pointed out that in well established regions of the country with relatively flat population growth, the issues regarding education, spending, etc abound. So it's going to be that much more pronounced in an region of rapid high growth.