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Keep in mind. There is only ONE public school district in Mecklenburg county. It's been that way for well over 30 years so the discussions over what house fits what school is really a moot point. CMS has assigned students to many different schemes over the years. Because a house is assigned to a particular school today doesn't mean it will be next year, 5 years, let alone longer.
Most of you probably are not familiar with the 1971 supreme court case, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education which is the case that started court ordered busing for racial integration in the United States. Everyone of you or your parents who were put on buses in the 70s, 80s and most of the 90s, were affected by this court case. Locally it caused huge issues here including riots, fights and people being scared to go to school.
The reason for bringing it up is the current CMS is still very much a product of that decision and in fact one of the current board members was part of a group of parents that successfully sued to turn over Swain in 1999. CMS spent millions trying to fight it, but eventually lost because of SC action again. Basically the court said you can't assign students for racial equality now.
However the reality of the situation is that CMS is a product of the Board elected and they have been finding a lot of other ways to maintain a level of this in the years since. Hence the various schemes to assign students. The word "district" when used by CMS is pretty much meaningless. It is always one election away from being re-defined.
I am of the personal opinion that one large monolithic school system is bad for this county and the students, but at the moment it is, what it is.
I agree with you - this district needs to be broken up into several systems. Plain and simple. And schools should serve the neighborhood and should go block by block and not be gerrymandered according to demographics (and I mean - $$$ or ethnicity).
We are within a stone's throw of Sedgefield Middle, but zoned for AG.
In St. Louis, the city has one big school district which is mostly terrible. St. Louis County, which is a separate political entity, is broken up into many smaller districts. Some are outstanding, some are as bad as the city schools. Some of the districts were fairly large, with 4 or 5 HS's, and others were smaller with only 1 HS, and maybe 2-3 Middle and Elementary school's each. Under that method, you still have good schools and bad schools, but the districts themselves were more uniform in quality because they were smaller - and their boundaries didn't change as much. Generally, the quality of the district is in-line with the socio-economic makeup of the area it served.
If that approach was translated to Charlotte, you might have a South Charlotte district made up of S Meck and Ardrey Kell HS, a West District of W Charlotte and Waddell, etc...
Maybe it's just a bad usage in terms, but there is no county or city municipal zoning in Mecklenburg that affects where a student goes to school. This is important to understand because rezoning property is subject to a lot of constraints in the way it happens. The school assignment process on the other hand is ultimately only controlled by the elected Mecklenburg BOE. They can change it year by year, and have, without any kind of municipal rezoning process.
I have dealt with CMS my whole life, very few times has it been a positive experience. Now that I am a parent my solution to dealing with CMS is making sure we can afford private school if needed and voting based on candidates who believe in school vouchers.
The issue gets heated when kids are sent from a school that has high standards to one that has a history of being a problem school .
You obviously aren't familiar with the fact that EM was historically one of the highest performing schools in the city. Many people don't realize that many areas that are now zoned for MP, Providence, and Butler used to be zoned for EM.
I know several long time teachers at EAST.Fact is (and I do know) that EAST IS NOT the great school now that you mention historically. One of the highest crime areas for appartments is directly across from East. Also many kids from McClintock move up to East and McClintock is a low score school with many problems and most of the kids there (over 80%) are on free lunch . Poverty and crime go hand in hand.
I know several long time teachers at EAST.Fact is (and I do know) that EAST IS NOT the great school now that you mention historically. One of the highest crime areas for appartments is directly across from East. Also many kids from McClintock move up to East and McClintock is a low score school with many problems and most of the kids there (over 80%) are on free lunch . Poverty and crime go hand in hand.
What are the teachers at East that you know saying/feeling about the proposed change?
I know that there is an increased crime rate near East Meck, but I also know that there are lots of fantastic, high achieving kids there.
And, on the flip side, I know that there are lots of high achieving kids at Myers Park, as well as those that could care less about being in school, and continue to cause problems.
I'd love to hear from current teachers on the rezoning issue, and how you feel it will impact your class/school. I think their feedback will be a good addition to this thread.
And, a HUGE thank you to all teachers for putting up with all that you do--no matter what school you teach at!
I know several long time teachers at EAST.Fact is (and I do know) that EAST IS NOT the great school now that you mention historically. One of the highest crime areas for appartments is directly across from East. Also many kids from McClintock move up to East and McClintock is a low score school with many problems and most of the kids there (over 80%) are on free lunch . Poverty and crime go hand in hand.
I was not saying that EM is the same as it once was. I was simply saying that it is not, as you put it, a school that "has a history of being a problem school." On the contrary, the problems you talk about with crime and povery have been a fairly recent occurence.
Throughtout the first 50 years or so of its existence, EM was a school that was among the best in the area. Even today, I would put its top students against any school in the city.
The changes that have happened more recently at EM have been due to changing student assignment plans and development in the local area that allowed so many apartment complexes in the area. Couple that with the road project along Independence that depleted so much of the area's economy and you have a recipe for increased poverty and crime.
But please don't think that all of EM, and the neighborhoods that feed into it, are infested with crime and poverty -- that simply isn't the case.
I agree with you - this district needs to be broken up into several systems. Plain and simple. And schools should serve the neighborhood and should go block by block and not be gerrymandered according to demographics (and I mean - $$$ or ethnicity).
While I probably agree in principal that schools should be neighborhood schools, I'm aware enough to realize that that would mean in a lot of instances that there would be very very little diversity in the schools if we did that. The disparities that existed before would continue and that's not right. I'm also aware enough to recognize that people of means will send their kids to their school of choice, private or public. I"ve accepted that most likely my kids will go to private schools, just like their mother. ;-)
I know several long time teachers at EAST.Fact is (and I do know) that EAST IS NOT the great school now that you mention historically. One of the highest crime areas for appartments is directly across from East. Also many kids from McClintock move up to East and McClintock is a low score school with many problems and most of the kids there (over 80%) are on free lunch . Poverty and crime go hand in hand.
I was not saying that EM is the same as it once was. I was simply saying that it is not, as you put it, a school that "has a history of being a problem school." On the contrary, the problems you talk about with crime and povery have been a fairly recent occurence.
Throughtout the first 50 years or so of its existence, EM was a school that was among the best in the area. Even today, I would put its top students against any school in the city.
The changes that have happened more recently at EM have been due to changing student assignment plans and development in the local area that allowed so many apartment complexes in the area. Couple that with the road project along Independence that depleted so much of the area's economy and you have a recipe for increased poverty and crime.
But please don't think that all of EM, and the neighborhoods that feed into it, are infested with crime and poverty -- that simply isn't the case.
EXACTLY. There are many "nice" neighborhoods that feed into East Meck. In addition, I know very committed parents at East Meck who wouldn't want their kids to go anywhere else. Its top students are every bit as talented as those at Myers Park (which is way overrated on the whole in my opinion).
While I probably agree in principal that schools should be neighborhood schools, I'm aware enough to realize that that would mean in a lot of instances that there would be very very little diversity in the schools if we did that. The disparities that existed before would continue and that's not right. I'm also aware enough to recognize that people of means will send their kids to their school of choice, private or public. I"ve accepted that most likely my kids will go to private schools, just like their mother. ;-)
I get your point here, I just do not think children should pay the price for adult decisions. Why for instance should I as a 9 year old need to have a 1 1/2 hour long round trip commute to my school? The truth is that by busing me from Idlewild Rd to Lasalle St from 4th - 6th grade all they accomplished was painting a bulls eye on me for the school bullies and teaching me how to defend myself against them. It was one of many truly horrible experiences I can thank the CMS busing system for. Like you my daughter will either be zoned for a school I trust or go to private school. Until they implement school vouchers and public schools have to worry about losing students like a business does clients we (the public) will always be on the losing end.
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