Three Huntsville City Schools appear on state list of failing schools (Jemison: transfer to, middle school)

[y8tiger]

Well that's not good...

Three Huntsville City Schools appear on state list of failing schools | WHNT.com

[cooldiver]

Go back a few years and there were 9:

10 North AL schools on state failing schools list - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Three is pretty good by the standard of most years.

Huntsville has become pretty savvy on ways to wipe schools off the list. One way is to erase a school from existence like Butler or Johnson.

[denofhc]

Providing a top-notch education would seem to be a priority. Would prefer to see no schools on this list.

[hey teach]

So much for the previous superintendent's idea that closing failing schools, building extravagant new buildings and putting a new name of them would change the reality.

[Reactionary]

Well, the reality is that Johnson HS is no longer on the list (for those reading from afar - Johnson was one of the "clos[ed] failing schools"). Jemison was built so that Huntsville could build a new Grissom (which was needed but not politically feasible). I don't think that many people expected the Johnson students to magically improve their scores because of a new building and name. Some people may have, but they are idiots.

Yes, 'cooldiver', closing a school does take it off the list. Also, consolidating grades takes it off the list - exempli gratia, combining an elementary school and middle school into a K-8 takes it off the list. I think that the previous Superintendent Wardynski did that to get some 'breathing room' - time for some of the reforms to take effect.

[MisterEd51]

Originally Posted by cooldiver

Go back a few years and there were 9:

10 North AL schools on state failing schools list - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Three is pretty good by the standard of most years.

Huntsville has become pretty savvy on ways to wipe schools off the list. One way is to erase a school from existence like Butler or Johnson.

Ronald McNair Middle School was created from the consolidation of the former Davis Hills Middle and Ed White Middle. Mae Jemison High School replaced Johnson High School.

Note that Davis Hills Middle, Ed White Middle, and Johnson High School were all on the "10 North AL schools on state failing schools list"

Since Ronald McNair Middle School is co-located with Mae Jemison High School it feeds students to it. That means Mae Jemison High School will not improve until Ronald McNair Middle School improves.

Students in failing schools are allowed to transfer to to a non-failing school. If most students that do this are the better students then it would seem that would make it even harder for the failing schools to improve their test scores.

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by hey teach

So much for the previous superintendent's idea that closing failing schools, building extravagant new buildings and putting a new name of them would change the reality.

Ding Ding Ding!

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by MisterEd51

Ronald McNair Middle School was created from the consolidation of the former Davis Hills Middle and Ed White Middle. Mae Jemison High School replaced Johnson High School.

Note that Davis Hills Middle, Ed White Middle, and Johnson High School were all on the "10 North AL schools on state failing schools list"

Since Ronald McNair Middle School is co-located with Mae Jemison High School it feeds students to it. That means Mae Jemison High School will not improve until Ronald McNair Middle School improves.

Students in failing schools are allowed to transfer to to a non-failing school. If most students that do this are the better students then it would seem that would make it even harder for the failing schools to improve their test scores.

This is why voucher systems work. Schools only get money if they are successful, not the other way around.

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by hey teach

So much for the previous superintendent's idea that closing failing schools, building extravagant new buildings and putting a new name of them would change the reality.

Are you one of those teachers that hated Wardynski with a passion and tried to spin everything he did into some sort of negative so you could rant and rave about it? He is the only one that has actually done something to actually move forward. Some of which included firing bad teachers, firing teachers with bad attitudes along with administrative staff that were just there for a pay check.

Seriously, you cannot really believe that his main reasoning for closing Johnson and building Mae Jemison would magically make test scores improve? In his position he couldn't exactly say in a public meeting "The real problem with these schools is the student body." Anybody with any intellect at all knows what the problem is and that the only way to fix it is starting day 1 in their education and getting their parents involved to make sure they do their work and study. I don't know that there is a way to get that to happen.

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Well, the reality is that Johnson HS is no longer on the list (for those reading from afar - Johnson was one of the "clos[ed] failing schools"). Jemison was built so that Huntsville could build a new Grissom (which was needed but not politically feasible). I don't think that many people expected the Johnson students to magically improve their scores because of a new building and name. Some people may have, but they are idiots.

Yes, 'cooldiver', closing a school does take it off the list. Also, consolidating grades takes it off the list - exempli gratia, combining an elementary school and middle school into a K-8 takes it off the list. I think that the previous Superintendent Wardynski did that to get some 'breathing room' - time for some of the reforms to take effect.

Exactly!

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

Ding Ding Ding!

You can't possibly be on that buss too can you? lol

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

This is why voucher systems work. Schools only get money if they are successful, not the other way around.

So if you put Mae Jemison on a voucher system and over the next 5 years when they still fail, (because they will) you don't give them any money? So then not only do they have under-performing students with discipline problems that couldn't give two ****s less about their education but then they also do not have money to run the school? Sounds like a brilliant plan.

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

Are you one of those teachers that hated Wardynski with a passion and tried to spin everything he did into some sort of negative so you could rant and rave about it? He is the only one that has actually done something to actually move forward. Some of which included firing bad teachers, firing teachers with bad attitudes along with administrative staff that were just there for a pay check.

Seriously, you cannot really believe that his main reasoning for closing Johnson and building Mae Jemison would magically make test scores improve? In his position he couldn't exactly say in a public meeting "The real problem with these schools is the student body." Anybody with any intellect at all knows what the problem is and that the only way to fix it is starting day 1 in their education and getting their parents involved to make sure they do their work and study. I don't know that there is a way to get that to happen.





Exactly!






You can't possibly be on that buss too can you? lol





So if you put Mae Jemison on a voucher system and over the next 5 years when they still fail, (because they will) you don't give them any money? So then not only do they have under-performing students with discipline problems that couldn't give two ****s less about their education but then they also do not have money to run the school? Sounds like a brilliant plan.

I'm on the bus of, if we need an additional school, build it. Lets not build new schools in a new location for the sake of redrawing lines or just to say look at this new shiny thing.

The high school I went to in Florida is still operating today, and was built in the 50s. When it became over crowded they built an additional one and redrew lines. They remodeled some rooms for technology.

I actually like what Wardinkski did for the most part. I do believe new schools to replace old ones is a waste of money, though.

As far as Mae Jemison goes, parents can send, with vouchers, their kids to the school of choice.

There will be parents who care about their kids education enough and there will be parents who don't care. I have a hard time believing that the issues at Jemison are all parents and kids. What is the track record of the principal? Teachers?