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As far as I can tell, there are no responsible adults in the Wake school board fiasco.
The old school board was arrogant. The new school board are nut jobs. Local NAACP is acting childish. And the accreditation board is getting involved with issues that are way out of its jurisdiction.
(I imagine there are responsible rational people in each of those organizations, but the rational voices are being drowned out.)
Dr. Burns was a great educator.
The current board is controlled by NJ transplants who want to turn WCPSS into an NJ style education system.
The current board is controlled by NJ transplants who want to turn WCPSS into an NJ style education system.
Why or why did we encourage this migration here?
I agree with you...Del Burns is a great educator and a wonderful person!
I agree with you...The current boards are NUTS...I don't care where they are from!
I had client yesterday, from PA. She is a teacher and tells me that she taught in a few different states. She says that each and EVERY school system that she worked in has problems.
Wake County Schools aren't as terrible as many make it out to be. Yes, there are some issues that need to be resolved BUT...these yahoos have no idea of how to do it and I am soooo sorry they were every voted in.
I also predict that the new superintendent will be quoted quite a few times BLAMING the media for his ills. (Mark my words.) Anyone want to keep a tally?
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR
I agree with you...Del Burns is a great educator and a wonderful person!
I agree with you...The current boards are NUTS...I don't care where they are from!
I had client yesterday, from PA. She is a teacher and tells me that she taught in a few different states. She says that each and EVERY school system that she worked in has problems.
Wake County Schools aren't as terrible as many make it out to be. Yes, there are some issues that need to be resolved BUT...these yahoos have no idea of how to do it and I am soooo sorry they were every voted in.
Plenty of excellent high schools are NOT accredited...so I'm not clear on what the negative consequences of this will be.
School quality in NC is governed by the state, so why use an outside accrediting organization? Does AdvancED charge a fee for their services?
I searched their website to see...lots of schools in NC are accredited through AdvancED but NY, PA and Mass (not a very scientific sample, i admit) have very few.
Wikki, as we know, has been know to have errors but this info (condensed version) seems correct:
There are six regional accreditors in the United States that have historically accredited (and therefore include among their membership) high schools, as well as nearly all public and private institutions of higher education that are academic in nature.[citation needed] In addition, it is common for national and regional associations of independent or religious schools to provide accreditation for their members. Some of the regional accreditors, such as AdvancED Educational accreditation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - for more details and the history of accreditation.
As for you being unclear about the negative consequences of it...my contacts in college admissions (in NC) tell me that it certainly does. It makes it difficult to assess an applicant's HS education and can be a dealbreaker for some schools. It can cause issues with college loans.
What just struck me is that Luddy, who owns the academy that Margiotta is on the board of, is also not a fan of accreditation - interesting!
What I find offensive is that the new board members have been quickly chipping away at the school system and are doing their best to remake it into something only they are familiar with, something that may have worked elsewhere - albeit not for all the students there. They aren't considering the changes are not in the best interest of our students.
While their supporters voted for the concept of neighborhood schools, many I've spoken with are now very disatisfied, some disgusted with the direction and extent of the changes they've made. The next round of changes they propose will affect around 4,500 students. What will they say to their supporters as growth continues in our area and we still can't build schools fast enough, or get sufficient funding to build, ready for the next boom when the economy picks up? Many of us have been going thru this since the 80's.
Keep going new board! Pretty soon you'll have remade our system into one from whence you came...and we'll need comparable higher taxes to fund your genius plan! We were doing fine before you "saved us" from our Southerness! It's a pity your efforts weren't focused on affecting changes to curriculum.
I agree with you on this issue - just shows how extreme the School Board is, and leading us to chaos to achieve whatever objectives they might have .
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR
I agree with you...Del Burns is a great educator and a wonderful person!
I agree with you...The current boards are NUTS...I don't care where they are from!
I had client yesterday, from PA. She is a teacher and tells me that she taught in a few different states. She says that each and EVERY school system that she worked in has problems.
Wake County Schools aren't as terrible as many make it out to be. Yes, there are some issues that need to be resolved BUT...these yahoos have no idea of how to do it and I am soooo sorry they were every voted in.
I totally agree with you guys. I am sad to see this new board wreck what I felt was a pretty good school system. Like many have said, I think some of the accredidation board's requests have been a little much; however, if the newbies are truly fighting the good fight as they would have you believe, why not open up to the review? If anything, passing the accreditation review would be an endorsement which is something Wake schools really could use now.
Perhaps, but he's also accountable for the Wednesday early-release program that irritated voters and opened the door to a conservative majority on the board. We'll never know how many people voted against the board incumbents on the basis of early-release alone, without buying into the philosophical issues. But the races were so close that just a few voters who were angry about early release could impact the outcome.
As far as I can tell, there are no responsible adults in the Wake school board fiasco.
The old school board was arrogant. The new school board are nut jobs. Local NAACP is acting childish. And the accreditation board is getting involved with issues that are way out of its jurisdiction.
(I imagine there are responsible rational people in each of those organizations, but the rational voices are being drowned out.)
Do you realize all you are saying? The NAACP is not elected government, they are an advocacy group and are doing what their charter exists for. The school board both old and new are elected groups charged with a public responsibility. The accreditation association is doing what it is suppose to do and that is verify the continuing basis of their previous evaluations. The membership of the NAACP don't seem to be upset by their actions. Is the governing board of the accreditation upset with the decision to visit Wake? It seems that the only upset CONSTITUENCY group upset by THEIR REPRESENTATIVE'S actions are some of the folks represented by the school board.
Plenty of excellent high schools are NOT accredited...so I'm not clear on what the negative consequences of this will be.
School quality in NC is governed by the state, so why use an outside accrediting organization? Does AdvancED charge a fee for their services?
I searched their website to see...lots of schools in NC are accredited through AdvancED but NY, PA and Mass (not a very scientific sample, i admit) have very few.
The consequences for not being accredited vary from school to school and district to district. The old Wake of a few years ago and nothing to worry about by not being accredited. The reputation of the district exceeded what the accreditation could bring. However the current hoopla regarding the CHANGE might make this a good time to have the accreditation to verify the quality is still there. The very LEGITIMATE question to be asked about the accreditation process is how many schools or districts have failed over the last decade? The answer will probably be verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyy few. Thus raising the question is accreditation a ceiling of significance to be reached or a bare dirt floor that few schools fall below.
If the new board wanted to yank the strings of the accreditation folks they would ask them how many districts and schools have failed accreditation over the last decade? How many schools that have accreditation are on state watch lists or are facing state take over for poor assessment performance.
Just how much money does a school accreditation visit cost a school district?
Perhaps in the final analysis the question that should be asked as the system moves forward is.
Does the Wake County Public School System need or would it be enhanced by the external validation offered by accreditation. Sorta like a muni bond rating maybe?
Last edited by TuborgP; 01-12-2011 at 07:44 AM..
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I agree with you! 
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