Bob Geary has joined the list of supporters of the old Wake County school diversity policy who are firing shots at the blue controlled-choice plan.
In an article in the latest issue of the liberal Independent weekly, Geary calls the blue plan "as close as Wake County can get (to charter schools) without raising taxes and building more schools." Geary is no fan of charter schools, something he goes into great lengths about in the article.
Geary draws the equivalence between the blue plan and charter schools because of Superintendent Tony Tata's assurance that "once Johnny or Jane is in a school, he or she won't ever be reassigned to another school in the same age range unless the parents choose it."
Geary says there are two big plans about the blue plan:
"One question is, what happens to Wake County if, in four or five years, all the desirable schools are full and can't accept new arrivals? Does growth stop? Do taxes increase in order to throw more money at the undesirable, under-enrolled schools?
The second, related, question is, if the high-poverty neighborhoods are left with high-poverty schools, and kids from the middle-class neighborhoods don't choose them, and kids from the low-income neighborhoods don't choose them either, who gets stuck going to them?
We all know the answer to that one. Because in most of America, if not in Wake County yet, a good public education has come to mean that you should be prepared to deal with whatever life throws at you, as long as Mom and Dad approve it first."
Comments
Ummm....
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 17:38 — Eric_B"One question is, what happens to Wake County if, in four or five years, all the desirable schools are full and can't accept new arrivals?"
Isn't this what happens today with magnet schools? Since existing magnet students and siblings get priority over everyone else, it's much harder for newcomers to get their kids into the magnet program. Why hasn't Bob Geary complained about this?
You know that's not really
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 18:40 — danofncYou know that's not really the same, right?
Rank the schools in any particular area from 1-5. Now, imagine if every person moving into the area that contains those schools having to attend school 4 or 5.
That's different than not getting into a program where lots of people want a relative few spots.
Actually, it is the same.
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 18:53 — CaryCurmudgeonActually, it is the same. Given Kindergarten tracking and sibling preference, magnet schools will most likely be filled up before newcomer families get a shot at them. You are on a good point, though.... newcomers are already screwed out of magnets. If the "better" choice schools get filled up by current residents, then newcomers will be royally screwed out of even getting decent non-magnet assignments. Who's going to want to come here to get the dregs?
Who's going to want to come here to get the dregs ?
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 19:58 — Solon77I love the blue plan. I live in North Raleigh, stable area two very good ES schools within 1 mile of my neighborhood. The schools are projected to have medium enrollment for the foreseeable future - so anyone moving to my area will have a good selection with a high probability of getting their first choice. Compare that to the growth areas where it will be luck of the draw. Which neighborhood do you think someone moving to the area will select ? or in a few years the newcomers will mobilize because they are bused away from their neighborhood school and then we can go through this all over again.
There is no way to know what
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 20:08 — danofncThere is no way to know what the projected enrollment is going to be.
If they are very good schools, they will probably be full if we go to the blue plan. Be glad you live 1 mile away and not >1.5 miles.
I understand that the
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 19:02 — danofncI understand that the concept of the school being filled is the same.
But, the schools that constitute "leftovers" in the two situations are vastly different.
It's a no-win situation for the blue plan.
Either:
a) keep some seats open for growth/new resident purposes, which will aggravate current residents, or
b) fill up all the schools, which could very easily affect growth in Wake County.
Charlotte-Meck is proof that new assignment plans can be great economic boosters for neighboring counties. I'm not sure that's what WCPSS should be aiming for.
Huh?
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 20:04 — Bob_Sconceb) fill up all the schools, which could very easily affect growth in Wake County.
Why does the blue plan mean that new schools wouldn't be built?
I left out "good" in front
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 20:10 — danofncI left out "good" in front of schools.
If you were thinking of moving here, into Wakefield, and the only school with space was going to be whatever school would be 5th on your current personal list of choices, what would you do?
Well..
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 20:59 — Bob_SconceI'd probably move to Chapel Hill.
If people are worried about the situation affecting Wake County's growth, then I have a simple solution for them: give more money to the schools. Pay to build schools; populate them with great teachers. Provide money for school programs to attract folks from other areas. Get to where schools aren't all tipping around 99% of capacity and where the district doesn't try to eak out a bit more capacity with year-round conversions.
The school system has borne the brunt of the county's enourmous growth. I'd be happy if the district said "We'll take care of the students who are here now, but we'll make sure nobody else wants to move here unless you fund us appropriately." I suspect that might actually improve things.
I think we should be not be
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 19:04 — CaryCurmudgeonI think we should be not be aiming for blowing up our assignment model and starting over. Get rid of the Dulaney-inspired long distance diversity assignments, reduce the number of YR schools and give folks a fair shot at getting into magnets. As a wise man once told me, "the slow blade penetrates the shield."
Totally agree."No
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 19:15 — danofncTotally agree. Except maybe the YR part....I'm a big fan of YR schools.
"No reassignments" sounds good during a campaign and during a press conference, but it's not good policy in a district growing like WCPSS. There will still be kids riding past 3 or 4 schools they'd rather attend to get to one they'd rather not attend, which is what I thought the entire '09 elections were about.
The people who said they would do away with that won, but we're still going to have it.
I don't think anyone
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 19:33 — CaryCurmudgeonI don't think anyone campaigned on "no reassignment." They campaigned on reducing reassignment by eliminating busing. I have lived here almost 20 years and my kids saw more than their fair share of reassignment. I think most of the folks who helped drive the '09 election result accept that some reassignment is inevitable, due to growth. What they don't accept is reassignment for the sake of a diversity plan, or assignment to YR school without a palatable alternative.
I think we may well learn that the blue vs. green battle can become a huge debate which, in the end, is unnecessary. We have already changed policy 6200 to remove diversity busing. There's nothing stopping us from reassigning nodes close to home. You like YR schools, but a lot of people don't -- track 2 in particular. I think most of the parents who voted for neighborhood schools in '09 would vote for a bigger bond if it meant returning the YR program to what it used to be: a voluntary, niche-based offering. The groups who lined up behind those '09 parents might go the other way, certainly the WCTA would, and I'm not sure about the Republican party.
OT: Charter school cap gone
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 14:51 — Bob_SconceAccording to WPTF, the GA has reached agreement on a bill that (1) removes the cap on charter schools, (2) allows charters to grow by 20% annually, (3) does not require charters to provide lunch or transportation, (4) does not create a separate agency to approve the charters. Dem. Joe Hackney expects that the Governor won't veto the bill.
http://apnews.fimc.net/showarticlewptf.asp?id=1107476&url=www.wptf.com&site=wptfam&catg=Triangle&headlines=1&show=7&w=285
That's way too sane, it
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 14:58 — shearertwThat's way too sane, it cannot possibly be true.
You must be planning on
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 15:03 — danofncYou must be planning on finding one for your kids.
Not really considered
Fri, 06/10/2011 - 09:52 — shearertwNot really considered charter schools before. Perhaps I should look more into it.
Lots of good ones out there....
Fri, 06/10/2011 - 10:00 — Bob_SconceAnd more soon to come... The main question is how fast will the applications come in, and how fast will the state approve them?
One warning: the charters still have to abide by the absolutely horrible NC Standard Course of Study and all the baggage it carries.
People get stuck in the
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 13:49 — mnordbergPeople get stuck in the underachieving schools today but there does exist a possiblity that underarchiving schools will just get worse n the blue plan. Unlikely as there would be enough people watching for that but over time it will probably happen.
The beauty of the choice plan is that somebody is going to get stuck in those unwanted schools but parents at least had the perception they had a choice in the matter even if it was their 3rd or 4th choice. And it is likely that since enough people in each node (as the school choice list is still node based right now) will get their first or second choice that the pissed off parents will be diluted enough to not cause any political problems for the majority in power. In the green plan and current assignment, nodes are big enough especially in middle and high school that enough pissed off people in one area with their assigned school can gain enough political momentum and density to disrupt the group in power.
(So will wake county be transparent and report on each node and % of people getting their 1st,2nd,3rd,4th, 5th,etc choice and will each school get reported on how many of each choice they have in the school. I doubt it but would be nice to be transparent)
No matter the assignment plan, it is about political positioning and maintaining power. Maybe they can move on to firing the bottom 5-10% of teachers each year based on performance like many corporations already do. It is more about getting a bad teacher or couple of bad teachers that turn people against the school, not that they had to drive 10 minutes versus 5 minutes to get there.