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WakeEd
The WakeEd blog is devoted to discussing and answering questions about the major issues facing the Wake County school system: the reassignment of thousands of students, the conversion of traditional-calendar schools to a year-round schedule, the district's response to growth and the school construction program.
WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.
Cary High's CEM meeting
It's appropriate that Cary High is the host for tonight's community engagement meeting considering how central it is to many of the groups that will be speaking.
As noted in today's article, one group doesn't want to be reassigned out of Cary High. Two groups don't want to be forced to attend the school. A fourth group wants to be sent to Cary High.
Based on the expected turnout, it's probably a good idea to get there as early as 6 p.m. tonight when the signup sheets are distributed.
Among other things, school administrators want to increase the number of students at Cary High while also reducing the school's percentage of low-income students.
According to the reassignment proposal, Cary High is at 78 percent of capacity, with 489 seats available. Additionally, the 38.5 percent of low-income students at Cary High is higher than the county average.
To help bring abut the changes, administrators want to move out some low-income nodes and replace them with more affluent ones.
If things turn out as proposed, Cary High would wind up at 105 percent of capacity in three years. Also, its percentage of low-income students would drop sharply to 24.8 percent.
Now is where some of the hiccups in the proposal emerge.
Parents of 84 mostly low-income students who'd go from Cary High to Apex High have appealed to Cary Councilman Don Frantz for help. Admittedly, it's the non low-income families in this case who are leading the charge.
While those families don't want to leave Cary for Apex, another group doesn't want to leave Apex to go to Cary.
This group, representing 136 students on the Apex-Cary border, plans to argue tonight that reassigning them to Cary High doesn't make sense. Click here for their web site.
Moving these students would help reduce crowding at Apex High. While it's not officially listed as a reason, bringing in these parents would a;sp help knock down the percentage of low-income students at Cary High.
These parents are backing away from earlier arguments complaining that Cary High is a lower performing school with more low-income students. Instead, they're now questioning feeder patterns and proximity.
Another group, representing 200 Green Hope High students, from Preston don't want to be reassigned to Cary High.
Wake says it's moving the Preston students from West Cary Middle to East Cary Middle to keep peers together. That's because the base elementary school is Morrisvlle Elementary, which feeds into East Cary.
But administrators also want to move them to Cary High because that's where many of the East Cary kids go. The fact that these Preston families will help reduce Cary High's percentage of low-income students probably doesn't hurt either.
It also will help, along with other moves, to raise the percentage at Green Hope from 11.9 percent to 21.6 percent.
And then there's the parents of 119 students who are angry about being reassigned from Panther Creek High to Athens Drive High. They'll accept being reassigned provided they can return to their old school, Cary High.
T. Keung Hui
T. Keung Hui covers Wake schools.
Comments
I was planning to go to the
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 03:28 — vsheehanI was planning to go to the meeting last night but per usual my son had a Dr. appointment. I missed Daniels meeting for the same thing. Also we had to run around and get stuff for the play tonight. How did the meeting go? I assume Delaney was there but no BOE. If so what is the purpose of the meetings? Delaney can only do what he is instructed to do by the BOE. If the BOE does not hear the parents at the meetings then how will the parent’s comments effect the reassignments? Delaney does not have the authority to make drastic changes I thought. Are these sessions just big $itch sessions to make the parents feel they are being heard but they are not?
Probably..NOT
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 22:09 — local23'But administrators also want to move them to Cary High because that's where many of the East Cary kids go. The fact that these Preston families will help reduce Cary High's percentage of low-income students probably doesn't hurt either'
After tonights meeting, this probably won't happen..when Preston speaks..WCPSS listens.
Probably will reduce the F&R%..this is a joke right? It's Preston and they will have indeed reduced that number, but now is a moot point.
In reality this group should stay at West Cary anyways, because if you are doing the circle radius (which I strongly believe in), then that should be there school.
Now, if we can convince the WCPSS to let our node which is kitty corner to preston and closer to 55 & RTP (node 379.0) to attend Mills Park or lord help us, let us go back to West Cary Traditional (which some of our 7th graders and our 8th graders do attend), well we would just be in hog heaven!! Let alone not have to do the 6 am 1 hour shuffle!
I disagree with you .
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 03:21 — vsheehanI disagree with you . When Preston talks the BOE does not listen. GHE lost a large population during the reassignment before MYR plus they got MYR. Preston went nuts but the BOE did not care. I was there and saw that neighberhood work to stop MYR and they lost. As far as reassignment the Village green did get to stay but allot of the other neighberhoods of Preston were moved. Normally I would think that people in such a rich neighborhood would have more power but they do not.
West Cary is severly overcroweded I hope the BOE leaves seats open so those people who choose traditional do not stretch the school beyond its ability to meet its educational duties.
One other Item to consider
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 22:16 — local23Our node (379.0) consists of 51 total 6-8th graders to feed into East Cary MS..not a whole lot of kids..I really wish WCPSS would re-considers, especially since our feeder High School is Panther Creek, even thou we can walk to Green Hope HS!
This node also was recently re-done and now is much larger..still waiting on an answer to that one. We actually do make up about 25 acreas of Farm Land (which won't be sold in any near time future), plus the new Cary park farm land (5 acreas) acquisition. So we are not exactly growing..we are pretty much tapped out!
Unnecessary reassignments
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 13:16 — CarolineinApexRon Margiotta was on the Bill Lemay show a few weeks ago and said only 40% of the proposed reassignments are necessary to fill the new schools. Clearly this is all about achieving that magic 20% F&R number at as many schools as possible.
Documentation...
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 14:13 — supportwcpssAnd where was Ronnie's data and documentation to back this up? Oh, I'm guessing you wouldn't ask Saint Ron for that. My guess is that he took total cpaacity at new schools divided by the total reassigned students. We all know this is a ridiculous calculation, or at least sane people do.
Ron - the leader of the Chicken Little Contingent
Well if you do not like Ron
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 03:14 — vsheehanWell if you do not like Ron and those he represents free us from servitude to Raleigh and let our district have its own school system. Then you will not have to put up with us racist dreaming lazy chicken little selves.
Stats
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 11:34 — ncdad1Some of the schools seem to be quite different than the county average when you look at the demographics. Directing most of the low income kids to a few high school put unfair pressure on them. For example, since low income kids are less likely to be college bound they don't sign up for advanced classes which mean fewer advanced classes are offered to kids attending those schools.
Low income/Limited English
Athens 40%/8%, Cary 39%/11%, Apex 12%/3%, Green Hope 12%/4%, Pather Creek 9%/5%
% White
Apex 79%, Green Hope 72%, Panther Creek 61%, Cary 59%, Broughton 57%, Wakefield 56%, Athens 54%, County 52%
Seems to me......
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 09:45 — WuptdoSeems to me the best move would be to leave everyone where they are at. Cap Panther Creek HS and make all then new folks moving into the area go to Athens Drive. Why should existing residents be punished by greedy developers & vindictive school officials.
How do you bring up the occupancy rate at Cary HS? Simple, make Cary HS a GT Magnet High School for Western Wake. Should of been made a Magnet High School when Panther Creek HS opened up. And since all the populations of Broughten HS, Enloe HS, and SouthEast HS are growing, just reduce the number of magnets seats at those schools. If Miss Goettee is dreaming of her re-election, this just might be the ticket she needs to ensure that victory.
Shell Game
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 07:08 — rr77rr99According to the reassignment proposal, Cary High
is at 78 percent of capacity, with 489 seats available. Additionally,
the 38.5 percent of low-income students at Cary High is higher than the
county average.
Okay, so let me get this straight... we "punish" the kids at Cary High and move them all around because, again, WCPSS screwed up? They already moved kids out of Cary High and sent them to Panther Creek where they await trailers to be set up so they are not "overcrowded" anymore.
Every single Cary HS parent needs to show up tonight and protest. As usual, this reassignment "process" (aka NIGHTMARE) only serves to prove to those of us that actually pay attention to it that WCPSS is no way interested in the welfare and well being of the kids. They are about the "shuffle" and the "Data" that "shuffle" produces to make them look good when it comes to test scores. By "breaking up" the at risk populations of kids, that dilutes their test scores with the 'higher scorers', and so, in reality, they are really not helping these "F&R" or "at risk" students at all. They are merely statistically hiding them. That's what I think anyway.