The school board has agreed to switch Baucom and Green Hope elementary schools back to a traditional calendar.
Baucom will switch back from a year-round calendar for the 2009-10 school year. Green Hope won't make the move until Alston Ridge Elementary opens. It's schedule to open for the 2010-11 school year.
But in a surprise to some board members, they're also now considering today whether to convert Leesville Road Middle School to a year-round calendar.
Chuck Dulaney, assistant superintendent for growth and planning, said converting Leesvllle would meet the demands from year-round elementary parents for calendar continuity.
Dulaney said that more than 70 percent of Leesville's students come from year-round elementary schools.
Dulaney said Carroll and West Millbrook middle schools could serve as traditional calendar options for Leesville.
But some board members questioned voting today because they hadn't expected Leesville would be brought up by staff. Staff first mentioned the idea earlier this year.
The discussion on whether to vote was delayed by a fire alarm that briefly forced the evacuation of the building. The board is now back inside and having lunch.
Also today, the board voted against switching Salem Elementary back to a traditional calendar.
UPDATE
Click here for the online story. The board voted 7-1 to convert Leesville with Margiotta as the lone dissenter.
Comments
A+ to Leesville for getting
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 22:03 — Anonymous (not verified)A+ to Leesville for getting the message out via car magnets. I found one staring at me in the Harris Teeter parking lot tonight.
If this was a contest of effort and heart you win hands down. Throw in the 3 school factor and you are a shoe-in.
The school system punishes success. I happen to applaud what you have built and how you continue the battle. Good luck and keep on keepin' on.
I, too, saw one of
Tue, 10/14/2008 - 14:01 — Patriotic Parent (not verified)I, too, saw one of Leesville's car magnets at McDonalds today. Stars and Stripes and Leesville all rolled into one. Real Moms fight for unity and re-energize with Mickey D's.
Ba da ba ba ba==I'm lovin' it!
Can someone please tell me
Tue, 10/14/2008 - 09:06 — Anonymous (not verified)Can someone please tell me where to get my own pro-Leesville car magnet? I'd campaign for Leesville before I'd jump onto the McCain or Obama bandwagon.
Buttons? Yard Signs? T-shirts? Bumper Stickers? Kissing babies?
Traditional Leesville in 2009. Has a good ring to it.
Agree......?
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 19:44 — Anonymous (not verified)Consider this, The "year round" calendar used by most school districts in the state are the same as WCPSS's "modified calendar" so which one is using the correct "year round" calendar? Also by definition, any calendar besides a traditional calendar is considered modified. check out the definition used by the national association for year round education: http://www.nayre.org/cal.htm
Agree but still...????
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 14:13 — SideburnsI read it to mean that an LEA cannot create a modified calendar school unless it was run as such or designated to be one prior to 2003-04 school year. So, is a year-round calendar the same as a modified calendar?
It states that a modified calendar is:
"the General Assembly intended the phrase “modified calendar” to include only those school calendars that, when first adopted, were different from the administrative unit’s standard or regular calendar and required students to attend school before August 25, 2003, or after June 10, 2004."
AND
"However, if during 2003-2004 school year the school operated under a calendar which was different from the standard school calendar for that local administrative unit and its calendar required students to attend outside the dates now permitted under the Act, then that school’s calendar will qualify as a “modified calendar” even if the local board of education did not specifically call it a “modified calendar” or any other special name during the 2003-2004 school year."
Further...
"In light of the General Assembly’s decision to remove the authority of local boards of education to fix different opening and closing dates for schools in their administrative unit, it is our opinion that, beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, local boards of education must adopt a single, uniform school calendar for students for all schools in the administrative area that do not qualify for one or more of the exceptions in the Act."
There is one mention of "except for year-round schools" in the opening and closing explanation however it does not state whether converting a traditional calendar school (the single, uniform school calendar in Wake County) to a year-round school is allowed.
An interesting read from the Attorney General.
?
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 16:07 — Sideburnshttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/fbs/accounting/calendar/attorneygeneral.pdf
agree...?
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 11:08 — JSB (not verified)yeah, sideburns - I agree. What the heck does all that mean in plain ole' english?!
YR or traditional
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 19:51 — Anonymous (not verified)The year round school exemption, does that only apply to year round schools at the time or when converting a traditional school to year round? Since a single track year round has wide open definition, allowing schools to convert to year round would make the calendar law meaningless. Just start a week earlier, have a couple of regular breaks and end a week later and call ita single track year round instead of modified....
Perhaps you missed this down the page- Facts please
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 10:48 — shank56"I keep thinking about the blatant disrespect that Ron receives from the other BoE members. "
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Lisa ,
Can you bullet some specific instances from your statement above? In the past, I've seen some good light hearted banter between Ron and his BOE colleagues. I like him. That doesn't necessarily mean that they always have to agree.
So when you say blatant disrespect, please be specific.
PS. I hear he and Clark had some giggly exchanges this week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
blatant
1. brazenly obvious; flagrant: a blatant error in simple addition; a blatant lie.
2. offensively noisy or loud; clamorous: blatant radios.
3. tastelessly conspicuous: the blatant colors of the dress.
Roll Call For Ron
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 11:24 — Family Supporter (not verified)Is there anyone who has ever attended a board meeting have an example of where Ron has been treated fairly by the *other side*? Wouldn't that be a shock?
This is to skank56. Become
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 11:22 — Anonymous (not verified)This is to skank56. Become involved to see how abused Ron is by his counterparts. 3 minutes or less is all you'll need.
Ron deserves respect but receives none
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 11:14 — Anonymous (not verified)Don't want to answer for Lisa B although I fully agree. Simply attend a board meeting to witness this firsthand.
Anyone showing compassion for families gets overrun by the majority who have none.
What a different system we would have if the board members had more concern for children and less ego.
No one has given a specific
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 13:06 — shank56No one has given a specific example yet of "blatant" disrespect."
Not having your colleagues vote the same way as you do, or agree with everything you say, is not an example of disrespect . It is democracy in action and from the meetings I have observed in person or on TV, I have yet to see Ron treated by the rest of his colleagues in the manner Lisa described.
Please give some examples so I can understand. It seems if he was openly, and blatantly dissed at any meeting, the encounter would be posted here at length in a nanosecond and would be a tv watchable moment.
Seems to me some of you are having a"hissy fit" because he doesn't get the support/votes you want- and that is okay. That's where the ballot box comes in handy. Your chance is coming to field some candidates.
What does WakeCares make of this?
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 10:42 — JSB (not verified)I think some of the Wakecares folks post or read here - what did your lawyers make of this? It sure seems pretty black and white?!
I don't translate lawyer really well though!
Leesville Lawsuit
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 19:40 — Anonymous (not verified)Rumor has it Wake Cares is very busy and Leesville may be filing their own lawsuit if WCPSS dares to force another MYR on their campus.
Interesting. How soon does
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 21:26 — Anonymous (not verified)Interesting. How soon does that rumor say we might hear more on this development?
Rumor says 3 Leesville
Tue, 10/14/2008 - 20:44 — Anonymous (not verified)Rumor says 3 Leesville parents are attorneys and looking at this case as a collective team.
wow, not that is VERY
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 07:51 — bigwinniewow, not that is VERY interesting, I have sent that to a lawyer I know (not in NC) to get his take.....
Bigwinnie - Statute info
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 21:30 — Anonymous (not verified)§ 115C‑84.2. School calendar. (d) Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for year‑round schools, the opening date for students shall not be before August 25, and the closing date for students shall not be after June 10. On a showing of good cause, the State Board of Education may waive this requirement to the extent that school calendars are able to provide sufficient days to accommodate anticipated makeup days due to school closings. A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or instructional time. For purposes of this subsection, the term "good cause" means that schools in any local school administrative unit in a county have been closed eight days per year during any four of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergency situations. The State Board also may waive this requirement for an educational purpose. The term "educational purpose" means a local school administrative unit establishes a need to adopt a different calendar for (i) a specific school to accommodate a special program offered generally to the student body of that school, (ii) a school that primarily serves a special population of students, or (iii) a defined program within a school. The State Board may grant the waiver for an educational purpose for that specific school or defined program to the extent that the State Board finds that the educational purpose is reasonable, the accommodation is necessary to accomplish the educational purpose, and the request is not an attempt to circumvent the opening and closing dates set forth in this subsection. The waiver requests for educational purposes shall not be used to accommodate system‑wide class scheduling preferences. The required opening and closing dates under this subsection shall not apply to any school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003‑2004 school year or to any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003‑2004 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar. ****** Read the last paragraph carefully. Ask yourself this question. Was LMS operational during the 2003-04 school Year? If yes , then was LMS on a "modified calendar" (non-traditional calendar) during the 2003-2004 school year? If the answer is no, then it MUST by state law comply with the Aug 25th start date. Thus switching to a year round calendar is illegal. You have a right to call WCPSS on this point.
Except for year-round schools
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 09:42 — Anonymous (not verified)There is a specific expemtion from this schedule for year-round schools. "Year-round schools" are not the same as "designated modified calendar" schools.
so you are suggesting
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 12:22 — Anonymous (not verified)so you are suggesting semantics? please show where specific exemption is listed? in this same statute?
They way I read the
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 16:01 — Anonymous (not verified)They way I read the statute, the second sentance exempts year-round schools from the remainder of the statute. The last part regarding modified calendars was to allow non-year-round designated modified calendar schools that were not following the county-wide traditional calendar during the 2003-04 school year to remain on their modified calendar schedule. There were specific reasons those schools were not following the system-wide traditional calendar and it was seen as a need that needed to continue to be met.
I guess there is more than one way to interpret it - that's what we have courts for.
The first 5 words of the second sentance
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 14:08 — Anonymous (not verified)§ 115C‑84.2. School calendar. (d) Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for year‑round schools, the opening date for students shall not be before August 25, and the closing date for students shall not be after June 10.
midtown mom, I think you
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 10:25 — Sideburnsmidtown mom,
I think you have been unfairly attacked for your truthful comments. However, your comment "I'm not worried about getting reassigned. I live too close." was silly. I think that's where you lost some credibility. I hope you don't really believe that.
I agree with you that the approach to this situation must change. How long can we talk about it without acting? The BoE's hand must be forced in order for us to achieve any change. What if everyone who doesn't want YR (and it sounds like there are alot) in the Leesville schools opt-out? Are your numbers strong enough to cause a huge imbalance? Enough to leave them no choice but un-converting to provide enough tradt'l seats? Right now, you have the right to a traditional calendar seat. That may change after the NC Supreme Court hears the WakeCARES case. Sadly, continuing to discuss it gets us nowhere.
Thanks Sideburns...
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 11:00 — midtownmomI agree saying that wasn't the smartest thing, but I was frustrated
that the previous poster just assumed that I was not vested in this
issue. This has gotten so confrontational and while I understand the angst that MYR is causing, it is getting too personal between posters, parents and school board members. We're all human, and humans are predisposed to fighting back, but unfortunately it is sometimes more harmful than beneficial. My point is not to stop trying, but to perhaps find a different way.
Contrary to what some
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 09:55 — midtownmomContrary to what some posters think, I'm not in any way suggesting parents should stop fighting for LRES to change back to traditional, nor that the they should just sit back and acquiesce for the school board to convert the middle school, but to do it in a different way. It is obvious that the current way of fighting is not working, it seems to be completely alienating several school board members, and they are putting out their claws even further. Now that we have even more of a financial crisis and the county is having trouble selling bonds for current projects, it is even more advantageous to find a different way. I too am very frustrated and believe WCPSS has completely ruined the whole feeling on the campus - from elementary to the high school. LRES is not the wonderful school it once was, educationally or the support of PTA and parents. I am completely against making any school MYR, that calendar should never be mandatory, only a choice.
A HUGE Thanks To Ron M
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 09:42 — Lisa_BI keep thinking about the blatant disrespect that Ron receives from the other BoE members. He's the voice of reason and the best advocate for FAMILIES that any of us could hope for. He FOUGHT HARD for his district and only received 1 MYR reversal---what a JOKE. I hope his families come out in droves and even more get taken care of when the final plan comes out.
THANKS FOR CONTINUING TO THINK OF THE FAMILIES RON!! I know your District appreciates you!!!
Specific Examples please
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 18:31 — shank56"I keep thinking about the blatant disrespect that Ron receives from the other BoE members. "
--------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa ,
Can you bullet some specific instances from your statement above? In the past, I've seen some good light hearted banter between Ron and his BOE colleagues. I like him. That doesn't necessarily mean that they always have to agree.
So when you say blatant disrespect, please be specific.
PS. I hear he and Clark had some giggly exchanges this week.
Leesville
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 21:05 — actions speak louder than words (not verified)Why is it all about Leesville? I thought 22 schools were converted to MYR. This mess NOW is about all families in Wake County..... those that fought the MYR fight and those who chose not to fight because they were not affected. How are you folks feeling now?
Not so nice is it? Banding together as one cohesive unit of parents is the only way to fight against the political, oh I mean educational machine.
It's About Everyone
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 11:33 — Anonymous (not verified)It's about Everyone. Leesville's group has just been larger, more involved, and has an extremely dedicated effort due to the community impact with 3 schools.
Don't be envious of someone else. Fight for your cause too. The system needs to band together and not criticize others.
It's certainly not all
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 09:45 — Anonymous (not verified)It's certainly not all about Leesville, but it seems like the Leesville crowd has the most issues dealing with yr. You just never seem to hear a peep from the other schools, so it seems as though those schools may be fine with yr.
All the other schools dealing with the same issues need to speak up if they have problems.
The Art of War
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 13:33 — Anonymous (not verified)"You just never seem to hear a peep from the other schools, so it seems as though those schools may be fine with yr."
We're just going about it in a different way, because we've sure learned what does not work by watching the Leesville brouhaha. If there is a way to revert back to a traditional calendar, it doesn't appear that incurring the wrath of the board is it. I feel for the good people of Leesville but I don't know what can be done to turn it around for you. It sure does seem like revenge is a dish the board likes serving up to you.
The other thing I would say to people is, if you don't like it, and Lord knows from the posts on this this your loathing of the BOE has become a life-sucking force, move out of Wake County. For heaven's sake, is this how you WANT to look back on your kids' childhoods?
A Brassfield Parent
Take Off The Gloves Leesville
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 11:18 — Anonymous (not verified)Respect and sensible strategy have not appeared to help Leesville's cause.
I suggest you throw caution to the wind and take off the gloves. If they want to see a fight, give it to them.
WCPSS believes in bullying. Approaching the situation with class is completely foreign to them. Go for it Leesville.
What about Brassfield?
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 10:37 — anotherbrassfield (not verified)I too am a Brassfield parent but I have not heard one peep above or below the radar about the feelings among families one YR or Traditional. Can you expand? I can't get word one back PERIOD from our BoE rep at all... the last one was so much better in terms of communication. He just does not respond to me.
What Leesville brouhaha?
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 09:13 — Unaffected Observer (not verified)As an unaffected observer it appears that the vendetta against Leesville by WCPSS is pure jealousy. Even posters here show that.
The Leesville crowd has acted with class and community pride. WCPSS won't allow success to continue. Therefore, they are attempting to destroy Leesville's unique situation and success.
Has any other community had 450 people attend a PTA meeting? Does any other community have 3 schools physically connected by enclosed breezeways? Has any other campus been targeted by 2 MYR conversions in 3 years? I would have expected rage, but Leesville has maturely responded with controlled frustration.
I wish we had such an involved and committed group of parents in other communities. Too much lethargy and blind willingness to follow WCPSS as they lead our system down the drain.
Kudos to Leesville for banding together for the good of your community. Many of us only dream about having that kind of involvement and support.
Others are with you in your effort to stop the middle school MYR conversion. Good luck!
A Lot Of Unused Capacity
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 20:05 — Lisa_BJust a few comments from yesterday's work session that leave a glimmer of hope for more MYR reversals to be added after Community Engagement Meetings.
The BoE stated that they know they have too much unused capacity in the system, but they don't want to completely deplete that capacity because the economy could take a turn for the better and our growth could quickly increase.
They were trying to figure out just how much of that capacity could be "depleted" by MYR reversals without causing a shortage when it becomes needed, and it seemed as though they were willing to listen to other options. Unfortunately for us, it took Ron M to ask about Leesville Elementary, and Chuck didn't even get to explain the scenario so we weren't included.
They were TOO CONSERVATIVE in only putting 2 schools on the MYR reversal list. Maybe that was intentional so that they CAN add more after the Community Engagement Meetings. There is STILL the opportunity to add a few more and keep available capacity in the system.
SO, my take on this is IF they truly look at the draft as a "draft" that can be changed, and IF they truly look at the Community Engagement Meetings as a time for parents to speak and be heard AND they're willing to make changes to the draft as long as they make sense, THEN I think that more schools can be added to the MYR reversal list for the final plan since there is so much available capacity now.
Don't stop advocating for your families and your communities. While it may turn out that the BoE doesn't what you say or do, and it may turn out that your efforts don't lead to positive changes, you'll never know if you don't try.
Lisa, I'd question the
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 20:27 — Anonymous (not verified)Lisa,
I'd question the BOE on planning to open a YR middle (2011) Leesville Church Rd-which is about 2 miles from LMS. Does that area really need 2 YR middles???
courts
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 17:30 — Louise Lee (not verified)Oops - biwinnie - one thing I do disagree with you on....
I think taking the anti-MYR battle to the courts is an important strategy, but not the only possible solution.
A dose of respect
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 17:24 — Louise Lee (not verified)bigwinnie - don't join the ranks of the "name-callers", etc. who you were addressing. I agree with what you said, but I think we should also try to leave out comments such as : "I bet these people also think they are 'good Christians' too....pathetic." It just took something away from your other points.
Thanks for your other thoughts though. They ring so true! I have found that a healthy dose of respect will take even the most passionate and forceful opinion/argument much further than the opposite approach.
I'm sorry about your friend. Things like that really put things in perspective for us, don't they?
Louise, you are right, and
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 18:53 — bigwinnieLouise, you are right, and i did fall into that, the hypocrisy of that to me is overwhelming and in my broken state I let that anger overcome common decency.
the rest I surely stand by and in all things, one can only do what one feels is right for their own families, doesn't make one wrong and one right.
PS I wish I believed court wasn't the answer but surely nothing else is working....other than voting them out and that takes too long! I have four and half more years til my oldest goes to college, so they'll never have a complete summer together again, I have 13 more god-forsaken years with my youngest at WCPSS, I have to look forward to split shifts again infive MORE years when the middle one goes to Trad HS and the youngest is stuck in MYR MS and the bs they heap on families and now I will have EVEN a longer period of my life disrupted by MYR on a CAMPUS style school with a HS that will never go year round.....
Consider this
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 08:05 — fiestamomHi Big Winnie,
I think you should seriously consider private school or homeschool for your kids. You CAN do it!
Wake County has a LOT of homeschoolers, and a LOT of opportunities for homeschooled kids. There are also a lot of private schools/charter schools here that are also great.
Don't let the toads at the board ruin the years you have with your kids by arbitrary re-assignment, wasting tax dollars, random school schedules, etc.
In your posts over the last week or two, the anger and frustration the school board is causing you is coming through. Don't let them have that power over you.
fiestamom, You are so
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 09:18 — bigwinniefiestamom,
You are so right in so many ways. I don't know about homeschooling, and private costs are kind of prohibitive, but there are things I can look into.
The bone-deep hatred I feel for the BoE and the cavalier disrespect for families and education is becoming detrimental to myself and my family and i've got to figure out a way to get away from it. I've actaully been fighting the school board (off and on) since 2000 when my oldest was entering Kindergarten....I'm exhausted from it all.
and with this BoE it's not about the schools, so logic won't matter, it's about huge egos and social programs and against that I just don't see it with this regime....
Bigwinnie, I think
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 09:40 — Anonymous (not verified)Bigwinnie,
I think you are right about logic not mattering to the BOE at this point. I'm afraid that no amount of what the majority wants or rational arguments are going to get through....I think the assignments/calendar switches are so much about the diversity policy and trying to balance schools at all costs, that families and education are lost on them.
human nature
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 20:13 — Louise Lee (not verified)Hey bigwinnie - It's that human nature that gets us every time! I understand - you're shouldering a lot right now.
Listen - don't totally give up. I'm hoping the scenario you painted will never happen. I know things don't look good, but you just never know what will come along...
Louise
Bigwinnie, Sorry for the
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 19:31 — Anonymous (not verified)Bigwinnie,
Sorry for the mess the yr situation has caused your family. It truly is not what I would want for any one...having that family time and time off in the summer is really important and it must be difficult to juggle all the schedules with no end in sight as far as one school schedule for all of your kids!
I never thought the BOE should have converted LES to begin with, but now that we have yr and LES is an application school, it seems very unlikely that it will be converted back. The School Board has brought back application kids from Brier Creek, reassigned kids from Green & Brier Creek and also opened up spots for kids from Baileywick, Jeffrey's Grove, York and Hilburn to apply. Last I heard there were at least 200 application students from all of those schools. If they were to change LES back to traditional, we would have some kids bounced to 3 schools in 3 years! I'm certain at this point any move the School Board decides is going to have negative consequences for some group. I definitely felt bad to read some in the blogs (not you) writing things about those application families to "go back home". We are all in this together and you are right, we are all just advocating for our own families and should all try to find some way to make the situation work for the majority of the Leesville community.
What IS the right answer?
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 20:50 — Lisa_BHi Anonymous:
Honest question---what IS the right answer?
I personally think it should be what is in the best interest of the WHOLE community. With so many families that have children at the Elementary, Middle and High School, what we've found is that people WANT the entire campus to follow the traditional calendar. I think WCPSS will find this during the community engagement meetings too.
You're right, some people will be hurt no matter WHAT the board does.
I HATE reassignment. I think it's horrible that WCPSS does such a poor job of planning that we're told "expect reassignment in Wake County--that's just how it's done".
SO, this is an honest question. What IS the right answer? MYR was forced on LES even though the overwhelming majority of the families and staff members did not want it. We've already been HURT by something that we did not ask for, and we continue to be hurt as long as our families are being split and our teachers are not happy with the calendar.
I don't want ANYONE to be forced to leave Leesville. I truly do believe that there are people at Leesville who CHOSE YR and did not CHOOSE LES. Those are 2 very different things. If they CHOSE YR I know there are plenty of available seats at Sycamore Creek ( by the way, we BEGGED WCPSS to open Sycamore Creek as a traditional school and allow us to opt-out and attend Sycamore--I would have taken my kids there in a heartbeat because it's such a wonderful situation) I also know that we have operated our school on the traditional calendar for several years with more students than we currently have attending LES so no one should HAVE TO leave unless they want to.
With 200 application students in a group of 959 students, that's roughly 20% of our population. Why should 80% of the population be forced to deal with an undesirable calendar to accommodate the preference of 20% of the population? AGAIN, I don't want anyone to leave Leesville that does not want to leave. But it doesn't seem fair to subject such a large percentage of the population to something that is not wanted, does it?
I certainly am not going to
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 22:17 — Anonymous (not verified)I certainly am not going to claim I know the answer to this situation. With Sycamore Creek opening a year after the conversion of LES, it would have made a lot of sense to use that as a yr application school and not convert LES at all. All the lines Leesville familes were fed about YR allieviating overcrowding, late & early lunches, less mobiles etc, did not pan out at all. It was really poor planning on Growth Management's & BOE's part. I know many are not happy with the YR situation, but I am skeptical that it would be 80% right now. Some actually seem to love it-I have heard a broad range of opinions on the issue from pure frustation to pleasant surprise that it is better than they thought.
Long term- IMO the clustering school idea seems like the best idea with a mix of 1-3 traditional & yr schools within reasonable distance from your home...bring back the community schools. No one should be forced to go to YR that doesn't want to-I'm with you on that. Excessive bussing must stop, year to year reassignments=bad for everyone. The school board needs to take a look at how they are applying their diversity policy. And I think the school sys. is way too big-breaking it up, at large elections and a whole new school board may help too!
As for the Leesville situation right now, if they were to reconvert it back to traditional-if the majority of the school expressed that-then at least give those application families who just moved over from Green & Brier Creek and have only been at the school 1 year a "grandfather" option so they do not have to start a new school if they choose not to!(Seriously, having your child bounced to 3 schools in 3 years w/o having even moved is insanity) And yes, Sycamore Creek would be a perfect opt out school for those in love with the yr calendar as they have plenty of room over there! As for the middle, if the BOE is planning to open a new YR middle at Leesville Church Rd in 2011-then seriously what are they thinking in converting LMS too? Way too many yr seats in a 2-3 mile radius! If LMS has to go yr right now to alleviate crowding, then that new school should be a traditional middle or a 6th grade center. Carroll and W. Millbrook are not even in the Leesville vicinity! So, again, I think we have to make sure the School Board is planning ahead so we can avoid future headaches! Just my take on it-any way you slice it, there will be people unhappy with it. It is difficult to know the best course, but it seems the School Board acts WAY too quickly without thinking things through or worrying about how it will affect students & families- this really should end for the good of all.
Why not opt-out?
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 19:01 — Sideburnsbw,
Honest question....
With 13 more years of public school ahead of you, why don't you opt-out? I know each family has their own circumstatnces.
Look What's Happening To Opt-Outs From Leesville
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 19:48 — Lisa_BHi Sideburns:
There were some who opted out of Leesville for the traditional calendar because they had MS and HS kids on the traditional calendar. They put their kids through that experience, and look what's happening to them now!
Their kids are in 4th and 5th grade, so as their siblings are in traditional HS they'll be assigned to a YR MS?
This is just insane. (not directed at you :)
I am looking at EVERY
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 19:13 — bigwinnieI am looking at EVERY possibility there will be this time around. my opt-out is not workable for my family right now, but with HS getting out earlier, i may be able to deal with two carpools on opposite sides of town!
I know in my heart I cannot deal with WCPSS and the circus that they call public school at the expense of my children, my health and my sanity for the next 13 years....it's just not possible. I knew that going into this when LRMS was FIRST on the list to convert....we "gave it a try" for LES, it has sucked large and now....time is so precious and my children only have this time time to be together and they LIKE each other they want summers together (so far the teen is still up for that!) so I want that for my family with all that I am. Family means everything....when I listened to my 12 tear old god-child sobbing his heart out "why" and know that he will have no more family time with his mom (god rest her), I cannot go on like this and with this and the animosity, the meanness, the scoffing at families, all of it, I do not have it in me anymore. bet you weren't expecting THAT kind of answer sorry..... :)