- 11.08.2009
- |
47°F
- Blogs > WakeEd
You may also like WakeWatch | Eastern Wake Buzz | Crosstown Traffic | Campus Notes
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.
Frantz on reassignment
Cary Town Councilman Don Frantz is venturing back into the world of student reassignment.
Frantz sent this letter to the school district to object to the proposed reassignment of 84 students from Cary High to Apex High. He complains it's unfair to move the students, who are mostly from low-income families.
Administrators have proposed moving the students "to allow middle school students to move to high school with their peers." It would also "increase the number of low-income students at Apex High to make Apex High more in line with the county average for low-income students."
Frantz says the two nodes that would be moved are roughly a mile from Cary High. He stresses the challenges that families would have being involved at Apex High, which he says would be five miles away.
"It will become much more difficult for these families to remain involved in their children’s education if they are reassigned from Cary High School to Apex High School," Frantz writes. "Since Apex High School is too far a distance for the children to walk to (Cary is not), it will also become much more difficult for these children to participate in extra-curricular activities or athletics.
Frantz also says that moving these kids won't have much of an effect on changing the F&R percentages at both schools and will harm the stability of those students.
Frantz had gotten involved earlier this year as well, raising concerns about reassignments involving Davis Drive, Farmington Woods and Oak Grove elementary schools.
T. Keung Hui
T. Keung Hui covers Wake schools.
Comments
Why does CHS have to shoulder most of the F&RL kids?
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 13:51 — ncdad1Wake County Schools are amazingly diverse compared to the segregate schools I attended. I grew up in “neighborhood schools” which meant they were for white kids. Black kids had their own “neighborhood school”. We were separate but equal supposedly. Well, I see parallels in the call for “neighborhood schools” which I think are code words for avoiding diversity and the civic responsibility to educate all kids well. Since neighborhoods here are typically segmented by income therefore any “neighborhood school” would be conveniently segregated by income too. You can see it in the reassignment comments where people express fears that adding more “free lunch” kids to their kids’ school will bring down their property values. I does not seem right for affluent people to cloister themselves in their own “neighborhood schools” to avoid coming in contact poorer kids and it does not seem right to segment all the non-white, non-Christian, non-English speaking kids into a few “ghetto” schools either.. I applaud the school board for watching out for all children not just the wealthy ones. The area around Cary HS is getting more and more apartments which typically are inhabited by transient, single parent, lower income and non-English speaking people. That concentration of people perpetuates itself when it comes time to find a location for low income or subsidized housing. Ultimately, you end up with one high school with mostly affluent property owning dual parents and another school with mostly transient, single parent renters who can not give their children the same attention and their school the same resources (e.g. PTA, fund raising, and donations) as the wealthier school. I think, Public Schooling is a lot like the water department where everyone should get about the same level of service irrespective of income since each child deservers the same level of education.
Wake Schools are a Waste Land
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 14:41 — katysconservati...Wake County schools are such a wasteland, thanks to so much abuse by so many liberals, that we will never be able to send our son through them, even though we pay more than our fair share. I wish we could just "opt out" and get back all the money we have put in over the years. I'm sure it will be far exceed the cost of sending our son to private school.
I wish I could send my son to the public schools that, but with all the socialism being taught, it's just not worth it. I want him to learn about traditional American values, not why we have to be nice to terrorists, and the people here illegally that break the law. At least when we select a private school, we can exercise the school choice that every parent and child deserves.
Katy
http://www.katysconservativecorner.com
Ok ‘ now wasn’t that
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 14:54 — vsheehanOk ‘ now wasn’t that special hmmmm. Wow church lady reborn.
Hey hey now... the Church
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 09:23 — rr77rr99Hey hey now... the Church Lady is entiled to her opinion here. And besides our newest, most liberal POTUS ever, has signed his two children up at an elite QUAKER school in DC. The public schools are not good enough for his kids, then maybe they are not good enough for other children.
Oh, now, don't go gettin' all kinds of crazy, I know, I know, it's for "security purposes" in DC. I completely understand schools are too dangerous and a big "security risk" for the girls.
It's just a good thing he's a "common man" with $60,000 a year stipend to spend on their education. Now, that's a "change" from the rest of us :)
Good man Don, FRL Fraud
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 09:43 — kmisegadesDon Frantz demonstrates courage that is lacking in most Cary politicians, which is why he's popular. A related issue is the massive fraud in the free lunch program. CJ's latest article on the subject documents that nearly 2/3rds of recipients of free meals in Wake County are probably not entitled to them. It's our tax money being wasted, and its more fodder for the Wake social scientists playing with the future of our children. Here's the CJ link:
http://www.johnlocke.org/acrobat/cjPrintEdition/cj-nov2008-web.pdf
good to know
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 22:10 — ncdad1Good to know that 2/3 ot the F&R folk are frauds so there should not be any problem sending them all the Green Hope or Apex than.
Let us hope....
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 22:38 — WuptdoLet us hope a few more politicians step up to the plate to help parents, or least give the BoE(eR) scolding it deserves.
Why we bus, a perspective into the real reason from Char-Meck
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 22:12 — Voice_of_Reason_Check out what the researchers said about Char-Meck; look at the conclusions. So if we are not helping out the F&R students, aren't we penalizing them by busing them? You see it isn't about diversity after all. You can see the full article through the Wake County Library website research tab, search ERIC database.
"Title:Boom for Whom? Desegregation, Redistribution, and Development in Charlotte, North Carolina. Author(s):Smith, Stephen Samuel Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Schools NC, Redistributive Programs Abstract:The economic consequences and political context of the busing plan of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district (North Carolina) are explored. From an economic standpoint, busing did more to help Charlotte's business elite catch up with Atlanta's business elite than to help Charlotte's blacks catch up with Charlotte's whites. The developmental consequence of busing, in other words, were greater than the redistributive ones. The busing plan was intimately related to an urban regime, the origins of which data from the 1961 defeat of the last Charlotte mayoral candidate to carry both white working class and black precincts. In keeping with these origins, the regime was characterized by a coalition between Charlotte's business elite and an ascendant leadership within the black community that simultaneously pursued this coalition and minimized the importance of possible alliances between blacks and working class whites. The extent to which that strategy explains the busing plan's comparatively small redistributive consequences cannot, however, be ascertained with existing data. Research questions for obtaining such data are discussed, as is the applicability of Peterson's typology."
Education?
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 23:46 — SDR256The description highlights the 'economic consequences'. I don't know anything about black vs. white in Charlotte. I hope that Obama's election will help us move past those old labels. What about the educational consequences? I thought THAT was what this whole discussion was about? We want ALL kids to achieve and be successful, don't we? It shouldn't matter what color they are, should it?
Yes, it's about the children and families
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 07:55 — Voice_of_Reason_I want nothing more to help all that want to achieve, achieve. I also want to set priorities with tax money to achieve that end. The race card is pulled too often when this discussion is opened up; look at the facts...eliminate the feelings.
Selective data
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 14:08 — supportwcpssVOR - Why don't you tell everyone how the schools in Charlotte are doing now. How are those high poverty schools? Why don't you tell them how bad they are doing even though they are throwing money at them. They can't get teachers. Even throwing more money at those schools isn't working.
But at least the suburbs are doing well which is what you and other care about.
Nice try
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 14:31 — Voice_of_Reason_I don't care, as you say, about the suburbs. I do care about fairness and equity in schools. Do not try to compare Charlotte to Raleigh, they are quite different. I would support beefing up programs and reducing class sizes in high F&R schools. BTW- I want to qualify something, my biggest gripe is Elementary Schools, the hiring of teachers should not be a factor there. I do believe that there is merit in diversity, that merit declines drastically as the age is lower. I think at that age little children need as much time at home and parents need to be involved in the schools. Busing is counterproductive in both of those areas.
No it not about race
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 07:10 — Voice_of_Reason_I simply tried to point out the hypocrisy of busing. Busing in Wake county is based on economic status, not race. This is the only way they can do it since race based busing is illegal, but for all practical purposes it does the same thing . However, this does not change the findings that were mentioned. The US Civil Rights commission came up with similar conclusions. BL- We are being lied to about the true meaning why we are busing children around. SO why do we punish these children with long bus rides? Choice is built into the NCLB act if their assigned school is failing (ONLY if it is a Title I school).
We spend millions of tax payer's money on busing, with what result. BTW I saw another study in which 90% of the teachers said busing hurt the base population, only 40% felt it helped the children bused (anecdotal,but telling). I would rather spend the money in the classroom.
Here, here!
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 19:17 — SDR256Totally agree.
Frantz is being reasonable
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 11:54 — Dadof3...so let the attacks begin. I'm timing until the first "Frantz kicks puppies" post shows it head.