The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is praising this week's vote by the Wake County school board's Democratic majority to move back to an address-based assignment plan for the 2013-14 school year.
On its revamped website, GSIW say it's "pleased" by the vote and "is gratified that many of the elements in the 2013-14 assignment plan proposal include several suggestions made in our April, 2012 Let’s Find a Better Way position paper."
"Among the positive elements of the new plan," GSiW says, are restoration of base assignments with choice options, implementation of stay where you start rules, ending the requirement of registering new students at central office and priorities to keep siblings at the same school.
GSIW has been relatively silent publicly over the past few months.
Comments
Well of course they are pleased...
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 21:43 — woodstockWell of course they are pleased, they are dictating the changes.
The public on the other hand have decided to stick their heads in the sand and pretend they don't see the storm coming.
I don't think they have their head in the sand
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 22:48 — snordoneI think they believe what they are told, and for now they are told they can stay where they are. So they think they are safe.
All hell will break out if they try and force bus children to under enrolled schools. When parents start getting reassigned for the sake of balancing 'achievement' it will be very ugly.
You are probably right, but
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 10:35 — woodstockYou are probably right, but why would anyone beleive it? As we all know, this is the 3rd assignment plan in 3 years--after being told the last assignment plan would be in-place for at least 3 years (and didn't didn't even last 1)--and the board majority along with GSIW have tipped their hand that massive changes are on the horizon for 2014. Anyone who has paid even casual attention to what the Democrat board members are up to should know where this is headed... which is right back to the past.
I know the assignment issues are not a Democrat vs. Republican thing in the public, but it sure is on the school board and the local media.
...
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 20:50 — SideburnsWill they give themselves another award?
Step 1?
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 19:49 — valsparStep 1 is build more schools.
Not one more school on the public's dime! Duck That!!
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:57 — FSandYOUBus the kids non-stop, reassign everyone, throw your hands up in the air, but screw building one more school in this backas$ward county with another dime of the public's money!
If you don't have the donuts to fill the ones you have, YOU THE SCHOOL SYSTEM are to blame for the under enrolled schools and therefore the wasted seats and wasted funds!
As long as it is acceptable to the parents & people of this county to elect the most pathetic among us, people who are bullying those around them and the families of this county year after year after year, then you're not building one more school on the public's dime.
Screw that, NOT ONE MORE DARN DIME!!!
Disagree...
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 23:58 — Bob_SconceFilling all schools to capacity is a lousy idea because student assignment then becomes incredibly difficult. For the computer people in the room, it's like having a hard drive that's 100% full. That disk is impossible to defragment.
Similarly, a big school system that is full to capacity cannot deal with any changes. If you live in Cary and the only open spot is in Knightdale, guess where you're going.
I think about a 90 % target is a better choice.
Fine, but you have to fill ALL schools to 90%
Sun, 12/16/2012 - 14:37 — FSandYOUYou can't sit around bitching about not having enough seats/schools etc..., beg for more of our money and then do nothing about the schools sitting at 60-70-80% capacity year after year after year. Especially when you, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, created many of these situations by mandating a year round calendar that to this day has done nothing but waste money.
You don't get to have it both ways and you, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, are accountable ultimately for all things past and present. Including the morons that have served and are serving on your board(s).
You also don't allow lunatic groups and borderline mental cases to dictate, through your school board members, policy of ANY KIND!
And as a side note, I don't believe assignment has ever been incredibly difficult for the wcpss. That's all they ever spend time on, it's second nature to them.
agreed
Sun, 12/16/2012 - 09:31 — snordoneI think that having dozens of schools at 65-80% of capacity is a huge waste of taxpayer money and is devastating for the children who are in under enrolled schools because they have absolutely no enrichment - they are islands of educational poverty.
I think we are using facilities cost effectively when schools are at or above 90%.
Using themed academies worked well, no forced busing, no holding families hostage, honest choice to provide your child enrichment.
Mr. Grinch
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:17 — shank56YOU TELL THEM, MR GRINCH!
NO ONE IS GOING TO PUSH YOU AROUND OR TAKE YOUR MONEY
Your soul is an appalling dump heap
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 17:25 — FSandYOUso bah ducking humbug!
There is absolutely no
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 00:46 — shearertwThere is absolutely no reason to build one more school in WC while the redistributionist are in charge of the BOE. There are currently multiple schools across WC that are underenrolled. People will continue to flee WC for a chance at a real education that comes with some sense of parental respect and freedom. Building more schools at tax payer expense that this BOE will simply misuse for ideological means is simply unacceptable and makes it increasing difficult for parents to seek alternatives. It's not time to build schools, it's time to hand the facilities over to charter schools and give them the first 5 years of occupancy rent free! We should be begging charter schools to come to WC and take over education in WC.
probably headed in that direction
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 20:56 — snordoneunless the state GOP steps in this spring and stops the nonsense of assignment for achievement. If the current idiots on the BOE get their way they will try and hold parents hostage in under enrolled schools. This does not work. The only solution over time to deal with capacity is to co-localize charters.
Amen brotha'!
Sat, 12/15/2012 - 10:37 — woodstockAmen brotha'!
Yvoone's Goons are "pleased"
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 15:05 — FSandYOUWell isn't that a dandy ducking Christmas gift to the entire community.
Thank you Yvoone, you were apparently able to scare the duck out of Martin, Evans and Kushie just enough to get them to jump for you.
You are one pathetic individual to believe that a single parent in this community gives a duck what you think.
A single parent outside of your narrow minded ducked up world that is.
Quack, quack, quack.
Yes you are Yvoone, yes you are.
you are one twisted duck!
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 15:27 — jeannie84you are one twisted duck!
but what really has to happen
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 14:26 — mnordbergNow is anybody going to really stand up and say, "Let's fix the stupidity of the current base assignments?" The big problem that Tata's new base assignment plan (that was shot before it got off the ground) started to address a fundamental problem with the current nodes by making 3x more nodes (smaller ones) and assigning those students to more logical base schools. We are going to have to bite the bullet some time to fix the base assignments and that is going to cause a lot of one time chaos of nodes with new schools but grandfathering in current school can help. There are going to be a lot of changes to really fix the node base assignments and it is going to take a lot of perserverence to do that and will likely upset groups like greater schools as well as others. Step 1 has to be to eliminate all nodes non-contigious with the school they go and eliminate nodes non-contigous with other nodes assigned to the same school.
that is a neighborhood schools plan
Tue, 12/18/2012 - 08:33 — snordoneright? The problem with that (an even the republicans realized this after sitting on the board for a year) is 1) resources 2) equity for African Americans ITB (Calla's group) who want the right to attend any school in Wake and 3) ebb and flow of families as the county grows. All of these elements were addressed by the choice plan. The only thing that was not addressed is the absolute <40% F&R mandate of the nutjobs in GSIW - which is not achieveable anyway because high income parents don't show up to schools that lack enrichment. Which is why we have dozens of under enrolled schools - not for lack of forced busing attempts, but for lack of parents showing up for forced busing.
...
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 21:03 — SideburnsYou're right. If you want change, something has to change.
But, moving back to 2011-12 node assignments is just the 1st step back to diversity busing and more non-contiguous node assignments. For 2014-15, policy 6200 will be revisited and adjusted to include targets and "socio-economic factors" for "evening" (as Martin said) achievement levels using assignment. Moving forward is over.