How many more arrests of protesters can we expect at future Wake County school board meetings?
In a blog post Wednesday, the liberal N.C. Social Justice Project writes that the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, "knows how to make a statement" with the arrests on Tuesday. The group expects more acts of civil disobedience over the end of the diversity policy.
"It is unclear whether or not the new majority is fully prepared for all of the trouble they will be facing in the coming months, but we can only imagine this will not be the last time someone stands up and is willing to be arrested to have his or her voice heard," the group writes.
Counting Tuesday, seven people have been arrested at school board meetings so far.
The school system had dialed back security on Tuesday, not having any off-duty law enforcement officers at the meeting. That's not likely to be repeated in the near future.
(I know there have been questions about whether the trespassing charges would bar Barber and the others from attening future meetings. I'm still waiting for some more information.)
Comments
attendance at future meeting
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 14:07 — tc_apexI talked with a friend who is a former principal in WCPSS and he said that, unless policy has changed, if you are arrested for trespassing on any WCPSS compus or building you are banned from returning to any WCPSS property in the future.
Banned from Attending? Possibly.....
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 12:54 — randyowensI called the WCPSS and talked to their security folks. They were extremely nice in discussing this and confirmed that one possible outcome is that those who cannot behave in a responsible manner at a meeting (e.g. the NAACP and others) would be banned from future meetings. The only thing was that he said that this was on a 'case by case basis'. HOWEVER, since these guys have clearly demonstrated on multiple occasions that they intend to deny the rights of others to attend, speak, and participate in public meetings, I hope that this 'case by case' banning applies and they are not allowed to attend any future event/meetings or even enter WCPSS property.
I clearly believe that EVERYONE should have the right to be heard and make their statement. It appears that NAACP and the others were given that right yet proved that they could not rise to the responsibility of managing and controlling their own public commentary about events of interest to the public. I have not checked but I am guessing that these meetings are webcast and it may be proper for those who cannot control themselves in person to even still be allowed to submit remote comments via webcam/chat/other electronic means.
No doubt if this was a group of meth-heads barging into a meeting and abusing the rights of others to participate, there would be strong support for getting them out of there. Same thing goes for these characters, no matter who they claim to represent.
That being said, I hope that the new board DOES carefully listen to what the public has to say. Change was needed for WCPSS and it is welcomed based on the election results, but it does need to be done in a careful and calculated fashion. Sometimes the bad that you know is better than the bad that you don't know!
Let them continue to get
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 13:20 — aquaman4life68Let them continue to get arrested. I'd tell the board to put the public comment at the beginning of every meeting from now on. That way, let the race baiters get up, put on their circus act and get arrest. Then the board can get on with business without any interruptions.
Also...Herewego....what are you talking about and referring to. YOU make no sense. Are you Rev. Barber? I guess since being kicked out of the boardroom...this will be next "arena" for his performance.
Standing up for our Beliefs
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 13:16 — gregishereStanding up for one's beliefs is not just a right, it is the duty of someone who believes the structure as it exists -- school board, US government, state legislature -- is not only non-responsive but contemptuous of a belief that one holds dear and at one's core. These ideas can be ridiculed, laughed at, spit on or worse. These four people believe wholeheartedly that the failure of the school board to listen to reason and understanding will result in an unacceptable harm: a segregated school system. I believe this, too. Although, unlike them, I still hold hope in the face of all reason that these five humans who hold the educational fate of most of the children in Wake County in their hands will see the folly of their ways.
The arc of history is long but it tends toward justice. We can wait out the selfish, we can endure the ignorant and we can even put up with the bigoted. But no one is required to do so quietly; that's a gift from the brilliant men who started our country. Rock on Rev., and thanks for standing up. Jesus said forgive them father for they know not what they do. How true. Maybe the Five will pray on it. I hope so.
standing up for my beliefs
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 08:51 — kathleen38I appreciate your remarks and I hope that you understand that this right goes both ways. Those of us who did vote in the Fall of '09, stood up for our core beliefs. Do you think we are racist because we want to shorten the long bus rides for all of the children; allow them to become the part of the community in which they live; participate in after school activities because they are closer to home, and give the parents an opportunity to participate and enrich their local schools where their children are educated?
I was here for the school merger in 1972. Our 4 children were bused across town from grades k-8. They had to get up at 6 am to prepare for school, walk 2 blocks away and out of sight to catch the bus at 6:45 am regardless of the weather, and didn't get home until 3:45 pm. That's the way it was then in the '70s. Now what makes you think that 40 years later the neighborhoods are the same and the children of today should maintain that schedule? My children's situation wasn't unique. Both black and white children lived this way because of problems of racism 40 years ago, not today.
I've always considered myself a law abiding citizen, understanding decorum, and I am a 'moderate' liberal in social issues. Rev. Barber is not an effective leader to create change. His job, as he sees it, is to call 'racist' to anything that isn't in his best interest. I suggest we allow this change and monitor it so that we can see whether it will work. Our area has become 'mid town' and I can tell you it is very diverse. If the majority of the population wants to change the busing schedule to keep their children closer to home, it is not because of racism, it is because of the love for their children.
Well Said!
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 17:18 — JanisTangoI do not have a problem with a child being bused across town to attend a different school as long as that decision is made by CHOICE. The current model forces many families to deal with cross town busing by force and that is just plain wrong! I remember a man talking about how he use to have to deal with being bused past 5 white schools to get to the poor black school in his community. In reality that is what we have today. A lot of kids are bused pass 5, 10, 15 schools to get to the one they are assigned! It is a different type of discrimination, but still discrimination! We can't have too many of your kind in the school you would like to attend! Think about it!
A thought
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 08:19 — Athey01I don't disagree with your basic premise of choice... it is indeed a noble goal. However, the thing that struck me about the story about the man who had to go past 5 white schools to get to a poor black school, why would a parent want to send their child to a underfunded school, whether it is black or white? This is our current dilemma. I'm confident that you, Jenman, and others will be advocates for appropriate funding for low performing (which I'm assuming will be high poverty, but not always) schools. However, will there be additional voices supporting low performing schools?
I Would Like To Ask About The Funding Issue!
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 09:40 — JanisTangoI'm asking this because I would like your perspective on this funding debate. Why would a school be underfunded if the student population count is the same? By law that can't happen can it? Are you talking about the discretionary PTA funds that some schools have?
In order for a high poverty
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 10:04 — danofncIn order for a high poverty school to be successful, it requires more funding than a non-high poverty school. I'm quite certain that is a fact that is true in almost any school in almost any district in the country.
More funding is not a guarantee of success, but less funding is basically a guarantee of failure.
If we go to the zone-based assignment and then fund the schools on an equal, per-student basis, we are setting a lot of kids up for failure.
JanisT, I agree with Dan's statement
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 12:20 — Athey01about equal $/student is not sufficient in a low performing school. Additional resources are required. For example, in a kindergarten class where some student know how to read and others do not, the student that can't read will require more help in reading. When you have a significant percentage of the class who can't read, the teacher is going to need help. After school programs, teacher assistants, parent training, teacher training/mentoring, grant writing, smaller class sizes, etc. are some of the things that might address this issue.
No matter what is tried
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 11:13 — HJ2ss2No matter what is tried academically, there are mitigating external factors.
I'm currently working with a 12 yr old black male who was raised in the streets of Durham. He essentially raised his two younger brothers. Mother is drug addicted and an alcoholic. Never set limits. He has fetal alcohol syndrome. Judgement and reasoning abilities are very poor. He is now in foster care but not doing well. Doesn't understand why his foster mother will not allow him to hang out with the boys in the hood all night. Has an opportunity to attend a better school but plans to skip if he is sent there because there will be no one there who will "have (his) back". He continues to steal, lie, etc...
His circumstances are not an isolated case.
I'm sure that if the people
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 11:47 — danofncI'm sure that if the people of Durham elected a new board majority it would all be fixed.
In the interim they can use
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 14:49 — red_balloonIn the interim they can use buses.
No, doing the same things
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 12:01 — woodstockNo, doing the same things and hoping for a different outcome is the solution.
He's not in Durham County
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 14:04 — HJ2ss2He's not in Durham County anymore.
I have used the exact same phrase in reference to the schools on many occasions.
He's not in Durham County
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 14:04 — HJ2ss2He's not in Durham County anymore.
I have used the exact same phrase in reference to the schools on many occasions.
He's not in Durham County
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 14:04 — HJ2ss2He's not in Durham County anymore.
I have used the exact same phrase in reference to the schools on many occasions.
Sorry for the multiple
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 14:08 — HJ2ss2Sorry for the multiple posts. I obviously can't multitask.
On the contrary, with three
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 14:47 — red_balloonOn the contrary, with three posts the same minute, you have mastered multi-tasking. : )
Thanks for your kindness and
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 16:05 — HJ2ss2Thanks for your kindness and humor.
Don't We Have Low-Performing Schools Today?
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 19:40 — JanisTangoI'm quite certain this is a problem we have today with our current model. Our ES for example was a Title I school for only one year until they moved some nodes out to help bring up our test scores. The problem is a lot of kids that were getting the benefit of the extra Title I resources are still at our school without the the extra help they had the previous year. Also, the kids that were moved out of our school were moved to a school that was not a Title I school so they aren't getting that benefit as well! I understand your position, but I don't believe it's correct to say this problem is going to exist with the new model only, when it clearly exists today!
Yes, it exist today and it will exist tomorrow, the
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 20:35 — Athey01question is what are we going to do in the new model to close the achievement gap. If you are going to tell me that we are going to do what we are doing now... it would mean all that talk about 54% ED graduation rate was all talk. Also, it seems Ms Prickett believe the issue can be solved with Title I funds, but IMO that is only part of the solution.
Did you listen to Tedesco's
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 10:00 — woodstockDid you listen to Tedesco's overview of the types of efforts and community engagement activities that would be used to address the challenges of ED students? If you had, you would have some of the answers you seek.
Great, I'll stop worrying about ED students.
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 10:25 — Athey01I will assume all of Mr. Tedesco "efforts and activities" will be accepted and implemented by the BOE, community stakeholders, parents, teachers, and the community at large. Thank you, I must admit I was very concerned.. I underestimated Mr. Tedesco's powers of persuasion.
LOL You made the suggestion
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 10:43 — woodstockLOL You made the suggestion that the new BoE was not addressing ED students and achievement, I simply commented that significant thought has been into what resources would be needed. I will assume by your smart@$$ response, that you really don't want to consider where new BoE members is heading in that regard, and would rather just criticize without attempting to understand.
BTW, Tedesco is indeed very persuasive, that is why he received nearly 80% of the vote in the run off.
I was not criticizing... I'm just skeptical,
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 11:01 — Athey01I'm sure a lot of thought has been given by Mr Tedesco for what resources will be needed. If you are confidence that ED students and achievement will be fully addressed, I'm going to take you at your word. Between the persuasive powers of Mr. Tedesco, you, and others, success will be achieved. I'm pleased we are on the same side on this issue.
I think JT Neighborhood
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 12:13 — user12345I think JT Neighborhood assignment plan was estimated to save $15M in transportation, etc. costs which I hope they redirect to the new higgh poverty schools.
I'm curious what they
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 12:27 — magnetParentI'm curious what they believe the cost savings is now after having done a true cost analysis. I haven't heard much said about that from them as of late.
To Be Honest I Don't Know...
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 07:07 — JanisTangoTo be honest I don't know what they are going to do to close the achievement gap, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I do expect them to address this issue, but one of the biggest issue I see with what was going on previously is the lack of stability for some of these kids. When a school was 'failing' , the solution was to move the kids around to dilute the problem. They did nothing as far as I could see to help the kids or the school that was failing. Shuffling kids to give the appearance of 'healthy' schools did nothing to help the children! My hope is with giving some stability to families and children that they can focus on the issue. If we don't 'move' the problem around, we can see where the help is needed and work on creative solutions for the kids that need it the most. In our ES situation because our test scores were not the best I'm suspecting they moved the kids around so we would no longer qualify for Title I resources. If we had failed a second year they would have to guarantee transfers to the families.
You won't find any of the
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 21:59 — user12345You won't find any of the actual new members making promises about the 54% ... that was not their priority.
Janis, I agree with what you
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 20:47 — aquaman4life68Janis, I agree with what you are saying...about the "different type" of discrimination...whether it is or not, it's still not right to expect people to have to deal with it. Unfortunately...there are folks out there that will never see it your way, that's the sad part.
Some wish it was only "cross
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 17:26 — woodstockSome wish it was only "cross town," unfortunately it is often cross-COUNTY.
Are there really nodes that
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 22:34 — zandeAre there really nodes that get bused across the county?
In 08-09, there were 30 kids
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 23:51 — danofncIn 08-09, there were 30 kids assigned to schools more than 13 miles and less than 19 miles from home (radial distance). In middle school, there were 16 kids assigned to schools more than 12 miles and less than 18 miles from home, and then 1 other kid who was assigned to a school 21-22 miles away. For high schoolers, there were 10 kids assigned to schools more than 13 miles and less than 17 miles away, 1 under 18 and 2 more under 20.
So, no.....I don't think there are any literal cross county assignments.
I'm pretty sure those
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 13:25 — kbrooks500I'm pretty sure those assignments cited above are special ed placements. Some programs are only offered in a few schools because there are not many students in the program. I am specifically think of VI (visually impaired). It's only offered at one elementary and high school. I don't know which middle school offers it. But if a students needing a VI program is living in Wake Forest that will be a really long bus ride to Oak Grove.
Radial Distance
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 01:59 — jeffrey1Don't forget, those distances are radial (as the crow flies). For comparison sakes, here are some other "as the crow flies" distances (endpoints are downtown areas of each city):
When those of us talk about cross county bus rides, of course we don't literally mean cross country (It's 42 miles from Angier to Creedmoore). But I don't have any problem using the term "cross county" with any of the above routes, because most of those routes are between two municipalities that are not contiguous along the crow's flight. I don't think it is acceptable to have to make assignments that require you to travel through 3 different municipalities. Also, some of those cross county trips can even be much shorter depending upon where you select the endpoints.
The reason I make this post is because I believe it is highly irresponsible for WCPSS to use "as the crow flies" distances. The only reason it is used is to make bus rides appear to be shorter than they actually are. Telling someone that 90% of kids live within 5 miles of their school sounds great on paper, until you realize that 5 miles as the crow flies can still mean a 10-12 mile bus ride.
It's worth noting that you only need 11 schools (at each level - ES, MS, and HS - 33 total schools) in all of Wake County, for everyone to live within 5 miles of their school (detailed analysis was provided on a prior blog). Since we have 157 schools, it is possible to achieve significantly greater proximity to schools.
I don't really think this is
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 09:47 — danofncI don't really think this is relevant. Aren't a lot of the longer assigned bus rides for students who were moved for magnet applicants? Would you prefer simply shifting those kids to the next closest school, which would then cause a ripple effect throughout the county? There are very few kids who are picked up by the bus and then taken straight to school (expect, of course, for some of the express stops for the kids that have longer rides).
Doesn't one of your sentences basically say "That's not what it is, but I don't mind calling it that"? I'm pretty sure you've repeatedly told me that you deal in facts. Interesting.
"As the crow flies" doesn't change. The kid's house isn't moving, and the school isn't moving. If they used real distance traveled, that would not always be a number that stayed the same all year. Plus, if a kid lives 5 miles from school as the crow flies, there's a good chance their bus ride will be 20 minutes or less. That's a very good average bus ride. The county I grew up in has about 7500 kids in its school system, every kid goes to the school closest to their house, and I guarantee you the average bus ride is longer than that.
No one ever said that it was impossible to send everyone to a school closer to their home. It's very obvious that it is possible to do that. The debate centers around what the result of that move will be. Schools that are 80-90% low income kids usually don't perform all that well. High poverty schools that do well generally have very small classes and lots of extra staff.
The question is whether or not all of you "proximity" people are willing to send your kids to a school with 24+ kids in every class, sometimes with no TA, while a school somewhere else in the county has 15 kids in a class and every class has a TA.
If Wake County is going to commit the resources necessary to make the high poverty schools perform (and that is NOT giving them an equal share and saying "make it happen"), then I don't have a problem at all with the new assignment model. If that money isn't there, then there are a bunch of kids who won't really get a fair shot.
I know that conservatives love to play the "personal responsibility" card. Well, when dealing with kids, I'm much more comfortable claiming they had a fair chance when all the schools look similar. If Davis Drive ES ends up 8% F&R, and some other school ends up 88%, those kids will not get the same level of attention in class from their teacher. The kids who already were ahead would just continue to get farther ahead.
Once a kid is HS age, then it's on the kid. The best teacher in the world can't make a kid learn if they simply refuse. The best administrator in the world can't keep a kid from dropping out when the kid is determined to drop out. The cycle starts in ES. In ES, there is no doubt that the balanced schools approach helps. If it didn't, they wouldn't use kindergarten assessments within schools to make sure the classes were balanced.
**O/T: We have had the daughter of a friend staying with us this week. She went to North Ridge ES (she was assigned there when she started school, and then when they moved her mom had to break her back to take her there so she wouldn't have to switch). The house that her mom bought is close to East Millbrook, but not close enough to end up in EMMS' base assignment area. Now, she is going to end up at one of the most violent MS in WCPSS, simply because East Millbrook is a magnet. She'll be riding the bus for the first time ever because the school is the opposite way from her house as her mom's work. But, I haven't spent this week telling her how horrible it's going to be for her. I've spent it telling her what to watch out for and how to act to avoid trouble. That's how you avoid trauma.
The question is whether or
Tue, 06/22/2010 - 10:14 — jenmanThe question is whether or not all of you "proximity" people are willing to send your kids to a school with 24+ kids in every class, sometimes with no TA, while a school somewhere else in the county has 15 kids in a class and every class has a TA.
This is going all already. Lots of YR schools are underenrolled with small classes while other schools are overcrowded. Applicants from overcrowded traditional schools were still denied entrance to the underenrolled YR schools if they didn't meet the right SES criteria.
Having some schools overcrowded and others underenrolled is nothing new.
The question is whether or
Tue, 06/22/2010 - 10:14 — jenmanThe question is whether or not all of you "proximity" people are willing to send your kids to a school with 24+ kids in every class, sometimes with no TA, while a school somewhere else in the county has 15 kids in a class and every class has a TA.
This is going all already. Lots of YR schools are underenrolled with small classes while other schools are overcrowded. Applicants from overcrowded traditional schools were still denied entrance to the underenrolled YR schools if they didn't meet the right SES criteria.
Having some schools overcrowded and others underenrolled is nothing new.
That's really a different
Tue, 06/22/2010 - 10:26 — danofncThat's really a different conversation.
Right now, the schools you consider underenrolled would still have only 2 classes for 48 kids, most likely. Less kids doesn't automatically equal smaller classes.
In my example, that school would get 3 teachers for those 48 kids.
Response
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 04:46 — jeffrey1Doesn't one of your sentences basically say "That's not what it is, but I don't mind calling it that"? I'm pretty sure you've repeatedly told me that you deal in facts. Interesting.
The question is whether or not all of you "proximity" people are willing to send your kids to a school with 24+ kids in every class, sometimes with no TA, while a school somewhere else in the county has 15 kids in a class and every class has a TA.
Plus, if a kid lives 5 miles from school as the crow flies, there's a good chance their bus ride will be 20 minutes or less.
The cycle starts in ES. In ES, there is no doubt that the balanced schools approach helps. If it didn't, they wouldn't use kindergarten assessments within schools to make sure the classes were balanced.
But, I haven't spent this week telling her how horrible it's going to be for her. I've spent it telling her what to watch out for and how to act to avoid trouble. That's how you avoid trauma.
Ironic that tens of
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 13:21 — virginiadareIronic that tens of thousands of families (like Debra Goldman's) uproot their children to move to Wake County over the past decade creating instability in the system because of the need to build and fill new schools and then complain that their children aren't being given stability in school assignments.
Like it or not, we live in a
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 22:20 — jeffrey1Like it or not, we live in a mobile society. Families relocate for several different reasons, but many time it is for an employment opportunity that will allow parents to continue to provide for their children. The fact that many kids already experience reassignment from one school district to another, is all-the-more reason to limit the number of reassignments within a school district to an absolute minimum.
"This coming from the guy
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 08:45 — danofnc"This coming from the guy who suggested in another blog that adding a couple of stops to a bus route in order to optimize the capacity of school buses would cause kids to be on the bus for an hour. Please choose one position and stick with it."
Ummmm....this comment refers to radial distance and why it matters under the current busing system. In the current 3-tier system, the buses aren't filled and a kid less than 5 miles (as the crow flies) from school is likely not on the bus more than 20 minutes. Mostly, that is because the buses are always operating on a tight time schedule that doesn't really give them more than 20 minutes.
In the other post, I pointed out that in order to increase capacity on the buses you'd have to eliminate the 3-tier system. I told you that without the 3-tier bell system you'd either need to spend money on extra buses and drivers, or you'd have kids living within a few miles of school who were on the bus for an hour while it made a bunch of stops.
If you have a bus that has 20-30 kids on it every day, and you adjust the route so that it ends up with 55-60, you have added more than "a couple" of stops.
Help me to understand. You
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 22:17 — jeffrey1Help me to understand. You say that right now it takes only 20 minutes to pick up the kids and deliver them to a school that is 5 miles (radial) away. I suggest that under the community assignment model, ES schools can be located within 2-3 miles radial distance for most kids, so theoretically that should make the bus ride less than 20 minutes, right? Then I suggest adding a few additional stops to fill buses to capacity, and you say if that were the case, kids would be on the bus for an hour. So adding a few additional stops and traveling to a closer school is going to add 40+ minutes to a bus route???? That doesn't make sense.
BTW, I am not sure how many kids get on the bus at your stop, but for our neighborhood of 200 homes, we have 2 bus stops. We put 20 kids on the bus in just those 2 stops.
Also, I am not suggesting that buses are rerouted out of their way to make additional stops. I am suggesting that a single route transport kids to more than one school. If this is done correctly (i.e. optimized) and most buses are filled to capacity, you won't need a 3 tier system.
I can't believe that you are advocating for a bus system where most buses are only filled to half their capacity. That's waste, pure and simple.
2 stops for 200 houses?
Mon, 06/21/2010 - 08:48 — danofnc2 stops for 200 houses? How far away from your neighborhood is your school? Two things about that: 1) I would think you'd be complaining about your busing situation being unfair and a burden to parents, rather than suggesting it be expanded, 2) Most neighborhoods don't have 200 houses, so adding "a couple of stops" to a bus route that has 25 kids on it now wouldn't equal full buses.
Which kids are you suggesting share a bus ride? 2 elementary schools? An ES and a middle school? In some (probably most) areas, putting MS and ES kids on a bus could be risky. You may not want a first grader coming home telling you what he/she heard from an 8th grader on the bus.
The kids at the first school would always be there when the first bell rings 30 minutes before school. Do you think those parents would be happy that their kids had to be the early risers?
Would you want a 2nd grader at a bus stop with an 8th grader every day? If a bus is picking up kids for ES and MS (or any two schools), the route has to start earlier because the bus needs to be at school #1 when the first bell rings to ensure that it has time to get to school #2 before the 2nd bell. If a kid going to school #2 is supposed to eat breakfast at school, how would that work if he was getting to school just before the 2nd bell every day? Would he just eat in class?
How would your plan (reduced bus routes) be impacted by the choices that are supposedly forthcoming in the new assignment model? Is there really a way for one bus to make it to three ES while staying within the 30 minute arrival window?
As for your "suggestion" about radial distances under the community model.....I believe in another thread (the one you quit....) I mentioned that in 2008-09 79+% of ES kids who attended their assigned school were less than 3 radial miles from their school already. 67% were within 2 miles. So, you're not getting that many kids that much closer. Plus, while it may be true that almost everyone lives within 2-3 miles of an ES, that doesn't automatically mean that those ES schools will automatically have room for them.
The average bus ride is about 20 minutes. The bus that goes past my house, for example, starts its route for our school at about 8:15 just down the street from the middle school. The first stop is about 3 minutes after that departure. It stops at some apartments across the street from my house at about 8:30. Then, it has about 9-11 more stops before it eventually gets to the school at about 8:50-8:55. I think the bus usually has 30-35 kids on it (my daughter doesn't ride, so that's a guess based on seeing it from carpool), which is just about 1/2 capacity.
The average ride time for kids on that bus is about 20 minutes. But, that first kid has been on the bus for 35-40 minute every day this year. If you add stops to that route to "optimize" capacity, that kid has to get on the bus earlier or the bus has to flirt with being late every day. The average could very well stay the same, depending on how many stops you add and at what point of the route they occur. But, that first kid is still going to be on the bus for an hour. Your "optimized" capacity suggestion is telling his parents that is OK, even though you probably campaigned against hour-long bus rides last year.....calling them the scourge of the earth and a barrier to learning. So which is it?
If one driver takes one bus and delivers 100+ kids to three schools and back every day, I don't consider that waste. Especially when you consider that it shortens the amount of time that the first kids to get on the bus have to spend riding and it lessens the number of buses needed on the roads at any one time.
But bus rides are not "often
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 08:33 — zandeBut bus rides are not "often cross-COUNTY." How long in minutes do you think is the average Wake County school bus ride? I think there was some info put out by WCPSS admin about this a while back. It did not seem to me to be all that bad. I wonder how this compares to the average commute time in Wake County?
Bus Ride Guidelines
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 03:01 — jeffrey1How long in minutes do you think is the average Wake County school bus ride?
This is rather old data but
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 08:59 — zandeThis is rather old data but is all I could find this morning.
2003-2004 Average Ride Times and Distance
Type of Students: Average Ride Time Average Mileage
Students on an alternate calendar 62 min 22.5
Students attending overflow school due to capping 57 min 21.2
Students attending magnet schools 51 min 17.3
Students attending year-round schools 57 min 18.9
Students involuntarily reassigned 34 min 13.1
Students attending traditional base elementary 32 min 10.1
Students attending traditional base secondary school 38 min 13.3
In 2008 the data were less broken down but look like they achieved shorter bus rides overall.
WCPSS Transportation Department Facts
2007–2008
• Average system ride time for students — 20 minutes (one way)
• Average distance traveled by students — 16.5 miles (one way)
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Sun, 06/20/2010 - 18:02 — Sideburns• Average system ride time for students — 20 minutes (one way)
• Average distance traveled by students — 16.5 miles (one way)
How fast are those buses? 16.5 miles in 20 minutes? And they stop and pick up children along the way? You'll believe anything.