Thursday's reassignment public hearing wasn't a normal one.
As noted in today's article, nearly half of the 16 speakers spoke in support of the reassignment plan. Some speakers backed the conversion of Leesville Road Middle School to a year-round calendar. Ohers praised the reassignment of Lacy Elementary students to Stough Elementary.
The Stough parents argued that the school would become healthier if it got the Lacy students. They also said it would ease crowding at Lacy.
The board is being tugged on both sides of the issue as the Lacy parents have been lobbying behind the scenes to be dropped from the plan.
As you may recall, these same Lacy nodes were slated in 2006 to go to Stough. These parents fought the moves and were dropped by the board.
It wasn't all rosy on Thursday for the school board.
Venita Peyton urged the school board to delay adopting the reassignment plan for 30 days. She argued that many minority families are unaware of the plan, pointing to the crowd of 50 mostly white people at the hearing at Southeast Raleigh High School.
For those who are aware of the plan, Peyton argued that evening meetings don't work because many minority parents have night jobs. She also said some parents were intimidated at speaking at a place like Southeast Raleigh High.
Peyton urged the school board to schedule a public hearing at Saint Matthew AME Church in Raleigh for area parents.
After the meeting, school board chairwoman Rosa Gill said they were on too tight a timetable to schedule another public hearing. But she said she'd be willing to personally meet with parents at the church.
Thursday's meeting went fast. It was over by 7:30 p.m.
Comments
Maybe they didn't collapse a
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 16:21 — jenmanMaybe they didn't collapse a track but instead just didn't 'double up' one of the tracks? There's a term for it, but I can't remember it right now--when they have 2 classes on a track instead of just one.
What frustrates me about the solution Patti Head mentioned is that we're funding teaching positions that we don't need at yr schools that underenrolled AND having to pay for additional teachers at overcrowded traditional schools. We don't have that kind of money to waste. We spent either $400,000 or $600,000 on that for this school year and I don't want to see a repeat or an increase of that.
eric and user1234--I
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 15:34 — jenmaneric and user1234--I remember something about Durant MS having to turn away those applicants because it was enough kids to make a complete track or something like that. Maybe they collapsed a track? Maybe Keung will remember but it had something to do with not having enough applicants to make up an entire new class or track so they had to turn away a large number of applicants.
Hmm, interesting... I see
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 16:09 — Eric_BHmm, interesting... I see what you mean. The year-round middle school writeup from WCPSS says they need an optimum 1,248 students enrolled in a YR middle school to create and staff one team of teachers per track per grade. I see that Durant would not reach that level of enrollment even if all the applicants were accepted this year.
I mentioned this concern to Patti Head this year regarding the Leesville Middle YR conversion. I asked her how they would deal with enrollment at Leesville dropping below 1,248 since this past year enrollment dropped from 1,317 to 1,281. She said that the board would not allow that to happen and would provide some kind of action like supplemental funding if enrollment dropped below 1248 to keep teacher positions and fully staff all 4 tracks.
I would REALLY like to know if a track was collapsed at Durant Middle or what the negative consequences were for dropping below the 1,248 magic number.
Headline
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 20:15 — jmosterThe headline to this article is ridiculous. Eight people gave praise and it's a headline? Come on.
Point
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 22:21 — SDR256Really good point.
Mr. Hui, Your paper's recent
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 08:49 — CaryCurmudgeonMr. Hui,
Your paper's recent editorials by Ford and Jenkins represented more 'feel good' busing PR for the school system. The piece of trash by Ms. Wheeler that was published today represents a new low for the N&O. How about posting a blog entry so that readers can discuss this "editorial" in more detail.
I was seriously appalled at
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 10:39 — AngelaWI was seriously appalled at that slap on the face attempt and am going to be actually be cancelling my subscription with the N&O. That was so seriously out of line and MISleading, I couldn't even find words to speak, and I (almost) NEVER have that problem.
almost as bad as that letter once from a teacher complaining about "one more mug at christmas" or whatever the exact context was...
simply once again disgusting with the way that the N&O continuously supports a declining system based on idealogy and not teaching.....etc etc., blah blah blah it's all been said before, but that piece this AM took the cake.
My favorite line from the editorial
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 11:52 — SideburnsInstead, we're pretending that busing children for hours is helping all children.
(And where exactly is that 1 percent low-income school in Apex?)
for that matter
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 11:57 — AngelaWwhere is ANY 1% low-income school in WCPSS??????????
Folks, please keep in mind
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 11:28 — KeungHui (author)Folks, please keep in mind that the news and editorial departments are separate.
truly trying to understand as I am so disgusted
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 11:52 — AngelaWMr. Hui, how so? I ask this sincerely not facetiously, as I am trying to understand how a piece like this AM's (for example) can be put out there.
It's one thing, a letter to the editor from us "common folk" but some piece like that from someone who represents the paper?
I guess I am trying to understand the separate(ness)...
I don't know what they're
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 12:17 — KeungHui (author)I don't know what they're working on in editorial and they don't know what I'm doing here in news. We maintain a wall of separation.
The editorial department has
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 09:49 — KeungHui (author)The editorial department has its own blog. You can click here to reach it. They've got a number of different school-related posts.
Not exactly
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 12:02 — SDR256But no place at that link to respond to the editorial that I can find.
Pat, Pat, Pat...
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 08:29 — g88ky07Oh goody, a few supporters from the "dark side" showed up and patted the "greedy power mongrels" on their backs. I hope they patted hard and knocked a few of them down! This just proved there are people out there that STILL DON'T GET IT!
Quite honestly, I'm surprised ANY parents bother showing up ANY LONGER and AT ALL at these "speaking sessions" which are clearly a waste of time, unless you live in Cary or the elite few other select nodes!
Pat, Pat, Pat, you're just doing a stellar job school board!
When you are asleep!!!
Facts to support converting Leesville Middle?
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 07:20 — Lisa_BHi Mr. Hui:
While I understand someone giving a "thank you" to the school board for a proposing a change that is in their own personal interest, I am curious to know if there were actually any facts given by speakers to support the LRMS conversion?
The fact is, there is NO justification for converting LRMS to MYR now. Using the excuse of "Peer Continuity" is irrelevant if you're talking about a YR middle school. If you are not on the same MS track with your Elementary School "peers", you will never spend school breaks with them in middle school because you will always have different track-out breaks. By attempting to add several hundred students to the LRMS population under the name of "peer continuity", and then claiming "well, MYR is NOW necessary because so many students are going to be assigned to LRMS" is just creating a false growth crisis.
With flat (possibly negative) growth in the area, this conversion would completely go against WCPSS' conversion criteria. Considering the fact that Durant YR Middle School is only at 71% of capacity with 439 seats available, the demand for a YR Middle School in North Raleigh is just NOT there. (and Durant has an excellent reputation so it has nothing to do with the school, staff, etc...)
Of course my personal opinion is to keep the Leesville campus operating on the traditional calendar because YR splits families in our community, but the facts now support keeping LRMS traditional as well.
Considering the fact that
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 14:29 — Eric_BConsidering the fact that Durant YR Middle School is only at 71% of
capacity with 439 seats available, the demand for a YR Middle School in
North Raleigh is just NOT there. (and Durant has an excellent
reputation so it has nothing to do with the school, staff, etc...)
---
The fact that Durant Middle is the least crowded middle school in all of Wake County (with the exception of East Cary, which is in its second year serving grades 6 and 7 only) should tell the school board something.
MORE YEAR-ROUND MIDDLE SCHOOLS ARE NOT NEEDED OR WANTED IN THE LEESVILLE AREA.
East Cary Will Continue
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 19:39 — local23to be under-enrolled because the majority of West Cary that is being assigned (re-assigned) there does not want to go all the way across town. Especially in light of the new Middle School Mills Park being built 1.5 miles from us.
Look at East Cary MS for 2010-2012 nodes they want to move in..absolutely ludicrious..most of the nodes are 5-10 miles away yet they won't even take their surrounding nodes which should be the majority that is attending this school.
Out node is scheduled for Panther Creek yet this GM has the gull to say they are keeping our kids together from ES to MS to HS..what a joke. When this plan first came out, I could comment for our node..afterall we were still split between GH & Carpenter, West Cary and East Cary and Green Hope HS and Panther Creek and our node somehow got larger when no new homes have been built in our node! Now they are saying there is no change to our node..what?? First we are changing, then we are the same when there has always been changes to our nodes..GM said since Carpener was YR and there were no other MS YR around us to attend, they started two years ago assigning to EC with the intent (as well all understood) when the new MS was built out in Western Cary/Wake/Morrisville/RTP (Mills Park) we would go there and all eventually feed into Panther Creek, which is 1 miles from our nodes and GH being 1/2 mile. Well that apparently didn't come to fruitation and now we are truly stuck being bused at 6 am in the morning instead of 7 am! Also, when our kids to go to Panther Creek they will only know they ones in their node because all the other kids went to Mills Park MS or West Cary MS! I just like they way they slipped us in as if no changes occrued..h$$l..we did not even want YR..so why can't we just stay as West Cary????
do you know...
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 15:09 — JSBinNCwhere the data sheets are that show how many people applied to and were accepted/declined at Durant Middle? I thought Keung published those a long while back but a search has not yielded anything for me.
I'd love to know the application/acceptance/decline rate with 400+ empty seats...
The application data is part
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 15:53 — KeungHui (author)The application data is part of this blog post.
I guess I was wrong... Only
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 16:05 — Eric_BI guess I was wrong... Only a 72% acceptance rate for Durant Middle? Why?? The school is so under capacity now. This makes no sense.
sorry, I don't know
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 15:15 — Eric_BSorry, I don't know where those data sheets are. I don't think the decline rate would be high with the school so empty.
Durant Middle is affected a lot by the reassignment plan. The base area is being increased by moving base nodes out of some of the magnet middle schools to make more magnet seats available. This just goes to show that optional year-round middle schools just are not popular in North Raleigh. Elementary schools, yes. Middle schools, no.
"This just goes to show
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 16:08 — user1234"This just goes to show that optional year-round middle schools just are not popular in North Raleigh. Elementary schools, yes. Middle schools, no. "
I am confused ... you are saying YR is not popular and as a result the schools are under capacity. But the acceptance data looks like they only accepted 60% of the kids so they could have filled the school if they had accepted everyone? Is there something I missed since I am not familar with YR and Middle Schools assignments.
Middle Schools
Durant: 322 of 445, 72 percent
East Cary: 137 of 175, 78 percent
East Wake: 15 of 22, 68 percent
Heritage: 34 of 393, 8 percent
Lufkin: 315 of 375, 84 percent
North Garner: 2 of 85, 2 percent
West Lake: 276 of 329, 84 percent
Total: 1,101 of 1,824, 60 percent
At Durant Middle they
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 16:16 — Eric_BAt Durant Middle they accepted 72% of applicants. Durant Middle would still be well under capacity even if they accepted all applicants.
As it is, the school has 1,093 students with a capacity for 1,532 giving 71.3% crowding.
If they accepted all applicants they would have an additional 123 students giving 79.4% crowding making the school 26 out of 30 middle schools for crowding. That's not even close to full.
Same for East Cary MS
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 19:45 — local23There numbers are pathetic if they think they will fill this MYR MS to 1200 capacity starting the following year!
We intent to sell again..because we will not go this MS. I have numerous neighbors in our node (excluding the Apartments in our node) that they are contemplating either a Magnet or private for MS..they just cannot see going to this school as East Cary MS will feed into Cary High when our node is scheduled to attend Panther Creek.
I understand why your
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 19:36 — vsheehanI understand why your upset but you should check out ECMS before selling or going public. It is a great school with a great set of kids. Just go for a tour or vist the cafeteria during lunch. You will be pleased. The parents I know who were reassigned from pricer places love it. I wish we could go :( Well on track 4 that is ; )
Is your opt out school going to West Cary Middle? Do you know that the opt out for a MYR in Gardner is Reedy Creek in Cary? How nutty can WCPSS get? First lets buss in kids from Raliegh who were the lowest scores at the old school to Cary schools that are already over 20% F&R. Then lets use those schools as the opt out for MYR. West Cary is splitting at the seams.
got it ... thanks
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 17:13 — user1234got it ... thanks
They made the same arguments
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 09:50 — KeungHui (author)They made the same arguments from the November meeting about why Leesville should be converted.
Would this be the same group
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 15:29 — Big_PictureWould this be the same group that calls itself Bigger Picture 4 Wake County Schools but only consists of 5 or 6 Leesville parents? If so, they did not say anything of substance to support the conversion in November. They gave an infomercial about a WCPSS clone website and praised an unwanted year round proposal. Can anyone in attendance verify who from Leesville spoke last evening? (Are you out there Lisa B? Angela W? Anyone?)
Videos
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 15:52 — SDR256If WCPSS made videos of those presentations and posts them as they did with Apex you'll be able to replay it an see for yourself when they get posted. Don't know if they did though.
Why not move....
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 06:26 — kirtlWhy not move an existing meeting to the church? That wouldn't change the "tight timetable".