Could the development of feeder patterns be more of a hold-up on the new Wake County student assignment plan than coming to an agreement on achievement-choice schools?
As noted in today's article, staff's update on the student assignment plan included discussion on achievement schools and a presentation on sample feeder patterns. During the meeting, board members said zilch on the achievement schools but went into detail on the feeder patterns.
"We know this is contentious," Superintendent Tony Tata said to board members in response to the feeder pattern concerns. "This is high stakes. We want your feedback to make this right."
Pointing back to the response on the question on the test drive, James Overman, head of the student assignment task force, said parents prefer having a feeder pattern as opposed to complete choice for middle school and high school.
As this handout shows, staff was working under draft feeder guidelines with the top priorities being trying to keep elementary school cohorts together through high school, following magnet school program pathways and trying to avoid calendar mismatches.
The rules were rank-ordered with having proximate feeder patterns at the bottom of the list.
School board member Debra Goldman questioned the feeder pattern for Morrisville Elementary going to East Cary Middle and Panther Creek High. Acknowledging that's the neighborhood she lives in, she said the feeder pattern should be to Cary High.
Goldman asked what options existed for families who don't like their feeder pattern. Susan Pullium, a member of the student assignment task force, said those families can always try to choose a school outside the feeder with the district seeing if there are enough seats to accommodate the family.
Pullium added Panther Creek High was chosen because Morrisville was closer to it than to Cary High. She said the feeder patterns can change as new schools open.
Goldman next questioned why Cedar Fork Elementary students were feeding into West Cary Middle before being split off into different high schools. She said that students really bond in middle school so she's concerned about "blasting them back out" to different high schools.
Pullium explained that limited high school capacity, particularly at Cary High, led to that feeder pattern. She said that keeping the students at one high school would mean changing someone else.
Goldman went on to praise staff for having all of Reedy Creek Middle's students go to Cary High.
Pullium then discussed briefly how they wound up recommending some feeder pattern changes with Brier Creek Elementary being the example. She said they proposed moving them out of Mills Park Middle and Panther Creek High to relieve a projected seat shortfall. She said that sending them instead of Leesville Road Middle and Leesville Road High would allow them to use available capacity at the high school.
School board vice chairman John Tedesco spoke up next to question the logic of the feeder patterns in Garner.
Based on the potential 2,000 seat shortfall at Garner High, Tedesco questioned why Barwell Road and Bugg elementary schools were added into the feeder pattern. He asked why the Bugg students weren't fed into Enloe High, which is closer and is projected to have excess capacity.
Pullium said that creative arts and science themed elementary magnet schools like Bugg would feed into International Baccaulaureate themed schools like East Garner Middle and Garner High.
While the overage was "dramatic" at Garner High, Pullium said the rationale was that the school can handle it in the short term with the addition of a ninth-grade center and later a new high school in Garner.
Tedesco questioned why Timber Drive Elementary was being taken out of Garner High's feeder pattern to go to Middle Creek High.
Pullium said that they were dealing with high school seat shortfalls everywhere but in northeastern Wake.
Tedesco then questioned why Farmington Woods Elementary feeds into the Garner area instead of Cary. He noted that the two are pretty far apart in terms of distance.
Goldman agreed with Tedesco as she too questioned sending Farmington Woods students to East Garner Middle and Garner High.
"Community-based schools means to me community," Goldman said.
Tata explained that it was part of their guideline of keeping magnet school pathways as Farmington Woods, East Garner Middle and Garner High all are International Baccalaureate schools.
Tata asked if the board wanted to steer away from magnet pathways toward proximity in the feeder patterns. Tedesco said that he would value proximity more.
Tedesco also said that he feels that they should consider adding an IB program in western Wake. Farmington Woods had fed into Danieis Middle and Broughton High before both schools were demagnetized.
Comments
Base Students at Magnet Schools Prejudiced
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 22:11 — ByrdbrainMr. Tedesco astutely questioned the feeder pattern for Farmington Woods to middle and high schools that are a great distance away. Farmington Woods, Joyner, and other magnet elementary schools have feeder patterns based on their magnet program rather than proximity. While this makes sense on the surface, it greatly prejudices the base (or perhaps "by choice") families who are attending an elementary school not because of it's magnet program because of it's proximity. At Farmington Woods and Joyner, this is roughly 50% of the student body.
If the magnet process remains the same, then a magnet student who does not want to continue with the program after elementary school can simply revert to his base school feeder pattern at any time and attend a middle or high school close to him home. Ironically, however, the base student at a magnet elementary school is forced to follow the magnet feeder pattern even though the magnet program is probably not the reason he is attending that school.
Since the test drive supports the premise that most families wish their children to attend school close to home, then the logical way to draw feeder patterns (assuming that is direction the Board wishes to take) is to establish such patterns for all schools based on proximity. For magnet schools, that feeder pattern would only apply to base students, and as it is under the current system, an elementary magnet student could choose to attend his base feeder middle school or apply for continued magnet status, with guarantee of continuing a particular program. In addition, if a base student in a magnet elementary school wishes to continue the program, then that student should get the same guarantee with a magnet application.
Do I read this right?
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 13:51 — Bob_SconceAccording to the handout, for every 1 student at Olds, there are 21 students who want to go to that school, but can't? For Brentwood, that number is 14? And, for Millbrook HS, it's just under 5? I'm looking at page 8 of the slides.
The other thing that's amazing is the first slide on p. 9 -- Creech Road could fill up 99% of its capacity by choice alone, but is still one of the top three elementary schools likely to be underutilized? That's just bizarre.
Those figures are a
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 15:21 — KeungHui (author)Those figures are a reflection of the potential number of families who could pick that school. What they're saying is that Millbrook High could be 500 percent of capacity if every eligible family chose the school. Olds could be at 2,200 percent of capacity if everyone chose and Brentwood could be at 1,565 percent if everyone chose. Obviously not everyone will do so, but staff was saying the percentages for those schools are so high that they might want to cut back on the number of families who would be given those schools as choices.
As for Creech Road, it's considered possibly underenrolled because it would only be at 99 percent of capacity if everyone picked the school. Since not everyone will, it runs the chance of having too many empty seats. The idea is to spread out the choices so that every school would have enough students who could apply to fill the schools.
People choose other porximate schools over Creech?
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 15:00 — RKCurtrightB, Might it be that Creech has the proximity population to fill Creech but people would choose other, a bit less proximate schools over Creech? There is Smith, East Garner, Vandora, Aversboro, Timber.
I spoke with one parent last year whos' children attended Creech. She said it was a challenging environmnet/ not working for her children.. I beleive Creech has gotten back on track since then. A school reputation can effect choice, yes?
Yes...
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 15:33 — Bob_SconceA school reputation can affect choice. However, I've heard the "not working for my kids" comment elsewhere as well -- it's not confined to schools in high-poverty areas. Heck, the head of the PTA for my kids' school last year put her kids into private school this year.
In any case, with Keung's description, the main thing seems to be that the district has not done a great job over the years of building schools where the kids are.
Good job of building schools where the kids are
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 22:55 — Solon77You are an educated smart guy - the statement is just stupid. I suppose all of the under utilized RIM schools are because the district just built in the wrong place ? When Baileywick opened it was full. So full that our neighborhood was reassigned. Today it is under utilized - why ? Because neighborhoods go through cycles. My neighborhood use to be full of elementary school aged kids - now there is less than a handful. With real estate being as it is I don't see much turnover for the next 5-7 years at least. The neighborhoods next to ours are in a similar situation. Soon our neck of the woods will be the new RIM. Taxpayers will not be willing to fund additional schools while schools are under utilized.
So...
Fri, 08/19/2011 - 12:16 — Bob_SconceI agree that neighborhoods go through cycles, and that causes changes in population, which can cause enrollment changes in the various schools. There's no getting around that, and it would be true even if every school was placed in the most logical place at the time it was constructed.
However, part of the reason that many of the rim schools are underutilized is because they were put in places where the board's theory was "Well, nobody lives around here, but we can transport both downtown raleigh and suburban students here." Previous boards and administrations had a view that discounted proximity and, so, placed schools appropriately. Today's board views it as being a lot more important, but is stuck with school locations approved by previous boards.
What Rim school
Fri, 08/19/2011 - 12:58 — Solon77Please provide some examples of where a school was placed where nobody lives around.
Come to think of it, I can think of one future example - the new Rolesville High School. How many kids are going to have to be bused to fill up that school ?
People completely under estimate the effort needed to manage growth while the public in general clammors to use every available seat before considering adding capacity.
So...
Fri, 08/19/2011 - 13:15 — Bob_SconceYates Mill comes to mind, but I'd have to check on that.
RHS is an interesting comment, because the previous location had a similar problem -- it was just up the road from Heritage High School. One way to ensure people don't live near their schools is to bunch the schools together. Also, if you look at where new construction is happening in north Wake County, much of it is closer to RHS' new location than the previous location. Does that make it the better choice? I don't know. But, let's not pretend that the Forestville Rd. location was all peaches-n-cream.
Yates Mill, Swift Creek, and
Sat, 08/20/2011 - 02:27 — jeffrey1Yates Mill, Swift Creek, and Dillard Drive -- 3 elementary schools on the rim, all within 1 mile of each other. In the early part of last decade, all three were underenrolled. If you talk to staff, they will tell you that the schools were located so that they could be reached by students from East Raleigh and parts of Cary and Apex. It was the "perfect" location for the diversity policy.
Brier Creek
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 13:25 — shank56Looks like Brier Creek finally gets heard and will be closer to home. Bet those folks are happy.
maybe not
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 21:21 — EBDarcyThey and the Sycamore Creek families will have not calender continuity so they may not like that at all. As a matter of fact calender continuity doesn't seem of much importance in many parts of the county. When you consider that SCES is the largest of the feeder school and Hilburn a small one, isn't it likely that tha majority of kids feeding into LRMS are coming from YR schools? They can't all fit into Durant, if that's even an option. I can't tell from the info at this point.
During the work session,
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 21:40 — kbrooks500During the work session, staff mentioned there is not enough middle school year round capacity to accomodate all the elementary students in feeder patterns. Yes in places year round ES feed into traditional MS. Perhaps the board was too quick to convert Leesville MS and Mills Park MS. There are no proximate year round middle schools to Brier Creeek or Sycamore Creek.
Is there a shortage of YR MS
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 22:33 — loriacIs there a shortage of YR MS seats today? How many kids were denied YR MS? People have to make the transition when the kids get to HS. LRHS had fewer kids as a YR than as traditional calendar school. I bet few would complain if SCES were converted to traditional. It's popular in our neighborhood mainly because it's the closest school.
I knew someone would jump on
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 11:36 — kbrooks500I knew someone would jump on my words. I could have said year round middle schools instead of seats, but I stand by seats. This is about creating feeder patterns, not about year round applications. According to staff all the year round elementary school students can't fit into all the existing year round middle schools. That's why there is calendar mismatch. I chose not to debate whether there should be fewer year round elementary schools or more year round middle schools.
But....
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 11:57 — Bob_SconceIt's a good question -- do we have any reason to believe that demand for YR 6th grade MS seats will approximate the number of YR 5th grade seats? I know that I'm happy that my kid's MS will be traditional, even though it means a switch from their YR elementary school.
RM/magnets/achievment schools
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 12:41 — RKCurtrightMagent Schools Task Force& RM against achievement schools
Magnet schools: there is always room for improvement, looking closely at flaws, and maintaining accountability. Offering more choice in assignment will create needs in some magnets and reduction of needs in others. 2 years will be an asset, as it allows a task force/committee/staff to look closely at cause/effect/ & family decisions & how that allters the needs. A task force specifically looking at potential flaws/improvement such as"no non-ED based students at magnets", low ED population magnet schools- Martin, Underwood ie.. Schools like Martin and Underwood need the magnet status to fill the otherwise under enrolled school. These schools could be good choices for Se Raleigh families, as it would not be too terribly far away in proximity than, say, Apex, Holly Springs. Magnet schools that have lower ED populations may have their eye off what conversations and programs are truly needed for ED kids.All magnet schools should be at 50% Ed pop IMO. Moore Square does a fantastic job of keeping their eye on the ball with the needs of both ED pop familes and affluant. Principal. Bass has the right balance. All our magnet schools need to make sure the conversation is on target for all.
If RM is against “achievement school choice” then it is important to look closely at what the cost and consequences of this is. Some points that come to mind are:
1. High poverty schools done right will cost two times what we spend currently. It will cost more than what we spend on a magnet school. What will citizens/board members be willing to pay long term is crucial.
2.What will get cut after custodial positions and central office? In order to save teachers will the cuts come form the ED schools resources’?
3. Having some policy in place that attempts to avoid a school that is 90%-100% ED pop. is smart fiscal/business planning. Our public school system is a compliment to Wake County. Growth and prosperity for every business, organization, neighborhood, and home in every city in Wake County is influenced by how well we partner. Working as partners as one community will bring success we all want. JT had community schools as his platform, which is already in place on some level with wcpss partnerships with park,rec, community centers. We should do this with each new school.
4. Without the choice factor including some achievement option for ED children/families schools ITB will become much like what DC has. IF this is what RM wants then we need a lifetime guarantee these school will be adequately funded in terms of each one being "KIPP" caliber.
5. If I am correct, no board member have said from the last election and in this last year that they want to get rid of the magnet program.
6. School closure sounds very logical, though it seems we have all learned that running a school system must include family friendly decisions as well. Closing a school might be sensible but will not be family friendly at all.
7. We are a growing school system and the need for 14 new schools in the next few years, thus a new bond. We are working toward more stability. School closures are highly unpopular b/c it creates instability, and force every student to change schools.
8. What is considered an "achievment school" needs to be about much more than how many teachers are board certified and what the test scores are. Give schools more credit in the many others areas that makes a school GREAT. Instead of "achievment School" call them ASCEND Schools. Some acronym: ASCEND wouls stand for elements that we already know that makes them great. A,academics: test scores. S,social: volunteer, community svc and involvment ,mentoring,volunteers. C,cutural: programs, cultural arts that builds a deeper understaning of differences. E, effective elective offerings. N,nurturing by promoting the student as a unique individual. D, developmentally: improving learning is encouraged, such as kinesthetic, cross curriculum, Kahn, technology infused in the classroom, etc.
Re. magnet schools going year round: ost of our magnet schools are in old, small buildings so would increase capacity with the tradeoff over stressing an already old school. Newer building are Moore Square Middle, and Centennial Middle. Converting them to yr would be great,though is this too disruptive to families?
Balancing logic with family friendly decisions is challenging.
If wcpss makes newer schools in holly springs, Apex magnets in the future it would be good to make them year round.
God forbid that...
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 07:56 — bpuli9999any Cary kids attend a school that is outside the town limits. Especially where there might be black kids.
One trick pony
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 11:15 — shearertwDo you have any other cards other than the race one?
Any Kings, Queens or crazy eights or do we all need to "Go Fish"?
Yeah. typical.
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 11:51 — bpuli9999Just avoid the issue altogether. Pretend it does not happen.
The total number of people
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 12:13 — shearertwThe total number of people in the entire Town of Cary who want their kids to go to schools within their community for a reason that has anything to do with race is probably about 3. But you keep trying the make that the issue and you'll keep looking like a stupid 'ol fool who ain't fooling nobody.
TW ... people gravitate to
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 21:21 — user12345TW ... people gravitate to neighborhoods where people look like them and they want their kids to go to schools where the kids look like their kids. It is not politically correct to say so whites move to white communities to get their kids in white schools. We are not the race blind society you imagine.
Strange...
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 09:49 — Bob_SconceIf that were true, then I would be an African- Asian- Native- European- Latin- American. People tend to group by wealth, not race. Sure, there is some correlation there (which is, thankfully, diminishing over time), but I don't see that people check out their neighbors to the extent you think they do.
My neighborhood is actually the surest sign of this: the entire neighborhood was tract-buit: each homeowner dealt with the builder to pick a lot, floorplan, upgrades, etc..... At the time, there was no way to know who your neighbors would be, unless you happened across them as you were picking out a lot.
Isn't that semantics ..Since
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 14:50 — user12345Isn't that semantics ..Since neighborhoods tend have a narrow sales price that limits selection to a certain wealth band and wealth is correlated to race therefore neighborhoods tend to concentrate whites and blacks in different neighborhoods and most kids attend their local school, so schools tend to concentrate white and black students in different schools. I don't think they would list neighborhood race in City-Data if it was not something people requested.
User, Bob just nailed it.
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 15:56 — shearertwUser,
Bob just nailed it. Both you and Bpuli "implied" (Bob's word choice, not mine) racism when, in fact, race has nothing to do with any of it. Going back to my original comment...."one trick pony". The racism claim just ain't flying any longer. You guys have got to find a better argument. The racism charge is not just false, it's a tired old line and no one is listening any more.
The new group of people you're supposed to hate, despise and distrust are rich people in general (white, brown or black). Didn't you get the memo?
No... Not Semantics....
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 15:30 — Bob_SconceThere is a correllation between poverty and race, but it's not strict -- there are lots of poor white people and lots of rich black people. And that trend is increasing over time -- if you look in my neighborhood, it's nowhere near as homogenous as the equivalent Raleigh neighborhood would have been in, say, 1930.
But, the main point is that you implied racism in your post ("whites move to white communities to get their kids in white schools"). But, it's not racism -- it's just people live near people who have similar degrees of wealth. Society has always stratified itself that way.
Is the whole world divided
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 15:42 — woodstockIs the whole world divided up into black and white to you? Just on my street, I have neighbors from North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe... and it is a short street. That is pretty diverse and yet none of those folks would consider themselves "black." Plus, there are also many black families in the larger neighborhood. I live in a pretty nice neighborhood and it is by far the most diverse place I have every lived... and it is great! Based on your comments, you seem to have lived a very, very sheltered life.
User, People move to the
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 08:38 — shearertwUser,
People move to the best neighborhood for their families. They find the nicest house they can afford around the best schools they can find. For a variety of issues that have more to do with problems in the black community, the best neighborhoods end up having less black people living in them. White people are not looking in the windows of the neighbors to see what color they are before they buy a house. Give me a freaking break! It ain't 1960 anymore.
When I moved here 22 years
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 10:43 — loriacWhen I moved here 22 years ago, as a Yankee from NY, the real estate agent steered us away from ITB. His words 'you will not be happy there.'
I wondered at the time what the heck we were getting ourselves into.
the feeder discussion
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 08:13 — SatchHHseems to be an interesting one. Glad they're talking about these things instead of just voting with hardly any information. I hope the board members (esp. new majority) can get past their "my district only" mentality and look at what is best for the whole county. This will be a stretch for them, I realize (esp. RM), but one can hope!
Magnets?
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 07:41 — loriacI still don't understand the rationale for magnet schools with this new assignment plan. At our HS this year, they are having a devil of a time getting all the kids into their requested AP classes. Between fewer available classes and the block scheduling limitations, kids are not able to get all the AP classes they requested. Is that also the case at Enloe? Why should there be a difference?
AP classes
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 08:11 — SatchHHYour school may want to revisit block schedule if it is too limiting for student schedules. WCPSS magnet program is not about AP classes - as I'm sure you know (though there are some AG-focused magnets - most are not). It's about maximizing facility usage (downtown schools were being abandoned, which is why the magnet school program was started in the first place), providing high quality programs, reducing concentrations of poverty, etc. I was told that if there is high enough student enrollment to necessitate an AP class, the district will fund it. I wonder if there is something else going on at your school. Enloe has issues too - though I can't speak to specific AP class availability.
Magnets can't be about facility usage...
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 18:34 — raleighlauraIf they were, they would all be year round since we all know that maximizes facilities. Remember MYR?
Remember MYR?
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 22:36 — FSandYOUIt's still very alive and well.
By your reasoning magnets
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 11:43 — loriacBy your reasoning magnets should have zero base students then. Where are all those abandoned schools?
Magnets are about providing extra resources to entice people to attend. In this new plan, why do people need to be enticed? Resources should be provided for student achievement, not as a bonus for attending a certain school.
I've asked about 'revisiting' the block schedule - it's not going to happen anytime soon. Once a school is on that schedule, it's too hard to change and still have students meet graduation requirements.
We actually do have a bunch of students who need AP classes - many are the Martin MS students who were shut out of magnet HS. So there's a bubble of kids who are qualified for AP classes, but due to funding restrictions there are fewer of these. Add in the scheduling limitations of a block schedule, and now even tho the numbers are there, the kids can't get into the classes.
Everytime I scratch the surface on magnets, the less i'm convinced these are warranted. (except to prop up home values)
Check magnet history
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 16:35 — SatchHHThe abandoned schools were why the magnet program was started. No abandoned schools in WCPSS (smart facility usage) now is the result of the magnet program. Learn more about this before advocating dismantling, please. I recommend you read Gerlad Grant's book on the topic = Why there are no bad schools in Raleigh (Wake County). It's illuminating. Check Charlotte. CMS abandoned (closed) about 9 schools this past year. The closed schools were the downtown schools parents avoid now - CMS dropped diversity 10 years ago, changed their magnet program a lot, and it is hurting their bottom line (as one point of reference) a ton. The schools in the suburbs are bursting at the seams - classes in gyms, etc. It's idotic. I do think magnets should have base populations - balanced by magnet populations.
Regarding funding - Please put pressure on the board majority to ask for more money next year. Plead with Ron M to ask his buddy "Skip" Stam (his honorary campaign manager) to stop killing ED funding in our state. It's hurting everyone! Kids who want to take AP classes should be given that opportunity. I fully agree with you.
An honest answer - funding restrictions
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 13:11 — Solon77An honest assessment - yes funding restrictions are a root of many of the problems in the school system with regards to class availability and equity.
But then you launch into your - magnet hate. To answer your question - yes Enloe is facing similar issues - does that make you happy ?
Happy? No - but it makes
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 14:05 — loriacHappy? No - but it makes me wonder why we continue to spend more on magnet schools.
"Enloe is facing similar
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 13:19 — shearertw"Enloe is facing similar issues"
That's funny.....Like what....not enough seats available in AP Madarin?
My heart is breaking....
That would be Millbrook
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 16:41 — SatchHHYou must be confusing Enloe with Millbrook. Millbrook has a great Mandarin program, exchange program starting with China, etc.
Feeder pattern vs Choice list
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 07:33 — mnordbergSo the concept of feeder pattern is nice and you will always have arguements about it. However, how does the feeder pattern fit into the choice list. Does being in one elementary school automatically say that you go to the middle school unless you opt out by choosing another middle school? Or are they saying that every node feeding an elementary school will always have the same set of middle schools in priority ranking? I know from the test drive this was not the case and it was based on distance from each node to the school.
Every time they release more information about the plan, the more questions it brings up. And they still haven't addressed the perceived notion that somebody will know the 3 schools they will go to (elementary, middle, and high school) when they start K. I know there are many that want to know that and there is no discussion on the process for changing feeder patterns due to growth. Again, back to the problem of the reassignment issue in that growth is driving reassignments and nothing more complicated.
Basically the feeder
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 11:09 — kbrooks500Basically the feeder patttern is established from the standpoint of an incoming kindergartener. So when the family makes their elementary school choice they automatically know which middle school and high school they are going to get. They could opt to choose again and would have a choice list just like they did for ES.
I think this whole idea of feeder patterns though really indicates how torn our district is over choice and stability. Apparently having to rechoose schools at the MS and HS level really scares people. A feeder pattern allows people to get their kids on the "right school track" from kindergarten.
If proximity is the overall goal then choices will have to made at grades six and nine as well.
Funny
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 16:39 — SatchHHWith the current node system, we know our base elementary, middle, and high school given a specific address. We only move from that if we choose - and right now we have many choices (magnet, calendar options). Seems like we have a pretty good thing now - as long as the board adopts grandfathering when opening schools to maintain stability for nodes being shifted to fill new schools. And - we avoid the extreme have/have not disparities of SES isolated schools (e.g. if we went to strict neighborhood schools).