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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.
Working with the faith community
Submitted by KeungHui on 08/20/2008 - 08:47
Don't be surprised if you see news stories today about the school system's efforts to reach out to the faith community.
The school district has scheduled a media availability this morning at Brentwood Elementary School in North Raleigh. Assistant Superintendent Marvin Connelly will talk with reporters about efforts to encourage faith communities to partner with schools to support student learning.
At the school, Brentwood faculty, staff, parents and members of a North Raleigh church will be working on a landscaping project designed and carried out with materials donated by church members.
UPDATE
Click here for the district's press release.Â
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Comments
bad faith
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 20:11 — JustWonderingSecular public schools should not explicitly solicit help from religious groups. Inevitable questions about partiality will arise.
Are you kidding me with
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 10:43 — rr77rr99Are you kidding me with this? They can't even whisper the word "Christmas" in schools and they are reaching out to the faith community? Okay, whatever. They make up their own rules as they go along!
Also, if there were COMMUNITY based schools, I do believe more local businesses, non profits, and faith based organizations would play more of a "village" role in raising the children, but with the constant "balancing " why would any community want to "invest" in a school that WCPSS likes to always remind us DOES NOT BELONG TO A COMMUNITY... to the parents, to the kids, to anyone but THEM!
Go ahead, reach out, and then bite them in the hand like you always do!
Unfortunately it only takes
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 09:22 — gwaihirUnfortunately it only takes one secularist to protest, and then the whole partnership idea will come tumbling down.
I think it is a good idea that churches, whose missions are to help the poor and disadvantaged, will spend time working on a school like Brentwood. I don't think the Brentwood parents can provide as much as Lacy's parents, so a church could help fill a gap. Maybe synagogues, mosques, and temples could also get in on the act.
Maybe the BOE are worried about the increase in homeschooling, or maybe schools like Brentwood are in such dire straits now, that they are willing to risk the wrath of the secularists?
Eh...
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 11:37 — Bob_SconceThe President and both his potential successors have supported governments using faith-based organizations. As long as they're not putting government support behind a religious message, it should be fine.
 The church here isn't there to prostheletize -- it just wants to make a difference and picked Brentwood, a local school that could use some help.Â
 A former pastor of mine, who had served in Morehead City previously, was reading old archives of the church record and, evidently before welfare, it used to be common for the City Council to refer individuals to the church for help.
I will wait and see what
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 12:45 — gwaihirI will wait and see what happens. I hope it works out well, and I think the church could indeed make a difference. But you cannot have missed the attitude among some, that ANY involvement of ANY church in the schools in ANY way, is not on. Thus I am pessimistic that everyone will support this.
Hopefully, the project will not get derailed. Brentwood could probably use all the help they can get.