If you want to keep arguing about transit, please do so, on the comment string from my previous post. This is about other topics.
Booming 'burbs: What's the country's fastest-growing suburb? Not Marvin. Not Fort Mill. See this Forbes magazine story for the answer, and for a list ranking suburbs by growth rate. (Want to skip Forbes' annoying full-screen ad before reading the article? Click on "Skip this welcome screen" in upper right corner.) The chart, ranking growth from 2000 to 2006, tallies Holly Springs at No. 18, and Wake Forest at No. 20. Both are in Wake County. You might say Holly Springs is a suburb of Fuquay-Varina ... Huntersville is No. 46, and Cornelius No. 51.
Back off, bulldozers: Salisbury, which takes more pride in its historic buildings than, say, Charlotte, on Tuesday will consider (but not vote on) an ordinance to require the City Council to issue a permit for any downtown demolition. Here's the Salisbury Post's article.
Hummer Houses in Hotlanta: Here's a link to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's article last month about a proposal to limit the size of large houses on small lots. (A Nexis search didn't find any follow-up articles.)
On the verge of importance? UNC Charlotte's Ken Lambla, dean of the College of Architecture, offers a thoughtful look at the role of art and architecture in this month's Charlotte Viewpoint. He starts, "We all know that Charlotte is on the verge of something big; the question that follows is whether we are on the verge of something important? After 24 years of teaching at UNC Charlotte and being involved in architectural and urban practices, I am convinced that we are just about ready to make a shift in substance."
Anti-sprawl in Greensboro: Read about an "un-sprawl" development in Greensboro, from terrain.org, "A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments." Here's a link. It's about Southside, one of that city's first significant mixed-use infill projects, and winner of an American Planning Association award in 2003 for Outstanding Planning: Implementation. The photo shows Southside infill housing (in yellow) and renovated housing.
Driving drives down volunteering: Long commutes have a negative effect on community volunteering, a new study finds. The study says four factors influence the rate at which a community's residents volunteer: (1) residents’ attachment to the community, (2) commuting times, (3) socioeconomic characteristics such as education levels, and (4) the capacity of a community’s nonprofit groups. The study found that volunteer rates in central cities are lower (24%) than in suburbs and rural areas, which rates (29%). Here's a link to the study. Charlotte ranked No. 9 nationally for volunteering, below Milwaukee and above Tulsa. Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked No. 1.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Which 'burbs boomed?
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Volunteering is critical to a community's well being. I am pleased to know Charlotte/Mecklenburg has such a relatively high percentage doing so.
More to the point would be how 'ties to the community' and 'distance of commuting' influence volunteering.
As an elementary school child I 'knew' I was going to West Mecklenburg to be an Indian. This greatly enhanced my ties to the community where I still live. CMS, over the past 4 or 5 decades has made many efforts, both intentional and otherwise, to destroy things long term ties. Changing of assignment areas, splitting assignment areas down the middle of roads and all such do much to lessen or destroy long term community ties.
Long distance commutes are sometimes forced, but when they are intentional decisions, it may be the person would not have volunteered anyway.
(thanks for the second blog line - and a 3rd perhaps)
^ I agree with the sentiments above, but I don't think there's an easy solution for the problems facing CMS in regards to population distribution. On the one hand, "stretching" families across the city to go to another school (as in the old bus-based assignment program) breaks down ties within neighborhoods and eats away at families' volunteer time. On the other hand, Charlotte's neighborhoods are designed to concentrate wealth and poverty; the poorer schools on the east and west sides are basically hopeless if they have to rely on double-shifted single parents for their volunteer efforts.
I think the magnet programs have helped a little, but even within those schools there is usually a disconnect between magnet families and the general population. To me, the most reliable solution is to work toward economic integration of neighborhoods -- this means breaking the traditional suburban development model -- in order to provide both stability and equity for each school.
Of course, that's a lot easier said than done.
Small NEIGHBORHOOD schools in much smaller school districts would benefit ALL areas of town.
Think of it this way: Use the 6 "decentralized" CMS school districts as the starting point.
Give each area complete control. Local 5 member school board and hire a superintendent. House the much smaller admin staff IN THE SCHOOLS.
Over time, adopt nationally accepted school sizes 300, 600, and 1200 students for elementary, middle and high schools. Make it a goal to get 50% of the buses off the road (imagine the energy/pollution savings).
Now imagine the community engagement and volunteerism in every district. Maybe each big employer "adopts a district". B of A and Wachovia take the east and west, Rubbermaid north, etc.
Schemes to intergrate "economically" are an attempt to usurp the most recent Supreme Court decision regarding using race-based school policies.
And by the way, data shows that achievement and parent satisfaction is measurably higher with the sized examples stated earlier.
I have taught in a low-income school, and I can tell you right now that "neighborhood" schools will not make much headway in the city's poorer districts. Here are a few reasons:
1) Parents aren't going to be involved if they are working two jobs, or do not have a spouse, or are not present in the child's life at all.
2) Parents are not going to be involved if they don't speak the language.
3) Taking buses off the roads implies that children will walk or bike to school. Would you want your child walking down Beatties Ford before sunrise?
4) The inner-city schools are already the smallest in the system. They still lag far behind the overcrowded schools in every measurable category.
5) Poor communities have no "culture of education"; they put little value on a diploma and have little understanding of what it takes to achieve realistic economic success. Isolating the poorest communities does nothing to change their culture.
The five reasons above, along with many other factors, bascially mean that schools on the east and west sides aren't going to solve their engagement problems internally. The fact that they are often referred to as the "poor schools" indicates what the real problem is: a huge economic gap between them and their peers to the north and south. With the end of bus integration, this problem has gotten a LOT worse as parents flee the east side (and even the north side in increasing numbers) to avoid sending their kids to Garinger or Hopewell. The situation that we have now is that your zip code determines the quality of education your child receives, unless you are lucky enough to land magnet placement.
I am curious about the statement by the last anonymous: "Poor communities have no "culture of education"; they put little value on a diploma and have little understanding of what it takes to achieve realistic economic success. Isolating the poorest communities does nothing to change their culture."
We bused for integration for over 30 years. Why did that not develop a "culture of education" within our low income and minority communities? If anything it appears to me that those communities lost their appreciation for education during that time period.
Busing was not the only cultural change taking place during that time period. The culture of the American poor -- both black and white -- has generally regressed in the past 50 years toward a more unambitious, violent, aggressively ignorant stance. This is reflected in the decay of any number of social institutions -- schools, churches, volunteer organizations -- and is not helped by the fact that young poor children are basically clay in the hands of the vapid entertainment industry.
However, it would be wrong to say that nobody advanced due to busing. I have certainly met a lot of graduates from West Charlotte, West Meck, East Meck, and other now-declining schools who had a great high school experience and overcame a lot of challenges with the support of caring teachers and administration. Unfortunately the experience of those schools today -- though East is somewhat successful in fighting decline -- is totally different. Ask a West Charlotte teacher if he or she thinks WC's education is good enough to prepare a kid for college.
I would agree with your comment that "The culture of the American poor -- both black and white -- has generally regressed in the past 50 years toward a more unambitious, violent, aggressively ignorant stance." And I would agree that the entertainment industry is degrading us all, rich and poor. However, that still does not explain why so many poor communities have lost their appreciation for education over the past forty years. That has not happened in most middle and upperclass communities.
I did not mean to imply that no one benefitted from busing. It was necessary when first implemented and many were able to take advantage of the education they were provided. But many others apparently became alienated from schools and education--those are the parents of the kids who are the hardest to reach today. I believe that the breakdown of strong neighborhoods (in part because of busing)is one of the reasons for the decline of that "culture of education".
Ah, but the point of busing -and ultimately of Brown v tThe Board was not that black children would learn better when in proximity to white children (or if you prefer, poor children in proximity to affluent children). Rather it was the simple fact that state and local communities, during de jure segregation allocated resources unequally, and that obvious fact that by placing the white and black children side by side, the government would be incapable of giving providing different classroom experiences to children based on race.
That -the entire basis in fundamental law for busing itself- is a VERY different thing from busing chilidren to bolster social and educational theories related to their interaction. With all due respect to educators who believe that proportionate representation within the schools is necessary to learning, they are ONLY theories, and at that not ones that actually make much sense. If Meck county must have proportionate numbers, why not extend that to the state, and bus accross school system lines? Or for that matter extend that to levels proportionate to the nation as a whole?
There is utterly no reason to believe tha tmy dark skinned child will learn better if she sits next to a white child. Nor is there reason to believe that a poor white child is being short changed if not allowed to sit next to my upper middle class back child. The entire idea is beyond ridiculous. It's also insulting.
The fact is that there is a strong corrleation to parentla involvement FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL CHILD. IT really doesn't matter that a classmates parent is involved with their chld's educaiotn if I'm not involved with my child's education. Moving kids about to pursue social theories is relatively pointless, and decades of experience should infomr us of that.
The point that the former (low-income school) teacher is missing is simple.
In the currnt over-sized system, there is no acocuntabiltity. The district 1 and 2 representatives blame the suburbs and the suburbs blame the inner city and the non-achieving blame Raleigh and the superintendent blames the board.
Confusing isn't it.
That's what the citizens think.
In smaller schools delivered by smaller districts, there is local control. If kids don't achieve or if parents aren't satisfied, the blame is much harder to shift.
Smaller works. From time-to-time, news shows like 60 minutes will feature successful individual inner city schools. Mostly, they are Charter schools or independent private schools with nearly 100% free or reduced lunch. THEY HAVE LOCAL CONTROL.
If these smaller districts fail, you can clean house. Get rid of the board (no district representation in small districts) and/or fire the superintendent.
Our societal problems mentioned are real. However, I have many friends that have kids at Garinger, West Charlotte, Hopewell, Independence, etc.
Their hopes and dreams of education for their kids are much the same across the board.
Give them control and they will get it right--if not immediately, eventually.
Once again: neighborhood schools would be all well and fine, and nobody would argue against them, if the quality of education offered in each neighborhood was even remotely comparable. But it isn't. It is a plain statistical fact that being born on the west side of Mecklenburg County automatically reduces your chances of receiving a 'quality' education to that of winning a magnet lottery. That is not acceptable and it's not equitable to simply cast those schools off to fend for themselves.
It's not equitable now because you can't make 99 elementary schools a "priority". And you can't make 18 high schools a "priority". It's an ocean of fish. So many are lost and unaccounted for.
But if you had a school board of strong school advocates from each area that had only 2 or maybe three high schools the tide would turn.
There is NOT ONE growing urban school district our size in the nation that is improving. Why not give it a shot?
One of the problems, everyone talks around, but never wishes to address, is found in the book The Bell Curve.
One of the problems with achieving 'equitable' educations, and as alluded to in a previous post, is that some people are less intellectually gifted than others. If the average IQ is 100, then half of the population is above that and half below. In our search for equal results, which is insane, we pretend everyone has equal ability: they DON'T. Typically, parents without equal ability will have children without. The exceptions are exceptions.
So, as another poster says, some schools will not have equal resources and: "It is a plain statistical fact that being born on the west side of Mecklenburg County automatically reduces your chances of receiving a 'quality' education to that of winning a magnet lottery. That is not acceptable and it's not equitable to simply cast those schools off to fend for themselves."
Pretend, for the sake of argument, this west meck children are of lesser ability. If we want them to have a decent education, one which will help them make their way in this world, do we imagine they should get a college prep education, or a practical education, one which will teach them job skills, the ability to read and do math. Or do we continue the line we are on now, which alienates so many of them, they drop out, and many end up in jail.
^ The state Dept. of Education mandates that every student receive the basics of a college-prep education, which is one of the biggest contributors to our drop-out rate. It's grossly unrealistic to try and funnel every child in our public education system toward post-secondary education, regardless of their interests and abilities.
A few suggestions for revitalizing our schools:
- Work with the state legislature to design a "vocational" track for high school students. Instead of a collegiate-style senior research paper, these students would work toward certification in a skilled trade or marketable field.
- Better yet, redesign the senior exit project requirement to center around internships and work experience, especially for non-college-bound students.
- Redirect some funds toward construction of new alternative schools to at least double the capacity to remove troublemakers from their home schools. There is no reason whatsoever that a student should return to regular school after a violent or drug-related incident. The creation of a "super Derita" would equal the positive effect of several new schools by cleaning out the serious offenders from troubled schools. Of course, we would have to be willing to pony up funds to provide proper staffing.
- It should not be "big news" when a handful of students are expelled from the system. One of the very few positive contributions that Larry Gauvreau has made to the School Board is pressuring CMS to be more proactive in getting rid of criminal elements in the system. Students who assault faculty or deal drugs need to be gone as fast as their paperwork can be processed.
- The current system of "learning communities" looks like a positive change, and could potentially be a model for the future. But in any case, CMS must absolutely not be dissolved into separate districts. That will effectively signal the end of inter-community cooperation as we know it in Mecklenburg County.
- Schools are slowly taking the places of churches as our main point of social organization. Therefore, it's important that they broaden their function within the community beyond simply providing opportunities for our children to grow. Language courses, community arts, career advancement programs, and financial education for the disadvantaged should be offered in school facilities after-hours. This makes the school a sort of neighborhood college, integrating non-parents into the educational community and giving us better reason to fund expansion and improvement of the facilities. This is especially important in low-income neighborhoods where engagement and self-improvement are vital.
- Replace the entire School Board as soon as possible. There is no government entity in the county which is less effective and more divisive, and ultimately a bigger detriment to our future.
- Work on tweaking the magnet programs to give our students the best chance possible to pursue their personal goals. Regardless of the assignment system we use, it is vital that students anywhere in the system have access to resources everywhere in the system. There is simply no reason that any student should be "stuck" with low-quality education.
- Pony up money to pay teachers and administrators a reasonable rate for what they do. 35k for a brutal 60-hour work week under stressful conditions with the likelihood of a second job during the summer is simply not competitive. If we want to retain good teachers, we are going to have to pay for them. Same goes for administrators, who are often fired for low performance before they even have a chance to change their predecessor's policies.
- Increase oversight over athletics programs and put severe restrictions on the ability of students to play sports while failing classes. Many programs are trying hard to clean up, but it needs to be clear from the top down that athletics are an EXTRAcurricular activity, not a constitutional right.
I'm sure a lot more can be done, but I think the goals above are achievable and would make significant headway toward restoring public faith in CMS.
Anon 9:08
"But in any case, CMS must absolutely not be dissolved into separate districts. That will effectively signal the end of inter-community cooperation as we know it in Mecklenburg County."
How do we currently have inter-community cooperation?
No one from Myers Park, Mint Hill, West Meck or any other place in the county has engaged or otherwise "cooperated" in educating kids in Northern Mecklenburg--nor should they. They should be worrying about educating their own kids.
YOUR narrative reeks of a CMS or bureaucratic insider (or an educational consultant). Keeping the power structure at CMS in place "for the children" or for "inter-community cooperation"?
I've been here for 19 years and every year it's the same. B.S. slogans like "success is right around the corner!" or "prepare for greatness!".
Push the real power down to the people in every part of the county. Achievement and citizen satisfaction will quickly follow.
The following statement really requires more than passign attention, since I suspect that quite a number of people may read it and think it makes perfect sense.
"It is a plain statistical fact that being born on the west side of Mecklenburg County automatically reduces your chances of receiving a 'quality' education to that of winning a magnet lottery."
Break that down and it presumes that the school system does soemthing different to West side schools than it does elsewhere. Does it really?
Well yes: it spends far more per pupil in those schools than in non-high poverty schools. CMS does not short change those schools, it in fact provides MORE resources there than elsewhere. Not less.
It uses the same cirricula, the same rules and regulations. The same standards.
The statement, then, is not true. It can't be so that by providing exactly the same education in terms of the standards, cirricula, etc, and applying MORE resources to the task, that the school system is providing a lesser educaiton to those children than they would recieve elsewhere.
I think you can make a strong case that CMS has a plethora of problems with the way it operates, but it is plainly not the case that they provide a lesser educaiotn to blakc schools. (And in fact to make that argument, you must argue that the Board of Ed, which hs for years had all of its many black members voting with the majority, and the schools administration which, in which blacks are strongly represented -Dr. Pughsley, for example, was deputy supt and then supt from about 1996 to 2005- actively discriminated against black students. That argument is absurd. Black leaders within the BOE and CMS have been very powerful for a very long time.)
So why are the outcomes in those schools different? Well, since it isn't the school system that leaves only cultural influences. Problem is, it is not the school systems role -nor arguably government's- to engage in the fool's errand of attempting to equalize outcomes based on varying cultural factors.
How do we currently have inter-community cooperation?
For starters, parents from Myers Park, Mint Hill, and West Meck (to use your examples) are all involved in this conversation. Split the system into multiple districts and you're basically carving the county into isolated chunks.
While that might be an appealing option for people in successful assignment zones, it offers no resolution to the huge obstacles faced by struggling schools. So that solution does not work, assuming we are seeking a cooperative resolution that benefits the entire city and not just a few affluent neighborhoods.
No one from Myers Park, Mint Hill, West Meck or any other place in the county has engaged or otherwise "cooperated" in educating kids in Northern Mecklenburg--nor should they. They should be worrying about educating their own kids.
Your first statement is patently false. Your second is the kind of Me-myself-and-I insularity that has already fragmented the county and threatens to turn Charlotte into the next Atlanta.
Well yes: it spends far more per pupil in those schools than in non-high poverty schools. CMS does not short change those schools, it in fact provides MORE resources there than elsewhere. Not less.
It uses the same cirricula, the same rules and regulations. The same standards.
It is true that more money is spent per pupil in high-poverty schools; however, it does not follow that the standards (or the results) are the same.
A simple experiment that I suggest you conduct sometime this school year: Sit in an Honors-level class (any subject, any grade level) at Providence or Ardrey Kell. Then sit in the same class, same subject and grade level, at West Charlotte. In theory -- and according to federal, state and CMS policy -- those classes should be doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. According to your assertion, the West Charlotte classroom should have slightly higher-quality resources to work with and a slightly better teacher.
But, if you take the time to conduct this experiment, you will find that it's quite clear that the ACTUAL resources available to students and teachers in the classroom directly reflects the socio-economic status of the nearby area. That is a major problem for this city, and one that deserves not to be swept under the carpet and ignored until we find ourselves ghettoizing beyond relief.
Mr. Educrat,
Surely you must be the Associate Superintendent of Educational Double speak/blogging at CMS. No normal people believe this drivel.
You still haven't answered your own question. Where do we have "inter-community cooperation" in our educational delivery system? (other than the convenience of shuffling felons from school-to-school).
The fact is we don't.
And it's interesting that in your thirst to maintain power, you basically call lower and middle class blacks and whites incapable of educating their kids.
"So that solution does not work, assuming we are seeking a cooperative resolution that benefits the entire city and not just a few affluent neighborhoods."
Limosine liberalism at its worst.
Is it too much to ask for civil discourse on this blog? The firebombs on the transit issues are bad enough, no need to bring that kind of venom into an educational forum as well.
Surely you must be the Associate Superintendent of Educational Double speak/blogging at CMS. No normal people believe this drivel.
I'm not an "educrat", but I have worked in education for a few years now as a teacher. While it may be true that "normal" people disagree with my positions, it's also true that "normal" people don't have an insider's view of the school system.
I will tell you honestly that I felt very differently about CMS before I started working there. But once you actually get into the classroom and get your mind around some of the problems faced by the system, the picture looks very different.
You still haven't answered your own question. Where do we have "inter-community cooperation" in our educational delivery system? (other than the convenience of shuffling felons from school-to-school).
As I said earlier, the entire county is invested in the success of CMS (except for those who purport to support public education while working to tear it up by the roots). The alternative -- several systems existing side-by-side -- would effectively put different parts of the county (and potentially different parts of neighborhoods) in competition with one another on the basis of educational quality. In other words, only a highly irresponsible parent would ever move into central Charlotte when a better educational system would be avaialable to the north or south.
That might sound like healthy competition from a suburban perspective, but it would be the end of any hope for revitalization on the east or west sides and put a major damper on development in the city's central district.
And it's interesting that in your thirst to maintain power, you basically call lower and middle class blacks and whites incapable of educating their kids.
I take offense to each part of that sentence -- the implication that I'm hungry for power (I'm a teacher, for Pete's sake), the implication that I have insulted parents, and the flagrant misrepresentation of my words. I have not misrepresented your position; I would expect the same respect from you.
Limosine liberalism at its worst.
This label, borrowed directly from conservative talk radio, does nothing but dilute the conversation down to a name-calling contest. If you've got nothing productive to say...
... then you must be a liberal.
More name calling. Still waiting on productive debate.
Makes me wonder why we're still not talking about the topic. The last 3 posts -- other than my own at 3:22 and 4:49 -- have been attempts to attack me personally for expressing my experiences and thoughts about the situation.
I will take this as a victory for myself and move on. Thanks for playing.
Your so-called 'victory' is pyrrhic at best. Don't be too proud of it.
Okay.
If my words earlier were too harsh for you, I sincerely apologize.
I have enormous respect for teachers and the uphill battles they face.
Where do you teach and or if you prefer, tell me who represents your school on the school board?
I appreciate the sincere apology. I have worked at Providence, Hopewell and East Mecklenburg since joining CMS. Seen a little bit of everything the district has to offer.
One thing I wish the public was more aware of is a project going on at East called the All-Star Teacher Initiative. Long story short, it's a private-school-style effort to raise funds from alumni in order to provide completely unrestricted funds for facilities and teacher-led projects. So far, my understanding is that they've already raised somewhere in the neighborhood of a million dollars -- light years beyond what anyone would have expected. So the teachers there are able to literally fill out a piece of paper and receive approval to spend privately-donated money on whatever project benefits them most.
Personally I would like to see the county's fiscal conservatives push other schools to initiate this kind of program. It's old hat in university and private-school circles, but for some reason public schools have never done it. East has already received some national attention for ASTI's success, and the Observer ran a pretty big article on it some weeks back. I really believe that, if every school implemented an effective program like this, we'd see major changes across the board in student, parent, teacher and administrator satisfaction with CMS.
OK, you think that the honors level course at West would be inferior. Why? Have the blacks on the school board attempted to discriminate against black students? Have the black administrators done so?
I would agree without question that the outcomes are going to be different. It's a simple reality that equal opportunities DO NOT result in equal outcomes. What may not be as obvious, but is every bit as true is that equal outocomes cannot be achioeved in any fashion other than prohibiting achievement. (No one can be forced to accomplish something, but the force of government can be used to prevent people from accomplishing something.) That's why it is inded a fool's errand to attemtp to equalize outcomes.
But back to the question. Since you believe that it is the school system and not the students, their parents and the cultural influences around them that account for the performance in those schools, and since placing a disproprtionately large amount fo resources in those areas doesn't work, what will?
Since you believe that it is the school system and not the students, their parents and the cultural influences around them that account for the performance in those schools, and since placing a disproprtionately large amount fo resources in those areas doesn't work, what will?
First, I never argued in favor of what you have asserted above. Obviously there are many, many influences that determine student achievement; but CMS is not in control of most of them. Whether a parent spends time reading to a child, or whether the child has anyone waiting at home when she arrives from school, or whether the child is even eating dinner on a nightly basis, cannot be solved by changing educational policies. What CMS can do is approach the problems within its jurisdiction with the serious intent of giving troubled children the best shot possible to succeed in spite of their challenges; and that means attacking problems proactively rather than simply shrugging and allowing them to get progressively worse. The rest will have to be left to city government to try and solve.
And for the record, I don't think that "throwing money" at the problem is a solution unto itself. Again, it's a matter of common sense that the money needs to be allocated sensibly and effectively; but it's also a matter of common sense that failing schools need a "disproportionate" amount of help in order to change their fortunes. It is still the case that schools in high-poverty areas are, for the most part, crumbling around the students that use them. It is still the case that only a handful of dedicated, qualified teachers have remained in each of the high-poverty schools long enough to make a serious impact on the community. And it is still the case that they face problems with graffiti, theft, and violence on a more regular basis than their affluent neighbors. And perhaps the biggest difference is that the neediest schools receive the lowest level of support from their surrounding communities, in terms of volunteer efforts and tangible donations (try getting half a class at Garinger to purchase notebooks before the year is half over -- it's a lost cause that is invariably solved by means of the teacher's personal paycheck). So it strikes me, frankly, as quite callous to suggest that there should be no extra help given to schools that are obviously in desperate need, as if they are eating off gold-plated lunch trays and using laptop computers.
What may not be as obvious, but is every bit as true is that equal outocomes cannot be achioeved in any fashion other than prohibiting achievement.
I understand that every student will not achieve an equal outcome. However, it is an undeniable fact that students at certain schools are inherently disadvantaged by no other element than the school to which they're assigned, which is a detriment to our school system and an indictment of our community.
I must disagree with the statement "It is still the case that schools in high-poverty areas are, for the most part, crumbling around the students that use them". There are many examples of beautifully renovated schools, especially elementaries and middle schools, in those high poverty areas. (Visit First Ward, Ried Park, Walter G. Byers, etc.). There are indeed some schools that are a disgrace, but these also include older schools in the suburbs (take a hard look at South and North Meck). The issue has not been neglect of high poverty schools but of a history of poor maintenance throughout the system. For all the talk of the pride Meck. County citizens had for their school system, when we arrived here in the early 90's it certainly didn't appear that there was much pride. Back then we truly did have schools crumbling around the students--students from all different socio-economic levels--and that was well before busing ended! Why did this county allow that to go on for so long?
^ I didn't mean to suggest that high-poverty schools are neglected per se, simply that they're in bad shape from aging and lack of TLC over the years. You're right that there are suburban examples of this too, and those ought to be taken care of as well. I hope, but doubt very strongly, that the newer schools being built are designed to be more resistant to aging (this usually requires more expensive materials, which are not practical under the current political conditions).
But even beyond maintenance issues, the older schools are simply not adequate as educational facilities. The lack of classroom space is well-publicized, but there's also a dreadful lack of space for other functions. Computer labs, which are located on every hall in newer schools, are typically not available for general use at older schools. There are often no designated areas for testing; the library or cafeteria is simply shut down during testing (which is usually the last month or two of the year, when library space is most important). Teachers' space is shared with maintenance and copy facilities... the list goes on and on. That's why it's so frustrating to me when people come out against bond packages which, though heavily criticized, are urgent to the health of the school system. Likewise, it's frustrating to see the School Board politicize things to the point that money is being spent on football stadiums while classes are being held in an auditorium with folding chairs.
As to why it's been this way for so long... who knows? This region has a history of anti-educational and anti-government sentiment that sometimes drives us to cannibalize our own community for political ends.
We need URBAN RENEWAL in CHARLOTTE . So many areas are getting run down and houses boarded up and left to rot; I see a lot of well built housing but I see a lot of trash, cigarette buts and litter all over the place; I sometimes wonder what visitors to this city think, we are Perhaps PIGS that smoke cigarettes and then flick them out the window and wallow in sandwich wrappers for a kick. Urban Renewal for low income slums and give them a wad of cash for their dump so they may succeed.
Face it , we need brand new Schools around here; The Schools you have are falling apart and I have a plan for this city to use RICHTEX/HANSON Brick and NUCORE steel in the rehab process; We can give tax benefits for steel and stone and brick; Also, I would like to incorporate by eminate domain taking old Toys R us buildings and old sams clubs and retrofitting these old buildings into high schools with donated tax benefit from LOWES and others from the community. I want to be your MAYOR someday when Mayor McCrory hangs up his spurs. I'll kick ass here, I'll work endless to get the OUTERBELT all the way through if I have to use paid prison labor. I am a Democrat with a strong arm.
We can take the most over crowded schools and go to split sessions through the day; When I lived in California we had 6 AM to 12Pm and 12:30 PM to 6:pm ; Im not sure what this would do to traffic flow and this would keep from over building schools; This would only be in way over crowded schools. And if this dont work we can go back to the old system the following year, nothings perfect not even Charlotte.
if they could build schools up , say four floors instead of two all would be well; I do think the Federal Law states unly two floors but they may have to have elevators , handicap routes out and it could be more exspensive. Please give me a chance to be Charlottes Mayor someday I am a problem solver not a hot wind blower.
In Ohio we got rid of BUSING 15 years ago and it works great ; Now everyone gets a better education and not a feeling of great education; We all know Myers park schools and a few others are the best from an academic standpoint. Why cant we have this standard at every school.
Last thing I want is young Black youths not getting an education ; Why, I would like to see all Black youths get a free Two -year education as part of a reperation on civil rights; I want to be able to 'walk' down a Black Nieghborhood with a cup of coffee and not spill it on my shirt rom running. Charlotte suffers from People neglect; I want to see Black Churches stand up and encourage education as an alternative to a life of crime; I want OPRAH WINFREY in Charlotte as a role model for a Black caucas and promote her new clothing line for all women. I want Bob Johnson to speak at the Black forum about success and not just about money but success.
^ Seriously, this habit you have of posting 4 or 5 times in a row is incredibly annoying. You're doing it all over the Observer blogs and just repeating basically the same point over and over again. Use proper etiquette or just go away.
ANON: 8/09/2007 03:20:00 PM
Said:
That's why it's so frustrating to me when people come out against bond packages which, though heavily criticized, are urgent to the health of the school system. Likewise, it's frustrating to see the School Board politicize things to the point that money is being spent on football stadiums while classes are being held in an auditorium with folding chairs.
As to why it's been this way for so long... who knows? This region has a history of anti-educational and anti-government sentiment that sometimes drives us to cannibalize our own community for political ends.
*******************
The policalization of CMS is long established. The reason maintenance has not been properly performed is political. The money is and has been there. The maintenance department is just regularly shortchanged.
The reason we don't have enough schools is because their is a group of people, starting with Arthur Griffin of years past, led now by George Dunlap and Vilma Leake, with support from Joe White etc, who have supported rebuilding schools UNNECESSARILY, instead of focusing on new seats. They call this renovation. Well, if maintenance had been properly funded, the renovations wouldn't be necessary.
So far as not having enough room for a computer lab. Bah! Computer labs don't take up any more room then typing classes did. The problem is, as always, overcrowding. Which goes back to my previous statement.
Yes, we need more schools. The waste continues apace.
After recommendations from the Gantt/Bessant committee, the Martin committee and the CCBAC, CMS still politicizes projects, proposing spending money wastefully, so I will continue to vote NO.
Lewis Guignard
I'm in my 20's and went to Elizabeth Traditional Elementary school in the early 1990's, during a time when gentrification in Elizabeth was not as widespread and many nearby areas where still in neglect. Despite it's shortcomings at the time the school kept marching forward. One thing I find so different compared to other CMS school, being it has a multi-story floorplan while many of the "suburban" schools are on one floor. It never felt inadequate because the building is "old". On the contrary many of us who went there are very proud of the long history of Elizabeth Elementary. ;)
Lewis,
I completely agree that maintenance issues are utterly underfunded because of politicized rebuilding projects. However, this does not mean that a "no" vote will make the situation any better. A bond failure will simply mean further cutbacks across the board, ultimately making the problem even worse and raising the numbers for the next go-round.
A more appropriate form of action would be to campaign against the specific Board members that you feel are hampering the process (personally I would like to see the entire Board replaced), or perhaps even to run for office yourself. Since the Board is not directly punished when bonds fail, it seems unfair to use the bonds as a symbolic gesture against them when ultimately the only ones who will suffer for it are the schools themselves.
Rusting bridges. You kill me.
Try soon to be on the 26 floor of The Avenue with a nice sweet view of the B of A, City Club, IJL, TradeMark, Carilon, Panther's Stadium, Bobcat's arena, soon The Vue and all the new Novare projects surrounding the new 5 acre city park and ball field.
Basking in the sun atop my 10th floor amenities deck with a jr. olympic pool, WiFi, internet cafe, pool tables, gaming center, business center, gym, in building movie theater and concierge.
Not to mention my very tiny 1,300 plus sq. ft.
Very roomy for an uptown condo. Did I mention the 14 floor to ceiling windows in my unit that let in that incredible view ?
Oh yeah, life just sucks uptown.
test
OK, so folks moved in an told us that the schools would get better if we resegregated them. They won their lawsuit and left town. Does anybody really claim that the schools improved?
Now it seems that people who supported resegregation tell us that the solution is to add more layers of bureaucracy and spread them out in more and more offices.
Maybe the problem with the schools is not enough administrators and not enough office buildings. But I remain skeptical.
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