Points for Tonight at Shamrock/Druid Hills
Everyone must attend tonight's redistricting meeting at Shamrock/Druid Hills Middle -- even if you think you're not affected, you are -- we will lose teachers, financial support, and key parental involvement. Some examples of how you will be affected? No art special, no science special, no Reflections, no Chess Club, no Hospitality chairs, no Library Committe chairs, no Ambassador leaders, no Garden Committee leaders -- the list goes on and on. Your community needs you there tonight and every other night you possibly can. Every parent and stakeholder should have a personal goal of attending TWO meetings.
Process Points to Follow:
1. Be on time, or better yet, be early.
2. Sit at a table (8-12 roundtops) with 1/3-1/2 Fernbank people.
3. Control the pen, control the mike, or better yet, both. Each table will have a "scribe" -- be it. Each table will have a "reporter," who will speak for 2 min. -- be it.
4. When you get to "Option 3," be clear and concise. Use Fernbank as an example of the larger theme -- e.g., not breaking up long-established neighborhoods, moving kids to different programs, supporting larger schools.
5. When you hear a point that is consistent with our position, go ahead and applaud.
Substance Points to Follow:
1. We need a clear strategic vision first, before we implement redistricting for fewer, bigger schools.
2. With that vision in place, follow the Board's own goals:
-- don't split in half historic neighborhoods, like Fernbank, where the building has supported the same neighborhood for 50+ years and the school's many buildings have served Druid Hills for 90+ years.
-- don't move children from one kind of educational program to another, like IB. The IB program should be available to more students, not fewer. We support a larger school of 900 and providing more access to IB.
-- the plan must account for future growth. Construction on hundreds of residences for Emory and CDC families is breaking ground this year. According to the Board's own goals, those residences should be zoned to Briar Vista.
-- the plan must provide safe, walkable environments and pay attention to traffic patterns, and not further clog the Clifton Corridor.
-- decisions should be based on actual cost benefits, not on speculation.
Response on smaller issues:
1. We have no official position on location of magnets. If conversation at your table focuses on that, incorporate that concern into your points and MOVE ON.
2. If anyone suggests making Briar Vista a PK-K or PK-1 campus for Fernbank's children, talk about 1100 students and families with multiple children driving back and forth and back and forth along Clifton Road during the morning rush hour. Enough said.
Finally, schools from our cluster will be there tonight in DROVES. Be there -- for your friends, your neighbors, your children, and OUR school.
282 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 282 of 282"Three years ago, 95 kids graduated from Fernbank 5th grade. All but 9 went to Shamrock.
Call the front office if you want the numbers from other years. It ranges from 9-18."
How many of these continue at and graduate from Druid Hills High School?
"Three years ago, 95 kids graduated from Fernbank 5th grade. All but 9 went to Shamrock."
Problem with this statistic is you are missing the kids who bail our of Fernbank earlier. Many kids leave after 3rd or 4th to secure their places in private schools before the big rush after 5th grade. Looking only at the kids who graduate is misleading.
"What I find most disturbing is the deafening silence coming from Central and South DeKalb."
Yep. Very curious. But remember their BOE members always have a special "hand" they play -- as SCW did last year when county-wide redistricting wasn't even on the table. Last year, the task force was looking only at closing low enrollment schools (and the subsequent redistricting of students whose schools would close). SCW put a stop to that because she played the "hand" she always plays.
And what is the public telling the consultants in these public meetings? SLOW DOWN! Close the small schools first -- then let the dust settle for a year or so and THEN revisit county-wide re-districiting. No wonder it feels like deja vu!
SO, SO SAD!! As someone else pointed out, many of the parents from the low-enrolled schools in south DeKalb "get it." They UNDERSTAND a small school can be a BAD thing. They UNDERSTAND that more kids means more money for Art, Music, PE, etc.
BUT, SCW has confused many of her constituents to the point of paralysis. I'm bet a lot of the "silent South DeKalb" parents are sitting back to let SCW "take care of it" -- as she always seems to have the political power to do.
To the South DeKalb parents who get it, I beg of you to organize. Yes, I know many of you have secured spots for your children in magnet schools and other schools outside your home school. But, please, now is not the time to abandon advocating for your home school (whether your kid attends it or not). I don't even care if you don't come "back home" after all is said and done. Just, please, please during this process, stand up for your home community. Help them advocate to close smaller schools AS LONG AS DCSS WILL PROMISE EQUITABLE PROGRAMS IN ALL SCHOOLS. You hold all the political power, please use it to better your home school!
Ella, does TMS have any more room for the Pleasantdale students than HMS does? HMS welcomes these students with open arms. Based on the 2020 Plan, DCSS will have to consider opening another middle school in the Tucker/Henderson area anyway.
You really do have to explain why you have it out for Evansdale. The facts hold -- LHS will have room for ALL its current students once the addition is complete. No one in the LHS district is advocating kicking out kids who can "walk to LHS." Where is this schlock coming from? Quit perpetrating it.
I, for one, don't blanch at the thought of my children attending TMS or THS over HMS or LHS because ALL of these schools are doing stellar jobs educating and supporting DCSS students. I won't/don't speak for other EES parents.
I will say, however, moving schools (or parts of schools) out of existing patterns in the LHS district is trying to fix something that ain't broken!
For all of you who think this has turned into a Fernbank bashing take another look at the internal email that started this whole debate.
For all of you calling for cooperation they do not to nor have they ever wanted to cooperate on this issue. But who can blame them. They are being called out for attempting to twist the message to fit their purposes. Control the pen, control the mike. Don't forget that.
Second, these are public schools. It is not their school anymore than it is mine or yours. If you want assurances that your child will not be sent to a different school send them to private school.
Finally, leaving their and Sagamore Hills school boundaries intact does so at the expense of the kids at Briar Vista. The school districts have not been touched in over 30 years. The county has a duty to all students to make sure that funds and programs are equally available. That means correcting population imbalances.
The DCSS has raised this issue and is now looking to the general public to come up with answers. That is the flaw in the process. Everyone will work for their own self interest. DCSS needs to step in and do what they were elected to do. Decide what is best for all the county not just a select few.
@ Anonymous 2:21
"Call the front office if you want the numbers from other years. "
And that's what you consider a public source - the public calling the front office...?
@ anonymous 7:13
"For all of you who think this has turned into a Fernbank bashing take another look at the internal email that started this whole debate.
For all of you calling for cooperation they do not to nor have they ever wanted to cooperate on this issue. But who can blame them."
So true. And who can blame them. They kept the $7,000,000 outdated and economically unsustainable Fernbank Science Center virtually untouched last year while science scores across DCSS decline at a precipitous rate.
Unbelievable. We are closing down neighborhood schools, but we're keeping alive Fernbank Science Center at $7,000,000 a year so thousands of kids can be bused ONCE A YEAR to a science teacher. Does this make any sense to anyone in DeKalb except the Fernbank community? If they can keep this $7,000,000 cost center alive that has drained science resources from science classrooms throughout DCSS, then keeping DCSS from moving 105 students to make Briar Vista an efficient cost center should be no problem for them.
"Finally, leaving their and Sagamore Hills school boundaries intact does so at the expense of the kids at Briar Vista. The school districts have not been touched in over 30 years. The county has a duty to all students to make sure that funds and programs are equally available. That means correcting population imbalances."
Let's be realistic. The Briar Vista district is not sustainable no matter how many Druid Hills kids you try to force into it. The Jewish school is expanding and that neighborhood will be booming in the next few years. It comprises half of the existing Briar Vista district as it is. Unless the plan is to extend the Briar Vista district out another 5 miles the school will fold in the next 5-7 years.
Additionally, Briar Vista is a choice school and as such accepts students from all over the county. Problem is, they don't choose to go.
"And that's what you consider a public source - the public calling the front office...?"
Uh, yes? Considering the fact that this information is not officially recorded the only people who truly know the stats are the school secretaries.
@ anonymous 9:34
""And that's what you consider a public source - the public calling the front office...?"
Uh, yes? Considering the fact that this information is not officially recorded the only people who truly know the stats are the school secretaries. "
So I guess you must be the school secretary posting your stats of all those FB students who go on to the Shamrock and Druid Hills?
Reading these blogs has made me ill and angry about the ignorance that we all have about each others schools. So little is known and much that is spoken is word of mouth and not with facts.
I live in the Tucker area and my husband graduated from THS along with 2 of our children. This community is strong and each elementary school except for one has strong parental involvement.
Facts: Midvale is an IB elementary school, Tucker Middle is in the last stages of the IB application and should know this spring, Tucker High is an IB school but you wouldn't know that.
IB means exposing the kids to another way of thinking. It is also across the curriculum. At the high school level, you are selected to participate in 11th and 12th grade.
I attended the Shamrock meeting and sat with SC2 schools from different areas and we all agreed we want equity throughout the system.
It is unrealistic to think that nothing will happen for the next year and people need to realize that. What astounds me is that I hear comments about "When did this all start?" People only get involved when it affects their personal school.
This county is in long overdue for redistricting and I pray that comments from all the Option 3 sceniaros are given thought.
Get involved with your school councils - Emory Lavista Parent Council, Tucker Parent Council, Dunwoody (??); the only region lacking is in the south... these groups keep track of what's going and try to keep the facts straight.
The busing needs to stop; AYP is federally mandated (stuck with that for now) but we can control administrative transfers and enforcement of affadavits. I also believe we need to make Gifted magnets history and bring the programs into each school. The biggest reason the magnets work is that discipline is not an issue. We need to have stronger discipline and enforcement to make ALL schools work!
To me if Livsey were to come to Midvale we would have a powerhouse. Both are excellent with great parental involvement but people are scared, uninformed and listen to gossip.
TMS has no room for Pleasantdale at this time. Did you know that they have an annex at Avondale Middle this year?They had an annex at Columbia Middle two years ago and then the following year they crammed them inside the school building which caused overcrowding.
We have parents asking for transfers into TMS and THS all the time. This year THS had an additional 200 freshmen show up that were not at TMS the previous year!!! Where did they come from?? Do not know.... it was chaos for the first 3 weeks to balance the classes and my child had their schedule changed 3 times.
I can't afford private school but fight like the devil to stay informed and involved long before these other issues about redistricting came about.
"So I guess you must be the school secretary posting your stats of all those FB students who go on to the Shamrock and Druid Hills?"
Okay, let's do this slowly. You are the one who insisted on a "public" source. Naturally the parents who have a school directory can go through it and tell you how many kids from their particular school continued on to the middle school. But the only "public" source for this type of information would really be the school secretary, wouldn't it. But you don't really care about that do you?
"If they can keep this $7,000,000 cost center alive that has drained science resources from science classrooms throughout DCSS"
This is not a "cause-effect" relationship. Remove the science center and I would bet not a single penny of the savings would go towards science education. The powers-that-be in Central Office would suck those funds into their operating budget and divert them to instructional coaches, MIS, etc., etc. Who will oversee that these funds will be used for science??? Is there a single leader in the central office at DCSS who knows one thing about science, how to teach it, or how to ensure that quality teachers are in place to teach our kids? The fact is, if the science center is zeroed out, the entire staff, including teachers, would be laid off, and if they are lucky they can apply for and obtain employment in DCSS. If they are smart, they will go to Fulton or Gwinnett.
With regard to the earlier post about the Fernbank School Council citing the 450 number and now disavowing it, if you were at the meetings you would have heard that Fernbank has taken the time to consult an expert on the QBE law (i.e. Joe Martin, one of its authors) and has learned that all the talk about 450 is simply incorrect. Further, if you were paying attention, by Thursday's public meeting even MGT had stopped talking about that number. Without the bright line of 450 (at or above DCSS gets the money, below it does not), the burden is on DCSS to show the economic advantages of moving all these students around and why that trumps the widespread disruption that such movement will cause.
@ Anonymous 10:22
Face it and give it a rest. Fernbank Elementary School Council's open letter to the Board last year was willing to let 4 schools get closed to save money. Fernbank was happy with the 450 number last year when South DeKalb Schools were to be closed. Nothing in the letter said 450 might not be the magic number. You guys just said - close 'em. Now that the numbers might affect you you've hired experts and organizing, etc.
You were willing to shut down entire neighborhood schools without blinking an eye or even questioning the numbers (although I firmly believe in shuttering small schools and redistricting ALL over the county in order to funnel more money to ALL schools).
You guys need to move on and hope people forget about the letter urging the BOE to close those schools in order to meet the 450 maximum. The letter is a matter of public record. The more you try to say "we didn't really mean what we said", the worse it looks and the more it draws attention to it.
@ anonymous 10:09 pm
"The fact is, if the science center is zeroed out, the entire staff, including teachers, would be laid off, and if they are lucky they can apply for and obtain employment in DCSS. If they are smart, they will go to Fulton or Gwinnett. "
So you rationale is that we need to keep this $7,000,000 center that lets students get one science lesson a year and employs 28 teachers because you think the Central Office will just suck up the money and we need to keep these teachers employed. That's not a very compelling argument.
$7,000,000 for 28 teachers is ridiculous. Close this outdated 1950s center. Parents of schools that are being closed should be up in arms that this $7,000,000 center that employs 28 teachers and is not a school will stay intact. But then who said DCSS is fair or cost effective for students.
IB in elementary schools is mostly a name-only designation. But a few facts for you who don't know much about it.
1) IB schools do the same curriculum as other elementary schools - they add IB profiles, behaviors, and projects, but, like any flexible effort, it is what you put into it. I'm sure there are some good schools that offer more than our IB elementary schools in terms of academics, specials, and challenge. In other words, it ain't what it's cracked up to be. Fernbank would be the exact same elementary school if you took away IB.
2) Being IB isn't equivalent to magnet. They don't get extras in terms of funding or programs or teachers or materials. There isn't anything "better" about IB schools. They just applied and got it.
3) You can't have IB in every elementary school. IB certification is a years-long process (teacher training, school tours, application, etc.), and IB is not meant to be a system-wide thing. It is certainly not up to a local school board to decide to spread the program across a system. Each school has to apply individually to the international organization.
4) IB in elementary school is a completely different beast from middle school and high school. The high school IB is the elite, world-respected curriculum, better than AP. Middle school is meant to help prepare students for high school IB. Elementary IB applies to the whole school, has nothing to do with academics or rigor and does not guarantee anything. Kids in elementary IB will not do better in middle school IB and high school IB than kids who just go into the high school IB (since that is really the only level of IB that means anything).
I have friends who have been involved with IB for many years who believe that both the push for IB primary schools and the push for public schools to embrace the primary years program are all driven by money.
One friend believes that the organization actually has different standards for public schools and private ones, as it relates to elementary schools.
I am a magnet parent and think consolidation could strenghten the magnet program and be a good move for both students and teachers. But there are way too many unanswered questions and I don't think the system can successfuly pull off a magnet consolidation at the same time they are trying to redraw so many district lines.
I have held my tongue but most of the comments opposing consolidating the magnet program for CMS and CCHS talk about how the magnet program benefits the residents because some are taking magnet classes. Other than unsubstantiated rumors about a lack of sports and clubs there is very, very little about how having the magnet programs in a resident school (with 1/3 school choice transfer students) benefits the magnet students. In fact, there are teachers and parents who had older children go through the program and are concerned that over the last few years the program at CCHS has been weakened.
What we need to see at each of these magnet schools within a school, Chamblee, SWD, etc., is a breakdown of the test scores between the magnet students and the resident students.
We have parents claiming the magnet program benefits the resident students. I have the oppposite.....
DCSS, let's see the test scores reported separately, as I've asked for several times.
I agree that IB in elementary schools is "name-only." My elementary school sought IB mainly as a way to boost sagging enrollment with IB transfers. I have not seen any evidence that the quality of education is strengthened - it is more like a character education program. In fact, each month the school has the DCSS character trait and the IB trait. It seems like a lot of extra work for the teachers with very minimal payoff at the elementary level.
"Other than unsubstantiated rumors about a lack of sports and clubs there is very, very little about how having the magnet programs in a resident school (with 1/3 school choice transfer students) benefits the magnet students. In fact, there are teachers and parents who had older children go through the program and are concerned that over the last few years the program at CCHS has been weakened. "
That's a puzzling statement since the high school high achiever magnet program has ALWAYS been housed at CHHS. My daughter went to CMS the year it was housed in CHHS (they occupied a wing of the high school in 8th grade). She got to participate in the swim team. The next year she went to CHHS still within the magnet program. She participated in the track team, was the lead in a school play via the drama club, was a member of the Beta Club, etc. Extra curricular activities are extremely important for students. She still had great grades, a very high SAT score and went to a good college. In reality, by 10th grade they start mixing the classes up anyway. They start on their AP classes and many accelerated classes take both resident and magnet. The AP classes are open to any student who can handle them (and some that can't although when she went through AP classes you had to have teacher recommendations - both magnet and resident students). She had many resident friends, and they also did very well in AP classes, had high SAT scores, and went to good colleges. Whatever has changed with respect to the quality of CHHS cannot be laid at the doorstep of "mixing with the residents".
All magnets including the elementary schools should be housed within existing regular education schools. This would be more cost effective, and there is no reason magnet students need to be totally separated from regular education students. Making friends with the regular education students and participating in extra curricular activities with the regular education students and sitting in some accelerated classes with regular education students has many benefits.
"So you rationale is that we need to keep this $7,000,000 center that lets students get one science lesson a year and employs 28 teachers because you think the Central Office will just suck up the money and we need to keep these teachers employed. That's not a very compelling argument."
Before eliminating the science center alltogether, we need an action and implementation plan for how the teachers can be retained and how a least a large chunk of the money can go directly towards science, where it is desperately needed. When a teaching position at FSC was eliminated last year, the teacher was simply laid off. She was not retained by DCSS for her science expertise. Instead, she went on the job market. Luckily she was able to stay with DCSS. Given the state of science in our schools, and the upcoming increase in evaluation of students for scientific aptitute, we cannot afford to throw 28 highly skilled science teachers to the wind and then resort to hiring whomever we can find, often from out of the country.
While the current FSC may be wasting funds on infrastructure, we cannot afford to lose the teachers from DCSS. We need to be sure that when changes are made, we are able to hold on to the assets we have. That will require a plan to be in place, before any budget lines are eliminated and bulidings are shuttered, to be sure DCSS protects the teachers and utilizes the funds for science.
To: anon 8:10 - on "One friend believes that the organization actually has different standards for public schools and private ones, as it relates to elementary schools." I'd love more info... if it's just in "name only" -- conversation should stop. If there is really something that could be gained from "equalizing" the education and all offerings at all elementary schools in the county --so we lose the "sneetche whith stars" andn "sneetches without stars" syndrome" without reducing the truly excellent schools to the lowest common denominotor (I'm looking for an answer that could be simply proposed to bring all schools into a Kittredge or Fernbank model cost effectively district wide so every sneetch can have stars). Then, perhaps all of us could actively lobby for this solution to be undertaken between school consolidation and redistricting.
Has anyone posed the idea of merging the entire Druid Hills cluster in with Decatur City Schools? Much of this cluster has a Decatur address even though they are not City of Decatur. I think a merge like this would benefit everyone.
Then Dunwoody could break away and form their own City of Dunwoody schools. Then, the administration would have to focus their attention on central and south DeKalb (unless Lakeside gets even more vocal and sucks up even more attention than they do now).
Darn I'm glad I don't have children. Having lived in the Druid Hills area for years and paying about $7000/year in taxes, I am sickened by how hypocritical the Fernbank parents are. This is a "limousine liberal" community that talks the talk about wanting equality for the poor, etc, but when it affects their darling little over-privileged children who they choose to put in PUBLIC school, they suddenly are not in favor of equality. My understanding is that Briar Vista is a good school, where white children do just as well as the white children at Fernbank. What Briar Vista has is a large hispanic population, and I guess the oh so politically correct Fernbank parents don't want their children to go to school with them. The hypocrisy of the Fernbank people being in favor of closing schools and redistricting when it didn't affect their precious children is disgusting.
What are they teaching their children?
They're teaching them that change is bad. They're teaching them inflexibility. They're teaching them not to look at change as an opportunity to expand their horizons. They're teaching them to be hypocrits. They're teaching them that they live in an Ivory Tower and the prospect of going to a school like Briar Vista, which is a good school, is something so dreadfully awful, we must fight and fight and fight.
Get over it Fernbank parents. If you want school choice, don't be Democrats who continuously vote for no school choice. Or put your children in private school.
@ anonymous 10:07
"we cannot afford to throw 28 highly skilled science teachers to the wind and then resort to hiring whomever we can find, often from out of the country.
"
If you hadn't noticed, we are always advertising for science teachers. Arabia Mtn. alone hired numerous science teachers last year.
I'm glad someone is saying if we are closing neighborhood schools because they are not cost efficient, we certainly should be looking at Fernbank Science Center.
And yes - if DCSS closes FSC, they should give them first preference on the science teaching jobs. There will be plenty of those to go around. It's hard to keep science and math teachers in DCSS.
As for the 35 administrators, if they have degrees, let them apply for jobs as well. Many of them do. I noticed however, that the Media Specialist at FSC does not appear to have an up to date license (expired in 1984). That might prove to be more problematic when employees have not kept up their certification requirements when trying to place them in schools.
in response to 'darn Im glad I don't have children.
before you send a mean spirited response you should probably do some research about the schools and families you so easily berate. You must not know one parent or family from Fernbank.
I second someone else's comment to the moderator to please change the heading of this blog. Cant we move on to the real issues that we are facing with the BOE.
The blog is about Fernbank. That's why the comments are about Fernbank. Seems like the Fernbank people want to take the attention away from the memo sent to the Fernbank parents.
"What Briar Vista has is a large hispanic population, and I guess the oh so politically correct Fernbank parents don't want their children to go to school with them. The hypocrisy of the Fernbank people being in favor of closing schools and redistricting when it didn't affect their precious children is disgusting."
Your ignorance is showing. You must not know your neighbors at all. Fernbank has consistently maintained that the school should be expanded and opened up to a broader community.
Given the unsustainability of the Briar Vista district eventually the school will be closed and folded into Fernbank anyway. No one seems willing to speak of this but it is inevitable.
Crawling out from under my rock.... What the heck is a "sneetche with stars" and a "sneetche without stars"?
"Your ignorance is showing. You must not know your neighbors at all. Fernbank has consistently maintained that the school should be expanded and opened up to a broader community."
I know my neighbors very well. That's why I made the comments. They are true.
OK, from what neighborhoods is Fernbank asking for a "broader community?" From which streets or districts is Fernbank wanting to draw new students?
"OK, from what neighborhoods is Fernbank asking for a "broader community?" From which streets or districts is Fernbank wanting to draw new students?"
As I said earlier, eventually Briar Vista will be redistricted into Fernbank - ALL of Briar Vista. It is inevitable.
Dr. Suess: "Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches / Had bellies with stars. / The Plain-Belly Sneetches / Had none upon thars." This collection of four of Dr. Seuss's most winning stories begins with that unforgettable tale of the unfortunate Sneetches, bamboozled by one Sylvester McMonkey McBean ("the Fix-it-up Chappie"), who teaches them that pointless prejudice can be costly.
I think there's some merit in the Lakeside and DHHS clusters looking to become part of the City of Decatur system...
okay -- so one proposal to consider (BV parents are not going to like this) is for BV to close because I think the people raising the points about Torah Day School are probably right -- is for BV to be merged into Fernbank; for Medlock to become Fernbank 3-5 and for Ferbank to stay Fernbank Pre-K to 2 or 3 (something like this) and merge all of those neighborhoods into the "mega" elementary (900 kids?) called Fernbank housed between Fernbank and Medlock.... okay: fire away, stones please?
"Additionally, Briar Vista is a choice school and as such accepts students from all over the county. Problem is, they don't choose to go."
Briar Vista has the support of BOE member Don McChesney. It just does not attract enough students to keep it open as is. It is open to every elem. student in the county, yet it is only in the mid-300's.
BOE members are driving a big part of the re-districting, playing favorites.
"As I said earlier, eventually Briar Vista will be redistricted into Fernbank - ALL of Briar Vista. It is inevitable."
You didn't answer my question. You said has been asking for a broader community. So, where's the document where Fernbank asks that all students from Briar Vista be incorporated into Fernbank?
No, it's not inevitable that Briar Vista students will all go to Fernbank. You have students in trailers.
Quit posting false statements.
Maybe Amy Power would like to chime in and explain this to me?
In the long term Fernbank will be expanded. It is inevitable that Briar Vista will be closed - when the new synagogue is finished that north end of the district that attends the Torah school will greatly expand. Briar Vista will never be able to maintain enough public school children in its district to maintain viability. I know this from friends in the Orthodox community.
In the meantime, you don't honestly expect Fernbank to in any way advocate for closing Briar Vista do you? What they have consistently stated is that they welcome school choice transfers and view diversity as key to the IB curriculum and that is all true. Most of the kids who are at the school through school choice are not white.
It could be years before Fernbank is expanded. We have no idea what the priority list will look like for SPLOST and if SPLOST will pass on the first attempt.
Here's another thought on the LHS/Tucker end of things: Pleasantdale is very overcrowded. Mary Kay has pointed out that the new proposal has placed an very high number of apartments at Henderson Mill. What happens if you step back and airshot things -- is this possible: move more of Hawthorne to Briarlake (others have pointed out some Hawthorners can walk to Briarlake -- mission: reduce emissions and get folks into walking distance); then move some of Henderson Mill Ele to Hawthorne; move some of Midvale to Henderson Mill (some are currently across the street) opening space for Pleasantdale -- move some of Pleasantdale to Midvale and some to Livesy -- keep Livesy open-- this removes overcroding at Pleasantdale, HMS and LHS and keeps Livesy, which has trailers so it's at capacity and is (as far as I know) and AYP making school, so there is an argument to be made to keep it open (cp Clarkston which has not made AYP in about 8 years) and you don't cluster the apartments in one school or environment. I haven't looked at maps or numbers -- just thinking geographically and tossing an idea out. Thoughts?
fyi -- to the extent solid ideas (non-emotional) make sense from the "blog" -- please go to a "charette" and advocate for them and/or post the idea on the on-line survey so that there's a chance that they are "heard" -- we can't assume that anyone with "influence" is monitoring what is being "discussed" here...
First, as a Sagamore parent I have the impression that the Montessori program at BVE is well liked by the parents. The parents I have spoken with who love Briar Vista have their kids in the Montessori track. Each Montessori class also gets a parapro. Why can't every class in DCSS get one? If you are redistricted and your child is not a rising kindergartner(or previous Montessori) you aren't eligible for Montessori. Is there any data to evaluate the traditional track?
...
No one seems to mention that BVE is blocked on the west by the City of Atlanta. DCSS can only expand Briar Vista's district so far. (56 are to be redistricted from Sagamore, 103 from Fernbank.) Unfortunately they will be lucky to get half of these 159 students. I would guess maybe 25 from Fernbank and 25 from Sagamore. Will they need to do it again in 2 years? Why is DCSS pulling from 2 schools with strong PTAs to one that has a weaker PTA? Why move students from schools with many infrastructure improvements to one without? (per Site Reports for Suitability)
If both of my children were to attend BVE, should I pour my heart into improving it? What is the ultimate fate of this school? Is it to remain a two track school? Is it to remain as a school at all? How many times will DCSS juggle my children in the next 5 years?
Anon 1:29 Aren't you forgetting about Evansdale in your rearranging? It doesn't make sense for Pleasantdale kids to go to Midvale. If you're going to shift Pleasantdale to the closest schools, that's Evansdale and Livsey. Then there is a domino effect for some kids from Evansdale to Midvale. Henderson Mill Road is a boundary, so kids are not moving from Midvale to Henderson Mill.
RE: Anonymous on 1/23 at 11:12 am
I'm glad you don't have children as well. I would feel very sorry for them. You don't know your neighbors and you don't care about your community. So, why are you in this conversation at all?
I am anon @ 3:51pm Jan 21 I stated that there are no health screenings done presently at Fernbank. Someone on here cites the partnership with Emory and the information which is posted on Fernbank's website. I read it and notes the year quoted was 1993-1994. I can repeat my assertion that there are no health screenings being done and have not been done for several years. I can say this with authority sine I have taught at Fernbank for the past several years. I can't say specifically the number of years because that might identify who I am. As a teacher in Dekalb and at Fernbank it is strongly suggests we try to stay out of this fray. But as someone who loves my school, my students, and my parents I feel I must say something. Our school is successful because our parents are so involved. Not just at the school but at home too. In my opinion and strictly my opinion, a successful schools formula involves a small % of the teacher and the school itself and the majority of parental involvement. Unfortunately, we can not require parents to be involved with their child's education. Having worked in several different programs throughout Dekalb in the many years I have worked for the school system, in some cases you have to beg the parents to become involved. I can not tell you the times I have waited 1-2 hours after an activity for the parents to come pick up there child. And have gotten cursed out for calling to see what the problem was. One parent was frying chicken and said she couldn't leave till she was done. When I displayed anger at her response, she came in early the next day to complain to my principal. I loved my job then and I love my job now, and I will take the---over involved Fernbank parents any day. They show me respect, they make their children show respect and they support me in everything I do. To Amy Powers, I say, "you go girl"!! To the naysayers, I say, let the complaints and negative comments concerning this post begin!!!!
@ anonymous 2:52 pm
"RE: Anonymous on 1/23 at 11:12 am
I'm glad you don't have children as well. I would feel very sorry for them. You don't know your neighbors and you don't care about your community. So, why are you in this conversation at all? "
Maybe Anonymous 11:12 is concerned about the $7,000 ($5,000 a year of it going directly to educate Dekalb children) he/she is paying in taxes being used in an efficient manner.
Would you rather all the taxpayers in DeKalb who do not have children be exempt from paying school taxes. You can't ask them to pay into the school system and then not care about where that money is going.
Anonymous 11:12 is paying over $400 for the education of your child. To say he/she should just continue to pay but have no say is not really fair. Every taxpayer whether he/she has children in the school or not needs to be involved. The people who pay the bills cannot be told it's none of their business how that money is spent.
@ anonymous 4:12
Won't some Fernbank teachers be sent to Briar Vista when 105 Fernbank students are transferred there?
Those teachers will find that Briar Vista parents are involved parents as well. Briar Vista is a great school.
No one is saying parents shouldn't be involved. But children who are redistricted to Briar Vista will have the same quality of education in either school, and the school system (and taxpayers) should see a cost savings. Fernbank was very gung ho last year when urging the Board of Ed to close the schools under 450 in the south end of the county. Do you know Marshall Orson, the Chair of the Fernbank Elementary School Council?
See below the letter written by the Fernbank Elementary School Council urging the BOE to close the schools on the southside. The Fernbank Elementary School Council was all for consolidation of schools under 450 last spring. Has their opinion changed since a few of their students are part of the consolidation. This stance in light of this letter makes the protests from the community seem self serving.
""We recognize the difficult, and sometimes painful, cuts which must be made and we appreciate the range of comments and criticisms which permeate the conversations about the budget. ...
Reluctantly, we must also urge the consolidation of more than four schools. DeKalb has a long history of small neighborhood schools, an arrangement we can no longer afford. Based on the stated projected cost savings of nearly $600,000 per school, the consolidation of additional schools should realize a significant savings. And, we believe the savings would be greater when you account for shortfalls in state funding (based on 450 elementary school minimums) coupled with lower central staffing requirements to serve fewer facilities.....These are no doubt difficult times, but from adversity can come success. We urge you to retain a long-term point of view which will best position the children of DeKalb for success in the future.
Sincerely,
Marshall D. Orson
Chair
Fernbank Elementary School Council""
Read the entire Fernbank Elementary School Council letter at this address:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/letter-from-fernbank-elementary-school.html
Fernbank parents who are being rezoned, please take advice from the letter your School Council wrote last spring and "retain a long-term point of view which will best position the children of DeKalb for success in the future."
Oops!
"Anonymous 11:12 is paying over $400 for the education of your child."
should read...
"Anonymous 11:12 is paying over $400 A MONTH for the education of your child."
"we can't assume that anyone with "influence" is monitoring what is being "discussed" here..."
Actually, I think it is safe to assume they are not. The few that have in the past were quickly turned off by the vitriol and rumor-mongering. I often get discouraged by it but it is also a good source of information and collaboration found really no where else. The fact that is is sometimes is messy is the price of admission and I'm glad everyone that is here trying to communicate is here.
That said, if you want decision makers to hear you, you better contact them directly! :)
After two hundred and fifty-three comments, I'm not sure we've moved the debate any farther.
Waaaaay back up there, I tried to get a conversation started about what does "parental involvement" really mean; about whose schools the public schools are, in fact. I suspect no one was interested in that conversation because, a) it's boring, b) it seems the blog is (understandably) dominated by parents with children currently in the system.
To me, that is shortcoming of this blog and of our community at large in DeKalb. There seems to be a lack of interest in public education among the wider population. To me, that is the biggest issue facing all of us that want to see a successful school district. How do we get the wider constituency engaged and supportive of our schools? It is often as if they don't exist unless you have a kid enrolled.
This is the million dollar question --
How many times will DCSS juggle my children in the next 5 years?
The Fernbank Science Center offers MANY things...not just a place for your child to go to once a year. Take a look at the website. One thing that is amazing is a program that is open for all DeKalb county freshman to apply for. I am not sure how many they accept, but it is a fairly high number. The students get picked based on their grades, an application they fill out themselves and a essay they write. It is a whole semester. Here is a blurb from the web-site about this program that my daughter did a few years ago.
"The Scientific Tools and Techniques Program (STT) is a semester-long course designed to familiarize students with the tools and techniques of scientific inquiry. STT students practice problem-solving skills utilizing a fully integrated science curriculum. Through laboratory and field work, students explore all aspects of science, gaining a better understanding and a greater appreciation for the scientific process.
The program is free of charge, and is open to 9th grade students enrolled in the DeKalb County School System. Transportation is provided free of charge.*
Students apply through their school counselors, who have applications and printed brochures. Please note that the applications and other materials are returned directly to the schools, not to Fernbank Science Center. The deadlines for submitting materials are set by the individual schools."
Before you contine to BASH the science center, PLEASE know your FACTS.
Hey Anon 8:05, it's a small number of freshmen who take advantage of the program.
The truth is that very few students and county residentsuse Fernbank more than once or twice a year.
Every now and then, I check the comments on the survey that DCSS has up right now. While I am grateful for the transparency, I am frustrated by how little some folks know and then by how transparent some people's motives are.
"A third option, which leaves the current Livsey attendance lines, is recommended. In addition, attendance lines at Pleasantdale would remain, but the school would be the first in line for capital improvement funds. To relive temporary overcrowding, parents should be allowed to send their kids, at their own expense (no bussing), to a neighboring school."
In other words, don't send those kids to my school.
@ 8:05 pm
Yes. STT is great for the 90 students a semester that get in. But how can DCSS continue to spend $7,000,000 for 28 teachers (formerly 29 until one got placed in a DCSS school this past year) and 35 admin and support personnel.
I'm not a Fernbank Science Center basher. I'm a realist. How can DCSS continue to support a stand-alone science center that brings thousands of kids for a once a year science class? That's 90% of the FSC mission isn't it - giving a once a year science class to thousands of students?
Are you comfortable with the expense for this center - $7,000,000 - while science teachers all over DCSS teach science content to the same students EVERY day and have up to 35 students in their classes and are buying science equipment out of their own pockets? No wonder our science scores are declining in DCSS.
What kind of ecological message does it send when 35 children are brought on buses for miles belching pollution into the air just to bring them to a science teacher for an hour and a half?
Everyone knows this doesn't make any sense except the Fernbank community, and I'm sure many in the Fernbank community realize how unfair it is to ask taxpayers to continue to drain the regular education classrooms of science funds for the science center.
Are YOU comfortable with 35 admin and support positions at Fernbank Science Center while there are only 28 teachers?
NOT ONE of these 35 admin and support personnel EVER teach a child. Talk about "bloat" - please tell me we need 35 admin and support personnel (who cost well in excess of $2,000,000 in salary and benefits) at Fernbank Science Center to "support" 28 teachers.
Here is the list of admin and support personnel titles and salaries (and this is WITHOUT the 25% more in benefits cost):
Support Maintenance $56,402
Support - Technical Support $66,088
Support - Support Services $6,790
Support – Security $48,093
Support – Security $47,150
Support – Security $46,929
Support - Secretary $39,427
Support – Secretary $39,427
Support - Scheduler $43,516
Support – Photographer $67,380
Support - Media Specialist $91,320
Support - Maintenance $47,150
Support - Maintenance $34,276
Support - Maintenance $44,836
Support - Maintenance $33,616
Support - Maintenance $32,426
Support - Maintenance $39,276
Support - Head Custodian $52,091
Support - Geologist $75,430
Support - General Administration $50,520
Support - Gardener $44,836
Support - Exhibit Designer $77,892
Support - Exhibit Designer $69,516
Support - Exhibit Designer $84,720
Support - Exhibit Designer $63,576
Support - Designer/Photographer $66,096
Support - Custodial $31,048
Support - Custodial $29,310
Support - Custodial $31,048
Support - CTSS $49,194
Support - Clerical $7,679
Support - Clerical $37,485
Support - Bookkeeper $27,707
Administrator - Director, Fernbank $98,568
Administrator - Administrative Coordinator $91,884
And these personnel NEVER teach a child. "Bloat" and more "bloat".
You can't change the figures no matter how much you try. They are a matter of public record. Look them up.
Source: DCSS community net website:
http://fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us/directory/
State of Georgia Salary and Travel website:
http://www.open.georgia.gov/
$7,000,000 dollars in science instruction needs to go into paying for additional science instructors IN THE CLASSROOMS and for science equipment so our science teachers will not have to buy science supplies and equipment out of their own pocket.
"Everyone knows this doesn't make any sense except the Fernbank community, and I'm sure many in the Fernbank community realize how unfair it is to ask taxpayers to continue to drain the regular education classrooms of science funds for the science center."
I know you think that the Fernbank community are the only supporters of the Science Center. That is where your "facts" are not correct. The Science Center offers numerous programs (SEMA, Aeronautics camps, etc.) offered on weekends and summers that are attended, overwhelmingly, by minority students (NOT from the Fernbank community). These programs are funded by grants and companies and held at the Science Center. Students from outside the Fernbank community also enroll in the advanced studies classes, which include AP Chem and AP Physics C (a class not offered at most schools because there are not enough students).
Yes, cut the bloat at the science center, but please do some fact finding to learn about what Fernbank science center does offer and to what communities, other that Fernbank.
January 23, 2011 1:29 PM
Great points.
No Duh, Pleasantdale has been on the radar for years to possible send to Tucker as to the proximity.
Evandale, will probable never go anywhere except Lakeside because of political connections in the community. Currently Tucker has 1450 students and I thought the numbers we were trying to get to for every high school was 1600. However, I could be wrong on this one.
Tucker has classes at other schools for other reasons other than having space for them. It is a new school. Arabian Mountains also has room for students at its high school but they also have an annex and send their students somewhere else. It also is a new school. They do not want too many students in their new schools. They do not want to see damage to their new schools. They are very protective of their new schools for some reason.
People need to ask questions as to why these schools are allow to not take in students due to NCLB and other older schools which also are overcrowded and do not have the facilities for the NCLB students get horrible overcrowded to the point that locals in the school district are being moved to other high schools. This seems a little unfair to me. What is so special about Arabian High School that they have to open up an annex when they have room at their school?
I meant TMS doesn't have room for Pleasantdale.
@ anonymous 9:24
"Yes, cut the bloat at the science center, but please do some fact finding to learn about what Fernbank science center does offer and to what communities, other that Fernbank. '
I know my facts and the fact is that DCSS science scores are declining. Tthe students you are talking about Fernbank serving on any consistent basis are not even 5% of our school population.
Ms. Tyson has made no move to cut the "bloat" at of the Fernbank Science Center administration with the exception of eliminating 2 employees last year (accounted for BTW on my list of titles and salaries).
To put this in perspective, $7,000,000 would buy DCSS 127 more science teachers with a Masters degree and 4 years of teaching experience (benefits included in this figure). Do you think 127 more science teachers in our 44 middle and high schools would allow our science classes to get to a size where it is safe to do science experiments?
Please read this position paper by the NSTA (National Science Teacher Association) in which the literature shows that student accidents in labs take a sharp turn up after 24 students in a class:
http://www.nsta.org/about/positions/liability.aspx
Currently, due to safety conditions, the DCSS position is do not perform labs. They do not want the liability. So either the students are a greater risk of accidents and teachers bear the liability or students learn science by reading out of a book or listening to the teacher lecture.
NSTA also states:
"Laboratory investigations are essential for the effective teaching and learning of science. A school laboratory investigation (“lab”) is an experience in the laboratory, classroom, or the field that provides students with opportunities to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data collected by others using tools, materials, data collection techniques, and models (NRC 2006, p. 3)."
127 teachers highly qualified science teachers teaching in 44 schools is the price of Fernbank Science Center for DCSS.
Do we have science for the few or for the "masses"? That's the real question here.
Parents should be writing Ms. Tyson and the BOE about the $7,000,000 spent for this 1950s center that is outdated and too costly for 2010.
I was at a table last week and was appalled to hear the things people (Fernbank) are saying about Briar Vista.
here are the facts about briar vista
1. We offer Montessori tracks AND traditional tracks.
2. We DO have a cafeteria.
3. We DO have music PE and art.
4. We do have a PTA.
5. We have met AYP in 6 of the last 7 years.
6. We do have 30% ESOL students.
7. Our teachers are all skilled in Montessori teachings AS WELL AS traditional.
8. We do have bus routes.
Please get your facts straight. YOu can visit out school anytime.
Apparently, the bailout from Fernbank has begun and private school applications are through the roof this past week. Sad. And you think these parents unwilling to consider Briar Vista ever had any intention of sending their kids to DHMS or DHHS? I think not.
@ Anonymous 9:24
"Yes, cut the bloat at the science center, but please do some fact finding to learn about what Fernbank science center does offer and to what communities, other that Fernbank.'
But the bloat will never be cut as long as Fernbank Science Center is a part of DCSS. It was not cut last year, and the Fernbank community is willing to take the “bloat” along with the educational programs so geographically accessible to them and such beautiful green space for their community.
The question remains – Is the rest of the county willing to spend the millions for the administration of Fernbank Science Center?
Have you seen Maureen Dwoney’s newest post that shows the U.S. is far behind other developed countries in science instruction – particularly with regards to minorities. The statistics are pretty scary and DCSS embodies them:
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/01/25/how-many-warning-bells-before-we-get-real-reform/
And please don’t tell me that these 28 teachers are making a difference in science scores in our schools with mainly minority students because they aren’t, and the scores on the science EOCT clearly show it.
A selected few of DCSS minority students are benefiting from Fernbank Science Center’s STT program which takes 90 students per semester, but high quality science instruction should not be about the few. It needs to be available on a DAILY basis to the thousands of DCSS students.
28 teachers CANNOT improve the DAILY science instruction of thousands of students, but $7,000,000 spent on science instructors in the schools giving students daily science instruction can.
Here is the list of admin and support personnel titles and salaries (and this is WITHOUT the 25% more in benefits cost) for Fernbank Science Center personnel who NEVER TEACH A CHILD:
Support Maintenance $56,402
Support - Technical Support $66,088
Support - Support Services $6,790
Support – Security $48,093
Support – Security $47,150
Support – Security $46,929
Support - Secretary $39,427
Support – Secretary $39,427
Support - Scheduler $43,516
Support – Photographer $67,380
Support - Media Specialist $91,320
Support - Maintenance $47,150
Support - Maintenance $34,276
Support - Maintenance $44,836
Support - Maintenance $33,616
Support - Maintenance $32,426
Support - Maintenance $39,276
Support - Head Custodian $52,091
Support - Geologist $75,430
Support - General Administration $50,520
Support - Gardener $44,836
Support - Exhibit Designer $77,892
Support - Exhibit Designer $69,516
Support - Exhibit Designer $84,720
Support - Exhibit Designer $63,576
Support - Designer/Photographer $66,096
Support - Custodial $31,048
Support - Custodial $29,310
Support - Custodial $31,048
Support - CTSS $49,194
Support - Clerical $7,679
Support - Clerical $37,485
Support - Bookkeeper $27,707
Administrator - Director, Fernbank $98,568
Administrator - Administrative Coordinator $91,884
@ 7:59 pm
"Apparently, the bailout from Fernbank has begun and private school applications are through the roof this past week. Sad."
Briar Vista will just have to draw more students from Fernbank if this happens - they can't all go to private school. Meanwhile, the ones who go to Briar Vista will get just as good of a education and save tens of thousands a year in private school cost.
I guess they want to get into a private school to say they are still "Fernbankers". That's what's sad.
We were part of the group that went to Shamrock and was then "alligned" to Henderson many moons ago (I don't recommend shifting middle schoolers -- once in a school -- leave them there). Many Fernbankers bailed that year -- we were missing a few dozen Fernbank kids from the impact groupings at Shamrock for 6th beacause thney knew that the Oak Grove and Briarlake kids were being shifted the following year to Henderson. The result was a bizzare clustering of kids that year ... not very ideal. The flip side is that I know kids who returned from private school to DHHS for high school.
"Briar Vista will just have to draw more students from Fernbank if this happens - they can't all go to private school. Meanwhile, the ones who go to Briar Vista will get just as good of a education and save tens of thousands a year in private school cost."
Not happening. The Briar Vista district is unsustainable and the county knows this. They have even admitted that it will close sooner rather than later.
@ anon 8:50
The main problem with science education in DCSS is the lack of good, qualified, educated, intelligent science teachers. There are some goood science teachers but there are a lot of lousy ones. The standards required by DCSS to teach hs science are very low. A teacher qualified to teach biology is also qualified, according to DCSS, to teach chemistry or physics. As a scientist, I can say that these fields are not interchangeable and that each requires significant coursework IN SUBJECT in order to be able to teach it well. DCSS requires only general science certification, to teach any one of these subjects. As a result, there are teachers in the classroom who really don't know their stuff. This is the primary reason that scores are going down. Until we require more from our teachers, students will not learn the material.
How can we expect science education to be priority for DCSS when there is no one, in a position of leadership with DCSS. to direct science curriculum or education. The science coordinators don't know much about science themselves and don't have any idea how to improve education. Beasley certainly doesn't know a thing about science. There is tremendous science expertise at FSC but no one there has the authority to direct science instruction across the county. HOw about we put FSC in charge of science education for DCSS? These folks should be our science leaders.
Re: the various comments concerning Briar Vista's attendance area being "unsustainable" because of the Orthodox and Hasidic community clustered around Temple Beth Jacob tending to send their children to Torah Day School of Atlanta...
... the implications of what you're almost, but not quite, saying are rather unattractive, don't you think?
Which minority are you Fernbank folks going to blame next?
Member of the Tribe said...
"Which minority are you Fernbank folks going to blame next?"
I think the point is that when a large portion of your district attends private school the district must expand. Look at Avondale ES with 67% enrollment. Most of Avonale Estates proper do not use the school.
The difference here is DCSS can pull from every direction to fill Avondale ES. They can only pull from 2 directions to fill Briarvista ES. Eventually they will hit either the Fernbank or Sagamore Hills schools. If residents continue to not use the school the district is unsustainable.
Private school is not the only choice. Moving is another. Homeschooling is yet a third option. When the dust settles, it will be interesting to see how many students are in BVE.
@ 10:02 pm
"This is the primary reason that scores are going down. Until we require more from our teachers, students will not learn the material."
We cannot attract and retain good science teachers to teach in DeKalb because we:
1. Fill their classes with 35+ students making lab work unsafe for students
2. Give them scant materials for teaching science. Most are forced to purchase supplies and equipment out of their own pockets.
3. Drain their planning and instructional time with paperwork and content delivery demands from administrators not versed science content and instruction. Forcing science teachers to use methodology that may appropriate in the areas of language arts or social studies, but produces little in the way of success in mastering science content is common. Science education is by nature different in content delivery than the other disciplines.
DCSS is not attractive to highly qualified science teachers and does nothing to retain these highly sought after individuals. DCSS is not in a position to "demand" anything in the way of better science instructors or science instruction. We must make do with what we can get because we are competing with school systems that offer more in money and better working conditions.
Fernbank Science Center drains $7,000,000 in science instructional funds from daily science instruction for all DeKalb students. $7,000,000 in science funds going into our classrooms could be used to:
1. Decrease science class sizes
2. Ensure science teachers have cutting edge science equipment and supplies
3. Offer signing bonuses for science teachers.
All of these efforts and more could be used to attract and retain highly qualified science teachers with a $7,000,000 infusion of money into the science classrooms who offer daily science instruction to DCSS students.
Organizations who have little to offer a sought after group of employees are in a very weak position in the marketplace. This is becoming very apparent to the most sought after employees in the 21st century - science, math, and engineering. These 3 groups account for 80% of the college graduates in China and only 20% of the college graduates in the United States. For the U.S. economy to compete on a global level, we must be offering top notch science instruction to ALL students, not just a lucky few.
@ Anonymous 10:08
"There is tremendous science expertise at FSC but no one there has the authority to direct science instruction across the county. HOw about we put FSC in charge of science education for DCSS? These folks should be our science leaders. "
Do we need 28 more non-teaching Science Instructional Coaches? What would you do with the 35 admin and support personnel who work at FSC and have no science background? This sounds like more administrators and less science instruction.
The majority of students only MASTER science content through DAILY instruction by a competent teacher who has a reasonable class size for laboratory and hands-on experiences and access to adequate equipment and supplies. Highly qualified science teachers with reasonable class sizes and adequate science equipment and supplies should be able to perform their jobs with minimal supervision. That is why they are called highly qualified science instructors.
Private school is not the only choice. Moving is another. Homeschooling is yet a third option. When the dust settles, it will be interesting to see how many students are in BVE.
Really, I just don't know what to say to this. I am beyond disappointed in the adverse reaction to Briar Vista. We have shown you the data that children do just fine at BV, yet statements like the one above continue to emerge. This blog does not exist to put down other schools as so inferior as to leave only moving or homeschooling as viable options to actually sending your child there.
Stop it. This is really wrong.
Cere @ 4:08
I apologize. I is unfair to take a cheap shot at BVE anonymously on your blog. I just said it will be interesting to see home many students are there. I think that will settle the sustainability issue for good.
Many seem to think that BVE will eventually close. Why would anyone want to move their child to a school that may close in 3-5 years. This is where the sustainable issue comes into play.
RE science education:
Interestingly, the latest studies show that the true deficits in science education are apparent at the elementary school level. Why? Probably because 1)elementary certification in GA does not require much knowledge of science or how to teach it and 2)with all the CRCT/NCLB focus on math and reading, teachings are not teaching science.
At the high school level, a huge problem is lack of competent teachers and no way to get rid of the incompetent ones. At our school, our best, most educated,energetic, newly hired science teachers are spinning their wheels in physical science while the worst teachers are teaching accelerated and AP classes - all due to seniority.
I have lived many places in the U.S., but Dekalb Co. certainly takes the cake for having the LEAST qualified school board that I have ever seen. Those in Dekalb Co. should be aware that there is presently a bill in the house that will set a minimum requirement for school board members...which would mean a good share of ours wouldn't even be eligible...too bad it couldn't be retroactive! Anyhow, it is clear to me that there is a great divide between the thinking in north and south Dekalb Co....and that the school board is principally elected by south Dekalb residents (based upon what standard, I do not know...certainly not educational achievement for themselves). Thus, I think the county should have entirely separate school boards and the south can get what they deserve, by virtue of having voted in these "leaders". And the north would be able to overcome the tyranny of the majority that prevails when churches tell people who to vote for and get some qualified people on the school board who do more than secure positions and contracts for their family and church members. Dekalb Co. is so disgusting to me that, not only do I want to move to a better school district, I want to move to an entirely different county where there some standards prevail.
Anon 8:55 AM - apology accepted. I think everyone is just very emotional about this issue but we do have to remember that the schools some might criticize are full of children who deserve a good education too.
Sadly, this is an enormous, messy task, as it has not been done for many, many years. There shouldn't be a need to be concerned about what will happen to these schools in the future, because hopefully, the board will do the right thing and evaluate these districts much more often - say - every 5 years, so that the changes won't have to be so dramatic and emotional.
Same goes for that administrative salary audit!
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/fernbank/pta/pta_officors.html
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