News-Record.com

Bruce,

Please give us a recap of the meeting last night as it pertains to the Title I discussion. I read today's paper and learned that as of press time there was no discussion.

From the High Point Enterprise:

"The third revision of figures presented and approved Tuesday night left only T. Wingate Andrews and High Point Central high schools with a deficit in funding.

The other two high schools previously at a deficit - Dudley and Smith in Greensboro - ended up in the black on funding after the third revision. Previously, all four high schools were at a deficit."

So it's official - only the 2 High Point High Schools lose.

Why does the school board so want to hurt High Point?

to r.i.g.o.r.

As I said, when there is the "Special" meeting before the public meeting, beware. Hate to say it, but it was a done deal. The real agendas take place behind the scenes with lots of phone calls to commissioners and others and little meetings before the taped public meeting. If you have followed the GCS for several years, you will learn their m.o.

Also remember a clue is to how the vote will go is when it is late or last on the planned agenda. Just like the vote on Black Tuesday when the kids were kept up late. They save "best for last" hoping the audience will dwindle.

Another clue is when a large forum is scheduled around a school holiday, like MLK day, hoping many parents will take the weekend off. Didn't work in the snowstorm of 03 for Smith Stadium though. That was truly a surprise to them. Sometimes passion and organization overrides all plans to shift meetings or have them on a 3 days notice.

Or if the meeting concerns many folks in Greensboro who just may have a transporation issues in getting there, you can be guaranteed that the time for High Point to have it's turn for the School Board meeting.

Just sharing little pattern tips to look for so you won't be too disappointed when your speeches aren't heard. Don't you know by now, most of the school board does not have ears to listen to parents.

Thank you, Darlene, for voting your conscience.

and Bruce,

Time to bring back this title strand. As evidenced at the board meeting before last night and Grimsley parents not showing, I would think that with the Greensboro political pull they 9th grade academies are not going there. But.....
read N & R 3/8 Editorial "Honest and open communication fromthis point onward is key to the success of a heightened focus on inth-grade students at Grimsley, in WHATEVER FORM IT MAY TAKE." It does not necessarily have to be an "academy" to stay within the rules of the grant money.

Yours truly,

as always,

FOR THE CHILDREN
Barbara Ann

Barbara Ann,

Good to hear from you, as always. Keep this in mind about the Grimsley situation: the decision on the ninth-grade academy will be made by the principal (with input from parents, staff, etc.), not the school board.

These are school-level programs, so other than getting some additional attention, I'm not sure what the Grimsley folks could have gained by going to the school board.

You are right, though. The grant doesn't specify school-wide ninth-grade academies. So they could go some other route, as long as it created a "smaller learning environment", and still qualify for the money.

Bruce,

Decisions being made by principals? Great PR stategy, "If you believe it to be true, it's true."

Just like we give decision maker power to our children - choice A or B - "well you made the choice." (Both sometimes being equally uncomfortable for them.)

You are so right, Bruce, about what would the Grimsley parents have gained by going to the school board. Past experience speaks for itself from the experience of the HP parents speaking out, NOTHING.

On a serious note, I feel smaller learning communities are a great idea for 9th graders. However each school will have to consider their particular needs. They are great as long as they do not take away from teachers needed for the upper grades nor water down the curriculum in a school.

One logistics problem and money:

If you make smaller classrooms even at the elementary level and therefore eliminated teacher assistants, where do you put the other classrooms you created? Build another building? Buy some more "temporary" trailers that hang around for 20 or more years? You will have more classrooms so you need to put them some place. How much will that cost - bottom line?

Also, I have read that the administration wants to cut teacher assistants at the lower grades. What about increasing them at the higher grades, i.e. teacher assistants in High Point at Andrews to escort the kids to the office who are playing cards in back of the room? Or to help with general discipline at any high school who needs extra help?

I feel we need more human interaction in the schools - great teachers and assistants and less new programs and waste-of-taxpayer-money seminars.

Remember when teachers go to these seminars, subs have to be paid for the day; the outside consultant gets his huge fee; and personally I don't think a one day training seminar, for instance, on racial relations training is going to make a person have an "ephiphany" and change who he really is inside. Feelings of this kind run deep when they exist. Nope, don't think a one day training seminar by an overpaid "expert" will do the trick to help relations. Teachers, people, are who they are, good or bad, and that will not change in a one day seminar.

Barbara Ann,

You are very right about the impact of one-day seminars. In the business world, one-day seminars such as this are called "Coffee and Donut" seminars. You go for the coffee and donuts, are entertained for a few hours, then you go back on the job, and behaviors are unchanged. Businesses learned long ago that the only training that is worth a lick is the one that actually changes an employee's performance or behavior on the job, and that is hard to measure. I just hope that the coffee and dunking donuts were especially tasty that day as it cost the taxpayers a pretty penny.