News-Record.com

Interesting find Jen. Thanks for the update. Notice the ending of the article - they are appealing to the Supreme Court. So guess we will all have to wait and see what the final outcome is.

Jen,

Also notice that race was the "tiebreaker" not an outright "swapping plan"; nor a lottery where only one school in the entire county did not get their choice of a neighborhood school like SW. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't the Seattle case for the entire district?

A few observations about this news:

1) The U.S. 9th Circuit Court is the most reversed appeals court in the country. It is the most liberal appeals court giving us rulings such as banning the pledge of allegiance in public schools because it contains "under God".

2) The Seattle District used this assignment plan throughout the district, not in three selected schools. In order to be legal it most likely would have to be applied throught the school district in a consistent manner. The Guilford County BOE has consistently denied that the lottery will be used thoroughout the district, even though there exists many other schools that are not racially balanced.

3) The Seattle district used a series of criteria to break ties between students, only one of which was race. It was not a lottery. In High Point, the assignment plan uses a lottery and it appears that the ONLY criteria is race. The distrcit says that it is based upon income, but the reality is that it is race.

4) In High Point, the assignment plan really only applies to the white students in one high school. Southwest students requesting their neighborhood school as their first choice are the only students that have EVER been denied their first choice.

No, there seems to be some question as to whether the Seattle decision will ever have any application in High Point. As a matter of fact, when the 9th Circuit's decision is reversed by the Supreme Court, that decision may make the High Point plan clearly illegal.

The 9th Circuit's decision ruled that there was a compelling interest served by the assignment plan. Can't there be a zillion compelling interests that might arise before a school district. How do they choose which one is the most compelling?

Hello.

There is no more than a peripheral relation between this ruling and the HPCP. The purpose of the Seattle ruling is to allow black children who want to escape poor inner city schools the right to go to another school that supposedly is of better quality. The purpose is to empower black children.

The HPCP, by contrast, was driven by white alumni at a school they themselves felt was good, (does Dot Kearns or Sue Mendenhall consider Central a bad school?) who thought there were too many black students at their school and they wanted more students of a different kind there. If they were worried about black student access to quality education they would seemingly want to keep them there. The motivations are entirely different although the "cover story" is the same. This is the scam.

This case wouldn't relate to our system if not for the reassignment plan. Believe what you will about Guilford County Schools, but things are not as they seem. The spin factor is well in play. Grier's chronies play with the numbers and for every bad bit of press they have three or four positive announcements using manipulated numbers to spin the heat off.

One key is that neighborhood schools can and do work in many areas of the country. Why can't they here? The system has treated the symptoms and not the disease. Our school system is caught in a doward spiral, districting schemes are just a small piece of the puzzle. Furthermore, High Point is just part of the problem, you must look beyond it to see that.

Speaking of neighborhood schools, why for instance do children that live so close to Page and Mendenhall go to Eastern Middle and High in Gibsonville???? Look at a districting map for yourself, its available on the web. Eastern's problems, which have been front page at times have a lot to do with the fact that parents can't participate in a school that far away. While maybe the system in redistricting will remedy that problem, it will only be because of the fact that the Stoney Creek factor forces their numbers so high out there that the system has no other option but to do something different.

In addition, while I must admit that some of the system's options programs are very innovative, they are also full of students who are running away from their home schools in many cases. Why should parents and students be running away from the neighborhood school where they live? This is not to mention we the taxpayers are footing the bill for these kids to be bused all over God's creation. Some of the schools that have been known to be the best in the system have fallen by the wayside.

So what is the solution? Keeping and fixing neighborhood schools is where we should start. A second solution is that election day should become a day or reckoning. It was obvious that the folks in High Point didn't support the initiative down there. Yet the plan happened anyway. Who's in charge, the people or the school board? The people you say, well you wouldn't know it to see the board in action.

To sum up, we are going in the WRONG direction, despite what you hear from the spin meisters. However, it is not too late, but it will be if we don't focus on keeping and fixing our neighborhood schools.

More to come, Sincerely, Murrow

Well said, E.G.

Very astute observation, Mr. Murrow.

By all means send us more.

While diversity is preferable in any setting (business, social and education) we must acknowledge that our community is not diverse.

We have pockets of poverty and affluence. We must begin to collaborate in this community and lobby the City Councils and County Zoning boards to adopt a mission and vision for community diversity and begin to take action in that direction.

A public school system simply does not have the time and/or resources to drive all over town picking and choosing the perfect blend of students in the search for academic excellence.

Creating diversity is not the mission of the public school system. Our missions should be to provide adequate facilities, highly trained staff, and students who perform at or above grade level. Until we have that one done, we cannot take on anything else.

There are other ways to achieve academic excellence that are certainly more fiscally responsible and more practical for a community and for a family than artificial diversity.

Send students to the closest schools, have high expectations, and remain focused until all children can read, write, and learn with proficiency. That's all we can do. And that will be enough.

Well said, Murrow!!! When I moved here five years ago, I was wondering why Guilford County had all these special program; Now I know!!

In addition, the choice plan just adds another option for families wanting to escape their neighborhood school. I met a woman the other day who told me she supports the plan because she doesn't want her child going to their neighborhood school and her child has more of chance to get into Southwest than my child who lives within walking distance of the school.

Another parent told me she will send her child to Penn Griffin in order to be guaranteed a seat at SW. These are just a few examples on how the community is divided, which is somewhat ironic since everyone whats the same thing - well maintened, safe and productive schools.

Beautiful words Terrina but here is some news for you.
The IT plan it here and its coming to a school near you!
Its the Schools boards agenda, they have support of local goverment plus local business's and they are going to do even more of it.

I don't think they have the support of the business communtiy in HP. I have heard quite the contrary. Everyone else is asleep because it does not affect them, yet. Too bad.

There are 68,000 students in GCS. So how may parents are there? If educating our community for the future is a business, who is the customer here? Parents and students.

I believe we can do more than complain.

If it is true that the schools are run by ONLY the BOE,(that is 11 people) and are allied with the local governments, and you believe that means "Game Over" then that's what it will mean.

If you focus on what you have, you will get more of the same. Maybe that is why things are the way they are here. People believe this is the way it is, the way it has been and the only way it can be in the future. That would be a choice.

Parents need to take responsibility for the schools here, and how our children are learning and being cared for. We need to be responsible for our thoughts and actions. THat is why I sign my full name to my postings. Would you all be willing to take responsibility for your words and actions by signing your name to your postings? That would be taking responsibilty and being acountable which is what we are asking the BOE to do.

It's easy to throw rocks, but are you willing to take shared responsibility for the education of all children here in Guilford County? I am.

Remember, "Never underestimate the power of a few individuals to change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has."~ Margaret Meade

Terrina Picarello

you go girl! I always sign my name as I only say things that I truley believe, so no problem letting everyone know that it is me:) Thursday will prove interesting as Eric will have the maps that Anita requested. Looking forward to that meeting

If you live in NHP and your child has been forced to go to another school miles away then it is easy to get the feeling that all is lost.
I agree with News! There are no idealistic dreams here in NHP. Its real and its a disaster.
Some of us do however continue to fight.

I know it is hell in HP. Really. That is why I continue to fight for the end of the HP plan even though I live way out in NW Greensboro/ Summerfield. It's too much to ask.

I support all the parents in HP who fought against it, and continue to be engaged. I just see the light at the end of the tunnel. At the same time, I hate tunnels!

I look out and see all Black churches. They are thriving. So why does an all black or mostly black school not thrive as well? I look out and I see kids and adults who separate themselves into groups and sub groups. THere is a Greek Community, there is a community of refugees from Bosnia here in Greensboro... they find comfort in eachother.

To be simplistic, if you go to a middle school dance, the boys hang with the boys, the girls hang with the girls, and even the skinny blond girls all hang out together and the nerds create a group. So is that bad, or is that human nature? Ask an anthropologist and you will get an earfull!

In your own family, think about the Holidays. The women hang out in the kitchen and the men sit in front of the TV and talk sports. The kids all run around together totally separate from the adults. So, follow this logic to how humans selectively separate themselves by culture, gender and class. So are we as a public school system saying it is inherently wrong for similar groups to live in the same neighborhoods and to want to attend school together? Are we making that wrong? And we go further when we say that this is THE factor that determines whether a child succeeds in reading, writing and science in High School. Are we saying that diversity is worth the MILLIONS of dollars we have already poured into the HP plan vs. programs that have been shown to improve the reading and writing in all grade levels?

I have to add that there is a tremendous energetic in place here in the South and we would be remiss if we ignored the fact that there have been significant human indignities suffered here. What I am suggesting is that this area of the country have the courage to step out of the past and not be defined by the history here. That takes courage, and forgiveness.

Why in the world would we be okay with a school in a poor area of town not performing at or above grade level? With all the problems with NCLB, at least it is shining the light on these schools. Did you know that the prison systen looks at THIRD GRADE READING SCORES to determine how many PRISON BEDS to build in the future? Think about that one.

These are all American children. Whether they live in your neighborhood or not, it is time that we look at each child and each school as if our life depended on its success.

It actually does.

I will step down from my Soap Box now. Please yell at me if you are so inclined.

Terrina Picarello

If everyone wants safe, well-maintained productive schools, then why don't we have them? We don't have them because our school system has failed. Look at the test scores. Putting kids on a bus and swapping pods of neighborhoods is the easy way out for "looking" good. In that way you don't have to truly educate, just mix the numbers. Would it still save the Fantasias out there?

All schools could be safe and productive. But as long as GCS continues to not have consequences for children who break the rules and not provide adequate help and resources and good teachers and support our teachers, they will continue to fail in this mission.

And what's with this "non-compliance" regarding suspensions? If kids do not comply with the rule book and there is a problem with suspensions for "non-compliance" then why do we even have a rule book for students? Why can't every student just practice "non-compliance" and continue to escalate some of the chaos in our schools.

If someone heard businesses in High Point are against the IT plan, it is only because they have had their eyes opened to people leaving High Point and taking their money with them. Realtors have seen it. Until it startsaffecting business bank accounts, no one will step forward. By then, along with the dying furniture market, it will be too late.

Theoretically, parents and students are the customers of education. But in Guilford County it doesn't work that way.

For instance, by making Central the "whitest and the brightest" and the future "Grimsley" of old High Point, the old timers figured they could restore a dying city to its former glory and attract business here. Wrong again.

Open your eyes those of you who cannot see. This is Reality 101. Follow the money trail and the pr b.s. you see in the newspapers; follow the b.s. patterns. It is a facade. The money people think that if newcomers read how great the schools are they will come and bring their Dells and Fed Exes with them. You wonder why Dell chose W-S? They are aware of the real news in this town. So are many others who study the area on the internet. People from other states know about the IT plan and how IT is failing. They are not chosing a home in Guilford County.

If the customers were truly the parents and the kids, then why have the school been allowed to continually spiral down for so long? This is no accident. It is cheaper to spread a lot of PR around than to fix the real problem. Too bad it is also so expensive for the taxpapers to have to support all the experts to help cover-up the problems. Would it not be easier and cheaper just to educate children, where they live?

And News has the REAL NEWS.

No one is okay with a school in a poor neighborhood performing below grade level. No one is also okay with their own kids getting screwed out of an education when they are the ones paying taxes to support public education. No one is okay with their own kids getting screwed out of having text books, supplies and teachers assistants.

No matter where a child attends school, there is only so much teachers and the system can do. If the home life and parental support is not there, teachers can only do so much. If discipline in the classroom is not allowed to be addressed, if parents do not return phone calls and come to conferences,if teachers don't have the support they need to teach in a safe, calm environment, ALL kids will continue to fail and not just the kids in the poor neighborhoods. If a child will not put forth an effort to learn, there is only so much a teacher can do. All will be "left behind" if they stay in public schools if we continue to put pressure and blame in the wrong places.

Great Pumpkin, you are right if the kids and parents are truly the customers in the public schools, why aren't some of the schools in GCS well maintened and productive and especially safe?

And as a former teacher of public school, the teachers and schools can only do so much. If parents DO not instill that education is important in their kids, ( and income shouldn't matter), it is a losing battle. I do believe that the schools should be accountable in knowing if a child is reading on grade level, but the parents should be aware and supportive as well. It should be a joint effort. This is where NCLB is flawed. This is why the SB wants our children so we can pick up the slack in the lower income schools where parental involvement is not high. Unfortunately, where the ones that have to pay the price for the lack of parenting of other people's children.

Bonnie, too much wine and woke up with a headache at 4 in the morn.
Way to go girl!

Bonnie,

Right again. But "the times they are a changin". Dedicated parents are tired of seeing their tax dollars wasted. They are tired of picking up the slack, buying supplies, doing all the volunteering, paying for all the parties and in return for their dedication and wanting to help, there is no thanks. They are tired of voting for bond refs and having funds shifted to other projects or wasted on unnecessary "healings".

The thank you they get is that their kids are shanghaied to a school where they have no desire to go. Smart parents are moving and leaving the public schools. So in the end, the lesson here is you can only use people for so long. If you mess with their children and use force as a means to an end, any plan that will not benefit all children will not work. As volunteer parents continue to go private, all students and teachers suffer.

Another interesting observation today......Bruce had a human interest article in the newspaper on Dropouts. I noticed that (and it seems for the first time ever) that Terry Grier was not quoted in the article. Things have been awful quiet since his debut on the Chalkboard. There were a few new names listed.

I guess we will start seeing the statistician and others quoted soon.

WHAT GOOD IS POSTING UNDER YOUR REAL NAME IF YOUR POSTS MAKE NO SENSE?

Many people do not post under their real names for various reasons.

They may be teachers or employees of the schools. Many people may have vendor contracts with the schools and are not going to jeapardize their livelihoods by losing a lucrative contract with the schools and/or lose their job over using their real names just to share in a discussion on the issues at hand.

They could be a school board member, which has happened here and on other websites.

Many people I know have had a lot of computer problems with SPAM e-mail.

The reasons are endless. To me, if a person has something intelligent, informative or meaningful to say, I could care less if they use their real name.

Whose to say a "real" name is the "real" person. Remember the CB having problems with this before?

As Shakespeare said, "What's in a name?"

So to all the Stormys, generals, candy people, Marcies out there, have a good day.

The one and only, real BA.

Great Pumpkin, you are right again. The times are a changing. I am getting very resentful of all things we as parents have to do because our tax money is being wasted on bussing. I find myself not doing as much to support the schools. I basically tell my children's teachers, if you need something, let me know. If not, you will not hear from me. I will not join any committees, or do any fund raising. I am basically concentrating on my children and my children alone. After all, I am responsible for raising them, and I don't depend on someone else to do it.

The way things are going, the trend will be that public school will emulate public health. People who can afford it will go private. I am looking at that right now and this is from someone who has always believed in public school. This area has really made me disenchanted with the idea of sending my youngest to public school along with supporting this institution above and beyond the call of duty.

Murrow here, ready to write again. I have enjoyed reading all of your comments and I look foward to your further participation via the chalkboard, at board meetings, and in future elections.

First I must tell you that Murrow is my pen name, in honor of the legendary Edward R. He was a man (with Greensboro roots) not afraid to speak up to expose people and the system for what it was (raise your glass). I can't use my real name and in order for me to write, it has to be that way (Thanks Barbara Ann).

In tonight's comments I wish to commend the teachers in Guilford County Schools, for holding this thing together. You see the truth is that about 90% of our teachers are doing a wonderful job!!! Most give their time, personal and family life, health, financial resources, and yes PHYSICAL SAFETY. God Bless You!!!

A sad truth is that the school system and its chief spinmeister, Grier, came down hard on schools that didn't meet the system's expectations, he made it reflect poorly on administrators and teachers. Grier called emergeny meetings and sent a message that the amount of site based decisions would be dramatically reduced. Site based decisions are made by school administrators, leadership teams (made up of administrators, teachers, and parents), and various other teams and groups. Its more or less idealogical in nature. Who knows best what they need, the school or the system?

Perhaps in New Jersey where a school district is basically 4 or 5 schools in a township, site based decision isn't as important. But in a school system this large (over 100 schools), site based decision making is a must, as long as everyone is on the same page.

The system was disappointed in test results, Grier embarrased. In attempt to spin the heat off, the blame was shifted, as was power. No one took responsibility. So who's to blame? Poor leadership is the simple answer.

Poor leadership is shown in that the district doesn't leave administrators in one place for long enough, constantly shifting them or running them off. High Point folks, listen up. Southwest Middle is one of the best schools in this county. The administrators there, whether you like them or not, have been there for in excess of four years and the school is successful. The true is same of several other schools in this county. There is a correlation.

Some schools have a new principal every year. While some may not be truly "cutting it", others aren't given the chance to see site based visions realized. Inconsistency translates into confusion as to direction and low morale. Those schools are set up for failure. In other cases, good new administrators are put in situations they are not ready for, thus failing and leaving.

I will readily admit that there are exceptions ot the rule. I will also readily admit that the "old school" principals, like teachers are beginning to retire. The need for principals is great. The system has devised a program to recruit talented leaders (which are often strong teachers).

The larger issue is the leadership at the system level. We had proof this year that the hype about how great our system is from the mouth itself is a fabrication of the spin doctors downtown. The falling test scores is the proof.

More to come or perhaps I should say "Good Night and Good Luck", Murrow

Does anyone else find it ironic that North Carolina finally pushes a lottery through, and it is riddled with rumors of corruption from the very start? I guess that whether it is a gambling lottery or a school lottery, it is impossible for our state and our county to establish a fair program that gives everyone an equal opporunity for winning!!

Murrow,
it doesnt matter what you say here.
Myself and my fellow Emoneywood friends are in control of the school board.
We will reign!
Central High Point WILL revert to its former glory!!!!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
Hahahahahahahaha!
Hahahahaha!

Murrow,

You speak many truths. Many of these truths have been known for quite some time by those in the know.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time.

A smart person follows the patterns, the trends, the personas involved, the press releases. It is a very calculated effort indeed. But for all the calculations put out there, many others are one step ahead.

You are so right about the falling test scores. Test scores don't lie.

Lenin/Adolf (Communist Left/Fascist Right),

Lenin/Adolf (Communist Left/Fascist Right)

That's confusing if you are on opposite ends of the political spectrum at the same time. What is Emoneywood? Apparently it is SO important and influential I've NEVER heard of it and neither has most of the other people I know.

Thanks for your comments, I look forward to hearing all about Emoneywood soon.

Murrow

Murrow

Murrow, could you please be a little clearer? I am afraid you are a little too abstract for me.

I mean , what do you know boy ? Spit it out!

Murrow,

I think "Lenin/Adolf" is a joke representing two dictatorships. Since you don't get "Emoneywood" you certainly must live in G boro. If you live High Point for the past two years, you would "get it".

Thanks for the insight and explanation, I do live in Greensboro and since I don't "get it", I have decided to care less, whatever it is its apparently NOT important.

Murrow-

I think "Emoneywood" is a play on Emorywood, a well-to-do section in central High Point. Two of the school board members hail from that area.

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