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We all know this is par for Grier's course. Try a program, toss it, try another program, toss it, etc. etc. No one can tell if progress is being made or not - all the new programs add to his resume. And remember - it's all about beefing up his resume, not educating the kids.

Last year 9th grade academies were in vogue. Now, let's toss the seemingly successful 9th grade academy at Central and replace it with a "small" high school. I'll bet next year we'll scrap that plan for yet another in his "innovativeness" bag of tricks.

Smith has approx 1500 kids but regularly manages to fail about 800 of those per year.
200 of the 1500 will now be at the new school.

What happens to the other 600? Whats the plan for them?

I am not a rocket scientist but you cant fool me.
Terry Grier does not really want to help all those kids. All he interested in is the headlines those new schools will make.

Lets say that 80% of those 200 now pass (good for them). That is still 640 children failing a year.

ITS STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

How long are the people of Guilford County going to be bamboozled by Terry Grier?

He must sincerely believe that we are all a bunch of idiots.

Of course the worst are the school board reps who are supposed to represent these children.

Shame on them for not having the brains to see through this BS!!!!

Thinking about it again there may be a flaw to my calculations.

Some of the 200 children that chose to go to the new school might pass anyway which would mean that the impact of the new school will be even less.

What a fool I am?

Has anyone of the school board asked Terry Grier what will happen after the the school is implented?
I mean, now Smith pass's 47% lets say. what will be the new percentage of the two schools combined?
What will be the real effect?

Deeena Hayes doesnt have the brains.

Terry Grier Stinks.
Terry Grier Stinks.

I was just thinking....it's 3 days till school starts. Grier has time to make some massive, big innovative changes in our failing schools.

C'mon Grier, you can do it. Three days is longer than you usually take to throw a new program together!

Git 'er Done!!!!

Smaller High Schools ??????

Lets' see,,,,,High Point Central has a small school that segregates the poor minority student into a seperate building in order to teach them to cook and work at Fast food restaurants.....

They also have a small school that segregates the Upper Crust Whites into an area that will give them a more advanced path toward a FUTURE through the IB Program.....

The LEFTOVER Students at Central will be left in the Mediocre Programs that might enable some the chance of attending College,,,finishing College,,,I don't know......

Will these small schools make a Change from High Points' past???????

The Answer is NO,,,,,The IB students will become Doctors and Lawyers and Bankers and REAL ESTATE AGENTS,,,,they will continue on with the advantages that they were born with,,,,they will join the "Country Club" and attend the "All White Church" near the K&W,,,,,,,,,,,,

,,,,,and they will employ the "Average Students",,,who struggle Day to Day to make ends meet....The Over-Taxed Working Class Stiff that might have had a better future if only his parents would have moved to Forsyth or Davidson County during their High School years,,,,,,,

,,,,,,and then that leaves us with the Poor, Minority Students that were forced into the Kitchen during their High school Days,,,,,,they will cook and wait tables at "THE CLUB",,,,they will cater to the needs of the Doctors, Lawyers and School Board Members,,,,,they will Mow the grass at the Big Church,,,,they will continue to be dependent on Gov't Aid,,,,,,,

Dr. Griers' Innovative Programs sound like the "SAME OLD,,SAME OLD" that has been High Point for as long as DOT KEARNS has been around.

Old High Point will be the only Winners as long as Terry Grier, Dot Kearns and Susan Mendenhall continue to be involved..........

Smaller schools = smaller roofs to fall in on the kids = less liability.

Way to go Terry! You figured out the dilema.

It's really a shame that an otherwise potentially valuable medium for conversation about schools gets polluted with rants. It's difficult to believe that the interests of Guilford County's students are really the priority for those who simply inject noise into discussions about difficult issues.

ON TOPIC - while studies have certainly found positive outcomes associated with smaller school size, it's dangerous to implement a strategy of that magnitude without an explicit consensus understanding of how that change theoretically translates into the desired improvement.

If smallness automagically resulted in high achievement, there wouldn't be any failing students in little high schools. That's a patently ridiculous proposition but it's a starting point for the complex discussions necessary to make good education policy.

Academic success is the product of an enormous number of factors, variables, influences - call them what you want - many of which interact with, enable, or inhibit others. It is entirely possible that school size has NOTHING to do with learning - directly. It might instead be that it is easier in smaller schools to implement OTHER strategies that do act on student achievement. Or even more likely, to do things that act on factors, which act on other factors, which act on OTHER factors that have positive influences on learning...

For example, Tony Habit's comment elsewhere here alludes to the belief that smaller schools make it easier for teachers to keep track of students, perhaps allowing educators to better communicate with kids to encourage them and make them feel that adults care about their success. This in turn might make students more motivated, increasing attendance, in-class effort, and homework completion - with a positive impact on learning.

Within this "theory-of-action," if teachers don't communicate with students (for example), the linkages between the original strategy and the desired outcome fall apart, and school size makes no difference whatsoever. The flip side of this policy coin is that there might be fewer downsides (e.g., constraints on scheduling or planning imposed as a result of having fewer teachers on staff) to simply helping teachers communicate better, within the existing "big" schools.

Substantive decisions about education practice should be based on broad - and critical - examinations of research findings, and should engage stakeholders, academic types, and policy makers in the discussions necessary to at least understand what is being proposed, and how it is expected to "make the desired result happen."

K

Quote Knetis
"Substantive decisions about education practice should be based on broad - and critical - examinations of research findings, and should engage stakeholders, academic types, and policy makers in the discussions necessary to at least understand what is being proposed, and how it is expected to "make the desired result happen.""

You must be new to Guilford County. Education practice is based on the lastest whim of our good Proffessor Terry Grier and then DROPPED like a BOMB the year after.