News-Record.com

"High Point did fail her"

Yes it did. That is where we should focus our concern. I don't care what "2-way road" she's talking about, nor the fact that she doesn't recite every furniture store by name. I do care that she paints a sad picture of High Point. That is HER recollection and this is HER book so to point out inaccuracies is pointless.

The fact is that High Point failed her. More importantly, her school system failed her. This is still happening right NOW. IT's happening as I type this.

WHEN will the education in High Point be taken seriously? The High Point Choice Plan was sold to this city and there is not ONE SINGLE part of this plan that addresses a CHANGE in how we are educating the students. This plan just moves students around.

My god when will it become obvious that this "Choice" plan is just a cover up for the very injustice that happened to Fantasia? I'm truly sick to my stomach that our School Board has gotten away with this travesty.

Let me make this perfectly clear: THE HIGHT POINT CHOICE PLAN DOES NOT ADDRESS THE POOR PERFORMING STUDENT!! IT DOES NOT ADDRESS THE ILLITERATE STUDENT!! IT DOES NOTHING FOR THE CHILD THAT IS SCREAMING OUT FOR HELP!! IT JUST "HIDES" THAT CHILD'S SCORES AMONG THE SCORES OF BETTER PERFORMING STUDENTS!!!

Anyone that supports this plan should be convicted of child endangerment and neglect.

I also want to make something else crystal clear: Folks opposed to the "choice" plan are NOT opposed to the new programs that are being implemented. They ARE opposed to the low-performing child NOT being addressed and the FORECED component of the plan. I do NOT advocate taking away the new courses, I DO ADVOCATE THAT OUR SYSTEM START THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION AND GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS OF PUBLIC TRANSIT!!!!!!!!PLEASE!! There are many more Fantasia's out there.

Fantasia should have been taught to read in the first grade. If she wasn't, she should not have been promoted to second grade. That would have been 14 to 15 years ago -- before Guilford County school merger, before Terry Grier's arrival and before implementation of the choice plan.

The choice plan, by the way, does not hide poor-performing students. Under No Child Left Behind, every subgroup at every school is measured separately and the school is held accountable for each subgroup's performance.

Many studies show that indeed it does benefit low-income, minority students for them to attend stronger schools. Isolating such students in their "neighborhood" schools, when those schools lack parental and community support and have trouble attracting and retaining the most qualified teachers, is a formula for failure.

Schools that lack community support and have trouble attracting teachers, as you say, should be FIXED or SHUT DOWN. Teachers should get paid MORE, administrators need to make the school a PRIORITY, programs should be EXCITING and ENTICE children to stay, and the environment SAFE, WELCOMING and ENTHUSIASTIC.

"Swapping" kids to do this adult job is reckless, like I said, and this is an awful big job to ask our students to fix a broken school.

Shame on you for falling into the "Swapping Trap". I've always known that you fell for the circus that came to town (in secret) to sell this swapping idea, before it went public. But what surprises me is that you continue to be so ignorant about education.

ALL schools should be "strong". It's NOT the kids in them that determine this. Go right ahead, take all the high performing kids you want and ship them to Andrews, the problems will STILL be there and the ILLITERATEs will STILL be ILLITERATE.

The ONLY thing that I agree with that you said is that children should learn to read in the first grade or NOT be promoted. I don't care WHAT system was in charge back when Fantasia was in 1st grade, she should NOT have been promoted. I did not say this was Grier's or the current board's fault. I said that "her system failed her."

What I DO know is that the ILLEGAL High Point plan will NOT change the status quo. ONLY by improving the instructional day will we start educating children. This swapping of kids does NOTHING to improve education. You can find any study you want to prove otherwise, and I can find 10 more that will disprove them.

You're forgetting the #1 reason that children do well in school--their parents. Busing kids does NOT, as much as we'd like to believe, improve the skills of parents.

Unless there are world-class tutors on those long bus rides, busing does NOT replace quality education.

Obviously we disagree about some basics.

The choice plan isn't illegal. I did attend a preview meeting about it, but there wasn't anything secret about it. It certainly wasn't presented as a secret meeting. It seemed to me like a good idea then, and it still does. There have been big problems in execution that must be addressed. I am hearing positive reports about Andrews this year. If improvement continues there, there will be a better chance that more families will select that option. I don't know why more don't pick the IB program at Central. Is it distance? I see north High Point parents dropping off their kids at High Point Christian Academy, which is farther than Central.

One more thing Dougie-Do Right,

Your boys were fortunate enough to attend their neighborhood school AND what you have always claimed would have been their "first choice" anyway..imagine, if you possibly can for just ONE second that they were denied this pleasure because they're white butts and grades were needed to "save" another school 40 minutes away? Let me guess, you would have relished this opportunity to create heros out of your boys....and how would their mere presence helped some illiterate, under-performing child?

I expect my children to help their peers on a daily basis in the classroom if need be, but I do NOT expect them to replace teachers and a failed system. And how unfair to these poor performing kids to say, "now here, here's your nice new school, now start doing better" and do nothing different to their educational plan. Do they even have an educational plan?

It's folks like you, that have no children in the failed system, and a wife that works for ANOTHER system that really have no business advocating where my kids go to school.

The High Point Plan IS an illegal plan. Only until someone brings a lawsuit, will it be proven.

One last question, and yes, we will obviously always disagree on this, mainly becuase I have seen school systems that can do a better job teaching the basics and I guess you have not.

I'd like to address the "positive reports about Andrews this year." Exactly what are those postive reports? You mean because Walter Childs drives by now and then and he claims to "see" that it's doing well? Or do you mean because the police reports are fewer, so by the lack of negative reports, there are positive reports?

Have you been to Andrews to see what is so positive? I see that in their brochure and website that it SOUNDS positive, in fact I have a techno-wizard middle-schooler that would most likely like to choose Andrews, so PLEASE lay the positive reports out in the open for all to see.

I can tell you this, I would let my son CHOOSE Andrews, but I will NEVER let anyone FORCE him to go there.

Okay, I'm done, I'll shut up.

So it appears the implication is that it's the teachers fault for not being attracted to teach at these "isolated neighborhood schools" and also of course, the parents fault who support schools in their own neighborhoods only to have their kids yanked away to someone else's "neighborhood" for someone else's politcal beliefs (like yours Mr. Clark) Of course let's not forget those Emerywoodites who've gone private. What about those Page and Grimsley parents. For some reason it's only the north High Point-Jamestown people who's kids are in public school who have to get hung on the cross for the sins of the world by Pontius Kearns. Your belief system sets up a cascade of blame that has no end. The only people who can ever improve a school are the people who surround the school. You can never have a school improved by conscriptees who get bused into a "neighborhood" at 8am. and leave at 3pm to go back to where they actually live because they are never going to invest themselves there, because it's all they can do time and money-wise to invest themselves in the neighborrhood where they already live. Through your columns, you have made people who are guilty of nothing more than being hard working citizens of the community who want a say in where their children go to school, and implied that there is something morally wrong with them. The whole purpose of having a free country is so nobody gets hung on the cross for other peoples political beliefs unless we all get hung.

I see the SORE LOSERS have struck again!!!!!!!!
Sunday's victim, Doug Clark!

ZATOUCHI,

THE ONLY SORE LOSERS ARE THE KIDS THAT ARE NOT GETTING EDUCATED. THAT IS NOTHING TO JOKE ABOUT.

YOU ARE BLIND, JUST AS YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS CLAIMS.

My positive report about Andrews comes from a friend who teaches there and says the atmosphere and attitudes of students and faculty have improved greatly. More investigation is certainly warranted, but I hope the school has turned a corner.

I also believe parents ought to have more school choices. I get the impression, however, that some parents in the Southwest area don't want to allow students from outside the opportunity to choose "their" school.

Doug, until you can shed that racist belief, you will be sadly misinformed. It's not that the Southwest area doesn't want to share. It's when you are told to "give up" your seat, that is a little unsettling.

Kids should be welcome to ALL three High Point High schools. I do believe that kids are choosing the IB program at a pretty consistent rate, it's SWH that is busting at the seams. If that is the most popular choice then fine, THAT is where more seats should be built then.

It doesn't take a rocked scientist to see that another school is needed in North High Point.

Stop trying to insinuate a selfish motive into families that just want to choose their closest school.

Also, I have a friend named Harry Korrell in Seattle. Do give him a call.

Does anyone want to talk about Fantasia's book? I guess that topic has been obliterated.

You've read it in its entirety, right?

I'm going to get it today. I'll refrain from anymore comments until I've read it.

No, I said in the original post that I have not read the book. I pointed out inaccuracies in the exerpt available on the publisher's Web site.

The exerpt can help readers decide whether it's worth paying 20-something dollars to read the whole book.

The Fantasia argument is the universal argument. She can't read and she was raped at a highschool.
What we are trying to establish is who's faULT it is? In High Point North Carolina the current thinking is that it is not due to apartheid legacy, not due to the ineptitude of the schoolboard and GCS administrations, not due to abondonment of the downtown High Point schools by the people who live there. It is being blamed on people (now known as "sore losers") who live out in the suburbs who haven't had a darn thing to do with any of this, and they're tired of it. The lottery was voted in by stinky politics, featuring backroom betrayals and with votes from people in Greensboro who would never in a million years vote something like a lottery for their own kids. If someone else, maybe someone in Admins. or someone who voted for the lottery would come forward and take responsibilty, instead of staying silent and voting in lottery plans, maybe people would change their thinking.

Doug,

"The choice plan isn't illegal." What is the source of your information that supports this statement? Can you provide any supporting evidence that this is a true statement? Did Dot Kearns and Terry Grier tell you that?

You seem to be stuck on the idea that the so-called choice plan provides all students choice, and that students should have choice. I agree. So, let's implement a true choice plan. That would look like this:

1) We return to neighborhood attendance zones that existed in Jnauary 2004. All students would have the right to attend that school as it would be their base school.

2) All students would have the right to attend any magnet school offered by the school district.

3) All High Point students would have the right to apply to attend one of the other schools in High Point on a space available basis.

Now, this is an open enrollment system utilized by many school districts which offers students choice. It's legal and it does not discriminate against anyone. So, let's implement a fair, legal, and workable choice plan.

ZETOICHI

FYI NO ONE HAS LOST. THE WAR IS NOT OVER. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS TRULY BLIND.

Living in Anchorage,

These are your BEST posts ever especially the first one.

You are SMOKIN today!

Back to the original post.....if Fantasia is illiterate how could she read and decipher a map to be correct in her statement. What do you expect?

That is a very minor point to nit pick over. I think her main point is that High Point is still a small town with small town, old politics and back door deals. It is probably one of the biggest small towns around. But it is still small, small in its thinking. It only care about one thing, the soon to be leaving for Vegas furniture market. She didn't get an education at Andrews. She was raped at Andrews. Last year according to all test results (Andrews was one of THE LOWEST SCHOOLS in the state) it is a failing school.

And the point about helping subgroups...the other part of NCLB is if a TITLE I school is failing, the students have an OP OUT school. They can't do this if the School System plays games and removes the Title I status.

Also about the legality of the choice plan, beside
the Seattle case, there are others. Sooner or later the truth will come out. It is only a matter of time. Then Zetoichi will be asking himself "who is the sore loser now?"

The only losers are the children who are continually getting screwed out of an education. The losers are the children who can't sing and win a contest and will drop out. The "world class magnets" aren't going to find these kids jobs.

On the question of legality, the burden of proof falls on anyone who wants to bring a case to court.

If Fantasia was raped at Andrews five years ago, or whenever she said it happened, the rapist should have been arrested, charged, convicted and sent to prison.

Stormy's 1-2-3 suggestions are good, but there's the "space availability" catch. You're saying: Sure, you can choose to come to "our" school if there's room for you. But there's not. Sorry.

You do like every other city in this country. You build where the growth is. You don't put seats in a landlocked school in the first place because of the politics.

As far as the Art Magnet at SWH, I don't see where Puppetry, Mime, Tap Dance #1, Teacher Finger paint to Kindergardners, Guitar class will teach anyone who comes to READ and be able to find a job to support themselves. These are fluff and empty promises.

We need to get back to the basics of education.

Even kids today who do graduate can't even add and subtract simple numbers in their heads (i.e. grocery store cashiers); they can't write a simple letter; many can't read well.

It is simply smokes and mirrors and not addressing the real problems. It is fooling no one except some naive kids who think this will somehow land them a spot somewhere as a singer or actor. Good Luck.

Back to original strand.

Even though the some are pushing these "magnet-like" world class programs that did not come yet, see the name of the book.

"LIFE IS NOT A FAIRYTALE"

I could not have said it better myself.

"space availability"
that can be confusing. apparently, parents cannot choose for their chidlren to attend neighborhood schools if they are overcrowded.
but, somehow or other, GCS and its board sure does have the right to place kids in overcrowded conditions (& without teachers & supplies) regardless of "space availability"
cause, the truth of the matter is this: swhs enrollment is now over 1300 - the HIGHEST it has ever been - even after 2 years of student lottery placements under the "plan"
gcs & the board has not filled empty seats, only created more overcrowding at swhs.
go figure - we can't choose an over-crowded school for our children, but gcs/board certainly has the right to put our kids in overcrowded conditions.
of course, we all know that gcs/board has a way around this - just keep adding more trailers as needed! then when the next bond referendum comes around and we taxpayers/parents are promised once again "new schools, fewer trailers" - hopefully, we'll remember all the promises NOT KEPT for the last 2 bond referendums we passed.

Why do I get the feeling, Doug, that you could write that High Point is happy to get its 5th Little Ceasar's Pizza outlet and these people would write that it is the fault of the school assignment plan that the Ceasar has to repeat everything twice?

Mr. Burns,

"These people" are taxpaying citizens of High Point. "These people" have children and they deserve good schools. "These people" and people like them have been needed for a long time in High Point. When you see the schools improving, not that you even care, but you can then thank "these people."

Since you asked, I will take your little assumption and make a connection to the failed GC schools. There could NEVER never be that many pizza establishments because the city of High Point is hard-pressed to find qualified candidates to work in them.. .and that my friend is the result of the crappy education offered in High Point.

Just contact the mayor. Why is Becky having a study done in her city to better understand the "workforce preparedness"? Could it be because there is NO PREPARED WORKFORCE? Ah? Oh my? Could it be because the education is severely lacking in the fair city? Oh no...school correlation, better go running for the woods! "THESE PEOPLE" ARE RIGHT!

You are invited to win an election. So far, you have failed.

You can continue to make your voice heard, but note that those who continue to harp on this issue are getting quite tiresome. This High Point Andrews product is sick of it.

"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again."

-Major General Nathanael Greene

With all due respect Mr. Burns you can choose not to read anymore blogs on this topic if you find it tiresome.

Just a reminder: This blog posting wasn't actually on the topic of the High Point choice plan.

Not that I don't appreciate the conversation ...

"Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure." Thomas A. Edison

Needless to say, we are not satisifed; therefore, we have not FAILED.

"By GNAWING though a dike, even a rat may drown a nation." Edmund Burke

"There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really unsurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose." Kin Hubbard

Does anyone see a weakness of purpose here? I sure don't.

"In the battle between the rock and the stream, the stream always wins, not through strength but through perseverance."

Anonymous

Burns is right. Nixon was elected. Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany. Mussolini, Baby Doc Duvalier, Somoza...the list goes on. There you have it! When you are elected, you are right!!!!Automaticlly, uneqivocally, and ordained by God. Burns proudly claims he's a graduate of HP schools...and he proves it.

zatoichi,

Listen to this for our answer.

http://www.acmewebpages.com/midi/over.wav

The Sore Losers

Mr. Burns,

Speaking of people's grumbling getting tiresome, I looked at your blog, and it seems that you grumble quite a bit about all of the things that George W. Bush does wrong that you don't like. As I recall George W. Bush won the last two national elections, so someone must like what he is doing.

Maybe you should listen to your own advice above "You are invited to win an election. So far, you have failed." That's another insight you can't ignore.

THEY CRIED

It was Tuesday, a cold winter’s night

They waited anxiously for their fate

A thumbs up, a thumbs down

Some others smirked

And then

They cried.

It was spring, the following year

The sweet faces had changed

The tears were the same

They cried.

It was this year,

It was next year,

It was another year,

Sweet colors of different faces

The tears were the same

They cried.

They could not read

They could not write

The faces had changed

The tears had not

And still they cry.

by BA

staying on topic over at amazon.com Fantasia's book is receiving some ***** reviews

Now Dot Kearns and the Guilford County School Board are Hitler (actually not democratically elected, as fraud and a certain Reichstag Fire played a large role in his rise to power), Mussolini, Duvalier (also a fraud) and Somoza?

Into hyperbole much?

And numbersgame, thanks for checking out Stinging Nettle. Glad to see you read it. Keep in mind that Nathanael Greene was speaking of a series of tactical defeats in the name of strategic victory. If Cornwallis had had Dot Kearns's record, we'd all be spelling with extra "u's" and riding in aluminium vehicles right about now.

Hi Doug, my daughter is part of one of the North High Point car pools to HPCA that you see every day. An acceptable alternative for my family would have been a 5 minute walk to Southwest, but that was not to be.

That left us with an edict that our daughter could legally be abducted against her will each day to High Point Central or I guess she could have volunteered to go to Andrews. Neither alternative was very appealing to my wife and I. We felt it best to let someone else's daughter be part of the "new & improved" HP Central or Andrews. Or as I refer to it, Dot's experiment, which when failed costs your child 4 years of his or her life that can never be replaced.

I do see where things are starting to balance out among the 3 HP Public Schools though. I believe I see the Barrow Road address in the Police Report more and more now, so one day soon Southwest will be on the same plateau as HP Cental and Andrews.

It would have been an honor though to have our daughter be part of one of the most abysmal learning institutions in the state such as either Andrews or Central; why she could have learned to say phrases such as "Would you like fries with that?"

A couple more months and those downtown showrooms will be reduced to strip malls so Fantasia is probably right.

I guess Mayor Smothers and Bruce Davis feel pretty good right about now. They probably don't have the same smiles on their faces they did the night of Fantasia's coronation.

Maybe Becky can pickup a copy of the book and read it to Bruce, if there are pictures he can proably figure those out or ask Skip what's going on.

Gee, Mr. Burns; I never mentioned dot, but now that you mentioned her... and fraud ...let's see, i guess going into a voting booth and voting for dot because your neighborhood bosses gave you a slip of paper with her name on it is not really fraud...It's by all means....government at it's finest!!!!exactly the people to whom I'm entrusting my kids to??? Exactly what the Greeks had in mind when they invented democracy.

As an Andrews High School Graduate, it saddens me to have watched over the past few years as our School Administration has slowly attempted to Ruin a fine Institution.

mr. grier single handedly dismantled a finely tuned team of administrators when he ran former "Principal of the Year, Hairston" off.

Then grier ran off one of the best Coaching staffs in the state, coaches who were like fathers to a lot of kids that did not have real dads at home.

Then grier puts one of his Inter-net Alumnis in as Principal at Andrews, one who had NOOOOOO Experience as a Principal,,,, What a Bonehead move!!

Then came word of No More Suspensions and No More Dropouts.

Then comes word that we do not want the POLICE called to Andrews, Principals will handle crimes In-House.

Then grier drops Title One status for Andrews.

Then grier hires another Principal with NOOO Experience.

Does this sound like Inovative ideas to help a School in Need????????????

Since the Inception of "The Socialist Choice Plan", High Point Central has been the only school to benefit from the forced assignment of Students.

Maybe griers goal is to ruin both Andrews and Southwest to help fulfill Dots' Dream of having the one and only "High Point High School" rise to the top.

I am one of "Those North High Pointers" who will continue to pester the leaders of our school system as long as they continue make JACK-ASS decisions for our Children.

Mr. Burns, If you are getting tired of hearing the "Freedom Fighters" , then you can stick your head in the Sand, along with about 90% of the general public that doesn't have a CLUE of how bad the current leadership of our school system really is.

Remember The Spirit of '76

Mrs Burns/ N&R/School board and others.

This will never end. Whilst the North of High point continues to grow and the forced reassignments of children continue the flack will never cease. If the school board think that this will change then they are mistaken.
So you have a couple of choices.
1)stick your head in the sand and try to ignore it or;
2)join the fight for fair treatment for children of N.High Point.
All we want are the same rights as the rest of of Guilford County.

It will never end until IT is over.

Happy Winner

I'm happy too.

Long live "W"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not that arguing with zealots will ever be productive, but my sister graduated from High Point Central more recently than I attended Andrews.

She just graduated with honors and is now serving in Miami in a ministry. She learned music at Central, got bitten by the theater bug, learned to love working with people with special needs and she is now a young person of whom I am very proud.

She got a fine education at Central, mostly because my mom was actively involved in her education at that school.

I've never said Terry Grier was perfect, he is not by a long shot. But I do know that the high point schools have educated many many people who do pretty well. Including me, including Doug's very impressive sons, including my sisters, my brother in law and thousands like us.

THose of you who refuse to participate and spend your time getting angry and patrolling blogs looking for any post that can conceivably serve as a launching pad for yet another rant (and, I would wager, complain about any tax dollars you pay to support the system) are sadly mistaken.

Mr. Burns,

You and many others still just don't "get it". You might have ears but you do not hear.

And if you choose to call passionate people who love and care about their children and as parents feel it is their right to decide about their child's education; who care that their tax dollars not be wasted on a plan which since its questionable marketing methods from the onset has continually proved to be a failure; who care about any child sitting on a long bus ride; who want children to actually be EDUCATED and not just shifted to spread out the correct numbers, "zealots", than so be it. Proud to be one. Mark my head with a big "Z" and it has nothing to do with Harry Potter.

No one has ever said that all graduates of Central and Andrews did not have a good education. No one has ever said that there are not successful programs at Central. No one has ever said to not provide Andrews with the resources and experienced teachers that it needs to be a succesful school. But consider this:

I bet you and Doug and some others could actually WALK to school.

I bet you and Doug and some others did not have to sit on a bus ride for 90 minutes.

I bet you got to dream of the sports you would participate in, could hear the band playing and walk to those football games of YOUR school.

I bet your parents bought a home knowing where their child would go to high school even if you were in 1st grade and this did not change.

I bet your mom didn't sit home for a year alone with 3 kids when your daddy's company transferred him out of the area and you couldn't sell your house because of some lottery plan that the majority of the people didn't want back then.

I bet your house kept its value because you didn't have the IT plan then.

I bet you and Doug weren't put in a lottery to determine your educational fate. (But really that wouldn't have mattered as ANDREWS and CENTRAL kids ALL GOT THEIR FIRST CHOICE - not true for SW.)

I bet that Andrews was not continually spiraling down when you were in school.

I bet you had a strong principal, staff and back-up support.

I bet that safety issues and concerns were addressed. That hitting teachers and principals were not tolerated.

And one final thought, what did you and Doug or others do for human commodities to make your schools "better" when SW was not even in existance. Your schools were fine before SW was built. SW kids is not the answer to your educational needs.

Children should not be considered to have different worth to make the equation come out just "right". This is the epitomy of an insult to the kids who are at failing schools. Also they should not have to feel that they have to be "shipped out" of their environment to a "better" school to teach them Puppetry, Mime, Tap Dance 101, Fingerpainting.

You might as well tell all of our kids to go to Main Street and get tatoos on their arms with their IQ's, ethnicity mix ratios, and test scores listed. That way they could just grab them and shuffle them quicker to make the "mix" come out just perfect. But it still wouldn't educate those who need to learn to read and write.

Meant to say "SW kids ARE not the answer to your problem"

sorry still kind of early

Not that arguing with Idiots will ever be productive, but the Zealots in the North High Point Area that continue to battle the school administration are the same Parents that had made the Southwest Schools very successful.

In the last 2 years, the quality of Southwest is starting to take a turn for the worse, due to the Foolish Agendas set Forth by our GCS Leadership.

I personally have given hundreds of hours of volunteer time as well as thousands of $$$ toward building projects at Southwest, So when the school board tries to SWAP my kid to another school I do become PISSED.

The Anger that you refer to will continue as long as needed, but it would be nice to get back to giving 100% of resources to the school system in a Positive way.

In an earlier post I mentioned sticking your head the sand,,,,it is quite obvious with the comments you have made that your head is well located deep in the sand pile.

Have a NICE Day!!!!!!!!!

Bottom line is this, when Page and Grimsley and Dudley willingly swap human commodities then you can start swapping the High Point kids. Let's see how they like giving up the dollars, volunteer hours and traditions they have poured their hearts into. Have all these kids hand in their sweatshirts with "their" school colors.

Until that day happens in GUILFORD COUNTY schools (remember that - it is not HIGH POINT SCHOOL SYSTEM any more) no Zealot is giving up their position.

Apparently we cannot change how the "Mr. Burnes" feel; nor will they ever change how we feel. But just maybe the "Mr. Burnes" could open their ears and hear what is actually occurring in the PRESENT.

What drives the SW parents absolutely crazy is that they are being made scapegoats for the state of High Point schools. In fact, this was the whole focus of Dot Kearns' election platform, which was the sorry state of High Point education is NOT due to inept stewardship by her (she had been on the schoolboard for 12 years,) was not due to inept management by the administrators she hired to run the schools, and was not due to the legacy of apartheid and neglect that had been going on in High Point for years (which Kearn's and Mendenhall participated in, they were proud students at High Point's white highschool. Where was their concern then for Wm. Penn? ) Dot found someone else to blame.
"The whole problem is those people out in that new SW school district, it it wasn't for them everything would be fine. Vote for me and I'll fix 'em", and she got the minority advocates to actually believe this. When you know you've failed, find someone you can point to who's the "real" cause of your failure. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS. Dot pulled the wool over the eyes of all the minority advocates actually making them believe that she wanted to change the demographics at Central for the benefit of the minority population. Twice as many kids were shipped to Central than Andrews. So, let's keep talking about election fraud, Mr. Burns. Next thing you know, our kids are on the bus. Yeah, we're zealots!!!!If this happened to you , you'd have to be brain dead not to be a zealot. And Mr. Burns, if you're tired of it, just imagine what we are.

Barbara Ann

Let's see - how many baseless assumptions did you put in one post:

Starting with your list of "I bet's" - I think you and Bill Bennett need to examine your gambling problem, cause you lost big.

1. I did walk to High School at Andrews for two years, because I lived on Waverly Street after my parents divorced. But for Junior and Senior year, I drove from Johnson Street or (gasp!) took a bus. Middle school? Took a bus.

2. I played sports. I was also in the band. And you don't know much about High Point, I guess, since everyone knows both Andrews and Central play at Simeon, not on campus.

3. "Spiraling down" and "strong principal" - you're right, it wasn't spiraling down and Emerson Heatherly was a fine principal. But that didn't stop people in the SW school district from yelling about Andrews to avoid merger. That's right, the same scare words and propaganda got spread around then. Andrews won the National Debate Championship while I was there, but iof you had listened to the parents in Southwest, you'd have thought merger was going to loose the wolves on Guilford County and nobody at Andrews or Central could read.

4. Your assumption about my parents is wrong. We moved five times after I was in first grade.

5. Hitting teachers was not, and I suspect is not tolerated.

6. SW existed when I was in school, and we routinely destroyed them in football, soccer, basketball, track, wrestling and everything else.

Some things never change.

Burns,

The situation with our High Point schools is not a Sporting event, though I admire you for your loyalty to the school you chose to attend.

The very people you condemn, tried to volunteer their time at Andrews 2 years ago, but were told that their services weren't needed.

Andrews should be very proud of their Debate Program as well as their Sports Dynasty.

If it is a Pissing contest of Success Stories your looking for, both schools have plenty of ammunition from the past, but this issue is much more important than school rivalries.

When you grow up and have children of your own, you as a parent, should have the Right to do whats right for your child.... The school your child attends should be your choice, not that of a wacked out panel of Socialists.

Yes, the Red Raiders have sure given the Cowboys their lumps over the years in some sports, But the Cowboy faithful still come out and attend the games to support the STUDENT athletes from all schools...We on the "North Side of Town" also have a sense of community and pride in our neighborhood school,,,just like the Raiders and the Bison.

As our GCS leaders continue to destroy Andrews and Southwest,,,the Booster Clubs, Volunteers, and School Pride will gradually become a thing of the past.

Mr Burns,
travelling from Johnson st. to Andrews is a lot different to Barrow rd to HPC.
You did it by choice too. We dont have a choice (gasp).
General, unfortuneately its far worse then we suspected. His head isn't stuck in the sand its up his bloody backside!

Mr. Burns,

This is the very nutshell version. Any parent should have the right to choose a house where they want and attend the school they chose and put their hearts into it. They do not need an explanation as to why they don't want to go to Central, Andrews, school XYZ or 123 School. They don't need to tell you why. The reason is irrelevant.

If you love your school (i.e. Central/Andrews) and want to go there, that is fine. No one is making you (i.e. Andrews and Central) NOT go to your school. You get to stay faithful alumni and send your grandkids there.

SWH families don't have the luxury of this CHOICE.

As far as sports, everyone gets a turn to be the winners and the losers. It's just a game. And I could care less who wins or loses. It's just fun. But students go on to graduate (maybe) and hopefully be a productive citizen. What will carry them through life is a basic sound education, training for a trade, or courses to go onto college.

You don't have to give us a reason why you do or don't want SWH. And no one has to give you a reason why they aren't beating down the doors to get into Central. Old HP folks love that school; fine, you have your school still.

I can tell you that some kids who chose Central last year, say it is going "okay". They are in the IB program. HOWEVER, they still long for their childhood friends. Many of the kids who have gone to Central all along have had their same friends since kindergarten, they hang out at the "club" or wherever. SW Refugees do not have that option. They are still the outsiders looking in and just sitting in a class.

High school isn't just all academics, it should be a fun time, a time for making memories, a time for socialization. As for some of the SW refugees it certainly is not making the best memories for them.

And if GCS thinks a lottery and all this turmoil that the IT plan has caused is so much fun and such a wonderful success, then certainly they need it in Greensboro too. Let those people go beyond their little comfort zone, make new friends, "it's good for your kids", they will learn so much about the real world, then go for it.

Mr. Burns,

You are definitely right about Point no. 2. I know all I need to know about High Point and the rest I have no desire to know.

I know where my one doctor is and how to find his office. I don't know where the downtown life is; there is none except during market time.

I don't know how to get to Simeon stadium.

Have been to the Country Club several times for work functions. The food was great. The "club" life" is not my cup of tea. I was first there in 1982 when my husband was first employed by a High Point based company. After only seeing only a certain race and only male waiters in black tuxes, I thought I was in a scene from "Gone with the Wind", but that since has changed last I was there.

I have heard all about the old back door politics; don't care to be involved in them.

I know where the Roll Royce dealership is; can't afford one of those; wouldn't spend my money on an expensive car anyway.

I don't plan to let my daughter get any tattoos on Main Street.

We do absolutely love Bruester's ice cream; although we don't need that either.

Point being most people who live in the North End of HP or Jamestown area have their shopping, social,movie theaters and other needs met without driving into "downtown." They do not care to drive that far to go to school either. And with the current price of gasoline many cannot afford it. It is a drain on our current school system with the cost of fuel too.

In conclusion, I am happy for you and Doug and all the others who love old High Point. That is your choice, but please quit trying to sell others on it who have no desire to be there for whatever reason.

They have their choices too, at least in some things but not with the IT plan.

For clarification sake, Mr. Burns, I live in the county, not the city limits of High Point. So I would have no need to know where Simeon Stadium is, or other services that I do not need to drive far to get to.

I lived off Hunterwoods for two years and fought like hell for North High Point in the FedEx debacle. I am "grown up" and I do have kids on my own. And I did not choose to go to Andrews, I was assigned there by a school assignment policy. And I went there and loved it. My Dad taught there, but if anything, that was a negative! (Got ya pops.)

So really, Barbara Ann, lay off the assumptions about me, ok? If you live on X street, and you want your kid to go to public schools, the elected representatives of that school district will let you know where your kid can go. Ideally, they provide alternatives for magnet programs and other incentives to balance out the students and provide a rough intersection between people's preference and available space, within the confines of a diverse student body - economically, racially, and otherwise.

We live in a representative republic. You enter into a social contract by living here. One of the parts of that contract is that your elected representatives make decisions for you. You have the right to spout off about decisions you disagree with, and to attempt to win the next election. You do not have the right to falsely accuse people of illegality and skullduggery without expecting to be challenged on those statements.

BUt I have a right to call you on your distortions and inaccuracies. And I will.

And if you want to fix Guilford County, don't look at the School Board. look at your dysfunctional County Commission. Good Lord.

As to your last post - no man is an island unto himself.

John,

I am sorry you misunderstood my comment. I did not say you were in the Andrews district NOW. You had mentioned that you went to Andrews when you grow up. (I have no idea where Hunterwoods is as I did not grow up in this area. We moved here in 1996 because of a career promotion for my husband. Looking back, we oftentimes think we should have not moved here from Virginia Beach for many reasons.) What I said was anyone who chooses to stay in the Andrews or Central district and send their children or grandchildren to those schools CAN. 100% of the Central/Andrews parents got their FIRST CHOICE, not so for SWH.

Your second statement is correct for the PAST and for the rest of the county now except HP. The school district had drawn up the districts (with the help of a mapping committee in 1999) and also everyone in the county could go to magnet schools. However, with the IT Plan many students at SW have been FORCED by lottery to another school district. Others in the county know in 8th grade where they will go to school. That is the difference.

And John, everyone has opinions just like you do. That is correct. You are right about winning elections and 2006 is just around the corner. I was not so disappointed in the last election because We Won the big one and for the local elections, yes there is 2006.

Fact: Forced busing for race is illegal in this country. Areas that are trying to do this today are being challenged in the courts. (ref. Seattle case and there are others) I guess that will have to be decided about the IT plan by those who have kids who were lotteried when they challenge IT. That is not me; my child is above the grade level that gets lotteried. In all fairness, I might also add that she has done excellent in school. My husband just questions how much better she would have done in private school or in the excellent school system that we moved from. To me socially and academically, I have no complaints in her case. I just see the trends of how GCS and public school in general in this country is heading and I am glad she will graduate soon.

"Fix Guilford County"? I don't know of anyone who is currently capable of that. (that would also have to depend on future elections) You are right in that regard too. Their meetings are truly the best TV reality comic show on TV. Do what I can to help improve our schools for future generations and what I feel is right by our kids.....I can surely try. And in the end, we probably will not retire here; it is a stopping place in the big life plan.

You are correct to in "no man is an island". Thank God for good friends and a car that runs well.

I have enjoyed chatting with you, John. And as our commissioners would say,

ALOHA

Mr. Burns, you seem to be making the assumption that elected officials are somehow immutable, above acting out of self-interest, and sane, which is a BIG JUMP!!!! If you can make this jump, more power to ya'. Have a nice life, don't trip skipping down the garden path, bye now.

What are the qualifications to run this county?

In defense of Andrews...I'm an English teacher at Andrews and I also coordinate public relations for the school. I feel it is very unfortunate that this school is always taking the heat, taking the negative, being kicked when we're down, etc. When so many other schools (especially Guilford Co. schools) have similar challenges, it is more appropriate to look at the bigger picture. We at Andrews H.S. know our past, we know our successes and failures. We know our ups and downs. The important thing is WE--we as a collective staff and student body are attempting to do something about it. And whether you agree or disagree with the school system, continuing to tear this school down does not help matters at all. We as a community, as a county, as taxpayers need to support ALL of our schools--Andrews included. We as staff NEED your SUPPORT, not the negative comments and the bickering. We are doing our absolute best. Volunteer for a day. Substitute a class for a day. Take a student to lunch. There are any number of good, positive aspects of Andrews that get lost very easily in the Triad media. We as staff have not given up on you or your children...PLEASE do not give up on us. We're in this together...to make sure every child is educated and that no child is left behind.
Mr. Erik Huey
Andrews H.S.
hueye@gcsnc.com

Fantasia failed to tell people in her book about the many wealthy and hard working people who reside in High Point.She made the Thomasville High Point community look like a third world country.She is blaming everything and everybody except herself for her failures.Her book is full of ignorant statements and depictions of the same African-American community that voted for her in her quest to win the American Idol.Fantasia needs to realize that housing projects dont come to people ,people come to housing projects.In other words you put yourself there.Fantasia is an embarrassment to hard working black men like myself.She is not an American Idol, she is an AMERICAN IDIOT!

We have "been there/done that" in volunteering for Andrews. Many knocked and the door was closed in our faces. There is a new principal now so maybe this is not the case.

When you call a school three times and are turned away each time you get the messsage loud and clear.

Dear Mr. Johnson,
So you are wealthy and apparently very arrogant! Fantasia was a young impresssionable girl, who was raped and apparently lived life in some what of a box. She could only write about what she could relate to. Life for her was not a picnic. It is wonderful that you were apparently haveing, working and living a big old picnic while she wasn't. She never called your name and yet you take it personally. There are always some people who do well in a small town. However, if you talk to the have nots, I bet that they will not tell you about them in a good way. hese wealthy people may be wonderful, but those who don't run in their circles DO NOT KNOW THEM. Fantasia could only write about what she knew. Perhaps you should have gone to those projects and introduced yourself as a big brother(the organization that helps young people in need). Maybe then, Fantasia would know about you. She never said that there were no well heeled African Americans in High Point. She only spoke from her young impressionable mind. Think you can forgive her? If you can't, then you had better put that IDIOT nameplate in behind your name. Have a good day mr. wealthy High Point hard working citizen.

Apparently someone agrees with Fantasia. See the editorial in today's News & Record. They got the point.

Mr. Huey:

A lot of parents have left public schools in High Point due to the Choice Plan. They are now volunteering at their kids private schools. They have taken their volunteer time and money with them. Sad but true.

Also because of the Choice Plan, some parents are already spread too thin. They have a child in elementary school, middle school and have to trek across town to pick up their kid at high school they did not choose or want to be at. They have to work to pay for their gas. There is simply no time left in the day to volunteer at another school.

Others are simply to angry because of the forced lottery and are just trying to deal with their own difficulties. They have not taken "ownership" in their forced lottery school. So the idea of the Choice Plan to bring more volunteers to schools that are hurting has backfired. Parents are just biding the time. They have not desire to volunteer.

Volunteering at Andrews would have been possible before the Choice Plan but not now.

We wish Andrews only the best and truly hope the school gets the help it needs from the administration. We hope Andrews receives the funding and resources that it needs from Guilford County Schools. The past test data on Andrews speaks for itself. It is anyone's guess why Andrews was allowed to go on this way for so long. There are many "Fantasia's" out there who won't make it unless major changes occur. Hopefully, your parents will take ownership and volunteer to help their own children. There could be outreach programs to help in this endeavor.

The public is still amazed that the Title I funding was moved to other schools after seeing that Andrews was one of the lowest schools in the state. I hope you know where the blame lies. If this were an opt out school as NCLB intended, there could have been smaller classrooms and specialized help.

Thank you for teaching.

Your community will grow - but only into further decay... as long as petty bickering and hatred rule your communications with one another. Growing a better community is never accomplished as a "battle", but as a team effort. Don't see one another as adversaries. If each of you were to make it your personal goal to work FOR the betterment of one who sits across the table from you - each of you would in turn have an advocate -working FOR you who was once your enemy. And, likewise, each of you would be dedicated to making a better life for one you once thought you hated.

This has all been said once upon a time, but in different words...