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New Hanover County possibly redistricting again

Submitted by WWAY on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 12:00pm.READ MORE: New Hanover County possibly redistricting again
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Two new schools are expected to open in New Hanover County by the next school year. With new schools comes the possibility of new lines being drawn to redistrict the county. Redistricting the schools will help decide who attends a new elementary school and middle school. The big issues are what children will it affect, and will parents welcome the change? Some of the parents who do not like the idea have students at Holly Tree Elementary. Their children have a three-minute bike ride from home. They say redistricting may change their bike ride into a twenty-minute bus ride across town. “It was part of our choice and so to realize now that that might not be the case, that was a red flag for us,” said Christina Shaw. Three redistricting maps show a neighborhood option, where students would go to a school close to home; an economic diversity option to address the population of students on free and reduced lunch; and a compromise map that does a little of both. Some parents say with the economic diversity map, their children might end up at a school struggling to perform on exams on the other side of town. "There is a sense of community around that. That's one of the reasons why we wanted to have a neighborhood school,” Shaw said. Kelly Corcoran, another concerned parent said, "What I have a problem with is putting my children on a bus for twenty-five minutes one way to school everyday in a below average school." School Board Chair Don Hayes said this is the kind of concerns raised every time the district builds a new school. "I know the parents want their children close to home. It's not something we like to do, I can assure of that but when you build a new school it becomes necessary,” stated Hayes. Hayes said overcrowded schools and budget constraints to build more, is the reason behind redistricting. He just hopes they can find a solution all parents will agree on. "If you can keep a child close to home as possible and relieve the overcrowding, then that's really all you can do,” added Hayes. Christina Shaw has gone so far as to develop a website dedicated to keeping students in their neighborhood schools. She has an online petition with almost 400 parents who do not want to see redistricting happen. Tonight, parents on both sides will have a chance to voice their concerns to the school board. The public forum is at Coddington Elementary at 6:30 p.m. You can visit Christina Shaw's website at www.neighborhoodschoolsfornhc.com. To visit New Hanover County Schools website go to www.nhcs.net.

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Shut down the non-performing schools and bring the children

Submitted by GuestQ (not verified) on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 8:54pm.
Shut down the non-performing schools and bring the children to our schools don’t take our children out of their schools and force them into a non-performing school.
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Its not about the school

Submitted by Guest 1113 (not verified) on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 1:14pm.
I'm sorry but moving kids around is just going to cause trouble. I know that when I was in school, being comfortable in your environment really contributed to success all around. Moving these kids will just cause a decline in their attitude thus resulting in lowered grades. Not a good idea. On top of that, success in schools is not a result of the school. As another poster pointed out, all of the schools have the same potential to excel. My sister teaches at a very low-income school in Charlotte and is an amazing educator. Other top-performing schools offered her positions but she opted to take this one to make a difference (and she is a UNCW graduate). Many of the low-performing schools are a direct result of the parents, not the school resources or educators. If the parents would make more of an effort to push the importance of education and be a role model for why education leads to success, we wouldn't have this problem. Unfortunately low-income areas tend to have a lack of direction given to the kids by the parents, not the schools. It all starts at home and until parents begin to invest in their kids' lives and education, this won't change and moving kids who do have that nurturing is only punishing them and their parents for having that vested interest in their kids' education.
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Is there any truth to the

Submitted by Guest11111 (not verified) on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:45am.
Is there any truth to the allegations that the reason white people are supporting neighborhood schools so adamently is because it keeps low income black students out of ''their'' schools? Is it minorities or poor people or both that frighten you guys?
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students out of ''their'' schools?

Submitted by GuestQ (not verified) on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 8:48pm.
“Is there any truth to the allegations that the reason white people are supporting neighborhood schools so adamantly is because it keeps low income black students out of ''their'' schools? Is it minorities or poor people or both that frighten you guys?” No, all children are welcome to join us. No, unfortunately it the idea of taking successful children out of the successful schools and forcing them into a non-performing school not to mention the absurd cost of running busses all over the county at the cost of all the tax payers when we all know the idea has failed over the course of the past 44 years.
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Frightning

Submitted by Guest1022 (not verified) on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 1:45pm.
Ignorance is what is really frightning.
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OF COURSE I must be a snob,

Submitted by Guest MOM (not verified) on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 12:34pm.
OF COURSE I must be a snob, at best, or at worst, a racist. Why didn't I see it before? It couldn't possibly be that I don't want to put my FIVE YEAR OLD on a bus headed to the opposite side of town from where I chose to live; That I don't want him waiting at the bus stop at 6:30 or earlier in the morning (still dark at that time right now) when I can barely get him out of bed at 7:00; That if I get a call from his school telling me he is sick, I'd rather be 5 minutes away than 25. If you had children you could at least sympathize with my concerns, even if you don't agree with me. Please don't post unless you have something to add to the discussion besides race baiting. When I don't know a person, I try not to assume automatically that they're a bigot. You should try it sometime.
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Neither

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 11:26am.
It's simply taking care of our own. There is no shortage of Black students in the high-scoring schools because there is no shortage of middle and upper-class Black families in this county. It makes no sense to take a bright student from Landfall and send him to a poor-performing school in the inner city. How is THAT fair to him? Seeing IF your child can do better in a more challenging school is worth denying the Landfall student the quality education he is up for, and can handle? If your neighborhood school stinks, work harder and move to a better neighborhood. Success is colorblind.
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Hmmm..

Submitted by Guest7969 (not verified) on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 11:21am.
Ill bite. Nope...no truth at all actually. We are all created equal, right? IF that is true, which I believe it is, then EVERY SCHOOL should have the equal opportunity to succeed and do well. That isn't happening. What those that aren't doing well want to do is PUNISH those mean ole middle class people that have sinned against man and done well for themselves, put themselves thru college, etc. What is happening is that people want to HIDE what the schools are doing by mixing children in that ARE doing well to help bring scores for that school up...basically bringing EVERY school to a MEDIAN score. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE...EVERY school should strive to do BETTER than the NC average. By hiding the problem by busing children in we do NOTHING to help those that need it most. It sets those individuals up to think that there is always someone out there to bring them out of a problem. I could care LESS about what color someone is...I will NOT, however, allow my child to be punished for my hard work and dedication to succeed in life! EVERY SCHOOL needs to get the money and supplies they need and I will FIGHT with you on that, even if it means increase in already high taxes. Also, money used for gas to bus children all over the county should be used to TEACH! Obviously it's needed in some of the schools.
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against neighborhood schools

Submitted by In favor of busing (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 10:57am.

I am a mother of 6 & I have 3 children that attend public school.I am against neighborhood schools because they are not realistic & I don' t see howthey'll produce well rounded children if they're not exposed to a diverse collection of people & I'm not limiting that to race alone but also to include diversity in socio-economic backgrounds. They're going to have to coexist & be able to relate with people of all walks of life in life & I don't see how neighborhood schools promotes that.Children need exposure to diversity from the people they're in contact with to the food they eat. The way the districts are now I don't see it I see segregation. My children attend Freeman, it's a low performing school not because of the educators there(they have a wonderful spectrum of staff that have the children BEST intrests at heart)but because the school is concentrated with children from low income families that don't have a lot of the resourses that higher income families have at their disposal.Our school is going to continue to lag behind with this financial imbalance.How can the PTA be properly funded when families don't have the financial resources to contribute? I am including my family in the low income bracket because even though my husband and I don't qualify for government assistance we bust our tails to provide for our family. I am a retail store manager & my husband is a marine mechanic & works a second job & sometimes our school involvement gets compromised either in attendence or finacially,not that we don't care but we have to provide for our family also.I am for busing my children to give them the divesity they crave, it will provide them with a better learning enviroment. Education is the key to success & I want my kids to have that,the best possible education.They won't acheive that with neighborhood schooling.For the parents in favor of neighborhood schooling I suggest you rent a building & home school or enroll in private school we lower income working families don't have that luxury. End the sterotypes.

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What...

Submitted by Guest7969 (not verified) on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 11:31am.
"it's a low performing school not because of the educators there(they have a wonderful spectrum of staff that have the children BEST intrests at heart)but because the school is concentrated with children from low income families that don't have a lot of the resourses that higher income families have at their disposal." First, you are MAKING EXCUSES. We are ALL CREATED EQUAL...money doesn't make you smart or dumb. IF my child got sent to Freeman...I wouldn't contribute ANY WAY as she would be going to a private school or Roger Bacon! So they GAIN NOTHING. IF it is resources you feel you need, you will be hard pressed to find a school that has all of the tools and resources it NEEDS! I would fight with you for more resources! EVERY SCHOOL needs MORE! Second, don't sound so naive! I cannot tell you the last time I associated, hung out with, palled around with or spoke to anybody say past the railroad tracks on Market Street all the way to the river. The FACT is that we associate with those we live around and those we work with and associate VERY LITTLE with those outside of that.
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Dear Misguided Person, Consider This...

Submitted by youbigdummy (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 8:48pm.
You are making a big fool out of yourself. You really know nothing about what the data says concerning busing. It is time to tell you some painful truths: a. Busing has not, in the last 40 years, shown that it benefits any student. In fact, it causes a great degree of alienation to the students and families involved. b. All schools receieve the same amount of money per student from the state. In fact, poor schools get a lot of extra money from Title 1 programs. Schools with high minority counts actually get a little more. Also, they can get more from special CIS programs and federal programs like More at Four. c. It has been shown, though not widely published, that the only way to bridge the gap between high preforming students and low preforming students is to lower the top. In other words, you have to dumb down the cirriculum so that the bottom can catch up. d. Please remember that, at least at the moment, we live in a capitalist society that does NOT provide that we are economically equal. There is nothing that can be done to remedy that except the dissolution of private ownership and the establishment of a communist regime. (Although, we have seen that is not successful or egalitarian either way) e. Stop whining and be glad that you live in a society that does provide free and appropriate education to our youth. f. Quit looking for a hand out or trying to make someone else miserable because you wish you had more.
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Busing only ruins the school and the student!

Submitted by Straight Shooter (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 5:42pm.
If you couldn't provide responsibly for your family why did you have 6 kids. Wow talking about sterotypes! You people have sat back and allowed your neighnorhoods and your neighborhood schools to fall in ruin and you want us to fix it by lowering our standards. I don't think so.........
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to sharpshooter

Submitted by Aim correctly (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 8:55pm.
Who are you referring to when you say '' you people''?Let's get something clear,the number of children I decide to have is my business. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply so if you read then you would know that I am married and oh they are all by the same man so can we still discuss stereotypes? We earn a honest living we don't sell drugs so yeah I believe we responsibly provide for our family. What we lack in finances we more than make up with love so that when our children encounter close minded indiviuals like yourself they'll have the self confidence to still know they can do anything they put their minds to. Wether you like it or not your kids have to coexist in a vey diverse world unless they're hermits and they can have all the education in the world and it doesn't mean anything if they can interact positively with people outside of their regular realm of people. Segregation is a form of racism and thinking you better than someone because of your finacial situation is bigotry and thinking it's ok is just plain ignorant.
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The name of the game...

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 4:35pm.
...is for your children to get the best education they can, to prepare them for life in the real world. In that light, they will meet all sorts of races and socio-economic backgrounds once they are out on their own. It is ludicrous to sacrifice the quality of a child's education just so that he has a diverse assortment of classmates. If your neighborhood school is a lousy school, thenm move to a better neighborhood. If you can't do that, then pray for the best, spend as much time helping your kids learn as you can, and accept life as it is. Don't expect other kids from better schools to give up their seat for your kids. The goal is to educate kids, not film an episode of Barney or Sesame Street.
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Who is stereotyping here? No

Submitted by Just Want My Children Close to Home (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 2:55pm.
Who is stereotyping here? No one on this message board is proposing that school district lines be gerrymandered to excluded low income families. Neighborhood school advocates prefer district lines be based on geography. It's understandable that you sometimes can't attend school functions because of work. How hard do you think it would be to attend school functions if your child's school is on the other side of town from where you live? If the school system goes back to busing, and those who favor neighborhood schools turn to private schools (per your suggestion), what happens to diversity then? Ask the public school system in Nashville, TN, which has seen a 20% decrease in white attendance in the past 10 years. Atlanta schools are now about 85% minority participation. Blaming PTA funds for school inequality is a red herring. Schools with a high ratio of students who receive free or reduced price lunches get Title I funding that other schools do not. Rachel Freeman's Title I allocation this year was $246,000. My neighborhood school receives $0 under Title I. PTA Funds at our school are negligible in comparison to your school's Title I largess. I was at Rachel Freeman last week and was very impressed by the facilities. Beautiful school. Bathrooms and multipurpose room are much nicer than the facilities at my neighborhood school. You even have flat screens in the cafeteria. I do not begrudge these differences, but it is hard to swallow the argument that your school is short on resources when I compare both schools' facilities. It has been shown over and over again that busing children to promote economic diversity does not have an appreciable effect on either test scores or closing the achievement gap. This county bused children for over 40 years - if it worked we would have never changed to the neighborhood school model.
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Government Incompetence

Submitted by Georgetown (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 2:35pm.
We just went through this redistricting process, something is SERIOUSLY MESSED UP that where back at it again so soon. Obviously, our local politicians have no interest in what's best for the children and their education. It's time to send a message and vote out all the incumbents who talk alot but have failed our community. We need some fresh ideas from new leaders: Pat Chappell for BOE, Brian Berger and Jonathan Barfield for County Commissioner. We need to show these politicians that they are not crowned for life and can't erase a record of failure with tv ads and shiny mailings. New blood and new ideas are what's needed, and if Chappell, Barfield and Berger can't raise performance..let's give 'em the boot too.
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busing kids

Submitted by Guest yo (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 10:52am.
I am all for deversity! Children need to enteract with people of all types of life. That is how you learn about people. That is why we are in the Situation we are in here in wilmington.RACE will ALWAYS BE THE reason for most of the Decisions we make. Just because you are white dont make you right or this community school stuff right! I purchased my home in the intercity, my kids are A & B students that go to gregory and willison. Who are you to determine what my famliy values are.LETS BE REAL! You want is to keep your kids in your neighborhood because you dont want to be around BLACKS. I dont care if I have to drive my child cross country to KKK land if it means getting a good education I WILL do it! So I too will fight this to the end!! PLAN ON HEARING FROM ME AGAIN!!!
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busing kids

Submitted by guest 1 (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 10:09pm.
you misunderstand the reason i want my child to remain in his school.. holly tree is a good school. they are young children that need stability..i do live near blacks.. i dont have a problem with that..im not against diversity..just want stability.. my statement doesnt go against anyones family values.. it goes against the county school system..i know its not a perfect world, but i do believe every school no matter where it is should be staffed with quality personal.. so they are all good schools.
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Hearing

Submitted by Guest1022 (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 4:03pm.
I can hardly contain myself waiting.
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You are Correct

Submitted by ohno (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 2:24pm.
Your posting started off sounding intelligent and admirable but finished off portraying you as a race mongering fool. As a member of an interracial family, this is exactly why I don't want my child to be bused into the city.
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Redistrict the TEACHERS and ADMINISTRATION!

Submitted by MJ (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 10:23am.
I dont even have children and I find this appalling when, seemingly EVERY YEAR, it comes up! It hasnt worked YET. So try pooling the Admin and teaching staff and redistrict THEM to the failing schools, let THEM pay the extra gas and costs, not the tax-payers, children and parents. Children get punished for adults' incompetence - NICE. And voters - REMEMBER THIS at election time for BOE members, County and City officials.
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If you want certain

Submitted by diversity (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 12:10am.
If you want certain standards from your school - send your child to a private school. Every child should have an opportunity to get great education regardless of neighborhood their parents live in. After all - this IS called *public* school system.
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Come on, your statement is a

Submitted by nobusing (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 12:15pm.
Come on, your statement is a load of communist crap! Our society does not allow for all things created equal. I see your point and in a perfect world, we would all wish for this but the fact remain that the world need doctors and the world needs ditch diggers too. I am not a doctor and I am not a ditch digger but I am a hard working person in the middle class that struggles every month to make ends meet. I have worked so hard all my life to afford one of these homes in a good school district so my kids would had better opportunities. Now, they want to pull the rug out from under everything I have worked so hard to attain. I am sorry, but people with your point of view are the same ones that run our schools into the ground in the first place.
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redistricting

Submitted by Glen severage (not verified) on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 11:40pm.
people have the right to live in an area which they want there children to go to school.. but on the other side it is not fair that the lower income families cant afford the same options.. Every child has an equal right to the same kind of education.. we have elementary schools that are not performing at acceptable levels.. by moving children around to better the grades does not work.. Its not the child's fault for the poor performance.. we should look at the leaders at those schools. and the school itself..are the teachers and administration at those schools motivated to lead.. do they have a comfortable, clean, updated envirement that the other schools have.. do the leaders have the motivation to do their jobs.. when a organization fails in any business the leaders are responsible . The school system is no different . in my opinion the low performing schools need better qualified personal.. they need to upgrade the school. draw interest by paying the leaders in those schools to stay.. you can bring in kids all over the county to those schools, but you will still have the same leaders.. The transferring kids will not be the one's doing the teaching. to recap.. just because a child grows up in a lower income family, it does not mean he performs lower than anyone else. the student is only as good as their teachers. The teachers are only as good as there leaders. this is not a complete knock on the teachers in those schools.. they need the motivation to perform. they need a clean and safe envirement. updated facility , and incentative pay to perform to the best of their capabilities. thank you Glen Severage
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Well..

Submitted by Guest7969 (not verified) on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 5:11pm.
LIVID doesn't even BEGIN to express how I feel about this whole thing. They want my child to be bused to Freeman...what the heck is that all about?! I don't see anybody in Landfall or Forest Hills being bussed over to Freeman. I got bussed from my side of town to the other side of town for school and I REMEMBER it...it was the most HORRID experience I EVER had in a school. I was mixed in with families that didn't share the values or ideals of my family or neighborhood families. I WILL fight this tooth and nail. I will REFUSE to send my child ACROSS TOWN to some school where they are in my opinion in a dangerous environment mixed with children who's families don't hold the same ideals and thoughts about life and my kids future. This whole thing about busing kids across town again shows government WASTE and ABUSE! I am quickly becoming SICK OF IT! Don't you DARE punish MY CHILD for the failure of the SCHOOL and its students to hold themselves to higher standards! Hold the teachers, families and students of whatever school that is failing RESPONSIBLE and leave my kid alone!
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Are you afraid your child

Submitted by puh-leez (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 11:17am.
Are you afraid your child will fail at a different school?Are you not confident that your child could be admired and positively motivate a less fortunate child?Children are a product of their enviroment. Who are you to pass judgement. Consider home schooling or private schooling.It's called PUBLIC school not PERSONAL school. If you're too good to use a public bathroom use it at home same principle. Bigots like yourself are what got our country in this mess. Obama for President.
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I could not agree more! We

Submitted by amp1297 (not verified) on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 9:09pm.
I could not agree more! We are in the same situation you are. They have decided to cut a section of our neighborhood that contains around 30 kids and ship them downtown. I don't care what I have to do, my child will not go there.
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I agree

Submitted by Guest6576 (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 8:26am.
With one of the plans My son will go from walking a block to school to being bussed 6 miles away. How does that make any sense. Where he is now I can walk him to school, talk to his teachers, check on his behavio ran dwhat he needs to be a better student. If it is switched I will never be able to do that. I don't have the time to drive in the traffic every morning to the proposed school. As far as switching teachers, paying them more etc.. that will not solve the real problem with the school that are failing. I work with many teachers in all different schools and they are on the whole very capable. It is the kids and their lack of parenting and parents concern for their education that is the problem. I meet with the families and ask them if they know what classes they are having trouble in and most of the time they have no idea what classes their kids are even in no less who the teacher is or what homework they were assigned. You could have the best teachers in Wimington at the worst school and it won't help if mom, grandmother or whoever else is raising the kids don't care about it. I am always amazed when the parents tell me they have no idea what their report card said or if they know that they were skipping school or suspended. It is a shame.
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Make the time, use the

Submitted by Guest db (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 1:50pm.
Make the time, use the phone, go in the afternoon-do whatever you have to to stay abreast of your child's education. After all, it's not about you, remember, it's about your child...
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What? "Make the Time, use

Submitted by Willard (not verified) on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 3:08pm.
What? "Make the Time, use the phone, go in the afternoon..." what the heck are you talking about. You are completely wrong and way off base. It is all about me because I pay the bills and make sure there is a roof over my childs head. The whole reason I am opposed to this redistricting is because I care about the future of my child and the labors of my life that have got me where I am today. Your statement makes no sense.
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