... "more than 80".
Too bad the citizens of Orange County have to get information about their school system from the University's student newspaper instead of their elected Board of Education or the district staff their tax dollars pay.
According to The Daily Tar Heel, "More than 80 students transferred from Efland-Cheeks and Central elementary schools" as a result of the mandatory school choice provision of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Considering that the district claimed that a combined 739 students attended Efland-Cheeks and Central Elementary schools this past February, the percentage of eligible parents choosing a better performing school for their children exceeded 10%.
While 10% may not sound like much, it is more than 600% higher than reported in academic studies on the subject!
According to a 2006 Vanderbilt University study, "hardly any students and their families are actually exercising the choice option. In 2005-2006, only about 1.6 percent of all eligible students took advantage of transferring to a school that was making AYP."
Not to overstate the obvious, but 10% is much higher than 1.6%, providing clear evidence that there is strong demand for school choice in Orange County.
It is very interesting to note that of the 80 students taking advantage of their newly won school choice, over 36% chose the least convenient academic calendar in the district - year-round school at HES - rather than the four schools on a more familiar traditional calendar. And, this number will likely grow as new people move into the Efland-Cheeks or Central elementary school zones and immediately become eligible to transfer out.
Rather than continually pushing forward with a merger plan destined to divide the community and drive away a large number of involved parents, the Orange County Board of Education should take note of a 2004 study from the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights, which found:
"Choice can further both racial, ethnic and economic desegregation as well as offer students immediate enrollment in successful schools that may be largely segregated."
Too bad they stopped "listening" when it became obvious parents were going to start speaking.
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14 comments:
That is interesting....
So the School Board was planning for approximately 12 (1.6% of 739), and 80 transferred. And of those 80, 36% went to HES.
I give this blog a lot of credit. This really shows that there is a certain "Dolphin Pride" that is contagious to all. This blog shows that the parents, faculty and students are united in a common bond: education.
Where's Liz Brown? I guess there was "poet's night" at the international coffee shop last night.
I'd like to hear from parents who are actually considering going to the merged schools. What grade are your children in? What schools are you districted for? What other reasons would attract you to go to the merged school?
We learned last night that 47 of the 80 student who opted out came from Central. That puts Central's population to about 250. With Cameron Park, New Hope, and Pathways stretching to capacity, how can the board actually consider leaving the district lines the way they are?
Redistricting did not work last time because they used flawed reasoning to draw the lines. Learn from your mistakes and redistrict the right way.
There are huge developments being built in Orange County right now. What are you going to do when the people start filling these homes and the children start school? According the the Herald Sun, Orange County had 150 new students this year. That is 50 more than was expected.
I urge the board to be proactive not reactive.
The Board of Education will hold meetings on Thursday, September 6, 2007 and Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. to provide information and gather input from parents about the merger of Central Elementary and Hillsborough Elementary Schools. The specific location of the meetings will be announced at a later date. Board members will also be present at the September PTA meetings for both Central and Hillsborough Elementary.
You know, I wanted to believe that the Board of Education would really hear us and honestly answer our questions last night. Am I more dismayed by them or my naivety? Certain board members were in rare form a last nights meeting. They danced around all of our questions. We were told that we are not representative of America. That our skin is too light. We heard that poor equals low performance. I assure you that there were all classes of people in that gym last night. I wonder how the parents of children who are on free and reduced lunch enjoyed that news. Or even how the African American parents felt when they heard that its the black students who are bringing down the scores.
One thing I did agree with last night, year round education should grow in Orange County. The best thing Dennis Whitling said last night was to make HES and CES K-5 year round schools. Parents who are interested in the year round program apply and are assigned to one of the two year round schools. Great idea! I would definately be fine with that scenario.
I have a hard time understanding how this “merger” can be called such. When you merge, you combine into one unit. How are we "merged" if we become two separate schools on two different campuses?
Modifying the traditional K-5 elementary structure of two schools should be avoided. In my opinion, it would create more problems than it would solve.
This has got to be the most absurd situation that I have ever seen. The board better back up and punt b/c they are going to look like the biggest bunch of idiots that ever walked the streets of Orange County.
What a mess the board and Shirley have made. I think it is in the best interest of the school board to find a superintendent WITH inititaive instead of one who lacks it. It is the only hope you people have of making something good come of this. I am purely distgusted at what is happening. The school board's lack of planning and initiative has forced us to look for alternatives for our childs education. What about the money that the system gets for our children to attend schools here in the county? Will you make those funds available to us in voucher forms to help off-set the cost of private schools where our children can get an education? Of course not!
If all they are worried about is free lunchand not truely what the problem is, then why don't the parents of HES children just sign up for free and reduced lunch who are eligible for it and we will set off thier numbers. Maybe then the nubers will be too high to target our school. After all that is all they spoke of last night,besides the roon not being the norm which by the way, Dennis has let us know is brown. Wow what a powerful statement coming from someone who is trying to help create equality.
My son attends Efland-Cheeks and we felt there was no choice offered. Pathways is good, but it is a considerable distance from our home. We don't want sitting on a bus being a major component of his education. (Especially true given the poor bus situation last year.) We decided not to attend Hillsborough Elementary because starting school 6 weeks behind the others seemed absurd. Plus, we could see this merger brouhaha looming. Not a good situation. That left Grady Brown. However, given the transfer criteria we knew that our child would be given last choice. Plus, w/ the changes Grady Brown might become overcrowded, which creates another unhappy situation. So we are staying put for now. We have heard only good things about his new teacher. Hopefully between her and some homeschooling, he will do well, but... This school board needs to get its act together and think about the children and not about their agendas.
As noted in another post, there are developments going up all over Orange County. What about the development that connects Highway 86 to Old 86 at Interstate 40? These students would currently be districted to New Hope, a school that did not meet AYP goals this year. Whether New Hope makes AYP in the next couple of years is a separate issue, but the school will not be able to handle this influx of students. Why not a little proactive redistricting now?
I think that folks at HES don't apply for F/R lunch because they don't qualify for it!
I am sure there are plenty of families at HES that qualify for free or reduced lunch. Perhaps they don't apply because they don't want to be "labeled" or because their children don't buy the lunch to begin with. Mine say the food is terrible, so I wouldn't bother filling out the paperwork if I thought I did qualify.
I think the majority of us are sick of hearing about "free and reduced." This is such a flawed statistic. What is this based upon? Do you think the income of all HES parents is on file somewhere?!
I wish we could quit referring to our children as statistics, no matter what color or race they are. In a perfect world....
Please show some compassion for children on free or reduced lunch. You can't learn on an empty stomach.
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