To wax philosophical--what is a "magnet" school? While it might seem a silly question to those of you unfamiliar with the sleight of word performed regularly by CCSD, it's no small matter to the thousands of students who must attend CCSD's failing schools. CCSD prides itself on never having defined what it means by "magnet"--just ask Board member Gregg Meyers or supporters of Charleston Progressive Academy! A definition might actually force the district to admit that some of its "magnets" are more equal than others. According to Public School Review [see What Is a Magnet School], magnet schools receive extra funding. As Charleston Progressive knows only too well, one can be a magnet in CCSD without any such promise or follow through. Then there's Buist.
Now Superintendent Nancy McGinley plans to muddy the murky waters even further by encouraging "themes" to create "mini-magnets" in 11 failing elementary schools. McGinley and her mouthpiece, Diette Courrege, the reporter who wrote about the themed schools in Friday's P & C, suggest that somehow the situation of these 11 themed schools is analogous to that of the St. Andrews School of Math and Science. [See 11 Schools to Pursue Themes ]
Only to someone who doesn't know Charleston all that well!
According to native Pennsylvanian McGinley, "St. Andrews was a struggling, traditional neighborhood school, but it has been in high demand since it began accepting students from across the county and added the math and science focus." Struggling? Does she really think that the student population of that school's attendance area resembles the 11 schools she has in mind to emulate it? What planet is she on? Furthermore, St. Andrews has suffered an attendance "surplus" ever since previous Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson threw a sop to vociferious parents whose children did not get into Buist by dumping them wholesale at St. Andrews [hence last year's trailer fiasco].
Also, "each school will have a district staff member assigned to them [sic] to provide support." Yes, we can imagine what that will consist of. How about "watchdog"?
Sometimes it seems as though CCSD won't be happy until every student in the county is bused to a school in another attendance zone. Can themes alone work here to improve these schools academically and INTEGRATE them? Of course not. Is McGinley hoping that parents who live in the failing schools' attendance zones but send their children elsewhere will return? Let's not kid ourselves that a theme will convince them.
How about discipline?
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11 comments:
How much extra funding does Buist receive? I understand Buist has their school auction at the Citadel tonight. Does Buist pay for the four foreign language teachers, 3 sail teachers and all of their other extra staff with this auction?
Interesting question. From what I understand their SAIL teachers are funded by the state. But from what I also understand the kids there don't have to meet the guidelines for gifted and talented as defined by the county to receive SAIL. So is that not misusing state money?
Dr. McGinley's school choice plan is nothing but a tactic to pretend she's doing something. These schools won't be staffed with any extra teachers. Take a foreign language teacher from Buist and give Burke middle kids a Spanish teacher (their teacher walked out and went back to Colombia several weeks ago)Then, make sure the
8th graders have a certified English teacher (they haven't had one since January). THAT would be doing something. Let's see, Buist has 3 SAIL teachers and the kids at Burke don't even have an English teacher? Are you kiddin' me??
To the last post,
You really think a foreign language teacher is going to go from Buist to Burke. Until we decide to make students behave and follow the directions of the adult in the room. You will never have people staying in a school like Burke. We allow the few students who create havoc to stay and eventually they affect the rest of the class. These students having been doing this since they were in elementary school. Parents are apathetic, teachers take the blame for poor performance and yet nothing is done and the student gets to be a high schooler and can read at the first grade level.
And you wonder why would a teacher walk from their job? Because they get tired of hearing how it must be something they are doing and the student is not even held up to the standard of acting civil.
The black community complains about their schools. More taxpayers money is going to the schools that serves it's community so much so that a school like Orange Grove goes charter to get more money. Is it right that Orange Grove did this, no: but that is the situation we are in. The black community needs to hold their leadership up to the same standards they always hold the white community leaders too. And truly it is a shame that in the 21st century we are still in two communities instead of one.
My brother's problem is my problem. But we have the board voting along racial lines. What is one to think? The downtown schools have black principals. We have blacks on the constituent boards. We have blacks on the county school board. We have blacks down at 75 Calhoun St in administrative positions. We have black teachers. Wish there were more. This is not the 50's where the black community has no voice. This community has had a voice and what has it done. It has watched its schools decline. It has watched Burke almost be taken over. The schools downtown get a lot of money.
Is it a dumping ground for unsuccessful students in other parts of the community. Yes, but where is the outrage. Is the new charter school a Trojan horse or a model for success? Time will tell, but the students downtown do not have the time. They are growing up now and not 10 years later. Where is the outcry for the unequal treatment of Charleston Progressive to Buist. The reason that Sullivan's Island and Mt. Pleasant folks get their way. They will get involve and make the school district do something about a problem. Downtown waits, waits, and waits... the school district makes a change and at the last hour they put a token of resistance up. How could Rivers Middle school have a PTA meeting and there are more teachers in the audience than parents and students. This is why schools have failed downtown, in North Charleston, Baptist Hill area. If parents do not get involve and the school district refuses to come up with solutions to help those students whose parents do not get involve. We have students who terrorize a classroom all year and the stealing away precious minutes of learning. These students on the elementary level need to be removed from the majority and taught how to behave. No learning is going to happen as long as they are in the classroom. What will happen is the whole suffers for because of the few. Those few need help no doubt and we should get them help, but not at the expense of the whole. Sorry we have to draw a line at some point. T
he leadership in all quarters should be held accountable; but time after time, I do not hear the black community holding their leadership to the fire. What I hear or I should say what I hear that is allowed to be heard is that the black community is blaming the white community for its school problems.
Here is what I do not understand. The predominate black schools get more taxpayer more due to title one, most of the the schools have black principals, we have blacks on the constituent and county school board so at what point do we start hearing about solutions coming from the black community instead of the complaints.
Is what happens at Buist right? No , no and no. But what about the condition at Burke. Who takes the blame for that.
Buist gets no title 1 money so where does all of the extra $$$$$$ come from? I don't believe for one second that James Simmnons gets as much money as Mt Pleasant Academy or Whitesides or Jennie Moore. If so, what the hell does the money go to?
The Buist situation is a crime but why aren't parents of other magnet schools like St Andrews Math and Science or Ashley River Creative Arts furious about how little they get from CCSD in comparison to Buist?
Regardless of the source(s) of income, according to the 2007 report cards, expenditures per student last year:
James Simons $7067
Mt. Pleas. Acad. $6913
Buist $7519
Fraser $9038
St. Andrews $5477
It's not about the money!!!!
Elizabeth, You have to take into consideration that per student spending is higher at a tiny school like Fraser. St Andrews is a huge school.
Some think that the downtown schools are kept very small so that they will receive fewer "points."
Well put, anonymous 7:11 pm, it is about the money. Numbers can be misleading if taken out of context. The problem with CCSD, the superintendent, the county board and the CFO, is they don't want the public to understand the context. That way they can just pat us on the head and tell us to 'run along'. What is bugeted and what is actually spent on each school is also very different. Remember, too, that CCSD is a vast central authority. Not even principals have much control over what is spent at each school. They are reduced to counting teacher points which is why some schools don't have the basics in place. Buist isn't subject to teacher points for some reason. Otherwise they would be filling those vacant seats in the upper grades they've been hiding these last few years.
anonymous 9:54 p.m.: "How much extra funding does Buist receive?"
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/may/27/magnet_able_pull_more/
Sorry, that last link should have been:
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/may/27/magnet_able_pull_more/
OK, I'm not going to give up. Something about this editor is cutting off the URL. It should be:
http://www.charleston.net/news/
2007/may/27/magnet_able_pull_more/
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