CMS has rolled out a new option for bolstering enrollment at East Mecklenburg High when a boundary change takes effect in 2010: Create a new science, technology, engineering and math magnet for East Meck, McClintock Middle and Rama Road Elementary.
It's the latest twist in a quest to balance enrollment that has hundreds of residents mobilized. CMS posted the new option for East Meck today, along with options to relieve crowding at Eastover Elementary that were unveiled at a community meeting last week.
Read the newest reports here.
The school board will discuss the latest round of options at its Oct. 27 meeting and plans to vote on Nov. 10.
--Ann Doss Helms
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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25 comments:
When are you writing a book Ann?
Chapters 1 - 10: Student Assignment.
Chapters 11 - 21: The Borg of Education - Resistance is futile. You will assimilate.
Chapters 22 - 32: A 'New and Improved' School Superintendent!
Chapter 33: Student Achievement.
East, be careful what you hope for. When, in the History of CMS, did a magnet ever improve a school? If the MP people won't come for IB why would they come for something else?
So what does this plan do to Garinger? Don't we already have a magnet for math, science, and technology there? This simply doesn't make any sense - other than "hands off Myers Park."
I disagree. Full magnet programs have been known to improve a school. Partial magnets are hit or miss. A partial magnet at any of these 3 schools won't make a darn bit of difference in terms of enrollment or attracting the "right" socioeconomic base - and we all know it. Just more money for an unsuccessful program down the drain.
And where will IB students from East Meck. go? Is CMS busing to Fayetteville now? Oh, let me guess. My taxes should support TWO magnet programs at East Meck. rather than drawing a home zone that makes sense for Myers Park.
What cock-a-may-me, boneheaded, nit-wit came up with this latest plan?
From the CMS Magnet School WEB Page, no wonder everyone wants to go to Myers Park, this is what schools are suppose to look like.
"The strength of the past is the foundation of our future” is the guiding philosophy of the Traditional Magnet program. Students are taught in a structured environment and are held accountable to a high standard of conduct and academics. This program values the best of the past: manners, a strong foundation in the basics, classroom rituals and procedures, allegiance to the traditions, interests and ideals of the diverse American culture, civics and citizenship.
The claim from all of the MPTS parents is that it's the program, not facility that makes the magnet so successful. If that's the case, why can't the facility on Radcliffe be turned into a neighborhood school? The Dilworth building is plenty big enough to house the traditional magnet.
That's a plan that all of the affected areas in our zone could get behind.
So true about MPTS - high achieving students are not a reflection of the building - they are a reflection on the staff, and parents. After all, would your church not be your church if it moved buildings? A move should not impact the magnet program if it is truly of merit!
MPTS has around 740 students. Eastover official capacity is around 570 (though principal says it should be around 430). First Ward capacity is around 580, Dilworth capacity is around 550. MPTS wouldn't fit into any of those buildings without being more crowded than the current Eastover kids. Numbers could be drastically reduced over the years, but the magnet would die eventually and in the meantime current MPTS kids would deal with the same crisis Eastover kids are dealing with. Pushing a problem onto another school isn't a good solution.
Who would want to leave a church they'd put love and hard work into to make a good community for it's members? The same is true for MPTS. I don't think church members would leave a facility without a fight if someone suddenly proposed taking their property for someone else and told them "here's another one, I'm sure you'll be fine. Oh, and by the way, you can't bring in any new members for a while until a few of you leave because you're going to be pretty crowded." That sort of thing is demoralizing.
Dilworth capacity is NOT 550. There would be around 34 classrooms once the performing arts spaces are converted back to classrooms. That means a capacity of 750. Sure seems like the traditional program would fit there.
Eastover true capacity is 484 (22 classrooms).
Why is it that every other constituency in our zone except MPTS has come to the table to work out the best solution for all students? I guess "just say no" works.
MPTS and ETES have both come to the table, as have Dilworth and First Ward. Dilworth offered to move, but apparently a new school would only work for the Myers Park families from Eastover if it is in the MPTS facility. Apparently facilities do matter to people. If they didn't matter, the Eastover families truly suffering with overcrowding would be fine at the Dilworth facility--and have just as much space apparently as they would have at the MPTS facility if the true capacity is in the 700s. The CMS paperwork with the new options stated the Dilworth capacity (around 550). Seems like they would have reworked that number if it should have been larger.
I have to say that as a Myers Park resident I was quite distressed to see the MP Neighborhood Association leader advocate moving MPTS. He does not speak for every MP resident. One big complaint is that there are 3 magnets in the area. If you move Dilworth to First Ward you still have 2 magnets. If you then move MPTS--no change, still 2 magnets. In addition, then CMS will have paid to move yet another school. Students from Eastover, Dilworth, First Ward, and MPTS are then disrupted. There has to be a better way.
11:31 - How exactly has MPTS come to the table? I haven't seen anything constructive from them to date.
Having 50% of the schools in the zone as neighborhood schools sure seems like a better percentage than 25%.
Facilities do matter when they are your NEIGHBORHOOD school. Take a look at the map detailing where MPTS draws its students...
Using that facility as a neighborhood school solves a much longer term issue. Can't be much cost to CMS to move a bunch of papers between schools.
You're forgetting the cost to the students--of all the schools involved. Need better justification to move that many kids around. If only Dilworth moves, there will still be 50% of schools in the zone as "neighborhood" schools. I agree that the Eastover situation is quite bad. What you define as neighborhood school, I guess, depends on where you live. CMS defines it as a school in your zone drawn on their crazy maps. Dilworth and Cotswold kids have been driving to Eastover for a while as their zoned school. It isn't truly a neighborhood school for them and still won't be for some if any of the proposed options are voted through.
The same thing happens all over CMS. If they are going to make big changes like that, it needs to be systemic to create closer neighborhood schools for everyone, not just to please a group of people in one neighborhood. If this is the goal, then that discussion should open up at Board meetings. This is a bigger issue than one school's overcrowding.
@11:49. Wow, your real issue is with magnets in general. A whole different topic. If the goal is to not have kids drawn from all over, discuss dismantling the magnet. Don't be ticked off because you might become one of the parents having to drive a bit further to school like some of the other parents at Eastover have to do now.
11:49, I'm sure Dilworth would like a neighborhood school too. Which neighborhood deserves it more?
@12:01 - CMS tried to fix the Cotswold issue 2 years ago. Just say no worked then, too.
@12:04 - I'm not against magnets in general. I just have a hard time understanding what's so special about MPTS that it is untouchable.
@12:22 - MPTS building would be much more centralized as a neighborhood school for all involved than the Dilworth building that is at the northern outskirts of the Dilworth neighborhood.
How in the world did Selwyn get dragged in to the mix?
After watching people at the school board meeting last night, I am appalled at the Eastover parents living in Eastover. They want change but just not to them personally. Everyone acts entitled to go to "their own school".Did they get mad enough and think up this Selwyn plan just to get the whole 5 mile radius upset? Unbeleivable!
I can not believe the audacity of MPTS and ETES. They go to schools funded by taxpayer dollars and their sense of entitlement is appalling. The Eastover crowding situation would be solved if they took in 50% neighborhood children and 50% lottery. The entire school would follow the traditional program so it would not actually be a partial magnet. For heavens sake, they are magnets - they should not be taking up prime real estate in neighborhoods.
Selwyn does not have mobile classrooms! The info put forth by the planning committee yesterday said that Selwyn is overcrowded and uses 12 mobile classrooms. This is inaccurate and should not be used as an excuse to transfer students away from their home school to a different school. The mobile classrooms in question are/is actually the upper school which houses the 4th and 5th grade and is a completely functional building housing smart boards for all. I don't think Selwyn would have made that kind of financial commitment to something if they thought it would be transitory and taken away.
Selwyn is overcrowded as well. They have 12 mobiles. If you look at the maps, the part of Selwyn they are proposing to move is much more contiguous to Dilworth. This plan relieves both Eastover and Selwyn.
To 3:40 anonymous, SELWYN DOES NOT HAVE MOBILE CLASSROOMS! Have you been to Selwyn? Are you making this decision and comment without the benefit of facts? There are 19-23 students per classroom. Nowhere near Eastover crowding levels. There are classrooms that are not even in use yet. Selwyn should not be dragged in to the Eastover overcrowding issue and people who spout off comments without the benefit of factual information are the ones that are causing this entire problem
I've been to Selwyn. If increased enrollment isn't an issue, why did 4th and 5th grade need to move back into the "old" building that was replaced by the new one? The term mobile is just semantics. Without those "alternative" classrooms, the school is way over-capacity.
I'd like to think I'm somewhat informed on these issues. Welcome to the fight. We just got dragged in last Thursday.
to anonymous 4:08pm - Selwyn is not overcrowded. We did not just "get dragged" in to the old school. It was set up to be used and for the entire school to accommodate 800 students.
By the way, I can't believe that the fate of all of our children is in the hands of these pea-brains. What a cluster #':)&!
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