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Yes, and no one from the bigger schools felt
that way - But let them all be told to come to the little schools and watch their emotions and opinions change. My kids came home in tears. I'd like to see their parental instincts come out then. It was a bad situation that will have to have time to heal before it would be considered again.
That was also mentioned to our kids from JJK, and they felt exactly the same way. That is a normal reaction, but in life sometimes we have to just suck it up and deal. As for location of the school, common sense tells us that travel and distance will have to be considered, and the school will be built in the most centralized area possible. As for the coaches: well whattaya know-here we are talking about sports again (imagine that [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]). The thing that makes sense there would be to have ALL interested applicants apply (regardless of where you are from) and pick the most qualified.
I don't guess you took the time to think about how the kids from the "bigger" schools felt? There are other chldren involved here than just the kids from Pound/Appy. My kids came home in tears too. In everybody's hearts, nobody wants this. In my heart I do not want this, but it is coming, it will be better for my kids, and I will adjust.
I think you are wrong - Indian Dad. I think the announcement of the closures of three major high schools in the county had the most effect on the students who attended these schools. The bigger schools in this instance could afford to be generous - they were not closing or moving. Your kids may very well have been upset over having to share or maybe compromise a little with the addition of a smaller school - but our kids were told to give up everything (school, name, identity, etc.). You also keep saying it comes back to sports - well you know - it really does. As a parent if your child can't make the grade then they shouldn't play - thankfully, the VHSL will step in and make that decision of eligibility for those who can't decide which is more important. Sports is a vital part of high school, whether you play or you watch. It is something that the whole community can embrace and support and they do so very enthusiactically. I do agree it was a very hot topic that was not handled well but it is foolish to think that sports will not play into the decision and that it will get the most reaction.
I would like to point out one more thing: the smaller the class size the greater the learning. The larger school - which gets more funding - may offer more technological advantages but that does not replace basic one-on-one instruction. As a graduate of a small school - I am very pleased with the education that my children are recieving. They are taking dual enrollment courses and AP courses and currently have over 4.0 averages. Most of the athletes at the smaller schools do tend to do better academically. Look at the Academic All-District awards.
No it doesn't all come down to sports, and like I have said to others here, this thing is going to happen. Pound is not the only community in the world that has had to do this, and the funny thing is that folks from communities who saw consolidation have told me at first they were woe is me until they saw the school built, took a tour, saw how safe it was, saw their children's education expanded by programs that would have never been offered...etc
Think I am wrong? I think you are wrong, but I guess we will have to agree to disagree, and watch what happens when it comes.
At the risk of repeating myself...I do not think it all comes down to sports but I do think it will play a significant role. And once again...consolidation can be successful if promoted and presented in the correct way. Location is going to be key, all parties involved are going to have to be willing to compromise, and the idea of consolidation is going to have to be revamped into the minds of the people of Wise County in a positive way. As for my comments, I was referring to the one and only attempt that Wise County made toward consolidation. It was a terrible flop that resulted in a lot of bad feelings and distrust toward those who are in higher authority. There will be a lot of bridges that have to be built and fences that have to be mended. Thankfully, for our children... we all know how slow construction takes.
And at the risk of repeating an earlier post of mine: The study by Basham and Co went the wrong way. This thing is going to require extensive thorough planning. Compromise and open-mindedness are the main ingredients to a successfull formula.
Then I guess we agree on that point.
Everyone is so convinced that consolidation is going to happen. They were just as convinced when Basham proposed it. But the people fought it, and I am sure they will fight it just as hard IF the issue comes up again. If you have enough people against it, it's not going to happen. And as for our schools being unsafe, I disagree. What is it that you think is so unsafe about our schools? IMHO I think our schools are safer now that anything new you could build. Simply because our schools were built in a time when people cared about the work they did. Today, people don't care about the half job they do as long as they get that money in their bank account.
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This post not directed to anyone.
Consolidation is going to happen. Why are so many fighting it? I've been inside just about every high school in the county, and it's not a very sound argument to say that we couldn't stand for an upgrade. Some benefits to consolidating:
Comfort. Personally it would be nice to go to school where you aren't burning up in the summer and freezing in the winter. Improved, more efficient heating and AIR CONDITIONING would also be nice.
Classroom size. More students does not have to equal overcrowded classrooms. New schools equipped with comfortable, larger classrooms make a better environment for students to learn and teachers to teach.
Sports. Yes the new high schools would obviously have better teams. Also schools could pick up sports currently not offered like soccer, lacrosse, whatever. More college interest, more opportunities for athletes, better coaching, better facilities, etc etc etc.
Teachers. Fewer teaching jobs gives an opportunity to reward good teachers with positions and weed out bad teachers, unfortunately all teachers are not equally good at their jobs.
Maintenance. New buildings are a fresh start, and if properly taken care of can be made to last for years and years.
And saving the best for last. Obviously educational benefits. Bigger schools get more funding. More money allows the schools to expand what they can teach and offer. AP classes, Honors, clubs, student organizations (FBLA, FCCLA, hell even FFA), special education, chorus, art, dance, etc etc etc. Students leave high school prepared for college.
Something has to be done. Why not do it right??
[/ QUOTE ]First off, consolidation is not inevitable, if the people stand up against it, its not going to happen for a VERY VERY long time. People fight it because they have pride in their schools. They have pride in their towns. Also granted that in the summer's its very hot in the schools, but if the county would stop spending they money extraneous things, then we might be able to afford to put in ac's in all the rooms at the high schools, not just the computer lab and the office [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]. As for the heat, thats a totally different story. I just graduated from Pound High in 2005, and in the winter in the science room, we would open the windows because it was sooo hot in there. Most of the rooms were like that. There isnt anything wrong with the heat. Next the size of the class room itself has nothing to do with one's learning capabilities. Do bigger rooms like give off brain [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/getsmile.tmp007816300.gif[/img] or something that I'm unaware of that makes you learn more [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]? Smaller class sizes equal better learning atmosphere. New high schools wouldnt have better teams either. It would just be the same kids. Just because u put them in 1 h.s. doesnt mean that automatically makes them better. And IF consolidation were to happen, and wise and pound were to go together, none of the kids from pound would get a chance, because wise wouldnt want a kid from pound taking the place of their own kids. And as for these not offered sports, its not like there's a hundered kids beating down the doors to play soccer. And even if there were it's going to conflict with something somewhere. When I was in highschool, there were several times that petitions were passed around to start new sports, but there weren't enough students interested in it to be able to start a new sport. As for weeding out the bad teachers, I suppose that all the teachers at some of the other schools would then be out of jobs. My brother goes to JJ Kelly and the other day he said that one of his teachers gave them a 100 for a test grade for bringing a 3 ring binder to class. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] When I was in school, a test grade ment that you took a test and showed what you learned and what you hadnt, not just bring something to class [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]. The buildings are in good condition, newer buildings are not always better. I could understand if we had ceiling lights falling out of the ceiling and killing students or something, but the buildings are in nowhere near that condition. Now if we were talking about colleges or something like that, it would be totally backwards, someone would talk about tearing a building down [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wall.gif[/img] and everyone would be like, no we couldnt do that [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img], that building is over 100 years old or something. But no, our schools are only 50-60 years old and everyone seems to think that they are about to collapse. And finally as for what they can teach, Pound already has AP classes, honors, clubs, FBLA, FCCLA, DECA, BETA, special education, art, band, and I think they still have chorus. I am in my second year of college, and I feel that I was more than prepared to college when I graduated from high school. The only things that need to be done is to work on what we've already got. There isnt much point in tearing down a perfectly good building to build one that wont last half as long before needing the same repairs. These schools were built back when people cared about the quality of their work, not just how much they are going to get in their pocket books for doing a half job quickly.