Why our local leaders and adults have failed our children

[pvfan]

I'm sick, sick of the bickering, sick of the fighting, and most of all sick of what our elected leaders and adults are doing to the children of Wise County. Upon reading a recent article in the Coalfield Progress that outlines new possibilities for school consolidation, I sit in awe. I'm very thankful and proud of the fact that God allowed me to be raised in Wise County, but this has grown into one huge black eye on our communities. I graduated from Powell Valley High School and I understand the problems faced with our current schools. To be frank, they do a poor job in preparing our students for college, and by college I mean four year universities. Research is at minimum, or no non-existent in classes. Upper level classes are taught in closets, where students are squeezed in like sardines. Thus, making it virtually impossible for the student not to cheat. It happens, and all of us who took a class in a situation like this or have taught in a school know it. A teacher doesn't even look over the students, it's a library assistant (and I in no way fault these people, they like the students are a victim of a poor system).

Now, they are proposing to build two schools or two schools on one site (does that even make sense). Athletics has been at the heart of this whole thing, and as someone who really could care less if the kids from my hometown wear a PV jersey or west Wise County some things need to be addressed on this new proposal. A 1,200 student school is AA and would only expand upon the academic problems we currently have. That school would be borderline Division 4, with the closest district being Roanoke. Most logical thinking would eliminate a proposal like this but with our current leadership I really question that. Those who are in support of consolidation are determined to push something through will ill regard to our kids. Those on the other side are just as bad determined to keep Appalachia, St. Paul, and Pound high school stand why their kids go to a school that is inadequate and falling down. Raise taxes, if we can not invest in the future of our children we invest in nothing. Take the money build three new schools at neutral sites, pick new names, new mascots, and lets teach some courses that might actually benefit some of these young men and women.

[Counts]

I'm sick, sick of the bickering, sick of the fighting, and most of all sick of what our elected leaders and adults are doing to the children of Wise County. Upon reading a recent article in the Coalfield Progress that outlines new possibilities for school consolidation, I sit in awe. I'm very thankful and proud of the fact that God allowed me to be raised in Wise County, but this has grown into one huge black eye on our communities. I graduated from Powell Valley High School and I understand the problems faced with our current schools. To be frank, they do a poor job in preparing our students for college, and by college I mean four year universities. Research is at minimum, or no non-existent in classes. Upper level classes are taught in closets, where students are squeezed in like sardines. Thus, making it virtually impossible for the student not to cheat. It happens, and all of us who took a class in a situation like this or have taught in a school know it. A teacher doesn't even look over the students, it's a library assistant (and I in no way fault these people, they like the students are a victim of a poor system).

Now, they are proposing to build two schools or two schools on one site (does that even make sense). Athletics has been at the heart of this whole thing, and as someone who really could care less if the kids from my hometown wear a PV jersey or west Wise County some things need to be addressed on this new proposal. A 1,200 student school is AA and would only expand upon the academic problems we currently have. That school would be borderline Division 4, with the closest district being Roanoke. Most logical thinking would eliminate a proposal like this but with our current leadership I really question that. Those who are in support of consolidation are determined to push something through will ill regard to our kids. Those on the other side are just as bad determined to keep Appalachia, St. Paul, and Pound high school stand why their kids go to a school that is inadequate and falling down. Raise taxes, if we can not invest in the future of our children we invest in nothing. Take the money build three new schools at neutral sites, pick new names, new mascots, and lets teach some courses that might actually benefit some of these young men and women.

Honistly this has become a game between the 2 sides the SB come up with a plan (3 schools) the BOS underfund it to force the SB to come up with a new plan the SB then comes up with a plan that is not as appealing(2 schools) in hopes that the BOS is bluffing and will up the money needed to fund building 3 schools next move is the BOS who will eather up the money of call the SB bluff

[R13]

Proves there's a lot of ignorant people around here, that includes ones that complain about the taxes too. They're necessary, it will help your kids for Christ sake.

[imported_elp6n]

The BOS has to decide if the SB is bluffing.
Underfunding could also mean simply closing three and moving the kids to the three existing (technically they are large enough to hold them, since they all had larger student populations decades ago).

[Counts]

The BOS has to decide if the SB is bluffing.
Underfunding could also mean simply closing three and moving the kids to the three existing (technically they are large enough to hold them, since they all had larger student populations decades ago).

The return of the Bashem plan LOL could be he had the right idea all alone

[sup-rbeast]

I graduated from PV and did fine in college, and I did my student teaching at PV and didn't see anything wrong with the school then either... I don't think anything outside of the teacher, ability of the student, and the effort of the student dictates how prepared a student is for college after graduation... People on both sides are gonna harp and whine about it, but really from my experience both in HS and after, I don't see what the fuss is either way.

[NotSoSilentBob]

The return of the Bashem plan LOL could be he had the right idea all alone

I have a feeling that this is what will end up happening.

[blitzer44]

Very good interpetation.

[Rocky]

Why are people bringing all this crap back from the dead? I know there were zombie movies on all last month but dang.

[blitzer44]

READ & THINK ABOUT YOUR DECISIONS. WISE COUNTY STUDENTS, PARENTS AND TAXPAYERS DO NOT SUPPORT THE 2-ON-1 PROPOSAL!

Better Schools Come on Smaller Campuses
Stacy Mitchell
Friday, September 8, 2000
?2000 San Francisco Chronicle

URL: Better Schools Come on Smaller Campuses



WHEN IT COMES to education, bigger is not better. There's a population boom in America's schools. The U.S. Department of Education reports that fall enrollments are at an all-time high. The growth is expected to continue at a brisk pace for the next decade. California will add 278,000 students by 2010. Texas will gain 219,000. Enrollments in Idaho, Nevada, Alaska and New Mexico will grow by more than 10 percent. This trend may exacerbate a pressing problem facing the nation's schools: most are too large to effectively educate our kids.

Over the last decade, the number of schools with more than 1,500 students has doubled. High schools with 2,000 or 3,000 students are now common. California's secondary schools are the second largest in the nation, averaging 1,400 students.

Proponents contend such schools benefit kids by offering a broader array of courses and more sophisticated equipment. But an extensive and compelling body of research has come to a different conclusion: large schools breed alienation and violence, sever the role of parents and neighbors and undermine student achievement.

Last year, in the wake of the Columbine High School shootings, Education Secretary Richard Riley convened a panel of school security experts. Their top recom mendation had nothing to do with gun control or metal detectors. Rather, panel members said, the most effective response to school violence is to reduce the size of the nation's schools.

According to the Department of Education, schools of 1,000 or more students experience 825 percent more violent crime, 270 percent more vandalism and 1,000 percent more weapons incidents, compared to those with fewer than 300 students.

At the heart of the matter are two radically different learning environments. Large schools tend to function like factories, small schools more like communities.

Small schools nurture a sense of belonging. They enable teachers to work more closely with a smaller number of students and to respond to individual needs. This fosters a stronger relationship between teacher and child. Not surprisingly, research has found that students who attend small schools have a more positive attitude about learning. Attendance rates are higher and fewer kids drop out.

Although small schools may not offer as many extracurricular activities, participation rates are much higher. Just think about trying out for the basketball team or a play in a school of 2,000. Only the most talented will make the cut. As schools get bigger, more kids end up on the sidelines.

Parents and neighbors are often sidelined as well. Large schools require layers of administration. Small schools can't afford the overhead and prefer instead to recruit teachers, parents and neighbors to help run the school. Decisions focus on the educational needs of students, rather than the organizational needs of a bureaucracy.

All of this adds up to improved academic achievement. Dozens of studies have found that students at small schools outperform those at large schools. They have higher grades and test scores. They are more likely to graduate and attend college.

In her review of more than 100 studies on school size, Mary Anne Raywid of Hofstra University writes that the relationship between small schools and positive education outcomes has been ``confirmed with a clarity and at a level of confidence rare in the annals of education research.''

Perhaps most important of all, small schools narrow the achievement gap between poor children and their more affluent classmates.

According to a four-state study released earlier this year, small schools substantially reduce the damaging impact poverty has on student learning. Researchers Craig Howley of Ohio University and Robert Bickel of Marshall University found that poor children who attend small schools have higher test scores than those who attend large schools.

Reducing the size of the nation's schools need not be an expensive proposition. In rural areas, where small schools are still plentiful, it's a matter of putting resources into renovation, rather than constructing new consolidated schools.

Existing big schools can be divided into several smaller schools housed within the same building. This has been done at a number of schools with great success. The key, according to education experts, is that the schools must be truly autonomous. Simply grouping kids into separate units, or houses, doesn't always work.

Education promises to take center stage in the fall elections. As we debate ways to improve schools, a mountain of empirical evidence and real-world success suggests that reversing the trend toward bigger schools ought to be our top priority.