Why our local leaders and adults have failed our children

[Biggin]

So because not all children go to college, its okay for the facilities to be terrible and the classes to be laughable?

Ok, got ya.

not to you stripes, post before yours.

[JJK guy]

In any high school only a small percentage of the students go on to college, most of those have made the decision early on and work towards that goal all through school. The remainder of the students opt for a techinal career and the rest go with "whatever comes up". That what makes the american economy, if everyone went to college who would fix your car, heat pump, plumbing, electricity, bag your groceries, mine coal and so forth. Those that want to go to college will most always excell in school to reach that goal. The ideal that "buildings" will help people go on to college is misplaced. In this day of "virtual" learning, evrything is available to everyone who will seek it out. Core basics and technical traing are as important as advanced courses. If everyone is a college professor or a business major, who you gonna call when the lights go out?

The purpose of public secondary education is not only to be a college preparatory program...agreed! HOWEVER, that is a huge focus for these schools. I don't know where you or anyone you may know went to school, but I can confidently say that the percentage of students in my graduating class who went to college was not at all small. Sure, you have to have people who will do "blue collar" work. But they are going to need a high school education, and why shouldn't it be a good one? These buildings are not conducive to the "virtual" learning that you're talking about...they aren't wired for it. Most of these buildings do not even have air conditioning. A 90 degree classroom is no place to be doing your best learning.
You seem to be under the impression that as long as you do well in high school that you will be able to go to any college. Pick up a copy of any college/university admission's guide and you will find that is not the case. The admissions process is extremely competitive at any school worth attending. And once you get there, professors are not too accomodating of students who are playing catch up because they did not get the proper education in high school. With consolidation, as the school board is presenting, there will be more of an opportunity for a broader and more advanced curriculum. My guess is you have not seen the current course offering at these schools. It is embarassingly bare. I can't imagine why anybody would want to move to this area if they had children who would be attending these high schools. That's why many people who do accept jobs in Wise County end up living in the Tri-Cities, where they take the money they earn in Wise County and use it to buy real estate, pay property taxes, and support local commerce in the communities in which they choose to reside.

[R0cketer]

Excellent post, and some very good tidbits.

I've said it before, no, buildings will not fix the education system but it helps. Before you can fix anything else, you have to have an environment that can foster that. Let's talk sports logic here. Before a program can attract the best athletes, what do they do? They have to have the facilities. When people are talking about recruited, where do they go? To the best environment, where they can be ahead of the curve. Where they get exposure, press, and have coaches, equipment, etc that can make them the best. Now apply that to the education system. Is having the best of the best going to make the lowest kid in the class great? No its not. What it is doing though is putting the others at a level field, maybe even ahead of some, where they can improve, where they don't feel like its prison. Yes nice buildings are nice. Who wouldn't rather ride around in a nice vehicle or live in a nice house as opposed to a piece of junk. It will not fix the system but as of now, the buildings can't. Think of it in old cars. If you have a great, beautiful old car that has been taken care of from the time it was got, yes, its probably worth the money to keep it fixed up. If you find one thats torn apart, nothing really in it worth saving, the engine shot, the interior shot, etc, it will cost you more to fix than its worth. If you have unlimited money, then sure it might be a nice project, and no doubt, if you have the unlimited money its probably got value to do, but the amount of time, money and work it requires, would you want to do it, or would it be more sensible to buy a new car? Everybody would love to have a classic car, but not everybody can afford it, or even if you can afford it, is the risk/reward worth it, compared to something you can count on.

[R13]

I think anything short of pushing your kid to go to college is failing them. Yeah, yeah there has to be people to do other things that might not require a degree, doesn't mean you tell them that, rarely ever is that that they aspire to be growing up as a kid - it's what's available and what they fall into for most IMO. I'd never in a million years tell a kid of mine to not go after big things or to settle, them not going to college would be unacceptable. Higher education is becoming less of a choice and more of a requirement, it's also one of the few true ways to better yourself and make things in life easier. The majority of my class went to college and most of them are doing just fine there right now, this isn't the 60's/70's/80's, more kids see how important it is in highschool and others are hit by reality after they graduate then go. That's why parents should do absolutely nothing but drill into their kids how important education and college is.

[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.

[Sat_morning_QB]

well you can forget 2 on 1 the new word out is the school board and leaders are closing the 3 smaller schools and sending to 3 larger as originally proposed, appy, pound and st paul will close and go to pv,k lelly and coeburn.

[Shooter]

well you can forget 2 on 1 the new word out is the school board and leaders are closing the 3 smaller schools and sending to 3 larger as originally proposed, appy, pound and st paul will close and go to pv,k lelly and coeburn.

I doubt this very seriously.

[steer]

I think anything short of pushing your kid to go to college is failing them. Yeah, yeah there has to be people to do other things that might not require a degree, doesn't mean you tell them that, rarely ever is that that they aspire to be growing up as a kid - it's what's available and what they fall into for most IMO. I'd never in a million years tell a kid of mine to not go after big things or to settle, them not going to college would be unacceptable. Higher education is becoming less of a choice and more of a requirement, it's also one of the few true ways to better yourself and make things in life easier. The majority of my class went to college and most of them are doing just fine there right now, this isn't the 60's/70's/80's, more kids see how important it is in highschool and others are hit by reality after they graduate then go. That's why parents should do absolutely nothing but drill into their kids how important education and college is.

I used to believe a college degree is something, but it's not anymore. Too many degrees are becoming a dime a dozen, and it doesn't matter if you have an online degree, or actually went. Most jobs will take experience and high school diplomas over a recent college graduate. It's sad, but that's how it is.

[Counts]

I used to believe a college degree is something, but it's not anymore. Too many degrees are becoming a dime a dozen, and it doesn't matter if you have an online degree, or actually went. Most jobs will take experience and high school diplomas over a recent college graduate. It's sad, but that's how it is.

But college WITH experance wins out in the end

[steer]

This day and time, if you aren't in healthcare, you aren't making money or getting a job haha