Wake County Schools is huge, massive. It ranks in the top 50 districts in the country and may be in the top 45 this year. Compounding the challenge is the fact that the district encompasses the entire county; it’s large in terms of population and in terms of geography.
When faced with such a challenge, it’s the savvy manager that will set aside all preconceived notions of “how” and investigate all potential tools in the tool box.
And so it is that WCPSS embraced the “Diversity” policy.
Posted in Education, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Busing, Race, Wake County, WCPSS
We continue to pour more and more money into public education and we get worse and worse results.
If this were a business, it would go out of business.
At some point, we are going to have to stop and make a decision between ideology and results.
Dollars per Year — UP
Graduation Rate — DOWN
The advocates of the Diversity 
policy in Wake County have lost an advocate.
Since I became interested in the debate, I have sided with the folks who were in favor of using socio-economic diversity when planning assignments in WCPSS. I am pretty much in favor of using any tool in a tool box to fix a problem. And I think the data supports the fact that when a school is becomes “too poor” it tips.
And achievement suffers.
Posted in Education, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Bussing, Diversity, NAACP, Wake County, WCPSS
The city of Raleigh is looking into a lawsuit over the change in direction taken by WCPSS.
I resonate with the city; I do. I think that our schools should use every tool in the toolbox to make all schools as strong as possible for all kids. And I think that maintaining economic diversity, when possible, is just such a tool.
Look. It’s hard out there right now. Lot’s of people are struggling, concerned and sacrificing. Many people are losing or have lost their job. And I feel for all of ’em.
Posted in Economy, Education, Politics: North Carolina, Raising Men
Tagged Leftist, North Carolina Politics, Politics, Recession, Unions, Wake County, WCPSS
People talk about greed. That greed is bad bad bad. Money corrupts and money s the root of all evil.
Posted in Economics, Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged California, Greed, Post Office, Socialism, Walmart, WCPSS
This week the vaunted magazine, “The Economist” featured an article on the schools here in Wake County:
…In 2000 Wake County’s school board decided to integrate its schools by income level rather than race. No more than 40% of students at any one school should be receiving free or subsidised lunches (which are given to children from poor families). Evidence dating back more than 40 years shows that schools with too great a concentration of poor pupils are undesirable. Teachers do not stay, and poor pupils tend to perform worse when they are put with others who are poor.
…
…on March 23rd the board voted 5-4 to abandon that policy.
There is quite a fight here in Raleigh over our schools. Because of the way we build school districts here in Carolina, our district is the 18th largest in the nation. And because we are so large, we have quite the diversity; and with it–debate.
Posted in Education, Lobby/PAC
Tagged Leftist, NAACP, North Carolina Politics, Politics, Ron Margiotta, Schools, Wake County, WCPSS
The school board here in Wake County was elected recently with a pretty strong message from the public: We Don’t Like the Way Things Are!
With 4 seats up for grabs, a new coalition was formed. Joining Ron Margiota are 4 new board members. And they have two agendas:
1. End Year Round Schools.
2. End the Diversity program.
Governor Bev Purdue is right to object to the new trend in Carolina’s largest school districts; Neighborhood schools and the end of busing.
Raleigh, N.C. — As Wake County and other school districts across North Carolina shift away from busing students to achieve socio-economic diversity, Gov. Beverly Perdue and other officials fear the districts will become racially segregated.
“It’s the most troublesome thing I think that’s happened,” Perdue said of the push toward neighborhood schools from Goldsboro to Charlotte.
I think that she’s right, but for the wrong reasons. See, I don’t think that white kids learn better than non-white kids. Or that black kids learn less well than non-black kids. I think that kids that come from poor families learn less well than kids that come from wealthy families. In fact, excepting the Hallmark worthy story of the little school that could, the over whelming evidence suggests that academic success trends with income.
What it does not trend with is race.
No doubt the Governor is correct when she senses something wrong with the folks who are clamoring for neighborhood schools. These are the folks who have been able to manipulate the system, in a very subtle way, such that the schools they attend are the best of the best. But she has to be careful on how she debates those folks; race won’t get it done.
Posted in Education
Tagged Conservative, Liberal, North Carolina, Wake County, WCPSS