Hillsborough parents get their way

taxes paid vs. benefit derived.

same as other costly expenditures.

Ruby,  what great questions.  I would like to add one more.

How come anytime this one little word ("merger") is brought up, Liz Brown is always involved?

Merger is not a little word when you are the parent of an HES child that may have been forced out of year-round school. Most of us chose the school for the schedule. If you have been reading about the issue, you would know why we were against merger. We didn't want to loose our year-round school! And CES could not be forced to take on a year-round schedule if the two schools were merged.  Or, if you are in Ms. Liz's side, it would be because we are racist and elitist snobs. You choose.

HES parent

"So where's the blog to "save" the schools that aren't the best in the district?"

Exactly! HES is the "best" school in the district because of the parents. Parents that will take the time & make the effort to create a blog, attend board meetings, etc... usually are the ones who take the time & effort at home to help their kids learn.

Why post, cavalierly dismiss HES parents (their unity and care about their children is a model every school district should aspire to) and then admit you know nothing about the issue to begin with?

I suspect that it's easy to be as dismissive as you, Ruby, when you don't have children yourself. At least you admit that you don't understand. Liz Brown never did.

It's like when men talk about abortion. How can they possibly know when they'll never have to go through it?

was caused by a lack of information on several levels.

1. The board initially announced the as a strategy to improve the performance of students at CES (yet they do not provide the same attention to students at ECES or other schools in the district). This was in March 2007.

They follow this up by not having DATA to back up why the merger will achieve this goal.

In the meantime, Judge Manning, in Wake County, rules that school boards cannot force children into a year-round schedule - thus setting a precedent for parents who have chosen NOT to enroll in a year-round school to protest (or even sue - as WakeCares did in 2007).

Now the board cannot force parents at Central to accept a year-round schedule. And the board does not overtly seek information from the parents as to WHY they do not want their children in year-round school. Numerous theories are floated, but I find it an insult to the parents at CES (and every other school in the district) that parents were NOT asked. During this time period, there was a survey distributed about school start times, so there is evidence that a survey can be done effectively.

2. Parents and teachers asked the school board members on more than one occassion to explain the mechanics of how the merger would work - especially once the plan morphed into a paired school model with K-2 in one building and 3-5 in another. The board was unable to provide basic information which might have reassured parents.

3. The stated goal (improved test scores) was morphed into balancing socio-economic status along the way. Again the board provides limited information on how balancing the schools would improve the ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE of all students. And the focus remains on CES/HES without attention being given to ECES and the remaining four elementary schools. A few limited articles are cited, and the same author comes up repeatedly. Unfortunately in the website upgrade, the minutes to the Andy Sachs sessions are no longer available - but I think this was where the discussion morphed.

4. Information was also used in a divisive manner from many camps. HES parents were referred to as elitist, and CES parents as apathetic (which is totally NOT the case), and once again ECES parents were left to wonder why their school was being overlooked. Plus one board member spent a great deal of spring 2007 suggesting that HES be closed altogether because it was a "school of entitlement" - whatever that means. And then the blame game started with HES being accused of damaging other schools by its mere existance (a brain drain, SES drain...). News articles, statements at board meetings, and the Save HES Blog provided fodder for more hostility among groups - some of which came out at the board meetings along the way.

Finally - in September - after approving their plan for a paired school in June (CES: K-2 & HES 3-5), the board went to the community for "listening sessions" so that they could answer questions (not so much as it turned out) as to how the merger/pairing would work. I attended the sessions at CES and at HES and was very impressed by the turnout at both schools.

Following those meetings, the board changed course. A task force was appointed. The task force soundly rejected the merger/paired school plan and proceeded to make some sound suggestions. Sadly many of these suggestions were ignored.

In December the Board decided on a plan for balancing SES at the schools which resulted in the possibility of students being denied return to their schools. Fortunately, the Orange County Schools staff took initiative to run numbers to see what modifying the parameters of the board's charge would be and ultimately students are allowed to stay at their school.

Change is hard. And the threatened changes without information scares people. The shame of this last year is that there were numerous creative proposals put on the table. A careful consideration of a merged/paired school might have resulted in some neat learning opportunities for the children of Orange County. However, the School Board dropped the ball, instead preferring to impose the plan on families.

I've spent the last year attending board meetings and retreats to get as much information first-hand as I could, as I soon learned from missing meetings that information is quickly missed. I have the luxury of a flexible schedule and a husband who was supportive of me attending the meetings (often coming home after 10 p.m.). I met parents from HES and from CES. Contrary to a school board member's contention on Monday night that CES parents were unseen and unheard - they were there, and they were listening, and they were speaking.

All of the children of Orange County deserve a quality education. A lot of time was wasted in the HES/CES debacle of the past year, and missed opportunities abound. CES is a school with a great deal of potential and a dedicated staff. Their test scores are rising. Children are learning. However, NCLB standards define it as a failing school - making it less desirable for families who have the means to look elsewhere. Magnet programs, and specialized curricula were dismissed as too expensive without there being an understanding of what the actual costs would be.

Personally, I think a priority of the upcoming board should be to examine how to make ALL the schools in Orange County attractive to families.

You asked where is the blog for the other side? I can't answer that. Nor is it my place to answer as I haven't asked the people who can. It is a good question. Personally, I would like to have seen more balanced discussion and less sniping in the SAVE HES blog - but by nature, blogs and information are controlled by the people who choose to participate.

I would love to see a county wide forum for parents from ALL our schools to discuss concerns about the schools, to form alliances, and to work for positive change and outcomes.

Kirsten
HES Parent of a rising 2nd Grade son.