It was just about a year ago that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board kicked off months of melodrama by launching a last-ditch effort to find more students for East Mecklenburg High in 2010-11.
Members had just approved controversial boundaries for the new Rocky River High, and projections called for East to shrink from 2,100 to roughly 1,400 this year, when the new boundaries take effect. The fear was that East Meck would lose academic ground and community support if it lost too many students and teachers. The board ended up shuffling boundaries for International Baccalaureate magnet programs at East, Myers Park and Harding.
As the start of school approaches, CMS projections call for East to have 1,836 students, including 745 in the magnet. If those numbers materialize (official tallies are taken in September), East will have the district's largest high-school IB program, with Harding second at 731. Other IB magnet numbers as of CMS's second lottery are 476 at North Meck; 335 at Myers Park, which lost the ability to take magnet students from outside its zone; and 159 at West Charlotte, says Magnet Director Jeff Linker.
Kim Lanphear, one of the parent leaders of Myers Park's IB program, says the school hated to lose its out-of-zone students, but the program is expected to thrive. Students who aren't officially part of the IB program can get permission to take some IB classes.
Harding faces the greatest uncertainty. As a full magnet (IB is combined with math/science), it's one of four high schools that lost neighborhood busing. The school is already down from a peak enrollment of more than 1,440 a few years ago to just over 1,000, thanks partly to academic admission requirements added in recent years. If more families pull out because they can't get their kids to and from school or shuttle stops, Harding could shrink further.
A few other magnet updates, courtesy of Linker: First Ward Elementary, which is picking up the arts magnet that used to be at Dilworth, is expected to have 625 students. Linker says most of the Dilworth students and faculty moved to First Ward, and some extra students were admitted because the building is bigger.
The math/science magnet at Morehead and the Spanish-immersion magnets at Collinswood and Oaklawn will have their first sixth-graders this year; all were formerly elementary schools. Sedgefield Middle will debut a seventh-grade Montessori magnet class of 20 to 25 students (moving up from Park Road and Highland Mills, which added sixth-graders last year).
And the Military and Global Leadership Academy at Marie G. Davis will have its first graduating class this year. There are only about a dozen seniors, Linker says, and the school remains short of its goal of 100 students per grade level. But Linker says the lower grades of the combined middle/high school are starting to get close.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
East Meck: Not so dinky
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26 comments:
It appears that some East Meck supporters have once again started a campaign to have Cotswold changed to their attendance area. If attendance projections are correct one has wonder what their motivation is--during the reassignment battles last year they claimed they wanted to keep up East's numbers. So if the numbers are up why do they still want Cotswold?
"Dinky" is an elitist poltically incorrect offensive term that seeks to degrade or make inferior others for the self serving gratification of the user depicting a serious inferiority complex to make themselves more superior so as to compensate for a lack of self assuredness and confidence. Those who are condesending are even worse.
To Anonymous @ 8:52:
Some of the residents in the East Meck zone started a campaign last summer to "upgrade" East Meck not so much because of their student attendance numbers nor the teachers' jobs at risk, but merely to improve their property values. So if you live in the Cotswold area be prepared for the self-serving interests to come knocking on your doors again this year.
Ann Doss, how many MP IB students actually ended up at East Pathetic? I bet the numbers will surprise you.
12:47 what word would you prefer Ann use since "dinky" is politically incorrect? Perhaps people were thinking "dinky" but Ann said it. What does it matter? East Meck proved many people wrong....mainly those who thought East Meck was dinky.
The question I have is how did the IB students perform at these various schools last year? All IB programs within the district are NOT created equal. I've been waiting patiently for someone (Ann) to publish the scores.
Linker needs to make sure that all students have quality IB teachers, so that students' time studying is well spent and not fruitless at the end of a long arduous year.
Besides scores we would need to compare attendance records, homework completion records, how academically prepared students were when entering the program, etc. before judging whether or not one program is equal to another.
Thats hateful. Is she belittling East Meck or being condesending?
No offense to anyone was intended; the point is that it did NOT end up as diminished as many feared. I try to keep the blog a little lighter in tone than regular news articles, and dashed off that headline on my way out the door for the weekend. If any East Meck folks are insulted, my apologies.
East Meck should go after the Cotswold students. That is the school they should be attending! Fix the boundries. Those going to Old Providence do not need to be going to Myers Park.
Where should Old Providence be going?
Jeez, you can't say hardly anything anymore without someone taking offense! Get over yourselves.
Teachers meet students where they are and grow them. By comparing IB scores within CMS, you ARE comparing apples to apples.
My theory is that the wealthier schools in Meck county have teachers who are better prepared to coach IB students to success.
Um, Olde Providence should probably go to the nearest HS=Providence.
4:37 said "East Meck should go after the Cotswold students. That is the school they should be attending!"
According to Mapquest the Cotswold area is about equi-distant from Myers Park and East Meck. Why should East Meck be chosen over Myers Park?
Since when has CMS had students going to the closest school? If Cotswold should go to EM because it is the closest school then CMS needs to redraw all the boundaries and have everyone go to their closest school. Why is Piney Grove going to Butler when EM is clearly much closer.
Imagine the time and money saved if all students went to the school closest to their home.
Comical.... More Kool Aid drinken by Ann.. 27 students from MP ended up attending East. The other 328 chose to go to their home schools. 260 went back to South rather than continue to challenge themselves in an IB Magnet. Trent is to thank for all the drama. Once he heard his own kids MIGHT have to go to east if Cotswold was rezone, he suggested the dismantling of the nations BEST IB program. Great job Trent, Ann your reporting has really taken CMS slant turn for the worse.
Only 27 you say? It can't be. HUNDREDS would choose to go to East Pathetic. HUNDREDS would turn that school around. Oh wait, parents don't like seeing their children shot.
It was ALL a ruse. There was never a threat to East Pathetic's numbers. Tom Tate is also to blame.
Thanks for the update Ann. I teach at East Meck and I heard our numbers were a lot higher than expected, but we rarely hear details. I know we have a large number of IB MYP students (9th and 10th graders) who will be taking Algebra 2 and Geometry. But I don't think the number of IB Diploma students (11th and 12th grades) grew significantly. I am basing that notion on the number of sections of IB Diploma math that we have scheduled.
Wish me luck (and health, patience, and perseverance) in the coming year. I will need it to help my students perform at their highest potential.
IB is an outrageously expensive, UN globalist scam. It causes divisiveness and controversy in American public schools. Your district is foolish to keep sending money to Geneva when it could be providing solid, recognized AP courses for a fraction of the cost and without all of the redistricting nonsense you are subjecting your students to.
www.truthaboutib.com
How right you are. Parents will soon find out they will need to pay 141.00 just to register their kids to take an IB exam AND THEN PAY 96.00 for each IB Exam taken. AP Exams will cost 86.00 a pop. Wonder when AND how that money will be collected. It is about time these fee's are paid for by parents rather than the district. What is also interesting is this money is due in 1 month from now and no public info has been sent to parents.
Ann, First Ward didn't "pick up" the arts magnet from Dilworth. It's a totally different school. Most of the faculty from Dilworth is there.
The old First Ward closed. They don't even have the same phone number.
"East Muck: Not so dinky"...quantity versus quality, as usual.
Yeah surprised there has not been a story about AP and IB fees due at the end of Sept for tests that happen in May.
10:54, I heartily wish you and all other teachers luck in the year ahead. Y'all do amazing work under very tough circumstances.
Ann, will CMS foot the bill for IB and AP testing for FRL students? Will they be responsible for September payment or will Pete write it off like the athletes?
Dinky? Doesnt that really mean ugly as homemade sin and throw in thick head of snarly coarse hair? Then you have AD. Has she checked the mirror lately? Yikes. Hope it didnt crack. Some people are so butt ugly they have to sneak up on a glass of water. No offense.
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