Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Big costs to change bells and buses

Board member Rhonda Lennon called it the elephant in the room during budget talks:  What will Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools do,  if anything,  to address parent and teacher concerns about bell schedules?

Parents and CMS administrators have been meeting since last summer to talk about three big issues: Some people don't like late schedules that end at 4:15 p.m.  Some think the 7:15 a.m. start for high schools is too early.  And some think previous leaders made a mistake extending the elementary day from 6 hours and 15 minutes to 7 hours,  especially since it brought no extra compensation for teachers.

Lennon
At Monday's budget work session,  Morrison didn't directly answer Lennon's question. But he did refer to a recent update he sent board members outlining eight scenarios for shifting bell schedules and making the busing changes it would take to accomplish those revisions.

"The models project financial implications ranging from a savings of about $100,000 to a cost of $14.5 million to our operating budget in the first year,"  Morrison wrote.  "The models show that many students across CMS would be affected by these changes. Some students would have new bell schedules. Some students would have to shift to shuttle stops. Some students would have new lengths for the instructional day. And some students and their families would have all three of those changes at once."

The scenarios involve various combinations of actions:  Shortening the elementary day by 15, 30 or 45 minutes;  moving high schools to a later time slot;  moving up the last dismissal time to 3:45 or 4;  and making all magnet students use shuttle stops.  All scenarios are potentially expensive.  They require CMS to add 79 to 250 buses,  and even the version that saves $100,000 the first year by reducing the total miles driven is projected to add $1.6 million in county costs the following year because it reduces the state efficiency rating.

Lennon,  who represents the north suburbs,  and Amelia Stinson-Wesley,  who represents the south,  said they'd like to see earlier dismissals to keep buses out of evening traffic jams.  But I'm looking at those numbers and thinking about the teachers,  technology or pay raises that a few million dollars would cover.  I don't make many forecasts,  but I'm sticking with what I wrote in January:  Don't hold your breath for bell schedule changes. 

69 comments:

Ettolrahc said...

Hey wander over to the Charter School nearest you today and ask them how they do so well with only seventy percent of the money from the State CMS gets, and nothing from the County, like CMS.

Then read these tales of woe from CMS again.

Oh goodness me, I done hit the third rail on here by talking about Charter Schools.

And folks when they say Charters do not do as well as the drop out factories, ask them this one question. Why then do the kids who go from the drop out factory excel in just a couple of years?

Yes that is why the numbers look sad at first, they have to bring these kids up to speed. But look at the long term effect, these kids do get up to speed.

And if you want a great example of just how the CMS drop out factory works, then ask CPCC, of the thousand or so CMS grads who applied to them around 950 needed remedial courses to just get into a community college.

So bring on those Charters Schools in every neighborhood to show that success is just inside a book if you can get the kids to start reading it.

Competition will make those old rusty, moldy doors of CMS have to swing open one day, and let the fresh air of education riffle though the halls. And mainly give the kids a chance, something they have needed for a long time.

Soap Box provided by the Ivory Company, made of the finest castiles. At your local grocer or fine shopping store today. End of ad.

Anonymous said...

Charters can do this because they accept a lower percentage of ESL and students with disabilities who require more resources. Charters are notorious for "skimming" motivated students and families. They can shape their student body through a rigorous lottery application process and can remove challenging students unlike traditional public schools. Reuters did an excellent piece regardining this: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/us-usa-charters-admissions-idUSBRE91E0HF20130215
Not all kids "excel" in a couple of years. Those who do probably excel because they are part of a cohort that share similar expectations from their families. Studies comparing charter schools to similar public schools show they are about the same. But when you consider the advantages charters have, they truly underperform.

Ettolrahc said...

Oh the old skimming the best.

They have a lottery and everyone applies, you know just like in drop out factory.

And the fact Charters do anything with as little financing as they get is astounding.

But then again, a charter would be shut down if over 50 percent of the students dropped out, you know like in some of our drop out factories.

So it is strange they are always frowned upon by folks, it is not.

Ettolrahc said...

Loved reading your report when is said they found one school which had the applications only in English.

And imagine some of those schools asking kids to submit something written to show they really want to go to that school.

And then it is strange that if they are getting the best, then why are folks on here posting such bad stories about how they do so badly?

That is confusing, they get the best but do badly. Maybe I will get that one day, but for the life of me, I am missing the point now.

But missing the point is what I do a lot, just ask Pam or that Bill guy who gets asked something every time Ann does a story and wants to make sure they are happy with it.



Anonymous said...

The charter schools do not have to provide transportation nor do they have to provide a cafeteria staff. There goes a chunk of the difference in funding. This also helps to make sure the students that apply via the lottery want to go and learn and typically have the parental resources that some of the traditional public schools lack. Its comparing apples to oranges when you compare a typical public school against that of a charter.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget that charter school teachers have to forfeit a portion of their salary to the school. What a scam.

Anonymous said...

I don't really have a problem with CMS starting schools early, or starting late, or even the added times. The biggest issue is the combination of the early start and late start. In our area if you have a high school student and a middle school student you are spending 4hrs a day waiting to either get one student to school while the other one is already in school, or waiting for one to get home while the other is already home. That is a huge obstacle for afterschool activities, dr appointments, and even family time

Christine Mast said...

Um, what happens to this story when you're told that the numbers CMS is quoting are all WRONG and inflated? It puts a whole new perspective on the story, doesn't it? Just ask Morrison and his Executive Staff, Ann. They are well aware of the errors in their projections. They just keep covering it up. PLEASE. ASK THEM.

What about all the pediatricians and other medical professionals that have met with Morrison and his staff, telling him how developmentally inappropriate the longer days are for younger children? Or how developmentally inappropriate the high school start times are for teenagers, who need more sleep in the early mornings? Or how sports' schedules shouldn't be dictating when high schools start?

And it amuses me that Morrison is so concerned about "how many people" this would affect, when no one on the Board cared when they made the decision two years ago.

So first Morrison insists to the group that the changes are all about MONEY. But now he's concerned that "too many people" would be affected by the changes.

EVERY.SINGLE.ELEMENTARY student and TEACHER was affected by the addition of the 45 minutes. The students were made to stay longer in the classrooms (developmentally inappropriate, especially for the K-2 students, who have trouble concentrating/staying awake in those late afternoons), and the teachers had a longer day WITHOUT any extra pay.

Morrison/BOE (plus Stamper, Shirley, Rea,Winston and Cavoly) et al have known about the request to make these changes for over 18 months. Why, then, are they using the "excuse" that OH, we can't make these changes so late in the budget cycle, because too many people would be affected. That's hogwash, as CMS could have made a decision about this months ago, and given everyone "fair warning" prior to the first magnet lottery!

Why won't anyone, including Morrison and the BOE, pay attention to the various speakers (including current teachers and other constituents) at a recent BOE meeting, stating their displeasure with the longer day and late bell?

Shame on EVERYONE who keeps dismissing these issues for "lack of money" or we can't change anything because "it affects too many people." Life is all about priorities, and your CUSTOMERS (students) and HUMAN CAPITAL (teachers) have value, as well.

Christine Mast said...

CMS Excuse #1: It's too expensive to remove 30-45 minutes from the elementary day, and take away the 4:15 bell.

WRONG. The figures used by Ms. Stamper are incorrect and inflated.

CMS Excuse #2: To make changes to the longer day and late bell, it would affect too many people.

SO WHAT? It affected the same number of people when you made the changes two years ago!

CMS Excuse #3: We can't change the start times for high schools, because it would interfere with the sports schedules.

Good to know that sports are more important than education.

CMS Excuse #4: We (CMS task force members) don't know what your group wants us to do!?!?

We have been crystal clear for months that we want 30-45 minutes removed from the elementary day, and make the latest bell at 3:45pm.

CMS Excuse #5: According to Ms. Stamper, even if the changes were made, she doesn't have the extra buses anymore.

WRONG. According to DPI, the buses would be made available again to CMS. All they have to do is ASK for them.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't matter what the BOE does, because to them, there will never be enough money.

We go through this same crap every year and nothing changes but the additional amount of tax dollars the BOCC will blindly give them - "for the children".

Ettolrahc said...

Charters do not have to provide buses, but many of them do.

And the funding for those buses come from where, the State? So maybe you are right they should enforce them having buses that the State pays for.

And it is strange that in the neighborhoods which need Charter Schools the most, how you have buses on Sunday for people to get to Church in those neighborhoods, but for some reason these Churches do not see is an outreach to help Children get to a better school.

And as far as lunch, kids pay for lunch at CMS or the get it free from the Feds, are you wanting Charter Schools to get money from the feds? That would be a great idea.

Give Charters the same resources such as paying for the buildings they are in and the the like and see just then how you can compare apples to apples.

Anonymous said...

So, Charter schools weed out the parents and kids who don't WANT to go to their schools?

Golly, gee whiz.

I think we've just stumbled upon the answer to our "education" problem.

And we only need two kinds of schools.

1. Charter schools.

2. Reform schools.

Anonymous said...

Get the numbers and facts from CMS then do the research. The numbers are far over blown and a stretch at best. Parents will just continue to send their kids to the best school they can that is closest to their neighborhood. If you fortunate to have many schools to choose from then thats great. I for one have witnessed the late bell schedule with a student and fought CMS for the change. With no results from the new CMS folks I will simply send my child to the closer middle school with a normal bell schedule next fall. It costs CMS no more money since the bus going to that school passes my neighborhood prior to the late one coming anyhow. So with those 2 buses passing you can see the HUGE savings Heath and the board is talking about. Granted this is causing over used facilities at some schools and actual under used facilities at others. CMS should be aware of that in their planning and we all know they have all the numbers to figure that out. That will be a serious problem on the horizon for CMS , but for another day. Keith W. Hurley

Anonymous said...

Christine,

Of course sports are more important than education.


What's the point in learning all that academic stuff in HS, when, as a "student athlete" you can get a personal tutor in college for free?


Ann Doss Helms said...

Ettolrach, charter schools do get federal money, including Title I if they have high poverty levels and lunch subsidies if they offer a meal program.

Anonymous said...

Charter schools may seem great to parents who are lucky enough to get their kids in, but I can tell you it's another story on the "inside." Teachers have no tenure, so they can fire you at will, which creates a culture of fear. They lie and manipulate when people "resign" in order to keep their squeaky clean image.

The parents in Charter school are amazing. A lot different than regular public school. Sadly this does not make up for bad leadership within the Charter school.

Anonymous said...

Gesus Khrist. Would it be possible these long winded posters to cut their excessive long mundane diatribes?
They talk mucho but say nothing.

... brevity is the soul of wit ... William Shakesphere AD 1521

Anonymous said...

@Ettolrach, actually the vast majority of charters in the state do not provide or offer free transportation for their students. Nor do they provide a cafeteria staff. The students or the federal government pay for the lunches, but not all of the staff. If you want to compare operational spending you have to take that in account. Also, charter schools do get money from Mecklenburg county as well.

Anonymous said...

Ettolrahc...

You're missing the point about FRL and transportation. Since most are not obligated to provide transportation or meals, you will naturally attract families who have the resources to provide such things. These are the families that are most likely to succeed since poverty is the leading indicator of academic achievement.

Missouri said...

Ann, it would be interesting to do a story on the children that get the vouchers from North Carolina Education Alliance that Lindalyn Kakadelis helps direct. Look at those schools. Are they just private schools those kids go to? How is transportation and FRL handled? See how the families think that has made an effect on their kid's future. As I remember it, these families still have to put money into it. The vouchers do not cover all the costs.

Give me a motivated, engaged family anytime in my school no matter their skin color or socio-economic background.

Jeff Wise said...

Our son turned 5 the Friday before school started this year. We decided to let him go to Kindergarten and keep an eye on him to see how he'd do as the youngest.

We had some adjustments the first few months with him being a little tired, but now it's March and he's doing fine.

Yes, that's 1 specific case, but the longer school day and the different bell schedule is not a major issue.

Of course there will be families where the longer day and bell schedules negatively impact them, the bottom line is no one is ever going to be happy.

I do agree that HS classes should have the latest starts.

Overall though, I truly wonder how many students these bell schedules really and truly impact? My feeling is it's still a small percentage.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:49

"Poverty is the leading indicator of academic achievement".

Not true.

That's just what some people want you to believe so everyone will be willing to spend more money on the "problem".

Because we can't fix the real problems quite as easily.

Anonymous said...

Did we really save any money when we went to this bus schedule? I missed it if it was ever proved.

Lastly, I'll bet the resistance to changing the bus schedule is because how much overtime the drivers are getting.

Anonymous said...

Totally true that poverty is an indicator - well documented in every kind of study imaginable. It does not mean that poor kids are dumb or unmotivated. It means that poverty is a HUGE BARRIER for kids to succeed no matter how hard they work, how much their parents care, etc.

Yes, charters do have a slightly different set of rules. And some are awesome, but many not as good as most public schools. That is just a fact.

Pretty sure that ALL schools that serve high poverty kids receive some sort of federal funding allotment per low income student via Title I or something like it. CMS gets the funds and distributes by the federal guidelines.

Finally, outside of a few vocal parents, is the bell schedule really the #1 issue that CMS is facing? In a perfect world, every child will have a perfect schedule, and no parent has to wait 4 hours between their HS and MS kids getting out of school. No school, anywhere, can create a perfect situation for every single student. It is not possible. Let's be realistic.

Pamela Grundy said...

There are in fact a number of CMS schools that have significant numbers of high-poverty students that do not get Title I funding. Because CMS has so many schools of highly concentrated poverty, Title I dollars are concentrated in those schools. Districts that do not have such extreme concentrations of poverty are able to spread their federal Title I dollars more evenly.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. All schools with students who qualify for Title 1 receive funding through CMS as the LEA. That means that CMS receives the allotment and then distributes it per the mandated guidelines to CMS schools, to charter schools, to private schools, etc.

Jeff Wise said...

12:21 and 10:49 are correct.

Study after study, including studies by people trying to disprove it, have shown that poverty is a strong indicator of academic performance.

Read Paul Tough's "How Children Succeed" and look up ACEstudy.org for related concepts.

Anonymous said...

All talk. No action. As usual.
Morrison is not an agent of change. Merely one of Analysis Paralysis. The board procrastinates. Administration has too many managers lazily following outdated systems.
Principals covering up disciplinary issues. Teachers keeping their opinions private for fear of losing jobs.
Yet for some reason money is blamed.

Texas girl said...

Don't trust the numbers coming out of CMS. Think about it, the transportation dept does not want to become too efficient or the very people providing the numbers will be out of a job.

Start high schools later (like MOST high schools all over the country - sorry coaches just deal with it). Look at our Union county neighbors, very successfull high schools academically and athletically starting at either 8, 8:15 or 8:20. Just imagine our teenagers with another hour of sleep!

Anonymous said...

CMS could decrease the bus fleet to each school by 1-2 buses with very little impact. Most buses in south charlotte don't run anywhere close to a full load of students. Also increase the no transportation zone to .75 or 1 mile.

Parents, make your kid, or better yet have the kids make a sandwich everyday so we can decrease the cafeteria staff at each school.

Charlotte, finish sidewalks so parents & students can safely walk to school.

All schools should start from 7:45-9:00am.

Done, thank you very much.

Anonymous said...

And study after study since 1964 shows the trillions spent on erradicating poverty has done nothing and the rate has stayed virtually the same.

Anonymous said...

Also:

Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic. In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.

72% of Black women are unmarried and about the same percentage of Black children are born to unwed mothers.

Anonymous said...

Poor kids of certain ethnic groups (white, Asian) do better than kids of other ethnic groups (black, Hispanic) who are NOT poor based on their inclusion/exclusion from the FRL programs.

It's in the reports on the US standardized test performance gaps.

And it also appears in international testing.

The do-gooders don't like that, but it's a fact, since poverty is their number one excuse for failure.

Poverty, of course, has an impact but it is NOT the driving force for success or failure.

Anonymous said...

Poverty is probably higher for people who don't care about education, too.

Again, it's hard to just claim that "poverty" by itself is the main problem because "poverty" is often the result of other issues as well.

It's just as much a symptom as any of these other problems.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, everyone look at ACEstudy.org

Look at their survey.

And see how they get their ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) score.

Most deal with OTHER issues (alcoholism, child abuse, neglect, etc.), NOT POVERTY.

Poor people can still love and take care of their children.

In fact, many do.

It's the ones who don't nurture their children for ALL THOSE OTHER REASONS (even if they have money) that are the problem.

It's not money.

And throwing money at those people and their children will not help.

Unless you use the money to take their kids away.

Anonymous said...

Public schools have to provide an education to every child no matter what their background is. Poverty, is not an "excuse for failure", but it is a reality that makes the student's life different than mainstream kids. It makes the school's job much harder in providing an education, which they are constitutionally required (in NC) to do.

Christine Mast said...

@Jeff Wise 11:34am:

With all elementary schools impacted, and all the schools on a late bell tier, almost 75% of the CMS students, families and teachers have been impacted by these changes.

Pamela Grundy said...

1:49

From 1959 to 1969, Charlotte's poverty rate was cut in half, from 26.9 percent to 13.0 percent. The poverty rate for Charlotte's African Americans went from 64.4 percent to 33.3 percent. In 1989, the overall rate for Charlotte was 10.8 percent and for Charlotte's African Americans was 22.5 percent. National numbers followed the same trend. Efforts to address poverty didn't end it altogether, but to say they did nothing does not match the facts.

Jeff Wise said...

Glad to see someone's looking at the ACE study. Thing is, I don't think most are saying poverty means throw more money at it - I don't advocate that.

But it does mean that there are factors associated with poverty that need to be addressed in some manner.

I'll cite "How Children Succeed" again, the book details a bunch of ways people are trying to counter the effects of poverty, much of it without spending tons of tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

Poverty and being poor has nothing to do with academic achievement. If so then stop wasting money on the lower class and stop baby sitting their kids in pre school. Was Abe Lincoln rich? He grew up in a one room log shack in the woods and never went to school but taught himself to read and write.

http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/bellcurve.shtml

Genetics have proven in the Bell Curve that race is the leading factor. Scientists have proven that larger brain size equates to higher intelligence and the caucasoid race has the largest heads and brains on the planet.

Other factors are environment but where there is a will there is way. Those who excel do so because they are motivated to excel and vice versa.

There are plenty of highly intelligent people who are not motivated to excel and make a commitment. There are also those who have less intelligence but study and work harder to excel and achieve.

Anonymous said...

The elephant in Rhonda's district is the spectre of Christine Mast's election later this year as a NEW BOE member.

Christine gets the FACTS and is not afraid to use them. I so wished Rhonda would have done such, but she kowtowed to Pete, acted as if Pete was her boss and not the reverse. Rhonda does not deserve the chance under Re-Pete.

Christine in 2013.

Pamela Grundy said...

2:56

Greetings from the nineteenth century! Next thing you know, someone on this blog will be predicting (as so-called "scientists" also did back then) that going to college will render women unable to bear children or that African Americans are on the verge of dying out because they can't survive outside of slavery. Good grief!

Anonymous said...

It's the old chicken/egg dilemma.

Are you an uneducated, drug-abusing, wife-beating, child-abusing ex-con because you're poor?

Or are you poor because you're an uneducated, drug-abusing, wife-beating, child-abusing, ex-con?

I'm sure there's a little of both out there.

Money probably won't help the second group much.

Anonymous said...

Pamela,

Just how long ago do you think the Bell Curve was published?

Being the historian, and all that?

You do realize this was a late 20th century study, don't you?

And, if you look around today, you don't see much in those student test scores to dispute it, do you?

Of course, it's not permissible to take that possibility seriously since the PC patrol is always on the alert.

It has to be ANYTHING BUT GENETICS because that's what Hitler and the Eugenics movement "progressives" thought so long ago.

Ettolrahc said...

I think I now agree with all of you. Our children are up the creek with out a paddle and anyone can use this forum as a great reason why nothing innovative ever gets into the CMS system other than feel good programs.

How is that for keeping it short.

And Christine your facebook does not update as well when you time travel.

Ann send my check for helping you get all these hits to my pay pal account as usual.

Ettolrahc said...

Sorry, above I said Christine when I should have said Pamela, but they both morph as needed, just like in the Matrix Movie. So which ever one needs it said to will tell the other one.

Anonymous said...

Facts work when they are not used randomly. Context matters.

Maybe 75% of elementary school students, parents and teachers are impacted by the different bell schedule. That just means it happened, and means nothing. You may be implying that they were all negatively impacted; again, implying is not "facts". And is not, by the virtue of your declaring it, necessarily true.

Let's tackle this next: 100% of students, parents, and teachers were impacted on March 10 by the change to daylight savings time. It MUST be changed!!!

Ettolrahc said...

Oh Ann, those Charter Schools which you said got that Title one, which ones are those again?

I know that every public school in NC got it and it was around 1500 per student here in Mecklenburg County according to the last report I saw.

And back during the election we had so many upset Republicans who were voting for the Democrats this time around on so many sites, it is great to see we have so many Charter Teachers on here talking about how unhappy they are with their schools. Shows the New American Spirit is still with us.

Pamela Grundy said...

The Bell Curve was published in the twentieth century (and quickly discredited for its sloppy mismash of data), but it reflected nineteenth-century thinking. It did make the author a lot of money though.

Ettolrahc said...

Hi it is me again:

http://www.slideshare.net/uipublicaffairs/demographic-economic-changes-in-mecklenburg-county-nc#btnNext

Missouri said...

Wow Ellolrahc, the first slide comes up with UNCC Charlotte Urban Institute. I know right away to question every number, every comma, every period, etc. Talk about a group with an agenda!

Ettolrahc said...

Well who does not have an agenda today?

BolynMcClung said...

.
TWO BELL SCHEDULES?.

One, for suburban parents who believe that they can send students to school prepared to learn and can supervisor their children's academic studies in the evening. That's the short schedule.

The other one, the extra time, is for the urban schools where parenting skills might be less aggressive. I've heard urban principals say they like the extra time. It helps balance the nutrition and academic schedules.

Of course where you live doesn't have much to do with parenting skills but my suggestion mirrors the way CMS budgets.

In both cases the teachers would work the same hours. I would even suggest if the suburban teachers found time on their hands they could support the urban teachers through grading and whatever it is that is a drag on all teachers' days.

Savings won't be as much but it is a good solution for keeping achievement high.

One man's thoughts.

Bolyn McClung
Pineville
.

Anonymous said...


Whoever came up with these bell schedules was definitely on the bottom half of the Bell Curve.

Anonymous said...

3:15 You're spot on. Yes, the bell schedules early, late, whatever, affects everyone.

Personally I feel the early bell schedule is much more detrimental for a student than the late schedule. Very few early sched students eat a proper breakfast or get the Pediatrician recommended 10hours of sleep.

Anonymous said...

Pamela Grundy

Using your data on Charlotte poverty, you pretty much validate it has nothing to do with learning and the like. If so, CMS would have been perfoming spectacularly all these years but hasn't.

Keep telling yourself poverty is the main reason why kids don't learn and bury your head in the sand when statistics about teen pregnancy, unwed mothers and the fact over half of welfare money is spent on families that began with a teen birth.

Poverty overall in the United States has remained relatively flat, fluctuating between 11+% to recently 15+%. (US Census http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf )

Would love to see your data source.

Anonymous said...

It seems very odd to me all this arguing about bell schedules and buses in CMS. Go around the country and look at other similar school districts CMS size and bigger. They have not changed bells or buses and they dont have this issue. Why is CMS so dirty and why do they spread false numbers like they are tissues? Then in 6 months they will hire consultants to find out why nobody trusts them. Oh for a fee of course of $100k that survey.

Anonymous said...

Its in the genes. Genetics are always race based. Western civilization of the European white race is way on top in everything from architecture engineering technology medicine playwright art music etc etc and much of it was done in America. Germany in spite of Hitler was the most advanced sophistocated nation on earth. The Wright Brothers invented and Henry Ford invented the internal combusion engine. Those who deny this are disingenuous and sticking their head in the head in pc style.
This is not to say there not exceptions to the rule but without question Europeans and European Americans have led the way to modern 1st world civilization advancement.
Academics are timeless so the Bell Curve is still extremely valid and only 20 yrs old. This is nothing.
Shakesphere works are over 500 yrs old.
90% of the planet is still 3rd world primitive and savage mostly in Africa and many parts of Asia and 3rd world socialist South America.




Shamash said...

Henry Ford was a master of mass production, he did not invent the internal combustion engine.

A German did. Nickolaus Otto.

Anonymous said...

I think Pam has a bigger data source than Ettolrahc.

Anonymous said...

Pamela (or anyone else),

Title 1 funding for CMS has always confused me. I found a website recently that listed the number of schools in CMS the federal government considers high-poverty. The number of schools was staggering. Myers Park High was listed as a high-poverty school. So was Carmel Middle School. How does CMS allocate Title 1 funding? Does CMS still have a weighted student staffing formula? Does the overall percentage of poverty at a school determine where Title 1 money goes, or, does the overall number of students receiving free and reduced lunch determine where the money goes? In other words, it's possible for a smaller school to have a higher overall percentage of poor students but a larger school to have more students on free and reduced lunch. Correct? I don't understand how this works.

Alicia

Ann Doss Helms said...

Et (couldn't you use an alias that's easy to type?), KIPP Charlotte and Sugar Creek Charter come to mind as high-poverty charters that get Title I money. It's just not true that all public schools get it. In CMS, it's those schools with 75 percent or more of their students on lunch subsidies. In many districts the cutoff is much lower.

Alicia, see above. I'm not sure what web site you're referring to, but CMS also used to have what it called Equity schools, which got extra help via county money at a lower cutoff (somewhere around 60 percent, though it varied by year and grade level). I don't remember the schools you name being on the Equity list, but I know Quail Hollow Middle shocked people when it got on the list.

The concern you raise, Alicia, is exactly why CMS launched weighted student staffing, so additional positions were based on the number of low-income kids, not the percentage.

Now we just have to see how Heath Morrison handles this whole juggling act.

BolynMcClung said...

TITLE I MONEY,

CMS receives about $37M in Title I money. A lot of that goes for professional development.

The Weighted Student Staffing is not tied to Title I. WSS is an indirect function of USDA's Free and Reduced Lunch Programs. CMS uses FRL applications and other data as the "predictive link" to failure to graduate. The current ratio is 1.30.

Since you're trying to learn about these things, I suggest you research the history of FRL. Whether you're a liberal or conservative, knowing why FRL got started, what happened to it in the late 60's and how possessive the Feds are in protecting the programs is one of the greatest studies in how government works.

There's even an element of the Free and Reduced Lunch program that lets it be an agricultural subsidy that stretches all the way from the farm yard to the factory.

Happy Reading,
Bolyn McClung
Pineville

Anonymous said...

4:47
To your point, Polk County NC has several Title 1 schools all of which are some of the best performing schools in the state. Which raises the question of rural poverty vs. urban poverty. Why do poor rural kids(in general)outperform poor urban kids? Obviously, the answers are complex.

Alicia

Anonymous said...

BofE, Expanded Staff and MOrrison


FALSE PROPHETS

Anonymous said...

Ann,
The website I stumbled upon was a website for prospective school teachers that listed high-poverty schools. Again, the number of CMS schools that were listed was staggering. I have no idea how the list was formulated.

Alicia

Anonymous said...

I dont give a TFA about the Bell Schedule. Give me back my:

ABC Bounus $
Step Pay
Health Insurance (80/20)
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance

CMS you already work the Hell out of me asking twice the production of 5 years ago with less classroom resources. Stop with all these nonsense diversions such as bus schedules, bell schedules and on and on. How many more surveys and consultants are going to be spent on before the teacher starts to walk away?

Ettolrahc said...

Just call me backward Charlotte, a lot of my detractors do.

I use that name as a tax payer looking out of the golden city and all I see is Charlotte from the inside. Hence Ettolrahc. So many of us stuck with the mess, yet trying to make things better.

And I love Pam, no two ways about it, there I finally said it out loud.


Ettolrahc said...

Hi it is me, Etolc or how ever I spell my name:

Read this report on Title one and maybe we can understand why I said all schools get it.

http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/NCTitle1.pdf