| Board of Education Meeting; March 6, 2006 Your thoughts | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 5 2006, 11:27 AM (7,546 Views) | |
| NFarquharson | Mar 7 2006, 10:59 AM Post #46 |
Principal
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I agree that this site is interesting. There are several posts scattered on the forum about some of the data from this site. Unfortunately, much of the comparison data is 2003, but I think it still gives insight. Play around with the tabs and the "would you like to compare this to " drop down box and you can look at LPS over time or compared to others. You can even compare 2 districts head to head, as some have done with Plymouth and LPS. There are some spending areas where LPS is way out of line with others, including "Instructional Support" and "Student Services." If you click on a line item you get a definition. Lots of interesting stuff there. |
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| fyi | Mar 7 2006, 11:27 AM Post #47 |
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Principal
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I believe that there are a group of individuals that will support the BOE and Administration no matter what---even if it negatively effected their children. Their priorities are all screwed up! In fact, I am beginning to think that the supporters are largely made up of PTA Board members, friends & family of PTA board members, friends and family of the administration, friends and family of the BOE, and people that work for the school. Not to say that there are not exceptions to the rule. I'm sure that there are PTA Board members that are against the plan, along with people employed by the district. The guy who spoke in support of the plan with his little signs didn't make any sense. Over thirty school districts support the "5/6 consortium?" Out of 552 school districts, that amounts 6 % of all school districts in Michigan. Ninety-four percent of school districts in Michigan do not use this configuration! With regard to the lady that spoke that insinuated that transitions are beneficial because they help adults transition into life (she used her daughter as an example), unbelievable! So....she doesn't currently have any children in elementary school? It's very easy to speak about an issue that doesn't directly affect you. Regarding the four tier or whatever tier bus system, who cares what you call it, JAM. The kids will be getting home late----that is what concerns parents not what you call it. I don't have a sign, but I am going to buy one as soon as I can. People in my neighborhood are not vocal about the issue, but whether you agree or disagree about the plan, this BOE needs to be shown the door. |
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| Administrator | Mar 7 2006, 11:40 AM Post #48 |
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Administrator
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I don't think Joanne Morgan should have suggested we are closing schools with 200 students( watch the replay in her closing statements). Hull is closing, and we are pretty full. We have 336 students at Hull. When I talk to people, lets face it, they ask where Hull is and don't know much about schools other than there own. It would be very easy to believe that Hull has 200 hundred kids and needs to be closed. Check out the enrollment at all the schools. I'm just saying that Hull is NOT closing because it is being under utilized. I am sure we can find the same things at other schools. Maybe Marshall only had 200 students when it closed, but these schools have many more students than that. Look for yourself. http://www.citizensforlivoniasfuture.com/r...20DOCUMENTS.pdf |
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| Rose | Mar 7 2006, 11:46 AM Post #49 |
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Principal
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As for the start and end times......3 tier, 4 tier, 5 tier, staggered, whatever you call it, we really don't care. What we care about is when the kids will be getting home. After 4:30 or even later could be when my child arrives home. Where is the family time here? These times are a complete joke......just in time to have an afternoon snack and before you know it, it's dinner. |
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| 49chevy | Mar 7 2006, 11:52 AM Post #50 |
Answers questioned
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They'll be home in time for dinner......then homework..and then it's time for bed... |
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| NFarquharson | Mar 7 2006, 11:54 AM Post #51 |
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Principal
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To this point, I would like to add that Adams is also being fully utilized. There is no empty space or empty classrooms. Perhaps in some classes there could be room for a few more students, but by no means is that the case in all classes. In fact, because of the lack of available space in the building, we can only have one SACC room and a limited number can enroll, creating a long waiting list for SACC. It took me a year on the wait list to get in. The building is NOT underutilized. |
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| Rose | Mar 7 2006, 11:57 AM Post #52 |
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Principal
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Doesn't the sign that welcomes you once you enter Livonia say "Livonia, where families comes first".....correct me if I am wrong. As for the BOE meeting last night, the woman who spoke about how well her child did because of transitions....I should have been there. I transitoned several times throughout my school years, and by the time I got to high school, I hated school and couldn't wait to graduate. It was her personal story, everyone will experience something different with these transitions. I believe it is too much on the kids, and they will learn to adapt to change in other ways in life. Just another example of kids having to grow up too fast. I was just waiting for a support last night to get up and say why this plan is so great. |
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| ForMySons | Mar 7 2006, 12:24 PM Post #53 |
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Principal
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I have a question for those of you have spoken at the board meetings. When you have asked a question, did you receive a personal letter with a reply as stated in last night's board meeting? If so, did the letter answer the question? My biggest concern about this method is that many of us may have the same question, but only one person in the end receives the response leaving the rest of us still wondering..... |
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| NFarquharson | Mar 7 2006, 12:30 PM Post #54 |
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Principal
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I heard that last night, too. I thought maybe I misunderstood. I haven't spoken for a while, but have asked questions in the past. I have never received any letter and I am certain if others had, some would have posted here. In fact, I have also e-mailed the entire BOE a few times (last year) and have received responses only from Mr. Bailey. Has anyone written letters that were not addressed to all school board members? Were they read out loud to be shared by all like the one last night? |
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| gr1 | Mar 7 2006, 12:33 PM Post #55 |
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Principal
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Rose, Sorry to hear you had such a tough time with your transitions. I also transitioned several times, 6 times to be exact. Except for two of the transitions, I was always the "new kid" and there were no transition activities to help me and I did not move right along with my friends. I did not hate school, made friends and did well. Just as the lady you mention in your post told her personal story, Your story is yours and mine is mine. Her point was that these transitions are being carefully planned and if her daughters (and mine for that matter) turned out well despite the fact that there was no planning in place to help ease into the transition, then the extra transitions our kids will make next year are more than likely to turn out for the positive because of all the effort being put into to make them as positive as possible. |
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| NFarquharson | Mar 7 2006, 12:57 PM Post #56 |
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Principal
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I actually agree with gr1 to some extent about transitions. Transitions have never been my major concern, although I do understand it depends on your child's temperment and personality as to how difficult it might be. School size is my biggest issue and I do not think 900 is the right size for 10 and 11 year old children... way too big! That is probably a large part of why the transition to middle school is very difficult for some...the size difference is pretty striking between our elementary schools and middle schools. They usually move to that setting along with all of their classmates, but it can still be an issue, so that doen't protect them from having problems at all. This is also the time when many American kids in general fall behind their peers in other countries with regards to academic achievement. I wish the Demographics Committee had not been so stuck on the idea of not breaking apart school communities and best friends, which can admittedly be a difficult part of transitioning. Perhaps we would have a new and improved K-6 plan if the focus had been more on school size issues rather than the trauma caused by kids being seperated from their friends. If only they had tried to more evenly distribute the population of students, closing some schools but keeping the K-6 configuration and balancing the numbers to keep schools as small as possible. It would have meant an extra transition and making new friends for some of our elementary students, perhaps mine, but many of us would not even be here doing this if that had been the case! I know I would have accepted my school closing if it were done that way. |
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| gr1 | Mar 7 2006, 01:13 PM Post #57 |
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Principal
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I think that by choosing the K-4, 5-6 model the demographics committee did a better job of keeping kids together than they would have under a K-6 plan. Under K-6 everything would have been redistricted. I'll use your home school Adams as an example. If Adams was closed not all of Adams K-6 population would have fit at Roosevelt. Therefore, the Adams community would have been split perhaps some to Cleveland and some to Roosevelt (I'm just chosing two random schools I know are in that general area.) Depending on where your kids friends and classmates live, they could have been sent to separate elementary schools. Under this plan, Every effort was made to keep as many school communities (the people, not the buildings) intact. I realize there are 2 or 3 where this was not possible. I also realize that for Riley this is also the case. However once these changes are made, Our children will be with the same kids from grade 5 until graduation. That is a wonderful thing that none of the other plans could afford. As far as large schools, it is the reality of a funding crisis (PLEASE do not tell me there isn't one.) The benefit of making changes now is to keep the classroom sizes small. |
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| loyaltolivonia | Mar 7 2006, 01:31 PM Post #58 |
Principal
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Can someone please tell me what they consider a small class size? I keep hearing this, but no one gives a clue to the actual numbers. My 5th grader is at Randolph with 32 kids in his class. All three 5th grades have 32 kids. So what is small? Smaller than this??? As for keeping the kids together......I say it's not that big a deal in my eyes. The BOE says the kids won't have a problem transitioning with the LI, so why then will they have a problem if their school is split up? Isn't that the same as a transition? Just a different kind of transition??? |
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| gr1 | Mar 7 2006, 01:36 PM Post #59 |
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Principal
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My fifth grader has 24 in her class. |
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| Michelebel | Mar 7 2006, 01:36 PM Post #60 |
Principal
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I agree with gr1 and think this is one of the few "benefits" of the k-4, 5/6 model. I know that splitting school neighborhoods would only affect a small portion of the community instead of the whole community, but imagine being in the neighborhood who's school is closing and having the neighborhood kids going to 2 different schools. The boundaries would have to be drawn somewhere, so imagine your child's best friend who lives across the street going to a different school until middle school. Perhaps this sounds minor, but I think they are listing this as one of the "pros" of the LI. |
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