Wake County (NC) School Diversity

Back in November, the Wake County (Raleigh, NC metro) voters booted out a school board that balanced the low-to-moderate (low-mod in planner speak) students by busing them around the district. Magnet "special programs" enticing suburban (read, academic achieving) students existed in older, more central schools.

After forcing some schools to convert to year-round calendars and instituting a one-hour-early release every Wednesday (so teachers could meet), voters were fed up.

As the new school board moves to dissemble these programs, the other part of the electorate is organizing in support of the old system.

I think I have a middle way, at least where the busing is concerned and maybe some help with the magnet programs as well.

BUSING
My ex lives in an enclave of new development in southeast Raleigh (in the past a low-mod area). Our high school kid, if registered at her address, would be bused past Athens Drive High School and Cary High School on their way to Apex. They would be catching the bus before 6 in the morning (at least last time we checked). There are two huge problems here: The time/sleep lost to those kids is not conducive to their learning, and the fuel used/pollution generated/road capacity eaten up is not sustainable.

SOLUTION: Have both "Student Quality of Life" and "Environmental Sustainability" criteria that go into student assignment along with the socio-economic data currently used.

MAGNETS
I've had 4 kids in the Wake County schools, and have applied to magnet programs at least 5 times and have *never* had an application accepted with one exception (I'll call it the 6th). It doesn't really count because it was a preschool for 4 year olds that you had to pay tuition for and not competitive at the time. Once preschool was done, I packed up and moved to get into the Wiley Elementary language magnet. As far as I am concerned, the magnet schools are great, but the system is broken.

SOLUTION: If a magnet school's applications exceed the capacity, you should think about adding that program to another school as well, even if you risk some of the current magnet's students moving; also one variable the staff at WCPSS do not have is where parents work. I would make *ALL* schools open enrollment, so that parents might have their children close to work. They wouldn't need busing, since they ride with their parents. Some might even choose based on the bell schedule. I've often thought about this when I have to get up at 6 to get my middle schooler on the bus by 6:20.

As for the year-round issue: I really have no problem with year-round schools, but I do need some say in what track my kids are on. I currently have one in high school, one in middle school, and one in elementary school (and one in college in case you wondered where number 4 went). If they were on separate tracks, we would never be able to go anywhere on vacation!

Those Wednesdays are just plain stupid. The teachers can meet after normal school hours. If they don't want to hang around, that's on them and their principals.