North Shore Elementary in Trouble.

[sheclown]

Fla. Rejects Duval's Plan To Save Schools
4 Northwest Jacksonville Schools Face Loss Of State Funding
POSTED: Tuesday, February 8, 2011


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Duval County's top educators are not backing down, despite Florida's education commissioner finding that the district's plan to turn around four troubled schools in Northwest Jacksonville does not comply with state statutes.

The long-running issue deals with the fate of Jacksonville's worst-performing schools: Jean Ribault, Williams Raines and Andrew Jackson high schools and North Shore K-8.

more:
http://www.news4jax.com/education/26787041/detail.html

http://www.duvalschools.org/northshore/

[sheclown]

I don't understand all of the state versus county politics here, what I do understand is that North Shore needs more time.  This is a school with 89 percent free or reduced lunch.  It is an inner city school battling inner city problems. 

This is the second year it has failed its standardize test, but let me tell you one test it has not failed.

A child I know was adopted two years ago.  Because of the trauma of his past, he had behavioral problems.  He especially had problems with authority figures.  At four years old, while in foster care, no day care could manage him.  He went from place to place with each one finally deciding they could not handle the disruptive behavior. 

He entered kindergarten at North Shore while waiting for his adoption to be finalized.  No longer was he surrounded by teachers who could be bowled over.  They snapped him into shape, just as they snap the hardest of our county's kids into shape daily.

I find this school filled with tough and demanding teachers and administrators dealing with the daunting task of turning around something as complex as a school in an unrealistic amount of time.

This elementary school needs saving.  What can be done?

[dougskiles]

I wish I knew the answer to that one.

The public debate about school reform is filled with people expressing strong opinions based on perceptions they gained from listening to other people talk about it.  How many of them have been in the trenches?  I believe that in any field, the greatest opportunity for innovation comes from the people doing the work.  I would like to see more authority given to the people who are investing their lives in these schools.  I trust the power of their creative thought more than the person working in a sterile office who never interacts with the kids.

[sheclown]

It looks like this is a battle between the county and the state?

[sheclown]

The school board has decided, in a brave move (in my honest opinion) to keep North Shore open but to relocate the classes 6-8 to other middle schools.  The state is threatening to fine the county for not closing the school or turning the school into a charter school or the third option turning it over to a management company who gets one year to turn it around.

Apparently the school board voted 7-0 to do this.  It is good news for the elementary students (and the one I care deeply about), but not good news for the 6-8 graders who must be moved to other middle schools.

North Shore will no longer be a magnet school and will lose the funding that goes along with that.

[iloveionia]

Schools are saved time and time again because of dedicated school personnel AND parents. I've seen many a LA school saved because of the parents. And truth, often the lowest performing schools have the best teachers and staff.

I would get the parents together. Ask the principal to help. They want the school open too. Noone who works at a school wants to see it fail.

Get your letters out to the school board. Thank them for their boldness.

You know how we saved the houses? That's how you save schools.  

[Jaxson]

In a rare instance this morning, I heard an elected official explain things in a way that made sense to me.  Montana's governor was explaining how he convinced state employees to sacrifice to help balance the budget.  He said that, instead of demonizing them, he praised their hard work and he successfully got buy in from the public sector workers.  This applies to our situation as well.  If the state wants educators to buy into reform, they need to do more than beat us over the head with the same trite arguments that all teachers are doing a lousy job and should be fired.  Believing in our educators is such a novel concept, right?   

[sheclown]

Jax, you are so right.

I might be naive, but it seems to me that education is so very complex, especially when you are dealing with inner city schools and all of their unique challenges, that a formalized test with circles incorrectly darkened, might not be the best indicator of value.

[aaapolito]

Just watched Waiting for "Superman" last night for the first time.  It's an eye-opening documentary and I highly recommend it. 

Unfortunately, the state of North Shore is indicative of many other schools around the country.  Our education system is broken, yet there is a solution available and those in charge of our education system will refuse to implement the solution.

Our education system is about the ADULTS and not the children.  Those who have the power in education, Federal Department of Education, State Department of Education, and the Teachers Union have made education about themselves and not finding a solution to closing the education gap.  These people only care about tenure, keeping their jobs, and politics. 

Now for the solution (for the sake of brevity I will illustrate by example):  Charter schools like KIPP Jacksonville are comprised of educators who focus on the children.  Educators at these schools believe that every child can learn.  These schools have longer days, longer school years, and demand more of their students.  Additionally, these schools require parent involvement, which is imperative to a successful education.  Parents and educators believe that failure is not an option and that these children will go to college.

The unfortunate reality is that there are not enough of these schools in this country and our children's education will come down to whether they are fortunate enough to win a lottery to gain acceptance to one of these schools. 

We must do something to change this about our country.  Otherwise, we run the risk of having a society of undereducated people. 

[sheclown]

aaa,

In a case like North Shore, what would you suggest?   What are we to do with struggling schools, especially elementary schools?

What, exactly, are charter schools?  What about children without parental involvement (let's face it, kids who are on free or reduced lunch like 89 % of North Shore, have parents with tough burdens already)?

[sheclown]

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district for Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida. As of 2009, the district had an enrollment of over 155,000 students, making it the 15th largest school district in the United States,[1] and 5th largest school district in Florida. In 2010, it was home to two of the top ten high schools in the United States, Stanton College Preparatory School and Paxon School for Advanced Studies.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duval_County_Public_Schools

The district's administrative offices are primarily located on the southbank of the St. Johns River in a six-story building at 1701 Prudential Drive. The superintendent of DCPS is Ed Pratt-Dannals. The position of superintendent is appointed by the Duval County School Board, a body of seven elected officers, each board member representing a particular geographic area. School Board districts are somewhat analogous to City Council districts in that there are two council districts in each school board district. The current School Board members, in order of district number, are Martha Barrett, Fred E. Lee, W. C. Gentry, Paula Wright, Betty Burney, Becki Couch and Tommy Hazouri. The board received national attention[3][4] in November 2008 when the five white members voted to retain the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. The case was controversial because Forrest had been a slave trader, a confederate General, and a Ku Klux Klan founder.[5]

Board members are elected every four years with 2 term limits, with Districts 4 through 7 elected during midterm election cycles (next in 2010) and Districts 1 through 3 elected during presidential cycles (next in 2012).

DCPS has 160 regular-attendance schools as of the 2007-08 school year: 105 elementary schools, 28 middle schools and 21 high schools. The district also has an adult education system with night classes at most high schools, three dedicated ESE schools as well as a hospital/homebound program and four alternative education centers. The total does not include charter schools, which numbered 13 for the 2009-2010 school year. Charter schools operate under contract to the Duval County School Board and follow the curriculum and rules of the DCSB. They are publicly funded and non-sectarian; most are oriented to help students "at risk". These include students who have been unsuccessful in a traditional setting; have below average grades; have difficulty on tests; have been retained in one or more grade levels; or have problems with behavior.[6]

The schools of DCPS are divided into four educational clusters plus “special schools”, which are managed by chief officers who report directly to the Chief Academic Officer. Clusters 1 and 2 divide the elementary schools, Cluster 3 includes high schools, and Cluster 4 includes the middle schools. "Special Schools" comprises schools which are identified to service special needs students.

[sheclown]

congrats North Shore!  From an "F" to a "B"

http://m.jacksonville.com/news/florida/2012-07-11/story/fcat-1-duval-school-intervene-list-increase-county

[sheclown]

Anyone know what was happening at North Shore yesterday afternoon?  High JSO drama.