Get Schooled

By catlady

May 7, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this

It is always nice to be in a new, clean place. However, pigs can make a new, clean place dirty pretty fast. Likewise, technology capability is nice, but when teachers don’t have time to plan, or when technology breaks down and isn’t promptly repaired, it avails you naught. Give me an old building with motivated, hard-working, well-behaved students and parents who support their efforts and we will go a lot further (see, for example, Dekalb School for the Arts).

By Ernest

May 7, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this

Catlady hit on the formula for a successful education environment. In fairness about DSA, it is a ‘select, choice’ environment, where students must audition to be accepted. It’s fair to assume that if students and parents put that kind of effort into being a part of this school, they will be motivated to do what needs to be done to stay.

By JustMe

May 7, 2007 12:54 PM | Link to this

There are many schools that are high achieving with horrible facilities. In DeKalb, DSA is not alone….. Chamblee High, Druid Hills High, and even Lakeside High facilities are not what they should be. The money in DeKalb is used at the “low” performing schools that end up with palatial buildings with all of the high-tech gismos, etc.

Funny thing is that these low performing schools are still low performing no matter how much money is thrown at them. And, the high performing schools have facilities that are falling apart! Window glass remains broken, air conditioning doesn’t work, light bulbs remain burnt out, window blinds remain broken, and on and on.

IMHO, this approach just doesn’t make sense. If I was a parent at one of these high performing schools, I would be screaming at the top of my lungs.

By JustMe

May 7, 2007 1:00 PM | Link to this

DSA is not only a ‘select, choice’ school, but it also has high standards/requirements to remain at DSA. If a student’s gpa falls below a minimum, they are booted out of the school and the student must return to their home school.

Now that is a way to motivate!

By Nel

May 7, 2007 2:47 PM | Link to this

Choice, choice, choice. Motivation, motivation, motivation. The DSA students choose to be there, plus they are high achievers in the regular system, before they audition. The application and audition process is such that you’d better WANT to be there. What better example of how success can be achieved! Couple all this with the fact that artistic folks tend to be motivated and creative enough to consistently make lemonade from those pesky lemons they get given.

By Nel

May 7, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this

I believe that this culture doesn’t see the worth in anything unless it is the latest and greatest. Nobody seems to appreciate the Quality behind the fascade. All these new schools being constructed while the older building are neglected. Lots of politics and lots more empty vessels making much noise for their share. I think it’s finally obvious to any who care to look that it’s not the money but hte motivation from both child and parent.

By Lisa B.

May 7, 2007 3:22 PM | Link to this

I, too agree that modern facilities are nice to have, but even the most fabulous, expensive facilities cannot make unmotivated, undisciplined students succeed. I always attended “old” schools with mediocre materials and received a fine education. I’ve taught my entire career in an old school, with mediocre materials, and most of my students have performed well. The few who haven’t done such a great job would have fared no better in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility.

Don’t get me wrong. I hope to work in such a new school myself one of these years. The facility just doesn’t have much, if any impact on student achievement.

By JustMe

May 7, 2007 4:08 PM | Link to this

Lisa B. and others…

I do think that deplorable facilities can have a negative impact. And, IMHO, this is what will be happening to those “good” schools in DeKalb that I mentioned. The School System is taking so much funding away from the “good” schools and giving it to the “bad” schools, we will soon see negative effects on the “good” schools (and no positive effects on the “bad” schools).

By Ernest

May 7, 2007 4:56 PM | Link to this

JustMe:

You raise an interesting point in your 4:08 post. If I recall, you teach at one of the schools you mentioned in your 12:54 post. While perhaps not ‘deplorable’ it is an old facility. Do you think the state of the building has an impact on the students at your school?

By Lisa B.

May 7, 2007 5:40 PM | Link to this

Just Me,

I mentioned “old” buildings with “mediocre” materials, which I would never rate as “deplorable.” No children should be educated in deplorable facilities such as sick buildings, with no computers, etc. Indeed, such conditions would definitely be detrimental to learning. However, I sometimes think school systems (and taxpayers) spend ridiculous amounts of money on these fantastic school facilities to no avail. Achievement in some groups remains stagnant, and worst case, the facilities are destroyed by the student population housed in them. I think the money would be better spent addressing specific learning issues. I still kinda like KA’s idea about reading bootcamps :-)

By thomas

May 7, 2007 6:32 PM | Link to this

Catlady is right again!!!! I have taught in a brand new building that was funked in amazing time. To this day, how I don’t know. The pigs came in from outside and turned the building (which was barely clean to begin with after construction) to a pigpen.

Personally I LOVE new buildings. But I think the issue is the slum buildings we hear about in NYC. That’s a different story. From what I have seen, in the state of Georgia, most campuses are either old ones built in the seventies or new “cookie cutter” buildings built in the late 90’s and 2000’s. The buildings are almost all the same. The difference is what’s inside the building. Think about it. Physical school plants as a whole vary little within a system. The people inside the building and what they do makes the difference.

As for technology, I have had my share of headaches, particularly with LCD projectors. Those wireless carts can be VERY cumbersome as well. Both of those items make it not worth the trouble to use at all.

By lynn

May 7, 2007 7:01 PM | Link to this

The article was not great. As far as I know no capital resources, resources like SPLOST dollars, have been poured into needs improvement schools. Most SPLOST dollars have been spent on trying to catch up with out of control growth on the south side. With the exception of the new Peachtree MIddle school, no old building has been torn down and replaced and hardly any old buildings have been truly renovated — regardless of academic performance.

The reality in DeKalb is that much money is spent on the magnet programs — and very little has been cut through the years. The schools that suffer, are those that are performing well and don’t have magnet programs. We have many elementary schools that don’t have art classes. We have many schools with high concentrations of non-English speakers that stuggle for translation services, etc.

Make no mistake — the magnet programs, along with associated transportation programs, cost the system easily 10 million dollars a year for programs that serve about 4000 students.

Since the school system has done no long term study of the impact of these programs, it is certainly hard to know if we taxpayers are getting our money worth.

By JustMe

May 8, 2007 8:25 AM | Link to this

Ernest, I do think that the poor facilities impacts education. For example, lack of equipment (projectors, computers, even science stuff) can restrict learning. Those high achieving schools I mention generally overcome these problems because they are mostly in more affluent areas (where the kids have their own computers at home). But this is not true for all students.

By jim d

May 8, 2007 8:40 AM | Link to this

I swear, I can’t believe I ever made it, and some might argue I haven’t, but 5 years in a one room school house, No central heat and air, —- no overheads—no wiifi—no school bus — No intercom or Video players—no lunch room, huge media center or a gym . Simply a coal burning boiler, windows that actually opened, — a chalk board—6 rows of desks— 2 acres to run on— and a teacher that gave a damn.

How novel!

By JustMe

May 8, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this

jim d-

My current classroom doesn’t even have windows that open!!!!