Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

Wake parents fear poor schools

At a community meeting last week, some parents said they're fine with year-round schools, but many voiced concerns about possible changes in the school system.

Heather Koons, a Raleigh parent, said the school calendar was less important to her than the quality of education her children received. A bigger worry, Koons said, would be revamping policies that dictate where students attend school.

"Let's drop the silly idea of community zones," she said. The plan would be too expensive and would create clusters of poor schools, Koons said.

Another parent, Ticie Rhodes, agreed. "We stand to have a number of high-poverty schools," she said.

School board member John Tedesco is leading the charge to change how Wake assigns children to schools. His plan would divide the county into zones, each with a mix of magnet, year-round and traditional-calendar schools.

Tedesco didn't attend the meeting last Thursday at Southeast Raleigh High. He said he had another obligation. The school system is holding community meetings to get feedback about school calendars.

A survey of about 40,000 Wake parents showed that nearly nine out of 10 families are OK with their school calendars.

Tedesco, part of a new board majority that favors neighborhood schools, said he values year-round schools. But he doesn't like the idea of forcing parents to send their kids to them.

"You have to give families a choice," Tedesco said. Many Garner families want to send their children to year-round schools, he added.

"The system is working as is," said Clarissa Frederick, a parent at East Garner Elementary, a year-round school. "The children are more attentive, eager to learn."

Turnout was low at last week's community meeting, where 15 or so parents addressed school leaders. Some of those who spoke voiced frustrations about uncertainty in schools.

"Our kids need stability and continuity," said Gary Sumlar, a Raleigh parent. "Have a plan, and stick with the plan."

Sharon Pittman said her daughter attends a private school, but she said she worries about abandoning the diversity policy. She questioned how the school board would ensure that money would be dispersed equally to schools that would be mostly white and those that would have more minority students.

Henry Pickett Jr., who worked as a teacher and guidance counselor in Wake for nearly three decades, said putting students in poor schools was not the best way to educate them. His grandsons attend East Garner Middle School, and he said he's happy with the demographics at the school.

Board members didn't respond to parents' comments but said they were listening to what parents said.