Thursday, June 28, 2007

Fundamentally against or for year round conversions

There are only two sides to this debate and both sides feel that they are the ones that are absolutely correct.  Is their a gray area in this?  Can both sides be right? 

One of the arguments is that YR conversions will interfere with extracurricular activities that occur during the summer.  The one that seems to be a particular sticky one is local area swim teams.  One mom stated that her children would not be able compete in the summer program because they would be in school.  She inadvertently challenged me to learn more about the swim clubs in the area.  I looked into them and found that they are accommodating to YR and one particular person who was a representative for a private local swim club has his own children on the swim team and in YR on track 2.  He said it works out just fine.  Is there a gray area here that we are both not getting?

Another argument raised was that summer vacations are needed to visit family that lives out of state.  It’s true we have a lot a transplants here, me included, who do have family that don’t live here obviously.  My suggestion was that when you choose to move here you choose to separate yourself from your family in search of what you were or must have been missing when you lived near them. For us it was a full time job for my husband.  It would seem easier to visit and spend time with your family every 9 weeks for a couple of weeks or so than to spend 2 months near them.  Most of us here do need to work and it would be an impossibility for most of us to go away for 2 months to see family.  Need to work to pay the bills if you know what I mean.  Is there a gray area here?

There has also been discussion about the county commissioners.  Did they do the right thing by withholding money for the conversions?  Was forcing the school to look for other options ultimately backfire on them?  The BOE knows that this area is bursting at the seams and we can’t build schools fast enough to keep up with growth.  Why can’t the county commissioners see this?  They are in large part the problem makers instead of the problem solvers in this matter by not controlling growth as they should have.  But, I know it revenue issue.  More people, more money etc.  But more people = more children = more money needed for education.  Seems like a simple equation or is there a gray area here also?

One suggestion is that YR schools are going to cost us too much money because we have to deal with the parents that have opted out of the YR conversions.  One thing afforded to them by WakeCARES and their lawsuit.  One person who supports WakeCARES made this comment.  As far as I am concerned don’t whine about it costing more money when you are the cause of it and proud of it and this person was.  Seems very contradictory to me. 

My point here is can both sides find even ground?  Can we ultimately come together for the betterment of our children or is this issue going to continue to drive a wedge between people in Wake County for years to come?  Should our children BE a gray area?  Voice you opinion either way here.  Thank you!

I am one of the fortunate parents that was able to transfer my middle school son to our traditional option.  My oldest son is rising sophomore in high school and the year round calendar simply would not have worked for our family.  Here in western Wake, there are simply very few track out programs for middle schoolers.  Never mind that there are few, if any, after school programs at this time of year for middle school children.  Year round would have forced me to leave one of my two children at home alone because of the lack of track out programs in this end of the county.  I work only during the traditional calendar months so that I can be home to supervise my children.  With two separate calendars, I would not be able to work it out.  Here is what week one of year round has brought to my house - every child with a working parent shows up at my house at 2:30.  What is going to happen to these children in October? February?  Many of these students have older siblings that helped supervise them while their parents worked, not ideal, but better than no supervision.  These older siblings will remain on the traditional calendar or go back to college in August.  This is a lose/lose situation for these children.

What if all schools in Wake County were YR?  Would that be a better situation?

I am glad I had a choice - I don’t feel I was held hostage by the decision.  I feel grateful that I was able to have my child get into an equally good/close traditional option.  On the other hand, perhaps if the whole County bore the fruits of the YR conversions at all grade levels, it would seem a little more palatable. It also doesn’t seem to make sense that the 4 tracks are not equally balanced.

What do you mean by “equally balanced”?  Track 1 has 181 days of school, track 2 has 180 days of school, track 3 has 178 and track 4 has 180.  Seems like the BOE did a real good job at balancing 4 different tracks and holidays so that the children get the schooling time they need.  I am real concerned about what will happen in the years to come with the growth that has hit the elementary schools moving to the high school level.  I think the BOE needs to start addressing that.  How do you feel already having one in middle and high school?

One of the things that help in this situations is not having people vote, so only the diective can make a sound decision