Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning January 2006 » Novi parents angry at school redistricting « Previous Next »
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Ltorivia485
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Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2361
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 5:04 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A plan to redraw boundaries for Novi's five elementary schools has prompted some families to consider bolting from district schools. It also has reignited animosities over the schools' relative merits.

Parents of children who go to Deerfield, a magnet school that primarily will serve the tony neighborhoods in the 10 Mile-Wixom Road area, say they may turn to private schools rather than send the children to their neighborhood schools.

Erin Ryan, for example, might move her first-grader from Deerfield to a Montessori school. She said Orchard Hills, her neighborhood school on the southeast side, is inferior because its building is not as nice and MEAP scores there aren't as high as at Deerfield.


-------------
Only in Novi...are WHITE parents so paranoid about their precious children because their darlings won't be to COMPETE in the best attractive-looking school in the district (keep in mind that test scores at all schools are way above the state average).
ONLY IN NOVI....

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20060223/NEW S03/602230565/1003/NEWS
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3232
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 5:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Seriously, why do you keep trying to pic fights, and over little stuff at that? There are a million bigger fish to fry where you may be able to pick a good fight. This isn't one of them. Considering that you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, I just don't get why this would seem like a smart fight.

Who in the hell should care about where Novi parents want to send their children within their cities boundaries? This is an internal issue within Novi, won of the very few issues in this region that doesn't have much of a region-wide impact, IMO, or large region-wide implications.

(Message edited by lmichigan on February 24, 2006)
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Broken_main
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Username: Broken_main

Post Number: 827
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 69.222.11.226
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 7:40 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Try NoviYes.com in their Discuss Novi Forum
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East_detroit
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Username: East_detroit

Post Number: 526
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 69.212.169.194
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 8:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Only parents in Novi care about the quality of schools?

You saying that parents in Detroit dont care as much?

No.
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Wirt
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Username: Wirt

Post Number: 13
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 64.243.32.9
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 9:55 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

As a parent, why wouldn't I want my kids in best school in the district. I value good school design and academic excellence. In theory, all schools would be equal, but unfortunately they are not. If there is an opportunity to send my kids to the best magnet school or school of choice, as a concerned parent who couldn't afford private schools, I would push for the best possible school option. It is the same for large urban districts as it is in well-off smaller suburban districts - why not the best?
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Rasputin
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Username: Rasputin

Post Number: 3502
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 152.163.100.8
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 10:37 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lt: another for 'em

quote:

Layoffs become likely for Oakland teachers

West Bloomfield, Troy, Farmington and Birmingham districts have budget woes.


Shawn D. Lewis / The Detroit News


WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP -- The West Bloomfield School District has recommended $4.8 million in budget cuts for the 2006-07 school year -- including the elimination of 31 teaching positions. ...

West Bloomfield, Troy, Birmingham and Farmington are among Oakland County districts in which teachers jobs are imperiled to keep budgets balanced. ....

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.d ll/article?AID=/20060223/SCHOO LS/602230347/1026


and they want to bitch about Detroit!! They can't even keep their own houses in order .....

Black-atcha ..... roflmbao @ control freak hypocrisy
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Dialh4hipster
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Username: Dialh4hipster

Post Number: 1458
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 68.61.187.234
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:15 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

But Detroit can't even keep its house STANDING.
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Deputy
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Username: Deputy

Post Number: 87
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 63.115.132.100
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:28 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah...many districts are having to tighten their belts. My mom works for West Bloomfield schools. She is a custodian (Janitor if you want to be a *&^% about it:-).
Luckily for her they are only eliminating vacant positions in her department.
And Rasputin....they are keeping their house in order...they are reducing costs before a deficit can build. Unfortunately, those who run the Detroit schools never made these difficult cuts until they were millions of dollars in the red.
Such ignorance.
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 65
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 129.9.163.234
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:33 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rasputin--I think they will be glad to compare drop-out rates with you any day. This is all a product of the general (poor) economy of the state, and the kind of changes that smart administrators will make from time to time.
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 66
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 129.9.163.234
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:36 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rasputin--I think they will be glad to compare drop-out rates with you any day. This is all a product of the general (poor) economy of the state, and the kind of changes that smart administrators will make from time to time.
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Rasputin
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Username: Rasputin

Post Number: 3507
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 152.163.100.8
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:58 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Deputy: Detroit is and has been doing the same. No need for apology!! Go figure ..... (hope she still has her job ..... floors need cleaning too)

Black-atcha ..... watching media driven dummies
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Lowell
Board Administrator
Username: Lowell

Post Number: 2312
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 66.167.211.61
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 12:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56 Packman, be sure to compare poverty rates when you compare dropout rates.

The problem is school funding and it affects all. As usual it hits the poorest first then works its way up. Finally everyone realizes they are all in the same leaky boat. Instead staying divided and pointing fingers while they all sink, a plan to bail out and repair the boat would be a lot more useful.
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Johnnny5
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Username: Johnnny5

Post Number: 166
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 71.227.95.4
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 12:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Both my parents are employed by Novi Schools so I have heard quite a bit about this redistricting issue.
There are serious problems with their current system; the first being transportation costs. If a student is chosen to attend one of the "magnet” schools they are bused there from where ever they may live (even if they live in the shadow of another elementary school). Then there is the opposite problem of the children who live next to the magnet schools, yet were not chosen to attend. They are forced to attend schools miles away when once again there is a school within walking distance. From what I have heard these changes will eliminate up to 9 buses (out of about 45) from the daily route. At $70,000 per bus, plus the cost of a driver (probably over 50,000 per year when all costs are included). Then there are fuel costs, insurance, maintenance, scheduling, etc. Like every other Michigan district Novi is looking to save money and this is a way to do so without sacrificing education.
I really can't understand why parents would have a problem with this change. There is not a school in the district that has not been either totally redone or is brand new. I could understand this program if it was in an area where schools were failing, but the total opposite is true. The schools that they consider "inferior" would probably compare to the "best" schools in many other districts.

Why is this in the Detroit section. =)

(Message edited by Johnnny5 on February 24, 2006)
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Johnnny5
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Username: Johnnny5

Post Number: 167
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 71.227.95.4
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 12:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ltorivia485,

You assume that it is only the "White" parents who have a problem with this proposed change? Once again this is not a White vs. Black (or any other race) issue, yet you for some reason want to make it one. What's up with that?
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Ltorivia485
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Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2362
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 12:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Because only White (and Asian, but they are such a small percentage of the population) parents care about the academic futures of their children to the extent that they will do ANYTHING for their child to be the BEST of the BEST (including Harvard-bound). You can't have your cake and eat it too! Control freaks, like Rasputin said it succintly.
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Ltorivia485
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Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2363
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 12:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Also, magnet schools foster educational inequality (and social hierarchy). Get rid of the system and share the wealth. Novi can afford too.
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Funkycarrie
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Username: Funkycarrie

Post Number: 183
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 69.208.32.222
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 1:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ltorivia, so how do you explain the black parents that are moving out of Detroit school districts for educational reasons? You think they don't care about their children's academic futures, and they're doing it, just because?
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Ltorivia485
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Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2364
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 1:35 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Funky, there is a difference between wanting the best for your child and acting foolish just because your child cannot enroll in a magnet school. Oh the horror, my child will not look competitive enough!
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3234
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 2:26 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What the hell? It's in the best interest of any parent to get their child to the best school as they possibly can whatever their means may be, and on the other side, for school systems to temper that with reality. Magnet schools are the only things saving many public school districts from bleeding more students than they already are. For many of these districts it is the only they can make themselves competitive. They've helped a hell of a lot here in Lansing, and you seem to be coming from the assumption that they are only prevelant in White areas. I'd rather the district switch a handful of school to magnet status and retain students (Black, White and otherwise) than have those same students going to academies, privates schools, or worse yet, have their entire family move to a suburban district.

The sad reality is that primary education is more competitive than it's ever been with a number of different choices. The choices are here to stay, and public education no longer has a monopoly on primary education. Public schools have to become creative and competitive, and if it takes magnet schools to retain students, than so be it.

I guess it comes down to this: would you rather handicap your entire district in competition with suburban and private schools, or is it the lesser of two evils to add magnet schools to your district that get preferences based on what specialty they teach? The inequality in urban areas is already there. Magnets, dare I say, make the entire district better by helping stop the bleeding of students allowing for more money for all of the students in a district.
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Hooha
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Username: Hooha

Post Number: 90
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 69.81.52.28
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 2:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Deerfield sucks!

-Orchard Hills 1991

On the subject at hand, I doubt Deerfield is a better school. All of Novi's elementary schools are run by the same schoolboard, and it's not like they hire "the best" teachers for Deerfield. If these parents are convinced that a minute difference in test scores at the ELEMENTARY level will effect their children's lives and wish to waste money on private school, let em'. Also, Orchard Hills is a nice place. It's one of the few Novi schools actually integrated into the neighborhood that you can WALK to. Deerfield is set up like a friggin' strip mall.

And what does this have to do with race? If anything, this kind of overzealous examination of a child's school is a refreshing change. Parents (and kids)today are more concerned with extra-cirricular activities than they are with grades. Talk to some teachers about how parents will actually bitch about too much homework because their kid has football practice or art class or whatever after school. IMO, we are raising a generation of weenies who need to be challenged more.
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Johnnny5
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Username: Johnnny5

Post Number: 168
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 71.227.95.4
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 2:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I'd rather the district switch a handful of school to magnet status and retain students (Black, White and otherwise) than have those same students going to academies, privates schools, or worse yet, have their entire family move to a suburban district."

Wait a second. I thought this entire thread about a "suburban" district.
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3237
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 2:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The point was, from any municipalities prespective, it is best to keep families within the your own district than risk losing your competitive edge to another municipality, be it Novi or Detroit. There is nothing smart in shooting oneself in the foot.
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Ltorivia485
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Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2367
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 7:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

LMichigan, Novi school district is above average on test scores in the state. I doubt switching students from one school to another at the elementary level will deprive families an excellent education. These parents are just being overzealous and paranoid.
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Mackinaw
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Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 1221
Registered: 02-2005
Posted From: 141.213.173.94
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 7:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I don't know a thing about the Novi schools, but I would say that this is awfully weird that people are so fired up about redrawing the lines for ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. I wonder if discomfort re: the relative diversity between some of these schools or the percieved social stature between the different neighborhoods in Novi doesn't factor into this discussion more. I'm sure there is great parity between all of the school in terms of funding and the capability of the teachers, but perhaps it's something like the way Defer school in western Grosse Pointe Park is much more diverse than the rest of the primary schools in the community (which some people, regardless of where you look, simply can't deal with).

Now I would get fired up if the lines in my neighborhood were redrawn and I had to attend grosse pointe north rather than The Grosse Pointe (South) High. Not only are the opposite ends of town awfully different in terms of their built environment and the outlook of the average resident, but north is modeled after a prison while South is modeled after Independance Hall. Now, if one of the Novi primary schools looks like Independance Hall, which I highly doubt, then I would understand the outcry, but other than that, these folks need to lighten up, or consider moving to a slightly different cookie-cutter subdivision. (There's some hyperbole built into that statement but you see what i mean).
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3241
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ltorivia, ok, so they are overzealous and paranoid. Why did you have to drag race into this with something as foolish as making sure to capitalize the word "WHITE?" I think all parents should be overzealous and paranoid about their children's education. So many people just don't give a f%ck, and this is a change I'm all for.

Your problem is purposefully making an issue of race where one isn't. Quit the race-baiting. There are completely legitimate race issues in metro Detroit to have to add non-race issues to the mix.

Your post, and your pattern lately, of trying to bait people into ridiculous arguments is not only tired, but it is undeniably racist. You can't have it both ways. You are becoming (or have become) the very thing you accuse other's of being. As someone said on another post, racism is like high blood pressure, you don't know you have it until you fall flat on your face from a racism-induced stroke. That is unless you don't have people checking you when you display symptoms of this disease.

If Novi parents want to be fickle about their children's education, call them fical. Hell, call them paranoid and overzealous, but the race baiting was not only unnecessary, but it itself racist, and I'm going to call it whenever I see it.

Don't believe for one minute that you can go trolling these boards, unfettered, crying wolf and don't expect me not to call me on your blatant BSing.

We as Black American's should actually be much more responsible in how we use the term "racism" seeing as how by virtue of being a minority group, we are more attuned to ferreting it out, having to live with it far more often than your average White American.

(Message edited by lmichigan on February 24, 2006)
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Ltorivia485
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Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2368
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Blah blah blah blah...

The fact of the matter is that a few families in Novi complain about "fickle matters," while most folks in Detroit don't even have half of their resources. Even the school administrator in Novi could not believe that these parents were so irate. YET this is news. What an irony indeed...

P.S. There is no way my posts accuse me of racism when the bigotry of other posters are to the 'nth' degree. Choose your battles wisely, LMichigan.
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3242
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 1:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"Choose your battles wisely?" If that's not the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is. You're the one that foolishly chose this nearly inconsequential topic, and then rashly and foolishly injected race into it where it had no place. You read this article about overly-meticulous and fickle suburban parents, and saw red. Or should I say "and saw White?" It wasn't enough that you could have just as easily taken the route of complaining about picking, spoiled suburbanites. No, you couldn't resist the racist jab, going so far as the capitalize the word "WHITE" as if it needed emphasizing, or as if it even needed to be added at all. Straight up foolishness. You over-stepped on this one, and now you're getting called on it.

You are the one who chose her battle foolishly on this one.

P.S. Like dragging toilet paper on the proverbial shoe, your racism is showing. Do be sure to check yourself more often.

(Message edited by lmichigan on February 25, 2006)
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Moreta
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Username: Moreta

Post Number: 180
Registered: 09-2004
Posted From: 209.131.7.68
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 2:28 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think it is safe to assume Ltorivia485 is not a parent. This issue may seem trivial to you, but if your child's eyes were looking at you questioningly upon discovering he would be forced to transfer schools, it would not seem so trivial.

The school district where my children attend is about to undergo a massive restructuring to prevent a serious potential budget shortfall. The changes are going to affect my children *greatly* in the first year. The issue may seem trivial to someone in an even more hard-up district, but to me it is enough to fight with all my strength to lessen the impact on my kids as much as possible.

I would fight to get my kids into the best possible educational environment no matter where I lived. If that meant a magnet elementary school in a tony district, then that's where I'd fight to put them (and keep them).

I would never expect any parent to say, 'This is good enough for my child, even though I know better is available.' It is unrealistic to expect such a thing. A caring parent of any race would feel the same.
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Bostedguy
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Username: Bostedguy

Post Number: 336
Registered: 07-2005
Posted From: 69.246.19.150
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 2:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

2 things:
1.) This is not a white issue. Have you been to Novi? It is hardly homogenesouly white.
2.) This is not just a Novi issue. It is the same in any affluent district. Stupidly, they are all going to end up in the same middle school and high school in Novi. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
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Jenniferl
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Username: Jenniferl

Post Number: 242
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 4.229.60.18
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 2:57 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ltorivia,
Several years ago, I read an article about Detroit parents lining up at 5AM in lousy weather in the Cass Corridor so they could get their kids into the Burton International School. I don't recall the article giving statistics on the race of these parents, but I'm sure there were few, if any, whites or Asians among them.

I've known a number of parents and kids who have been affected by redistricting. It's generally a pain in the butt, especially if you have two or more elementary-aged kids and the district switches from a K-5 or K-6 system to one where K-2 go to one school, grades 3-4 go to another, and grades 5-6 go to yet another.
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Ltorivia485
Member
Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 2370
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 199.74.87.131
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 4:45 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Moreta and everyone, the child will get over it. I think the worse thing that can happen is when these suburban school districts (like Detroit) have to close and eliminate schools. As I have stated previously over and over again, the children will not be deprived academically because Novi has one of the highest test scores in the state. If this issue was on Detroit and the more working-class inner suburbs, then maybe I can sympathetize but I can't when these parents act like the entire world is ending.

School districts have to make hard decisions all the time especially when budgets are in red ink. Detroit Public Schools has been losing students, closing schools, and laying off employees for who knows how long. And guess what? No one cares but those whose families work for the district. Novi did what was fair; create neighborhood schools that are of equal caliber since bussing kids at the expense of gasoline fuel did not make economic sense. Novi has the privilege to have equally-caliber schools and high property taxes. Detroit is not Novi, so that argument is mute.

When I was in high school, during a college admissions meeting, the majority of the middle-class white parents were concerned that their child would not be competitive enough to get into Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and so on. Forget Michigan. They had their eyes on the select few. My parents and other minority families were just in shock that these parents were asking such paranoid questions. They were only concerned about the brand name, the prestige, the wealth. Guess what? I see these parents in Novi acting the same way. Because their darling Johnny and Sally cannot continue to attend Deerfield because the similar equal school in their own neighborhood doesn't have "magnet" pasted on the building facade. Instead, they rather pull their students out of the district into "private schools" (hint hint: prestige). And this is happening at the elementary level, not the college level (please read Mackinaw's post above) Parents have become the consumers in education. They think they should get what they "deserve." Wake up folks, life does not operate only around your values and desires.
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Royce
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Username: Royce

Post Number: 1481
Registered: 07-2004
Posted From: 70.236.187.104
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 8:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I understand Ltorivia's point. Here you have parents, who are living in a school district where the MEAP scores are above state average, complaining that their little Johnnie won't get the best education because the redistricting/realigning will keep him from attending the perceived "tonier" or magnet school in the district, while parents in Detroit deal with failing public schools and a district whose MEAP scores are below state averages.

My first reaction is, "Geez, what is this parent, Erin Ryan, complaining about?" Public schools in Novi have MEAP scores well above average than other districts, but that's not good enough for her FIRST-GRADER. He or she has to go to the Novi school whose MEAP scores are better than the "other" Novi school whose MEAP scores aren't as high. I mean, really, how much of a difference are the scores?

Yes, all parents want the best for their children. However, when you are already in one of the best school districts in the state and you still aren't happy, then don't expect me to feel sympathy for you. Besides, we're talking elementary school here. Like someone said, the students will all meet up at the two or three middle schools and the one high school. So why get so worried as a parent?

Now, the notion of a magnet school in such a small district and a district whose MEAP schools are well above state average does seem extreme. Magnet schools basically take the "A" students away from the neighborhood schools. My question is, "Is this necessary in Novi?"

I understand why it is necessary in districts with below average MEAP scores and failing schools. The magnet school is the district's attempt to keep parents from sending their kids to private schools if the neighborhood school is perceived to be failing or unruly, which keeps the "A" student from reaching his or her full potential.

The Detroit Public Schools has its share of magnet schools and the number has grown as the district trys to keep parents from taking their students out of the public schools and sending them to private or charter schools. Again, the question that comes back to me is, "Is this necessary in Novi?"

Does Novi have old and dilapidated school buildings? Is the district laying off teachers as a result of a drop in student enrollment? Is the district eliminating certain extracurricular programs or activities because of budget shortfalls as a result of a loss in tax revenue? If the answer to any of these questions is "No", then why is this parent in the article complaining about where her FIRST-GRADER will go to school in Novi?

I applaud the Novi school board for deciding to eliminate the magnet school concept and return students to their neighborhood schools. Last I checked, Novi schools were scoring well above the state average on the MEAP. Until this changes, there is no need to segregate the "A" students from the rest of the students. This smacks of elitism in an already rather well-to-do school district.

BTW, I also understand Ltorivia's point about race, but I'll have to explain my position on that at some other time.
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Hooha
Member
Username: Hooha

Post Number: 91
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 69.81.52.28
Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 12:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Unless they changed in the last 5 years or so, Novi schools unite into one middle school at 5th grade.

I wouldn't call it elitism on the individual level, it's just all this woman has ever known. Kind of like if your kid always gets A's, then gets an A- or a B+, it's a big difference to you, whereas if you're the parent of a C student, you think the other woman is crazy for being disappointed with a high B.

But, like I said before, elementary school doesn't mean jack when it comes to the long term. Maybe she's dead set on sending her kids to Catholic Central or something and doesn't realize you don't need a spotless academic record. I'd bet she's just misinformed.
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Broken_main
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Username: Broken_main

Post Number: 832
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 69.222.11.226
Posted on Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 10:28 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

They could always implement a magnet program in each of the schools as an honors program. This would put the burden on the teachers(who would have to transfer to a new school possibly). The district could relocate the teachers(from the Magnet school) and split them amongst the schools. I don't know how many teachers are in the magnets schools and hom many schools there are in Novi, but I am sure they could manage to create a school within a school at each school at each level.
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Bob
Member
Username: Bob

Post Number: 773
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 205.188.116.137
Posted on Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 2:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Right now most decisions having to do with school districts are happening because of budgetary reason, not what is best for the students. And because of all the emphasis on No Child Left Behind, the honors programs are being left behind and forgotten because the money is being put into ther bottom end student and special ed because they need to pass the test. It is coming at the expense of higher level classes, and extra programs for the gifted and talented. In fact, it is regular ed students who are subsidizing special ed programs. Go on on the state Dept. of Ed website and search through the documents of state school aid payments. On there, you will see that for the average district they get near the bare minimun of $6,900, but pay upwards of $14,000 to educate each special ed student. They are still giving each student the same money, special or regular ed. You can see what each district gets and how much they spend per special ed student. So it is the programs for gifted and talented students that suffers, because when push comes to shove they can't cut special ed. Now in wealthier areas like Novi, a lot of the parents can pay to have their kids get the extra things they need, but in urban areas, the gifted and talented get left behind, because a lot of theirt parents can't afford extra things, and the schools definitely don't have the money to do the extras.

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