Not enough. They need to clean house from the BOE on down through all the administrators. This school system has been on a force march to Mediocrity. Handing the keys to the Superintendent or anyone else in administration is a recipe for disaster.

 

 

I know in theory the site based is independent, but in reality do they take cues from Moreland? If you disband the council, would anything really change as Moreland would be in charge?

 

And I have heard the "state advisors" helping with the process don't offer anything of substance. I'm not sure how much useful advice they can offer to an inner city school with a much different set of issues than the ones facing Eastern Kentucky school districts the advisors are used to working with.

I know in theory the site based is independent, but in reality do they take cues from Moreland? If you disband the council, would anything really change as Moreland would be in charge?

 

And I have heard the "state advisors" helping with the process don't offer anything of substance. I'm not sure how much useful advice they can offer to an inner city school with a much different set of issues than the ones facing Eastern Kentucky school districts the advisors are used to working with.

The site-based council can be as independent or dependent from the superintendent as they want to be, for the most part.

I know in theory the site based is independent, but in reality do they take cues from Moreland? If you disband the council, would anything really change as Moreland would be in charge?

I'm not sure how much useful advice they can offer to an inner city school with a much different set of issues than the ones facing Eastern Kentucky school districts the advisors are used to working with.

I think it would somewhat put Moreland as somewhat a Hitler of what the Council does but I am not to sure. Where I am at we do not have a SBDM (Site Based Decision Making)(Just for you Frances :lol:).

If you look at the state as a whole, the east is consolidating, the north is having finance troubles, and the west is just about the same as the other two areas.

The problem with Holmes is that it is overcrowding a middle-high school group. They need to put the 8th Grade at Two-Rivers so that they are with their age group, if they do not it is disaster.

It's AP on steroids. When my son took it the classes appeared equivalent to college freshmen honor classes.

 

There are 4 Ky schools that offer IB: Apollo, Atherton, Holmes and Sacred Heart.

Would you know how much it would cost to have AP classes?

How much with IB classes?

Do other students from other districts (say Newport) go to schools like Holmes for IB classes or can they?

....They've also made moves to get rid of ROTC. When my oldest son went there they had a great bunch of teachers in the gifted programs...... Now they underserve everyone, with maybe the exception of the alternative school. They also have a great on-campus vocational school. I only hope that they don't also destroy that to save money

Why are they trying to rid Covington of ROTC?

I have never really looked at how Holmes has been doing, but I know a HSE that is there in order to fix their CATS scores. If they try to destroy things to save $$$$ it probably will not be to declining enrollment it may be for some other reason. IMO I do not think the enrollmenthas dropped substantially like Ludlows.

In talking with a teacher from Holmes, it seems a lot of the issues are centered around the 8th grade class being on campus. Overcrowding of teenagers is never a good issue and it seems Holmes is right in the middle of overcrowding. Add in a large group of 13-14 year olds and you have a recipe for disaster.

I don't buy that argument at all. All 3 of my sons attended 7-12 on that campus.

I don't buy that argument at all. All 3 of my sons attended 7-12 on that campus.

But has the enrollment grown since your sons went there? If so they may have an overcrowding issue.

But has the enrollment grown since your sons went there? If so they may have an overcrowding issue.

My youngest son just graduated. Unless there is a sudden explosion in the middle school grades, I just don't see it. The graduating class size hasn't changed much over the last 10 years. Further, Covington has closed two elementary schools in the past 10 or so years. 4th District became the Alternative School and 1st District became Two Rivers Middle School. Something just doesn't add up with this middle school bulge you hear about.

My youngest son just graduated. Unless there is a sudden explosion in the middle school grades, I just don't see it. The graduating class size hasn't changed much over the last 10 years.

It may be the size of the "now" eigth grade, or they are trying to cut costs. How many average in the class?

I don't buy that argument at all. All 3 of my sons attended 7-12 on that campus.

I believe the teachers point was that instead of building a new middle school and addressing the MS issues, they instead dumped them on the HS.

 

In all due respect HHSDad, I think all of your 3 sons attending and doing well was as much about your expectations as a parent than anything the school did. Your kids, I would assume by how you carry yourself on here, would be "It doesn't matter" students. It doesn't matter what we as teachers do, your kids will learn.

My youngest son just graduated. Unless there is a sudden explosion in the middle school grades, I just don't see it. The graduating class size hasn't changed much over the last 10 years. Further, Covington has closed two elementary schools in the past 10 or so years. 4th District became the Alternative School and 1st District became Two Rivers Middle School. Something just doesn't add up with this middle school bulge you hear about.

A lot of times the graduating size of the senior class does not represent the size of the class in the 8th or 9th grade. Many students move, go to a GED program, homeschool, transfer, or simply dropout.

 

Also, sometimes you get classes that require, let's call it, "discplinary attention" than other classes. And that detracts and takes time away from educational pursuits that a school already struggling does not need to have to address.

I believe the teachers point was that instead of building a new middle school and addressing the MS issues, they instead dumped them on the HS.

 

In all due respect HHSDad, I think all of your 3 sons attending and doing well was as much about your expectations as a parent than anything the school did. Your kids, I would assume by how you carry yourself on here, would be "It doesn't matter" students. It doesn't matter what we as teachers do, your kids will learn.

I think you missed my point. The Junior High and Senior High were in the same building when my kids attended. They didn't dump the 8th grade back on the high school. They took the 7th graders out. So if anything, there should be less students on Holmes campus, not more.

If the commissioner and state Board of Education concur, management of the school will be turned over to either Covington Superintendent Jack Moreland or to a state consultant assigned to Holmes.

 

 

 

The school-based council, composed of Holmes' principal and teachers and parents chosen through an election, would continue to play an advisory role until the school's test scores improved enough to restore its authority.

Based on its spring 2006 test scores, Two Rivers ranked 215th out of 219 middle schools statewide, while Holmes ranked 222nd out of 227.

So does anyone know who will manage the school then since the Council has been "overthrown"?

Covington's Scores are, for 06, 61.8 with a .88 Droupout Rate, and 34.93 Novice. There AYP is supposed to be: 71.2 Score and a30.83 in Novice......

It makes you wonder, who is 219 and 227?