Your assumption is that local schools have full control of the quality of their school. The lovely politicians make a good number of decisions for us in public schools. Would you want them making the decisions for private schools?

 

If local schools had full control and it wasn't in Frankfort or DC, there would be a lot less testing and a lot more learning going on. But the politicians need a number to see how we are doing versus Japan.

 

And BTW, recent studies have shown that public and private schools are equal in their abilities to produce quality students when comparing the same type students.

 

Well, if politicians control poor quality schools, more reason than ever to give people the information and right to choose so they are not locked into these politically controlled schools.

As a fundamental premise, can we agree that the family should be empowered to choose, rather than the system?

Well, if politicians control poor quality schools, more reason than ever to give people the information and right to choose so they are not locked into these politically controlled schools.

As a fundamental premise, can we agree that the family should be empowered to choose, rather than the system?

Yes and no.

 

Public schools should be designed to serve communities. Specific communities and not open to draw from 3-4-5 counties or a 100 mile area. Their focus should be on the kids in the communities that they are located.

 

Without a general idea of how many students to plan for the next year, administrators do not know how many books to order, staff to higher, etc, etc.

 

There needs to be a specific plan to serve communities.

 

The bottom line, yes parents should have that opportunity and I am for vouchers.

Well, if politicians control poor quality schools, more reason than ever to give people the information and right to choose so they are not locked into these politically controlled schools.

As a fundamental premise, can we agree that the family should be empowered to choose, rather than the system?

Another point, all public schools are not poor quality schools. As I said, latest research shows that public schools perform as well or better than the same students in private schools.

 

There are public schools that are great.

There are private schools that are great.

There are private schools that are poor.

There are public schools that are poor.

Yes and no.

 

Public schools should be designed to serve communities. Specific communities and not open to draw from 3-4-5 counties or a 100 mile area. Their focus should be on the kids in the communities that they are located.

 

Without a general idea of how many students to plan for the next year, administrators do not know how many books to order, staff to higher, etc, etc.

 

There needs to be a specific plan to serve communities.

 

The bottom line, yes parents should have that opportunity and I am for vouchers.

 

Well, we are pretty broadly in agreement. For the most part, under almost any set of circumstances, a school will draw few if any students from 100 miles away. And, students in close proximity to a school (the community) should have priority if seats are limited.

Well, we are pretty broadly in agreement. For the most part, under almost any set of circumstances, a school will draw few if any students from 100 miles away. And, students in close proximity to a school (the community) should have priority if seats are limited.

100 mile area would be 50 miles in each direction. That is what I meant.

 

For public schools, there can be no limiting seats. That is a private school luxury. Public schools TAKE ALL that show up at the door. No matter their legal status, ability to learn, special needs, whatever, they TAKE ALL.

100 mile area would be 50 miles in each direction. That is what I meant.

 

For public schools, there can be no limiting seats. That is a private school luxury. Public schools TAKE ALL that show up at the door. No matter their legal status, ability to learn, special needs, whatever, they TAKE ALL.

 

This is not true. Public high schools turn down students all the time. In some schools seats are very limited. The public school system does not turn down students, but individual public schools have various guidelines in the manner they accept or do not accept students. This is wide spread in Jefferson County. To say that a public school takes or has to take whoever shows up just isn't true and very misleading. This is one of the false arguments in the private vs. public split debate.

This is not true. Public high schools turn down students all the time. In some schools seats are very limited. The public school system does not turn down students, but individual public schools have various guidelines in the manner they accept or do not accept students. This is wide spread in Jefferson County. To say that a public school takes or has to take whoever shows up just isn't true and very misleading. This is one of the false arguments in the private vs. public split debate.

As I have said, what goes on in Jefferson County is not what goes on in the rest of the state.

 

A person lives in Harrison County and Harrison County High School CANNOT turn them down. That is neither misleading nor inaccurate.

 

We have to take all students.

 

Twice this year, a student was expelled from a neighboring county and relocated to our county. BOTH cases administrators indicated that we CANNOT turn either of those students down. We HAVE to accept them.

100 mile area would be 50 miles in each direction. That is what I meant.

 

For public schools, there can be no limiting seats. That is a private school luxury. Public schools TAKE ALL that show up at the door. No matter their legal status, ability to learn, special needs, whatever, they TAKE ALL.

 

Well, sure there can. If there are more stdents than seats and classrooms, they simply redistrict. Private schools do not have this luxury.

 

In terms of your third and fourth sentence, you are not exactly correct. For example, some counties have an assigned school that accepts all BD students. Thus, if a student is determined to be BD, he or she is simply shipped to the

public school assigned to take these kids. Same as the privates, really.

Interesting article today in the Nashville City Paper on the Brentwood Academy v. TSSAA Supreme Court case. Oral arguments due this week.

 

http://www.coacht.com

Well, sure there can. If there are more stdents than seats and classrooms, they simply redistrict. Private schools do not have this luxury.

 

In terms of your third and fourth sentence, you are not exactly correct. For example, some counties have an assigned school that accepts all BD students. Thus, if a student is determined to be BD, he or she is simply shipped to the

public school assigned to take these kids. Same as the privates, really.

If you are from Louisville, I can understand how you have that view.

 

For rural counties that the entire county is one district with one HS, one MS, that cannot happen. Not the same for rurals and privates.

 

You have to remember that the urban areas are NOT the only areas/schools in the state. The regulations and guidelines have to take in consideration of the nature of rural schools and urban schools while not setting up circumstances that favor one over the other.

Here's an interesting article about possible zoning changes among public schools in TN and the ramifications ............to football programs.

 

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/high_school/article/0,1406,KNS_322_5484969,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/04/18/scotus.athletics.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 1997 letter from a football coach became the focus of heated questions at the Supreme Court on Wednesday during arguments over limits on recruiting high school athletes.

 

At issue is whether a private school in Tennessee has a free-speech right to contact prospective students about its sports programs, even though the school belongs to an athletic association with anti-recruiting rules that bar such contacts.

 

Justice Antonin Scalia expressed doubt about Brentwood Academy's free-speech rights in relation to the letter, which invited 12 eighth-graders at other schools to attend spring training at Brentwood.

 

"It was a letter from coach," said Scalia. "I mean, that to a young kid, that is recruiting."

Justice Ginsberg in the transcript made a comment to the TSSAA attorney that it was permissable for students to attend the spring practice but it was not permissable to talk about it?

 

Both sides seemed to get some tough questions. I would be interested if any lawyerly types had a guess on which way it might go! In TN it is the multimillion dollar question!