In the interest of our Public School System here in Swain County, and the upcoming selection of School Board Members numbering (3), this Blog would ask for input into what are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Swain County School Policy. The Swain School Board has control over the developing and enforcing policy which is within the criteria's set forth by the State of North Carolina. This is achieved through the Board's only employee, i.e. School Superintendent.
Just what is your opinion of Swain County's School System?
Please use tack in your comments.
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17 comments:
Well since I'm the first I think that the drug testing policy for sports needs to go to the point of testing for Steroids. Testing for Drugs is good but having these athletes maybe following some of the headlines is terrible. We're talking about the Health and Future of Swain County.
People may not be aware that Swain County is one of four counties in the state (100 counties) that does not give teachers supplemental pay. This is one of the reasons we lose good teachers every year to other school districts....and why it is so hard to find qualified teachers to fill the positions. This needs to be addressed.
It is obvious to me that the schools have improved as far as facilities go since the 1960s.
I am wondering if any state studies have indicated the need for more structures in the County.
Have they, the state. made any recomendations, and if so where can they be read?
We have not only openings on the Board but also in the Executive level also.
I hope this higest level job is open to all, not just the obvious two or three that are in the "Office" at this time. Has this opening published on a state or region wide basis or the replacement for Mr White more or less cut and dry? Will there be interviews for the post for all who have applied?
There are NOT any openings on the Swain County School Board. But Superintendent Robert White, Finance Office Pat Earley and Middle School Principal Os Waters will retire at the end of the school year. Swain Schools have not solicited the assistance of the North Carolina Schools Boards Association in hiring any replacements. The school board has not published the job vacancies at any state or nation-wide level, according to the SBA. The North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction does an annual report card for every school system in the state, including Swain County, which can be viewed at http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/.
Let us hope that emphasis is placed on hiring someone who has a plan of attack for the 30%+ dropout rate. Our schools are failing our children right now, there is no way to sugar coat this.
Truth is,we are failing our schools. The No Child Left Behind act has been an abyssmal failure. It had good goals, but the fact is that non-educators wrote it, politicians failed to fund it, and the intrepretation of it was misguided.
The result is that teachers are pretty well required to "teach to the test". Little time and no money are given to anything else. Well, guess what happens? Kids are bored, teachers are overworked and underfunded, and the kids who have difficulty are left behind, to fail, and ultimately drop out.
Another issue is the requirement that the only sex education kids can get at school is abstinence. We have some good kids here in Swain County, but hormones and the lack of anything else to do in Bryson City win out sometimes. Pregnancies result, and more kids than you think end up with a youngun instead of a diploma.
Swain County relies more than most areas on the school for it's livelihood. Our successful athletic department, great music and drama departments provide entertainment for everyone who lives here.
Education is a complex issue. There is concern about dropout rate, and it is one of the issues the schools are working hard on. But it takes a community. Why hasn't someone with some money and influence invested in our youth by providing an outlet like a bowling alley or movie theater or something else to give our kids something to do other than ride around? Kids do drugs and drink because they're curious and bored, not because they're evil.
Don't expect schools to solve all the problems. Discuss other reasons why kids sometimes fail.
What a great and well reasoned comment above. It's really nice to see some substantive discussion going on about a topic.
In response to media1's post about job listings for the school system, I believe the thought is that the new superintendent should have some say as to the choice of the other positions. The superintendent vacancy is being advertised nationally in CareerBuilder.com, in 2 Sunday editions of the Asheville Citizen-Times (if you think it should be more, please check pricing of placing ads and you'll understand limitations,) on the NC Association of School Administrators website, and on the school system website. It is now the beginning of February and the job does not begin until July 1.
Also, as to the comment about the consideration of outsiders for the top job, the track record in all our local jobs proves that people FROM here STAY here longer. Anyone who has gone to the expense of training new employees, realizing that new folks are usually less effective in the beginning until they've learned all the ins and outs of whatever job, know that retention is key to productivity. When someone NOT from Swain County is hired, trained, and then immediately moves back to their home county as soon as a suitable position opens up, we've lost tremendous, valuable and hard-to-come-by resources. That said, a stakeholder group (parents, county school teachers of the year, and at least one principal and objective admin office person) will read all qualified applications submitted for the superintendency position and will submit at least 6 applications to the school board to choose which ones to interview. The board will probably interview at least 4 applicants.
To the moderator/owner of this blog: 1) please correct "use some tack" as a subtitle to this topic to "use some tact." The stereotype of ignorant Appalachian hicks is difficult enough without reinforcing that perception; 2) the quote by Edmund Burke on your home page should be attributed to him in a public forum; 3) I appreciate the moniker "the conscience of Swain County," but you don't hold the franchise to that description, since there are definitely more of us who live here and feel that burden? :)
While we are on the topic of correcting typos, a few more on the home page:
The intent of this site is to promote free speak (speech) among different points of view in order to allow dialogue, which may or may not bring about comprise (compromise?) or change (Period, comma?)however without such dialogue we have nothing but hardened opposing views with little or no chance for resolution.
Feel free to delete this comment, I'm trying to be helpful, not cause any embarrassment. Thank you for putting these guidelines in place, they were badly needed.
Don't be afraid of what you do not understand. When someone who has not spent their entire professional life in Swain Schools, they may have new an different ideas. With a staggering dropout, drug-use, and teen pregnancy rates maybe we need someone wth new ideas. According to school board members and school secretaries, the Citizen Times and Smoky Mountain Times are THE ONLY publications the job vacancy is advertised in. Sounds like we are only looking in our own backyard for a new Super. What do parents think about this?
Also two neighboring counties, Cherokee and Graham say they will announce their new Super by April 1. Swain's school website states a stakeholder commitee will pick a new Super by mid May. Sounds like Swain Schools are behind our neighbors. The NC School Board Association says a new Super should be appointed by April, not July, so he or she can work with the current Super while school is still in session. When I buy meat, I take a butcher's advice, when the professionals who handle hiring of most of county schools' Superintendents say April, I say we pay attention.
Good question Media1 Any parents out there have opinions?
All the issues brought up here are very important and should be open for the community to have some input. One thing which perplexes me is the push for more funds for a new school due to rising enrollments. One thing to think about is how the new school in Big Cove will affect enrollments in Swains East, Middle and High Schools. There is a good chance many native parents will move their kids to the new complex on the reservation, so we should let those numbers play out to plan for new building needs. What do you all think?
Problem is, it takes 3 to 5 years to plan and build a school. The middle school and high school are bursting at the seams now. It would be better to get the ball rolling and have excess facilities than to continue the current situation. We should not be "cheap" in planning on our children's future. There will be no manufacturing jobs for them to do, so they must be trained in white-collar technically challenging jobs. That means up-to-date facilities.
What is the effect of the special " Schools within Schools" like those at the high school on the overcrowding and the break up of the design of the plant? What about the cost of the admministration of the "within" schools, is there dual job done by the principal or is there another principal? Any idea on how the afore mentioned new Reservation school will affect the special schools within? What results are available to show how these inovations are addressing problems such as drop out?
The following is only an opinion on some of these subjects. Others may disagree:
The "Schools within Schools" project, if anything, makes the overcrowding situation worse. Freshmen are segregated as much as possible, which makes for more room needed (more on the segregation in a minute). There are some extra administration personnel, but this is required by state Dept. of Public Instruction standards.
The idea behind the segregation is a good one. The is a lot of difference between 8th grade and 10th grade. Many freshmen drop out because of the huge difference. In particular, at-risk kids, who may have failed a grade or two, end up reaching age 16 during freshman year, and poof! They're gone. Segregating the freshmen gives them a temporary reprieve from the pressures of the upperclassmen. Let's face it, kids can be cruel. Young good-looking females are sought out by the jocks. Freshmen males have to endure the alpha male hazing that goes on. And all the kids are in an unfamiliar school and new teachers. The segregation may help with dropout issues; right now it's too soon to tell.
Some of the special schools are at least partially grant-funded, which means they must conform with the conditions of the grant. This means that sometimes the money is not exactly where you'd want to put it. You end up with too many people in one area of the school, and not enough in another. But, if you want the money, you must accept the conditions put upon it.
The bottom line is, we need another physical plant for the school. It makes sense to use what you have to best advantage, and our 30 year old high school is obsolete and overcrowded as a high school, but would make a wonderful middle school.
A new high school would reflect the new realities of high school education. We better be looking at what we need to be teaching the kids in the future; not 30 years ago. We need new labs, new equipment, new teaching methods. We need to reduce class size, make the environment as friendly and supportive as we can. If we continue to teach the same old way, what is the average graduate going to do after high school? Only the smartest graduate college and go out into the world making a fortune. What is Joe or Jill Average going to be? And where are they going to find it? Not in Bryson City. They better be prepared.
Don't doubt that we need a new school. We do.
Media1 said'
"With a staggering dropout, drug-use, and teen pregnancy rates maybe we need someone wth new ideas."
I have a great new idea, why don't we start at HOME! Seems to me that people like to blame the school system for parenting problems or the lack of! Do we need to address this at school, YES! But it really falls on the PARENTS SHOULDERS!
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