Cabarrus County is a one of the surrounding counties of Charlotte Mecklenburg with a population of 187, 226 according to the 2013 census. Not only do I teach in Cabarrus County, I live in the area and my sons attend the local schools. My sons have actually attended Northwest Cabarrus Middle School which is where I teach and have taught for twelve years therefore I observe the schools in our area through the lens of a teacher, parent and community citizen which can be good and bad. The size and demographics of Cabarrus County has changed greatly since I moved to the area seventeen years ago.
The major decisions concerning education in Cabarrus County are made by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the local school board,
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The majority of the parents and citizens expect the students in the community to be prepared to attend college or some sort education after high school. The citizens not only have academic expectations they also have athletic expectations. Athletics play a big part in the perception of the schools in this county. I was not born and raised in Cabarrus County however I have been here long enough to have learned that the people who have a lifelong connection with their high schools and especially high school sports. Friday night sporting events are the social time in the area, this is when the majority of the perceptions about the local schools are …show more content…
At one time there were only three high schools now there are six, three of which have been built within the last fifteen years. There are several large housing communities that feed into the local schools and these communities, the majority of the people who live in these communities have relocated to the area. With that in mind certain schools are perceived as better than others. Two of the local high schools consist of students whose parents attended the same high school, therefore the schools have strong family ties and a large number of students who happen to be related. Within the last five years there has been an increase in the number of apartments being built in the area that feeds into Northwest Cabarrus Middle and Northwest Cabarrus High, therefore the demographics for the schools have changed. Even as the demographics change the parents and residences of the larger hosing communities continue to have a huge influence in our local school more so than the media. Cabarrus County has several successful businesses that were started by people who were born and raised in the area, therefore those people have a huge influence on the schools, whether it is because they support the local athletics programs or they have children or grandchildren. The Cabarrus County Schools and the school board are influenced by the members of the larger more affluent c and older
our school district never faces a problem as big as the ones presented in this
There is one thing that a lot of public schools do very well is make them magnet schools for arts, drama and science but they never come to the topic of athletics. This is the reason why public schools fail to meet the accolades of private schools. When you look at private schools the expectations of the parents and students is to have qualified coaches and parents are willing to pay for that level expertise.
In America, the idea of equality between people is important, it is in fact, written into the Constitution. However, for years the American educational system has operated in a completely inequitable manner due, in part, to the way that schools are funded, mostly through local or property taxes. The differences between schools in wealthy neighborhoods and those in poor neighborhoods are, many times, reminiscent of the differences between white schools and black schools before the end of segregation. While there is a desperate need to fix this broken system, there has been little progress. The issue is so divisive and the problem so big and entrenched in American laws, many politicians refuse to even attempt to come up with a solution. The answer lies with the federal government. To make American public schools equitable the federal government needs to step up its role in funding and administering the schools.
For decades now, there have been educational problems in the inner city schools in the United States. The schools inability to teach some students relates to the poor conditions in the public schools. Some of the conditions are the lack of funds that give students with the proper supplies, inexperienced teachers, inadequate resources, low testing scores and the crime-infested neighborhoods. These conditions have been an issue for centuries, but there is nothing being done about it. Yet, state and local governments focus on other priorities, including schools with better academics. It is fair to say that some schools need more attention than other does. However, when schools have no academic problems then the attention should be focused elsewhere, particularly in the inner city schools.
...ducation makes them unskilled at helping their children do well in school. Heath studied their struggles and identified significant ways to teach these children. As the study closes, we realize that to improve the education of the Roadville and Trackton communities, we would need to change the home environment, the religious traditions, and the culture of the communities to match that of the townspeople. To change the school to meet the needs of the students would not create a long lasting improvement. I for one find difficulty in judging one community as being better than another since each has its own value. Homogeneity seems to be an evil, but one that education in America both supports and at times seems to demand. Perhaps someday we will find a solution.
Money will not solve or make this problem go away, no matter how many social workers are hired. Schools will succeed despite their financial circumstances if they have the basic components of motivated students, parent support, caring teachings, and strong central leadership. While this is the typical model of a suburban school system, Wilson High School proves that it can work anywhere. When ones thinks of urban public schools, overcrowded classes, underpaid teachers, and a lack of resources often come to mind. The fact is these problems can happen anywhere. While the environment at Kennedy could never be compared to the worst DC high school, the assumptions made against these schools are the same. By erasing these notions and confronting the problems one by one, we will be one step closer to reaching equal education for all.
From the information collected it is apparent that racial divisions are still present within our society and have serious negative effects. While schools have become “desegregated” since the Brown v Board of education decision, the data shows there are still racial divides within the community and public education. Barrington is a white upper class city that remains dominantly white while Providence is a racially diverse lower-class city with a working class population. Over the years the racial makeup has stayed relatively the same. This lack of residential integration can also explain the education gap between whites and racial-ethnic minorities. Barrington is able to offer a higher quality education because the population of the city has a larger average income, which means there is a larger taxable bases for the school to collect funds from. Meanwhile, Hope High School is located in a lower class city where school funding is much more limited, meaning they don’t have the necessary funds to provide a high quality education. The minority groups end up receiving a worse education than the white majority. The solution to this problem
High school and college dropout rates are at an all time high. Secondary school students are told throughout high school that if they don’t go to college then they will never be successful. Going to college doesn’t always make a difference because many career choices such as teachers and lawyers are highly contested and result in either no job or low salary. Low pay deters teacher’s motivation and they tend to work part time jobs to supplement their income. Public schools standards are comparable to a kangaroo court’s procedure; private schools are known for better teachers, environment, and test grades. The major problems in the public school system include the lack of funding, lack of resources, and lack of standards.
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most important, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students.
Education is an integral part of society, school helps children learn social norms as well as teach them how to be successful adults. The school systems in United States, however are failing their students. In the world as a whole, the United States is quickly falling behind other countries in important math and reading scores. The United States ranked thirtieth in math on a global scale and twentieth in literacy. This is even more true in more urban, lower socio-economic areas in the United States. These schools have lower test scores and high dropout rates. In Trenton Central High School West, there was an 83% proficiency in literacy and only 49% of the students were proficient in math. Many of these students come from minority backgrounds and are often from low income families. There are many issues surrounding these urban schools. There is a severe lack of proper funding in these districts, and much of the money they do receive is sanctioned for non-crucial things. Schools also need a certain level of individualization with their students, and in many urban classes, this simply does not happen. While there are many factors affecting the low performance of urban schools, the lack of proper funding and distribution of funds, the cultural divide between teachers and students in urban districts, along with the lack of individualization in urban classrooms are crucial reasons to explain the poor performance in these districts. Through a process of teacher lead budget committees and further teacher education, urban schools can be transformed and be better equipped to prepare their students for the global stage.
I am fortunate enough to work in county that has only one public school option for students to attend all the way from kindergarten through high school. The only other option is for students is to attend the private school which most do not choose to do. Roughly ninety percent of all students that attend school in my county attend schools that are a part of our system. Therefore, segregation between schools in a particular district is not a problem for me personally and many other rural area schools for that fact. However, the second area of segregation, which is found within a school, is something that I do see personally. While our students may not be segregated between schools, there is definitely segregation within the building. Orfield, et al (2010), states that “white students are often tracked into honors or advanced placement courses, whereas black and Latino students are overrepresented in special education programs” (p 25). While we only offer a one track diploma, a college prep program, students still have the option of enrolling in both honors and advanced placement classes while in both middle school and high school. It is at this level of our school system that we find our student body the most segregated whether it is based on race or income
“At the heart of a high-community school is an inclusive web of respectful, supportive relationships among and between students, teachers and parents. We learn best from, and with, those to whom we relate well. High-community schools emphasize not only the importance of academic learning, but also the other qualities that ...
The first lady I interviewed said that the lack of control over the students and lack of supplies needed to teach was causing major issues in her community. She noted that many of the children are just passed along through the system until they eventually drop out. My second subject said he was happy with the education his children received but noted the classes are much larger for his children than what he had in his rural home town. The final subject I interviewed said that the lack of preparedness the public system has for college caused him to place his children in a private school to receive the education he felt they needed. Urban teachers described their classrooms as overcrowded and noted that in many instances there were not adequate resources available to teach the children (Goldring, 2002). Students in urban schools have a 50% chance of being taught by a certified mathematics or science teacher (Foote, 2005). Some of the teachers were under qualified to teach. Not only are urban teachers less likely to be prepared in their content areas, but these teachers also score lower on literacy skills measures on teacher certification examinations (Goldring, 2002). All of these finding combined lead to the inability to properly teach children and prepare them to pass exams (Ihlanfeldt,
Before talking about what goes on inside the schools, I'd like to mention the district itself. There will be no alternative school choices, bussing, or deliberate desegregation practices. Each school will be remarkably similar to the others in the district so that every child may receive a similar education regardless of the neighborhood they live in. When students are separated to different schools for any reason (academic talent, wealth, interests, race, gender) they fail to interact with different types of people that they will undoubtedly encounter in the "real" adult world. In addition, I feel that is very important for children from the same neighborhood to attend the same school in order to increase a sense of community. Finally, as the Case Study of Boulder Valley points out, school choice takes valuable resources away from teaching and places them in school competition (Howe 144).
I interviewed both a teacher and a parent regarding school and community partnerships. School and community partnerships are vital because taxpayers have a vested interest in what their dollars are being used for, effective communication contributes to public confidence in schools, and students benefit when all stakeholders play a role in education. The teacher I interviewed is a Kindergarten teacher in a school that is very diverse and works with many students and families that live in poverty. The parent I interviewed is the mother of five children, but I asked her to focus on her youngest son who is in fourth grade when answering the questions. The school he attends is a small private school.