The Wicomico County Board of Education at its monthly meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13, approved the use of a task force comprised of approximately 1/3 staff, 1/2 parents/guardians, and 1/6 community members to assist the school system with redistricting. The school system is now accepting volunteers to serve on the 25- to 35-member Redistricting Task Force, which will meet approximately twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from early November to early January.
The task force will include parents/guardians and community members from throughout the county. (Staff members who serve on the task force will serve only as staff members, not as parents.)
“It’s very critical that we have the input from our entire community on this task force,” Board President Mark S. Thompson said.
Anyone interested in serving on the Redistricting Task Force may call 410-677-4501, or send an e-mail to comments@wcboe.org. Please share a little information about your background, your location and your interest in serving on the Task Force. This will assist the Board in appointing a Task Force whose members represent the many facets of the community.
Redistricting is necessary because in the more than 10 years since Wicomico last changed school boundaries, some Wicomico schools have become overcrowded while others are underutilized, Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen said at the October Board of Education meeting. The Redistricting Task Force, starting from Targets for Establishing Student Attendance Areas, will examine enrollment numbers and other data to develop a redistricting proposal. There will be many opportunities for public input before the Task Force presents a final proposal to the Board in January.
“This process has built-in times for people to get involved and share their thoughts,” said L. Michelle Wright, Board vice president.
Throughout the redistricting process, the Board will keep the community up to date with a redistricting page on its web site at www.wcboe.org, and public input may be made at any time by calling 410-677-5251 or e-mailing to comments@wcboe.org.
A final vote on the redistricting plan is anticipated for the February 2010 Board meeting.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
13 comments:
A magnet teacher told me they are talking about ending the magnet progam as part of the redistricting. Joe, please find this out. I have one through Magnet and one younger. I would hate to see it end.
delmar better be left alone, it is a spaecial place and they need to protect it. the last time they tried 400 people showed up to the meeting and they changed thier minds
The main reason for redistricting is due to the new JMB. When that school is completed, it will be way under capacity while Parkside & Mardela are well above capacity.
The Board ended second grade magnet as part of redistricting the last time. Made no sense that the two were related but we parents let it happen. Getting rid of magnet is one objective of redistricting so brighter kids can sit and watch slower kids not working. Lots of times teachers put the kids in groups with the idea that everybody in the group will get the same grade so the kids who want to learn do the work for the others. Then everybody says how much better nonworkers do when they're grouped with the others. End of magnet means doing even more for ones who are not working in school. Shouldn't spending millions on them be enough?
If magnet is taken out of North Salisbury the school will be over 80% minority. Sam Walker planned it that way years ago.
How can 80% be a minority? Does this mean Whitey is now a minority? COOL!
hey dumbies. If the magnet kids go back to their home school. those schools will have better test scores. Those smart kids will be in all one class. Just look at what they do at Westside.
The plan of the county is to stop putting the bright kids together. The plan is to mix them with the least capable kids so they can be role models and sit around and wait for the others to catch on. The brighter ones can do 80 examples of something for the state test instead of the one or two they need to do. Everything in Wic County is done and spent to develop the potential of the ones with the least potential. The other ones do not matter.
Magnet was a good idea when it started. It was the best and brightest. Now its who you know to get your kid into magnet. I say get rid of it and save money that way.
Amen. Leave Delmar alone or they will hear it... a state line shouldn't rip apart a community.
9:44 is so correct. Some of the kids in magnet have low, low ability and got admitted due to who their parents are. That is not as true of the magnet program at North Salisbury, though. But it's the Bd of Ed staff who caves in not the admin at the school. If parents appeal to the Bd they always get what they want. Parents should know that when magnet is gone and kids are back in their neighborhoood schools, the kids will not be grouped by ability. It's more democratic for everyone to go at the pace of the slowest child. Those parents should ask the Bd for proof that bright kids achieve more when they are grouped with the slowest kids, because the truth is that average and above average learners are harmed by heterogeneous grouping but who cares about those kids anyway? Most of the money and teachers' time are spent on the ones who will do the least.
9:44
No money will be saved by ending magnet. Magnet kids have no extra money spent on them for computers or anything bright kids might need. The individual tech stuff goes to the remedial kids. Magnet kids have to ride high school buses so no extra money is spent on them for transportation. If the Board wants to cut spending, get rid of one of the public relations people, three of the coordinators or the people they report to, a third of the people in finance and human relations, half of the people in facilities. There is a long list.
6:51
If Whitey becomes the minority at North it will become a school that meets NONE of the standards for state testing. Not a single one. Cool.
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