1Campus1Calendar

May 7, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



Supreme Court Ruling Does Not Change Their Focus –

Leesville Families Continue To Insist On Unity In Their Community

 

Raleigh, North Carolina,  May 6, 2009.   The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of WCPSS in a year-round assignment case last week, but that announcement did nothing to slow down the efforts of CCLP (Concerned and Committed Leesville Parents), a grassroots organization of over 1500 parents and school staff members in Northwest Raleigh .  This group was formed in 2006 when WCPSS initially threatened to force Leesville Elementary School to operate on the year-round school calendar, and involvement in this organization continues to increase.

 

Not surprisingly, opposition to CCLP's efforts has been virtually non-existent.  Their mission is family-friendly: "One Campus One Calendar For Leesville", advocating that WCPSS operate the 3 physically-connected Leesville schools on the same traditional calendar. Forcing one school to operate on the year-round calendar while the attached schools operate on the traditional calendar has created hardships for the families and staff members in the community.  Stability and calendar continuity for the Leesville Community have not been given consideration by WCPSS, but that hasn't dampened CCLP's efforts.  Every negative and unwanted change that WCPSS has forced on the Leesville community has been met with an even more committed and larger group fighting to keep the community united.  "It is a great feeling knowing that we are such a huge group of caring and committed people, working toward a solution in our community that will keep families together", said Lisa Boneham, founder of CCLP.  "Nothing is more important to me than my family.   Obviously, any opposition to what we are doing has been minimal and insignificant.  If anyone truly has a problem with what we are doing, they probably need to question their own motives and priorities."

 

WCPSS plans to force Leesville Middle School to operate on the year-round calendar for the 2009-10 school year, something that has angered the Leesville community.  The additional capacity provided by this year-round conversion is not needed in the area for several years, and it will end up costing taxpayers an additional $250,000 to operate the school on the year-round calendar in 2009-10 instead of continuing with the current traditional school schedule.  Educating fewer students but paying $250,000 more doesn't sit well with parents who are aware of this wasteful plan. "It is baffling to me that the school board would choose to waste a quarter million dollars on a year-round conversion when the district's own numbers show Leesville Middle's enrollment shrank from last year to this year with little growth projected for the area in the future.  When budgets are being cut, teacher positions eliminated, class sizes increased and staff furloughed, it makes no sense to waste money on an unnecessary and unpopular year-round conversion" stated Eric Blau, a parent with children at 2 schools in the Leesville community.

 

Track assignments have recently been made for the Leesville   Middle School staff members and students, but Boneham believes that the decision to operate Leesville Middle on the traditional calendar at this point would be very simple.  "While teams have been formed and track assignments have been made, keeping LRMS on the traditional calendar would be a no-brainer.  Instead of being called the 'Track 4-6th Grade Team' the kids and teachers now assigned to that team would just be known as the 'Superstars 6th Grade Team' instead.  No shuffling of students or staff members would be necessary.  Our families and staff members have only known our track assignments for a couple of weeks, and I can confidently say that even if some might have gone ahead and made vacation plans, our community as a whole would be thrilled to hear that the school was going to operate on the traditional calendar instead of the wasteful year-round calendar."

 

Something else that CCLP sees as another concern is the recent announcement by the State of North Carolina requesting that WCPSS return $3.9 Million from the current year budget.  With finances so tight, CCLP believes this should be a wake-up call to WCPSS in regards to how they are planning to spend (and waste) money.  WCPSS should focus on maintaining key programs and staff members, while cutting out all unjustified waste.  They believe that under-capacity year-round schools should be immediately converted to the traditional calendar.  Just the simple decision to continue operating Leesville Middle on the traditional calendar and reverse MYR conversions at 10 of the 22 MYR conversions from 2007 would save WCPSS over $1.2 Million Dollars during the 2009-10 school year.   "We are dedicated WCPSS employees, and we are very committed to the education of our students.  We teach because we love what we do.  When wasteful and unwanted policies are forced on our schools, it is upsetting.  Co-workers are losing jobs, we are being required to take pay cuts, programs and resources are going away, but WCPSS still feels justified in wasting $250,000 with a conversion that is not needed and not wanted at Leesville Middle School ", said a school employee asking not to be indentified. 

 

Unfortunately, even knowing how wasteful the year-round conversions continue to be, it appears that the current school board remains committed to forcing their Mandatory Year Round agenda.  There seems to be no consideration given to the millions of dollars that are wasted each year by operating under-capacity year-round schools, but the future does look a little brighter for Wake County citizens who are looking for that to change.   Leesville Parents see this fall's School Board elections as their chance to put more responsive and family-friendly board members into place, and fortunately the District 7 School Board position is available.   CCLP has joined forces with the alliance www.WakeSCA.org, a diverse non-partisan, cross-county network of citizens from across Wake County .  WakeSCA and CCLP both believe that the WCPSS has strayed from families, stability, and academic excellence, and they look forward to October's elections as the chance to put the focus back on what should be important.

-END-

April 2009

WCPSS is Planning To CHEAT TAXPAYERS by forcing another unnecessary and wasteful MYR conversion on the Leesville Community.

It took less than 2 years to prove that MYR in Wake County was a HUGE failure and has just been an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars.

 
The undeniable facts have been provided to the School Board, so there is NO EXCUSE for CHEATING THE TAXPAYERS by forcing a conversion on Leesville Road Middle School.  WCPSS plans to waste taxpayer dollars by converting the school to a year-round calendar AND then increase operating expenses for the school by over 20% to increase the number of available seats at the school (which are not needed for at least 4-5 years at the earliest) when there will be almost 200 fewer base students attending the school than are currently attending today.
 
With last week's release of Leesville Middle School's enrollment figures for 2009-10 there is even more reason to HALT the MYR conversion and keep LRMS operating on the traditional calendar.
 
The Leesville community becomes even more encouraged each time we receive additional facts.  There truly is no justification for this conversion.
 
Below is a brief analysis of the enrollment data that just came out last week, along with how it all compares to the current year.  This simple fact demonstrates that a MYR conversion is NOT justified at Leesville Road Middle School:
 
2008-09 School Year
LRMS has 1457 base students assigned to the school.  Highest enrollment this year has been 1282, so approximately 12% of the base students assigned to LRMS are attending another middle school option.
 
LRMS is currently operating on the TRADITIONAL CALENDAR with 1282 students and 2 empty 6th grade classrooms.  (2 of the 6th grade teams-The Dolphins and The All-Stars each operate with only 3 teachers since they do not have enough students to justify adding 4th teachers.  This can be confirmed with a quick phone call to the LRMS office)
 
2009-10 School Year
LRMS only has 1281 base students assigned to the school.  Assuming that a similar percentage (12%) of base students will choose another school option, the 2009-10 enrollment will be approximately 1127 base students.  BUT, many of the students who have been newly assigned to LRMS are currently attending another middle school, and many of these students will choose to grandfather into their current school, so a conservative estimate leaves LRMS' enrollment for 2009-10 at less than 1100 students.
 
The 3-year Reassignment Plan does NOT have any additional nodes moving into LRMS in 2010-11 or 2011-12.
 
LRMS' Optimal TRADITIONAL CALENDAR CAPACITY = 1222
(according to Chuck Dulaney in January 2009)
 
LRMS and LES can both operate on the traditional calendar with proposed assignments and will have ONLY POSITIVE EFFECTS ON AREA SCHOOLS
 
 ***How can WCPSS justify the additional expense and disruption to the community by forcing a MYR conversion on Leesville Middle when they know that (a) growth is flat in the Leesville area so the additional capacity they plan to create is not needed for several years at the earliest and (b) they will realistically only have a maximum of 1100 base students attending the school in 2009-10?  (and this is 122 students fewer than the current traditional calendar capacity)
 
***If Leesville Elementary School is converted back to the traditional calendar,  this change will be a win-win for LES, Hilburn, and Sycamore Creek Elementary Schools.  LES and Hilburn will become more demographically "comparable".  Not only will this save money, it will be a positive change for the struggling Hilburn.  The only change necessary is changing the calendar from year-round to traditional.  There is no need to assign any base students out of LES.  The students from Hilburn's  "healthy base nodes" who are currently attending LES by application will be returned to their base school (Hilburn) and LES will receive the F&R students who opted-out for a traditional school and now attend Hilburn.  

March 29, 2009

Hi Leesville Friends:
 
I have had a lot of questions these past few days about what MORE you all can do to bring attention to the fact that MYR at Leesville is simply WASTEFUL!
 
Thanks to those who have written "Letters to the Editor" and e-mails to the school board and others.  You all are AWESOME.
 
What I can say is, PLEASE send more e-mails, and in the Subject say something about "It is NOT too late for TRADITIONAL LEESVILLE SCHOOLS" or "Wasteful MYR at Leesville".
 
They are hearing the message, but they need to KEEP hearing it.  I am hoping that they will re-vote on Tuesday, so ANY E-MAILS YOU CAN SEND THESE NEXT 2 DAYS WILL BE HELPFUL.
 
I sent a press release to the local TV stations and the N&O last week, and there should be some media attention coming to us.  The Press Release is below---HOW IN THE WORLD could they ignore the fact that it will cost an additional $250,000 this year by forcing LRMS to year-round, and an additional $100,000 for LES?  At a time when they are cutting staff, cutting programs, and whining about the "Economic Hurricane", there is no reason to have any of the Leesville schools operating year-round.
 
Here is the list of people to send your e-mails too.  I added the NC Auditor hotline to the list, because they should know about the WASTE happening in our community.
 
Also, for Letters to the Editor, the link is here:
 
If you want some key points to add to your e-mail, here are a few:
 
* It is NOT too late to operate LRMS and LES on the traditional calendar.  Track assignments have not been made, so families and staff members have not been able to do any advance planning yet.
 
* Both LES and LRMS can be operated on the TRADITIONAL calendar with NO REASSIGNMENTS OF BASE STUDENTS NECESSARY.
 
* $350,000 of taxpayer funds will be WASTED if WCPSS operates Leesville Middle and Leesville Elementary on the year-round calendar, knowing that both schools can comfortably operate on the traditional calendar for several more years.
 
* LES has a traditional capacity of 860 and is only expecting 693 base students for 2009-10
 
* LRMS has a traditional capacity 1222 of and is only expecting 1095 base students for 2009-10
 
* There is an overabundance of available seats at area Elementary and Middle Schools.  WCPSS should attempt to efficiently utilize this available capacity while saving $350,000 by operating the Leesville schools on the traditional calendar.
 
* The overwhelming majority of LES and LRMS families and staff members will be THRILLED to have these schools operating on the traditional calendar.
 
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT.  We truly do have the GREATEST school community in Wake County.


 

November 16, 2008

Hi Again:
 
Just briefly, here is a link to making online comments to WCPSS.
 
 
When you get to this page, there is a box on the right that is called "Schools Included".  Go to the drop-down menu for Middle Schools and click on Leesville Middle School.  Then, there will be a place on the lower right of the page saying "Comment on Leesville Road Middle".  You just click on "Make Comment" and fill out the form.
 
Something that is important to remember is that initially, Patti Head insisted on converting LRMS to the year-round calendar because of the "excessive growth in the area with no relief in the forseeable future".  I do realize that there is not another middle school officially "on the books" now (really not needed either), but there is NOT excessive growth.  This year, there are 46 fewer students attending LRMS than in 2007-08.  According to WCPSS projections, if they make NO CHANGES to the current assignment plan that is in place, LRMS will only gain 14 students between now and 2011.  SO, keeping everything "as is", not moving a single student out of or into the school, we're only going to gain 14 students during the next 3 years.  NO GROWTH CRISIS and no reason to force a MYR conversion.
 
So, I believe that once they realized that there was not a "growth crisis" they had to do something to justify forcing a MYR conversion on Leesville.  (the smartest thing they could have done was to just admit that they were making a mistake.  Unfortunately, no one has stepped forward yet to do that.)  SO, the new reassignment draft shuffles around HUNDREDS of kids to justify the conversion.  Believe it or not, they are proposing to move 9 nodes OUT of LRMS, and they actually plan to move 101 nodes INTO LRMS.  Since there was NOT a "growth crisis", they are going to just move enough kids into the school to CREATE a growth crisis.
 
One more thing.  Currently, 56.1% of the kids feeding into LRMS come from year-round elementary schools.  That leaves 43.9% who come from traditional schools (not a small group).  If you were only concerned about having "calendar continuity" for the elementary school kids, then more kids actually do come to LRMS from year-round elementary schools than traditional schools.  (of course the school calendar those families actually want for the middle school is debatable---they should not assume that just because you attend a YR elementary school you want a YR middle school)   BUT, what they aren't taking into account is an EVEN LARGER group who are being denied calendar continuity by a MYR conversion at LRMS. This group includes: (1) The families who opted out of LES and other MYR schools in order to attend a traditional calendar school (magnet, charter, private, or even home school)  These people actually made a change to be sure their families would all be on the traditional calendar, and now look at what they're facing.  (2)  All of the teachers at LRHS who have children attending LRMS.  Now, they will be on a different calendar than their children.  (3)  All of the teachers at LRMS who have high-school and college age kids.  They too will be on a different calendar than their kids. 
 
The ONLY way to have true calendar continuity on the Leesville campus is to have all 3 Leesville schools operating on the traditional calendar.  It's an uphill battle, but it's worth the fight if the end result is such a positive one for our community.
 
Keep that in mind as you move forward.
 
(I promise no more e-mails from me tonight.)
 
I hope to see you at Monday's meeting!

~Lisa

November 15, 2008

Hi Leesville Friends:

If you haven't already done so, please log onto the WCPSS website to view the impact that the reassignment draft might have on your family during the next 3 years.  It is www.wcpss.net
 
I haven't had a lot of time to study the entire plan, but I have cut/pasted the summaries for Leesville Middle and Leesville High below.
 
One fact they confirmed on the draft that definitely shows MYR is NOT NECESSARY at LRMS is that WITHOUT CHANGES TO THE CURRENT PLAN (keeping all students feeding to the schools they currently attend)  Leesville Middle will only be gaining 14 students between now and 2012.  They are proposing all of this, forcing another destructive MYR conversion on our community, disrupting families, forcing undesirable lifestyle changes, causing undue stress on the LRMS staff members, moving people in and out when it is NOT NECESSARY instead of proceeding "as usual" where we will only be gaining 14 new students in the next 3 years.  There are teams at the middle school now with only 3 teachers, so there is obviously space at the school for 14 more students TODAY.  This makes absolutely NO SENSE. 
 
***I realize that Chuck Dulaney recently told the Middle School staff that "Leesville Middle IS going to be a year-round middle school and there is nothing that can be done about it".  If I was in his position and I had gone to all of the work to create this plan with the assumption that LRMS would be a YR school, I would say the same thing and would hope that my statement was accepted by everyone.  BUT, what he said is INCORRECT.  The School Board still has the authority to make changes to the draft, so it is NOT a done deal and we NEED TO MAKE OUR CONCERNS HEARD. 
 
I will send another e-mail regarding Monday's meeting at the High School, but I do want to encourage everyone to COME TO MONDAY'S MEETING to hear the explanation of all of the changes and ask questions. 
________________________________________________________________________________

Staff Recommendations For Leesville Middle

Staff recommends that approximately fifty students be reassigned out of Leesville Road Middle School so that we can improve feeder elementary continuity. This will include reassigning some students to West Millbrook, some to Ligon, and some to Martin so that they move from elementary school to middle school with their elementary school peers. This will involve the reassignment of about 35 students living in 3 nodes assigned to Jeffreys' Grove Elementary (339.1, 339.2, 339.3,) to West Millbrook Middle, the reassignment of about 15 students living in 2 nodes currently assigned to Conn Elementary (78.1 and 85.1 )to Ligon Middle, and the reassignment of about 50 students who live in node 078.2 to Martin Middle. The Martin recommendation is made because staff is recommending that this node be reassigned to Lacy Elementary and many students at Lacy move on to Martin Middle.

Leesville Middle will convert to a four-track year-round calendar in 2009-10 and gain space for approximately 300 additional students. This creates an opportunity to improve peer group continuity for students who are currently assigned to elementary schools where most (but not all) of the students rise into Leesville Middle School. Some students from each of these schools are currently not assigned to Leesville Middle because of the current level of crowding.

Staff recommends that approximately 36 students who live in spot nodes created within the LRMS base because of LRMS crowding (651.0, 655.0, 731.0, 745.0, 746.0) be reassigned from Carroll Middle to Leesville Middle. Staff recommends that approximately 60 students from nodes 271.1 and 291.4 who are assigned to Sycamore Creek be reassigned from xx Middle to Leesville Middle. Staff recommends that approximately 110 students from nodes 66.1, 66.2, and 21.0 who are assigned to Leesville Elementary be reassigned from Daniels and Ligon Middle to Leesville Middle.

Finally, staff recommends that approximately 79 students who are projected to be at Durant Year-round by application but live in the current Leesville Road Middle School base area be reassigned to Leesville Middle.

Staff Recommendations For Leesville High

Staff recommends that several nodes be reassigned into Leesville Road High to relieve overcrowding at Panther Creek High School in the 2010-11school year. This includes nodes 12 nodes from the Brier Creek Elementary base area (357.1, 357.2, 357.3, 358.0, 359.0, 360.0, 621.0, 642.0, 666.0, 667.0, 702.0, 708.0) and impacts about 154 students.

Staff recommends that 6 nodes from Broughton High (79.0, 85.1, 125.0, 155.0, 593.1, 593.2), 1 node from Enloe High (75.2), and 8 nodes from Sanderson High (21.0, 66.1, 66.2, 271.1, 291.4, 745.0, 746.0) also be reassigned into Leesville High in the 2010-11 school year. This will impact about 476 students. It will improve feeder pattern alignment from middle school to high school. It will reduce the student population at Broughton High to make space for magnet applicants and reduce the student population at Sanderson High to make space for other students to move into Sanderson.

Staff recommends that approximately 900 students be reassigned out of Leesville Road High to avoid further overcrowding of the school, to improve feeder pattern continuity and allow students to move to high school with their peers, and to help populate other area high schools as the new Heritage and H-6 High Schools open and take students away from existing schools. This includes 3 nodes to Broughton High (78.2, 361.2, 544.0), 4 nodes to Enloe High (74.3, 77.0, 78.1, 81.0), 22 nodes to Millbrook High (244.1, 244.4, 244.9, 245.5, 315.2, 322.2, 324.2, 337.1, 337.2, 337.3, 338.2, 339.1, 339.2, 339.3, 343.1, 343.2, 343.3, 535.0, 548.0, 549.0, 689.0), 11 nodes to Sanderson High (245.2, 245.4, 245.6, 293.4, 321.1, 361.1, 361.3, 529.0, 543.0, 584.0, 673.0), and 1 node to Southeast Raleigh High (244.8).

These moves reflect an overall movement of students from the western part of the county to the northeastern part of the county as we open the new northern area high schools.

_________________________________________________________________________

 
Have a nice weekend!

~Lisa
 
 

November 4, 2008

November 1, 2008 -Unjustified Attacks Against CCLP and Leesville's "One Campus One Calendar"

Hi Leesville Friends:

I am planning to send another e-mail this weekend showing which current candidates support at-large-elections for the school board and what that means, but I wanted to just touch on something that has been very "interesting" during the past few weeks.  Specifically---the small group of selfish and short-sighted people who have chosen to ATTACK CCLP and our One Campus-One Calendar effort.  Anytime a positive effort becomes large and successful, the negative people will come out in an attempt to discredit what you're doing.  Human nature or not, it's pitiful to witness.  While it amazes me that adults would conduct themselves in such an immature way, it is eerily similar to what is happening now in the political campaigns.  Since they don't have a viable solution, and they don't have something to fight FOR, they'll just attack their 'opponent' instead.

If I was running for political office,  I would choose to take the 'high road' and campaign for myself by focusing on what I thought I could bring to the office, how I could help the masses, and I would keep my campaign moving forward in a positive way.  That is how I approach CCLP and One Campus-One Calendar.  As we see with the current political elections, there are certain politicians who are more focused on attacking others than trying to help themselves.  In my opinion, all that does is expose themselves as individuals who lack class and common decency, and also shows how threatened they are by the other candidate.

I have been asked if we had received any negative e-mails or comments so I'll share the answer here. If you don't have the time to keep reading, the short answer is: none of the negative comments we have received even justify a second thought.  If we had our blog up-and-running, that would be the perfect place to show this, but since it's not functioning yet I will share a few situations with you.  The few negative comments consist of one person misunderstanding our mission, anonymous comments made on an online blog, and attacks made by a few LES parents who are actually trying to undermine our strong mission.

I have received one 'negative' e-mail from a parent I don't even know (and can't even locate in the school directories), making lots of statements that led me to believe that she had been very misinformed about our group and our efforts.  Judging by the comments she made, she seems to be uninvolved within the community and is clueless as to just how negatively MYR has affected the Leesville campus as a whole.  I sent her an e-mail and responded to each of her statements, and I never heard back from her. (no surprise!) Hopefully she realized the truth and understood why we are all so passionate about having the Leesville community UNITED again.  I am going to post that letter (without her name) at the bottom so that you can see the only real 'negative' that has come our way.

In addition, there is a 'blog site' on the N&O website, where people can make comments and/or share ideas pertaining to current events or other newsworthy subjects.  There is an education blog called "WakeEd" that addresses educational issues.  I got involved in that blog when a Leesville friend was unfairly (and anonymously) being attacked, and from time to time I go back to visit and post.  From the beginning, I chose to post under my own name, because I feel that if I'm going to say it I'd better be willing to back it up.  Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way.  People are able to anonymously post comments and make attacks against others from behind a "screen name", and that's where it gets to be "creepy".  There were recently 2 people who claimed to be Leesville parents and also one who said that he was from the Wakefield area, and the 3 of them were anonymously criticizing our effort without justification or rationale.  Obviously, they either didn't understand our mission OR they felt that looking out for what was best for our community was going to negatively affect their own families.  I completely respect someone advocating FOR his/her own situation and I think everyone should do it.  But, by choosing to anonymously attack us instead, they lost all credibility.  One of these people even had the nerve to write "Game on, we're coming after you Lisa and we have the School Board on our side so watch out!".   (WOW--very mature!)  There is no question in my mind as to which "side" Patti Head is on, and unfortunately we've just had to accept that and move forward without her support.  Her motions against our community have clearly indicated that our own School Board rep is NOT looking out for what is best for the Leesville community.  We just have to have faith in the rest of the school board actually looking at how destructive and divisive MYR has already been to the Leesville Elementary families, and what a mistake MYR at Leesville Middle would be to the majority of families and staff members at several other schools too.  I am confident that if they TRULY study the negative impact that a MYR conversion at Leesville Middle would have on our community, they will never follow through with it.

Sadly, the small group in favor of keeping Leesville Elementary School on a year-round calendar has resorted to ATTACKING our efforts instead of advocating in a positive way for their own families.  In a pitiful way, they are seeking to undermine the strength and unity of the CCLP and "One Campus One Calendar" by spreading lies about what we are doing and what we are saying.  What is funny in this whole scenario is that they don't realize how tight our community is, what a small "world" our community is, AND who has "connections" within their own networks so what they say and do makes the rounds and we quickly hear about it too.  They are being so selfish and short-sighted that they can't look into the future to see what a POSITIVE thing it would be for the community at large to have the 3 Leesville schools operating on the same calendar.  If they truly value family time like we do, then once their children reach middle and high school they will understand just WHY we are insisting on having all 3 Leesville Schools on the traditional calendar.  If they're lucky, we can get all 3 Leesville schools back to the traditional calendar so that they won't have to experience what we have had to endure.  WCPSS has stated that Calendar Continuity is one of their goals.  Calendar Continuity for the Leesville campus cannot happen unless all 3 of the Leesville Schools are operating on the TRADITIONAL calendar.  Unfortunately, the small group of 'attackers' realize that their personal views differ from what would be best for our community as a whole, so they have chosen to attack our group rather than advocate in a positive way.  I won't stoop to their level by using names (although they have had no problem trying to discredit me), but one of these people recently had the nerve to childishly write that "Lisa Boneham even told a group of people that she only cares about her own family and not anyone else".  That one doesn't even justify a response, and anyone who knows me and knows what I'm doing understands why that couldn't be further from the truth.  I advocate for my family because no one else will, but I advocate for One Campus-One Calendar because it is for the good of our COMMUNITY.   

You're going to get a kick out of this next person's efforts.  Someone tried to convince the School Board to "ignore the little CCLP group because they are actually just a small vocal minority".  When she was told by several on the school board that she was WRONG because they have received several hundred e-mails from CCLP and it is obvious that we are really a HUGE involved group, she quickly changed her tune and THEN tried to paint us as a MASSIVE, violent, dangerous group who might actually physically and verbally assault others at the Community Engagement Meetings.  (amazing!)  She suggested that there should be police escorts to cars to protect the School Board from OUR violent group. (very funny)  Maybe she's expecting to attend to continue HER OWN negative shenanigans??  What she doesn't know is that we have established mutually-respectful relationships with the school board members and Chuck Dulaney.  Many of us (myself included) actually walk to our cars after the Community Engagement Meetings and Public Forums WITH school board members (certainly no violence there) so while the damage WCPSS has caused with MYR is personal and emotional, we can still be cordial without being violent with each other.  Could she be worried about her own little negative group showing up and getting out of control??  She even tried to discredit our numbers by suggesting that "the number of people showing up at the Community Engagement Meetings won't give a true indication as to how many families are concerned with MYR, because some families will probably have 2 parents or even some children with them".  OF COURSE WE WILL.  Should that be a surprise to anyone?  What she hasn't experienced yet is the fact that forcing MYR on Leesville was destructive to FAMILIES, and both parents AND children AND grandparents AND Aunts, Uncles and cousins have ALL been affected by the mess created by MYR.  I only wish that our extended family lived closer so they could attend too.  We had to miss the big family reunion this past summer since all of our cousins from around the country are attending traditional calendar schools and my kids were already back in school.  This same negative person evidently now wants WCPSS to require anyone attending the meeting to register in advance so they'll know who is coming--maybe to check criminal records since we're such an unruly and violent group??  I can already predict that her next paranoid suggestion will be metal detectors and handbag checks at the door...certainly no problem, but it's RIDICULOUS that she's going to such an extreme.  They do require you to register in advance if you're going to speak at the podium, and that won't change.  It's just mind-boggling to see to what extent some people will go in order to attack such a positive community effort.  Bottom line, anyone who chooses to conduct herself  in that way certainly missed "Character Education" lessons and truly lacks class.  Thankfully, everyone involved in our effort continues to advocate with integrity and respect, and from what I've been told by everyone we're contacting, it shows.   

One other group I have heard from (not a negative group, but they are just trying to advocate for their families) is the "application families" currently attending Leesville.  Some of the families in this group were previously attending Leesville Elementary, but were reassigned to Hilburn for this current school year. WCPSS allowed them to remain at LES "by application", so if LES returns to the traditional calendar they will have to take their base assignment and transfer to Hilburn.  I know several people in this situation, and some of them I consider to be good friends, so what I have shown them is that I proposed a special "grandfathering" program to WCPSS where any students currently attending LES could stay at LES until they finish 5th grade.  The current WCPSS "grandfathering policy" only allows rising 4th and 5th graders to stay.  Within this group of "application families", what I have been told is that they truly prefer a traditional calendar, but they want to stay at Leesville MORE, so LES has to remain on the YR calendar to ensure that they can stay.  Honestly, I don't blame them, and I respect everyone's right to advocate for their own family.  It's just unfortunate when we have to deal with those who would rather ATTACK us than worry about themselves.  (Like I say to my kids, "do what you think is right, and stop worrying about what someone else is doing".)  Sadly, we can't expect everyone to look at the big picture and show concern for the community as a whole, can we??  I'm just glad that we've got such a unified and positive group involved where everyone DOES care.  (Thanks!)

SO, that is the long answer to the question in regard to any 'negative' coming in.  With the exception of the anonymous posters on the N&O blog, and the group of a few people who are dead-set on doing all they can  to sabotage our effort (and being VERY ineffective but obnoxious in their attempts), One Campus-One Calendar has been well received and continues to grow.  I have to ask myself, why WOULDN'T someone support a group looking at the big picture and planning for the future, who's end result is a POSITIVE outcome for the community as a whole?  There is so much PRIDE being associated with the Leesville Schools and the other schools in our community, and I appreciate all of you for your involvement and dedication to keeping the Leesville Community united.

As I was recently told, DON'T LET THE CRAZIES MAKE YOU CRAZY !  So true!

**If you're still reading at this point, you either ate as much Halloween candy as I did tonight so you're on a 'sugar high' or you must not have any good books or magazines handy.  I do want to say one more thing. PLEASE let your teachers and other staff members know how much you appreciate them.  Even though the great majority of teachers and other staff members at LES and LRMS prefer the traditional calendar, many are still afraid to publicly voice their opinions for fear of speaking against their employers. BUT, most will let you know how they're feeling if they know you won't broadcast their names. We must continue to be their voice.  Our teachers are our most important resource in the education of our children, and we want them to be HAPPY with what they are doing, and not leave our schools due to an unbearable school schedule.** 

Have a GREAT weekend and don't eat too much candy!

~Lisa

P.S.  Below is the only negative response I've received in relation to One Campus - One Calendar.  Her comments are in black, and my responses are red.  As you can see, this person was upset with what we are doing without even understanding WHO we are, WHAT we are doing, and WHY it is such a positive thing for our community.  Hopefully she has a more clear understanding now.

Lisa - I hear you are heading up a group of women to ruin the year round calendar at LRES. Actually, we are a group of Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Teachers, TAs, Guidance Counselors, Administrators, Coaches, etc...from within the Leesville community.  The group is CCLP which stands for Concerned and Committed Leesville Parents.  We are not "ruining the year round calendar at LRES".  If you're looking to place blame, then look to WCPSS---they actually forced MYR on LES, and it was a very destructive and divisive move to make.  WCPSS "ruined the traditional calendar at LRES", and because such a vast majority of parents wanted the traditional calendar (and still want it now), we have been advocating to have it changed back to traditional ever since. 

I know you are trying to stop the rest of us from sharing our side.  Please let me know how we are trying to stop ANYONE from sharing their side.  If you knew me and actually knew what was happening, you would know that I encourage EVERYONE with an opinion to share it.  If someone is trying to stop anyone from "sharing a side", there is a small group attacking CCLP, not the other way around.  We're advocating in a positive way, and unfortunately there are a few people who have decided to childishly "attack" us instead of just advocating for their own situation.

Do you not care about your children being smarter and teachers less stressed?  YES, ABSOLUTELY I care about my children being smarter and our teachers being less stressed.  Both of those are HUGE reasons WHY I want the traditional calendar back.  I find the traditional calendar to be educationally superior to the year-round calendar for ALL "groups" of children, and as a group, the AG students DO suffer on the year-round calendar more than any.  Our teachers are MUCH MORE STRESSED with year-round, so I care about them as well.

Do you not like the smaller classroom sizes and not having to be rezoned ever year?  I think smaller classroom sizes are great.  Unfortunately, there are some classes at LES that are smaller with MYR, and some that are larger, so the forced conversion did NOT make all classes smaller across the board. (feel free to confirm that with the office staff).  As for being rezoned every year, I have NO control over WCPSS and their insane reassignment policies so we both agree that the constant rezoning is out of control. You need to take that up with their Growth & Planning department.  If you have been told that converting LRMS to a YR calendar is going to avoid reassignments, you've been lied to.  This is something you can confirm with Chuck Dulaney, Asst. Superindendent of Growth & Planning. 

I have a Jr. in the HS and a 6th grader in the Middle and I love my 2nd grader in year round.  He loves the breaks for 3 weeks and doesn't have to waste time reviewing.  I have friends who also like the year-round calendar, and I don't think that makes them right or me wrong because I prefer the traditional calendar.  I happen to prefer one "review" at the start of the traditional year rather than 4 "reviews" throughout the year.  Again, that's my opinion and you can have yours.  It should be a personal preference.    

Why don't you go to Hilburn if you want to be on the traditional calendar?  Actually, we BEGGED to be allowed to attend Hilburn when LES' conversion was finalized.  WCPSS would not let us.  We were given "an unknown traditional option" when we had to decide whether or not to opt-out, and then eventually told it was Stough or nothing.  Hilburn was never an option. It was unfair to expect anyone to force someone to leave a school they had been involved with for 8 years due to an unjustified and unwanted policy, but even when we begged for Hilburn we were told "no". 

I could have gone there but opted to stay year round. Why do you think you can make LRMS exclusive to you and your friends and send the rest of us to schools we moved here to avoid?  Please explain how I am trying to make LRMS exclusive to me and my friends???  I think every family attending LRMS should be able to have an opinion and share it with WCPSS. 

There are many of us who would love LRMS to go year round and stay on one campus.  We moved from Falls River 7 years ago to have all my kids at Leesville.  I feel sorry for you, your kids and especially your husband.  Area schools are among the most important factors in why MANY people choose a home.  There were many of us who moved to the Leesville attendance area to have all of our kids at the traditional Leesville schools too.  And PLEASE don't feel sorry for me.  I have a wonderful life, wonderful kids and a wonderful husband.  We've been blessed in many ways, so I have no idea why you would feel sorry for us. 

The negative energy you are spending on this is not healthy. There is no negative energy being spent--all POSITIVE on my end, because we are working toward a positive goal for the Leesville community and not AGAINST anyone.  The negative energy you will find in our community is coming from the small group at LES who realize they are in a minority (want LES to be YR) and they are upset that we're moving forward for the good of the community.   

Sometimes its better to teach our children to find the positive in change.  I have very open and honest communication with my children, and they have a very healthy outlook on life and how to deal with change.  The have handled change in their lives in a very positive way, and as their Mom I am extremely proud of them.  They know that I am fighting against a POLICY and not against PEOPLE, and it is teaching them that if you believe in something you should be willing to fight for what is right.  I can assure you that our efforts have been extremely peaceful and respectful and will continue to be into the future.

 "Your beauty should come from your inner self, an unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."  1 Peter 3:3    As a Christian, I always appreciate scripture.  Thanks. 

Thanks for your time and I hope you listened.  You're welcome.  You can see that I did listen, and I am happy to discuss any of those misconceptions at any time.  I feel badly that you were so misinformed about our effort and our motivation, so hopefully I have been able to clear some of it up for you.

Have a nice weekend!

~Lisa


October 29, 2008

Hi Leesville Friends:

 
All is well with "One Campus One Calendar". Thanks to all of you, the word is getting out.  I'm amazed to find that there are still people who actually thought that converting LRMS to a year-round calendar was a "done deal"---of course, once they hear that there is something they can do about it they want to get involved, so our group of CCLP just keeps growing.  I'm estimating that there will be well over 1000 people in attendance at the Community Engagement Meetings, and that doesn't even count the kids who will be coming with their parents.  What a great showing of Leesville Support that will be!  I'm so proud to be a part of this unified community.
 
Just a couple of updates:
 
BoE RE-VOTE ON NOVEMBER 3:  This still has not been officially confirmed, but it's looking like more of a possibility.  In addition to the hundreds of Leesville school parents who have been writing, the board members are getting numerous e-mails from our feeder elementary schools about concerns that they never thought about when they had to quickly vote to convert LRMS to YR.  I was told by one person "we seriously underestimated the negative impact that a YR conversion would have on the schools outside the Leesville campus, and we really need to give consideration to these families as well".  Of course, because the Leesville Community does not just include the 3 Leesville schools--it includes the feeder elementary schools too, and some of those people are already in this CCLP group.  I don't know if they'll change their votes on Monday, so we need to plan to attend the Community Engagement Meetings to solidify our case.  BUT I am confident that they're realizing what a negative impact another MYR conversion on our campus would have on our 3 schools AND the feeder schools too, so keeping LRMS on the traditional calendar is still a strong possibility.
 
MEETING with GROWTH MANAGEMENT:  Yesterday I met with Chuck Dulaney, Asst. Superindendent of Growth Management.  When the School Board wants to consider the full impact of a decision, they go to Chuck to have him run the numbers.  He is extremely knowledgeable about the schools in the county, and dealing with all of his numbers would make me dizzy.  He's the guy who makes recommendations to the board as to what makes sense and why, and then shows the trickle down impact that each decision makes on other schools.  I set up the meeting in order to be sure that the situations we are proposing "make sense" according to his thinking and decision making, and that my analysis is using his data---the meeting went very well.  I am already CONFIDENT that the vast majority of families in the Leesville community do not WANT YR, and that is still what the School Board is hearing--old news to everyone who has been involved---we have known that all along.  (I have been told that pro-traditional e-mails still outnumber pro-YR e-mails by over 20 to 1 even after the recent PTA e-mail was sent out prompting parents to e-mail comments)  BUT, since our emotional plea before the MYR conversion didn't mean anything to the Board,  I want to be sure that our LOGICAL proposal makes sense.  Fortunately, I now have Chuck's data to prove it.  Some of you who have been involved in strategizing understand that I have NOT suggested which nodes and neighborhoods should be moved, and I will NOT be the person saying "move this node here, move this neighborhood there, clear these people out to make room for those people, etc..." but that's pretty much what Chuck has to do with his recommendations to the board.   I had someone recently ask me "which neighborhoods are you asking to get moved out to keep Leesville traditional?"----I am actually proposing just the opposite, a new grandfathering idea that may/may not work, but it's worth a try.  Something that Chuck did confirm for me that I wanted to pass along is that EVEN IF LRMS IS FORCED TO OPERATE ON THE YR CALENDAR, THERE WILL STILL BE FAMILIES ASSIGNED OUT OF LRMS TO MAKE ROOM FOR OTHERS WHO LIVE CLOSER TO LRMS THAT WILL BE MOVED IN.  Several friends of mine have said "I don't want YR, but I'd rather deal with YR than have reassignments", so if you know anyone in that same position please let them know.  If we truly want calendar continuity on the Leesville Campus, we need to have LRMS operating on the traditional calendar, and have LES converted back to traditional as well.
 
MISCONCEPTIONS REGARDING THE MODIFIED YEAR-ROUND CALENDAR:  I think I've sent this chart before, but since we've had several hundred new members to the e-mail list I'm sending it again.  Basically, as you can see, Modified Year-Round does NOTHING for calendar continuity.  It is not similar to traditional, and is not similar to year-round.  As a parent of a high schooler, I do see one small benefit, and that is, exams would be completed before the Christmas break.  But, it takes away common days with siblings on other calendars, it does not increase the capacity of the school, and it does not save money, so it is not a viable alternative.  Just by looking at the chart, you can see that if all of your children are attending traditional calendar schools they have 81 days off together during the school year.  (week-days, including holidays)  If you have 1 child on a modified year-round calendar in high school and 1 child on track 3, they will only have 21 days off together during the school year (week-days including holidays)  There is NO reason to pursue a modified calendar for LRHS, and fortunately the School Board has realized that now too.
       

 

Modified YR Calendar

Traditional

Calendar

Track 1

46

36

Track 2

29

29

Track 3

21

38

Track 4

47

41

Traditional

54

81

    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OF TRADITIONAL CALENDAR:  If you want to see studies comparing the educational benefits of a YR calendar vs. a traditional calendar, I can direct you to studies.  What we found when researching this 2 years ago was that you can find just as many studies that prove 'traditional is better' as you can find saying 'YR is better' so there is no reason to debate that topic.  BUT, there were some differences depending on what kind of student your child is.  The "average students" seemed to do OK on either calendar.  The difference came when they looked at high achieving students and low achieving students.  These groups generally were the ones who performed better in the traditional setting when true differentiating by ability could be done for all kids.  That makes sense, because before MYR we could split up the 5th grade into 7 math classes by ability.  Each class was taught concepts at a rate approprite to their own abilities, so everyone received the appropriate instruction, and everyone "won".  I personally think that LES' AG teacher is doing well with her new philosophy, and I don't know much about the low performing students.  BOTTOM LINE, neither calendar provides a better education than the other to the majority of kids, and I continue to think it should be a FAMILY choice.   Speaking to the LES teachers, I think you'll find that most of them prefer the traditional calendar instead of dealing with the constant disruptions brought on by track-outs, having to do assessments at different times, etc... And, when you might think they would want "frequent breaks" during the year, they are actually much more tired and burned out at the end of the year when they follow the year-round calendar.  Teachers deserve a long summer break to re-energize (or maybe supplement their teaching salary with a summer job), but again, it should be a personal choice.
Thank you for continuing to look at the BIG picture for the Leesville Community.  I am so proud to be associated with this great group of caring parents and school staff members.  Together, we are making a difference.

~Lisa