North Charleston asks education questions
City Council also suggests solutions
By Warren Wise
North Charleston officials sought answers Wednesday from educators and offered solutions to the city's education woes.
For more than three hours, Charleston County School District Superintendent Nancy McGinley fielded questions from City Council on everything from why the city's schools don't have more experienced teachers to why they don't offer more trade-school classes.
Some of McGinley's major points:
-- The district is encouraging teachers who want to move up the education ladder to transfer voluntarily to get experience at struggling schools.
--New principals at 53 percent of the district's schools hopefully will translate into teachers wanting to work for talented individuals.
--Once-stigmatized trade-school courses are making a comeback and can give children an opportunity to land jobs out of high school.
-- The crushing poverty of many of North Charleston's students stands in the way of their full potential.
"It doesn't mean children can't learn," she said. "They just need extra help."
Some of that help could come from the city itself.
Mayor Keith Summey is working with McGinley to establish after-school programs at every elementary school in the city. If a child wants to participate in the three-hour program each day, parents must give back time to the school.
"We have to get parents involved in their child's education, and this will mandate their involvement," Summey said.
The mayor suggested the city hire a teacher part time to coordinate the after-school program, be it for recreation or whatever specialty the child might be interested in.
"Without a site leader, it's chaotic," McGinley said. "We can have after-school programs at the schools if we work together and figure out how to fund them."
Parents who can't read and write at functional levels can't help children with their homework, so after-school programs could help parents as well, she said.
Summey suggested that local businesses look to the schools for part-time help so students studying technical education courses at Stall and North Charleston high schools stand a better chance of staying in school, graduating and landing a job in their specialty.
The district is spending $211 million to build or upgrade new schools in North Charleston, school district Capital Improvements Director Bill Lewis said. Among those are a new Stall High, an expanded North Charleston High and a new Academic Magnet High and School of the Arts.
"We are under no illusion," said district Chief Academic Officer Randy Bynum. "There is no silver bullet. We have some schools that are doing better than others. We know we are not where we want to be."
Summey called it the most fruitful meeting the city has had with the school district and urged McGinley not to leave, as have other superintendents, so programs she initiates won't be dropped midstream.
Reach Warren Wise at 745-5850 or wwise@postandcourier.com.
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moonpie (anonymous) says...
"We have to get parents involved in their child's education, and this will mandate their involvement," From the mouth of the mayor. Nice try Mr Summey. I do like the idea of trade schools and school to work programs. If the school districts would have stuck with these programs we might have a viable work force instead of illegals. Now I wonder if that pay base has eroded so much by the "illegal" work force.
The biggest complaint you'll hear from employers is getting people with work skills. I participated in a trade school during high school and was employed the day after I graduate. And I went on to have a great career with this company and formed skills I use today in a 6 figure job.
February 21, 2008 at 6:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
Also put the thought in females that having children at such a young age will gurantee you a life in poverty. And guess what, the more you have the poorer you will be!
Very rarely does a teenage girl have a kid and it works out in her favor. Everyone makes mistakes but the baby factory and the fast track to welfare has got to stop. THIS is the root of the problem but your all to PC to admit that. THIS is what has changed in the 25 years we have been out of school. When schools have daycares on site you know something is out of whack! REAPING WHAT HAS BEEN SOWED!
February 21, 2008 at 6:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
karmann (anonymous) says...
It is about time that North Charleston got involved in the educational process. As I have mentioned before, how are we going to attract all these new, young families to buy into North Charleston when the schools in the area, excluding the magnet schools, are in poor shape. I hope North Charleston does not let up on the pressure and quesitons.
February 21, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
capnphil (anonymous) says...
Parents have to go over their child's homework and classwork on a daily basis. When you chose to have a child you made a moral imperative with yourself that you will raise that child to the best of your ability. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to assist a kindergarten through fifth grader with thier work. As any kind of adult with an eighth grade education you should be able to assist your child. If you don't go over the work on a daily basis, the child will suffer, the child will suffer more as he gets socially promoted, the society will suffer when the child comes out of HS with no skills.
Why government has to spend additional resources on assisting these students, I don't know? But, something has to be done to hold PARENTS and Their CHILD accountable.
The teachers are DOING THE BEST THEY CAN GIVEN THE Circumstances they find themselves in. That is the GOSPEL.
February 21, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Ralphy (anonymous) says...
end the war, scale back DHS budget, and put the money to better use - like education. unfortunately, north charleston is a lost cause, sad really.
February 21, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammer (anonymous) says...
you have to give it to Mayor Summey, he keeps making direct hits in the places that need it the most, unlike Riley who just wants lipstick and rouge all over the city
moon while I agree babies shouldn't be having babies, most of the people that are dope dealers shooting each other or failing out in schools and causing serious problems for others were born anywhere from 15 to 25 years ago
this isn't a result of babies being born to babies today, it happened a long time ago and is the fault of a lot of people in my own generation
makes one step back and take a look and try to remember what went wrong, and from a lot of what I remember that was the years even middle class families had to start working two jobs or more to live comfortably
if you have to work so much where's the time and energy left to raise children? who with those kids and what are they learning while your gone away working?
maybe it comes back to economics more times than not, just thinking in text...
February 21, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
jammer, I think that you are pretty close. Greed is a bad thing. Most standard families have 2 working parents who work not for their needs but for their wants...multiple vehicles, phones, tv's, things, things, things... Children get a little more attention than the things but are things that are attended to as needed or when convenient.
February 21, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bjp99 (anonymous) says...
While I do agree money should be spent wisely, I do not agree that North Charleston is a lost cause. Do we have a lot of work to do? Most definitely. I am a teacher at NCES and have students who are incredible. Despite the facts that they wake themselves up each day for school, iron their own clothes, make sure their brothers and sisters are fed, and walk to school each day --- they are doing a great job! You never hear about these stories in the media. We have a lot of work to do, but we can never give up hope and quit trying.
February 21, 2008 at 4:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lionelat (anonymous) says...
It is absurd that North Charleston and Stall High Schools continue to begin at 7:00 am. ALL research shows that an early bell time is one of the single most damaging obstacles to any high school student. Moreover, it is especially harmful to kids from these two schools because so many of them are compelled to work after school in jobs that often do not allow them to get home until midnight. For such a long time now CCSD has avoided this issue. It was a major point of contention when Mr. Colwell was the Principal at North Charleston High School. It is tragic nothing has been done to remedy this.
February 22, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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