I went to Byrd from Southwood's district. Magnet all the way!
I think other people hate Byrd because they have created a culture, and people want to be a part of this culture.
I went to Byrd from Southwood's district. Magnet all the way!
I think other people hate Byrd because they have created a culture, and people want to be a part of this culture.
You are missing the point here. Byrd went Magnet for survival. 25 years ago, the odds of being shot to death or stabbed in the parking lot just for looking at somebody the wrong way were very real. The neighborhood & feeder schools were & many still are below par and on the verge of being condemmed. There has since been a slight reviatlization of the Highland neighborhood but the ability to go Magnet & the hard work of many alumni & school staff is the only reason that the school is still viable. And when I say viable, it is the number two high school in all of the city (educationally) and the number one high school if you want to play football and get an education. I don't know if it is merely Shreve that is behind this farce but the LHSAA seems to always side with the moaners & complainers of the (especially 5-A) programs that just cannot win on their own. I would suspect that West Monroe & Airline may also be behind some of this. Such a shame.
WM is the GWB of LA public highschools - everything is their fault....
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
The magnet schools, like Byrd, are what has ruined the caddo parish school system. Byrd, while making itself viable, has been the main reason the neighborhood and feeder schools are below par. My son goes to Eden Garden Magnet so I realize I am a hypocrite, but if you want your child to go to public school in shreveport it almost has to be a magnet school.
What has ruined the school system is there is no money to fund them, magnet or not. Take away the magnet attendance rule and put the best students back in their zoned school. You still have crappy facilities, little to no technology, and struggle to get quality teachers because of pay and resources. You would not improve the school to any significant point.
I teach. I have two degrees from Tech the same is true for my wife. We left straight after grad school, because starting pay in DFW for a brand new teacher was almost twice what her mother was making as a teacher with a masters +30 down in Lake Charles.
The system Texas uses to fund its schools by no means is perfect. However, if you are in an area that is supportive of education (financially) like where we are the schools are as good as any in the country.
The corruption and the overall fiscal health of the state has created a horrible cycle that none of the politicians have the balls to truly fix. There needs to consolidation on the higher ed level.
There needs to be a restructuring of education funding at the state constitution level for k-12, and even at that point all you would have done is stop the foundation from collapsing. Then the real hard work of funding, construction, and evaluation of quality teachers would be the next step.
First, I thank you and your family for being committed to teaching. We need more folks like you, your wife and your mom.
Secondly, I agree with your comment about some of the schools in Texas being as good as any in the country. However, since the mid 1980's the "Robin Hood" school financing plan in Texas has forced all of the wealthier schools to have to contribute most of their revenue to the states poorer schools.
The Robin Hood plan has angered a lot of people who pay the expensive property tax bills in the wealthier school districts, only to have to watch those same tax dollars go to other, poorer school districts. It's also why you now see super nice school buildings and facilities in little redneck towns like Pottsboro, and Princeton, etc..... For the last 15 years, all those little small towns in Texas have been flush with tax dollars funded from the wealthier school districts. Now you have little towns with a local population of only 2,000 or so, yet they boast school buildings and athletic facilities that rival those anywhere in the state/country. That's absurd, and a real waste.
HD