Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Mercer Middle School Overflows

Author:
See the front page of the LCPS website today and you'll see a sign of the growth that we aren't keeping up with...

Mercer Middle School to Overflow New Students to Stone Hill in 2008-2009 School Year

The bottom line:
Students who seek registration for Mercer Middle School after the last day of school this year (June 17th) will be assigned to Stone Hill Middle School beginning with the 2008-2009 school year.
Stone Hill MS is 13 miles from Mercer MS.
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8 comments:

  1. I can't tell you how angry I am about this. My grandchild will have to be bussed and I'm not at all happy about it. Thanks so much to all the people who weren't willing to pay a couple of hundred dollars more to contribute to the future of Loudoun County. How about we make sure their ambulance and police and fire service has to travel 13 miles to reach them? Pshaw!!
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  2. I totally understand and agree with anonymous. This is another example of how Dr. Hatrick uses these children as commodities in a political power struggle and as fodder for his insatiable ego and dictatorial empire building needs. Because he continues to insist on submitting inflated budgets, he has effectively alienated the Board of Supervisors. When School Board members tried to find cuts, he chided them. When he had to find cuts after the tax rate was set, he found cuts overnight. To make his point about his budget, Dr. Hatrick recently suggested closing older school buildings that don't measure up to his new vision for mega, over-the-top facilities. He knew that suggestion would incite the public. Instead of compromising with the Board of Supervisors and checking his extravagence, he finds punitive solutions such as these. With respect to closing the older schools, how can anyone be believable about needing new schools when they try to close others? Hatrick needs to retire and let someone else take the helm. The School Board will continue to have difficulty getting funding from the County because of this man's continued arrogance. When a company hits hard times, the Board/stockholders get a new CEO. That time is now for our schools. John, please consider getting this man to step aside so you can win back support and credibility with the Board of Supervisors.
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  3. It is simple math. School building and classroom size is not large enough to support the growing student population in that area. Therefore, to offer the best education possible, these students will be transported to an area with a smaller enrollment.

    This is going to happen more and more, and it is a realistic, practical solution for overcrowding in certain areas. It is something that is good for the masses...but may be too personal if you are the one selected to be bussed.
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  4. Dr. Hatrick assured western parents that our children will not be bussed. For the west, he proposes shift scheduling for dealing with the overcrowding at Loudoun ValleyHS and Harmony and Blue Ridge MSs. This essentially equates to night school for half the students.
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  5. The split shift will not happen, in my humble prediction. I would think the logistics of coordinating sports schedules, extra-curricular activities, practices, clubs, and other issues will be too great to overcome. In addition, as a teacher, I would think the "night" schedule is something that is in conflict with their own family schedule (ie. teachers' own kids will be home while the teacher(s) are at work, and so on). This will cause a mass number of teachers to leave those schools, and that area, until the problem of building new schools is resolved.

    In the long run, in my opinion, split shifts is more detrimental to the students education and quality of those schools when compared to the option of bussing students to another school.
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  6. Yes night school is a lousy idea. The logistics of the idea don't make any sense. Sounds like a similar judgement lapse as was demonstrated with the Tango response. What is more likely is that shifts were proposed as a punitive measure for those who dare question the authority of a certain LCPS Administrator. Either way, whether sincere or as a threat, whoever proposed shifts should not be in a position to make decisions of that magnitude because their judgement is apparently slipping or their need to exert power/control has become too extreme.
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  7. Assuming many Mercer 8th graders go to Freedom HS for advanced classes anyway, why not offer 8th graders the opportunity to attend nearby Freedom instead of overflowing a bunch of children miles away to a whole different cluster? It would seem much less disruptive for them and their families and perhaps save diesel costs. Those kids are more likely to already feel comfortable in the building and know many of the older kids in their own cluster and will be attending the facility the following year anyway. Freedom has the space, at least for another year or two. I'd even rather add some trailers at Mercer and keep these children close than treating them like inventory in a warehouse.
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  8. We should bus the illegal immigrants first! Federal law requires we educate them but no reason we can't set priority for neighborhood schooling based on being in the county legally.

    Write the School and county board if you agree!!
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