State of Crossett Schools

Activities After School?

2006-03-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

We are hearing that our new Assistant Superintendent is an advocate of activities being moved to after school. By activities,we assume this means athletics, band, choir, etc.
This is an absurd idea. What would be the point of this? There are students taking study hall classes to fill the time as it is. Is there a need for more room for academics? No, there is not. Look at these "reforms" closely. They are rarely for helping students learn or learn at a quicker rate. Rarely are they successful.

How to give your views.

2006-03-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

To comment on these articles you will need to register (free) at:

www.blogger.com

Then navigate to the blog site. Again, feel free to input. Rude, obscene, and libelous comments will be deleted. Differences in opinion are fine. We don't make a claim that we have all the right answers. We make the assertion that neither does everyone in control of this school.

Appearances Can Fool You!

2006-03-16T09:03:00.001-08:00

We have heard that the shadow of "Block Scheduling" is making an appearance. My friends and neighbors, beware of this. This is one of those "Educational Reform" programs that has had little, if any, impact on education. If you really want to find out a great amount of detail about the ills of block scheduling go to :

http://www.jefflindsay.com/Block.shtml

He has done MUCH research on the subject.

Having had experiences with block scheduling at a former school my children attended, I can safely tell you that the academic gains are slim, if there are any at all.

Please, do not buy into this "Cotton Candy" (looks good, but has no substance) form of education.The bottom line of education is: does it improve the academic success of your child? Reseach shows that block scheduling does not do this. I urge parents, teachers, and administrators to visit the above web site (be prepared to stay for quit a long time as it is large)and find out the truth about block scheduling.

ARE we going in the right direction?

2006-03-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

Hello. This is a blog started to give my views about the state of Crossett, Arkansas Schools. As a long time resident with 2 children graduated and 1 still in the school system, I have valid concerns about where the school is heading. If I seem ,well, vague about my identity, it is because I am VERY afraid my child remaining in school would be ostricized if people knew who I am. My children all made/make good grades. While they were not honor graduates they are/were near the top. I am an African-American male with a advanced degree. My wife and I are both professionals and (I think) well thought of in the community. Much of the information here is a composite of several parents, students, educators, and interested members of the community of Crossett. Before anything is entered in the blog, there must be a concensus of the group. The group is made up of both sexes, racially balanced, a gamet of educations, a varity of occupations. This group is in no way affiliated with Crossett Schools other than our concern and the welfare and education of our children.

The discipline in the schools is, for lack of a better phrase, timid at best. We seem to be spending more time attempting to show that there are no problems, rather than dealing with problems. The use of Saturday school as the primary form of punishment is a case in point. If the students go at all , it is after negotiating with an administrator to get the Saturday they want. It was my impression the the whole idea was to inconveneince parents. This seems to be failing. Any effective punishment involves the concept that the form of punishment does not need to be repeated. Simply put: I don't like this and don't want it to happen again. The students don't care. At least at CHS they still have Detention Hall. And even in this case the students seem to get to pick and choose the day and time they go. Dress at NJHS and CHS is getting worse and worse. Saggy pants are everywhere. I LOVE seeing some boys underwear when they bend over. Girls wear low cut dresses/ shirts exposing far too much skin. The school is not the arena for this. It is a place of education. At some of the elementry schools there seems to be air of: they can't help it because their homelife is so bad. Completely wrong. Educators cannot help the student's homelife. They can (and have a moral obligation to) show them at school how they should be acting.

While we do not advocate the use of corporal punishment, there needs to a firm , rigid code of behavior to be followed. Almost militarylike, if you will. Breaking the code of behavior should involve consequences that WILL concern a student.

This is the first of what we hope are several "articles" about how we feel about our school. We want our school to be the way it used to be. When Crossett Schools were considered one the best in the state. We are heading in the wrong direction. And it seems every decision made pushes us further away from getting better. We don't mean to diminish the well-meaningness of the board or the administration, but there seems to be an agenda to further careers and feather caps rather than make the school better. "Look. See what I did."

Feel free to add to this blog YOUR thoughts. We don't mind as long as your thoughts are not rude, filthy, or libelous. Personal attacks will not allowed and will be deleted. Criticism of individuals, while not encouraged, if done in a constructive manner will be allowed.

We will see how it goes.