| Moderated by: Steve Adkins | Topic closed | |
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gotobeme Member 
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Hey Yall, It's been a long time. I have been reading much that has been said and not responding, hoping that someone would ask the question about cameras at NW High School. It is incredible to me how other schools, even the Middle School can have cameras and not the high school which has the largest population in the county. Dudley HS and other schools have security systems that has proven to be helpful in deterring crime and vandalism. I advocate for the administration that have to deal with constant discipline and other ridiculous situations. Many instances, spending too much time on problems that could be solved in a minimum of time if other resources were available. I dont think we understand the magnitude of the threat to NW. Not that anyone who attends would pose this type of threat, but most times the threat does come from within, as we have seen with most school situations. Look at the makeup of our school. It is, as I put it, Columbineist. I think it is better to be prepared before than to react later. Now, the question of money seems to always be the issue. Why does money take priority over our children's safety? I truly believe in putting the money up front rather than asking for it after the fact; though it always seem to work that way. How do we get cameras in our school? I am all for it. Maybe we need to start a forum or PTSA inquiry/discussion. Gotobeme Last edited on May 12th, 2006 02:35 am by gotobeme |
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Waytago Member 
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gotobeme wrote: It is, as I put it, Columbineist. Your description is troubling, to say the least. Let's hope you're exaggerrating. However, on the conservative side, let's say you're not exaggerating. This comment leads me to believe you have knowledge of some students who may be planning, or could be capable of disruptive behavior. At the minimum, have you voiced your concerns to Officer Pass, or Principal Kidd, or any of the other counsellors or Vice Principals, or our participant & PTSA rep Vicki WL? If not, then I suggest you have a responsibility, and actually an obligation to do so. Make sure you can back up your suspicions or claims. I assure you, they will take you seriously and investigate. Use caution with terms like "Columbineist". I am a parent, and can vividly remember that day. The thoughts of something like this sends shivers down the spine of any parent, which no parent needs if the threat is not truly apparent. Last edited on May 12th, 2006 11:18 am by Waytago |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member 
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Hi! Just read Waytogo's comments and would second those comments. Although I'm no longer involved at the high school, except as a member of the community (my older son graduated last year and my other one won't be there for a while), I'm sure that someone will be glad to listen. |
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DToney Member 
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I really wish we could get more students involved in posting.... that way we could be more in-the-know with inside information. Everyone has their own insight and us not being students, see things differently. I agree that cameras are a good investment, but would like to see them in a newer building... can you imagine the cost of equiping all of the mobiles with that much equipment? Especially, with the age of these units. It would be like putting a T1 line in a barn! I know that funding is always going to be an issue, but I'm really confused as to why we allow our county to build Northern so small when we know how growth is in this area.... We could use at least 3 schools that size in the NW territory and still not have enough space! Yes, cameras are a good thing, but we need to talk long term fixes and infrastructure to support the growth before we invest in this high-tech equipment for such an old building. Am I the only one that thinks like this?  |
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Cracker Jax Member 
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DToney wrote: Am I the only one that thinks like this? No you are not. The only problem with bigger schools is that they'll just cram more kids into it, run it with a skeleton staff that is not capable of watching/controlling that many kids and we'll still be in need of those cameras. More schools is the answer. Get the numbers down (way down)and the school administration will get to know the kids and will in turn know what's going on with those kids. |
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DToney Member
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So... how do we make it happen? Northern was a chore to get going... and we need the buildings NOW... we don't need to wait another 10 years... I hear this year's freshman class at NW was the biggest ever and next year's is expected to be even bigger! How are we supposed to fit all of these kids in these buildings? More mobiles? Yuck! I hate the thoughts of that. As it is now the kids cannot even get up and down the halls without getting run over by other students. What do we as citizens need to do to get this ball rolling? |
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Cracker Jax Member
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In my opinion, ousting Grier and several of the school board members would be the answer to that one. Now, how to do that??? hmmmm? They seem so focused on racial numbers and socio economic manipulation that what's good for the kids and the staff is immaterial. Wasn't it Armfield that offered land for a school and the School board turned it down because it wasn't located where they wanted it to be located??? It was some development on 150 anyway. They came up with some other lame excuse of course for not taking the land, but the real reason was that they couldn't reach the racial/economic balance that is Grier's goal. If they'd taken that FREE land, and built a NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, they could only alleviate the crowding at NW and they couldn't have pulled from Northeast and Page to meet this agenda of theirs that has become the bane of our existence. Sorry to ramble. It is just so frustrating. I do agree with you that cameras are just one more expensive band-aid fix to the problems that really plague the NW. |
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macca Member 
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Y'all make some good points, but do you see Grier OR any of the BOE members going anywhere? In fact, the ones who are running again are running unopposed, and I think Marty Sykes may have recruited her replacement. So where does that leave us? The only bright spot is that PERHAPS the person who replaces Susan Mendenhall will be a student/parent advocate. Until parents realize how strong they could be if they would unite, I don't think a lot will change. They'll just keep pitting us against each other with our own agendas.  Also, hate to throw another wrench into the works, but sometimes "free" is too expensive if there are too many conditions in order to get it. I don't know all the details, but that may have been the case with the "free" land that was offered.  |
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DToney Member
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who is Susan Mendenhall? I'd be willing to do just about anything, whether it be run for some advocacy position or attend whatever meeting it takes to get my child in not only a safer environment, but also one not so crowded... as I am certain most parents in the NW would as well. Does Grier and the school board hold that much power that they will not allow schools to be built in an area just because we don't have the minority numbers to support it? |
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macca Member
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Susan Mendenhall is a school board (Board of Education) member who chose not to run again. For more info on the BOE, including meeting times, agenda items, etc go to http://www.gcsnc.com. This is the Guilford County Schools web site. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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I'm glad to see all the ideas that are being posted here -- good points all. I hope everyone will take the time to learn more about what is going on and then get more involved in the process. That's what we need in order to make changes. It does seem to take a long time, though. DToney, did you make it over to Laughlin Monday night to hear more about Guilford County Schools' proposed budget? |
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DToney Member
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I'm afraid to say that I did not.... I work in winston & get home rather late every day... I would love to have been able to be there! I did however, view the website and found that other than Northern, that is the only construction budgeted for our area for the next year! At this pace, the growth will overcome us for many more years to come. Not only are we putting our kids in trailers, we must ask ourselves, how many teachers want to teach in that environment? If we want to attract good teachers, we at least need to provide a good work environment for them. I sure wish Guilford County Schools had an online forum! |
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gotobeme Member
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I guess the real question is; Will NW be prepared? Columbineist represents the attitude toward possible danger. Far too calm and content for me. Our school have a mindset that says "it doesn't happen here." Take a close look at what happened today at Grimsley High and surrounding schools. Is it close to us, yes. Can it happen at NW, yes. Do we have students who are capable, Yes...... Lets not close our eyes. With as much illegal substance that runs through NW, ie; pills, huffing, sniffing, pot, cocaine, and other perscription additives, it's a wonder how our great school has held together all this time. You can't help but hear about it. It's in the mouths of our kids. All we have to do is listen. If we dont talk with them, we will not know until its too late. I do believe that if parents were talking with their kids the way they should have, and acted seriously, Columbine may not have happened. No, I dont have first hand information, but have heard about things like stun guns, triple C pills abuse and adderall abuse. I have heard about pots being sold and cocaine used at NW. I do know that OP have made several arrest for these types of illegal substances on campus. From the outside NW looks ok, but I would go as far to say that if we develope a forum to talk with the students we will discover a different NW. Check this one out. I heard that a student made a phone call to the KKK hotline and played it on a cell phone in the classroom so that black students in the class could hear it. What happened with that situation. Have anyone heard about that?? Let me get off my soap box. I would like as much as anyone else to really get down to business this year to make some important changes at NW. Gotobeme |
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DToney Member
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gotobeme... I could not agree more! My daughter tells me all the time that she sees sales in the halls... my question is where are the teachers? At our old school, there HAD to be a teacher providing hall monitoring on each hall during class changing from period to period. We must have adult presence in the common areas as well.. things are going on there all of the time as well.. as in the bathrooms. Kids are smoking in the bathrooms in between classes every day! Is no one watching? I realize they cannot be everywhere all of the time & OP has his hands full... the administrators & teachers should be monitoring better... and if they can't get parental involvement... like volunteer hall monitors... something! If we don't act now... I'm afraid that we will have to deal with a bad situation soon...... |
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gotobeme Member
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DToney, The question about cameras came up earlier and no one seems to understand the magnitude of their presence. In most other schools who have cameras, there has been a significant drop in in-school violence and other kinds of crimes. I dont understand why the PTSA and the school can't get together to get funds for cameras in the school and the school parking lot. The middle school has cameras and I heard that it was a joint effort with the school and PTSA. If they can do it surely we can. One big effort. Whatever it takes. You are right, there should be teachers and staff present in the hallways during class change. NW is so big and its population more than exceeds normalacy. There is also projected growth next year with no relief at least for a year and the amount of relief will not be substantial enough to meet continued growth in the NW area. So every little thing we can do to encourage safety at NW High should be done without hesitation. Why wait until....like we usually do. I believe in preventive actions can save money and lives. The community really need to talk about these things seriously. What is more important than our kids or what situation needs to spark actions of sincerity about the lives we protect? I would say, let it not be a tragedy. The High School will host the Prom tonight at the Empire Room downtown come out and show support. Gotobeme |
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macca Member
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DToney and gotobeme: It sounds as though you both have kids at the high school, and you have also information and ideas.... Have you shared these with NWHS administration and PTSA? Have you offered help and they turned you down (re: monitoring halls, etc). |
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DToney Member
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gotobeme wrote: NW is so big and its population more than exceeds normalacy. There is also projected growth next year with no relief at least for a year and the amount of relief will not be substantial enough to meet continued growth in the NW area. I've quoted you to substantiate my point of the primary problem with NWHS... the overcrowded population. For a school that was designed for much less... NWHS is currently at 3 times its capacity... and to "make-do" with what we have... Guilford County keeps throwing mobile units at us.... a fix I for one am not satisfied with. Getting back to the safety of our children, and the need for a better facility, and to best utilize our tax dollars, the ultimate fix would be a new building... probably on the same site if at all possible so we can utilize the new wing. That however, will probably not happen anytime soon. As I previously stated, Guilford County don't have any plans in the budget to even consider alleviating this problem. From what I read in this week's Observer, the county commissioners are holding the purse strings so tight, the schools are finding it hard to operate in "normal" conditions without any projected growth. My idea is for us to get a letter writing campaign... write the county commissioners and copy the school board so everyone knows how badly we need funding... at this rate, we'll never be able to effectively house our students, nor attract good teachers, to an area where they not only feel threatened by safety of the student activity, but also the safety of the structure in which they are housed. I talk to my child every day... there is not a day that goes by that she don't tell me how nasty the dressing area is in the gym... how badly overcrowded the halls are between classes, such that there are people running over each other... couple that with drug use/abuse and you have the possibility of some "stoned" kid that goes whacko! I'm all for cameras... I just wish there were some way to best utilize the money in a newer, cleaner, safer facility. We definitely need to do SOMETHING because doing nothing has gotten us in the predictiment we are in now... Last edited on May 20th, 2006 03:39 pm by DToney |
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DToney Member
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I am sorry to say that my working in Winston and getting home so late every day... that I am unable to volunteer, myself... as for the letter writing, I have inserted a link for the contact info for each of the commissioners.... http://gcms0004.co.guilford.nc.us/commissioners/index.php for whoever wishes to join me in getting us better funding. I would not care if my house taxes were raised $20+ dollars per year... it would be a small price to pay for getting what our community needs... for anyone who does not have children in school that would balk at higher taxes... consider it bettering the community in which we live. I will attach the contact list... apparently our commissioner serves District 3, but it would not hurt to copy all on the correspondence so they will know our thoughts. |
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dmauser Member
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The PTSA at NWMS did not have anything to do with the cameras. The school paid for it out of capital money. The cost was around $18,000. The first week, they were able to exonerate one student suspected of vandelism by watching the cameras. They moniter the halls, and commons. |
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DToney Member
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Thanks for the u/d dmauser... |
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