Northwest Observer Forums > Closed Topics > Previous Topics > Incentives for next years parking plan
Northwest Observer Forums > Closed Topics > Previous Topics > Incentives for next years parking plan |
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gotobeme Member 
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Hey yall, listen at this. This is a proposal for next year's parking incentives. Tell me what you think. Personally, I believe it can be better if all students got a chance equally to participate....I dont know.....but I like the thought. Iguess the question is how will my child who does not take HRs or AP classes get a fair chance at parking on school campus with this incentive offer? This was sent out via email. Gotobeme [size=Parking Incentive Program – Rising Juniors:] [size=Starting 2nd Semester - January 24, 2007] [size=] [size=Students may earn points the following ways:] [size=] [size=1 point for each day present the 2nd semester (89 points)] [size=] [size=Second Semester Grades:] [size=weighted] [size=] [size= CP Honors AP] [size=A= 4 points A= 5 points A= 6 points] [size=B= 3 points B=4 points B= 5 points] [size=C= 2 points C= 3 points C= 4 points] [size=D= 1 point D= 2 points D= 3 points] [size=] [size=OSS] = minus -10 points a day [size=ISS = minus -5 points a day] [size= minus -1 point per period] |
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macca Member 
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Is it an official proposal? Who sent it via e-mail? It does seem to reward students who are responsible and make good grades. Isn't that what we expect from students? Maybe it's a fair way to do it..... All students who are present every day get the same points (89) and then the better grades will get them more points, with more strenuous classes getting higher points per grade. What other way would you suggest? |
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gotobeme Member
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I would suggest that every student get the same opportunity to get a parking space and that having extra points awarded to students who are taking Honors and AP courses would not be fair to students who do not take these classes but work just as hard at their level. I would consider keeping it as it is. I believe incentives can be given in other portions of the school curriculum. Because of the conditions with parking, such as not enough spaces per student capita, we need to look at other ways of rewarding students. gotobeme |
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Cracker Jax Member 
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Gottobeme..... If the email was an official one, I think it's probably unspoken but intended as an incentive (or bait) for kids to take honors and AP courses. I went to the PSAT explanation program that Kidd and two of the counselors hosted the other night and Kidd said that if a student scored in the 40's (not sure of the exact #) on the various sections of the PSAT, then they were gonna be required to take AP courses. Some parents seemed surprised and even upset by this and when they asked him to clarify he mumbled something about the superintendent mandating it before going off on another tangent. He touted the joys of AP courses and the need for rigor thoroughout the evening and I felt like he was trying to brainwash us or something. I don't have anything against Kidd or anything but I just sorta felt like I was being snookered. Last year they started making the students who tested for moderate AL (or whatever the high school equivalent for that is) take honors classes whether they wanted to or not. Lots of parents were very upset. Now they are gonna require AP courses to get their numbers up I suppose. BTW....Who'd you get the email from and how do we get on the email list??? |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member 
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Grier has always made it very clear he's disappointed that more kids in the Northwest area don't take AP classes. He thinks parents in our area don't expect enough of our kids and that we should push them to take more. Of course, it makes the system look better if we do. He says he thinks Northwest could be competitive with more of the elite high schools in the state, but we just don't try hard enough.... In addition to ticking off parents out here, he also ticks off parents in other parts of the county when he talks about how much better than everyone else we could be if we tried harder. On a personal note, my son didn't take AP classes (and we didn't insist that he should). I've asked him now that he graduated if he regrets not taking them and the only thing he's said is that he wishes he had so he would've had college credits so he wouldn't have to take as many classes. He's at UNC-G now and his grades are at least as good as they were at NW -- mostly A's, some B's. He took a few Honors classes, but no AP. |
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Cracker Jax Member
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I know Vicki... The whole conversation reeked of something you'd hear from a car salesman. He talked about rigor and how our kids were going to be behind the rest of the world and when that didn't seem to take, he started talkin' to the pocketbooks and telling the parents that AP courses would save them money because they wouldn't have to take as many courses in college. As I'm sure you know, (but of course it wasn't made clear that night) taking an AP class and even doing well in it doesn't guarantee college credit. They still gotta pass that AP exam with a 3,4 or 5. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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Isn't there also a charge to take the AP exams? Of course, that's still cheaper than paying for college classes, but I know in our case, it was more important to our son to feel like he had a life instead of just always hitting the books while he was in high school -- and I'd have to say he's a pretty well-rounded kid, with various interests and friends. He worked part-time during high school, attended sports events and dances, as well as band performances at school. He was in the "We the People" program his senior year. I have to say I think that overall he enjoyed his high school years and got a lot out of them. If we had insisted on more "rigor," that might not have been as true. While we thought he could have handled more challenging courses, he wasn't ready for that. Now that he's in college, he's handling more challenging classes very well.... |
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macca Member
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Getting back to parking..... Do we need to have so many kids driving to school? The school system provides buses, there could be more carpooling... We just tend to think that everyone needs a car and a parking spot. I know some kids have afterschool jobs, and/or zero periods and it's not always convenient for parents to pick them up and take them. Anyone who travels anywhere near Northwest School Road in the mornings or afternoons knows what a nightmare it is.... I think we need to prevail upon Guilford County Schools to make riding the bus more appealing. You have all of the middle school parents scared that their younger children are going to be corrupted by what they see or hear on the bus, and parents of high school students who think that as soon as they get a driver's license they should be driving themselves to and from school, and the result is major traffic issues. We are very fortunate we haven't had serious accidents because of it.... |
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Kris McNeill Member
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Vicki White-Lawrence wrote: Isn't there also a charge to take the AP exams? When a student takes the AP class, the school system pays the exam fee. I have heard of some students who actually try to take the exam without taking the class but the student has to pay the fee then. |
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Kris McNeill Member
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First of all, I don't think the school system should be able to force students to take AP classes. I think it is worthy for counselors to strongly suggest that students take AP classes in areas of interest or high aptitude but I think a student and his/her parent should have the option to ultimately choose. Both of my daughters have taken quite a few AP courses. My oldest (a sophomore in college) really reaped some benefit from the AP courses she took. She started out her freshman year in college as a first semester sophomore because of the credit hours earned from AP courses. She also got quite a bit of scholarship money that I attribute to the level of rigor she took in high school. One AP class she took was calculus taught by Mrs. Cutts and I am 100% positive that she couldn't have had a college professor teach her calculus better than Mrs. Cutts did! As for the parking plan, I have mixed feelings. I think there are too many students with cars and driving to school that under my parenting style, wouldn't even have a driver's license, much less a car. My daughters drove to school beginning second quarter of junior year and senior year. By that point, they had proven to us that they were mature enough, driving well, and they were excelling academically. It was a privilege they earned. I have mixed feelings because I believe there could be students in CP classes who are working up to their potential with the maturity and good driving record too so maybe they also earn the privilege.  Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of parents that want their student to drive to school for their own convenience (so they don't have to drive them) or to indulge their child. I think that's the problem the administration is up against so all-in-all, I think the incentive based plan is good. I have often wondered if the school system is even required to provide all that parking! Just think about the size of the facility that could fit onto the student parking lot at Northwest! I know it would never happen and I do believe it is an important training ground for students who earn it, to have the privilege of driving to school though. |
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Bubba Guest
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The only problem I see is - not a even playing field. If a CP kid does everything right, and doesn't qualify for Honors and can't handle it academically then he is being set-up to fail. Same applys to Honors and AP. But the good kids on the bottom are set-up to be not second best but third;last;bottom of the barrel. Great self-esteem booster, Mr.Kidd. I heard it said somewhere, "If all the kids that drove would boycott for one day and road a bus for just a day, what a headache that would be for Grier and downtown. They don't have enough buses to transport the ones that do ride the bus". Why can't an A, B, C, D be the same for all in this one area? Oh right, their are just 700 spots |
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Bubba Guest
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I have often wondered if the school system is even required to provide all that parking Kris, The answer is NO and as for after school job- that is personal and has nothing to do with school so it doesn't apply for a reason to get a pass over someone else. I asked  |
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Egleston Member
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This system, although certainly an effort that is appreciated to give us more options, puts more on the school staff. They will have to cipher through grades, rolls, lists, etc...each semester grading period to determine the points. I don't favor anything that requires a tedious record-keeping effort. But still a great proactive effort to try and improve on something that is good but not yet perfect. PDE |
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S. Smith Moderator
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Egleston wrote: This system, although certainly an effort that is appreciated to give us more options, puts more on the school staff. They will have to cipher through grades, rolls, lists, etc...each semester grading period to determine the points. I don't favor anything that requires a tedious record-keeping effort. But still a great proactive effort to try and improve on something that is good but not yet perfect.I wouldn't have thought of this aspect, but it does bring up a good point -- who's going to keep track of all this? |
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gotobeme Member
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I got the email from a friend who is part of the school staff, name withheld, and I was pretty sure this may be something considered for next year's parking opportunities. I believe there may be other discussions about it later. Gotobeme |
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gotobeme Member
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I agree with your statement about driving to school and the notion of riding the bus. Have anyone seen how those kids drive after school. It is scary and should be addressed somehow. I believe if more of the school rules concerning driving were enforced there may be better opportunities for students to drive who are waiting for a permit to drive. I do believe we need more strenous driving consequenses. We are fortunate to not have someone injured seriously. I remember not to long ago some students were driving down Bunch Rd and threw a water balloon at an oncomming car striking the windshield and at approx. 50 miles per hour that windshield partially caved in causing the driver to have to quickly steer off the road. I heard that the driver was a young lady with two young children. So yes, why press the driving to school issue when there are so many more concerns to deal with at Northwest. Gotobeme |
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gotobeme Member
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Just think about the size of the facility that could fit onto the student parking lot at Northwest! I am glad you mentioned that. I forgot to say something about the teachers. Parents and students concerns are so overwhelming sometimes that I believe we loose track of the staff that struggles to have any place to park. The school is limited on handicapped parking and visitor parking. Have anyone tried to go and visit the school lately? Check out the visitor's parking area in front of the school. Only, what I counted, five spaces. Pretty pathetic for a school having a population of almost 2500. What do we do. We need a viable plan that will work for NW without all the my and our needs. We need to do what is best for the school and our kid's safety. Having all kids capable of driving to NW drive is ridiculous. I believe our common sense says that we really need to cut back alot on the number of drivers while giving focus to student transportation through, Guilford County Schools. That's where the pressure needs to be applied. Gotobeme |
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Jim Flynt Member
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All of this discussion reminds me of when Pappy and I used to have to walk to and from school. Every day. 2 miles each way. Uphill. |
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Cracker Jax Member
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Jim Flynt wrote: All of this discussion reminds me of when Pappy and I used to have to walk to and from school. Every day. 2 miles each way. Uphill. That was back when it used to SNOW around here and you were BAREFOOT of course. Right??? |
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Jim Flynt Member
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Cracker Jax wrote: Jim Flynt wrote:All of this discussion reminds me of when Pappy and I used to have to walk to and from school. Every day. 2 miles each way. Uphill. Gosh. How did you know? It was the price Pappy and I paid for a higher education. 'Course he was always much higher than the rest of us. |
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