Long post alert - If you don't have kids in Guilford County Schools, go read Mr. Sun, again.
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Update: Today's N&R has excellent coverage of the two meetings - link here.
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I got in a little late to the School Board's 4:30 called meeting at Aycock Middle School because of horrendous I-85 traffic from Charlotte. I was able to get signed up to speak to the board and did so.
My talking point was pretty much, "if it ain't broke... don't fix it." Aycock has been through several changes since redistricting in 1999 and it's working pretty well right now. So I asked the Board to expand on Aycock's success and keep the programs that are there... there. Just make them better and expand them.
I am blogging this from the second meeting of the night over at Lincoln Middle School, which is right across the street from the now-being-renovated Dudley High. Lincoln was cleared out so that Dudley could utilize Lincoln's facilities during the school's reconstruction which will be completed in time for tne next school year. Next year, Lincoln's 800+ seats will be available in a system that is in dire need of middle school seats. How to fill those seats is the issue here and during the other meeting at Aycock and the only definite seat sitters will be a new performing arts magnet at the school.
The most striking thing to me when I walked into both meetings (late) was the preponderance, and I mean heavy preponderance, of light colored faces. Lincoln, and to a lesser extent Aycock, are situated in predominantly black neighborhoods and I was expecting just the opposite.
I just did a quick count of faces here at Lincoln and there are just at 200 souls here including staff and School Board, right at 170 of them are white or off white. I didn't do an actual count at Aycock but my estimate is there was a total of 100 or so in attendance, only ten or so us black. I really don't know what to make of the observation... but there it is.
Anyway... There are several programs that are looking for a home at either Lincoln or Aycock. Aycock currently hosts Spanish Immersion, Very Strong Needs (the smartest of the smart kids, aka VSN) and a sizable 'neighborhood' population. In addition to the planned performing arts program for Lincoln, there are two successful elementary programs that are looking for space to expand into middle schools: Pre-International Bacculaureat and Global Studies. In addition, because of much howling from elementary VSN parents about how poorly their kid's are being served at Wiley Elementary, that program's, which is only for grades 4 & 5 is looking for a new home, too... preferrably at the same school as the grade 6 - 8 program - which is, as I said, currently at Aycock as it has been for about 100 years. Throw all of that up in the air, and you get quite a cacophony of parental wants, needs and wishes, all coming in rapid fire at our hard working school board.
On the way out after the Lincoln meeting, one member of that board had a perplexed look as I went over to say hello. "Well, what do you think?", I asked. "I just don't know what to do," said the long-time board member. "Disrupt the fewest number of families and staff as possible and most everyone will be happy." was my advice. Here's my thinking.
The common theme from parents at both of tonight's meetings was quality of instruction, not the location of the school. Few really had much opinion about where the various programs are located... they simply want their children's needs met. Some are focused on their children's academic needs, some on the emotional aspects and still others... social. So, to most parents, tonight's series of meetings was not about bricks and mortar... they were about teaching, and teacher quality, and getting their children's needs fulfilled.
After I spoke to the school board member, I went over to say to hello to one of the finest teachers in the County, Harry Lovelady. Harry taught the advanced learner class at Brooks when my son Jackson went through that fine school several years ago. No teacher has ever connected to my now-Grimsley-sophomore Jack like Harry did. He is now one of the most highly regarded teachers for the Wiley VSN program. So I thought I'd ask...
"Harry, do you really care where the elementary VSN program is housed next year?" "No... it could be housed in a barn for all I care, just as long as the program is fully supported."
That sealed it for me....
Leave Aycock as it is but add the elementary VSN students to the school. Aycock has a detached set of classrooms known as 'the annex' that would provide the necessary segregation between elementary and middle school aged kids. Spanish Immersion is just now getting up some steam and more and more SI families are committing to the old building. Aycock is doing well, don't screw it up by gutting it - make it better. Plant some money into the programs and into the facility and watch it grow.
Put all new programs at Lincoln. In that way there is no disruption nor loss of continuity that is always a problem when you move kids and staff out of school they are used to. Performing Arts is new, Global Studies is new, Pre-IB is new and, for all practical purposes, Lincoln itself will be new since it hopefully will again become partially a neighborhood school after being vacated as a middle school for three years. It would be a fresh start for all involved.
This stuff's not that difficult to figure out.
8:02:05 PM 
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