Walton County School Board budget discussion

SAT scores have some hella selection bias if you're trying to use them as a school quality proxy. I remember the last time it came up that Alabama students had higher mean SAT scores than New Jersey students, but if you drill down into the college board reports, about 5-10% of Alabama high school students take the SATs (ACT is more common for college bound students in the South and Midwest unless they're a high achiever that's looking at a top tier national schools that's still SAT-only or need a validater for a National Merit scholarship) and the percentage of students who took the SATs in New Jersey (ACT less common) was at 60-70%.

The Alabama students also had significantly higher median family income than the New Jersey students, something that suggests the Alabama group was skewing toward high achievers if you're familiar with usual student patterns.

What is the most objective way to be able to compare schools across state lines? The basic premise of using a national standardized test like the SAT or ACT makes sense at first glance, but as mentioned, there are lots of biases that can influence the results.

In these times of economic uncertainty, many families are having to make choices to move to different areas for employment (if they are lucky enough to find a new job). Obviously, one of the issues most parents care deeply about is the quality of the new school(s) that their children will be attending.

If a family is making a move within the same state, it seems as if it would be easier to assess the potential new school relative to the prior school. However, how is someone supposed to compare an "average" school in a state with a great public school system (wherever that might be) to a "great" school in an average state (again, wherever that might be)?

Actually, since generalizations about entire states don't really help a specific family, how do you think a family could best weigh an individual school in one city compared to another individual school in one or two other cities in different states?

Maybe if we had a true national stantardized test with 90% plus student participation, we'd get a better idea of what's going on. As it is, each state interprets NCLB differently, and what's passing in one state can be failing in another come test time.

Meanwhile in higher ed, FSU says it may have to lay off 200 faculty members and close entire departments if the budget ends up being a worst case scenario for them.

I also saw a blurb in another article about the school having a hiring freeze in the (self-funding) athletic department.

Walton County School District budget workshop will be tonight at 5 pm, Walton High auditorium.

wmbb.com - School Cuts May Lead to Layoffs

Story on last night's budget meeting. I wasn't able to go (probably a good thing since after reading the WZEP report, my jaw hurts from gritting my teeth).

http://www.panhandleparade.com/inde...idents_speak_against_teacher_cuts/mbb7715036/

WZEP has a more detailed report in their e-blast- I am trying to figure out how to link it.


No matter what happens, the district is going to need parent help now more than ever. Thjere are several parents going to DeFuniak to pay $57.50 to be fingerprinted so we can work one on one with students. I don't mind, but I bet we could have a lot more volunteers if the volunteer background check process was more accessible and affordable. I am sure there are parents that won't be able to take time off from work and/or afford the fee.

Interesting, I got fingerprinted (for a license) at the sub station. I know they don't have the cards there, but you can request for one from FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation Homepage.

There is another budget workshop meeting at 3 pm today at the school board complex in DeFuniak, followed by a regular meeting at 5 pm.

From Tuesday's school board workshop and meeting~

I was told that nothing much happened at the budget workshop- I was told that they are still waiting from some figures from the state.

At the regular meeting, there were 2 big topics- Emerald Coast Middle School (I started another thread on this) and the "education delivery model" change (4x4 block back to traditional). By a 3-2 vote, the Walton County high schools are going back to a traditional 7 period day- wonderful news! It was time.

Kids off the block | block, kids - Local News - WaltonSun.com

From the article:
Although the estimate was made that the block scheduling plan could save the district up to $116,000 per year, research and arguments favoring the traditional model were cited by several parents, board member Mildred Wilkerson and by district supervisor of instruction and curriculum, Marsha Pugh.
"Block scheduling is costing our children. It is not doing them any favors when they get to college," two South Walton High School parents told the board.
Other speakers cited difficulties with teaching quality and student attention span over the course of class periods ranging from 80 to 87 minutes in the block plan. Small school sizes were also mentioned as problematic to this scheme, affording students fewer opportunities to take a desired class.

thanks for the info jdarg...about the block scheduling: some people have said the block schedule is preferable for the students who are in the AP program; without it, their college classes are difficult to fit in.....do you have any insight into this?

thanks for the info jdarg...about the block scheduling: some people have said the block schedule is preferable for the students who are in the AP program; without it, their college classes are difficult to fit in.....do you have any insight into this?

We have seen that block is not good for AP (Advanced Placement) classes, since the AP tests are given in early May, there is not enough time to cover the material if the course is taken in the spring, or the AP class was taken several semesters earlier, and the retention goes down. Traditional schedule allows for 17% more instructional time. Our AP scores aren't great- we hope going back to the traditional schedule will help that. The students in the AP classes make good grades for those classes, but a disappointing number score a 4 or 5, which is required to get the college credit for that course. The AP calculus class is already taught fall to spring because that teacher recognizes that there is no way to cram it into one semester ( and this class has a good number getting the AP credit).

I think you are calling "advanced Program" AP, and the college classes I think you are referring to would be dual enrollment. I am not sure how it all will work out, but OW has said they will work with our schools in coordinating the dual enrollment kids.

We have Florida DOE stats of FCAT, SAT, and ACT, comparing FL schools on traditional vs. block, and the block schools perform dismally in comparison to traditional. Niceville, the school everyone loves to use for comparison, dropped the block a few years ago.

It is a myth that block prepares our kids for college. You don't take 4 classes that last 90 minutes everyday- on block the kids take 4 classes per semester, each class meets 90 minutes every day. In college, you take a 90 minute class 2 x a week, juggling 5 or 6 subjects at once. I think this idea was promoted to "sell" the block schedule.

Making this change is challenging for admin, teachers, and students, but we really don't need to reinvent the wheel. Many many schools have managed to make this change, and I am confident we can too. Or school is too small to make block work- there aren't enough sections of each class for the kids to make a good schedule, and they are often left with "filler" classes that they don't want or need, but could not fit anything else in that "slot".

jdarg - I've been getting asked if there has been any word on layoffs. Have you, or anyone else, heard about this yet? Has anything been posted as to the # of teachers & school staff that will or possibly be laid off? Thanks!

jdarg - I've been getting asked if there has been any word on layoffs. Have you, or anyone else, heard about this yet? Has anything been posted as to the # of teachers & school staff that will or possibly be laid off? Thanks!

There is lots of speculation, but I think the district is waiting on some figures from the state and feds- maybe Mark Davis can provide more information on exactly what they need to get a budget, but it is my understanding that until they have those figures, the number of layoffs and program cuts will be unknown. There will be some jobs eliminated, but how many, nobody knows right now.

Thanks!!!!

thanks Jdarg--I was under the impression that these people's students were both in the AP and dual enrolled...but, I could have misunderstood. What you say makes sense to me.

thanks Jdarg--I was under the impression that these people's students were both in the AP and dual enrolled...but, I could have misunderstood. What you say makes sense to me.

We discussed this a bit today at SWHS- our guidance counselor was telling us that it very difficult to take both high school and OW classes at the same time due to travel time to and fro, even with block. So most kids do all OW classes during a semester, or take OW classes later in the day. For example, an 8 am OW class that last 50 minutes would knock out the first 2 periods of the high school block schedule, which is workable only if you could schedule your necessary high school classes in 3rd and 4th block, which is virtually impossible to be that lucky to have that work out. More likely, the 2 classes you needed that sememster would be 1st and 3rd, or some combo that wouldn't fit with a run over to Niceville.

It's complicated to dual enroll where you are going to the high school and OW every day. We may have to look at an afternoon/eveing math class for Will's senior year, because thanks to block, he will be taking AP calculus junior year, and then will be finished with math. We don't want him going an entire year without math before he starts college.

Another option is Florida virtual- he will finishing his language requirement this way next year. One class period will be set aside for him to go to the media center and work on his FL virtual class, instead of taking 7 classes at school and adding an 8th.

Just an additional note - with traditional scheduling a class can be offered more times a day than with block scheduling, so you'll actually increase your ability to be flexible with your schedule and still get the classes you need. So you're more likely to be able to schedule the high school classes you need for earlier in the day and be free to leave high school a little earlier to go attend college class. With the block schedule, sometimes the only block you can get a class is one particular block, which might not match up with getting to a college class.

We discussed this a bit today at SWHS- our guidance counselor was telling us that it very difficult to take both high school and OW classes at the same time due to travel time to and fro, even with block. So most kids do all OW classes during a semester, or take OW classes later in the day. For example, an 8 am OW class that last 50 minutes would knock out the first 2 periods of the high school block schedule, which is workable only if you could schedule your necessary high school classes in 3rd and 4th block, which is virtually impossible to be that lucky to have that work out. More likely, the 2 classes you needed that sememster would be 1st and 3rd, or some combo that wouldn't fit with a run over to Niceville.

It's complicated to dual enroll where you are going to the high school and OW every day. We may have to look at an afternoon/eveing math class for Will's senior year, because thanks to block, he will be taking AP calculus junior year, and then will be finished with math. We don't want him going an entire year without math before he starts college.

Another option is Florida virtual- he will finishing his language requirement this way next year. One class period will be set aside for him to go to the media center and work on his FL virtual class, instead of taking 7 classes at school and adding an 8th.

While it doesn't help the immediate situation, they're making good progress on the NWFSC SoWal campus and they should be offering some college basics (English 101, etc.) out there within walking distance of SWHS by this time next year.

While it doesn't help the immediate situation, they're making good progress on the NWFSC SoWal campus and they should be offering some college basics (English 101, etc.) out there within walking distance of SWHS by this time next year.

Yeah, I think that is the case now with the Walton High students, they have the DFS campus of NWFSC right in town, so it probably worked better for some of them.

While it doesn't help the immediate situation, they're making good progress on the NWFSC SoWal campus and they should be offering some college basics (English 101, etc.) out there within walking distance of SWHS by this time next year.

That would be wonderful - is it really true? I was told about a year ago that the course offerings at this location would not be those that would be of interest to the high school kids. That it was going to be geared more towards adults looking to expand their business education. I sure hope the info I was given is wrong because it would simplify a lot of lives (and save a lot of gas!).

From what I hear, plans for that campus are still being finalized and I think they're not quite sure right now what they're going to do with the whole complex. But it would just seem to make sense to have at least some basics out there like they do for every other branch campus. The only real persistent rumor I've heard for the location is that they want to move the Choctawhatchee Bay Alliance offices out there.

Even if classes are not offered at the new NWFSC SoWal location, our kids could go to the Chatauqua Neighborhood Center in DeFuniak, at least the ones who would be going directly from school or from east of Santa Rosa Beach - closer than going to Niceville via Hwy 20, don't have to deal with 98, and from SWHS it should take roughly 35 minutes, depending on traffic lights in DFS. Most of the classes offered are once-a-week evening classes, even now.