Academie Lafayette

KC topics that don't fit anywhere else.
chingon
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 3522
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:47 pm
Location: South Plaza

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by chingon »

chrizow wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 8:57 am
chingon wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 8:19 am The District’s shenanigans with SW high, especially Clinton Adams’s involvement with blocking any proposal for a second good high school in the District, are something worse than “profligate behavior” and approaching malfeasance.
Can you elaborate on this? I am curious. Also what is the status (if any) on the "Uniting at Southwest" movement - or is that related to what you're talking about?
Beauty covered it, probably with more delicacy than I would have been able to muster.
herrfrank
Western Auto Lofts
Western Auto Lofts
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by herrfrank »

I just read the Uniting at Southwest letter. If this is the thread to discuss this, then here goes...

The "slow rolling" of the taxpayers of Brookside by the KCPS School Board is nothing new. They teased them in the 1980s with calls about "re-imagining" of Paseo High School as a unifying "arts academy" for all city residents, then the KCPS promptly demolished it under the cover of darkness. The families in the district who sent their children to private schools were repeatedly defamed in the 1980s and 1990s school funding lawsuits.

The current refusal to let Brookside invest in its high school back reveals yet another mass poisoning by the KCPS School Board consistent with its child brutality that stretches back to the 1970s. The majority of board members of the KCPS are consumed with (something -- I was going to write hate, perhaps too strong. But it is certainly not encouragement). And the KCPS attacks on Brookside have been carried out with Schadenfreude.
User avatar
chaglang
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 4132
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:44 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by chaglang »

Alright, that sounds like three votes against pre-k. :lol:
herrfrank
Western Auto Lofts
Western Auto Lofts
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by herrfrank »

I actually think one year of pre-Kindergarten should be taxpayer funded. But I also think that hostaging a beautiful building designed as a full-service high school and now sitting empty when the students WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE are desperate for classroom space is misanthropic. The KCPS leadership has gone beyond negligence in the harm done to Kansas City.

Instead of a neutral focus on education, they have gone off-the-rails for 40+ years on destructive crusades. The school board's attempts to subvert cohesion extends beyond Brookside. They have also ravaged the neighborhood schools that serviced much of the working class areas of the city. That goes for Westport HS and the (demolished) Paseo HS and the (demolished) Central HS also.

Instead of integrated, well-functioning schools (look at Denver or Minneapolis as contrasts), we have fortress education factories that largely abet the prison pipeline.
Last edited by herrfrank on Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
beautyfromashes
One Park Place
One Park Place
Posts: 7189
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:04 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by beautyfromashes »

Having the public school system not under our local government gives them a free pass to not push for change. This should have been a major issue in the recent elections but it’s just too easy to blame a dysfunctional school board and move on to the next topic. A school system that hurts the overall education of the population is a development issue and jobs issue and crime issue, etc.
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by flyingember »

How would you put a school system under our local government?

NKC Schools crosses 9 different towns.
herrfrank
Western Auto Lofts
Western Auto Lofts
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by herrfrank »

All of KCPS is within the city limits of Kansas City. (There used to be a small overlap with Independence, but that was resolved by yielding control of those catchments to the Independence School District.)
herrfrank
Western Auto Lofts
Western Auto Lofts
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by herrfrank »

Someone should publish a scholarly analysis of the difference in life outcomes for graduates from 1950-2020 from Center High (serves "Greater Brookside" south of 80th street, really Waldo) and those areas of Brookside which did or would have attended Southwest, but limited to those who actually attended KCPS.

I'll wager that Center High graduates have been outperforming the would-be Southwest High graduates since at least 1980, even though the Southwest catchment is wealthier. The data would tell volumes.
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by flyingember »

herrfrank wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:28 am All of KCPS is within the city limits of Kansas City. (There used to be a small overlap with Independence, but that was resolved by yielding control of those catchments to the Independence School District.)
Yielding? There was an election and then a court battle that validated the election.

https://www.examiner.net/x1796494604/Va ... dependence
herrfrank
Western Auto Lofts
Western Auto Lofts
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by herrfrank »

flyingember wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:14 pm
herrfrank wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:28 am All of KCPS is within the city limits of Kansas City. (There used to be a small overlap with Independence, but that was resolved by yielding control of those catchments to the Independence School District.)
Yielding? There was an election and then a court battle that validated the election.

https://www.examiner.net/x1796494604/Va ... dependence
Sorry -- I simply was using the words yielding control as a synonym for granting control. Van Horn is another good example of a HS doing much better with the same demography and the same financial status, but with different leadership.
User avatar
chaglang
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 4132
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:44 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by chaglang »

herrfrank wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:13 am Instead of a neutral focus on education, they have gone off-the-rails for 40+ years on destructive crusades. The school board's attempts to subvert cohesion extends beyond Brookside. They have also ravaged the neighborhood schools that serviced much of the working class areas of the city. That goes for Westport HS and the (demolished) Paseo HS and the (demolished) Central HS also.

Instead of integrated, well-functioning schools (look at Denver or Minneapolis as contrasts), we have fortress education factories that largely abet the prison pipeline.
This is a fun one, because even while the KCPS Board was in charge of 70,000 students and schools were neighborhood-based, the board was drawing and redrawing attendance boundaries to keep schools de facto segregated, including Southwest. The Troost Wall is largely the result of the school board's diligent efforts. And it created a hypersegregation situation that we are still digging out from under. That still makes it impossible for us to have racially integrated schools that draw from their neighborhood catchment.

And to be fair, Paseo and Central were rebuilt. Not my taste in design, but the schools do exist.

School board members generally reflect the outlook of their constituents, and there are more than enough people in Kansas City with bitterness over the near-collapse of the KCPS and suspicion of the growth of charters. That's not to agree with that viewpoint, but to point out that it's unlikely that the board would act against the wishes of its constituents for decades on end. Without Brookside somehow electing a charter-sympathetic majority on school board, it's hard to envision a situation where Southwest is sold.
nomadcowatbk
Strip mall
Strip mall
Posts: 202
Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 3:44 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by nomadcowatbk »

herrfrank wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:38 am Someone should publish a scholarly analysis of the difference in life outcomes for graduates from 1950-2020 from Center High (serves "Greater Brookside" south of 80th street, really Waldo) and those areas of Brookside which did or would have attended Southwest, but limited to those who actually attended KCPS.

I'll wager that Center High graduates have been outperforming the would-be Southwest High graduates since at least 1980, even though the Southwest catchment is wealthier. The data would tell volumes.
Waldo and Brookside aren't in Center SD boundaries
https://www.center.k12.mo.us/uploaded/P ... s/JC-E.pdf
nomadcowatbk
Strip mall
Strip mall
Posts: 202
Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 3:44 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by nomadcowatbk »

herrfrank wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:07 pm
flyingember wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:14 pm
herrfrank wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:28 am All of KCPS is within the city limits of Kansas City. (There used to be a small overlap with Independence, but that was resolved by yielding control of those catchments to the Independence School District.)
Yielding? There was an election and then a court battle that validated the election.

https://www.examiner.net/x1796494604/Va ... dependence
Sorry -- I simply was using the words yielding control as a synonym for granting control. Van Horn is another good example of a HS doing much better with the same demography and the same financial status, but with different leadership.
the old boundaries had the Van Horn attendence area in KCMO city limits before, not quite the same demographic
herrfrank
Western Auto Lofts
Western Auto Lofts
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by herrfrank »

chaglang wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:38 pmThis is a fun one, because even while the KCPS Board was in charge of 70,000 students and schools were neighborhood-based, the board was drawing and redrawing attendance boundaries to keep schools de facto segregated, including Southwest. The Troost Wall is largely the result of the school board's diligent efforts. And it created a hypersegregation situation that we are still digging out from under. That still makes it impossible for us to have racially integrated schools that draw from their neighborhood catchment.

And to be fair, Paseo and Central were rebuilt. Not my taste in design, but the schools do exist.

School board members generally reflect the outlook of their constituents, and there are more than enough people in Kansas City with bitterness over the near-collapse of the KCPS and suspicion of the growth of charters. That's not to agree with that viewpoint, but to point out that it's unlikely that the board would act against the wishes of its constituents for decades on end. Without Brookside somehow electing a charter-sympathetic majority on school board, it's hard to envision a situation where Southwest is sold.
Do you think "bitterness" is an appropriate governing approach? I agree that the KCPS school board is full of bitterness, and that combined with general incompetence is why they have produced decades of spectacular failure.
Last edited by herrfrank on Thu Apr 11, 2019 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by flyingember »

You can't place this issue on an being minority by any means. Minority students in other district are more likely to graduate. If anyone wanted a model for how to educate all students well it's NKC schools.

KCPS is absolutely a failure to manage the district.

Four year cohort graduation rate
NKC: 95.5%
Liberty: 95%
KCPS: 70%.
Center: 87%
Raytown: 84%.
Hickman: 85%
Independence: 94%


7th grade math proficiency
Independence: 27%
KC: 17%
Center: 20%
Hickman: 10%
Liberty: 48%
NKC: 48%

Demographics
KC Schools is 55% black, 28% hispanic, 10% white
NKC schools is 15% black, 15% hispanic, 57% white. Overhwleming majority of students in the cohort graduate.
Center schools is 64% black, 8% hispanic, 20% white. They graduate more students and are only 10% more white than KCPS
Liberty schools is 81% white. Overhwleming majority of students in the cohort graduate.
Hickman: 73% black. As minority as KCPS, graduate more
Raytown: 48% black, 30% white.
Independence: 12% black, 20% hispanic, 56% white. Overhwleming majority of students in the cohort graduate.
User avatar
beautyfromashes
One Park Place
One Park Place
Posts: 7189
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:04 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by beautyfromashes »

herrfrank wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:15 am Do you think "bitterness" is an appropriate governing approach? I agree that the KCPS school board is full of bitterness, and that combined with general incompetence is why they have produced decades of spectacular failure.
It’s, obviously, not a great approach, but I think you also have to acknowledge the reason for it. The white community all but abandoned the urban core leaving it to crumble while ‘escaping’ to the suburbs and Catholic schools. They turned a blind eye to issues in the black community and established systems to keep them disadvantaged. It makes sense now that those left to pick up the pieces would have that bitterness when white people want to have more control, want facilities opened in their areas and second guess decisions. I understand why they’re bitter. It doesn’t help anyone and holds all kids back, but it can’t be washed over. It’s time to find a path forward.
User avatar
chaglang
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 4132
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:44 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by chaglang »

Very well said. And, again, it’s a mistake to think that this “bitterness” is only held by KCPS board members and isn’t part of a wider opinion held by people voting for the school board. In that context, having Brooksiders’ claim victimhood is counterproductive at best.
nomadcowatbk
Strip mall
Strip mall
Posts: 202
Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 3:44 pm

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by nomadcowatbk »

flyingember wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 10:00 am You can't place this issue on an being minority by any means. Minority students in other district are more likely to graduate. If anyone wanted a model for how to educate all students well it's NKC schools.

KCPS is absolutely a failure to manage the district.

Four year cohort graduation rate
NKC: 95.5%
Liberty: 95%
KCPS: 70%.
Center: 87%
Raytown: 84%.
Hickman: 85%
Independence: 94%


7th grade math proficiency
Independence: 27%
KC: 17%
Center: 20%
Hickman: 10%
Liberty: 48%
NKC: 48%

Demographics
KC Schools is 55% black, 28% hispanic, 10% white
NKC schools is 15% black, 15% hispanic, 57% white. Overhwleming majority of students in the cohort graduate.
Center schools is 64% black, 8% hispanic, 20% white. They graduate more students and are only 10% more white than KCPS
Liberty schools is 81% white. Overhwleming majority of students in the cohort graduate.
Hickman: 73% black. As minority as KCPS, graduate more
Raytown: 48% black, 30% white.
Independence: 12% black, 20% hispanic, 56% white. Overhwleming majority of students in the cohort graduate.
high rate of poverty among KCMOSD students, what is the number of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch in area districts? lots of white poverty in Independence SD and rural districts, even minority students in the higher performing districts are likely to come from middle/upper income 2 parent college educated families, the higher performing districts usually have families with higher incomes likely to have college educated parents
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by flyingember »

The entire southern third of NKC Schools is so high on free lunch that they're just called 100% schools. Only the school with kids in $600k homes isn't, it's only like 80%

If you think NKC schools minority is likely to be middle/upper college graduates ready for education you're insane.

There's elementary classrooms today which are 80% minority. In the Line Creek area. These parts of town are part of the 95% graduation rate. Are you seriously saying that only college educated minority families moved there?

Our school makes interpreters available for back to school night and parent teacher conferences and I've seen them. Our student population includes families living in single family homes turned into four plexes, that's not an upper income family. No one chooses to live that tight if they can afford to otherwise.

You're blaming the nurture part of nature vs nurture and insulting a bunch of kids claiming they're incapable of learning. The families that moved didn't magically get a college degree or come out of poverty because they moved. Their nature didn't change, they moved to a better district and got better results because the nurture part matters as much.
User avatar
beautyfromashes
One Park Place
One Park Place
Posts: 7189
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:04 am

Re: Academie Lafayette

Post by beautyfromashes »

I would guess nuclear family structure, or lack there of, is more likely to have a correlation to grade scores than anything.
Post Reply