Paron Daylight Time
Circuit Judge Jay Moody has issued his written order in the Paron school case. He's decreed that the school remain open, pending a" full and fair hearing" by the state Board of Education, rather than subsumed into Bryant High.. He did not permanently enjoin the closure.
It's a curious decision in some ways. For example: He held there was no evidence that time spent on the bus would be beneficial to students. Getting to a better high school with far more courses and activities is not beneficial?
And there was this curious statement:
There was evidence, however, that the Paron students would be required to spend significant amounts of time riding in the dark on the dangerous roads and that, in the winter time, they would see their houses in the daylight only on the weekends."
Is the standard now to be that a student must see his home during daylight? Are there other students in Arkansas who now run afoul of this standard? What, exactly, is the harm in that, by the way?
No matter. The state Education Department and legislature are going to have to spend some time on busing and set standards on whether curriculum, activities, teachers, labs and libraries are more important than rides and decree exactly how long is too long.
It would be interesting to have a student-by-student analysis of bus rides in Paron. Mathematically, it's unlikely EVERY child in the school has a four-hour ride. And it would also be interesting to see the rides they'd have to take if the district could be redrawn in the most sensible fashion to split the territory among neighboring school districts. That's the solution that SHOULD occur here.
We were interested too at the judge's finding of the school's "record of academic success." Paron's scores are more or less average and deficient in some testing areas according to state data. Furthermore, when the UA Department of Education Reform devised a School Performance Index for all schools in Arkansas, Paron didn't do so hot. The Index evaluated how well districts did after you took race, poverty and education of parents into account (all these factors are predictors of school "success".)
Paron High, in this Performance Index, scored far below average in math, below average in reading, above average on the end-of-course exam and -- overall -- below average statewide and below the index score of Bryant High School. Out of 1,116 schools in the state, Paron High ranked 741st in the index. (This was worse than several neighboring high schools that Paron students could attend, such as the much closer Joe T. Robinson in the Pulaski County District.) If this be "success," I'd hate to see failure.
Comments
So how long is too long for a bus ride? Shouldn't we decide what it too long and what is not? Obviously we can't bus kids for hours a day.
By the way, they have technology today that allows for distant learning.
Another thought: Why do we allow home-schooling? If small schools are not acceptable, how are one student home schools?
Posted by: the bold and the blue | June 30, 2006 02:22 PM
Its is going to be interesting in 2007 since both the reps that pushed for Paron (one the vice chair of the education committee) are both termed out. I bet the folks of Paron are wishing we did not have term limits. Having two freshman fight their cause might not help...
Posted by: Dome Rat | June 30, 2006 02:27 PM
Max, how long is too long to ride a bus to school every day? 1 hour? 2 hours? 3 hours?
As some point quality of life for the child clearly begins to decrease dramatically.
First of all, the very real drudgery of sitting in a school bus driving down curvy country roads for hours a day.
Second, the inability of these kids to participate in after school activities such as sports, band, and academic competitions. Third,the limitations on parents being able to be engaged in the educational environment.
Whether you like it or not, these are legitimate concerns.
ARK. BLOG Easily addressed, in the main, by redistricting. And, yes, some kids might have to take long bus rides. They would not be alone in the state in that number by any stretch. The argument about actiivities would carry more weight if Paron offered more than a bare minimum, not including instrumental music most years by my recollection.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 30, 2006 02:39 PM
You must have your facts wrong. Debbie Pelley said this was Judge Moody of the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She also implied that she loves activist judges who overturn the policiy of the elected governor and legislature. Well, just this one, not the judges who overturned the ban on gay foster parents. There's subtle a difference that probably escapes you..
Posted by: Anonymous | June 30, 2006 02:47 PM
Look, if the roads are bouncy, they can practice the violin while going to-and-from campus, and they won't wear out their "bow" arms. The highway, and the school bus will do the work for them. If Paron had a fight song would you play it on a violin or a fiddle?
Posted by: Louie | June 30, 2006 02:50 PM
In Pulaski County our bus rides where 45 min by the time we got picked up and made it to school. It was a great time to get home work done....
Posted by: Dome Rat | June 30, 2006 02:59 PM
The school districts in both Lee and Scott counties have been consolidated county-wide for years (more than 30). Perhaps a study of these two districts could be made and a determination reached as to the effectiveness or harm of long bus rides on children, as well as the benefits of larger districts. If the study proves positive, then let's go to 75 school districts statewide and be done with it!
Posted by: mainline protestant christian | June 30, 2006 03:22 PM
Greaqt going Paron students-
You may get your wish of shorter bus rides and perhaps a "no driving to campus" rule (Actually can't keep you from driving but they can close down any school district owned parking area and make you park onb the street and then the polce can take a good look at your cars while class is going on.). Everyone wants to make an issue of the bus ride and damn few students really ride the bus to any school once they get their driving license. From my teaching days, the only time you found an upper-level student on a bus was either a football game or they were the off-spring of a teacher who took the car earlier to class or to a different building.(we need to look at those long rides also. Some of these LR to Bentonville football games are 4 hours-can't be allowed to continue. Maybe Bentonville can play Rogers and Fayetteville three times each season so the poor kids aren't forced to ride the bus. No more Perryville-Carlile games. And West Memphis could play a best of 9 season against Jonesboro. If the ride is too long for classes then it must be for ANY school-sponsored event including Quiz Bowls, etc.
Far is far. One set of final rules.
Posted by: Fed Up to Here | June 30, 2006 03:27 PM
Funny there is no discussion of the health issues - the Lung folks have been publishing studies on the evils of bus rides - diesel particulates get inside the bus - wreak havoc on the kids - then there are TV,
VCR, internet courses - all better than Bryant can provide - who needs a bus ride?
Posted by: Ralph | June 30, 2006 04:30 PM
Brantley just did what liberals are famous for. He took statistics that he knows are not really credible because they are all hypotehtical and made Paron look bad. Shame on you, Max! There is not a school in Arkansas that couldnt be made to look bad if you looked long enough for some statistics to prove it. I am familiar with your study. The study you referred to placed Altheimer,which has been on the academic distress list for a number of years as the top school in the state. There were some good points in the study that showed we shouldn't judge a school by one criteria, and I wholeheartedly agree wtih that. But this is a real stretch to make Paron look bad on the basis of this study.
ARK. BLOG hypothetical? look em up at the UA Dept. of Ed. Reform website. They're all taken from required standardized tests. Adjusting for what Paron has to work with, they've achieved zip. How many National Merit scholars has Paron produced inj the last century? Paron cherry-picked its scores in court. Go to the state Ed. Dept. website and check the grade-by-grade analysis. Some ok, some poor, overall, eh.
Posted by: Rural School Supporter | June 30, 2006 06:02 PM
And yet maybe 30 miles away lies Pulaski Academy, the best school in the state.
Posted by: ... | June 30, 2006 07:06 PM