What I wouldn't give for a neighborhood elementary school that didn't suck. This morning I awoke at 6:45 to snow covering our streets. So much so, I can't tell where the side walk ends and the street begins. These are not good driving conditions, clearly. Because there is still a feud over who we belong to (Cold Springs apparently tried to become its own town because apparently we have our own ideas @@. whatever.) we are the forgotten streets when it comes to snow plowing, even though we usually get the most snow. With my daughter's school being near the church, they see no need to have a delayed start. Why would they? So I am here now, needing to have left 25 minutes ago to get Isabelle to school on time. I tried checking to see if we were on a delayed start, but there was no news anywhere: not on the radio, not on the school or district website, and not at the school as we have to leave 15 minutes before they open to get there on time. All of this information makes me sigh repeatedly throughout my day. By the time I got in touch with anyone, we were too late to leave to be on time anyway, so I now have to wait until The Man comes home with his giant snow tires and five feet of clearance before I can leave to take her. Who am I kidding? I am totally going to offer him favors in hopes that he will take her.
My point really, is I hate that we have to be zoned for possibly the worst school in our school district. One of the only over crowded elementary schools, one of the only elementary schools to have reported confiscated weapons, and one of the only schools in the district that has less than 1% black students. Call me crazy, but I am not interested in my children attending an all white school. And before you remind me of the Hispanic and Latino population, they don't really exist up here either. If I were a stranger looking in, I would guess Cold Springs is code for "Mormon Commune." The only people I know that have two or less kids, have just started and have plans for more! We are the norm up here. Plus, we never get those missionaries at our door. They must think we are already converted. Or they still have my name in their black book of homeowners that made a missionary cry. Seriously, one guy was so exasperated with me he put his head in his hands and leaned heavily against my house. I asked if I could pray for him and he threw his hands up and said sure. Apparently I was not getting his purpose. Good times.
15 comments:
I love your Mormon story! My father-in-law used to invite the JWs into his house to argue with them. I guess sometimes they'd get really mad.
By the way, where did you find out about Nancy Gomes being so crappy? I've been asking around about that and all the parents that I've talked to so far say that it actually has some of the best scores in the county. Also, the whole weapon thing you mentioned before supposedly had something to do with a pellet gun being sold off grounds. Not disputing you, just wanted to know all the facts.
bah, it was a knife a 2nd grader brought to school. His little friend pretended to call him (after the incident) on her fake cell phone. My kids thought she was really calling, and when she began begging him not to come over with his knife, she got off the "phone" and told my kids she thought he might kill his dog he was so angry. When we got to the bottom of the situation and crying children, the girl's parents "appeased" us by letting us know she has an old cell phone of theirs and she is only saying that because a boy at her school threatened a teacher with his pocket knife. Oh..okay. I DO feel better. Thanks. You can find school scores through non partisan companies online. I did a search. Nancy Gomes scares me. A lot.The have not scored above "sustaining" for the past (at least three years.) This means, while they aren't getting dumber, they are just hanging in there. Good for them.
Wow, sweet kid that girl was who did that to your children. Niiice. Thanks for the info you gave me. Anyone else on here have kids who go to Nancy Gomes or have gone who want to put in their two cents?
Don't worry about Cold Springs remaining totally white bread. The diversity will make its way out there eventually. I went to Lemmon Valley Elementary, and at the time that I was there for my entire elementary school experience I met a total of probably 4 kids who were not pasty white like me. It was the same in middle school at O'Brien (which I know is no longer the case there). Imagine the culture shock I experience when I went to Hug High! It was actually great. I can't believe the friends I missed out on in elementary and middle school in pasty-ville! :)
I'm with ya on all of the above. Our roads are so bad, I stress whenever I have to leave. I have also spent a lot of time researching schools, since we don't have the $$ for anything but public... Our schools aren't "dangerous", but they aren't stellar academically...they are very small though, which I consider an advantage. You can also get ranking and test scores, and acts of violence on the washoe county school district website.
the only reason nancy gomes has the only "reported" instance is because somebody bothered to report it. the school is as safe as any school (which is to say "not especially"). as far as test scores -- absolutely meaningless. good kids will succeed and crappy kids will fail and 70% of kids will do however much they are forced to do to get moved along. only 1-2% kids are affected much by the environment of the school. kids from good homes with good parents always do good unless they're turds, then it doesn't matter what school they go to (i've got one of each at my house if you'd like to examine the evidence -- jury's still out on the other 2).
wow, loving the stats brent put out there. i thought i commented on this blog before but maybe not. ihate it when that happens, icould have swore that i did leave a comment. anyhew- what i did leave for a comment yesterday or so i thought was that you could always send the kids to our school and then they would be inthe minority. good times. building characther and stuff like that. i think my old comment was better but owell!!
lol- I feel your pain no (dot dot)el. I would also like to clarify that I wasn't meaning to imply Gomes was the only school with weaponry. You are right, Brent. When I checked, most of the schools in Washoe had reported their own weapons. Most of them were not involving such a young kid, though. These arguments do not change my view on the school. I can't bring myself to just hope my kids won't be the percentage effected. Not my style of parenting. Plus, my kids out number me. If they turn into criminals, they will take me out. And as far as evidence, considering most of the population of Cold Springs Middle School is made up of Gomers, we can just look there to see the high level the school is turning out. Oh-well, we could have, only that school is even scarier. Don't get me started.
"gomers" (snicker) is really funny to me. I have mental pics of Mayberry's gas station and it's beloved owner. The school's motto should be:
Gomes Gomer's...home of the underachievers!
Nevada has the BEST school districts, evur! ESPECIALLY Clark County! Woohoo! Love being in that one!
I also love that you frustrated a missionary to the point of accepting prayer from "a born-again" You RAWK!
i would just throw out there that you probably should not be putting your children in public schools if you want them safe.
i understand that as a reason, but it goes overboard really quickly - because then that means your kids really should not ever ride in a moving vehicle with you, ever go outdoors (even with supervision), or ever be allowed to prepare themselves for the real world (which is unsafe).
that being said, gomes and csms and nvhs are cesspools. i blame the trailer parks. they are indicative of poverty and poverty is a cyclical problem. you need to get rich and move to a more upscale neighborhood. you won't get the precious diversity, but at least their kids usually only kill each other with mommy's prescription drugs or with their vehicles as they careen around the great northwest drunk off their arses.
AHAA, Brent, maybe I should change the entire focus of my blog to my concern over trailer parks. I worry I may offend my husband who is seriously about a stone's throw..
Diga: I am with you on "fear" spiraling way out of control quickly. I think there's a great book that sort of addresses that called "Last Child in the Woods" about how our children are suffering from a "nature deficit", partially because of unfound fears (sort of like how the whole razorblade in Halloween candy craze in the 80s never showed one actual case). Even if there are fears, why aren't parents going outside with their kids then and making fresh air a priority? And not just doing organized sports, because that doesn't count. They need to explore without a goal in mind, even if it's just at a city park. Or even out back! I never even hear kids playing in their backyards anymore! I have the book for anyone interested in borrowing it.
Shontell: In Bakersfield our trailer section was a suburb called "Oildale". That was it's actual name. I'm not kidding.
If you want your children to live a more "Diversified" life, you might want to broadend your completely judgemental opinions.
Or is it just the christian way...to judge everyone else but themselves?
this blog is disappointing.
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