should 'seniors' who have not made the grade...

The Pike County Journal-Reporter

should 'seniors' who have not made the grade...

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Pikes Peak

Thursday, May 21. 2009

Comments (13)

or not finished up their academic requirements be allowed to march with the rest of the class at graduation?

does allowing them to march cheapen the efforts of those who actually did the work?

or are they 'entitled' to march.

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#1 David R on 05/21/09 at 12:26 PM

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

But in this entitlement society we live in i'm sure they will get to and YES it cheapens the efforts of the legitimate graduates.

The time has come for our society to hold everyone to the same HIGH standards not reduce the standards to accomodate the lazy and unwilling to work and sacrifice.

#2 PiCoHi Mom on 05/21/09 at 01:37 PM

I agree with David R. Seniors should have to earn the right to walk with their graduating class. Some kids just show up at school because the law requires them to be there.

#3 Nathan on 05/22/09 at 04:00 PM

I am a senior at Pike County about to graduate with the class of 2009. So many of the graduates will be recieving empty diploma covers and have to return for summer school. They should graduate when they are done, not before.

#4 Sheila Tolley on 05/22/09 at 08:45 PM

We should just go ahead and shoot the eighth graders on through also. Just have a graduation ceremony every five years. We may even need designated walkers in a few years. Unreal. I hope someone wakes me and tells me I have been dreaming for the last ten years.

#5 primary teacher on 05/23/09 at 07:37 AM

If we would retain the children that truly are not ready for the next grade at the primary level then the number of seniors that are not ready to graduate would drop dramatically. But no...we are forced to send them on whether they are ready or not. Doesn't it seem like that would add to their frustration level? Make them more likely to drop out? Why do we force a 6 year old to move up when they still don't know their letters? Why must we force a 7 year old to move up when they still can't read? When the drop out rate hits the ceiling in Pike don't blame the Primary teachers-we are screaming, pleading for these babies to get what they need!!!

#6 Sheila Tolley on 05/23/09 at 10:46 AM

I wish the Board of Education was ethical enough that you could have used your name. Report card day was the day I feared most in school. I would open my report card real slow and peek at it to see if I had been promoted. My grades were not even bad. I just knew I did not want to repeat a grade. Now....who is it that forces the automatic promotions to the next grade? Please answer this. I agree with you so much.

#7 Jeff Tharpe on 05/24/09 at 03:49 PM

While I agree somewhat with Nathan’s assessment, I think many is too strong a word. I did a little research as I like to do that instead of just griping or complaining as some on hear will do. (Nathan’s wasn’t by the way). Technically speaking, there are mainly three criteria by which a student is considered a dropout: 1) Due to poor attendance per state policies; 2) incarceration or juvie, etc… 3) GED pursuit
While there are many different reasons and factors a student choose (or parents choose to for them) to dropout of school, I don’t believe that the “pushing” or easy promotion to next grade at early age is a MAJOR contributor to the problem. I honestly believe that the parent influence at home and the motivation and example provided by the parent at home is of bigger significance.

So to my research, here’s a handy website open to the public, that provides some documented info about dropouts and grad rates for Pike County: www.gaosa.org. Click on Accountability, K-12 Report Cards, Select Pike County from map, then select Pike County High School. Then, select Indicators on left side menu…choose 9-12 Dropouts tab at top. From there you will find that PCHS dropout rate has hovered consistently around 2% or so, compared to state levels of around 4%. Not bad compared to whole state. Our grad rate fares just as well at around 75-77% compared slightly better to the state. While I’m sure this grad rate is always worked on by our fine teachers to improve each year, interesting enough is to compare to our local surrounding counties (Spalding, Lamar, Upson)…we do quite well. Even better is to compare us to peer counties similar in size and/or demographics such as Morgan, Harris, Pickens, etc…) You’ll find that although Pike doesn’t settle, our county does push for the best in our students and I don’t think the debatable issue of promotion from one grade to the next is the ruin of our students.

#7.1 primary teacher on 05/25/09 at 08:04 AM

Tanner at central office is the main person that we are told that forces these promotions. Jeff, I really appreciate your research into the subject; however, you are looking at numbers of the high school students that we have right now. Let's not forget that those students were fortunate enough to have Dr. Bell as their Primary School prin. He was the BEST! When the high school students get there that had Adams and now Fluker, I will be interested to see the numbers. Walden started this forced promotion and Tanner is doing the same. You can not compare the Primary School to the others when research talks about how retention affects graduation rates. These babies are not as focused on their promotion. They are focused on their playtime, etc. Regardless of research, is it really in the best interest of each individual child to promote them when they are truly not ready. It forces the system to go to extremes to get them on grade level when repeating the grade would be much easier. We don't have high numbers of these children in Pike, but regardless, we should do what is best for each child.

#8 Sherry Hollis on 05/25/09 at 10:24 PM

It's about time the corruption of pike co schools is being recognized. What's worse than this is the special education department. All with the knowledge and approval of the Ga dept of education.
Teachers have to pass the kids on thru so the schools can get their money from NCLB.
It's all about the money and lots of people don't know this.

#9 Pike Parent on 06/05/09 at 08:56 AM

People, get involved. Dr. Duncan put an old pal Ms. Fluker in charge of the primary school. She is playing fruit basket turnover with the teachers, moving teachers around for no appearant reason. She is destroying years of logic in teacher placment and at the same time destroying the moral of the staff and alienating the parent body. I cant beleive how rude she was to me. She lives outside the county and does not have her kids in our school. How can she be our principal and not have a personel investment in any way. WAKE UP PIKE COUNTY. The worst is yet to come.

#9.1 Parent and PCMS employee on 06/12/09 at 11:31 PM

The turnover and changes seems to be happening at every school over the past 2-3 years. I was told recently that 2 teachers at the high school, who have been teaching together for many years (Mrs. Beck and Mr. Jones) are being split up also, for no apparant reason. They have taught all 3 of my kids and are wonderful teachers. They handle some of the lowest and toughest students at the high school, yet they are able to motivate the kids and get them to learn. My kids all hated science until they had these two, now one of them is even going into a field involving science! I am very glad my kids had them as teachers, and hope the 'powers that be' see the error of their ways because many kids will fall between the cracks that might have otherwise been saved!

#10 Pike Middle Teacher on 07/21/09 at 10:38 AM

From what I am reading, the complaints about the Pike County School System should be directed to the State School Superintendent. The major complaint, retention of students, is bound by state policy (it may not be a written policy, but it is still policy) - students should not be retained more than twice. Also, many studies have shown that the more years a student is retained the more likely he or she will drop out of school.
As to the comment about special education students being passed on so that funds can be received from No Child Left Behind (NCLB), special education students have to meet certain criteria to get these funds. Whether or not a student gets placed or promoted to the next grade is NOT a criteria for NCLB funds.
All schools in Pike County have made Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for at least the past two years. Not many school systems can boast of this.

#11 Former Teacher in Pike County on 08/13/09 at 10:41 AM

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO WAKE UP!

This school system is nothing as it used to be. Some of it is due to the many changes that the state implements just to say they are doing something and some of it is because of the restrictions that have been placed on teachers. If you are a friend of administation on the top-level, then you have a job in the county!

In Mrs. Fluker's defense, she really is an outstanding person. I worked with her when I taught in Griffin, GA so no she is not a "buddy" of Duncan! She wants things done the right way and I applaud her for overcoming the odds and working in an environment where her color is not really accepted, especially in a leadership position! She must do her job just as teachers must, which all are held accountable for their duties even if they must in many instances pass students on.

I was a teacher in Pike County. I was told to change grades for four "supposedly priviledged" children simply because their parents were teachers or well-known citizens in the county who made "large contributions" to the school. The students had four weeks of school left and two of them had the opportunity to make "As". The other two did not.

I was told to give them the "As." I refused! After my refusal, several allegations came up against me at the end of April that I had been performing inapproriate acts and making inappropriate comments throughout the school year. ALL RUMORS, why did these parents speak up at the end of the year if I was really mistreating their children throughout the year? I only had a conference with one of those parents in the school year and with another when she brought the allegations.

It was told that I would retaliate against the students if they told on me! Being a concerned parent, who would have cared about that? I am one person and if I was doing anything wrong, they would not have waited all of that time.

The students were removed from my class so that they could get their Honor Roll Certificates which were going to be given to them anyway and I was suspended for those three weeks with pay! (ummmm!) I am currently going through this situation because those lies were submitted to PSC, who supposedly found cause but never questioned my witnesses and have failed to give me a hearing, which I didn't get with the BOE either.

The children are behind because the system works for the children to accommodate them as much as possible making them irresponsible for their education and showing them that they can pass at any cost, regardless who they hurt or who pays it!

If I know that grades will be given to me, why should I try? This is the mentality that many of these students have. My question is, what values are parents really teaching their children? Are they being taught that money can get them out of any situation?

When are ethical values going to really play a role in administration at all levels?

When are parents going to really see what's going on inside the school system? Contact your board members for more information!

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