Blytheville: Opening up to school choice

[OB11]

I read an article in the paper this morning about the Blytheville school district opening up to school choice.  They have been under an anti-segregation order and have met the standards to show they are no longer segregated.  My understanding was they could not approve any transfers until they were out of the order. 

The admin seem to think this is a great thing for the district.  How will this affect their numbers in the next few years?  I know they are getting close to moving down a classification.  Could this keep them up in 5A or will the trend of losing students continue? 

[Chief-Chickasaw]

We will lose a few more students. Really isn't a big deal. Most of the student that will school choice out are already going to other schools there are ways around everything. A big part of Gosnell ' football and basketball ball team live in Blytheville bit are legally going to Gosnell because of loop holes in the rules. The ones who weren't have been turned in to the AAA and nothing was done in the past and nothing was done.  So basically you go where you want to up here which only hurts Blytheville with the loss of involved parents sending kids out of district.

[Oldbadger]

We will lose a few more students. Really isn't a big deal. Most of the student that will school choice out are already going to other schools there are ways around everything. A big part of Gosnell ' football and basketball ball team live in Blytheville bit are legally going to Gosnell because of loop holes in the rules. The ones who weren't have been turned in to the AAA and nothing was done in the past and nothing was done.  So basically you go where you want to up here which only hurts Blytheville with the loss of involved parents sending kids out of district.

Why?

[tmycjy]

I read an article in the paper this morning about the Blytheville school district opening up to school choice.  They have been under an anti-segregation order and have met the standards to show they are no longer segregated.  My understanding was they could not approve any transfers until they were out of the order. 

The admin seem to think this is a great thing for the district.  How will this affect their numbers in the next few years?  I know they are getting close to moving down a classification.  Could this keep them up in 5A or will the trend of losing students continue? 

The question is how does this effect Blytheville how many will jump ship to play sports a Gosnell

[Oldbadger]

Seriously, why go to Gosnell?  I don't know anything about that part of the state. Is Blytheville's academics that bad?

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Honest answer it is a race issue. Test scores are not good at Blytheville but a big part of it has to do with the high number of special ed students in the district. For the upper part of students the academics are really good and a lot of technology. Basically a while back mostly white parents began to pull their kids out of Blytheville sending them to Gosnell, Armorel, and Cooter MO.  This was about the same time Blytheville was having some major disipline issues and enacted a uniform policy. Since then those issues have been resolved but now you are looked down upon if you send your kid to Blytheville. Athletically speaking some parents feel their kid will get noticed more at a smaller school with a better chance to be successful. As far as how it will effect Blytheville's numbers I would say marginal at best. The kids that will leave are already gone. We are shrinking fast enough with Kipp that we will be 4A soon enough.

[Oldbadger]

Honest answer it is a race issue. Test scores are not good at Blytheville but a big part of it has to do with the high number of special ed students in the district. For the upper part of students the academics are really good and a lot of technology. Basically a while back mostly white parents began to pull their kids out of Blytheville sending them to Gosnell, Armorel, and Cooter MO.  This was about the same time Blytheville was having some major disipline issues and enacted a uniform policy. Since then those issues have been resolved but now you are looked down upon if you send your kid to Blytheville. Athletically speaking some parents feel their kid will get noticed more at a smaller school with a better chance to be successful. As far as how it will effect Blytheville's numbers I would say marginal at best. The kids that will leave are already gone. We are shrinking fast enough with Kipp that we will be 4A soon enough.

I had no idea!  It is sad! What can you do?  Probably the best thing would be to convince the students who are still there that they can be as good as anyone academically.  When they learn that and are convinced of that, the other issues will take care of themselves.  I had a feeling it wasn't academic.  Most students that leave schools like Blytheville and others, is because of the discipline issues.  Seems that can be taken care of.  Good luck to Blytheville and the students who stick it out!  Ironically, they will turn out to be the winners and leaders of tomorrow there.

[Grond]

Honest answer it is a race issue. Test scores are not good at Blytheville but a big part of it has to do with the high number of special ed students in the district. For the upper part of students the academics are really good and a lot of technology. Basically a while back mostly white parents began to pull their kids out of Blytheville sending them to Gosnell, Armorel, and Cooter MO.  This was about the same time Blytheville was having some major disipline issues and enacted a uniform policy. Since then those issues have been resolved but now you are looked down upon if you send your kid to Blytheville. Athletically speaking some parents feel their kid will get noticed more at a smaller school with a better chance to be successful. As far as how it will effect Blytheville's numbers I would say marginal at best. The kids that will leave are already gone. We are shrinking fast enough with Kipp that we will be 4A soon enough.

Correct. Also want to note that, in 7 years of attending events at Blytheville, I have never had a bad experience.

[the voice]

The chart for cycle until 2018 is another thread , Morrilton is the smallest in 5a other than the private schools PA and LRC, Blytheville is several spots up with newcomers in between, so I don't see anything changing until 2018 and the way it is now the first school down would be us.

[Missco]

Nobody mentions the KIPP school that has gained 400 students away from Blytheville. Kipp is only grades 4-9. However, they continue to add a grade a year. Those students are mainly African-American. Kipp does a great job. School choice won't hurt Blytheville as bad as Kipp will and has. If Kipp does what the one at Helena has done then Blytheville will continue to drop. It isn't a race issue but a perception issue. All students are leaving. Armorel and Gosnell will gain students but mainly from Cooter and South Pem. The Missouri schools are the ones that are going to lose

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Nobody mentions the KIPP school that has gained 400 students away from Blytheville. Kipp is only grades 4-9. However, they continue to add a grade a year. Those students are mainly African-American. Kipp does a great job. School choice won't hurt Blytheville as bad as Kipp will and has. If Kipp does what the one at Helena has done then Blytheville will continue to drop. It isn't a race issue but a perception issue. All students are leaving. Armorel and Gosnell will gain students but mainly from Cooter and South Pem. The Missouri schools are the ones that are going to lose

I agree KIPP has hurt Blytheville's numbers the most.  We also have a big group that are leaving and moving to Jonesboro.  It's fun when we play Nettleton because half the kids are related it seems.  I think overall school of choice wont hurt Blytheville that much.  I think the ones that were gonna leave have already left.  I do think it is hilarious that this will probably hurt Cooter and S. Pem. the most.  People paying a few thousand dollars a year to go to a public school is funny to me. I've been told that if you took the Blytheville kids out of Cooter they would have to close their doors.  I'm not sure how true that is but there are a lot of Blytheville kids there.  I wonder if they are worried with those Blytheville kids easily being able to go to Gosnell and Armorel and not have to spend the 3 to 5 thousand dollars a year to go to Cooter.

[Missco]

Cooter is bigger than over 100 schools in Missouri. They will be fine. Some will stay just for the fact that it's a pretty good school and usually has one of the top baseball teams on the area. They just won't probably ever gain anymore. Missouri has around 160 school districts that have under 350 students. They don't ever close schools or consolidate.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Cooter is bigger than over 100 schools in Missouri. They will be fine. Some will stay just for the fact that it's a pretty good school and usually has one of the top baseball teams on the area. They just won't probably ever gain anymore. Missouri has around 160 school districts that have under 350 students. They don't ever close schools or consolidate.

Good to know. I really wasn't sure what all goes on up there.

[Missco]

Also, I hate cheerleading but Cooter's cheer competition team would put most squad's in NEA to shame.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Also, I hate cheerleading but Cooter's cheer competition team would put most squad's in NEA to shame.

Yeah I've heard that.

[Qhcaoc]

Saw that they are looking into turf. That would be great for them that field has always held water toward the home side. They just need to make sure that they add and extra 20 to 50 thousand for extra dirt work because every school in the area has had to bring in different soil.

[Missco]

Blytheville along with Gosnell needs a new gym. worse than anything else.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Blytheville along with Gosnell needs a new gym. worse than anything else.

Things Blytheville needs
Track- We don't have one in spite of having a pretty good track team every year. The track at the elementary is worn out and dangerous to run on.
Gym- Our gym is nice but old, used to be the best now it may be the worst in the conference.
Turf- I'm not a fan of Turf but everyone except Forest City has it. Gosnell even has Turf.
Elementary sports program- Missco football is ok but it would be way better to start football and basketball in 4th grade in the school and play other schools like everyone else in the area.
Local support- We need fans who support teams in good and bad years.  Lots of people came out this year because we were winning but we need that support every year.

[Missco]

I actually think the millage would have a chance to pass for a new gym. You are right the track is awful. The Missco league needs to be ran better. Blytheville has to many kids playing Missco league. A school team would eliminate to many kids not getting to play. Blytheville needs more opportunities for kids not less. Just like the ball fields on 9th street need to be utilized more. The support part just depends on what is going on at the other schools. Blytheville is now a four school town with the addition of Kipp

[Chief-Chickasaw]

I actually think the millage would have a chance to pass for a new gym. You are right the track is awful. The Missco league needs to be ran better. Blytheville has to many kids playing Missco league. A school team would eliminate to many kids not getting to play. Blytheville needs more opportunities for kids not less. Just like the ball fields on 9th street need to be utilized more. The support part just depends on what is going on at the other schools. Blytheville is now a four school town with the addition of Kipp

I don't think a school team would eliminate kids from playing you would have a 4th, 5th, 6th grade team.  I'm not sure how Missco breaks their teams down but I think those three grades all play together.  I have a few problems with Missco it could be ran better. 
As far as a millage adjustment goes I'm not sure if it will pass.  Why would I vote for a millage increase to pay for a school that my child or grandchild does not attend.

[Missco]

I think you would be surprised. It will have more of a chance now than ever before.

[Qhcaoc]

Just do what earle did and use school buses to pick up lower income voters that normally would not make it out to vote and it will pass.

[Missco]

When one gets a new gym the other will follow.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Just do what earle did and use school buses to pick up lower income voters that normally would not make it out to vote and it will pass.

That's how we do every election in Blytheville lol

[Chief-Chickasaw]

When one gets a new gym the other will follow.

We'll see.  Blytheville drops way to much money on educational stuff.  No point in buying computers if the kids wont use them.  They have all these educational advisers walking around that never played a sport and don't understand the value of strong athletic programs and the effect on test scores.  I'm a firm believer in spending money on athletics to increase enrollment and community involvement.  Athletics are like the outside of a house which everyone sees.  If the outside of a house looks like crap no one wants to come in no matter what nice things you tell me are on the inside.

[Missco]

You are 100 % correct. A school's athletic program is the front porch to every community. Blytheville does a pretty good job with what they have to work with. Hixson does a great job  Gosnell has made some improvements. They have one of the nicer football complex's around . They just need more coaches in football. I believe Armorel is getting a new track. They actually are bigger than a few schools that have football. I could see them having football in my lifetime.

[WPWells]

I agree with that, but I also caution that if you only spend money on athletics people will become disenchanted as well. There's a fine line. Alma is a great example of how to do it right. Obviously they have more money than Blytheville, but they've recently opened up a world class performing arts center as well as arguably the best high school gym in the state

[Missco]

The sad part is that if the local schools knew how to get the local businesses's and billionaire's involved. Then around here could have better facilities. The money is here.  Rivercrest should have been at GL becken call.

[OB11]

You are 100 % correct. A school's athletic program is the front porch to every community. Blytheville does a pretty good job with what they have to work with. Hixson does a great job  Gosnell has made some improvements. They have one of the nicer football complex's around . They just need more coaches in football. I believe Armorel is getting a new track. They actually are bigger than a few schools that have football. I could see them having football in my lifetime.

Armorel's track is not going to be a full sized track if I understood correctly.   It will only be like 4 lanes and not a full quarter mile.

[OB11]

The sad part is that if the local schools knew how to get the local businesses's and billionaire's involved. Then around here could have better facilities. The money is here.  Rivercrest should have been at GL becken call.

And doesn't GL have his own school up and running to worry about?

[Missco]

Lol, you are correct, it is going to be four lane and can be expanded to 8. I doubt any other class A schools even have a track. Yeah, GL has his own palace. My point was that schools in NWA do a great job of getting booster and private money's. School's over here do not.

[OB11]

I always felt that the Wilson's should have done a lot more for the local schools than they did.

[Missco]

They spent a lot of money on the Wilson schools in the 50's and 60's. They continued some in the 70.s and then basically just quit. Other than being on the school board. Wilson had the nicest gym in NEA back in the day. Indoor pools were unheard of back then.

[OB11]

They spent a lot of money on the Wilson schools in the 50's and 60's. They continued some in the 70.s and then basically just quit. Other than being on the school board. Wilson had the nicest gym in NEA back in the day. Indoor pools were unheard of back then.

It's sad how bad it is there at Wilson now.  Building is basically falling apart and the football team still uses the locker room back where the pool is. 

[OB11]

There was an article in The Sun today that Blytheville was considering a $600,000 turf upgrade to their football field. 

[Chief-Chickasaw]

There was an article in The Sun today that Blytheville was considering a $600,000 turf upgrade to their football field.

Yeah we'll see. It would be nice to do that and then repaint the home bleachers.

[chickasaw fan]

People are leaving and moving from the town everyday. Thats the biggest problem. No knew money is moving in. But that happens in every major city in America. Anybody that can afford to live outside of the city usually does so. Its happening in Jonesboro with Valley View and Brookland.

[Missco]

It could happen but would take money from local donor's, industry. The indoor practice facility was funded that way. I personally doubt it happens. Gosnell's is nice and the new track is one of the nicest one in NEA. I can see Gosnell having more students than Blytheville at some point.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

It could happen but would take money from local donor's, industry. The indoor practice facility was funded that way. I personally doubt it happens. Gosnell's is nice and the new track is one of the nicest one in NEA. I can see Gosnell having more students than Blytheville at some point.

Me to which goes back to spending money on Athletics will improve enrollment.