New Middle School in Point Washington

[kloli]

Oh...I long for the days when Bay Elem. was so tiny. I've mentioned this before, Shallowsnole can verify......We were at Bay when the 5th, 6th & 7th grade shared the same classroom/teacher and there were only 11 of us.

Wow...that was tiny! I thought Bay was small right before Katrina hit. We had only 8 kids in our 1st grade class and we were about to lose our teacher because of size requirement. Katrina quickly fixed that and filled it up. It's been crazy since!

 

[seagrovegirl]

Your family moving in was a major event around here. We only had nine before y'all showed up!

Yep...those damn yankees arrived!!! That reminds me of Mrs. Perry and how she divided the class, Confederates and Yankees.....to teach us about the Civil War. She had NO CLUE what she was getting into!!!! Weeks of full out war!!! I wonder what happened to Little Van's desk that he carved the confederate flad into?

 

[supermom262]

I also say thanks to everyone who has posted to give the background and insight to what has happened here. Although my concerns now are High School and the wish for an alternative, small High School. The lack of ability to attract top-notch teachers to this area is another can of worms.

 

[Jdarg]

I also say thanks to everyone who has posted to give the background and insight to what has happened here. Although my concerns now are High School and the wish for an alternative, small High School. The lack of ability to attract top-notch teachers to this area is another can of worms.

Why do you think that we don't have top-notch teachers?

And what is the definition of small? SWHS is a small public school, and I never feel overwhelmed over there. Just the opposite.

 

[wrobert]

Why do you think that we don't have top-notch teachers?

And what is the definition of small? SWHS is a small public school, and I never feel overwhelmed over there. Just the opposite.

What is the population of SWHS now? 650? When I went to Gonzalez Tate in 1976 we had 3500 students on campus then. I imagine today it is probably 5000. That is a lot of kids in one place. All of the schools in Walton County are small by that definition.

Also thanks for the help today. I found the place but not sure about the lots so will have to wait until the owner returns.

 

[Jdarg]

What is the population of SWHS now? 650? When I went to Gonzalez Tate in 1976 we had 3500 students on campus then. I imagine today it is probably 5000. That is a lot of kids in one place. All of the schools in Walton County are small by that definition.

Also thanks for the help today. I found the place but not sure about the lots so will have to wait until the owner returns.

I think the SWHS number is about 580-ish. The school was built for 600.

Thankfully, the school board is looking ahead a bit and building the middle school big enough to handle growth.

 

[supermom262]

My Ideal? 200 -250 students. I personally like knowing the parents of as many students as possible. In smaller schools, you get to know the families of the students more easily. Regarding the top-notch teachers, I mean teachers who have at least at Master's degree in teaching, have more than a couple of years experience teaching, are all teaching in their major/minor areas and are qualified to teach subjects that are currently not being taught here. I realize this is a wish list but that is what I would like if I had my choice.

I wish that there were more language choices available at the high school level. Is Spanish the only foreign language offered? Is is now going to be offered 4 years?

 

[ShallowsNole]

My Ideal? 200 -250 students. I personally like knowing the parents of as many students as possible. In smaller schools, you get to know the families of the students more easily. Regarding the top-notch teachers, I mean teachers who have at least at Master's degree in teaching, have more than a couple of years experience teaching, are all teaching in their major/minor areas and are qualified to teach subjects that are currently not being taught here. I realize this is a wish list but that is what I would like if I had my choice.

I wish that there were more language choices available at the high school level. Is Spanish the only foreign language offered? Is is now going to be offered 4 years?

I want to say French had been offered, but I don't know if I dreamed that up, or what. Spanish is virtually required, for obvious reasons. In fact, many degree programs at the university level now require not only a foreign language, but specifically Latin-American Spanish.

Even if your desired course isn't offered here, your child can take pretty much anything through the Florida Virtual High School - I heard that one local student took Latin that way last year ;-) (no, not mine. I can't even picture that!)

I would venture to say that your desires for teachers and your optimal school size don't seem to be congruent. It would work for elementary education, but SWHS is only just now being able to offer all that a high school should, based on climbing enrollment.

 

[Romeosmydog]

My Ideal? 200 -250 students. I personally like knowing the parents of as many students as possible. In smaller schools, you get to know the families of the students more easily. Regarding the top-notch teachers, I mean teachers who have at least at Master's degree in teaching, have more than a couple of years experience teaching, are all teaching in their major/minor areas and are qualified to teach subjects that are currently not being taught here. I realize this is a wish list but that is what I would like if I had my choice.

I wish that there were more language choices available at the high school level. Is Spanish the only foreign language offered? Is is now going to be offered 4 years?

Thanks supermom for this post. I agree with you that smaller schools are conducive to a more relaxed and ideal learning environment. Although I have to say that having a teacher with a Master's degree with more than a couple years experience in teaching is not all that it is cracked up to be.

I remember the teachers that influenced and inspired me the most and they were usually the ones that were young, new to teaching and full of fresh and innovative ideas to improve the learning environment of their students. The teachers that had been teaching the same way for 20 years were always the ones that stood behind their experience and Master's Degree like a shield. (They also made me eat every little bit of my lunch, "because that free-lunch is not free...tax dollars pay for it") They were not open to new approaches in education because they had taught the same subject the same way year after year after year.

Education is a science and as a we all know theories in science are ever changing and improving. I would rather my kids have a teacher that no longer makes his/her students write their vocabulary and spelling 5 times each, rather inspire them to perform the newly learned words in a reader's theater, or word sorts. Nor do I want my child grouped in a rigid reading level (remember these?) that they are stigmatized by. New teachers are trained to create a learning environment for their students that flow and are ever changing from day-to-day. I will take enthusiasm over experience any day of the week.

I hope we all take a very close look at what is happening in education in this state that I have always called home. Our politicians are trying to trivialized the new budget cut to education by using percents. But the fact of the matter is that OVER 350 MILLION dollars has been cut......I will let that settle in before I continue........350 million......350.

Now, the district office has said that we will see some of the effects of this cut. I have mentioned it before and will do so again, reports have said that Okaloosa county has not rehired over 250 of it's teachers and support staff. I wonder what will be the first to go here....support staff? Trust me when I say that teachers NEED support staff in order to survive the year! The next to go will be the electives, foreign languages, coaches maybe?

Sorry I got off on a tangent. I hate when I do that.

 

[supermom262]

Thanks. My wish is that we would have more with a few years experience but not necessarily 20! Although my experience has been mostly with elementary here, there has been too much turnover - not enough commitment to this area. We are in a difficult situation with housing costs they way they are, to attract and keep teachers who aren't ready to retire but still provide the single income affordability here. Fresh outlooks and new ideas are great (I want those!) but it needs to be combined with a good basis in the foundations. I am all for teachers who can make the core subjects exciting for the kids to learn but recognize we need a broad curriculum with science, technology and language to be global students! I want my children to come home from school excited to tell me what they learned that day and to be challenged.

Regarding language, is Spanish offered all four years at SW? If we are thinking globally, then Chinese would be on my list as well!
I think having Latin taught there would be wonderful too! Just my opinion, but why do we have to use Florida Virtual school, if enough parents want this for their children?