CLOSED SCHOOLS

[silverpie]

On 11/11/2017 at 10:16 PM, steelcityroller said:

Does anybody remember Temple Academy? I believe they were out of Chattanooga.

They were really good in basketball and had a few good years in football. I remember them knocking Trousdale County out of the playoffs one year in football in a really good back-and-forth game.

Did it become another school or just close? 

The school itself closed (and the university attached has since also closed), but Chattanooga Girls' Leadership (charter school) has opened on what was its campus.

[polkalumni]

Ducktown and Copperhill High Schools combined to form Copper Basin.

[cbg]

The real question is when are some of the small rural counties going to combine schools with other small rural counties?  When you have high schools with 50+ or - kids in a graduating class it's next to impossible for the school to remain open.  By examining enrollment numbers of some schools that were once in thriving farming communities the enrollment numbers are down by 50%.  If the school does remain open you cannot offer a diversified option of classes such as an IB program, AP classes or even advanced classes.  I am not even sure that with such low numbers you are able to offer remedial or special needs classes.  It's a sad situation that counties are going to be forced to deal with in the very near future.  

Edited October 5, 2018 by cbg

[rlh]

On 10/5/2018 at 8:53 AM, cbg said:

The real question is when are some of the small rural counties going to combine schools with other small rural counties?  When you have high schools with 50+ or - kids in a graduating class it's next to impossible for the school to remain open.  By examining enrollment numbers of some schools that were once in thriving farming communities the enrollment numbers are down by 50%.  If the school does remain open you cannot offer a diversified option of classes such as an IB program, AP classes or even advanced classes.  I am not even sure that with such low numbers you are able to offer remedial or special needs classes.  It's a sad situation that counties are going to be forced to deal with in the very near future.  

Schools should concentrated on competence in the basics.  The IB programs are baloney for the most part.  I have seen a downward spiral over the past 30 years as a result of losing basics in lieu of this feel good sound good equine excrement.  When enrollment is too low, that is a problem.  However, at a certain point, size can be too large.  Teacher to pupil ratio can be a good rule of thumb to gauge a good size for a H.S.  After a certain size, you are only saving money on assistant principles.  Transportation also becomes a factor. But what do I know.  I am just a university professor tired of seeing kids coming to college that can't tie their shoes.

Edited October 8, 2018 by rlh

[cbg]

10 hours ago, rlh said:

Schools should concentrated one competence in the basics.  The IB programs are baloney for the most part.  I have seen a downward spiral over the past 30 years as a result of losing basics in lieu of this feel good sound good equine excrement.  When enrollment is too low, that is a problem.  However, at a certain point, size can be too large.  Teacher to pupil ratio can be a good rule of thumb to gauge a good size for a H.S.  After a certain size, you are only saving money on assistant principles.  Transportation also becomes a factor. But what do I know.  I am just a university professor tired of seeing kids coming to college that can't tie their shoes.

You are correct in that you must be able to find a middle ground with regards to the most optimal number of students for a school.  I fully understand that some counties hope, pray, wish, etc. that the enrollment numbers at some schools increase but the reality is they have continued to decline for over 50 years.  Due to automation agriculture will never require the number of people that it once did.  The only way that I can ever see the enrollment numbers in some small rural schools increasing is if some of the manufacturing jobs return to the United States and plants are built in what were once small farming communities.  It's a sad day when often times the best jobs in some counties are at the State Prison.  

Edited October 7, 2018 by cbg

[tradertwo]

On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 8:04 AM, rlh said:

Schools should concentrated on competence in the basics.  The IB programs are baloney for the most part.  I have seen a downward spiral over the past 30 years as a result of losing basics in lieu of this feel good sound good equine excrement.  When enrollment is too low, that is a problem.  However, at a certain point, size can be too large.  Teacher to pupil ratio can be a good rule of thumb to gauge a good size for a H.S.  After a certain size, you are only saving money on assistant principles.  Transportation also becomes a factor. But what do I know.  I am just a university professor tired of seeing kids coming to college that can't tie their shoes.

Bang...nail hit squarely on the head. Competency of the instructor is the only factor other than student/teacher ratio that really makes a difference. Also, diversity of programs looks good on paper, but in reality it detracts from the "basics" of education. I could really get started on the consolidation thing with cost of building and transportation vs. community involvement too, but that's for another day. 

Great post rlh.

[tradertwo]

On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 9:42 AM, cbg said:

You are correct in that you must be able to find a middle ground with regards to the most optimal number of students for a school.  I fully understand that some counties hope, pray, wish, etc. that the enrollment numbers at some schools increase but the reality is they have continued to decline for over 50 years.  Due to automation agriculture will never require the number of people that it once did.  The only way that I can ever see the enrollment numbers in some small rural schools increasing is if some of the manufacturing jobs return to the United States and plants are built in what were once small farming communities.  It's a sad day when often times the best jobs in some counties are at the State Prison.  

"Best jobs" in most rural counties and small communities are with the school system...the largest employer in Henderson County is the HCBOE, and I'd bet lunch that most non metro counties are the same. Agriculture isn't planting and harvesting crops and feeding livestock anymore either...most ag related classes resemble biology and science courses of the recent past, and lot's of folks don't realize that. Our school (Scotts Hill) probably receives more scholarship money via agricultural and FFA involvement than any other avenue.

   If you build it, they will come... that's a famous movie line, but rings true in education. Scotts Hill is a tiny community ( grocery, dollar store, gas station, cafe') without even a stoplight, but has a thriving high school due to our success in education. ACT scores, GPA, and college enrollment numbers "attract" families to enroll their children here to the extent that we have to turn people away when our enrollment maxes out at around 500. Pretty good for a wide spot in the road surrounded by fields and pastures for miles in every direction.

[cbg]

1 hour ago, tradertwo said:

"Best jobs" in most rural counties and small communities are with the school system...the largest employer in Henderson County is the HCBOE, and I'd bet lunch that most non metro counties are the same. Agriculture isn't planting and harvesting crops and feeding livestock anymore either...most ag related classes resemble biology and science courses of the recent past, and lot's of folks don't realize that. Our school (Scotts Hill) probably receives more scholarship money via agricultural and FFA involvement than any other avenue.

   If you build it, they will come... that's a famous movie line, but rings true in education. Scotts Hill is a tiny community ( grocery, dollar store, gas station, cafe') without even a stoplight, but has a thriving high school due to our success in education. ACT scores, GPA, and college enrollment numbers "attract" families to enroll their children here to the extent that we have to turn people away when our enrollment maxes out at around 500. Pretty good for a wide spot in the road surrounded by fields and pastures for miles in every direction.

How do you turn people away from the high school unless you are an open zoned county?  Is your school system open zoned?

[tradertwo]

21 minutes ago, cbg said:

How do you turn people away from the high school unless you are an open zoned county?  Is your school system open zoned?

Yes, we're open zone. when attendance reaches capacity for the building, they have to be ( out of county)  turned away. To explain further...there are two high schools in Henderson County, and we get a lot of county students who would logically go to the other. We have always been able to accommodate those. Scotts Hill is partly in Decatur County, and have an "agreement" (contract) to allow Decatur Co. students for which they (DC) provide the busing and pay tuition, provided that the students live within a zone determined and policed by them. We usually accommodate all within that zone as well, and have a small amount (most years) of room to accept out of county students on a first come basis, provided that they pay their own tuition. Most of these are usually Decatur Co. students who don't live within the DC zone, with the rest being Hardin, Chester, McNairy, and the occasional Madison Co. student. 

[silverpie]

Word is that Sullivans North and South are about to join the list, with the new West Ridge High taking their place.

[GREYRIDERx]

On 10/7/2005 at 2:49 PM, tulsaunion said:

Wasn't there a Van Guilder or something like that in Knoxville also?

Yes Vanguilder was a "correctional "school  when i was at Knox Central

[ChineseFlu]

On 10/7/2005 at 11:31 AM, TrophyHunter said:

How about Tennessee Military Academy in Sweetwater, and Ketron in upper East Tennessee.

My Dad went to TMI.  Didn't they become a college prep school for a while?   When did that school shut down?