Time for a change

[Baldcoach]

QUOTE(Indian @ May 30 2007 - 02:09 PM) 826469123[/snapback]North Georgia, counties within an easy distance to Chattanooga, includes five or six counties, add on an additional 300,000 total residents to the Southeast Tennesee numbers. There are students from every SE TN county going to Chattanooga private schools, so add in Bradley and Rhea, not just those officially in the Hamilton metro area. There's no good way of estimating how many would be willing to "sacrifice" but well above 20 percent could afford most of the private schools if they were really wanted. Beyond all the figures though, with all these hardships and woe is me the small privates are facing, how do they continue to dominate? It all goes back to the selective enrollment, part of the overall quality of the average student being stronger and part to the parent involvement.

 

 

Bradley and Rhea are already included in the metro area...they touch Hamilton. And I didn't include the 1 other N. Georgia county within 'easy' (read 30 to 40 minutes) distance as Dalton would add in some population but also add in 1 or 2 more private high schools, so it doesn't really change the numbers. I also didn't include extreme NE Alabama, as the number of kids from that area is very very small. The numbers are pretty valid as far as pool of potential students goes.

 

And I am not whining, I am breaking down the numbers. We simply don't have this mythical pool of tens of thousands of students trying to get in. If we did no small private would spend money on advertising, and hundreds of other small privates would be springing up...as it is, the pool of possible students is strained enough that some of the smaller schools in the area are in real danger of closing. It is just common sense that there aren't many more kids who could/would attend than are already attending if some schools are having numbers declines.

 

Now selective enrollment is another issue. What, exactly do you mean by selective enrollment and how do you see it as an advantage that can't be overcome on the athletic field?

[Indian]

Having a higher percentage of the student population willing to even go out for sports first of all, sticking with it after they do, and showing more perserverance, ability to perform under pressure. That's not saying you can't find students like that in public schools, of course.

[Rabble Rouser]

QUOTE(Baldcoach @ May 30 2007 - 12:10 AM) 826468963[/snapback]MP,

 

I have never used words like 'great' or the sarcasm that you throw at me all the time...yet you question my character constantly. Odd...

 

I'm gonna break down the "they have more people to chose from argument" 1 more time. I don't know how I can explain it any more plainly, but I'll try.

 

There are 2 fallacies to the "small privates have gazillions of students to chose from" argument.

 

The first is the idea that there are actually a lot of kids to choose from...much more than the small publics have. As an example let's look at the metro area of Chattanooga (Hamilton County and the counties that touch it). You have a population of about half a million...not looking for exact numbers here, just working with generalities. Given that high school age kids are about 1/16th of the population, that gives us about 31k kids to work with. Now, more than 60% of those will drop out, and the privates aren't going to accept a kid who isn't somewhat academically committed, so that leaves us with a pool of about 15k. In Chattanooga, only the top 20% of wage earners can afford private tuition, so that leaves us with a pool of 7.5k. Of those kids' families, less than half will chose private ed over public for various reasons, but we will use half. So now we have a pool of 3750 possible high school kids. There are 2 big guys prep schools in town (Baylor and McCallie) which will account for 800 or so of the guys...GPS and Baylor will account for 800 or so of the girls. Leaving about 2100 highschool kids for the remaining small privates. In the metro area there are Boyd, CCHS, Temple, Grace, Silverdale, David Brainerd, Collegedale Academy, Notre Dame, and a school in Cleveland that I can't remember...all with high-schools. That means that the potential student pool for 10 high schools is about 2100 kids...I'm guessing that that isn't any larger than MPHS's population base. Just for argument's sake lets make the population 20% larger (600k). That leaves about 2500 kids for 10 high schools to choose from...and that doesn't count the homeschoolers(and there are a lot of them).

 

Now, where are all these millions of people that we have to choose from? I've said it several ways, but I keep coming back to this...a wide but shallow puddle LOOKS bigger than a small deep one, but they have the same amount of water. Small privates LOOK like they have a larger population to pull from, but in reality they do not, it is just spread out more than a small public's population.

 

That was fallacy 1. Fallacy 2 is the assumption that a larger pool to choose from = better athletics. It only = more athletes/better athletics IF the school is selecting SPECIFICALLY for athletes. No small private that I know of even has athletics as an information category on it's application, much less selects kids based on whether they are good at some sport. I know that no coach at Boyd has ever had any input into who gets in...that decision is solely up to the principals, neither of which has ever been a coach of anything (both are female...great people, but not coaches) and neither of which could care less if a kid is an athlete. We just play with what we have...much like you guys I would suspect. Heck, we don't even get to set the date for the Homecoming game...we just get told when it will be every year.

 

I know the whole idea of selecting the cream from untold masses of students is an attractive one, because it would certainly be an advantage if someone could do it...but it just doesn't happen in the 'nooga, maybe in Nashville because there is a lot more money available (bigger base + bigger income = bigger pool), but I am guessing the situation is similar there too (more privates).

 

Not bad.

 

Edit to correct Akins title: One nit, you say no coach at Boyd had a say. I would point out that THE coach was THE president during Boyd's great rr

I'm pretty sure he had a very large say in who got in and who stayed, but no matter.

 

As someone pointed out, it is cyclical. Especially in the smaller schools. ND has had a great run, for example, but that can be credited to a good senior class of boys and girls who have won at every level and been together since kindergarten in large part. They are now gone, and the cupboard, while not bare by any means, is at least a little thinner, and it would appear the other schools in 6AA, which are all public, are looking at some good years.

[Coniglio]

QUOTE(Rabble Rouser @ May 30 2007 - 04:53 PM) 826469201[/snapback]and it would appear the other schools in 6AA, which are all public, are looking at some good years.

 

I believe there is more than 1 private school in 6AA.

[Baldcoach]

QUOTE(Rabble Rouser @ May 30 2007 - 04:53 PM) 826469201[/snapback]Not bad.

 

Edit to correct Akins title: One nit, you say no coach at Boyd had a say. I would point out that THE coach was THE president during Boyd's great rr

I'm pretty sure he had a very large say in who got in and who stayed, but no matter.

 

As someone pointed out, it is cyclical. Especially in the smaller schools. ND has had a great run, for example, but that can be credited to a good senior class of boys and girls who have won at every level and been together since kindergarten in large part. They are now gone, and the cupboard, while not bare by any means, is at least a little thinner, and it would appear the other schools in 6AA, which are all public, are looking at some good years.

 

 

Actually, he didn't. The President has a lot of jobs, but admissions is not one of them. That is left strictly up to the principals and was structured that way to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

[Rabble Rouser]

QUOTE(Baldcoach @ May 30 2007 - 08:34 PM) 826469388[/snapback]Actually, he didn't. The President has a lot of jobs, but admissions is not one of them. That is left strictly up to the principals and was structured that way to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

 

I do not point this out as a knock. What Boyd did under him was impressive. It might have been that way on paper as you say, but I believe the reality is different than you suggest. He did what anyone interested in seeing the school succeed would have, and should have done, and the results - both then and now - speak for themselves.

[Rabble Rouser]

QUOTE(Coniglio @ May 30 2007 - 05:56 PM) 826469273[/snapback]I believe there is more than 1 private school in 6AA.

 

You are correct. I forgot about CCS.

 

Football is Howard, ER, Meigs, Polk, ND, Grundy, Sequoyah, McMinn Central and Tellico. Only ND is non-scholarship (private). At least that is the case in football.

 

In Baseball it's

ND, Marion, ER, Hixson, Grundy, Sequatchie, CCS, Howard and Bledsoe.

[CoachT]

QUOTE(takedown3 @ May 30 2007 - 12:23 PM) 826469084[/snapback]Excellent analysis but in this case you've just thrown pearls before swine.

 

Totally uncalled for.

[takedown3]

QUOTE(coacht @ May 31 2007 - 10:12 AM) 826469594[/snapback]Totally uncalled for.

 

 

You're right. If you see some swine, please extend my heartfelt apology.

[CoachT]

I have a much better answer.

[Coniglio]

QUOTE(Rabble Rouser @ May 31 2007 - 07:07 AM) 826469493[/snapback]You are correct. I forgot about CCS.

 

Football is Howard, ER, Meigs, Polk, ND, Grundy, Sequoyah, McMinn Central and Tellico. Only ND is non-scholarship (private). At least that is the case in football.

 

In Baseball it's

ND, Marion, ER, Hixson, Grundy, Sequatchie, CCS, Howard and Bledsoe.

 

CCS will have football within the next two years competing at the varsity level.

 

 

QUOTE(coacht @ May 31 2007 - 02:33 PM) 826469660[/snapback]I have a much better answer.

 

Perma-ban!

[larry]

(1) Everybody play everybody in the regular season

 

(2) Split for the tournaments/playoffs

 

(3) Two district finalists move to region

 

(4) Region champ goes to sectionals

 

(5) Sectionals best of three games

 

(6) State tournament double-elimination

 

(7) Listen to the privates whine now because they have to play each other.