Back to school....

[tvguy]

I was in Walmart this morning. The back to school section was pretty much cleaned out. The districts that have not already gone back, go back this Thursday.

 

[mom2rtk]

On a different but related subject, I started thinking about this back to school season and it is the first one since we have had kids that we are not helping one or both of them get ready for some sort of school. Last year my youngest and oldest both graduated from college, one with a bachelors and one with a masters. Neither is going back this year for more education.

A 20 year back to school tradition has come to an end.

This is my 28th year of having a kid starting back to school in the fall. This is our last one as well as our youngest should get her Masters in May. Odd feeling for sure.

 

[tvguy]

This is my 28th year of having a kid starting back to school in the fall. This is our last one as well as our youngest should get her Masters in May. Odd feeling for sure.

The circle of life. My oldest started school 33 years ago. Thursday HIS oldest starts school.

 

[kdonnel]

Tomorrow is the first day for the kids.

Traffic will be horrible from about 6:45am-9:30am and then again from 2:30pm-4:30pm, Monday-Friday until May 2026.

I never knew how bad a neighbor schools were until I lived a mile from a high school, middle school, and an elementary school. 6300 kids coming by bus and car destroys traffic.

 

[tvguy]

Tomorrow is the first day for the kids.

Traffic will be horrible from about 6:45am-9:30am and then again from 2:30pm-4:30pm, Monday-Friday until May 2026.

I never knew how bad a neighbor schools were until I lived a mile from a high school, middle school, and an elementary school. 6300 kids coming by bus and car destroys traffic.

That's nuts. The combined attendance of the High School, Middle School and elementary is just under 3,000. However, because, as I mentioned, there is no bus service, seems like EVERY student at has someone drop them off and pick them up, so it is gridlock around the campuses. Very very very few students when I was in school had a parent pick them up. In fact, my dad decided to pick me up one day, and a couple of kids went running to get a teacher because they thought I was getting in a strangers car!!

 

[kdonnel]

That's nuts.

I live in a high growth area.

In the 20 years I have lived in this house, they have redistricted twice, having built two additional high schools within the cluster, in an attempt to keep up with growth. But many of the larger neighborhoods fought the redistricting so the impact to attendance was initially minor.

The high school opened in August 2004 with 2500 students. By 2008 it had over 4000 students. The latest redistricting two years ago was somewhat successful and it is down to only about 2600 students.

There are so many neighborhoods under construction that it will easily be in the 3500 range again. The cluster consists of the high school, the middle school, and three elementary schools, one of which is co located with the high school/middle school.

 

[tvguy]

I live in a high growth area.

In the 20 years I have lived in this house, they have redistricted twice, having built two additional high schools within the cluster, in an attempt to keep up with growth. But many of the larger neighborhoods fought the redistricting so the impact to attendance was initially minor.

The high school opened in August 2004 with 2500 students. By 2008 it had over 4000 students. The latest redistricting two years ago was somewhat successful and it is down to only about 2600 students.

There are so many neighborhoods under construction that it will easily be in the 3500 range again. The cluster consists of the high school, the middle school, and three elementary schools, one of which is co located with the high school/middle school.

That happened here with one school district. They didn't redistrict, they just couldn't build new schools fast enough. They had the land and the money to build them, they just couldn't keep up. They went to year round school, where a quarter of the students are on vacation at any given time to pack more kids in existing facilities. Only 18 of their 68 schools are still year round, all elementary schools. They have 43 elementary schools. The surge came and went, and now enrollment like everywhere else around here is in decline. Neighborhoods are aging, so fewer kids.

 

[kdonnel]

That happened here with one school district. They didn't redistrict, they just couldn't build new schools fast enough. They had the land and the money to build them, they just couldn't keep up. They went to year round school, where a quarter of the students are on vacation at any given time to pack more kids in existing facilities. Only 18 of their 68 schools are still year round, all elementary schools. They have 43 elementary schools. The surge came and went, and now enrollment like everywhere else around here is in decline. Neighborhoods are aging, so fewer kids.

Gwinnett was the fastest growing county in the US for much of the 70's, 80's. While growth has slowed from the insane 80's, population has still doubled between 2000 and 2020.

Probably another 50 years before the system has to even entertain the idea that enrollment is not growing.

 

[tvguy]

Gwinnett was the fastest growing county in the US for much of the 70's, 80's. While growth has slowed from the insane 80's, population has still doubled between 2000 and 2020.

Probably another 50 years before the system has to even entertain the idea that enrollment is not growing.

Yeah, district I live in has been closing and selling schools for the last 25 years. Only industry growing in my zip code is Assisted Living Centers.

 

[barkley]

Tomorrow is the first day for the kids.

Traffic will be horrible from about 6:45am-9:30am and then again from 2:30pm-4:30pm, Monday-Friday until May 2026.

I never knew how bad a neighbor schools were until I lived a mile from a high school, middle school, and an elementary school. 6300 kids coming by bus and car destroys traffic.

the high school I attended was built 6 years before I graduated. the old high school was in the middle of one of the busiest areas of town so the powers that be thought it would be beneficial traffic wise to build in the outskirts. yeah...that worked for a few years until developers took advantage of the new streets the city put in to access that school and started building houses. it's now smackdab in the middle of neighborhoods that go for miles and mile and creates the same traffic nightmares the old one did (and still does).

I live in a high growth area.

In the 20 years I have lived in this house, they have redistricted twice, having built two additional high schools within the cluster, in an attempt to keep up with growth. But many of the larger neighborhoods fought the redistricting so the impact to attendance was initially minor.

The high school opened in August 2004 with 2500 students. By 2008 it had over 4000 students. The latest redistricting two years ago was somewhat successful and it is down to only about 2600 students.

There are so many neighborhoods under construction that it will easily be in the 3500 range again. The cluster consists of the high school, the middle school, and three elementary schools, one of which is co located with the high school/middle school.

this is NOT a typo-our entire district (k-12) has less than 600 students.

the next closest district to us is closing in on 6000 students, have brought in 12 portable classrooms and have not dropped down to a LOW of operating at 114% of capacity in close to 5 years. I don't know how overenrolled they are currently-there have been many hundreds of new houses and apartments built in portions of the areas they cover since they last published numbers-there's over 1000 under construction now. another impact on enrollment that big district has is a law that went into effect that allows 'homeless' students to declare what they consider their 'home district' and then that district is mandated to enroll them AND provide transportation from WHEREEVER they currently reside. there have been concerns raised that due to the popularity of that district there is an abundance of students who live in less desirable districts and upon learning they meet the rather loose definition of 'homeless' the law uses, justify enrollment (and that district has to provide bussing to areas FAR from their boundaries).

 

[DodgerGirl]

I can't believe how back-to school supply lists have changed today. When I went to school my supply list included notebooks pens pencils and backpacks but now if you look at the supply list for back-to school they now list headphones and why do kids need headphones for school now? Another thing I noticed also if you have a preschooler in preschool they require nap mats and backpacks and now cleaning supplies have been added to supply lists for school. When I myself went to school I never required a giant list for back-to school

 

[Nayan]

I can't believe how back-to school supply lists have changed today. When I went to school my supply list included notebooks pens pencils and backpacks but now if you look at the supply list for back-to school they now list headphones and why do kids need headphones for school now?

Because a lot of work is done on laptops/chromebooks. Can you imagine the distraction for every one of those using speakers and not sync'ed up? Headphones are a must.

Another thing I noticed also if you have a preschooler in preschool they require nap mats and backpacks and now cleaning supplies have been added to supply lists for school. When I myself went to school I never required a giant list for back-to school

School budgets have been slashed so much that teachers are now asked to provide everything out of pocket for their classrooms while not making much money themselves. So parents are asked to chip in to help ease the burden.

 

[Dan Murphy]

if you look at the supply list for back-to school they now list headphones and why do kids need headphones for school now?

My eldest grandson, now in college, needed headphones in first grade, 13 years ago.

 

[barkley]

I can't believe how back-to school supply lists have changed today. When I went to school my supply list included notebooks pens pencils and backpacks but now if you look at the supply list for back-to school they now list headphones and why do kids need headphones for school now? Another thing I noticed also if you have a preschooler in preschool they require nap mats and backpacks and now cleaning supplies have been added to supply lists for school. When I myself went to school I never required a giant list for back-to school

it's telling how those lists have changed if you walk near one of the designated back to school supply areas at the big box stores. I was at walmart this week and in addition to the the aisles devoted to binders and folders and paper and such there was an entire multilevel shelving unit that went the entire width of all the other school supply aisles combined that had nothing but clorox wipes, baby wipes (yup-they are listed as separate required items on the school supply lists here), paper towels, boxes of tissues and other cleaning products that the kids have to bring.

I was curious so I just took a peek at our local elementary school's supply lists-do 1st graders eat crayons???? why do they alone need 3 separate 24 packs to be brought from day 1 while every other grade only needs 1 24 pack per kid? likewise with pencil sharpeners-why do 4th graders need to provide 4 each when every other grade only requires 1?

what is with the requirement to send quart and gallon bags (and no knock-off brands, specifically 'ziplock' brand is listed)? what use does the average elementary classroom have for (on average if each kid has to bring one box of each) at least 400 quart and 400 gallon bags?