IS IT TRUE that a deferral of responsibility for maintenance loophole popped up this week that is likely to be exploited in the future?…several years ago the EVSC was “given” ownership of Bosse Field because the City of Evansville asserted that they could not pay to maintain the old classic ballpark?…if you fast forward to today, the EVSC is about to tax the residents of Vanderburgh County to pay for some maintenance of the baseball stadium that is mainly is by the money losing but always entertaining Evansville Otters?…there is something about this that seems SNEGAL even though it probably wasn’t from day one?…this loophole may be exploited in the future to lay off city responsibilities onto other taxing entities like school corporations?…we may see municipal water distribution, roads, bridges, arenas, and even sewer departments “given” to school systems so they can hide infrastructure repair taxes in school bond issues?…this is not an honest way of doing business?
IS IT TRUE that the Vanderburgh County School system is now a proud owner of a $3 1/2 million golf course located in the northern part of the county and a semi-pro baseball stadium in dire need of millions dollars worth of repairs ? …it would have been a wise investment if members of the Vanderburgh County school board would had used the money spent to buy a golf course on academic endeavors?
IS IT TRUE we are told that some parents who are sending their kids to Vanderburgh County public high schools are extremely concerned and disappointed that not one (1) student was selected as a 2017 National Merit Finalist?  … they feel the administrators of Vanderburgh County school system should never allowed this to happen?
IS IT TRUE speaking of EVSC, they have tried to re-brand their way out of poor academic performance by renaming failing schools as academies and other nonsensical concoctions of hollow words?…propaganda without substance is often where clueless people go to avoid the hard work of real improvement?
IS IT TRUE parents sending their kids to private or charter schools in Vanderburgh County should be extremely pleased  that seven (7) students attending their schools were selected as 2017 National Merit Finalist?  …we congratulate the teachers and administrators of those private and charter schools for doing a great job in preparing their students for the 2017 National Merit Finalist tests?
IS IT TRUE parents sending their kids to Castle High School should be extremely proud that seven (7) out of eight (8) Warrick County high school students were selected as 2017 National Merit Finalist?  … the administrators and school board members of Warrick County school system should be extremely pleased with themselves for providing their students with an excellent classroom educational learning environment?  …the administrators and teachers of the Newburgh Christian School should also be pleased that one on their students were also selected  as a 2017 National Merit Finalist?
IS IT TRUE each year there are around 7,500 National Merit Finalists named across the country and this year seven (7) of them are from Vanderburgh County and eight (8) are from Warrick County?  …what is really interesting is what schools are producing these high achievers?…Mater Dei High School produced one (1) finalist, Memorial produced three (3) finalists, and the Charter Signature School produced three (3) National Merit Finalists?…no other high school in Vanderburgh County produced a single one?…the larger enrollment EVSC High Schools called North, Bosse, Central, Harrison, and Reitz produced exactly zero (0) National Merit Finalists between them?…the Evansville Day School that has in the past has been a big producer also had zero (0)?…in Vanderburgh County every student to be named a National Merit Finalists was either attending a private school or a charter school?Â
SNEGAL: Lawful but Awful.
That is “sneaky but Legal” but I like your definition too. You need a new acronym.
I know. I went up to the line of your © but didn’t cross it. Didn’t dare.
Sure, congratulations to the kids named National Merit Finalists, but since when did that become the only measure of success for a student and their school? Who decided that? And who are these public school “parents” who you claim are complaining about this? Don’t they also have some responsibility for educating their kids? (And no, before anyone asks, I don’t work for EVSC. I just know a shallow argument when I see one).
National Merit is just one of many metrics that student achievement is based on. You have hit the nail on the head by laying poor achievement at the foot of parents or lack of them.
Dear City-County Observer:
I realize you folks are all a-twist over the National Merit Finalists locally, but perhaps instead of bashing the EVSC you could do a little homework and put this in perspective.
Over 1.6 million students in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
In September 2016, some 16,000 Semifinalists moved forward to be considered as National Merit Finalists.
By the conclusion of the 2017 competition, about 7,500 Finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships
It is NOT true that “each year there are around 7,500 National Merit Finalists.” For example, in 2015 there were 15,121 finalists.
As someone who has a number of friends and colleagues who teach in the EVSC, your focus on bashing EVSC over the National Merit Finalists is mathematically misplaced.
7,500 National Merit Finalists means that there are (if all is equal) 150 students per State. Indiana has 92 Counties, which means less than two students per Indiana County would qualify as a National Merit Finalist.
None of the above discerns the computational calculations to allow for population centers in each State and for each Indiana County. However, your constant harping about EVSC not having any National Merit Finalists is getting tired and old, since it is NOT true for every year. In 2015, there was one from Reitz and three from Signature. So 25% of the National Merit Finalists were from EVSC.
There are 14 high schools in Vanderburgh County, so considering that less than two students per County in Indiana would be part of the 7,500 National Merit Finalists, I think your continued hounding of EVSC is misplaced.
If you have a beef with them, then help find a solution. Yes, this year EVSC did not have National Merit Finalists. But bashing EVSC for this single year is not evidence of them being inadequate considering in past years they had National Merit Finalists
This sounds very much like what someone associated with or employed by EVSC would write. What is the history of the EVSC competing with the private and charter schools for National Merit Finalists? How much has that changed in the past 30 years. The zero production for this year is not the first time this has happened and you probably know it.
You sound like a numbers person. Please enlighten the readers with some historical statistics of the EVSC along with the private, charter, and Warrick County schools when it comes to producing National Merit Finalists. With four times the number of seniors, EVSC should statistically be producing 4 times the National Merit Finalists. Has that ever happened? I am filled with anticipation for your statistics.
Joe, could you expand on your third to last sentence? I’m having a bit of a problem finding a correlation between any statistics to support your statement. There are 4 times as many seniors at EVSC than where? All private, charter, and Warrick schools combined? And is mere head count a reasonable statistical factor in this particular issue?
No 4x what Memorial, Mater Dei, Day, and Signature have. It is an approximation from memory of the enrollment a several years ago.
I did a quick check on enrollments. Signature and Day school combined graduate less than 100 per year and the two Catholic schools add up to about 300. That makes slightly less than 400 annual graduates. The 5 big public high schools with the exception of Bosse have about that many seniors. I stand by my claim that the 5 big public schools have about 4x as many graduates as the 3 private and 1 charter schools combined. It may be higher.
As for the question of is this a fair metric, in a world where students, teachers, facilities, and parents are equal a ratio is a good metric. I am willing to concede that is not likely to be the case. Where are the deficiencies that are driving the performance differentials? Is it instruction, students, or teachers? When it comes to facilities and even spending per pupil the big public schools have a big advantage.
Joe:
I do not work for the EVSC, have never worked for the EVSC, and have no family members who work for or have ever worked for EVSC
However, I am a product of the EVSC, as are my two children, and I do not care for what I see as a biased bashing of the EVSC without facts to back up the false assertions. Considering I could find statistical facts on this issue with a minimal Google search does not make me in the pocket of EVSC.
The numbers for all the years and areas you request would take a tremendous amount of time which I am not going to put into this. You showed your colors and bias when you began your reply by accusing me of being affiliated with EVSC. Private citizens can have opinions and back their local school system without being paid to do so
Here is a link to the 2015 results. EVSC had 1, Signature had 3, and one home school kid got 1. Castle had 8.
http://archive.courierpress.com/news/education/making-the-grade/National-Merit-Scholarship-semifinalists-named-14-local-students-on-list-330793452.html
From my original comment
“7,500 National Merit Finalists means that there are (if all is equal) 150 students per State. Indiana has 92 Counties, which means less than two students per Indiana County would qualify as a National Merit Finalist”
As with any population of students, there will be years with good results from EVSC and some years with not so good results from EVSC
So answer this: You now live 2,000 miles away. What is the reason for your strong comments against EVSC?
I am filled with anticipation for your…answer
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