Have any African American or Latino parents and citizens attended these meetings? I hope so!

I agree that all students should be prepared for their lives after high school and this includes those who do not attend college. However all students should have the basic credentials to attend college whether they plan to attend or not.. I am sure the current curriculum provides that. As for whether we should combine our high schools into one I have mixed emotions. On the one hand It would probably be economically better, but in doing so the classes would be bigger and students would lose some of their personal idenity. Some at the meeting expressed the latter as an asset. We all know this is one of the many advantages private schools offer and is one reason many who can afford it send their children to private schools.

It is so encouraging to see that so many in our community are concerened with the future of our schools. Our future depends on the quality of education we offer the next generation.

Fewer teacher for sixth graders? Duh...what?

@ Greg: I think they meant longer periods with one teacher and not so many changes for sixth graders. Transitioning them from one classroom to maybe three eases them into high school. They still have enough time with one teacher to build a strong relationship. The same student/teacher ratio would be needed. They would just be divided differently.

And how many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on the IB program. What a waste!

“We have the worst facilities in north Alabama,” - I believe that's a strech. Maybe they won't be new like the new high schools in Huntsville or Hartselle but far from the worst facilities in north Alabama.

Agree with D. That statement was a bit much. They need to go see some of the county schools and then realize their facilities are not that bad.

Worse facilities? Exaggerated. They just are not new. Again, there are a certain few in Decatur that have to have what our neighbors have whether we need it or not. If they are talking a combined high school, then a combined high school is what they want, and a combined high school is what they will get. That is how it is done in Decatur.

Why do we care what the county has? This kind of mentality is the reason we are behind right now. We are talking about trying to strive to be the best system, whether it be in academics or athletics that you possibly can be. Come look at the school facilities and compare them to other cities with 6A programs. You can't compare us to the county schools "D". Most of them are 2A, 3A schools with a lot less resources than Decfatur. Go look at Hartselle, Athens, Russellville, Madison or Huntsville and compare facilities. Then tell me where you think we stack up. Free pre-k is not the answer either. I haven't heard of any people leaving the city because there wasn't adequate pre-k programs, but I have heard first hand of many, many people leaving because of the condition of our schools.

The thinking seems "old school" to me. What about fewer teachers and more technology, would produce more bang for the tax dollar. We do need the sports venue, and classrooms, but we badly need job training, like shop, but with robotics and othe computer capabilities. If we aren't willing to do it right we should just let what we have do, and let a more enlightened generation see about it.

The thinking seems "old school" to me. What about fewer teachers and more technology, would produce more bang for the tax dollar. We do need the sports venue, and classrooms, but we badly need job training, like shop, but with robotics and othe computer capabilities. If we aren't willing to do it right we should just let what we have do, and let a more enlightened generation see about it.

@Greg: I was in that group and the lady was making the point that she felt middle school kids had to change teachers way too much during the day. She wanted something in-between HS and elementary school.

@Ben: Yes

I, for one, HATE the one school idea. It always seems Decatur is chasing everyone else. Why are we talking about going to a single school when Madison and all the other large schools are separating out? For example, Bob Jones and James Clemens and Hoover and Spain Park.

All the one school will do is give us larger class sizes and deplete the opportunity for a lot of kids to participate in extra-curricular activities. Not just sports, but band, chorus, etc. etc. I do not think a larger school is the answer - unless that is just someone trying to make a legacy for themselves and then it definitely is not the answer.

I also think that DCS administration and principals at a minimum should be required to live in Decatur. They shoud have a vested interest in the schools performing well.

Jon, Decatur is not chasing, we are trying to just keep up. We were passed along time ago. The reason Bob Jones and Hoover are separating out is because they are actually GROWING, something Decatur is NOT doing. With one high school, you will not have larger classes, but just a larger nicer school. In regard to extra-currucular activities, I think the 13 people in the Decatur band can be absorbed into the Austin band. True some kids will not "make the team" in sports, but i would rather have a great sports program rather than both of our teams getting beat in the first round of the payoffs every year in every sport. Anyone checked the win/loss records of Decatur High basketball or Decatur High baseball recently???

@ Allen . . "I think the 13 people in the Decatur band . . ." Really?? I counted at least 17 the last time I saw them march.

All joking aside, Allen made some very very good points. If we (Decatur) would step out of our comfort zone for 10 minutes and observe what is happening around us we might be able to make a step n the right direction to actualy GROW this city.

Is the lady in the picture throwing gang signs or is it just me.

Bob Jones and Hoover split and are still bigger than we are. Do you people get out of Decatur much? James Clemens will be bigger than Austin and Decatur in 4-5 years. Losing 120 kds a year and we will not have any choice but to combine. Do you not understand what losing that many kids actually means to the city of Decatur of itself. That means losing families, which means losing tax dollars. GE just hired 5-6 new engineers and do you know where they decided to live and educate their kids? It wasn't Decatur. The city must help by recruiting industry to the area. I don't think people really understand where Decatur, as a city is. It is just not the school system that is at risk.

Absolutely, Decatur High (speaking to the poster above). It would shock many people to find out that many Decatur plant managers and supervisors live in Madison, Huntsville, Cullman, Florence. Compare Decatur's and Madison's and Huntsville's schools...why wouldn't you want your kids to go to schools getting higher test scores, instead of schools that are scraping by?

Honestly, I'm afraid it's too late for Decatur. Once again, our administration has refused to change, preferring the status quo. And because of that, we are losing out.

This problem goes back to the 1970s.

@Decatur High - uh ,yeah. I have lived in 4 countries and 4 different states and traveled extensively in the US and in Europe and Asia. I agree with the comments about Decatur being stagnate. Status Quo rules and no one wants change. That being said - how is combining High Schools going to help anything? Also, in regards to the comment about both teams losing in the first round, DHS should not be 6A anyway. We shouldn't have been when I played there and they should not be now.

I also do not like the total focus on test scores. I do not remember spending weeks and months preparing for tests when I was in school and we always scored high. Maybe if we teach children rather than beat them to death over test scores then the scores would take care of themselves. Prime example - I lived in Bellevue, NE who had the highest scores of any school district in the country. My kids were in the top school in that district. Guess what? We moved to Biloxi, MS and our kids were a year behind their grade in that school. We left Biloxi, came back to Alabama and our kids were a year ahead of their classmates. Scores on tests do not tell the whole story.

So, I guess the real questions are - how big would a combined school be and what does that get us other than someone being able to say we have one of the largest schools in the state?

The only thing missing is a STUDENT advisory group. While many kids have trouble grasping the full picture, so do many adults. It is worth the effort to establish a student advisory group to gather ideas from those who are there. I doubt all of the ideas suggested by adults will be given serious consideration, so the fact that some kids ideas may not be feasible is no reason to keep them out of the loop.

AMEN 'S' thats the problem,not involving the kids. try involving the kids to see what they think may work best for them, give them the start to a 'trade' the trade of planning & following through. being part of something adult .