schools:

To soothe rezoning woes, Liberty’s principal touts programs

Some parents upset that 240 students could move from Coronado

Published Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 | 7:29 p.m.

Updated Monday, Feb. 23, 2009 | 3:49 p.m.

To help answer questions from parents concerned about the switch, Gibson will be holding informational parent nights. The first will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 24 in room 203 of Liberty. Meetings will also be held at Charles Silvestri Junior High School, at 7 p.m. Feb. 26, and Del Webb Middle School, which is not yet scheduled.

Clark County School District

Liberty High School's principal is defending the quality of her school in the wake of protests by Anthem parents that their children may be moved from Coronado High to Liberty.

"We have something for everyone," Principal Rosalind Gibson said before rattling off some of her proudest moments — from both boys and girls basketball teams that have made the regional playoffs to an award-winning dance program and the involvement of student volunteers.

"I think you'd find (students are) very happy here and they're safe here," she said.

About 240 students may be rezoned from Coronado to Liberty next year to ease crowding at Coronado and fill seats at Liberty. The final decision will be made at a School Board meeting 5:30 p.m. March 3 at the Edward A. Greer Education Center board room, 2832 E. Flamingo Road.

The potential rezoning has caused an uproar from many Madeira Canyon and Anthem Highlands parents, whose children would be moved. Some of their arguments have been aimed at the quality of Liberty's programs, saying the school isn't as good as Coronado.

Gibson doesn't agree. Offerings may be fewer or different, she said, but what Liberty offers is unequaled in much of the School District.

The education at Liberty works off a foundation of classical studies and the arts. Students have an opportunity to take classes such as Latin, which aren't offered at many, if any, other high schools, she said.

The foundation is directly responsible for helping the students score highly in language arts, she said.

Carolyn Edwards, School Board representative for Liberty, has touted the school several times at public School Board and Attendance Zone Advisory Commission meetings.

Because Liberty is 29 percent under capacity, fewer courses are offered, but the basics are there and much more, Gibson and Edwards said. Adding students will allow the school to offer more programs, they said.

Additionally, Edwards said, students have a better chance of getting involved with programs, whether they are sports or academics, because there are fewer students to compete for slots.

With Liberty under capacity by 750 students and Coronado over by 500 students, the commission hoped to move 350 students. The final recommendation to move 240 is the result of compromise.

"I think they should have moved more students in, but given the level of opposition, this is the compromise, and it's a reasonable compromise," Edwards said. "Doing nothing would be irresponsible. Doing the whole thing would be unfair."

Many ghosts from Liberty's past have come out with the announcement of rezoning, many of which have been taken to unfair or untrue levels, Gibson said.

One of the biggest misconceptions has been concerning drug use and fights on campus, she said. But reports show Liberty has fewer incidents on its campus than Coronado.

In the 2007-2008 school year, Liberty recorded one count of distribution of a controlled substance, two counts of possession or use of a controlled substance, two counts of possession or use of alcohol, and 53 counts of violence to other students. There were no instances of violence to staff or possession of a weapon.

In the same year, Coronado recorded two counts of distribution of a controlled substance, 19 counts of possession or use of a controlled substance, no counts of possession or use of alcohol, 59 counts of violence to other students, one count of violence to staff and nine counts of possession of a weapon.

That gives both schools a total incident rate of about three per 100 students.

Liberty students are some of the most respectful Gibson has encountered in her years as a principal, she said. Some of that shows through in their devotion to volunteering, she said.

Students tutor and help food banks. More than 100 students are also co-sponsoring a village in the Philippines through a program called Gawad Kalinga, Gibson said. It was an idea the students brought up and pursued, and one unique to Liberty.

Additionally, Liberty offers Advanced Placement courses in 14 subjects, she said. That compares with 16 subjects at Coronado.

Both offer AP classes in calculus, biology, chemistry, English, statistics, Spanish, U.S. government, U.S. history and world history.

Liberty also offers AP in art history, European history, Latin, Latin Vergil and human geography. Coronado also has AP courses in computer science, studio art, French, music theory, economics, physics and psychology.

Gibson isn't interested in filling all 750 seats right away, but she does feel it's important to gain as many students as possible.

If no students are brought over, Liberty would lose about 14 teachers, Gibson said, and with it programs. Additional students would save some of those positions and ensure continuance of the current programs, if not development of new ones.

While she would like an increase, she thinks the school will continue to thrive if no change is voted on at the School Board meeting.

"We'd still have a great school, because that's who we are," she said. "Our motto is, the best way to predict the future is to help create it."

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or frances.vanderploeg@hbcpub.com.

Discussion: 5 comments so far…

By ZeddyBear

2/19/09 at 8:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

Here's a novel approach: draw the lines, move the kids, and be done with it. Who runs this district? Parents or the school board? Again, if the current crop of school board members cannot -- or will not -- make the decision, perhaps they should resign and allow those who can to make the decisions. Believe it or not -- this is how it is done in other school districts.
By gibdawson

2/19/09 at 12:44 p.m.

Suggest removal

Just to set the record straight, this parent from Madeira Canyon is not concerned about the quality of education at Liberty HS. The reason I'm fighting this zoning change is that it takes my kids out of their neighborhood school which is Coronado high school. And I have an inability to understand why the zoning committee took 700 kids, living north of the 215, out of their neighborhood schools (Silverado and Green Valley) and keep them in Coronado. To date, no one from the School Board administration has explained why they put kids outside of their neighborhood schools in our school, making it necessary to move our kids, thus breaking up our community. If there is a reason for this, it should be made public, so that future home buyers can know what they are up against. As it stands now, this arbitrary decision smells of preferential treatment and abuse of power, and possible enrichment of elected officials at the expense of our kids. I would admonish this administration to not use high school kids as pawns for a personal resume enhancement.
By MadeiraCanyonParent

2/19/09 at 7:14 p.m.

Suggest removal

Point of clarification--It seems that the principal of Liberty feel that the parents of Madeira Canyon and Anthem Highlands do not feel Liberty is a good school, I don't recall anyone stating that or was that anywhere in our document we prepared for the board. It's unfortunate she feels that way as we just want the AZAC team to follow guidelines and if that means we belong to Liberty I know I will personally welcome going to Liberty and do whatever I can to make it an even better school. We are not unprofessional or make rude comments to other humans that activity was reserved for other folks in this whole process but not us as we are true Champions!
By 2zero

2/19/09 at 8:54 p.m.

Suggest removal

He is a simple solution: open up enrollment to Liberty or any CCSD school that is under utilized to everyone.

Open enrollment would allow parents of children in any other school to transfer. Parents of kids at, say Rancho, a crowded under achieving school would have the option of Liberty or Bonanza. Of course they would have to provide their own transportation.

This is exactly the way they do it in Salt Lake City and it is working!

CCSD will not want "parents" or kids having a choice but to heck with them. Plus it would be hard to explain why CCSD buses white kids to Rancho just to get test scores up(I mean magnetize) while kids of color drive themselves to the suburbs.
By azsk8fan

2/21/09 at 9:09 a.m.

Suggest removal

"White Kids" "Kids of Color"....oh please GIVE IT A REST ALREADY. It's always gotta be about the color of someone's skin - Zeddybear has the right idea - draw the lines and then take it or leave it - REGARDLESS of the color of the skin.