"What bothers me is all the mudslinging going on," says Cindy Thibodeau, Principal at Black Water Middle School in Horry County.
The school has been at the receiving end of criticism from some parents of students in the Carolina Forest area. A recent Horry County School Board redistricting proposal would send a majority of kids who complete Carolina Forest Elementary to Black Water Middle School instead of Ocean Bay Middle School starting in the 2012-2013 school year.
School board members cite an overcrowding situation at Ocean Bay. Meanwhile, many parents of Carolina Forest Elementary students who are currently set to attend Ocean Bay but would be rerouted to Black Water if the proposal passes, are writing Black Water off, Principal Thibodeau says, far too soon.
The unpleased parents point to Black Water's 7% expulsion rate.They also look to the 2010 South Carolina Annual Report Card Summary, where Ocean Bay Middle ranked "excellent" in 2010, "good" in 2009 and "good" in 2008.
Meanwhile, Black Water Middle scored "average" in 2010, "average" in 2009 and "below average" in 2008.
But Thibodeau is quick to defend her school, saying that every school is unique with different demographics and students from diverse backgrounds. She says that her school embraces their uniqueness.
Thibodeau says, while straight-A students across the board would be ideal, that's not the reality. "Not all kids are straight-A students and at Black Water we give each student the attention and tools they need to succeed," she says.
The principal adds you cannot judge a school based solely a grade. She compares the grading judgement to the PASS test scores, ones that are controversial in their own right. She says you have to look at a school's approach, how they're teaching and who they are and that goes beyond a rating on a piece of paper.
That, most of all, says Thibodeau, is what upsets her and the rest of Black Water Middle. She says, "not one parent or guardian who is upset at the school board proposal has contacted me about our school. No one has inquired about Black Water for themselves."
Thibodeau says parents have made up their minds without seeing what her school stands for.
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