How do you feel about the safety and reputation of the GP schools?

I do not feel safe what so ever. The main problem is kids from Harper Woods coming to Grosse Pointe schools and causing problems. We pay higher taxes than Harper Woods it is unfair that they can just come in our schools and make them worst. Harper woods it self has a huge crime problem and people from that community have caused crime right here in Grosse Pointe. Grosse Pointe schools system needs to step up and tell Harper woods to back off because enough is enough.

I have heard of fights between girls and/ or boys in the hallways from the mouth of my own daughter who is a freshman at Norrh. I sincerely hope Mr Bearden has as much control of the situation as he says he does because this issue is definitely a concern of all of us parents.

The safety and reputation of the GP schools far exceeds the safety and reputation of the GP Shores city council.

Although my children attend school at South, I have had the opportunity to visit North on several occasions and work with the parent volunteers at North regularly. I absolutely agree with Principal Bearden, North is an EXCEPTIONAL place, and our entire community needs to support both our wonderful high schools. Our biggest PR problem is ourselves!!

Interesting comments from Dan Schulte.. I wonder how often he walk the halls at North and Parcells to be able to make those statements.

There's no doubt the reputations of North and Parcells have taken a hit over the past several years. How much of it is reality vs. perception is debateable, but it sure seems that a lot of things get blown out of proportion with rumors and endless gossiping that go on this community.

I feel both schools are moving in the right direction and have no problem sending my children to both schools.

I graduated from GPN in 2005 and it was safe. My brother graduated in 2010, but he said it had changed completely. I could tell you exactly why it changed, but I have a feeling everyone already knows.

Everyone knows the quality of our school district is going down and everyone knows why. Lets not play dumb here people. The more rentals in our area the worse it is going to get.

Both Parcells and North are incredible schools. We are so fortunate in this community. I am in both schools frequently and have never seen anything but courteous, typical high school students. The truth is that these schools get criticized because they have ethnic diversity not found elsewhere in the Pointes. If we're not positive about our own community and schools, how can we expect others to be?

So, the assumption is this: "North is dangerous because it has more African Americans". Both schools have students who do drugs, fight and disrespect the law like every other high school in America! A school that size, full of children between 13-18, will have problems.
My concern is pointed at all of the innuendos and coded words in this article. This kind of dialogue only promotes more racism directed directly at the large group of African Americans who attend North.
Why are realtors on the board? My concern is this issue turns into (1) red lining among the realtors, (2) more racial profiling from police and (3) more harrasments of minorities from school officials.
So, since the " Ambassadors " ( ironic name) are concerned about real estate stability.... I think every African American homeowner should consider investing or re-investing in the rebuilding of Detroit!

I am concerned about the rumors not only about Parcells and North but other schools in the district as well. However keep in mind that we still have one of the best systems in the state. Families move here to take advantage of our school systems.

I encourage all residents/tax payers to contact the school system with concerns and to attend the twice a month meetings.

The first step is to log on to the Grosse Pointe school system web site

http://gpschools.schoolwires.net/gpschools/site/default.as

The community is looking for new residents to move in and all Grosse Pointers and Harper Woods Residents have an intrest in making our communities the best.

The school administration would be delighted for more community involvement

G

So the fight in the Parcell"s cafeteria, between 2 african american girls at Christmas that resulted in an ambulance call, didn't happen?

I can only comment that the halls of the schools and the attitude of the students is different than it was in the 80's.

As far as safety, I think that is just knee-jerk reactionary nonsense. Though, I could do without the multi-jurisdictional "drug" raids.

For the real question, the reputation, well that is falling rapidly. By empirical measure, Grosse Pointe South is slipping, and fast. From the most-trusted source Wikipedia:

RankingsNewsweek magazine creates a yearly list of the 1000 top public high schools in America. In 2008, Grosse Pointe South High School ranked 363rd nationwide and second in Michigan while Grosse Pointe North High School was 916th nationally and eleventh in Michigan. [1] In 2009, Grosse Pointe South ranked in the top 2% of High Schools-Nationwide.[2] By 2010, Newsweek posted that Grosse Pointe South High School ranked 520th (fifth in Michigan) and Grosse Pointe North High School was 1187th (18th in Michigan).[3]

If you would like to investigate the slide of our academic pedigree as well as your property values you can look up data here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/2011/americas-best-high-schools.html

They used to have historical rankings as well.

On a side note, I understand that there is another high school called Grosse Pointe North. Though, personally I've never seen it and I presume it is some sort of vocational school for the future hairdressers and nail "technicians" of the world.

Full disclosure: I am a multigenerational Blue Devil and a Blue Devil for life. Blood-in, blood-out.

Tim Bearden is choosing his words very carefully. "We do not have fights every day" - but there are frequent fights. "A teacher was not put into the hospital by students." - but a teacher was injured while breaking up two students fighting.

"We have 1,300 adolescents in one place. We are going to have issues." True, but there were not issues like this when my older child attended North several years ago.

Mr. Bearden needs to wake up and face reality, put some monitors in the hallways to control this behavior before the next fight involves a weapon and some innocent student gets hurt. Grosse Pointe North is "an exceptional place", let's keep it that way.

I would expect nothing less from school officials than to paint a rosey picture of both schools.

Unfortunately the school officals regular course of action is to simply ignore the problem or deliver minimial punishment to the offenders. I have three relatives at Parcell's that say "the hallways are a joke- racial slurs (directed by one race to the same race), pushing and shoving and intimination.. we deserve better than this!

According to the Center for Performance and Information (http://michigan.gov/cepi) and the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov), Grosse Pointe Public Schools and the greater community have experienced demographic change during the past decade, primarily due to outmigration of Detroit's black population to its suburbs. However, the City of Harper Woods' population experienced the greatest change in racial composition of any community in the Tri-County Region. In 2000, the City of Harper Woods was 86% White, 10% Black. By 2010, the City of Harper Woods was 50% White, 46% Black. By comparison, in 2000, the City of Grosse Pointe Woods was 96% White, 1% Black. By 2010, the City of Grosse Pointe Woods was 91% White, 4% Black.

Demographic change has also taken place among the student bodies of the Grosse Public Schools in these communities during the same period. Between the 2000-2001 headcount and the 2011-2012 headcount, the percentage of black students at each school increased as follows:
Poupard: 20% to 60%
Mason: 4% to 14%
Monteith: 1% to 9%
Ferry: 0% to 9%
Parcells: 6% to 28%
Grosse Pointe North: 3% to 25%

Socioeconomically, the percentage of Grosse Pointe Public Schools students who qualify for free or reduced lunch programs has also increased: 6% in 2006-2007 headcount to 16% in 2011-2012 headcount.

Such changes are replicated across Detroit's suburbs and their schools. How will Grosse Pointe Public Schools and the community respond?

I am also regularly in both schools, and am continually impressed with what I see and experience - wonderful students of all walks of life, caring and professional teachers, staff and coaches, outstandings options for music, arts, sports and many other extracurriculars for our kids, and some of the best education any children could receive anywhere. I'm very disappointed with the Shores "ambassadors" and several in our community. Too many people have lived in the Grosse Pointe "bubble" for too long and believe everything that isn't like the Grosse Pointe of old is a problem. All middle or high schools experience some discipline issues from time to time. I personally think the diversity we finally see in our community and our schools is well overdue, because "old Grosse Pointe" was not the real world and was not preparing our children for what they experience when they move out of here. The real world is filled with a diversity of race, ethnicity, ideas, faith, education, perspectives and this should be embraced in Grosse Pointe, not feared. Both North and Parcells are outstanding schools and we should be sharing all the good things that go on, not the occasional issues. Read Tim Bearden's blog - I'm sure if he or Dr. Armstrong were asked to provide the countless wonderful experiences they have with our students and staff everyday, they could fill several blogs.

Rose Marie no one has said African Americans. I think people here are referring to those who are renting and not making roots in the community. Transient individuals who come to extract value from our community without putting any into. Realtors are involved because they are the most directly responsible. Everyone is familiar with people who rent homes in GPN district and place several kids on that address. It is so easy to cry racism to shut everyone up, but this has nothing to do with race. This is not a white or black thing. This is a owner vs. renter thing. We need controls on the rental market if we want to keep the schools from being overrun by people who are just here to take what we have worked so hard for and have paid into for years. If the school district goes to garbage then all the renters can just leave and we are stuck with the mess.

I understand that many have had to rent their homes because they are underwater and will continue to do so until the market recovers but it is up to GP and Harper Woods to monitor the rentals with a close eye and penalize those who don't maintain them properly. As a capitalists, I am all for allowing rentals, but I believe the city should consider rental minimums or controls that would protect the community and school district. And then if anyone has a problem with that they can’t cry white or black, only green.

As a parent with 3 boys that went through North, the youngest one graduating this year, I have quizzed my sons about the conditions there. The comment from all has been, yes there have been the occasional altercations. They were always isolated incidents and very infrequent. My nephews graduated back in 98 & 2000. There were disagreements back then. The only thing that's changed over the past 15 years is the diversity and diversity is good. My sons have White, Black, Indian and other racial origin friends and they are healthier for it.

Not having grown up in GP, but living here and raising a family here for over 25 years, I truly understand bigotry attitude. The world has become international in nature. Perhaps it is time for the people here to put away their fears and join the rest of the world.

As far as safety at North, I can only reiterate what my senior says, "I have no fear walking down the halls at North and I've never, nor my friends, had issues in that school."

BTW, I grew up in Livonia and graduated from high school in the early 70's, a predominately white community. We had one black student (and a friend of mine), yet we had the occasional fight. I will happen in any school, in any community.

I am a freshmen at North and I came from Brownell. I have never once felt threatened or unsafe in the classrooms or hallways. My teachers are great and very attentitive so fights can't even get close to starting. And yes, there is foul language in the halls, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER HIGH SCHOOL. It can be loud but there is no way for the administration to stop this because teenagers have minds of their own and detentions and ISS's wouldn't be much of a threat to many of the students. I have complete faith in Mr. Bearden and stand behind him 100%. I'm sick of having to defend my "ghetto" school when it is just as good, if not better, then its counterpart, South.

I am also regularly in both schools, and am continually impressed with what I see and experience - wonderful students of all walks of life, caring and professional teachers, staff and coaches, outstandings options for music, arts, sports and many other extracurriculars for our kids, and some of the best education any children could receive anywhere. I'm very disappointed with the Shores "ambassadors" and several in our community. Too many people have lived in the Grosse Pointe "bubble" for too long and believe everything that isn't like the Grosse Pointe of old is a problem. All middle or high schools experience some discipline issues from time to time. I personally think the diversity we finally see in our community and our schools is well overdue, because "old Grosse Pointe" was not the real world and was not preparing our children for what they experience when they move out of here. The real world is filled with a diversity of race, ethnicity, ideas, faith, education, perspectives and this should be embraced in Grosse Pointe, not feared. Both North and Parcells are outstanding schools and we should be sharing all the good things that go on, not the occasional issues. Read Tim Bearden's blog - I'm sure if he or Dr. Armstrong were asked to provide the countless wonderful experiences they have with our students and staff everyday, they could fill several blogs.

As a friendly reminder of Patch policies, users are not to use fake names or accounts. We welcome healthy, construction discussion and require that users identify themselves by a real name. Please ensure you are following this policy or your comment is at risk of being removed.

I understand this is a sensitive topic and one that is close to home for parents and students. I respect that there is great passion about this topic, but please keep the comments constructive.

Demographic changes in the Grosse Pointe Public School District student body and its communities are documented by state and federal authorities. The most significant demographic change in the past decade has been racial composition, primarily due to outmigration from the City of Detroit.

According to the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI, http://michigan.gov/cepi), the percentage of students at each of Grosse Pointe's public schools who identify as African-American has changed between the 2000-2001 and 2011-2012 headcounts as follows:

ELEMENTARY
Defer: 7% to 20%
Ferry: 0% to 9%
Kerby: 2% to 2%
Maire: 3% to 10%
Mason: 4% to 14%
Monteith: 1% to 9%
Poupard: 20% to 60%
Richard: 1% to 2%
Trombly: 4% to 17%

MIDDLE
Brownell: 2% to 5%
Parcells: 6% to 28%
Pierce: 5% to 19%

HIGH
North: 3% to 25%
South: 3% to 12%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov), the percentage of residents in the six communities served by the Grosse Pointe Public School District who identify as Black has changed between the 2000 Census and the 2010 Census as follows:

Grosse Pointe City: 1% to 3%
Grosse Pointe Farms: 1% to 2%
Grosse Pointe Park: 3% to 10%
Grosse Pointe Shores: 1% to 2%
Grosse Pointe Woods: 1% to 4%
Harper Woods: 10% to 46%

Such changes have been documented in every suburban community and school district within Metropolitan Detroit. How will communities and schools respond to change?

Parcells' staff of professional and experienced teachers have worked extremely hard this year to implement new positive behavior programs. We teach students what's expected of them in classrooms, hallways, restrooms, the cafeteria, auditorium, etc. We reward those students who follow the rules and behave well, and we have a detailed, planned process to deal with those who don't. Out of 750 students, fewer than 20 are chronic offenders, and we have data to prove this. The vast majority of our kids, white and black and any other color, are good kids. We've got the data. Our staff overwhelmingly support the behavior program and are already planning improvements and additions for next year. We've got that data too. Quit listening to horror stories and focusing on single, rare occurrences. Parcells is a good place to be, every day. And we can prove it.

Although the staff is wonderful and dedicated, the administration is weak and afraid of appearing Racist (gasp). The school's have changed and our changing rapidly...Why don't we make everyone rise up instead of "sliding down" to placate others... Just like our housing values!

I spend much time at both high schools and decided last spring that I would rather have my own children at North than at South. Although they are both academically outstanding, the students seem happier at North; more engaged with each other and with the students around them, There are discipline issues at both schools. As far as the foul language, I would encourage administrators to maintain the hard line on discipline. Do not give in to mediocrity. The best thing we can do for our schools is to maintain high standards. Both my children attend Parcells and I can tell you we have been extremely pleased with the staff and students there. Our children are receiving a top-notch education and are surrounded by terrific kids. My husband and I feel they are being prepared for living in a diverse, 21st century. I would encourage ANYONE to feel comfortable sending their children to both North and Parcells.

It's rare that you find anyone in Grosse Pointe willing to speak truthfully about things that aren't going well. Everything is sugar coated.

I have a student at Parcells and a student at North. We have been happy with the educational quality and care at both schools. I think the worst enemies of the Grosse Pointe Schools are Grosse Pointers themselves. I cannot tell you how much "soccer mom" gossip I have heard about schools on the North end -- typically unfounded, untrue and spread by people who are unsure of how to deal with the changing face of the Grosse Pointe. Stop talking ladies!

I have lived in Grosse Pointe Woods for 43 years. I have worked at Grosse Pointe North for over 20 years. My children and a grandchild went to and graduated from North. I hear rumors about North often and some of it is from people who once were involved with North, but are no longer associated with the school either as a parent or a staff member. I am there everyday. Come see for yourself. Ask to visit...take a tour of our building. The rumors are totally unfounded. I am there everyday. While the halls may be a little more boisterous, noise is a trademark of our times everywhere. I am there everyday. North has its own wonderful personality, a caring, exceptional staff and a fairly short history that has turned out some remarkable, extraordinary people. This will continue because "We Are North." Our students should be proud of who they are and where they come from. I am there everyday. 1,300 + teenagers in one building...like a small town with its many pesonalities. We are North and anyone who is lucky enough to be a student here, be the parent of a student here or live in the community that surrounds this school should support and point with pride to our school. It is the job of students, parents and community to dispell the gossip and rumors and bring out the truth.

It’s unfortunate that this publication took my remark out of context. While people at yesterday’s meeting were going on and on about students who don’t belong in the district, I started out by saying that “I could NOT tell whether a student belonged in the district by looking at him/her. But I can tell when someone is misbehaving.”

I stand by my statement that over the years there have been episodes where I have seen a lack of discipline. From my perspective, a student causing trouble does more to disrupt the education process than a well-behaved student who is illegally enrolled. I am not condoning illegal enrollment, but this story clearly missed the point.

i would like to say as a lifetime Grosse Pointer (South) now living in the North district that I heard so may stories before my son went there that I did actually consider moving. He is now a junior with a 4.2 GPA scored a 31 on his ACT and has never had a problem with anyone at North. I volunteer there frequentley. Never have I witnessed any problems. Kids for the most part are very friendly and polite. Grosse Pointe North is a great school!!!

If I may, let me just sum up what our discusion has produced thus far. Some people, a preponderence of whom have some regular level of activity inside the school district, believe there is no problem and everything is great. Other people believe there is a problem and it is being caused by demographic shifts within the district itself. Please forgive the gross overgeneralizations.

Well, I am realist and as a realist I believe in data. The data clearly shows a continued drop of our high schools in the rankings. As an aside, I focus on high school rankings because; 1) they're easy and availible and 2) they're are quantitative representations of the effectiveness of the labor and other resources expended from Kindergarten through Senior year. The data says there is a problem and all, if any, corrective measures to date have not ceased to stem this tide of mediocrity. I for one would rather die from thirst than drink from the cup of mediocrity.

After a careful examination of the chain of events that have lead us to the plunging ratings I conclude there are three possibilities. Possibility one; through ineffectual management of school district resources the quality of the output has dropped. Possibility two; an influx of undereducated students into the district is causing lower performance. Possibility three; a confluence of the above.

Possibility two seems most likely in my mind. Thusly, I submit to you that in order to remedy the problem we have our school board implement placement exams in order to judge the academic credentials of our transfering students and to place the transfering students into whatever grade level they truly belong. However remedial that grade may be.

If we just accept students based on whatever grade level they achieved we are setting the student, and the system, up for failure. The very failure we are witnessing now.

We should welcome transfering students to our fine institutions of learning. We as a community have an obligation to properly educate our future members so that they too can educate the next, hopefully to a higher standard.

On a personal note; just joking Kristina.

I am a proud graduate of GPN, chair of the newly established GPN Distinguished Alumni Committee, resident of Grosse Pointe Shores and so, parent of a future GPN student. What I know for certain is that Grosse Pointe North H.S. provides an education that has created some of the most successful, respected individuals in our community - in our country. Join us on May 14th as we celebrate the excellence of Grosse Pointe North and its' amazing graduates.

I am the Grosse Pointe Shores Council liaison to the Ambassador Committee. I am delighted with the comments on this week's meeting with Superintendent Harwood and the principals of Parcells and North. The overwhelming response seems to be that people who are regularly in the schools or have children and grandchildren are very satisfied with the quality of education and the attention to disciplinary problems. There can always be improvements. School officials were very responsive to comments. That is information the Ambassador Committee needs to promote the Shores.

Thanks to school officials for their prompt response to the invitation to this meeting, for being forthcoming and for their invitation to visit the schools. I hope all who have concerns will do that. The purpose of this meeting was sort perception from reality. We made a good start.

Thanks to the Ambassador Committee. They are working on so many fronts to promote the Shores.

I am delighted that our schools reflect the diversity of our population. Our daughter, now 35 and in the U.S. foreign service, chose private schools. Her parents thought the major advantage was to have classmates from European, Asian and African ethnicities, and to be in such friends' homes. That diversity is what she saw in our household. It has served her so well. Kudos to North administration for promoting this advantage for our current students' future ability to deal in the real world.

Kay Felt

As a former teacher at North (15 years, vocal music) and principal at South I feel I have some pretty solid critera for judging what's happening in all our schools. Currently, I am very involved in the North H.S. Distinguished Alumni Program and am in the building often. I always find the halls quiet and orderly during class time and appropiate behavior during class passing time. The building is clean and orderly, teachers are in their rooms doing their jobs and I see great amounts of respect from student to student, teacher to student and student to teacher. I personally have students greet me and ask if they can help me even though they have no idea of who I am. Both GP High Schools are exceptional places of learning and I was, and am, very proud to be associated with them. As adults, we need to ne responsible for being careful of what rumors, etc. we pass on. Visit for yourself, see for yourself and pass on the good and positive things you'll see. Please attend the Distinguished Alumni Program on Monday, May 14th at 7:00 in the PAC at North. See the rich and vibrant history of our graduates and help support and assure present and future students of both schools that the Grosse Pointe community will continue to be there for all students.

I don't think anyone is saying North, Parcells or any of our schools are perfect. There are no perfect schools, except for ones that exist in the fond, nostalgic memories certain people seem to have from when they were in Grosse Pointe School in years past. I also am not impressed with the numbers that are being quoted, and I question whether some people even have kids in the schools who seem to be so adamant about citing such evidence. For those of us who have kids in these schools, we're concerned with how OUR kids are doing and whether they're meeting the expectations we have for them in terms of getting good grades, following behavior expectations, being involved and making sure they're preparing themselves to do well on standardized testing. There are kids now, and there were kids in the past who didn't test well, or couldn't handle the academic rigors of our schools, or who are struggling learners. Most of us don't care about whether it affects some aggregate scores or rankings. We have outstanding schools who do not accept mediocrity. We have proof every spring of how fine our schools are by the number of students who get accepted to the very best universities in our state and country - this doesn't happen at mediocre schools.

I welcome Mr. Walker to this conversation. As a former pupil under his command, for lack of a better word, I can attest that there is no better administrator to be found.

You should care about the aggergate scores and rankings of your high schools, especially if you have kids in the system. As colleges become more and more competitive in their admissions process your student will lose an edge that has been held by generations of graduates before them. Do you think a college admissions board weights a 4.0 from a failing school district the same as they do a 4.0 from South or North? (If you said yes, you're wrong.)

Additionally, you should care if you own property in the school district. Say you're moving from out of town and you're looking at moving between Bloomfield Hills and GP and you have school-aged children. One community has consistently ranked in the very top tier and the other has slid out of the top tier. Which one do you choose? I know which one I would go with. What do you think the affect on property values will be?

Just because you don't like the evidence or, the people who try to pin the statistical evidence to race, don't ignore the data. Ignoring data is the root of all idiocy. I urge you to force the school board to adopt policies to preserve the work of the generations of teachers and students before us. To do otherwise is simply foolish.

I appreciate the time the administrators took from thier busy days to meet and address the Grosse Pointe Shores Ambassadors committee. I'd like to also take a moment and address some of the concerns that have been expressed in the comments.
Our students safety is a primary concern for the Grosse Pointe Board of Education, as well as the academic performance of our schools and our students. The Board of Education has spent the last 6 months working with administration on a Continuous Improvement Plan that is data driven not only from standardized testing but from various data points. Using this data our admininstration will set yearly goals that are specific not only on the areas of improvement, but how the improvement plan will be implemented, each school principal will then produce their individual building improvement plan. As the school year progresses the Board of Education will be informed of the progress the district is making toward these goals. Academic success is important to each member of the board.
On a personal note, my 3 children attend North and Parcells. Like any parent in the district I want the best for my children. I know when my children leave for school in the morning that they are safe, cared for and receiving an excellent education.
I'd like to invite the entire community to contact the board with questions, attend a Board meeting, or visit our schools.
Sincerely,
Judy Gafa President of the Grosse Pointe Board of Education

No-one is ignoring data, but using it as the only measure of success (or decline as has been cited on these comments) is equally foolish. You can't measure what our children receive by being educated at North, Parcells or any of our other wonderful schools, purely in numbers. Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Troy, Northville, Novi, Plymouth-Canton, Rochester and many other top suburban districts have seen the diversity of their schools and communities increase, and have dealt with and embraced it, and that's why those communities generally are thought of as more forward thinking and are often looked at as better places to live when relocating. The fear of increasing diversity and the attitudes about race that are clearly displayed in these comments are what hurts this community, and until people open their minds and start confronting their own personal biases, it won't change.

TO GpGr67: DO you have ANY "data" or proof to support your comment which I have copied and pasted below?
Can you enlighten us all as to what these communities and school districts have done to "embrace it"and that's why people are moving there?

Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Troy, Northville, Novi, Plymouth-Canton, Rochester and many other top suburban districts have seen the diversity of their schools and communities increase, and have dealt with and embraced it, and that's why those communities generally are thought of as more forward thinking and are often looked at as better places to live when relocating. The fear of increasing diversity and the attitudes about race that are clearly displayed in these comments are what hurts this community, and until people open their minds and start confronting their own personal biases, it won't change.

Wendy:
I wouldn't describe the statistics as reliable either, though I have looked at others and urge you to do the same along with their respective methodologies. I would describe them as good indicators, however. Good, not perfect and not great. I also feel that these rankings, especially the national ranking, are probably followed to a varying degree by admissions boards at top-tier universities and thus are important.

Whether or not these statistics are good representations or not, I would still rely on them more than anecdotal evidence. Though, I too am very impressed with the continued level of excellence I see. I just want to preserve and ensure it for future generations in addition to giving the same benefits that previous graduates had recieved to our new transfers. There's no downside in bringing everyone to the same level and there is a lot of upside for our community and the nation as a whole.

The reasoning behind this is; 1) it's the right thing to do; 2) our property values are and have always been closely linked to our schools.

I just don't understand the resistance to helping all our kids achieve to the maximum level. I am not saying you are part of this resistance, just pointing out that people really take a dim view. I view this as a great opportunity to help a lot of kids who wouldn't have the same advantage otherwise.

I beg anyone to find a school district that doesn't have any problems. We have countless friends that attended GP schools and have "moved away" for the reasons mentioned by several people. Are their kids getting a better education at Rochester, Birmingham or Lake Orion schools? NO. I think everyone, including realtors, need to realize that our schools are superior and we need to be advocates of our community or we, the residents, will be the demise of GP. Stop blaming everyone else, have pride in your community and recruit good families to be part of our cities that offer so much more than any other city in metro Detroit.

I find all the data presented in the comments above intiminating(Tim Campbell) and feel the situation will only get worst(Mike). Proud to be a Grosse Pointe School tax paying Harper Woods resident whose only hope is that my kids come through the system able to communicate better than Mr. Campbell and Mike. GO NORSEMEN, GO PANTHERS!

Oh yeah lets not forget those fabulous Poupard Dragons!! Penny Stocks, her staff and the students are awesome.

A formal petition should be started to redistrict the Grosse Pointe School system boards. Is anyone up for the challange?