Now I understand wrote on Jan 25, 2008 8:05 AM:The average and above average students at that school are completely ignored. The GATE program is completely underfunded. Average students are bored to death in the class room and now it is clear why Baum refuses to address the problem. His focus on the "socioeconomically disadvantaged students". BTW - the neighborhood the school is located in is not a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood. I have wondered where these students are comming from and why nobody cares that they are invading our neighborhood schools - and the quality of their education is decreasing. Now it is clear why Baum ignores that. There is no reward for teaching average students so who cares. Really, we need to find out why there is such a large portion of "disadvantged students" in this solid middle class neighborhood school. Just do the math!

Doing the math wrote on Jan 25, 2008 8:41 AM: Based on the census data the number of households at or below the poverty in the area served by that school is between 2 and 10 percent. Even the areas in San Marcos with the highest concentration of low income families, less then 21 percent of the families are at or below the poverty line. Where are these students comming from or were did the students who do live in the neighborhood disappear to? It is important to look at that data. I am all for providing a good education for all students, but we should not focus on one group at the expense of another and pat ourselves on the back for doing a fine job. All children should be given the opportunity to excel, not just the ones who will bring kudos to the school from those who fail to consider ALL the data.

And we wonder.... wrote on Jan 25, 2008 10:18 AM:are they children of people who broke the legal citizenship laws to get here? WOAH! "Hey, you must be a racist"! Yeah, right. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! The people that run the schools are actually econmically incentivized to count heads and ask no questions. It's the spin talk in taking us all for idiots that makes me frustrated.

WhoWhat wrote on Jan 25, 2008 5:05 PM:wonder? we know! Its the head count no question, ask Mr. Hammels he knows the truth, the Gov't REQUIRES the Schools to educate any student that shows up at their door with a water bill or any other ridiculous means of showing residency, no one looks very close because the get the pay for each body in a seat. Until this merry-go-round is stopped our tax dollars are going to teach Illegals or children of illegals whether we like it or not. It has to change at the top in Sacramento and Washington, the system is broken and it is not in the control of our local districts. VOTE THE BUMS OUT.

Easy to judge wrote on Jan 25, 2008 6:09 PM:I cannot believe the comments that you people have come up with concerning a story that is supposed to be positive about children doing well in school. I teach at Knob Hill and each student there has a great education, whether they are in the GATE program or an English Language Learner. Apparently the first two people who commented on this article should stop by school, considering they can't even spell the word "coming" correctly. The average and above average students at Knob Hill have programs just for them, for instance, the after school program is directly aimed at this group of kids, along with teaching throughout the day that targets these kids. Of course, you call that "ignored". How about you go out and do something positive in someone's life like we do each day in the classroom. Quit spending your free time trashing the effort that we put in each day at work. Each child is earning a great education at Knob Hill, no matter their intelligence. We earned an award for a focused area at Knob Hill, but we are doing well in all areas. Be proud of the children's growth in education and quit complaining about who the children are.

Congratulations wrote on Jan 25, 2008 7:52 PM:I can not believe the attitude of you negative people. This is an inspriign story, and you turn it into a school-bashing. A school that is performing well for low-income students is also performing well for ALL students or they wouldn't have high test scores, or win any awards for that matter. Not to mention, low income doesn't have anything to do with low-intelligence or even being an English Learner. Great Job, Knob Hill!

Ignoring the main issue wrote on Jan 25, 2008 11:03 PM:I am glad the school and the children are doing well. But the fact of the matter is that less than 10% of the population of San Marcos is considered in poverty. Words have meanings and if used incorrectly can have adverse affects. I realize this is a way for our school district to get more funding, but is it the "right" way? Is this how low our school system has to go to wring funding out of Sacramento? If this is the case, than we as a state are failing.

Labels... wrote on Jan 25, 2008 11:30 PM:Seems to me that announcing that the children are "socioeconomically disadvantaged" or "low income" would be somewhat hurtful to their self esteem. So perhaps...maybe that labeling shouldn't be the focus of this article. Makes the school sound like it is located in the ghetto or maybe the ghetto is making a trip over every morning to drop their kids off??

Charter Schools wrote on Jan 26, 2008 10:59 AM:Many of the students have left the public schools to attend charter schools, for exactly the reason you have mentioned.

Fairy tales wrote on Jan 26, 2008 6:05 PM:Save us the inspirational fairy tales. Why has our neighborhood school become something that those who can have chosen to flee? Why have charter schools and home schooling become such a desirable option? Is Baum working to pad his resume at the expense of our neighborhood?