Wando, Oceanside coaches’ feud .

[upstateguy]

They are public charter schools not private.

Now I’m a bit confused here. So who decides who goes to these public charter schools. How do they get their students?

Charter schools tend to not have distinct boundary lines in the same way private schools do not have boundary lines for enrollment. Charter school's attendance zones however I do believe have some limitations but I could be wrong. For example Greenville Tech Charter, Brashier Middle College and Greer Middle College here in Greenville County I believe are limited to only kids inside Greenville County. Whereas Christ Church has really no boundaries for enrollment.

The above 3 mentioned charter schools in Greenville county have annual lotteries for their new crop of students. You can apply for the lottery up to your 10th grade year. They do NOT accept senior year transfers to my knowledge. I know at least one of those 3 has a deal where if one sibling attends then the next sibling can bypass the lottery and auto enrolled.

Charter schools were historically found in inner city urban areas of America and were suppose to be low cost operated schools that were to serve as an alternative to traditional public schooling. Meaning we're going to eliminate extras, no sports, no gymnasium, no frills, just focus on academics because the local inner city high school is failing these kids.

About 15 years ago ABC's 20/20 did a special where they touted how awesome charter schools were and how they operated in such a way that they saved tax payers thousands of dollars that traditional public schools "wasted" because as mentioned these schools did not offer the traditional high school experience. 15 years later boy did 20/20 misfire on that one.

20 years later charter schools in many areas still serve that purpose but now many are no different than the public high school down the street. The only real difference is their size. While the local traditional high school may have 1,000 or 2,000 students, charter schools tend to be no larger than 500 students with many steadily hovering around 200-300.

Again, the point of all this was to provide kids at a large failing urban high school a small academically focused alternative that would allow them to succeed in the classroom without all the distractions of homecoming week or the big Friday night football game or prom, etc...

A charter school in a large metro area such as Charleston, Columbia and GSP is just asking to become a small school athletic powerhouse.

[upstateguy]

I know all about a lot of these private athletics-first schools like Grey Collegiate and their ilk. Yes they steal athletic talent from public schools but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The main problem with a number of them (not all of them but too many of them) is that they are inferior high schools. They are a joke academically. Their teachers don’t even have to be certified to teach whatever subject they are teaching. Theses kids go to these schools don't learn as much as those that go to Dorman or Wando or most other public schools. They graduate as dunderheads and then when they’re not good enough to go pro ?or in some cases even to college) in their sport, they are up crap creek without a paddle and have to become a garbage man or janitor or say “would you like fries with that Whopper no onions, sir?”

I won't paint all charter schools with the same brush but in my experience what you say is correct regarding the quality of education offered by charter schools. Even the well performing charter schools in the upstate are doing well only because they are attracting a certain demographic that would succeed regardless of where they went to school.

[upstateguy]

Apologize for so many posts back to back to back here. I believe high school athletics are really only 10-15 years away from being totally transformed into a more European style interscholastic situation. Meaning, club sports will become the norm for student-athletes to participate in and not their school team. What I can also see happening is more and more Oceanside's and IMG's starting up that cater specifically to sports. These schools are where college coaches will recruit almost entirely from, at least at the D1 level. Most likely scenario for traditional public schools will still offer sports but the teams they field will be made up of athletes starting varsity who in the past would've sat the bench on the JV team.

At the end of the day it will work itself out as state governing bodies will eliminate those schools from their membership and it will be back to business as usual.

FWIW at least ONE charter school in SC has been told no in regards to SCHSL membership. Legacy Charter in Greenville is not a HSL member and the HSL has actually told member schools not to schedule them.

[Damefan]

First of all Legacy Greenville doesn't play football. While the SCHSL may have told their membership not to schedule them it did not stop them from having the 2nd best Boys High School Basketball Team in the State behind Dorman last year and the 124th best in the Nation. They were 35-5 and had a roster that sported a 6'11" , 6'10", (3) 6'7", 6'4", 6'3", (2) 6'2" and so on. Maybe the State is just not sure how to handle such a program because they played teams as far away as New York and Arizona.

https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/l ... l_rankings

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman did play (and defeat in a close game) Grey Collegiate last season. That was the only SC charter school they played. They also played a prep school from California, Charlotte Christian (Steph Curry’s Private school)and Oak Grove Academy (Private)...and those just happened to be the team’s three losses. I wouldn’t play any of these jokers if I was in charge of the Cavs. I don’t think the way they can handpick players in a way that Dorman cannot is fair. But maybe I’m just being too stubborn. While I am firmly against the existence of such schools and especially their athletic programs that don’t have to follow any rules, it does appear to be a trending thing in high school basketball as well as football and other sports now. Sad, but reality can suck at times.

[Fridaynightfan]

Wando has 3900 students. 3900. That's 1300 students more than Dutch Fork, who has been unstoppable for the last few years. Thats like another AAA student body. They are 2X the size of some of the AAAA schools. I guarantee you there are lots of 250lb+ kids at Wando that choose not to play football. They have fast runners at track. Byrnes used to have a similar problem before Bentley came and energized the program, we had big kids that didnt show up to play. Part of being a successful coach isnt about X and O or calling plays, or even teaching someone how to play QB. Its about creating a culture of engagement where kids want to play football. Starting at an early age. Sure, some of his players may xfer to a charter school. So, there should be 4 more willing to step up. I dont buy the demographics claim either. Plenty of football programs in HS and college adapt their program to the talent they have. Wofford, Houston, etc.

[Damefan]

Obviously you don’t know what you are talking about since you have obviously not lived or coached in an affluent area. It is an entirely different animal and doesn’t compare to Dutch Fork or Byrnes. You need to compare to Hilton Head to even come close. Kids whose families have wealth think differently and prefer different sports such as soccer, lacrosse, etc. Until you have a better understanding you should be less critical in your comments. I have been there!

[Fortfor5]

Obviously you don’t know what you are talking about since you have obviously not lived or coached in an affluent area. It is an entirely different animal and doesn’t compare to Dutch Fork or Byrnes. You need to compare to Hilton Head to even come close. Kids whose families have wealth think differently and prefer different sports such as soccer, lacrosse, etc. Until you have a better understanding you should be less critical in your comments. I have been there!

There still some predominantly middle lower income areas in wandos grasp.but yes sime keave.from what i hear is that they have a friends and family plan and kids choose to go elsewhere.so in that aspect i agree to a extent.i also think you have ti build a culture also which also has a effect.i believe both have had a impact.i also believe the current administration diesnt really care. About 15 years ago we lost two 6ft plus volleyball players whom magically attended wando the next year.
People want to play for winners. I dont have a problem wuth that.

[Damefan]

Just finished reading an article in a Nashville newspaper where one school is being forced to cancel their season due to low participation from kids going over to Charter and Private schools. Four other schools in the Metro Nashville area are considering cancelling football programs due to low participation levels as well. While I agree that kids do like to play on winning teams and it does help participation numbers, cultural demographics do matter a lot more than some give it credit.

I just learned another major hurdle that Wando has been facing that is the fault of Charleston County. This was ridiculous!!! They have not been funding the Middle school football programs. The East Cooper area has for so long relied on the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department to run its middle school football. Those Laing, Moultrie, Cario and Christ Our King teams wear the names of the middle schools but are organized by the recreation department and coached by volunteers, making it difficult for Wando to have any sort of impactful influence. Those recreation teams will still be available in the fall, despite the added opportunity for seventh and eighth graders to now play for the Wando C-Team in 2019.

This brings new light to the situation but doesn't change my position on the effect of Charter and Private Schools on Public Schools. Also, with Lucy Beckham High slated to open next year Wando will go from 3900 to 2400 students with 1500 slotted to attend the new High School. For the record there are 9 private schools and one Charter school on Mount Pleasant that service over 2500 students

https://www.moultrienews.com/sports/wan ... 8bd83.html

[SF Band dad]

Good info Damefan. Thanks.