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Testimony of Mr. George
Waggoner U.S. House of Representatives Hearing On Brushy Creek Elementary School Last year Jessica had the choice to change from Hollis Elementary to Armstrong Elementary School. That change was great for Jessie. Mrs. Baker was her teacher and really knows her stuff. This year Jessica would have gone to Parker Middle School, but we had a choice of Riverside or Northwood Middle. My wife Linda and I went to both new schools to see how far away and how they looked. We received the notice on a Saturday and our daughter was out of town. We then went with Jessica to both schools and talked to teachers and had a tour of each school. We wanted Jessie to have a say this year, as she is now 11 years old and going into sixth grade. We picked Northwood Middle School as the best and closest school. Jessie takes the bus and the first two weeks she got home about 7 pm and they missed picking her and another girl up 4 out of 5 days the first week in the morning. They got another bus from Columbia and now she gets home about 5 pm or sooner. I received a call from Cindy Landrum who works for the "Greenville News" and had a list of children who were getting a chance to change schools, and wanted to know what Linda and I thought about that. That was about one week before we received any notification from the school district last year and again this year. She also told us about the open house that we never got any news about. When we talked to Mrs. Goggins, the Armstrong Elementary School principal at the open house she said our notice came back to the school. That is when we found out the school district will not use our correct address, and sometimes we don’t get what they send out. Something about the "Judson" after 4th Ave. Greenville has 4 4th Ave. so it can be a problem for the mail. We want what every parent wants for there children!! Good schools with great teachers. About 20 students or less per class would be great. And enough resources to help during the rough times. Jessie needed help in math and got tutored twice a week for a while with Furman students and Mrs. Baker. I think the program is working, to hold schools and teachers and students accountable!!! We would love for Jessie to attend college and to feel good about her education and herself. She has asked why South Carolina is almost last in the nation with the test scores, and what that will do to her down the road. As a side note, my mother is dying from lung cancer and lives in California. I want to be with her in her final days. My wife would come along too, but we know if we transferred Jessica out there, she would be placed in 4th or 5th grade. The schools are "advanced" there. I will go live in California, and the rest of the family will stay here!!! All this is to say we are very excited that Jessica does get better
choices in which school she attends. Could we have the information sooner?
I would hope so! Can the school district get my address correct? Maybe! I
think they are doing a good job. The test scores are going up each year. Thank you, George L. Waggoner |