Fayetteville 2050

The mayor mentioned our schools being a main attractant to our city, and I agree, because what else would be? The problem is, I don't think they're truly great. They look as old as they are, they smell as old as they are, the desks and chairs are as old as it is (not ergonomic or comfortable, particularly for plus sizes)...it's just regular. Sure, there are a lot of redeeming qualities like football fields, many sports teams, and rich high school class catalogues, plus maybe some smart boards, but if we want better for the future, we have to expand and think out of the box. And what better way to show our students education is important and that their every day work is important by upgrading their 'office?'

Most important is curriculum. Test scores are okay I guess..not really. And honestly? What do we have to lose by trying something wildly different and cutting edge? I love hearing that my child will be learning something that no other school is teaching and that has been shown to be a growing field. Or, that they're learning in a different way.

I think having student lounges as study hall classrooms would be amazing. Maybe a snack and drink bar at the front (definitely smoothies). Some tables down the center and more comfortable seating along the sides. A piano off to one side, and maybe even a xylophone, or an electric drum set, or a couple stringed instruments on the wall. A gaming section with a pool table, a ping pong table, a board and card game collection, some brain teaser type puzzles like rubik's cubes, 3D puzzles, and fifteen puzzles, plus some giant bean bags for those who just need to give their eyes a break, stretch, and take a breather with something lowkey and off-topic. Or just to read in a really comfortable area. It's similar to studying in a public place, so headphones or ear plugs are allowed. That would wow me as both a parent and a student. And it's not like it will keep students from doing their work. Those who need to get work done will do it. And those who don't will not be left to interrupt the others or have nothing to do. Dedicated computers and a tablet station could also be part of it. For younger grades, the use of the library's subscription to ABC Mouse could be used (if you don't know what it is, it is an educational app that has thousands of games, lessons, and activities to help students from grades pre-k through 2). The younger the age, the more likely they will need a partner sitting with them to do the activities, until they can read and follow simple instructions (so somewhere in Kindergarten, or definitely by 1st grade). The tablets would have to be higher powered to use the next level of ABC Mouse, which is Adventure Academy. If each classroom has a set of dedicated tablets, and each student has a profile, and the class went through each level together to learn how to use the app as part of a computer/technology class, that could probably work. There are other sites available like IXL, Khan Academy, Duolingo, MasterClass..Online certificate programs would be amazing for high school students, like those available on Coursera and other MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) sites. For one person, it is $59 per month to earn unlimited certificates that can be shared to their LinkedIn profile. Wouldn't it be awesome to say that every middle school or high school graduate is certified in First Aid & CPR through the Red Cross as part of Health class? That makes a great start for babysitters, caregivers, & aspiring EMT workers, firefighters, police officers, nurses, and doctors, (plus high risk jobs like construction, or other jobs like teachers and flight attendants) though the skills are useful anywhere and are something they will carry with them forever, protecting their children, family, and whomever they encounter throughout their lives.

I loved eating in the courtyard in high school. That thirty minutes of fresh air was worth whatever weather that came with it (save the most extreme, like cold AND rain, or severe thunderstorms, or...not much else really). And that's something I loved about college too. I could sit outside and read, or work on school work, or eat. I wasn't stuck inside all day. And it was so refreshing...I wasn't so sleepy after lunch! These amongst other out of the box seating arrangements like reading hammocks or swinging seats in a courtyard area for a cafeteria, or a fenced classroom patio that was off of each classroom would be innovative and unique.

Having P.E. turn into more of a gym setting would also have been a welcome change. As much as I enjoyed learning Handball and meditation techniques in late middle and high school, I would have much rather spent it actually getting fit and meeting real fitness goals on an elliptical. Equipping each student with a fitness tracker as part of the technology package would be superb. You would have to teach how to use the equipment and keep a watchful eye, but I think with solid end goals and personalized fitness regiments, students will be able to feel energized throughout the day and lead healthier lives. Nutrition is a part of that as well, and I think it would be great to include plans from a nutritionist as well.

Continuing and expanding music courses to be more modern and present in high school would be nice. There is a lot of work that can be done that also overlaps with English and writing, like creative writing, lyric writing, and composing. I know some people like band, and it gives everyone a chance to play all sorts of different instruments and prepare for an orchestra, but I think a good number of people would enjoy learning how to create music on a computer, electronically. These skills can be transferred to a number of different professions, including church or group music officials, background/tv music making, ad music, YouTube artist or creator (or use your own music in an unrelated music channel to avoid copyright issues), game music, running a studio, plus more. And even though it wouldn't be a whole college education, it could give people a chance to try it without making a financial or college commitment, and be a cool, modern section of the music room. And, having instruments out and readily available to try or practice in the student lounges as mentioned above would give students more of a chance to not just practice, but also collaborate with others. Perhaps bands would be started, or artist groups would be formed, all from a study hall in high school.

Schools could use a facelift. Want to wow someone? Give them something unexpectedly modern and wonderful to look at. Or classical, like a fountain in the front plaza, gleaming white, and all the wishing coins go to school funds. Make it Grecian and philosophical. Art pieces (preferably student done, at least if someone with the talent is present) throughout the campus. Murals highlighting important concepts both inside and out, or just great paint and themes instead of plain white concrete. A fresh coat of exterior paint on bricks and a color scheme that fits with the school's nature. Want to say modern, fancy, and high tech? Add solar lights for stairs and paths, and project the school symbol onto the wall for night events like sports games, plays, orchestra concerts, and the like (but keep them just far enough off the path so that sports bags or over-crowded sidewalks don't ruin them). Or have a batman signal, except it's a signal for when the mascot comes running out. Landscape properly. When I come around the corner and see the Village Christian Academy campus, it looks amazing! It looks rich. It feels new. Seems like its growing. Driving past Pine Forest High School doesn't give me that sense of awe. Like, it doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look new, or feel rich..Except for a few trees, it looks just like it did out of my mom's yearbook. These schools could use a facelift.

Robust clubs and activities after school are important too. Instead of only having aftercare as an option, students should be able to sign up for weekly or monthly meetings with a club or a few that are either on-campus or provide transportation to the location. I always loved our monthly Wednesday fundraiser night at the Round-A-Bout Roller Skating rink. Yes, it usually did start later like six, but if there was just a roller skating club that would go and skate for fun, that would be enriching and exercising, rather than just sitting in aftercare (likely with a headache from light overstimulation and tiredness). Some places have recreation centers and libraries with programs nearby, so they could be coordinated with for these sorts of mini field trips, or perhaps even brought to the school itself for a separate class at a separate time. The stem/steam classes that the libraries run around here for homeschoolers are great and would probably be a welcome guest for one science class for elementary students. Volunteering events could also be part of this, which is particularly useful for high school key club members and those that are looking to add volunteering to their resume/LinkedIn profile.

A highly overlooked part of health is parenting. Some people plan it, some people don't. Either way, when it happens, people should be prepared. Learning about pregnancy, infant care, and toddler care, child psychology and development, and teen psychology and development amongst other subjects such as nutrition, positive discipline techniques, and financial planning in high school before all the pressures of being an adult and/or being pregnant happen could create a much happier future family dynamic. This also benefits childcare workers, be it teenage babysitters or professionals. For instance, watching episodes of Super Nanny while reading one of her books could be a few days of the curriculum.

I think it is also important to learn about mindfulness, why we should not bully, bringing everyone to an understanding that we are all on different paths in life and have had different experiences and are all learning and not perfect, building character and its importance in society (like stealing from Walmart creates higher prices for everyone, and other scenarios), and just a recourse on reasons why rules are there (not to take your fun, but to keep everyone safe and happy together). This is part of social studies which is generally part of public school elementary curriculum, and seems to be forgotten by middle and high school (and even into adulthood sometimes). I suppose this falls into morals, ethics, and social studies.

I think that things like interior design, home improvement, and architecture are important for future home owners. This can cover basics like working with a drill, saw, and basic tool box, hanging curtains, hanging a picture frame, and painting walls. Home Economics and Basic Personal Finance are not things you can live without.

That could be a part one to a new and improved home economics, whereas part 2 gets to the basics like cooking and food safety, meal planning, budgeting, adult life goals/work life balance/etc. A new program that tracks students knowledge in other subject matters by tracking the books they've read could be created. It would be similar to goodreads, which tracks books and suggests others based on your reads, but it would go a step further: it would track how many books you've read in each subjectmatter, giving parents an idea of not just their kid's interests, but what they show proclivity towards. A student who has read a lot about electricity, electronics, and wiring might like to join Robotics or study to be an electrician.

Related to architecture and the reading idea above, the outside of the school sets the tone for the inside. Though I already spoke about the outside of the building, I'd like to reiterate that with some other ideas. Boring, red brick buildings may be a 'classic' school building, but we want to teach students in a 'utopia' of sorts, bringing together modern with classical in a breath taking and wondrous meld of greek and roman architecture with modern touches, like multi-colored lit stairs and lights at night; a large, classical fountain that is lit up and has music that plays and a light and water show; an atrium at the entrance showcasing the latest artwork of students who won best in show for their art class's semester project; and an extremely large, state of the art library with the latest and greatest fictional prize winners, best sellers, and the most useful nonfictional 'how to do and be anything' and 'about everything,' where students can grow in depth of a subject, or learn essential skills like home improvement, wiring, cooking, and other skills preparing them for maintaining a home and entering the workforce. The library would also include all the copies of books needed for reading classes. And students could check out unlimited books, so that they don't feel like they have to choose subjects, and they don't have a weekly due date, or any due date except by the end of the year. This would allow students time to really understand it, as well as not feel pressured to overwhelm themselves, particularly if they have a busy week.

Other additions to the outside could be a large amphitheater that can seat 200, a life size chess/checkers board (and perhaps other board games like connect 4, etc.), an RC car station and playground (all the cars can charge on something similar to a mobile computer/tablet lab, but instead be RC cars) with some for off-roading, some for stunts, and some regular ones like sports cars.

All of these might change students' irresponsible attitudes or the attitude of not wanting to be at school. It could take some apprehension and monotony out of the student's days and weeks.

And focusing on unique things that Fayetteville has and incorporating them is also key, like the military and aviation.

There could be military training programs like JROTC,

Focusing and helping students master as many useable skills as possible to have a large toolbox of things to pull from should be the goal. Of course, trying out different things is helpful, which is how high school was set up. I think having a high school 'major' that they specialize in in their junior and senior years with useable job skills would be prudent.

I think having a few types of schools in Fayetteville is also key to attracting many different families. Right now, there are mostly just private, parochial, and public schools as the majority. There is/was Howard Health and Life Sciences High School, which was an accelerated school. It was in a very old building and did offer accelerated learning, at the expense of sports and extra curriculars that a larger school could offer. It's a good idea, but could use some work. There are also year round schools, like Reid Ross. I think having a balance of traditional schedules and year round schedules is good. We even have a Montessori elementary school and middle school programs. There are magnet school programs, but they aren't in every school, and there isn't a true magnet school. There are k-8 special education schools (for kids with autism and likely other disorders). But, when it comes down to it, there are a quite a few types of schools that we don't have that are suprising, like a military academy, a boarding school, magnet school, a Waldorf school (what I'm leaning toward, but mixed with Montessori, Reggio Emilia, expeditionary and agricultural, but also the rigor and life/work skills and certifications that an IB school or early college would offer, at least at a high school level), a charter school, and a Reggio Emilia school. Other lesser known types are an International Baccalaureate (IB), single gender, language immersion, prep, democratic or free, therapeutic, outdoor or expeditionary learning schools, dual language, agricultural, micro-schooling, Co-Op (between high school and college), Sudbury, and International. I'm very much into the Khan Lab School, since so many schools use Khan Academy as a tutor and is very trusted and easily accessible from anywhere, especially home (and homeschool).

NC is big on agriculture, so I think it makes sense to have an agricultural influence where kids learn about common plants, how to grow them successfully, farm animals (daily care, harvest, and life cycles), and later on, farming techniques, the business side of farming (with a project on what it takes to sell eggs), and the daily life of a farmer, as well as education and investment to become one, with more details on life cycles and specific care and cost of care type things.

Everyone wants to send their kids to a silicon valley school. There have been quite a few different sorts of schools to open there. One I really like is based off of Khan Academy, known as Khan Lab. I also like free/democratic type schools with montessori guidance, where kids choose what they do with their day and learn what they're most interested in. It takes a lot of time, practice, and learning the fine details to become an expert at anything, so having some time in the day focused on interests like this would be great. The school would have specific interest groups ready and kids would gravitate towards different sectors.

Expeditionary and Outdoor schools are great because vitamin D deficiency is real and obesity in America has been a problem. So, getting out and exploring regularly is a must. Lessening recess time to 3 times a week and Expedition time to twice per week would be cool, but a study hall mixed with choice of indoor or outdoor time a few times per week would be optimal, giving recess away and maxing expeditionary time. This would be using the public library system a whole lot! Schools placed next to one would have the easiest time, simply walking there. Not every school can have a state-of-the-art library system like I described above, but our public library is quite vast and would be able to serve a lot of schools. They also have STEM or STEAM programs that would be highly beneficial for kids to do when they arrive. This would keep library staff busy (and probably hire more, creating jobs), while benefitting kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to take part in this.

I went to a school of choice for Kindergarten and First Grade, and what I remember most were my cool teachers. One was a science teacher who was very hands-on--we did projects for everything. And (almost) every time we got an answer right, he would give the correct person a shiny, polished gemstone that he had polished himself. They were ample to get everyone wanting to be able to answer. My other teacher was a drama teacher. He had an accordion that he would play a lot. We would start out the class by looking for his accordion somewhere in the large auditorium, and he would say hot, warm, or cold based on how close we were. It was something we all looked forward to every day. And it was fun to pick up the accordion and bring it to him! It was huge for us, but not too heavy. He had an interesting class, and I remember him teaching us about some guys who got famous making music from things like trash cans. Not every class was as interactive, but I hope for a Fayetteville, we have a school that has classes that are all like that, with chalkboard tables for math, and great international studies like I had at St. Ann in social studies and in Girl Scouts.

I think that the military's standards for PT could be changed and enacted throughout all public schools. They know fitness, though not perfectly, it's a better start than what I had, which was one semester of PE that was split by Health. Those are super important subjects, so to skimp on them and only have workouts for all for half of a year? I get that a lot of people play sports, but it's not the same as forming stretching and exercise habits over the course of a lifetime. By the time someone gets to college, their usual workout should be as necessary if not more than a standard adult's cup of coffee. And, with the pros of exercise, we might find people drink less caffeine because they are getting better sleep and are healthier and stronger in general, to name a few, other than the emotional reliability of not having a high and crashing by afternoon, relying on more caffeine or being in a bad mood and tired for the rest of the day. I think my basic cross country schedule was a pretty good start, mixed with strength training of a different body part daily. The best routine I ever had for Cross Country was on and off short fast days where we ran hard and fast up to one mile (but usually like a 8 8ths, 4 4ths, 2 1/2s, and 1 mile to train ourselves on how long each distance was, and then the other day would be long days, where we would run a couple miles at once. Usually beginners would run up to 3 miles, and experience would run up to 6. Short and long days would alternate, with the intensity and distance varying depending on goals, time of week (before races we wouldn't work out as hard), and time of season (harder as it goes on). We were lacking strength training, but later incorporated ab work on thursdays, and sometimes would take friday to be ultimate frisbee day (or for a school pt class, game day). We always warmed up with light jogging, stretched, dynamically stretched, did drills (running back and forth in different ways, like leaping, high knees, butt kicks, backwards, grapevine, and lastly sprint) and then started the main workout, ending with a slow cool down jog or at least group stretches. Pairing that with the strength training I learned in elementary school where we would do each exercise and count in english or spanish together would have been ideal, and I probably would have gotten better results (and kept my running form in the off season).

Even with all the pros a big private school has, it just doesn't size up to Pine Forest High School's class catalog. Maybe instead of separating schools between public and private, they could just be public and have a lot of private funding that goes into them. Religion classes are available, but only if approved by a parent. Religious studies could be a major or minor, but it wouldn't be mandatory by any means. Instead of having weekly church type meetings, there could still be a meeting, but over something non-religious but humanitarian or socially-responsible, like anti-bullying campaigns, going green/being environmentally friendly, treating others with respect even if you disagree, citizenship, anti-peer pressure, anti-drugs, (topics I'm sure ChatGPT will have aplenty).

Apart from schools, Fayetteville doesn't have that much that makes it stand out as special in the way of stores across town. Like, I feel like if I go to a new part of town, there should be something new to discover, and like, there is, technically..It's just not that exciting I suppose, like an oddities museum/shop, or something new and different that would be worth traveling from another city to regularly. Downtown is its own district, and the Haymount area would be a great Uptown district, particularly with the new theatre and its closeness or walkability. It doesn't have many places to go though, and is relatively small. The look of the theatre fits with the overall look of FSU with a sort of Greek or Roman type vibe with the white columns, which is nice. We lack a travel-able destination. Sure, the history is something, but not something I would travel for, aside from maybe a school field trip, but even that...not really. The children's museum is cool but more limited than something like the Natural Sciences Museum in Durham. Myrtle Beach has an upside down house that is an interactive museum. The Special Ops and Airborne museum is cool, but more for high schoolers and adults. I love the more interactive part that has a part of a plane to walk into, and my dad who is retired military, showed us what they do before they jump out. That was pretty cool. Maybe something a little more interactive about what it's like to be in today's military and not just history would make it a stop for anyone thinking of joining the military. I'm not sure what's out there to give a sense of that, so talking to military recruiters would probably be helpful to know if potential candidates would be interested in that.