Thoughts for 2009

Guilford School Watch wishes you and your family a very happy and healthy 2009.

Over on the Chalkboard, Brian Ewing is asking what are your "resolutions" for our schools in 2009.

Allow me to take this one step further. Henceforth, my "Top 10" resolutions for Guilford County Schools (both Administration and our School Board) going into the new year.

In no particular order:

1. Supt. Mo Green HAS to communicate better and more effectively. He's building up this massive PR machine down on Eugene Street. Let's see what it can do. Will this machine work for the children, or will it simply be a cover-up for GCS' failed policies that are disastrous for our children?

2. Keeping arts alive in our schools. Enough said on that.

3. Launching a conscious effort to keep the supplies plentiful in our schools. We just saw a major supply chain plugged a few weeks ago. That can't happen. If our schools and teachers don't have supplies, they cannot do their jobs. I'm still demanding an open, comprehensive audit of the supply budget.

4. An inspector general is needed...to investigate waste and fraud and corruption within GCS.

5. A Citizens Advisory Board is needed...to allow community residents, teachers, and others who are concerned about the direction of GCS to make recommendations to our elected School Board...and make the recommendations have teeth.

6. Launching more public-private partnerships when it comes to school construction. I ran into this interesting website yesterday, which has a number of reports and White papers on urban public schools doubling as mixed-use facilities. In these tough economic times, we need to begin thinking out of the box on issues such as these.

7. No more race-baiting among certain members of our school board. You know what I'm referring to. It has to stop.

8. A real commitment to strong vocational education, magnet programs that provide real results instead of failing our children and a de-emphasis on rogue testing of our children, especially in the primary grades.

9. A stronger partnership with our County Commissioners and other local elected officials, especially our mayors and city councilmen. I want to see more allies instead of adversaries.

10. Former GCS Supt. Terry Grier once said that many of our students graduate high school in five years instead of four...and he seemed to be okay with that. I'm not. So in 2009, let's demand higher expectations from our children. From helping with their homework to being involved in the classrooms.

These are our children...these are our future.

Happy New Year.

E.C. :)