Goodbye GSW...Hello Vegas Valley View

It's time to hang the "Closed sign" up on GSW.

Hello Vegas Valley View. Yes, Vegas...as in Las Vegas!

Visit and bookmark the all-new Vegas Valley View on http://vegasvalleyview.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Greensboro, for the memories.

E.C. :)

Well, THAT was short-lived..

Our old friend Terry Grier didn't stay long!

The Houston Chronicle reports that the former superintendent in Guilford County-tuned school chief in San Diego, is now a finalist for the top spot in Houston. Reports say it may even be a done deal. A blurb from Voices of San Diego mentions the pending deal, if inked, could top as much as $400,000.

Wow...

Apparently, it is being reported by the Chronicle that a new school board was elected recently...and imagine that...they ask questions. It is not the same board that elected him.

Good luck...God bless...haste makes waste...

E.C. :)

Cut the fat

Our school board remains embroiled in budget discussions with talks of cuts including the employee dental plan, SROs and the IB program at Smith H.S.

Skeptical? You betcha. Seems I'm not the only one either.

Board member Garth Hebert, talking about yesterday's budget workshop:

“What we had today was what Mr. Green wanted to consider versus what the board wanted to discuss, therefore nothing got done,” said board member Garth Hebert after the meeting.

“We were expecting more meat and we got a lot of pudding. I’d like to see more options, more choices.”

Seems as though no one is talking about cutting the fat downtown. We'd rather nix teachers than trim Central Office across the board. Something's wrong here.

And while we're at it, it seems the popularity of Board members Kris Cooke, Darlene Garrett and Nancy Routh is on the decline.

Comments like these are popping up over at the N&R:

The school board is nothing but a forum for long winded people to try and hog the spotlight...Cooke, Routh, and Garrett are the worst! Routh wants to re-run the numbers as she can't imagine anyone but her getting it right. Cooke is just a narcissist who has no idea what is going on--but stands ready to be at your ribbon cutting when called! Garrett is a one note violin who cares ONLY about her beloved Northwest part of Guilford County. Spinkle in some ignorance (Jeff Belton) and you have enough nuts to make a fruitcake. Nothing will change until we the people change the school board.

Ouch.

Cooke is a waste of a school board seat, plain and simple. Garrett was just reelected and Routh is rumored to retire from the Board after her term is up next year. And Hayes continues to field rumors about a possible City Council run.

Just another day in paradise...

E.C. :)

She's back

...thankfully, nowhere near a classroom nor a school building!

Click here...

E.C. :)

Amos Quick is too quick to rid SROs

It's no secret that GCS is broke.

For them to nearly axe a strings teacher at Weaver Academy, you know things are bad. Lunch price increases, nixing new teacher StartCards, eliminating busing (we can only wish)...all are on the table.

But it is now becoming apparent that some on the Board are using the ire of budget cuts as a means to do other things that have nothing to do with budget cuts.

School Resource Officers have been on Board member Amos Quick's "s--- list" for a long while now. GSW has documented this for a good long while now. Both Quick and Board member Deena Hayes have long wanted the SROs out. Quick, once again, says he wants to order a "review" of the use of SROs in middle schools.

Mr. Quick, we've been down this road before. We've reviewed this, and reviewed this again. It's nice to know you all on the Board have spare time on your hands.

Just come out with it...you don't like how cops treat kids in schools, therefore you want them out.

My friend Guarino has a good perspective on this:

Perhaps we should question whether this is a well-intentioned effort to reduce expenses; or whether it is yet another manifestation of antipathy toward police in our local African-American political and clerical communities, and the identity politics that reflects.

Makes you wonder...

E.C. :)

Not feeling the brotherly love in Philly

I can only think that with the budget cuts we're continuing to experience in NC, combined with drastic cuts in summer school, were teachers under pressure to pass kids this year, such as being alleged in Philadelphia?

Read this, then shake your heads.

E.C. :)

Failure to understand

After some well-deserved days away from the Triad, I'm back...and it is good to be back.
*********************************
The thing I can't understand is this...why is GCS almost being pressured by outside entities to move from N. Eugene to S. Elm?

This boondoggle has been reported in the N&R over the last couple of days and I'm trying to wrap my arms around this thing...but I haven't yet. See, while we're laying TEACHERS off right and left, there's no supply money whatsoever for the teachers that still have jobs, no money to fix leaky roofs, school lunch prices going up, but we have people who have basically told GCS brass that...they're moving to S. Elm.

I don't get it.

Not to mention that downtown essentially lacks MAJOR EMPLOYERS! Recent cutbacks at Lincoln Financial and United Guaranty only add to the desolate feeling in the Center City, and yet it is still being touted as a prime destination. Shouldn't we be doing everything we can to find new jobs and bringing them into town?

And what would happen to GCS' current Central Offices?

Not passing the smell test.

E.C. :)

Briefs from the last day...

1. Today's N&R reports attendance on yesterday's last day was fewer than 69% versus 94% on an average day.

N&R:

GREENSBORO — Monday was the official last day for Guilford County students, but it seems Friday was the unofficial last day.

Fewer than 69 percent of elementary and middle school students showed up Monday. About 94 percent attend on an average school day.

School was scheduled to end June 10 but was extended by the school board because of classes canceled in late winter.

Haley Miller, a spokeswoman with Guilford County Schools, said teachers weren’t surprised by the turnout.

“A lot of parents had already planned vacation starting this week and a lot of schools anticipated that,” she said.

Monday was an exam makeup day for high school students. Seniors completed graduation ceremonies a week ago.

What a waste...

2. Someone on this blog wrote in and informs us of a report of a fire in the gym and a malfunction in the air conditioning system yesterday at Jesse Wharton Elementary (thanks for the report).

3. Went by Pilot Elementary School yesterday...unconfirmed report surfaces of at least six teachers leaving Pilot in the fall due to budget cutbacks, almost all were first year or lateral entry teachers. Increased class sizes are expected in the fall.

Wow...

E.C. :)

Long meetings

This was not really news, and I'm unsure if it warranted a front page story on yesterday's News & Record...this being the fact that GCS Board meetings run WAY into the night, some as long as 2am.

Tell us something we don't know...such as WHY they run so late?

N&R:

Five of the last six school board meetings have gone past midnight.

Recent meetings’ agendas shed some light on why the meetings are running so long:

-- Updates on a regularly shifting budget crisis the likes of which hasn’t been seen in 30 years.

-- Mystery illnesses reported by students and staff at Oak Ridge.

-- A controversial proposal to donate, then sell a dilapidated former school.

-- An investigation into the athletics programs at Northern Guilford High School.

That said, some, including board members, question how effective the school board and administrators can be when attempting to tackle complicated issues during marathon meetings.

What are the answers? Daytime meetings? Smaller agendas? A new chairman? A smaller, leaner school board?

Talk to me...

E.C. :)

Bored at School?

...many children have been bored during these last few days/weeks...since EOG/EOCs/AP testing is now complete and since no one downtown knows how to properly make a school calendar, our children suffer.

Hence, this story in today's N&R...and the fierce comments that follow!

N&R:

According to the central office, the extra days are the same as any other.

“These are going to be regular school days, especially for the elementary and middle school students, and the same expectations of learning and instruction happening would apply this day as it does any other day,” said Haley Miller, a school spokeswoman.

The educational value of the extra days has been debated, though.

School board Chairman Alan Duncan has said holding the days after exams and tests was not helpful. He and others have said educational goals would be better served by holding the makeup days earlier.

E.C. :)

Letter writer says her students are her priority

Charles Davenport's recent column in the News & Record continues to prompt LTTEs.

This one, from local teacher Gail Williams:

After reading Charles Davenport’s column, “Teachers should quit whining about pay” (May 31), I must address some of his points. As an educator who loves my career, I know firsthand how off base he is about what teachers do in the classroom.
We may get paid for only 38 weeks, but we spend evenings, weekends, holidays and summers grading papers, attending workshops, creating lesson plans and calling parents. I don’t recall ever being paid overtime.

I worked in the private sector before entering the classroom and was free to grab coffee with a friend or run errands. I am not complaining about my teaching, but there is never any down time. When I enter the door, I hit the floor running until long after the kids have left at 3:40 p.m.

As for home-schooled students being smarter than public school ones, please. I could perform miracles if I only taught one child. Try close to 100 each semester. Let’s be realistic when making a point. Home schoolers are usually highly motivated, work on a computer and are free to attend outside activities that enhance their education. I teach kids from broken homes and some from no homes at all. I am counselor, policeman, disciplinarian and even parent.

Teachers are not “whining” because of a pay cut. We are now being hit with job losses, meaning more students in classes and lack of educational supply money.

Mr. Davenport stated that NCAE’s priority is not students. All I can do is speak for myself. My students are my priority. That is why I teach.

According to him, anyone could teach effectively. Consider this from “To Kill a Mockingbird”: “You never understand anyone until you walk in his shoes.”

Mr. Davenport, walk in my shoes, and I feel sure you will retract your “whining” comment.

The writer lives in Greensboro and teaches at Southeast High School.

**************************

E.C. :)

Dr. Bill Harrison on House Budget Proposal

For immediate release
June 11, 2009

Statement by State Board of Education Chairman and CEO
Dr. Bill Harrison on House Budget Proposal

I appreciate the leaders in North Carolina's House for their continued support for public schools. The economic situation in our state and nation is unprecedented for most of us, and we know that public schools must do their share to help trim the state's budget. Public schools still face significant cuts; nonetheless, the House's willingness to develop a new revenue package will allow us to maintain current efforts in some key areas.

Because of the House of Representatives' proposed revenue package, North Carolina public schools will

* maintain class sizes in kindergarten through third grade;
* save 2,586 teacher positions;
* retain 274 assistant principal positions and 357 instructional support positions; and
* continue low wealth and at-risk funds that help vulnerable schools and students.

My top goal is to protect the classroom - especially in the earliest grades where children build the foundation they need for further learning and success. I urge our state's leaders to support public schools as a top priority and as an investment in North Carolina's future.
******************************

...all at the expense of tax increases? I guess Raleigh doesn't even want to entertain the discussion of a new funding formula for public education. Sad.

E.C. ;)

The "fake" Newsweek Rankings for 2009

These rankings are so bogus, it is not worth the bandwidth to waste my writing talents on.

So I won't. I'll just provide the link to the N&R story.

E.C. :)

Discipline problems highlighted

Kudos to my friends over at YES! Weekly for a great piece on discipline problems plaguing our area middle and high schools.

Check it out.

E.C. :)

Testing may be curtailed next year

It was only a matter of time...so-called standardized testing may be curtailed next year in schools statewide, if Bevvie has her way.

Raleigh News & Observer:

In her budget, Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed dumping tests not required for high school graduation or by federal law.

The Senate took up the theme, and gave detailed list of tests to eliminate. Five high school subject tests would go -- algebra II, geometry, chemistry, physics, and physical science -- along with a computer skills tests given in the eighth grade; so would tests for high school students who enter ninth grade without scores on previous tests that show they can read and do math at grade level.

Stay tuned...

E.C. :)

Teachers form last ditch effort to save jobs

In a board meeting this week, GCS educators crammed the Central Office Board Room to protest ongoing job cuts. N&R has more on this.

N&R:

Critics questioned the proposal to cut teachers based on employment status and not performance.

“We just don’t understand why teachers whose classes are scoring ones on exams aren’t being cut while interim teachers with classes making threes and fours are,” said Crystal Taylor, a Western Guilford High teacher.

Taylor said programs aimed at students who refuse to learn should be cut as well.

School board members called on their staff to find other areas to trim and to make saving teachers’ jobs the priority. “We’re not looking hard enough,” board member Darlene Garrett said.

Garrett said the board should consider cutting tests not required by the state and busing for magnet school programs.
“I can tell you we’re having those difficult conversations,” Green said.

Separately, your school board decided not to unload a formerly-used school building in the Lindley Park neighborhood.

So...this building is just going to sit there...wow.

E.C. :)

Circus time

Maybe the Guilford County Board of Commissioners (and even some on the School Board) will quit acting like a**holes and start behaving themselves. This, while more layoffs are looming. This does NO ONE any good. Can't anyone in this county see what this is doing to our children and to the morale of those teaching our children?

N&R:

Wednesday’s meeting also seemed to confirm communication problems between the commissioners and school board members.

One example: Commissioners chastised school board members and staff for not presenting what the commissioners wanted — a ranked list of projects that schools expect to tackle with county funds.

Instead, schools offered a list with about $20 million in needed projects in no particular order.

Commissioners said they had been asking for the information for months, but Wednesday’s meeting was only announced this week.

Another example: More than once, Commissioner Bruce Davis confused the name of school board member Kris Cooke with that of another school board member as tensions ran high in the meeting.

Commissioners also complained that the maintenance information they received was too late.

But schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green had a few parting words.

“We have been available for whenever this joint committee wanted to meet,” Green said. “This meeting could have been held weeks or months ago.”

To think these people are elected is insanity.

E.C. :)

Welcome to the newly-gutted Guilford County Schools

Today's News & Record politely tells both the School Board and the County Board to behave themselves and act their age in an editorial.

This while more layoffs across the District are planned, from interim contract teachers to foreign language teachers (more from N&R here).

Is it any wonder why local private school enrollment in Guilford County is the third highest in the state, despite a local dip?

Is it also any wonder why our local graduates continue to be unprepared for college?

Welcome to the newly-gutted Guilford County Schools.

E.C. ;)

Davenport rattles feathers

Area columnist Charles Davenport rattled some feathers this past weekend with a column in yesterday's News & Record saying teachers should "quit whining about their pay." And it has caused a rift among area bloggers.

Ed Cone was critical of Davenport's column this morning, saying "it meandered into union-bashing, thinktank-quoting, and flat-out trashing of teachers. Feels to me like he's trolling for angry letters more than offering insight on public education."

John Locke's Terry Stoops education policy analyst chimed in also.

But then resident lawyer and blogger Sam Spagnola had an interesting back-and-forth on the subject this morning, forcing Cone to ban Spag from his site altogether. Spag has his version of what happened here.

Your turn to chime in on all of this.

My thoughts?

I don't teach anymore, I no longer have a dog in the fight, I sell plane tickets over the phone at a far less salary than what I was making as a teacher.

And I blog and write.

I'm blessed and appreciative to be employed though. But I did teach, And I knew I wasn't going to get rich doing it. I was genuinely concerned about my kids, the politics in the schools, the grave amount of testing harming our children this time of year and if my kids were going to make it to class everyday, safe and sound.

Your turn.

E.C. ;)

Boards play politics once again

I thought this was going to be the year that politics were not going to be played simply because of the meltdown in Raleigh.

I guess I was wrong.

E.C.

Another view of the budget crisis

From Neal Andrews, 5th grade teacher, Northern Guilford Elementary School, via this week's N&R:

I was embarrassed by the actions of public educators who demonstrated in the streets of Raleigh May 16 in protest of Gov. Perdue's mandate that all state employees will have 0.5 percent of their annual salaries withheld from their May paychecks. Their protest revealed they are completely out of touch with what is happening to many around us.

I respect their constitutional right to voice their feelings. However, I want the taxpaying public to know those educators do not represent all public school teachers in North Carolina and certainly not me.

I don't have to look any further than the parents of students in my classroom, folks in my neighborhood, or at close friends to see that we are in an economic downturn like none we've ever seen or experienced. Many who have lost their jobs and benefits would likely have taken 20 percent pay cuts just to remain employed.

As public servants of the taxpayers of North Carolina, we must be responsible and do our part to help solve the economic crisis. I urge fellow public educators to examine our local and state budgets and with equal fervor protest wasteful pork spending that has passed in recent state budgets.

Neal C. Andrews
Browns Summit

The writer is a fifth-grade teacher at Northern Elementary.

****************************

E.C. :)

NGHS turning into a scandal

Illegal recruiting seems to be only one part of the problem, the scandal at Northern Guilford H.S. seems to be getting worse.

And I'm unsure what's worse, the issues surrounding the investigation or the fact that no one seems to be talking. It's like everyone is adhering to a gag order, from Mo Green to Darlene Garrett to paid-by-the-hour school attorney Jill Wilson.

But one person is talking....

N&R:

GREENSBORO — Northern Guilford principal Joe Yeager and Athletics Director Derrell Force cleared boys basketball coach Stan Kowalewski of recruiting and using ineligible players in January 2008 — one month after Kowalewski paid for the men and their wives to accompany the team to a holiday basketball tournament in New York City...But e-mails released this month by school system officials as part of their current investigation shed light on that initial probe and suggest a possible conflict of interest involving Yeager and Force, two of the main investigators.

Former schools Superintendent Terry Grier, who initiated the 2007 investigation, said Thursday that he was shocked to learn of the paid trip.

“Had I known about it then, I would have stopped (the trip) immediately,” Grier said. “You can’t take a trip like that and expect to render a full, fair report.”

Northern-gate continues...

E.C. :)

Board meets tonight amid several conflicts

Pictures from a recent rally in Raleigh tell the story...teachers in this state are pissed off, and rightfully so. More teachers may be laid off across North Carolina, one report I heard this morning said as many as 6,000.

Combined that with threats of shortening the school year (guess that one solves the pesky calendar/school makeup day problem), teacher furlough days, threats of four-day school weeks, and you have an eye-opener...public education in North Carolina is in trouble.

School board members, who will meet in regular session tonight, appear to be concerned, but are they really?

Not to mention, your school board continues to deal with the situation at Oak Ridge and Northern Guilford High School's ongoing "Nighthawk nightmare."

N&R:

“I’m very, very concerned,” said school board member Kris Cooke.

Seven legislators told Cooke and two other county representatives that the state House budget could create as much as a $36 million budget shortfall for Guilford County.

That sum represents almost 5 percent of the district’s overall $651 million budget.

Cooke said it would be impossible to avoid further layoffs if that happens.

“The impact for North Carolina and the impact to Guilford County, it will take us backwards,” Cooke said. “I understand the money is not coming in, but you have to find money to fund education.”

The state's primary responsibility is to adequately fund education...they're not doing so. And so far, we have shockingly heard very little from our local delegation.

Recall Bev now!

E.C. :)

My response to Margaret Arbuckle

I submitted this to the News & Record as a Counterpoint submission earlier in the month. It has not run.

But it will run here:

With all due respect, Margaret Arbuckle misses the point on globalization as it pertains to public education in the U.S.

Education is indeed the path to success, but our public education system has not kept up with the global economy so many of us aspire for our children to latch on to. Our students will never be ready for the knowledge-based economy Ms. Arbuckle mentions unless we solve the problems plaguing our educational system.

We have a governor who gives "lip service" to education while gutting the state budget that public education can operate under. Massive teacher and paraprofessional layoffs combined with sliced school and teacher supply budgets threaten the livelihood of our children statewide. This, combined with the annual rogue testing that zaps the creativity right out of our classrooms, occurring in schools that are crumbling to the ground, in a state with double-digit unemployment...all of this is festering right here at home, in our neighborhoods. And it should shake everyone of us right out of our armchairs and prompt us to do something.

Simply put, we're trying to educate students in the 21st-century with a 19th-century curriculum, with 17th-century standardized testing, using technology out of the 15th-century, operating in a state economy out of the 13th-century; and our children are being educated in buildings out of the 11th-century.

What is the answer? How did North Carolina get into this mess? More importantly, how do we get out?

Stop electing politicians who only give lip-service on political pamphlets, only to do nothing while in office. Demand that they stop spending, balance the budget (not on the backs of our children), kick the fat-cats out of Raleigh, and demand true accountability from our schools balanced with a world-class curriculum that does not turn our schools into testing factories every May. Demand leaner central offices, demand school board members that have the children's best interest at heart (not agenda-driven nor setting the stage for future self political aspirations), and collectively, demand that our cities, counties, and state as a whole do better...so that we may be able to begin recruiting real businesses again, recruiting real companies again, and having citizens who view our city, our county, and our state as one to relocate to, not one to shy away from.

Investment in our educational system begins in our own house. And we need to clean our house.

--
Erik "E.C." Huey
Greensboro, NC (GSO)
owner & moderator,
http://guilfordschoolwatch.blogspot.com/

Oak Ridge teachers walk on edge

From today's N&R, regarding yesterday's impromptu holding of classes outside:

Seventeen of the 34 teachers held lessons outside to show frustration at how county school and health officials are handling their concerns over air-quality problems.

One teacher said colleagues decided Friday to go outside to send a message to system officials. Being outside, the teacher said, is safer than being inside.

That teacher, who declined to be named for fear their job could be jeopardized for speaking publicly, said many of the Oak Ridge staff felt system administrators and county health officials were not being transparent in addressing the issue. School and health department officials told teachers and parents in a meeting last week they would keep communication open.

Nuts.

What's nuttier is that we still have teachers feeling threatened over speaking out openly. I see the culture of fear hasn't changed.

E.C. :)

Class outside, anyone?

Ongoing mold concerns at Oak Ridge Elementary prompt some teachers to hold class outside this morning.

More from the N&R.

E.C. :)

"Exam"-boarded

Heard through the local grapevine over the long weekend...as EOGs wind down and EOCs prep up, GSW hears that a 5th grade student fainted during last week's administration of a Science EOG exam at one local school. At another, we also learn that students are forced to do the first retakes after missing the cutoff for a "3" by only a couple of points.

These are the stories GSW is hearing and it is profoundly ridiculous what we're putting our children through. This is not No Child Left Behind...this is not accountability. This is game-playing, and people are playing with the lives of children and it is wrong.

The term "waterboarding" has been in the news a lot lately. Well, long-time readers of this blog know that I'm a fan of "exam-boarding." What's that? That's when we have an opportunity to lock the Raleigh bureaucrats and the legislators in a room (literally) and give them these same exams under "live testing conditions"...yep, the same ones that your children (and mine) are being prepped since August to take. Let these idiots in Raleigh take these same tests...let them fail it, and let them have to take it two more times...and watch if things don't change in our schools...quickly.

I'm for responsible accountability...these tests are neither responsive nor accountable. They're criminal. And someone needs to be prosecuted.

E.C. :)

Dire...pt. 2

Statement from State Board of Education Chairman and CEO Bill Harrison and State Superintendent June Atkinson on Potential Budget Cuts to Education

"It is our hope that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education’s budget draft is only a beginning and that there is much more discussion ahead. It is clear the state faces an extremely difficult economic situation, and that sacrifices will have to be made. The 11 percent budget cuts outlined by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education are severe and would have a significant negative impact on our classrooms and our schools."

Following is a sample of the proposed cuts:

• Reduction of the length of the school year for students by five days in fiscal year 2009-10 and five more days (total of 10) in fiscal year 2010-11. This would reduce instructional days to 175 in 2009-10 and to 170 in 2010-11 (rather than the current 180).

• 6,005 fewer Classroom Teachers (increase class size teacher allotment by two per grade)

• 4,663 fewer Teacher Assistants (base formula on K-2 ADM rather than K-3)

• 354 fewer Instructional Support personnel (counselors, media specialists, social workers)

• 187 fewer Assistant Principals (increase allotment to 1:890 rather than 1:799)

• A 5 percent reduction to Non-instructional Support (clerical and custodians)

• Low Wealth Supplemental Funding – Fund counties at 90 percent and below. This adjustment would eliminate funding 13 school districts from Low Wealth funding. (Craven, Cumberland, Davie, Gaston, Lincoln, Madison, Mitchell, Onslow, Pender, Perquimans, Union, Warren, Yancey)

• A reduction of $4.5 million to Small County Supplemental Funding

• A 10 percent reduction to More at Four

• Elimination of Learn and Earn Online

• Elimination of application fee payment for teachers seeking certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

• Elimination of Literacy Coaches

• A non-recurring reduction of $38 million to Textbooks

• Non-recurring reduction to staff development (no funding for two years)

• A 5.38 percent reduction or $6.5 million to Central Office

• An 11 percent reduction in FY 2009-10 and an additional 4 percent (total of 15 percent) reduction in FY 2010-11 to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This would eliminate 52 positions in 2009-10 and 19 more (71 total) in 2010-11.

**************************

E.C. :)

Dire

400 out of work teachers in Guilford County? If that's not a dire situation, I don't know what is. We as a county, we as a state are in serious trouble.

CBS-2:

First the furloughs, then salary cuts, and now a state house budget proposal that teachers warn is the worst so far.

"The house budget is just absolutely horrifying," says Guilford County Association of Educators president Mark Jewell. "What that does is cut... not only 6,000 teaching positions, it also eliminates about 4,000 teacher assistant positions."

Jewell predicts as many as 400 teachers could lose their jobs in the district. "We just can't take another hit," says Jewell. "And there comes a time when you have to say enough is enough."

Recall Bev now!

E.C. :)

Children ask Co-Cos to Save their Schools

Where do you continue cutting if there is nothing else to cut?

That seems to be the proverbial question as some of our children pleaded with Guilford County Commissioners last night to save the axe from cutting $3 million from the school system's general maintenance fund. And the ongoing leaky roof situation at Archer took center stage, among other items children brought to board members last night.

N&R:

“I don’t like my hair getting wet when I come to school,” Archer Elementary fifth grader Theresah Woodland said after reading a letter to the commissioners Thursday night during a hearing on the proposed county budget.

Archer’s roof leaked until just a few weeks ago when crews were finally able to repair it using donated materials.

Before that, Woodland and other students had to dodge leaks throughout the school.

That repair is just one of dozens on a list of maintenance issues throughout the school district.

But officials say many of those projects would be delayed if county commissioners approve a proposed $3 million cut to the district’s maintenance fund.

***********************

Recall Bev now!

E.C. :)

TFA cadets replacing veteran teachers in Charlotte

My friend Doug Clark discusses the issue of Teach for America cadets, literally, replacing veteran "below standard" teachers at many schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, a move characterized by a local NCAE head as "insulting."

The move seems to be defended by the Charlotte Observer. What do you think?

E.C. :)

More troubles for Northern

Some parents upset over the ongoing athletics scandal have asked the local chapter of the NAACP to get involved. Andy over at GreensboroSports.com and his readers have some good thoughts on this.

Is outside intervention necessary?

In a related matter, investigators are also pouring through fundraising and booster club money records to see if they may have been misappropriated. N&R has more on this today.

E.C. :)

Getting political at Jamestown Elementary?

Hat-tip to Bubba over at Noteworthy...an unconfirmed report tells of this "song" that may be performed at a 5th grade graduation ceremony at Jamestown Elementary.

If this is, in fact, true, this is unsettling.

E.C. :)

Oak Ridge parents want answers

In a hastily-called meeting last night, parents demanded answers from GCS brass as to why toxic mold may have been found inside Oak Ridge Elementary School. Not your usual-case of "sick building syndrome."

N&R reports school administration has not found anything else at the school, but parents aren't buying it.

The complaints began in 2005 after renovations and additions were completed on the school. Mold has been found at the school twice in the past four years.

The school system reports spending nearly $600,000 addressing mold and other issues at the school. The system spent nearly $400,000 installing a dehumidification system four years ago. This month, carpet found to have mold was removed from several classrooms.

Leo Bobadilla, Guilford County Schools’ chief operations officer, said tests have been done and issues have been addressed. At this point, workers can’t find any other issues, he said.

“As far as we know, there is not an issue here,” Bobadilla said.

Additional thoughts from PiedmontParent.com here.

E.C. :)

Testing Madness

EOG madness is setting in this week as all of our classrooms become testing factories.

And here's a case study...my daughter, who's a 3rd grader at Pilot Elementary, brings this home earlier in the week:

Dear Third Grader:

Since August. we have been preparing for our End-of-Grade tests. Now it is time to shine! You ARE ready! Remember all of the strategies that you have learned and use them. In reading, make your RUNNERS grid. Give yourself a compliment after each reading selection. When you take your math tests, prepare your blank sheet of paper with all of the strategies that you practiced during Camp EOG. If you get tired, give yourself a short brain break. Them get right back to work. Be sure to listen to ALL of the directions that your teacher reads to you before, during, and after the tests. Track your teacher with your eyes. Stay focused. You want to do as well on the last ten questions as you did on the first ten questions. Remember, slow and steady wins this race!

All of the third grade teachers want you to know that we are very proud of you! We know you will do your best on your tests!

Uh.....is it me? What are we doing to our children? These are our children. Have our children learned anything...besides how to master a three-day exam and how to fill in a scan-tron bubble sheet?

E.C. :)

Teacher pay cuts

Of those teachers that are still gainfully employed, their pay has been cut. And your school board, who voted unanimously for the cuts, are making an example by slicing their own stipends.

N&R reports cuts of 1/2 of 1 percent among all GCS employees will be the end result. Among school board members, this will mean a cut of about $60 for each board member.

Think it's time for Auntie Bev to be recalled?

E.C. :)

Mold at Oak Ridge Elementary

This story is starting to make the rounds, and not for the good.

Mold has been discovered at Oak Ridge Elementary, and that has parents alarmed, and at least one teacher saying that he has tested positive for mold exposure. Parents, who are starting to withdraw their children, will hear from school administrators this evening, the N&R is reporting.

N&R:

Officials have found mold at Oak Ridge Elementary School twice in the last five years, most recently in April. The school system has spent nearly $600,000 attempting address the issue but parents say their children and school employees are still suffering from illnesses related to the issue.

E.C. :)

Andrews Vice Principal gets DWI pinch

Andrews H.S. vice principal Marc Houlihan had a bad day last Thursday when he was cited for DWI by Winston-Salem authorities following a minor accident on I-40.

N&R reports he's still on the job as of today, even though according to the report, he blew a .10, way above the legal limit.

E.C. :)

Addressing substantial inaccuracies in last night's CBS-2 report

Watch this first...then view my comments below...

#1...it's not the teacher, Frank.

On this, I agree with the individual school systems that it is unfair to compare apples to apples...unfair to compare a lateral entry with real-world experience versus a tenured teacher. Both are professionals in their craft.

#2...what methodology did WFMY use to gather its data? In the story, Frank reports:

We found schools with the highest numbers of these teachers struggled to reach academic goals.We considered a successful school one that gets a "B"... reaching 85% of its academic goals. The most recent data show in Guilford County, 7 out of 10 schools with 8 or more lateral entry teachers didn't get a "B". For Alamance-Burlington schools, 8 out of 10 didn't get that "B". For Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools, 10 out of 10 didn't get that "B".

No explanation on what data was used, nor from what time frame, nor how it was obtained.

#3...Did Frank spend a day in a highly-impacted school...no, let me rephrase...did Frank spend more than 10 minutes in a highly-impacted school's classroom? Or was he given the usual and tepid "corridor tour?" If he didn't spend time inside a classroom, then he does not know what goes on inside these classrooms. A lot of good things do go on. But there are issues.

Do many of these teachers have access to vital classroom supplies? No. Do many of these teachers have the support they need? No. Do many of these teachers have good mentors? It is the exception rather than the rule. Do many of these teachers have the parental support? Again, the exception rather than the rule. And are these teachers supported by school administrators when classroom discipline problems threaten the learning environment? That's open to interpretation.

As long-time readers of this blog know, I was once a lateral-entry teacher at Andrews H.S. in High Point. On my first day, I was given keys to my classroom, and was told 'good luck, God bless.' The kids I had, many were good kids, some had behavioral issues, none were 'bad kids.' No such thing as a 'bad kid' when you're teaching. But one has to suspect whether or not many of these lateral-entry teachers have more of the children with behavioral issues than other teachers.

What I dealt with at Andrews was beyond belief: departments being ordered to cut their budgets, spending money out of pocket on supplies, dealing with a state assistance team who threatened to pull licensure on the spot because the school failed to consistently meet state benchmarks (and lateral-entry teachers were deliberately targeted), a superintendent who did not support state assistance teams (Grier), fights on a regular basis, regular false fire alarms (almost daily at one point in the school year), a lack of attention by the school's elected school board member, busing...

...did Frank take all this into account for the "Sweeps story" last night?

#4...WFMY quoted James Cibulka from "NCATE" but never explains who NCATE is. NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, a national group designed to give accreditation to teacher education programs nationwide.

#5...the story says:

Educators say the teacher shortage means lateral entry is here to stay, so now it's a matter of making the system work.

That, too, is open to interpretation. This state, this county, is laying off teachers. There is no teacher shortage in North Carolina anymore. Anyone who is still feeding you this cock-and-bull is not to be believed. If anything, there is now a gluttony of experienced teachers now out of a job and looking for work. And the teachers that are still gainfully employed in this state are dealing with forced furloughs, cutbacks to the State Health Plan, the possibility of no automatic raises...and that's just dealing with Raleigh. Add to the stress of getting our kids to pass this week's low-stakes EOGs and it is any wonder why anyone would still want to pursue teaching...in North Carolina. But many do, and I applaud them and their desire. My wish is for every teacher to find a job next year.

There were a good deal of things that were either unreported or under reported in this story and it leaves the door open for Frank to do a much-needed follow-up.

E.C. :)

Sample EOG questions

To get you all in the mood for what you (and me) will be dealing with this week, see if you can tackle these sample EOG questions:

1) Jon has 3/5 of a dollar, Pasha has $0.65, Marie has 7/10 of a dollar, and Karen has $0.62. Who has the smallest amount of money?
A -- Jon
B -- Pasha
C -- Marie
D -- Karen

2) Which triangle must have three acute angles?
A -- an equilateral triangle
B -- a right triangle
C -- an isosceles triangle
D -- a scalene triangle

3) DEF is isosceles. Its perimeter is 52 cm. The length of a side of
DEF is 18 cm. Which is the smallest possible length of another
side of DEF ?

A -- 15 cm
B -- 16 cm
C -- 17 cm
D -- 18 cm

4) The art teacher wants to arrange 36 pictures on the wall so that one is in the first row, two are in the second row, three are in the third row, etc. How many rows of pictures will there
be?

A -- 8 rows
B -- 9 rows
C -- 10 rows
D -- 11 rows

SCIENCE

5) Different types of birds within an environment may feed on different types of organisms. What is a benefit of this type of interaction?

A -- It allows different birds to build better nests.
B -- It reduces competition between different birds.
C -- It causes different birds to reproduce more often.
D -- It allows different birds to escape from predators.

6) Two air masses with large differences in air pressure are near one another. What weather condition will most likely exist between the two air masses?

A -- low humidity
B -- high winds
C -- freezing temperatures
D -- clear skies

7) A dog runs 6 meters in one second. By the end of the next second, the dog has traveled an additional 4 meters.
Which best describes the motion of the dog during the two seconds?

A -- The dog slows down.
B -- The dog comes to a stop.
C -- The dog changes in mass.
D -- The dog changes direction.

READING

Read the following poem and answer the questions!

He lifts his hopeful eyes at each new tread,
Dark wells of brown with half his heart in each:
He will not bark, because he is well-bred,
Only one voice can heal the sorry breach.
5 He scans the faces that he does not know,
One paw uplifted, ear cocked for a sound
Outside his sight. Only he must not go
Away from here; by honor he is bound.
Now he has heard a whistle down the street;
10 He trembles in a sort of ecstasy,
Dances upon his eager, padding feet,
Straining himself to hear, to feel, to see,
And rushes at a call to meet the one
Who of his tiny universe is sun.

8) Which phrase best describes the mood of the poem?

A -- hopeful at the beginning but sad at the end
B -- angry at the beginning but relieved at the end
C -- sad at the beginning but happy at the end
D -- careful at the beginning but carefree at the end

9) Which trait best describes the dog?

A -- aggressive
B -- disobedient
C -- loyal
D -- stubborn

10) What is the effect of using personification in line 11?

A -- It describes the dog's uncertainty.
B -- It emphasizes the dog's excitement.
C -- It describes the dog's training.
D -- It emphasizes the dog's talents.

ANSWERS

1) A

2) A

3) B

4) A

5) B

6) B

7) A

8) C

9) C

10) B

***************

E.C. :)

It's still about our children

When I unsuccessfully ran for school board last year, my motto was simple...it's about our children, because our children are our future.

And lately, too many things are clouding that philosophy. The ongoing drama at Northern High (from staff changes to the revoking of the school's athletic championship) is one example. Threatened teacher layoffs across the state is another.

And during all this...this week's psychological nudity of low-stakes end-of-grade testing.

No Child Left Behind...leaving too many of our children behind. And it's enough to ask yourself 'why.'

Then it should be enough to get yourself off the armchair and demand action.

E.C. :)

Principal moves

Monique Brooks-Wallace is out as principal at High Point Andrews H.S. It is somewhat significant because she was swifted in on the promise of attempting to do great things at Andrews. Did any of them materialize though? Well, if you count the technology magnet, the health sciences magnet or the aviation academy magnet programs that had surfaced there in her short tenure, then yes. If you look at the declining enrollment and its continuing struggle to get off the state's watch list, then no.

Point blank, Andrews wasn't always in a precarious position...it always was...and still is a crown jewel of High Point. Forced busing didn't help matters much through the years and ineffective leadership among school board representatives didn't help either.

I will say this...very few people that I taught with at Andrews who were there in 2005-06 are still there; many have left. The school needs stability.

But the school may be in good hands. Rodney Wilds, current principal at Jackson Middle School, will be Wallace's successor.

***************************
Other principalships, via GCS:

Gay Citty, an instructional improvement officer for the district, will be principal at Morehead Elementary. In 2008, she received the Central Office Administrator of the Year award from the North Carolina Association of Educators. Prior to serving in central administration, Citty was the principal at Gibsonville Elementary from 2003 to 2006.

William Laine, principal at Kernodle Middle, will be the principal at Northern High, effective July 1. Since 1998, Laine has held positions as a science teacher, assistant principal and middle school principal. This year at Kernodle Middle, he worked to create a staff culture built around collaboration and strengthened community relations by establishing a monthly parent communication forum.

E.C. :)