Guilford School Watch

Goodbye GSW...Hello Vegas Valley View

2009-09-22T22:06:00.001-04:00

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..

2009-08-19T22:27:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-10T12:36:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-10T12:21:00.002-04:00

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

Click here...

E.C. :)

Amos Quick is too quick to rid SROs

2009-07-08T10:38:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-02T13:09:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-02T12:07:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-06-16T09:29:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-15T09:59:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-06-12T11:12:00.002-04:00

...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

2009-06-12T09:25:00.002-04:00

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.

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E.C. :)

Dr. Bill Harrison on House Budget Proposal

2009-06-12T08:56:00.002-04:00

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.
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...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

2009-06-11T11:37:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-11T11:15:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-11T11:08:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-11T10:58:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-04T07:46:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-02T12:25:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-01T15:23:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-29T11:58:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-29T11:53:00.002-04:00

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.

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E.C. :)

NGHS turning into a scandal

2009-05-29T11:41:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-28T10:48:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-27T14:06:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-27T11:04:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-05-26T11:47:00.001-04:00

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

2009-05-26T07:55:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-22T12:05:00.002-04:00

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.

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E.C. :)

Dire

2009-05-22T10:50:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-22T08:16:00.002-04:00

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.

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Recall Bev now!

E.C. :)

TFA cadets replacing veteran teachers in Charlotte

2009-05-21T11:48:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-21T11:37:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-05-21T11:33:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-21T11:26:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-20T15:24:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-20T15:13:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-20T15:04:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-20T14:55:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-19T07:41:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-18T14:27:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-18T09:36:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-18T08:24:00.002-04:00

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. :)

Mo addresses NGHS PTA on athletics scandal

2009-05-07T11:07:00.002-04:00

The ongoing investigation into improprieties within the athletics department at Northern Guilford H.S. prompted Supt. Mo Green to address questions at a town hall meeting sponsored by the school's PTSA.

Andy from GreensboroSports.com has good play-by-play coverage on his site today. What's notable about the goings-on with this investigation can be found in these questions:

When will the investigation end? This is hindering preparation for end of school testing and the exam period, why did this have to happen now and why couldn’t the county wait until a time when the entire student body wasn’t in such a crucial academic time frame?

When will the non-faculty coaches be allowed to return to the Northern Guilford campus? Why wasn’t Mo Green at Northern and on campus the day all of this broke in the media, Friday April 10, the same day that Joe Yeager, Derrell Force and Louis Lawson were forced to resign?

Will the other schools in Guilford County also be investigated and why is Northern being singled out? Questions were targeted toward Dudley and Page and other Guilford County Schools in general……

Why has there been so much insensitivity on the part of the interim principal and others that were there during the transition period and why haven’t the student voices been heard at Northern during this entire ordeal?

Mr. Green, if you had it to do over again, would you handle these changes at Northern Guilford in the same manner?

Coverage from the N&R here.

E.C. :)

Raleigh asks for MORE money back

2009-05-05T15:10:00.002-04:00

I'm going to keep posting this picture as evidence that we elected this ditz to the Governors mansion. And teachers across the state were in full support of her. And what do our schools get in return for their vote?

...exactly. (cue the crickets)

Now comes word that Raleigh wants even more money back; this, on top of the money we've already sent back earlier in the year? When will it end?

By the way, I read, with interest, Guilford Education Alliance's Margaret Arbuckle's op-ed in this past Sunday's News & Record on education in the 21st century as it related to globalization. Well, with all due respect, we cannot have this conversation until we fix what's going on in Raleigh and elsewhere in the state.

I have penned a response, and submitted it to the N&R. I'll let you know when it gets printed.

E.C. :)

Welcome the New Eastern High

2009-05-01T10:52:00.002-04:00

GSW wishes the new Eastern Guilford H.S. many and much successes, but lest we not forget...the person (or persons) who started the tragic fire that brought down old Eastern is still out there. Someone knows something. And if you do, say something to someone, please. Let's put the past to rest so that the Eastern family can concentrate on its future.

E.C. :)

Work days may become furlough days

2009-05-01T10:41:00.002-04:00

So I have to ask...where DOES the NCAE stand on Gov. Bev's outrageous furlough plan? Today's News & Record analyzes what may happen, including the theory that teachers may use work days as furlough days.

I guess the question I have is this...if Bev is requiring all state employees to take unpaid days off and give up salary, will she be the first one to do so?

Anyone?

E.C. :)

A sad day for children in North Carolina

2009-04-29T13:28:00.002-04:00

After a brief hiatus, I'm back...

...And not a moment too soon, as it is very hard to analyze what Gov. Perdue is doing. In one breath, she unveils all of these grandiose plans for public education, while simultaneously raiding the "Lootery" fund to plug the shortfall.

While the plans are being announced, teachers are being laid off statewide. Class sizes expanded, supply budgets sliced...and now yesterday's horrifying news that teachers statewide will be required to take unpaid time off.

Clearly, she is not one to be trusted.

E.C. :)

Garrett feels heat on Northern situation

2009-04-16T11:09:00.002-04:00

Parents are visibly upset at the recent events involving the shuffling of administrators at Northern Guilford High School in the wake of reported athletic improprieties. And they're taking it out on NGHS school board rep Darlene Garrett.

And while school brass continue to be tight-lipped about the investigation of recent alleged wrongdoings, Garrett told the News & Record she wants the Board to look at current policies on student transfers, including transfers related to athletics.

N&R:

Garrett, whose school board district includes Northern Guilford, said the investigation is looking at athletics eligibility, which includes students’ grades, residence status and attendance records. The academic portion extends beyond sports teams and will explore overall grading and student achievement at the school, she said.

Some of the comments coming into the N&R are none too pleasing:

Dear Ms. Garrett,
First of all I thought you were supposed to be our representative at Northern. If so where have you been????? Not stepping up and talking about any of our positives that is for sure.

I can't believe that Ms. Garrett said those things!!! Kids have been studying very hard in Northern, and teachers have been eager to help and they go to school earlier in countless mornings to have study sessions and make themselves available to kids afterschool. How dare Ms. Garrett made those comments!!! It's not fair to the teachers and students!!

No suprise at Mrs. Garrett's comments. Her singular focus and support of NWHS while ignoring us here at Northern is obvious. She's also made it clear that she has no respect or appreciation for our coaches.

But others are showing support for Garrett, including fellow Board colleague Garth Hebert:

Mrs. Garrett’s support for Northern Middle and High as well as for all schools is phenomenal. As an advocate for children and teachers she is THE BEST.

This one isn't over, by any means. Stay tuned.

E.C. :)

Hayes rumored to run for City Council

2009-04-16T11:02:00.003-04:00

School Board member Deena Hayes may make a run for Greensboro City Council, this according to Ryan Shell over at Greensboro Politics. See my piece on this on my sister blog, GreensboroMetro. Hayes may be seeking the Dist. 2 seat being vacated by outgoing City Councilman Goldie Wells.

Still a rumor for now, but it bears watching. If she wins (and that's a mighty big IF), will she abandon her school board seat and focus on her city council seat exclusively? Will she juggle both seats? Both Wells' district and Hayes' school board district could arguably use some better representation.

Keeping an eye on this one...

E.C. :)

No Child Left Behind = No Child Gets Ahead

2009-04-12T14:05:00.003-04:00

Excellent op/ed in this morning's News & Record by former teacher and local PTA president Sharon Shepard on the continued insanity of NCLB. Of particular interest is this quote:

Each year in American testing factories, modern pupils spend many weeks preparing for the End of Grade (EOG) examinations. Practice assessments are given under "testing conditions," in which children as young as 8 spend entire mornings quietly wiggling at their desks, ignoring repetitive instructions, and answering multiple-choice questions. Teachers and students are so exhausted by the anxiety and time involved that little is taught during testing weeks. EOG "pep rallies" remind one of a "groupthink" scene from George Orwell's "1984." And once the EOGs are over in May, many classrooms turn into movie theaters and day-care centers, as the teacher's work is considered done for the year. Standardized testing discourages comprehensive education.

Isn't it time this thing gets overhauled or reformed?

E.C. :)

Reported assault at Southwest High

2009-04-12T13:59:00.002-04:00

News & Record reports an alleged sexual assault may have taken place at Southwest Guilford H.S. late last week.

School Board member Garth Hebert, whose district includes Southwest, says the school's surveillance cameras may have captured both the offender and the victim. Hebert calls the campus "a safe place."

Developing...

E.C. :)

Top brass out at Northern High

2009-04-10T15:49:00.002-04:00

Developing story...Northern High School principal Joe Yeager and athletics director Derrell Force were put on administrative leave this week following allegations of malfeasance regarding the school's athletic program.

N&R reports no one seems to be talking on the record, and those that are deny any wrongdoing at the school.

Anyone out there close to this situation? Please report in...

E.C. :)

Skip & Co. like the budget

2009-04-10T09:22:00.002-04:00

Seems as though some of the County Commissioners like the budget Mo Green (or Grier's lieutenants) conjured up and made public this week.

Chairman Skip Alston's response:

Melvin “Skip” Alston, chairman of the Board of Commissioners, said he supports Green’s budget. He “will be a happy camper” if the school board approves it.

Commissioner Kay Cashion posed a series of questions, along with Bruce Davis, who questioned the continued existence of SROs to the ACES program.

E.C. :)

Add Bruce Davis to the growing list of those wanting to take away SROs

2009-04-10T09:11:00.002-04:00

Guilford County Commissioner Bruce Davis also wants to rid the middle/high schools of school resource officers in an effort to save money. Readers will recall school board members Amos Quick and Deena Hayes are already on record opposing SROs in your schools.

Today's N&R:

Commissioner Bruce Davis questioned the continued use of law enforcement officers on school campuses. Officials estimated each school resource officer, or SRO, costs about $90,000 per year, covering salary, benefits, and equipment including a police car. The state pays about $38,000 for each officer it allots but Gov. Bev Perdue’s proposed budget calls for a $4,537 reduction in that payment.

Davis suggested looking into hiring a private security firm for the job. School board Chairman Alan Duncan said his board is reviewing that item but noted that bidding the jobs out could have an adverse effect on the sheriff’s office budget, not to mention the public outcry.

“You will hear a very loud voice from your parents and community on this,” Duncan said.

“We’re not talking about cutting SROs,” Davis said. “We’re talking about replacing them with other professionals.”

I can't wait for this fight.

Oh, incidentally...an SRO was instrumental in capturing two former Grimsley High School students in a case of vandalism and burglary at the school. Via N&R.

E.C. :)

NCAE Teacher Survey

2009-04-09T11:03:00.001-04:00

...via NCAE

Dear NC Teachers,

Several years ago, staff at the NC Department of Public Instruction asked teachers to help us determine how we could adjust policy and/or pay in a way that would benefit the profession. We are always interested in identifying and recommending changes that could improve the teaching profession and again would like your feedback.

We have partnered with graduate students in the public policy program at Duke University to prepare a new survey to help us in this effort to boost the teaching profession. Please take five minutes to complete this survey and give us your feedback. Our goal is to use the results to improve policy and pay in ways that will benefit the teaching profession for many years to come.

Thank you for your participation. Because we are doing this late in the school year, it would be helpful if you could complete the survey by April 15. Here is the link to the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0s_2fd5WAMzKoelBCApHPuvw_3d_3d

If you have any questions or if you need assistance, please contact my office at (919) 807-3600. Thank you again for helping us to better address the needs of teachers related to employment/pay polices.

Sincerely,

Philip Price

Chief Financial Officer

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

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

E.C. :)

Next year's calendar approved...and posted

2009-04-09T10:24:00.002-04:00

Your Board of Education approved the long-awaited 2009-10 academic calendar. And GCS wants you to know that since this is a revised calendar (as a result of the firestorm that occurred following the late snowdays GCS had last month), these are the new "features" of the new calendar:

• Keeps all snow or make-up days within the June 10 deadline

• Creates more equity in terms of instructional days between the first and second semester

• Shortens winter break

• Moves more snow or make-up days to the second semester to accommodate typical weather patterns

The 2009-10 Calendars can be found here. Separate links are listed below:

2009-10 Academic Calendar: pdf

2009-10 Brooks Global Studies/Johnson Street Global Studies pdf

2009-10 GCS Middle Colleges/The Academy at Smith: pdf

2009-10 GCS Year-round: pdf

2009-10 Greensboro College Middle College: pdf

2009-10 The Early College at Guilford: pdf

2009-10 Washington Montessori Extended Year: pdf

E.C. :)

GCS opens online Employee Support Center

2009-04-09T10:20:00.002-04:00

Ran into this while surfing this morning...Guilford County Schools has a new Employee Support Center for displaced (and soon to be displaced) employees. It can be found here.

Included are updates, links to an employee guide to benefits, job-transition resources, vital phone numbers, and other info.

E.C. :)

Bleak outlook for GCS

2009-04-08T09:16:00.002-04:00

Last night's School Board meeting could've easily been an on-air promo for the area's private schools.

Folks, things are bad downtown at GCS, and we'd better wake up and smell reality...and it stinks. (complete coverage via N&R)

My thoughts on GCS Supt. Mo Green's half-a-billion dollar budget:

1. Massive layoffs are on the way. The number is over 100. N&R points to 108. Library assistants, technology teachers, testing coordinators, ESL teachers are on the chopping block. That number may increase when area principals complete their budgets in the coming days.

Board member Darlene Garrett:

Board member Darlene Garrett said she is worried that cutting technology teachers who help prepare eighth-grade students for a state-required computer test will result in more students failing the test. Green is proposing cutting the teaching positions from 14 to five.

“This is a hard test, a really hard test. How are we going to do it with only five (teachers)?” Garrett said. “I just don’t see how it’s going to happen.”

And let me say this...with the pending layoffs, I appreciate Board member Paul Daniels' sentiments (and Garth Hebert) that this conversation cannot be conducted in secret. We're not dealing with numbers on a piece of paper...we're dealing with lives. Family members who bring home a paycheck. Let's remember that, GCS.

2. Regional reorganization...regional superintendents were named yesterday, although I don't think now is the right time to be planning a major effort such as this. I support the reorganization effort in theory, but when you're talking about firing teachers but hiring big-salary administrators, I have a massive problem with that. Now is not the time to be doing this.

3. SROs on the chopping block...Let's be real: Board member Amos Quick has always had a problem with school resource officers in our middle and high schools and wants to explore how much money will be saved if they disappear. So it is no surprise that he may be using this pullback in the economy to attempt to pull our SROs out of the schools, an idea once described by Guilford County Sheriff B.J. Barnes as "dead on arrival."

N&R:

Board member Amos Quick suggested reviewing how much the system pays for police officers on school campuses.
“We have to, in my opinion, to look at that as a viable option,” Quick said. He praised the work of the officers but noted they are not required by law.

4. Increasing class sizes, raising prices on school lunches, tacking on new fees for ACES are all in play.

What's asinine is that this budget is based on Gov. Perdue's budget, which is currently being sliced and diced in the General Assembly. The State Senate wants to cut even more.

We'd better watch this budget process very very carefully. Trickery is in play and our kids will be the ones to get hurt.

E.C. :)

GCS BOE agenda for 4/7/09

2009-04-06T20:24:00.001-04:00

Click here for the GCS Board meeting agenda for 4/7/09. Wonder if the subject of "secrecy" will come up? Wonder if Garth will have any updates on the budget numbers or the layoff numbers?

E.C. :)

Harrison has concerns over state senate budget

2009-04-06T20:22:00.000-04:00

Statement of Dr. Bill Harrison, State Board of Education Chairman and
CEO (via DPI):

“I have major concerns that the Senate’s budget would invest $300
million less than the Governor’s K-12 public schools budget.
Eliminating 6,200 teachers, forcing children into larger classes, and
limiting the ability of public schools to provide needed services is the
wrong direction for North Carolina.”

• The Senate budget would eliminate 6,200 teaching positions. The
kindergarten class size average would be as high as 23 students, with
individual class size averages up to 26. At the high school level,
individual classes could have 31-34 students each.
• The Senate budget would cut $630 million, or 7 percent, from public
schools and the Department of Public Instruction.
• The cuts to school systems also would include a $60 million cut to
capital funds designed to support school buildings.
• The Senate budget would eliminate 300 of the 475 state-funded
positions at the Department of Public Instruction.
Budget cuts of this magnitude will make it difficult to adequately
administer the federal recovery funds being sent to North Carolina. The
bulk of these funds are earmarked for public schools.

**************************
E.C. :)

Dutch company recommended for bond management projects?

2009-04-03T12:38:00.001-04:00

I'm not happy about this one either...kudos to FOX-8 for reporting this:

E.C. :)

Board member Hebert demanding answers on pending layoffs

2009-04-03T12:18:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry, I thought the Ghost of Grier was a myth. Because apparently, his lieutenants still seem to be calling the shots with secrecy.

The secrecy must end at GCS.

E.C. :)

Confirmed: teachers on the chopping block

2009-04-02T08:31:00.002-04:00

Northeast Guilford H.S. (shown at left) will have to cut an unknown number of staff, teachers included. And this process is being repeated at schools countywide.

News & Record reports principals are asking staff planning to quit or retire at the end of this academic year to come forward now.

N&R:

Last week, Guilford Schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green announced he would withhold half, or $6 million, of per-student funding from schools. Typically about 25 percent is withheld. Principals use that money for everything from supplies to field trips, but some use that money to hire additional teachers.

The withheld money, plus lowered student enrollment projections, has some principals preparing for more cuts. Northeast High School principal Anitra Walker sent an e-mail to her faculty Tuesday night asking anyone who might retire or quit to come forward now rather than later. Walker said she is hoping she can absorb some cuts through attrition. Walker did not say how many teacher cuts she will need to make.

Principals are scheduled to turn in budgets by April 10.

**************************
And that not only has you talking, it also has Board member Garth Hebert just a little steamed.

Hebert (via the Chalkboard):

Look at my older posts, we can blame it on the principals, it’s their fault that people are losing their jobs, not the administration or the School Board. Who is in charge, who is responsible, certainly not the Board or Mo. Will someone find me a spine I can use, maybe a few hundred jobs can be spared if I only had a spine. Has no one figured out yet how many employees we will lose this way? What I want to know, why are Principals being forced to cut staff without any Board input or discussion? What Board Members were informed of this policy of stealth staffing reductions? There might be a way to prevent this or do it better, alas the Board will be informed of what the Board has decided to do by staff when they feel it is too late for the Board to object.
If only 3 employees are lost at each school, 300 people will lose their jobs! When principals are told they can only use 50% of their discretionary staffing funds then they are precluded from hiring desperately needed resources. The great thing is we are suggesting ONLY 90 to the Press. By the time all other factors are considered, 400 to 500 positions may be in jeopardy. But then again I’m just a CPA dumb enough to be on this ship. Thank goodness the rest of the Board knows and trusts staff better than I do.

I believe that we could reshuffle the deck, opt to forgo weighted student allocations for 2 years and utilize Federal Title 1 grants to effectively increase funding at impacted schools and preserve already overcrowded classrooms throughout the district. Just a naïve attempt to look at the problem better. Maybe if there was teamwork we could solve this problem.

**************************
Naivety aside, I have some problems with this...one, the discussion itself. Did you catch this from the article:

Green is expected to present his budget proposal to the school board April 7. Board members are scheduled to meet with Green behind closed doors Friday and Monday to discuss the budget.

As long as five or fewer board members attend the meeting — and the meeting is only for information — the meeting is not required to be open to the public.

Something like this affecting this many staff countywide needs to be held in open session, I think all sunshine laws apply here. Matter of fact, I think this needs to be dealt with in an emergency meeting, preferably during the day, not at 11pm at the end of a Board meeting in May. We're talking about teachers who care for your children (and mine) during the day. These are livelihoods. These aren't numbers on a piece of paper.

Next, and I'm going on a limb here...it may be time for the Superintendent to put this strategic plan on hold. Now is NOT the right time to be hiring administrators. In fact, we have WAY TOO MANY as it is. Shave off about 10 administrators, there's your cost savings. Shave off 20 more, and the savings grow even more. I've always wondered if it took these many administrators to run a school system? Or these many PR professionals to write a press release? You have a number of laid-off journalists and PR pros (ahem...ahem) who can do the job, on contract, at a fraction of the cost. GCS is not being creative at all.

Stay tuned, because this is likely to get ugly...

E.C. :)

Leaky roof at Archer should prompt major call to action

2009-03-30T12:12:00.002-04:00

(N&R)

Pictures like this represent an abomination of our public schools. One has to wonder where we as a county school system went wrong.

This is Archer Elementary School in Greensboro, where after five days of rain, trash buckets dot the hallways collecting the rain water because the rook leaks. It is not scheduled to be replaced until 2011.

The lack of money, both locally and from the state, has now put this issue at center stage.

Today's N&R:

Leo Bobadilla, the school system’s chief operations officer, said what the parents expect is more than reasonable. But meeting those expectations costs money, money Bobadilla is struggling to find.

“The reality is the funding is not keeping pace with the needs of our schools,” he said.

About two-thirds of the county’s 120 schools are more than 30 years old and have never undergone a major renovation. Archer, on Four Seasons Boulevard in Greensboro, was built in 1962. That, Bobadilla says, works out to a lot of leaky roofs and other major facilities concerns.

It will cost an estimated $375,000 just to replace Archer’s roof.

The bond passed by voters last year will pay for some of those needs, including a new boiler unit for Archer. But the school system had to reprioritize the projects on the bond list earlier this year when, fearing the full bond amount would not sell, they lowered the amount they placed on the market.

I wonder if the HVAC at Andrews has been fixed yet. You see, when I taught there four years ago, I had to buy fans to keep the air circulating through my classroom because the A/C in the middle of the building remained inoperable. Only I had the crown jewels to complain about it. Suffice to say, I wasn't at Andrews for very long after voicing a complaint, but I have no regrets. Because our children are in conditions that are similar all over this county.

E.C. :)

Regional reorganization plan approved

2009-03-27T08:31:00.002-04:00

Despite its unknown ancillary costs, your School Board approved Supt. Mo Green's administrative reorganization plan that decentralizes Central Office Staff. The vote last night was 8-1 with Board member Paul Daniels voting no. Board members Deena "never-miss-a-meeting" Hayes was absent, along with Kris Cooke.

The move will divide the county into these regions, each with a regional or assistant superintendent:

Central: central Greensboro and Jamestown.
Western: High Point, Colfax, Oak Ridge and Stokesdale.
Northern: Summerfield, northern Greensboro, Browns Summit and the Reedy Fork area.
Southeast: Eastern and southeastern Greensboro, McLeansville and Gibsonville, and the area from I-85 Business to the Alamance County line.
Enrichment region: Schools described as low-performing academically, with high rates of poverty and “historically challenged”: Bessemer, Montlieu and Wiley elementary; Hairston, Jackson and Welborn middle; and Andrews, Dudley and Smith High.

Daniels was uncertain of the costs associated with such a plan, saying the Board still does not know what the true costs are.

N&R:

“The board has expressed its reservations about cost,” said board member Paul Daniels.

“But we’re still waiting to find out what this is going to cost us.”

I tend to agree.

E.C. :)

Another embarrassment for GCS

2009-03-27T08:08:00.002-04:00

Apparently, GCS staffers had to whip out their own credit cards recently when buying supplies...this from today's N&R:

Some school employees learned about system spending cuts in haphazard — and embarrassing — fashion in recent days when they tried to use school-owned debit cards to pay for supplies at local stores. The cards were rejected and the purchases denied.
Nora Carr, Green’s chief of staff, confirmed the purchasing orders and debit card accounts for the schools were frozen over the past few weeks, but school employees weren’t notified, which left some to find out at the register.
“We didn’t handle the communications well internally on that,” Carr said. “That was a place where we made an error.”
The funds have since been reinstated.

That's ridiculous.

E.C. :)

Layoffs pending, more supply cuts in store

2009-03-26T15:16:00.002-04:00

Just in to GSW...GCS may cut as many as 100 jobs systemwide.

News & Record reports the cuts may include:

64 media assistants from all levels
11 from computer tech
7.5 English as a second or other language from the elementary school level
7.5 testing coordinators at the high school level

Supt. Mo Green may also slice $6 million in funding for supplies and "other needs such as field trips and other discretionary spending."

Green says "the cuts will be made only if state funding is as bad as expected."

Not good. This is going to be a nasty budget.

E.C. :)

More targeted schools, more opt-outs, oh my

2009-03-25T12:18:00.001-04:00

Pretty soon, we're not going to have any more opt-out schools because every school will be targeted under No Child Left Behind-leaves many children behind.

This nonsense needs to stop.

E.C. :)

GCS Board agenda for 3/26/09

2009-03-24T11:29:00.002-04:00

Click here for the GCS Board meeting agenda for 3/26/09. Items of note include a possible revised academic calendar for next year (gee, I wonder why...) to additional opt-out schools to an update on the regionalization effort.

E.C. :)

No Child Left Behind = No Idiots Left Behind in Raleigh

2009-03-23T15:28:00.005-04:00

Those Raleigh bureaucrats are at it again. This time, attempting to misuse No Child Left Behind, low-stakes test data.

Doug Clark reports on his blog that state Senate democrats introduced a bill effectively prohibiting any and all athletics at any school where a majority of students score below the 50th percentile on end-of-course tests for two or more consecutive years.

You can thank Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, and co-idiots Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, state Senate majority leader, and Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, co-chairman of the Finance Committee.

These fools can't find time to solve the delayed state tax refund problem, but they have time to find ways to punish 100% for the actions of less than that.

NCLB low-stakes test data is not supposed to be used for this purpose, nor are their scores supposed to be used to either hire or fire teachers. And if they want to help failing schools, then contribute to the discussion or come up with a better way other than this.

Jerks.

E.C. :)

The Logistician tackles public education

2009-03-23T15:06:00.002-04:00

I owe this fella a phone call and a cup of coffee...soon, I promise.

Greensboro's Reggie Greene, a.k.a. The Logistician, tackles the subject of public education. Specifically, he asks and ponders: should the government get out of the business of education?

He makes some points:

Many have argued that the only things that government does well are the maintenance of the armed forces and law enforcement. We occasionally hear from those who contend that private schools are of higher quality of than public schools. (At this point, we do not wish to discuss school vouchers.)

However, we have never heard anyone suggest that government remove itself entirely from the field of education. We all know the arguments which prompted government involvement years ago.

However, many argue today that the “free market” is a far better mechanism for driving progress and innovation in society than the government. Should we just let everyone in society decide for themselves how their children should be educated, and leave them to fend for themselves?

I've been of the opinion lately that runaway, low-stakes testing is ruining public education. I've also been of the opinion that too many administrators are a barrier to a good, quality education. We need more teachers and less administrators.

I believe the arguments are strong on both sides, and like Greene says, we need to constantly examine and question whether there is a better way to educate children in this country. And there's nothing wrong with that.

E.C. :)

Students produce anti-bullying spot

2009-03-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

...cross-posted on Triad Media Watch...

Students at Northeast Guilford Middle School have produced an anti-bullying public service announcement to fight back against bullying in school, CBS-2 (WFMY) reports.

The children teamed up with the National Conference for Community and Justice to create the spots, which will play on the school's morning TV show.

The report says the Northeast students learned about "appreciating differences, building communication skills and getting to know people from other groups."

E.C. :)

Western's Jazz Band needs our help

2009-03-20T11:23:00.002-04:00

Seems as though the Jazz Band at Western Guilford H.S. need our help in replenishing instruments and maintaining the overall upkeep of the band's equipment. Even the group's music stands are falling apart.

The band was profiled this morning on CBS-2 WFMY. See and read the story here.

Good luck to them.

E.C. :)

The calendar caper continues

2009-03-20T10:45:00.002-04:00

Bills are being introduced in the State House allowing local school districts to have more flexibility with creating school calendars; this in the wake of the recent public dog fight between Guilford County Schools and the state Department of Public Instruction over the district's calender and end-of-school-year make-up days that were added due to the snowstorm earlier in the month.

And it is still a point of controversy.

The latest...a LTTE in today's News & Record mentions the group Save Our Summers in advocating that the school calendar should not be toyed with.

Doug Clark, whose wife is a teacher, mentions in his N&R blog that local school boards should be in charge of their calendars, not Raleigh bureaucrats.

And while I also think school should not start in early August, I do think that it should be left up to local boards. In addition, I think our calendar is too dependent on low-stakes testing of our children (notice I didn't say high-stakes testing...because there's nothing high-stakes about it).

I welcome the debate also.

E.C. :)

Teacher choked at Northwest High, questions raised

2009-03-19T11:25:00.005-04:00

UPDATE FOLLOWS...

More questions than answers surround a terrible incident at Northwest Guilford High School earlier this month. News & Record reports that a female student was arrested yesterday after she allegedly choked EC teacher Laura Knox. According to arrest warrants, the article says an incident back on March 5 involved the student "choking Knox and clawing her neck with with her fingernails." The student was "also accused of knocking over a computer and desk, in addition to throwing property belonging to the teacher and other students."

The question I have is that why did it take so long to make an arrest? Some of the comments on this story point to the fact that the incident was at Northwest and it may have been swept under the rug. I contend whether it happened at Northwest or Northeast, kids shouldn't be choking teachers. But it does raise a questionable eyebrow.

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

UPDATE:

Remember this incident from almost two years ago:

http://erikhuey.wordpress.com/2007/04/30/studentteacher-confrontation-at-southeast-hs/

Similar circumstances?

E.C. :)

Hiring a math teacher, Part II

2009-03-18T11:33:00.002-04:00

Reaction seems to be mixed among you from yesterday's post. You can view those comments there.

I forwarded the link to selected members of the GCS Board and certain individuals within Central Office. I heard back from two Board members:

Paul Daniels:

I understand how one could be confused.
Keep up the good work! Paul

I also heard from Board member Garth Hebert, who writes:

Eric, hiring is at a stand still as we face layoff possibilities. I doubt much of anything is open and administrative staff that are teaching certified will get first shot at classroom positions in any reorganization of staffing. Mission possible schools are now the hardest to get into because of the premium we pay there.

It's a tad bit interesting in some respects because as of March 16, there were over 40 positions listed on the GCS Website, from curriculum specialists to central office staff.

Hiring freeze? Hmmmm...

Instincts would say that if there's a hiring freeze, shut the site down...and don't engage in false advertising. How much of your taxpayer money did GCS pay Yahoo to run that ad on Hot Jobs?

E.C. :)

Will someone please hire this math teacher?

2009-03-17T12:41:00.002-04:00

Scores of stories surrounding teacher layoffs from California to Charlotte, and now in Guilford County, is getting all of you off the arm-chair and over to the computer. You're angry and frustrated. I feel your pain.

What's more shocking is this local job ad from Yahoo's Hot Jobs:

THIRD LARGEST DISTRICT IN N.C.

More than 70,000 Students

nationally recognized, award winning public school district

committed to high achievement for all students

120 schools

great location-three hours to beach or the mountains

urban,suburban and small community schools

44 magnet schools featuring 50 programs

YOU"RE INVITED TO JOIN THE TEAM AT GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS

We are Looking for:

Teachers, Administrators and

Support Personnel

for 2009-10!

Guilford County Schools

712 N. Eugene St.

Greensboro, NC 27401

(336)370-8318

www.gcsnc.com

STRIVING.ACHIEVING.EXCELLING

So is GCS hiring or laying off? That's the question of the day.

You may remember me briefly mentioning my sister in law a few months ago; she's fully math-certified with two math degrees from Greensboro College and has a full teaching licensure. She's been looking for a math teaching job for almost three years. Her student-teaching record, squeaky-clean. Her Faberman screening, solid. And yet, she ponders and questions the motives of GCS, and questions the professionalism among administrators from both Central Office and in the field. One administrator even told her to send resumes to other counties in order to land employment.

Again, I'm intervening on her behalf.

Here's a letter she sent to GCS Supt. Mo Green recently:

Mr. Green,

My name is _______ and for the last year and a half I have been trying to obtain a position with Guilford County Schools. I am a graduate of Greensboro College with a degree in Mathematics/Math Education and earned my teaching license through the college, as well. I am licensed to teach at the high school and middle school levels. I have a current application on file and my personnel file is complete and in good standing.

I have applied to every math position posted but have had only a few interviews. I understand it is the principals who make the decision to follow-up on applications. What concerns me is the lack of professionalism I have found among the principals to whom I have sent letters of interest. The majority of the time I receive no response at all to any of my emails. I am frustrated and at a loss as to how I can begin my career helping the students of my community. I have recieved NO help from the central office. Instead, I am given excuses and the run around.

I find it extremely disappointing to hear those associated with GCS complaining about a lack of teachers when there are teachers trying to work in the county. Imagine my dismay when I discovered a Yahoo hot jobs ad created by GCS in an effort to recruit teachers! The teachers are already here, Mr. Green. We are willing, ready and able but we must first have the opportunity extended to us.

If it is the case that GCS does NOT want new teachers then this needs to be made clear to every university and college in the county. Hundreds enroll in their teaching programs and work hard just for the privilege of serving the students in this community. Had I known that GCS is resistent to hiring new teachers, I would have gone elsewhere to earn my teaching license, as would many of others. However, I have lived in Guilford County for 25 years and was led to believe that a teaching license would provide me a chance to work within the area I call home.

Any advice or comments from you would be most welcome and appreciated. Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your response.

It is preposterous that we can even ponder layoffs or run job ads (pardon the mass confusion, I don't know what the heck GCS is doing, hiring or laying off) when we have out-of-work teachers, ready to go into the classroom.

There are even schools now asking parents to make contributions in order to SAVE TEACHING JOBS! Where have we gone wrong? See this incredible story from the Orlando Sentinel, where an elementary school principal has asked for donations in order to save teaching jobs.

And when we have governors allegedly promising the world for education while schools are laying off teachers, taxes are on the rise, and tax refunds are delayed, I question our so-called leaders and their motives.

No math teacher should be out of work in this county. Not one.

My sister in law also said this morning:

...there are plenty of newly licensed teacher from area schools but if GCS and others don't want to hire them it would be smarter to go to another state and earn the degree...

...I know it's not just me having issues. I went to school with some good people who really care and want to be a part of the process to help the children...

Principals, administrators, GCS; you have the power. And you know this blog has power. Please contact me if you're interested in hiring this math teacher: guilfordschoolwatch@gmail.com

E.C. :)

Standardized tests still driving our schools

2009-03-16T13:41:00.002-04:00

It's sad that it has taken another chaotic incident, such as last week's calendar mess, to realize that standardized, high-stakes tests are still driving our schools.

The proverbial question seems to abound lately...what to do with our children after these high-stakes tests have concluded.

School board member Dr. Nancy Routh ponders, in a N&R article over the weekend:

“We make such a big deal out of testing that we act as if anything that comes after testing is of no use,” she said.

When she was a teacher, Routh used those days after exams to go more in-depth with subjects that are important but maybe didn’t carry as much weight on the exam.

...which begs the question...is anything being taught these days that doesn't have a standardized test attached to it? Or am I the only one that has a problem with this?

Obviously not, according to your letters to the editor in the N&R:

I applaud the school board’s decision to stand up to the Department of Public Instruction regarding the proposed makeup days in June. However, a couple of things in the March 11 article bother me.

School board members “argued that if having makeup days is truly about making up lost education, then the makeup days should occur before end-of-course exams.” From this, can I assume that any school days beyond the end-of-grade testing are of no educational value? It would seem so. (Or is that yes, it really is all about the tests?) Second, dear school board, please do not seek to start earlier in the year. Since when are the days of June any more sacred that the sweltering days of August?

Denise B. Young
Browns Summit
***************************

Illiterati said:

School attendance after the EOGs does indeed seem to be the crux of the issue, which points to exactly how much these standardized tests have become the point of attending school at all. Get the kids to pass the tests, receive funding, rinse, repeat. Our neighbors' kids tell us every spring that once the EOG tests are finished, all they do in school is play games and, if they raised enough through the various candy sales, have all-school carnivals. Funding education with our tax dollars hardly seems like a good investment anymore.

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

mamaboilermaker said:

Since the sole purpose of school is for kids to pass EOGs and make administrators look good why not immediately double promote/graduate all students who score 80% or above? Get them out faster, reduce overcrowding, preserve resources for those kids who still can't read or do arithmetic? If, indeed, nothing else matters but EOGs, that would be a logical course of action.

Frankly, the brightest students would probably be better off heading to college early and not wasting any more time on state tests.

Oops! I forgot. You need those bright students to stay in high school, bored out of their minds, in order to pull up the average scores for each school. If you allow them to escape and get a real education, that will leave only the struggling students and the taxpayers might find out that a frightening number of them have not experienced success in the government-controlled system.

They're not robots, they're not test scores, they're children. And I look forward to the day that we get beyond this test-driven insanity and get back to what school is really about.

E.C. :)

Analyzing the calendar mess

2009-03-13T11:59:00.002-04:00

One thing's for sure...you've got to admit that this week's public calendar squabble between your Board of Education and DPI became very public and very ugly. GCS may have had the last word, but no one walked away with a true victory here.

If anything, this shows a strong need for changes...and fast. If I were on the board, I would be calling for a special called meeting to discuss this subject and reopen the calendar issue. Because something clearly didn't work right.

The Rhino Times has a very nice rollup on this week's events leading up to yesterday, when DPI decided to back off and let GCS add those makeup school days at the end of the year.

I particularly am fond of this snippet:

School board Chairman Alan Duncan, as he has for several years, voted against this year's calendar, saying it would leave Guilford County Schools with no maneuvering room if it did snow. He was right.

"The reason I've done it is exactly because of this," Duncan said. "We shouldn't be at all surprised that we are exactly here."

"Here" is in a pickle – playing chicken with the state, its main source of funding, with no option but to enrage parents by, one way or another, scheduling school on days for which families already have vacation or travel plans.

Playing chicken with the state clearly did not go over well with the citizens of Guilford County, as evidenced in some of these letters to the editor in today's N&R:

Congratulations to the Guilford County school board. What a wonderful example you are making to your students, staff and the community at large. We don’t like the state rules; therefore, we will ignore them. The date of June 10 for the last day of school was set in state law by the Legislature. Saying the law does not apply to us is like telling the highway patrolman, “Sure I was doing 80 in a 65, but so were others; therefore, it’s OK.”
Shame, shame, shame.

Richard Schroer
Oak Ridge

**********************************
This from a middle school teacher:

MSTeacher said:

As an 8 year veteran of middle school teaching, it is pointless to have kids in school so long after testing and retesting has taken place. With the mandated start and end dates, it is already difficult to encourage and inspire enthusiasm in test-weary kids to "go to the next level" for two weeks! It is difficult to do that from August to test day..I mean May...Making up days at the end of the year, as others have already said, won't make up for the instruction students need before their AP Exams, EOCs and EOGs. When my eighth graders asked me why they couldn't make up days on Saturdays or take one from Spring Break, I told them that that decision was above my pay grade.

On top of that, these make up days will eat up the teacher workdays--that we have to make up as well! Consider this...If I worked on the snow days that were optional work days for me, should I have to come on those make up days? Should I have to use any of my earned leave time if I don't?

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

And Guilford County's own Joe Stafford sounds off:

We are very fortunate to have Alan Duncan as the chairman of the school board. Although his motion was defeated, he wanted to have the snow makeup days prior to graduation and exams. He always supports what is in the best interest of educating our students. He gives priority to giving our students what they need rather than what their parents consider convenient or popular. We would all be better off if the superintendent, other board members and the citizens of Guilford County paid more attention to what he said. He is the best chairman the consolidated district has ever had.

Joe Stafford
Greensboro

**********************************
While I'm not exactly ready to sing praises of Alan Duncan, I will say that the ball was clearly dropped here. You have DPI setting the rules on calendars, then backpedaling on its own rules; you have GCS trying to abide by the state initially, then setting a fine example for our children by deciding to thumb their nose at the state, you also have a district who can't seem to create a calendar without controversy. You have gung-ho, test-driven DPI who demands state tests be given on specific days, and will strong-arm you if you don't. You have a state that says school must start by a certain date and end by a certain date, and laughs at the mere thought of local control being given to a school system.

And newsflash...gee, how do other districts create calendars...and seem to do it so well? It does snow in North Carolina in the winter.

This fight isn't over, in fact, it is just beginning. If I were Paul Daniels or Belton or Hebert, or Garrett, I would call a special meeting, hold hearings, do something. Yank the current calendar, start over, make doggone sure all I's are dotted, all T's are crossed. Because what happened this week was nothing short of a public distraction.

Borderline embarrassing, if you will. But embarrassing is Guilford County's middle name.

E.C. :)

Garrett hints at teacher layoffs within GCS

2009-03-12T13:43:00.002-04:00

Big meeting today between GCS Supt. Mo Green and Guilford County Commissioners on the forthcoming budget. Grim news coming from Raleigh (via N&R):

[Gov.] Perdue’s office has warned school systems to prepare from anywhere between a 3-7 percent budget decrease. That would mean Guilford County could lose between $10.8 million and $23.7 million in state funding.

That's a major hit, folks. Major, indeed. And consider this:

School officials said if those cuts occur teacher job cuts would be almost unavoidable, even with the cuts in other areas they are already considering. Some of those job loses could be absorbed through attrition but how many would depend on the depth of the budget cuts, Green said.

“To get up into $20 million its' going to be people, it's going to be teachers,” said school board member Darlene Garrett.

This is unfortunate.

E.C. :)

Score: GCS 1, DPI 0

2009-03-12T13:35:00.002-04:00

This just in to GSW...DPI has retreated in its thinly-veiled threat to Guilford County Schools, and will allow the district to make up its lost school days due to the recent snowstorm at the end of the school year.

More from N&R.

Unnecessary drama.

E.C. :)

Despite Perdue's "plans" for education, statewide cuts will be stinging and painful

2009-03-12T11:41:00.003-04:00

(via CLT Observer)

Pictures like this don't prove to me one bit that Gov. Perdue is serious about public education in this state.

I mean, I'll give her kudos that she's re-jigging the top spots when it comes to overseeing public education. But it seems as though that's where my support ends.

How can she possibly be serious in one aspect, with all kinds of grandiose plans, and then have school systems laying off teachers, such as the Charlotte-area teachers pictured above, protesting over proposed teacher layoffs?

How can this Governor be serious about public education, when Wake County Schools, in the Capitol's own backyard, may not re-sign over 1,000 instructor contracts for next year?

How can this Governor be serious about public education when textbooks are being delayed, magnet programs are being cut....I can go on and on.

And we can debate the success rate/failure rate of GCS programs that are on the chopping block here for days (we have, in the past...and we've said here that some programs work, many do not)...we can debate the merits of keeping overpaid administrators on the payroll, while sacrificing teachers (remember, Mark Jewell reiterated this week that many of those teachers hold part-time jobs on the side to help make ends meet).

There's no merit debate in laying off a teacher. None.

But it means nothing if we have a Governor talking out of both sides of her mouth. And as usual, our children suffer at the hands of Raleigh bureaucrats.

E.C. :)

State education officials to meet regarding calendar controversy

2009-03-11T15:33:00.002-04:00

More on the calendar controversy...GCS told the state to go to hell last night, instead, the state plans to go to the meeting table, tomorrow.

N&R:

State education officials will meet Thursday to discuss what to do now that the Guilford County school board has said it will not change its scheduled snow make-up days.

Andrew Cox, an official with the state Department of Public Instruction, said the state associate superintendent and state school board chairman will meet tomorrow morning in Raleigh to discuss what to do about the matter.

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

E.C. :)

Former board candidate Mike Stone weighs in on calendar controversy

2009-03-11T15:05:00.002-04:00

More on the calendar controversy...former GCS Board candidate Mike Stone, unsuccessful in his bid to unseat Dist. 3 Board member Darlene Garrett this past fall, tells Guilford School Watch today:

Bad call last night. It's not so much about an arbitrary start and end
date for the school year enacted by Raleigh, but it's about the education
process. Amos hit the nail on the head... adding days to the end of a
school year (after EOG testing and exams are over) is simply putting in the
time. There's no instructional value to adding 3 days to the end of the
year. It would be more educationally advantageous to have made up the days
by giving up part of the spring break.

If I recall correctly, the school board agreed to use spring break as make
up days when they were developing this year's calendar. So the school
board makes a decision - hoping they won't have to enforce it - and when it
becomes necessary, they cave in and penalize the students' academic
opportunities. The school board simply decided to take the easy way out by
meeting the letter of the law in the number of instructional days rather
than show leadership and do what the board agreed to do earlier in the
year.

Now that said, I don't think there's any teeth in the law that says you
can't teach past June 10th. I can't imagine there will be any ramifications for going past the cut off date.

At least there's nothing written that says, "if you teach past 6/10 then we'll do... fill in the blank." There are enough loopholes in the law to allow school districts to make local decisions, and weather related incidents are one of them. I
don't expect anything to come of this situation.
************************
Good points, Mike.

E.C. :)

Board member Hebert responds to calendar controversy

2009-03-11T14:52:00.001-04:00

More on the calendar controversy...GCS Board member Garth Hebert tells the N&R Chalkboard:

Garth said:

Over a year ago the Board published proposed schedule, debated proposed schedule, revised proposed schedule, published for public comment, revised for comments and then approved. A year later, a little more snow and following what Board, teachers and public came up with is all wrong. Yes, I agree it is wrong, it is poor legislation (caused by School Boards who all hade various and sundry ideas of scheduling and had run amuck, Guilford included), poor testing rules, an inconsistent Block/traditional calendar system in our county and a fickle public/voter base.

Now, let’s review next year’s calendar again, why not, public had chance to input, teachers and administrators input, Board input…GIGO all over again and we expect what? Sadly, I look in the mirror and ask “now what was the definition of insanity?”. I voted for something a bit less realistic, consistency, we (Board) made commitment, public and staff had every reason to believe we would honor commitment (yes commitment to drive off cliff argument has merit) and if I believed cliff was ahead I would have had to change commitment, I can’t see cliff…sure hope someone with better eyesight comes along.
************************
E.C. :)

Situation at Eastern Middle/High?

2009-03-11T14:03:00.003-04:00

GSW is learning via a N&R Chalkboard posting that something's happening over at Eastern Middle and High:

Parent said:

Anyone know what it going on at Eastern Guilford?

All students....middle and high are in the
stadium and all lunches were cancelled.

Anyone know anything?

E.C. :)

No more year-round schools?

2009-03-11T12:51:00.002-04:00

Busy day in school-ville...this just in to GSW that GCS year-round schools may be on the chopping block, such as Hampton Academy (shown).

N&R reports GCS chief Mo Green is looking at how returning some or all of the year-round schools in the county back to a regular calendar might save the school system money.

Is this part of the grandiose strategic plan, or is this simply to satisfy Skip?

E.C. :)

IT workers cut at GCS

2009-03-11T10:33:00.002-04:00

Information technology workers inside Guilford County Schools are being told their department numbers will be cut, and they're also being told to reapply for their old jobs back...geez!

Last night's Board meeting coverage continues...News & Record reports the IT department will be cut from 14 employees to five under a proposed organizational plan. Five IT employees for the entire Guilford County School system.

There's something about this that stinks. Five employees for more than 100 GCS facilities? Come on, guys...think a little bit on this one, will ya???

Local bloggers Sue Polinsky and Roch Smith, both of whom are local IT professionals, have choice words about this issue.

Sue:

We hear a lot about “the schools” acting more “like business.” I can’t imagine a business expecting to survive (let alone move forward) and decimating its IT support staff. Better hope nothing breaks. No viruses. No malware. No crashed hard drives. No new machines need installing. Ever. You want data from “the schools?” Sorry, you’re out of luck.

Roch:

Yesterday, however, GCS took two actions that I fear will be a detriment to students and appear to misplace priorities. While the school board approved a plan to create "regional superintendents," GCS announced it is cutting its IT staff from fourteen to five.

Five? Cutting the tech staff to the bone while making the system more top-heavy at the same time doesn't seem wise.
************************
E.C. :)

Board member Daniels responds to calendar controversy

2009-03-11T10:22:00.002-04:00

More on the calendar controversy...GCS Board member Paul Daniels tells the N&R Chalkboard:

...Time after eogs and eocs is just "fluff" time to meet the 180 day requirement. We need to have our make up days before the testing, not after it, to allow our students to get the most out of the time at school. I don't know if you watched the BOE meeting last night, but there were several proposals to use spring break, Memorial Day, Saturdays, etc. as make up days, all of which failed to garner enough votes to pass.

With Alan's leadership I think that the Board will fix this chronic problem once and for all by ensuring that all makeup days occur prior to the last day of school. Hopefully this is the last year that we have to deal with this problem.

On the issue of the letter from DPI, speaking for myself only, I think that it would be silly for DPI to try to enforce what it believes the law to be, for at least two reasons. First, I think that their interpretation of the law is wrong. Secondly, it would be a very unwise use of time and money. Let's hope that cooler heads prevail.

Best regards,

Paul Daniels

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

I agree, in theory, but it would also be a case of lobbying DPI to give school calendar control back to the local boards so that they can craft their own calendars. It may take an act by our General Assembly to do just that, but we may need to start talking about it.

E.C. :)

School Board tells state to go to hell, Belton questions legitimacy of DPI

2009-03-11T08:20:00.004-04:00

Good ole'fashioned theater at a school board meeting creates good blogs...this is no different.

Apparently, there's now a school calendar controversy, and it is creating chaos down on Eugene Street as school brass go back to the drawing board with next year's calendar; this following a stinging rebuke by DPI officials telling GCS that the District is breaking state law if it mandates sending kids to school after June 10.

Will they be handcuffed? Bail amounts? Let the jokes start flying...because, my friends, this is ridiculous.

Let's recap...the makeup days were instituted following last week's late-season snowstorm, which closed schools for two days straight. Because of the nature of this year's calendar, makeup days built in at the end of year were now in play, they were previously end-of-year teacher workdays, which are usually reserved for final grades, classroom clean-outs, and end of year shut-downs.

Reports surfaced late yesterday, according to the News & Record, that DPI sent a letter to GCS, informing them that the end of year makeup days are out of compliance.

The issue took center stage at last night's Board meeting, with Chairman Alan Duncan accusing DPI of crafting the rules that created this mess in the first place, and Board member Jeff Belton accusing DPI of being illegitimate.

N&R:

Duncan said the school system finds itself in the position because the Department of Public Instruction supported a bill pushed by tourism lobbyists that restricted school calendars.

"DPI supported that, DPI did that, DPI is not looking out for our students," Duncan said.

Paul LeSieur, DPI's School Business Department director, said school boards can extend the school year beyond June 10, if they have no other options.

Board member Jeff Belton questioned LeSieur's authority to even write the letter, calling it an "illegitimate opinion."

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

DPI has NEVER looked out for your children; that office is about as broken as a three dollar bill; are you just now finding this out, Mr. Chairman?

More from the article:

Students currently are not scheduled for class on March 30, a teacher workday, April 13-17, for spring break, and May 25, Memorial Day. LeSieur said students also can attend class on Saturday.
**********************

Take a note from Alamance County, in which their students this past Saturday were in school. Matter of fact, that system reported an 82 percent attendance rate for Saturday classes, according to the Burlington Times-News:

...Alamance-Burlington School System spokeswoman Caron Myers said the attendance rate for Saturday's make-up day was 82 percent.

"I was talking to an algebra teacher (Saturday) and she said she had a 100 percent rate in her class," Myers said. "She said she couldn't remember having a 100 percent rate before."

That's a high percentage rate considering the day and the weather.

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

But Saturday classes may not fly with the rank-and-file in Guilford County.

GCAE head Mark Jewell tells the N&R:

"I don't think Saturday is going to be a viable option," said Mark Jewell, president of the Guilford County Association of Educators.

Jewell said Saturday is a day of worship for several faiths and many teachers work second jobs on the weekend. He said he sees little option other than taking days from spring break.

*****************************
So it all goes back to how we got ourselves in this mess...and how it can be prevented in the future?

I think part of the answer should be letting school systems decide their calendars, not DPI, not bureaucrats in Raleigh, and definitely not lobbyists for the state's lagging tourism industry mandating when our children should be in school and when they shouldn't. This is a case here where local control works best, not Raleigh bureaucrats.

N&R:

Should the school system decide not to comply it would be the first incidence of this, according to LeSieur. The ramifications of which aren't clear.

"We've not had a school district that's not complied, but if they did (not comply) we'd have to take that to the state board," LeSieur said.

LeSieur said Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and McDowell County Schools are being presented with the same letter as well as a third school system he could not recall.

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

This one even stumped paid-by-the-hour attorney Jill Wilson, who suspects the state has no case.

N&R:

School board attorney Jill Wilson said state law is too vague on the matter.

"There's no clear guidance on the statute," Wilson said. She added the state has not issued the same letter to other area school systems operating on similar calendars, including Rockingham County, which Wilson also represents - and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.

The state statute provides that, "A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or instructional time."

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

And then the other angle...what drives the days at the end of the year? Exams...yep, it's all about those EOCs/EOGs/high stakes tests. And yes, it was a bone of contention during a heated vote.

N&R:

Several motions were made, remade, failed and withdrawn before the board agreed on the motion. The motion to leave the makeup days as they are failed originally but won after board members Deena Hayes and Carlvena Foster changed their votes to support it.

Board Chairman Alan Duncan, Vice Chairman Amos Quick and board member Sandra Alexander voted against the motion. They argued that if having makeup days is truly about making up lost education then the make up days should occur prior to end of course exams. Makeup days, as scheduled by the board last fall, that would meet this criteria would be the last three days of spring break — April 15-17.

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

Will the testing schedule be changed? State law mandates precisely when these high stakes tests must be administered, almost down to the hour.

And seeing some of the preliminary comments on the N&R will almost certainly provide fuel to this debate, for this one is not over:

If we have to make up those dates in a different manner, I think that the way Burlington-Alamance County handled the make-up days would be the best for most families...

...The way it falls this year, most companies use Good Friday (this is the Friday before Easter) as a Holiday, and the GCS is scheduled to be in class. Why can't the School Board do anything right?...

...I personally am a teacher, and many teachers have plans for spring break too, so you can count on a lot of subs in the buildings if that is what is forced by the state...

...Extending school to June 15 means bringing back on Monday after a weekend. If EOC's are completed on Friday, June 12, then this will be a wasted day.

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

Stay tuned...

E.C. :)

Regionalism to be discussed

2009-03-09T13:12:00.002-04:00

School brass will discuss, among other things, the plan to reorganize academic services under the proposed Strategic Plan's reorganization scheme at tomorrow evening's GCS Board meeting (more from the N&R here).

A larger "Sunday" piece that appeared in yesterday's N&R waxed poetic on how a similar plan seems to be working quite well in Charlotte. And while I'm hearted at the plan, time will tell if another Charlotte plan can work here...and if the money can be provided for it to succeed here.

Added to that, this was an interesting tidbit from the article:

Some Charlotte-Mecklenburg officials praise the regional superintendent system as well.

School board member Trent Merchant said the regional system has improved communication with families and communities, getting both the support they need.

But, he said, it is not a cure-all.

"Test scores aren't going up," he said. "You aren't going to save money. It'll probably cost you more money."

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

More money...Skip's not going to like that!

E.C. :)

Fire at Cone this morning

2009-03-06T11:14:00.003-05:00

N&R reports a bathroom fire at Cone Elementary School this morning caused a building evacuation. Thankfully, no injuries and no structural damage. GSO fire officials are treating the incident as suspicious.

E.C. :)

DPI mega-report released

2009-03-06T11:05:00.002-05:00

Your state Department of Public Instruction reports crime, violence, long-term suspensions and expulsions are up in our state's public schools...oh joy. This from DPI's first and newly-consolidated data report on school crime, violence, suspensions, expulsions and drop-out rates.

DPI:

While there were few statewide patterns concerning school district performance in all three areas, the report noted that ninth grade males are the group at highest risk for dropping out, being suspended or expelled and for committing acts of crime or violence at school.

Yadkin County was the only school district to have low rates for all three measures. Five school districts - Clay County, Mount Airy City, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City, Elkin City and Cherokee County - were on two of the three top 10 lists in terms of districts with the best performance in all three reporting areas.

"We know that there often is a relationship between crime and violence incidents, suspensions and expulsions and high school dropouts," said State Superintendent June Atkinson. "By consolidating the reports that look at each area, we hope that we can better understand how to efficiently address student needs and help more students stay in school and be successful. It is important for all education leaders to examine our policies to be sure none of them have the unintended consequence of encouraging students to drop out."

Sounds as though a summit needs to be convened to discuss the status of ninth graders.

E.C. :)

Kindly report any posting problems

2009-03-04T14:10:00.001-05:00

Cross-posted on GreensboroMetro, Guilford School Watch and Triad Media Watch:

It has been brought to my attention that some of you may be encountering problems with posting comments on my blog(s). To this end, I will be sending out test comments over the next day or so. If you have had problems posting to me or anyone else on the Blogger network, please let me know. My forums are uncensored and unfiltered, so your comments should be posting okay. Nonetheless, I want to know if anyone else has had any problems.

Thanks,

E.C. :)

Mo defends late decision to delay/cancel classes

2009-03-04T12:59:00.002-05:00

GCS chief Mo Green tells the News & Record the late decision to delay school by two hours this morning and to wait until the last minute to cancel classes the last two days is "is in line with how we have typically handled these decisions in the past."

N&R:

Green said he understands how Guilford County parents could wonder why an early decision didn't happen here. He reiterated he wanted students to have a full day of class, especially after missing the last two days, but also to ensure their safety.

"I hope they will appreciate we're trying to make the best decision," he said.

I still think we can perform better in this department.

E.C. :)

Another day...another school delay

2009-03-04T10:09:00.002-05:00

The call went out shortly before 5:30am this morning to delay the start of school by two hours in Guilford County today. As usual, GC was the LAST to make its call. Other area systems made their calls before 10pm last night.

It's getting irritating, GCS. You know doggone well the roads are going to freeze overnight. With the melted snow runoff and at overnight temps hovering around 10 degrees, it isn't rocket science.

GCS must do a better job in this department.

E.C. :)

Saturday School?

2009-03-04T09:52:00.002-05:00

Hey...we could be Alamance County, where their children will have to make up one of their snow days this Saturday. And it's drawing a mixed reaction across the area.

Burlington Times-News:

Superintendent Randy Bridges said having school on Saturday avoids using a day of spring break as a make-up day. He said some students' families have already made travel plans for the break.

While holding school on Saturday may not be convenient for everyone, the school system has limited choices. Bridges noted that state law does not allow students to be in school more than five days a week. Between now and the end of the school year, he said, there are three potential make-up days that would allow the school system to meet that requirement. Bypassing one of those days is a bad idea, he said, "because we don't know what the future holds weather-wise."

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

E.C. :)

Yet another snow day

2009-03-03T12:21:00.002-05:00

For the second day in a row, students across Guilford County received an unscheduled day off...and the school year just got another day longer. The last day of school now stands at Monday, June 15.

But one thing that bears noticing...why Guilford County has been the last major area system to call off school over the past two days.

When Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and other small systems reported their Monday closures fairly early in the evening on Sunday, Guilford did not publicly call off school until late in the evening Sunday. Same thing last night...when many others made their calls during the 7pm and 8pm hour, Guilford made the call after 11pm.

Snow days are great for the kids, but they're a pain on the grown-ups, especially those who need to plan alternate arrangements at the last minute.

It's understandable when weather conditions deteriorate overnight and it is not forecasted, and the call must be made before 5am. But it is something different when it is known ahead of time that conditions will be poor and other systems make their call early in the evening the night before.

Just my $.02.

E.C. :)

I support more charter schools...why doesn't Jeffus?

2009-03-01T16:48:00.002-05:00

Rep. Maggie Jeffus (D-Guilford) does not support additional charter schools.

This from today's News & Record, where she's on the record in opposing lifting the cap on the numbers of charters operating in the state.

News & Record:

State law limits to 100 the number of charter schools, which are funded by tax dollars but are run by private boards. That reflects a certain legislative ambivalence toward the schools, which were created under a 1996 law but never fully embraced by the General Assembly's top voices on education.

Despite Obama's call to increase funding and "help create new, high-quality charter schools," N.C. lawmakers remain cautious.

"I don't, at this point in time, support raising the cap on the number of charter schools," said Rep. Maggie Jeffus , a Guilford County Democrat and former teacher who is involved in education policy in the General Assembly. She said some charters she had visited had excellent programs, but others struggled to keep pace with expectations in academics and management.

Maybe it's me, but I support more charters. There's a market for charters. There's a market for private education. There's a market for home school education. A little competition will only make our public schools better in the long run. And our children will be winners in the long run.

N&R:

Leanne Winner, a lobbyist for the N.C. School Boards Association, says charter schools sap resources from the state that could be used to help public school systems.

How about Raleigh sapping resources from its schools back to its wallet? The money school districts across the state had to send back to cover its "shortfall" recently? This argument holds no water.

E.C. :)

Mo doesn't want 'mo money

2009-02-27T08:54:00.003-05:00

GCS Supt. Mo Green told a stunned school board last night not to give him any more money. He rejected any discussion of a pay raise, noting "the troubled economy would make his raise a hardship for the schools system," according to today's News & Record.

N&R:

“I don’t believe I should be eligible for that given this point,” Green said.

The school board unanimously approved his request.

Green got thank yous from several board members, including Darlene Garrett who voted for another candidate for the superintendent position last year.

“I obviously voted for the wrong person,” Garrett said.

Speechless...is the reaction I have. For too long, GCS has had to deal with the status quo. But even though Green is still earning my trust (and has a little ways to go), he's making a good deal of strides in the right direction.

This is a move in the right direction.

E.C. :)