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Recognitions

GCS Volunteer of the Month for August 2009
The board recognized Susan Tysinger, volunteer at Page High, as the GCS Volunteer of the Month for August 2009. She helped to establish an alumni association at Page, one of only a handful in the state. In addition, contributions to the Master Athletic Capital Plan have exceeded $35,000 under her leadership. She supports four annual student scholarships, as well as two annual staff development scholarships.

Consent Agenda
The board approved the following items on the consent agenda:

• Meeting Minutes
• Personnel Action Reports
• Contractual Agreement with Barnhill/Vannoy for Pre-Construction Services at Southeast Middle and High School
• NCDOT Three Party Right of Way Encroachment Agreement and Two (2) NCDOT Two Party Right of Way Encroachment Agreements Affecting the Southeast Middle School and Southeast High School Properties
• NCDOT Three Party Right of Way Encroachment Agreement and NCDOT Two Party Right of Way Encroachment Agreement affecting the Alamance Elementary School Property
• Contractual Agreement with Morganti/Horus for Pre-Construction Services at Northwest Middle and High School
• Contractual Agreement with New Atlantic Contracting, Inc. for Phase 3B – Jamestown Middle School
• Contractual Agreement with New Atlantic Contracting, Inc. for Phase 1 Site and Building Packages at Meredith Leigh Haynes – Bennie Lee Inman Education Center

Staff Reports
Consideration for Naming of the Northeast High School Gymnasium
The board approved to post the name “John Primm Gymnasium” for the Northeast High gymnasium on the GCS Web site for a 30-day public comment period.

John Primm has been a positive role model for Northeast students for 37 years. He was a teacher, coach and athletic director at Northeast Middle and High schools. While teaching Advanced Placement (AP) American History and AP European History for more than 20 years at Northeast High, his students consistently passed the national AP exams, scoring a three or better. His students have won state and national awards in the National History Day competition.

As a coach, his teams have been to the conference championships and state playoffs. He has been honored as conference coach of the year and for the past four years he served as commissioner of the 3A Athletic Conference.

Consideration for the Renaming of Madison Elementary School
The board approved to table the discussion on the renaming of Madison Elementary until more information can be gathered about the history of the school’s name.

Opening of Schools Update
Eric Becoats, chief administrative officer, presented to the board an update on the first day of school. Some of the highlights include the following:

• The district provided professional development to hundreds of teachers to prepare for the start of the school year.
• Only two teaching positions, a math and a science position, needed to be filled at the start of school due to resignations. The district is working to fill those vacancies quickly.
• The projected enrollment was 71,079, while the actual enrollment for day 2 was 68,111. The shortfall is not unusual, and the enrollment will likely rise to the projected amount by day 10 when the district must provide information to the state.
• Buses were serviced in preparation for the first day of school. Changes for the start of the school year include the consolidation of 20 percent of bus stops and the Oak Ridge Elementary hub system, both of which are operating smoothly.
• Maintenance completed painting, flooring, paving, installation of camera systems, roofing and HVAC improvements in several schools.
• The district served 1,112 more breakfasts and 1,826 more lunches on this year’s first day than last year.

Oak Ridge Elementary School Update
Angelo Kidd, Western Region superintendent, and Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, presented to the board an update regarding Oak Ridge Elementary. Plan B operations for students to attend class in multiple locations due to repairs being made at their school building are running smoothly. Parents have provided positive feedback about the operation of the plan, including the transportation hub system between Northwest Middle, Oak Ridge Military Academy and Colfax Elementary.

Work continues in the Oak Ridge Elementary facility. The district expects to receive an update from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) soon. Turner Building Science and Design, LLC continues to work with the district to develop protocols for the scope of work. Carpet removal should be complete by early September and roof repairs continue.

The Facilities department is working closely with Financial Services to track the cost of the repairs. As direction from Turner continues, it is not yet known if the amount budgeted by the board will cover the complete cost of the recommended repairs.

Construction Update
Andy LaRowe, director of facilities and construction management, presented to the board an update on the district’s construction projects. All of the district’s 2008 bond projects are on schedule and within budget. While construction is mostly occurring at the new Jamestown Middle facility, preliminary work has started for many of the other projects. Building Advisory Teams have been formed and are meeting regularly.

Low Performing Schools Update
Beth Folger, chief academic officer, presented to the board an update on the district’s 10 low performing schools. School districts must develop improvement plans for schools designated as low-performing by the state’s ABCs of Public Education. Low performing schools are those that failed to meet their expected growth standards and have less than 50 percent of their students' scores at or above Achievement Level III.

The 10 schools that have been identified as low performing are Fairview Elementary, Gillespie Park Elementary, Hampton Leadership Academy, Oak Hill Elementary, Montlieu Math and Science Academy, Parkview Elementary, Hairston Middle, Andrews High, Dudley High and Eastern High.

The improvement plans for low performing schools will be open for public comment by school staff and parents through Sept. 18. Afterwards, the plans will be revised and presented to the board on Sept. 24 for approval.

Continued 2009-10 Budget Discussion
The board approved the following three changes to the 2009-10 budget:

• An increase in funding to $338,458.62 for the AP test 50/25/25 model. This model was approved by the board at the Aug. 11 meeting, but the amount of funding was adjusted.
• The addition of a minimum of 20 additional teacher positions to account for 10th and 20th day class size adjustments.
• Reinstatement of funding for PSAT tests. Funding for only 10th-grade testing was approved in the superintendent’s budget. The district will now test 11th-graders in 2009-10 as well.

An additional $4.9 million remains to be allocated. District staff will bring more recommendations before the board at upcoming meetings.

SAT Update
Eric Becoats, chief administrative officer, presented to the board an update on preliminary SAT results. Scores released by the College Board show a slight decrease among 2009 Guilford County Schools (GCS) graduates, but scores for 11 of the district’s schools improved.

Following state and national trends, the district’s mean score on the combined Critical Reading, Math and Writing sections decreased six points from 1471 in 2008 to 1465 in 2009. The North Carolina mean decreased three points and the national mean decreased two points. The combined mean score on the traditional Critical Reading and Math sections fell to 988, a three-point decrease from 2008.

While participation increased at six district schools, the participation rate among GCS students was lower overall. With 316 fewer test takers, participation decreased 7.1 percent, down from 65.6 percent in 2008 to 58.5 percent.

SAT performance among select schools and students remained outstanding. Three GCS students earned perfect scores of 1600 on the combined Critical Reading and Math sections. Thirteen students scored a perfect 800 in Critical Reading, nine had perfect scores in Math, and four had perfect scores in Writing.

Seven schools had higher total scores than the national average of 1509. Three schools improved both their mean scores and their student participation rates.

Board Discussion
Selection of Voting Delegates for the North Carolina School Board Association (NCSBA) Conference
The board approved to send Sandra Alexander to the NCSBA conference on Nov. 16-18 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The board is eligible to have four members serve as voting delegates at the conference, but the board approved to send only one member this year.

Recognition of High Point City Schools Integration
The board approved a resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the integration of the High Point City Schools. The resolution will be presented in honor of sisters Brenda and Lyn Fountain, the first African-American students to attend an integrated High Point school, during a reception at High Point Central High on Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.

Governance Review Committee Update - Report on Policy JI, Student Participation in Interscholastic Athletics
The board approved the adoption of Policy JI, Student Participation in Interscholastic Athletics. The policy sets eligibility standards for interscholastic athletics based on GCS rules and rules established by the N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

In addition to NCHSAA academic requirements, GCS students will be required to have a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 to participate in athletics. This will be phased in, with students being required to earn a 1.5 GPA in 2009-10 and then a 2.0 GPA in 2010-11.

The policy also defines a “base school” for students for the purpose of athletic participation according to their domicile or administrative assignment determined by GCS. Prior to participating in sports each year, students and their parents will be required to complete a residence verification form as proof of domicile. Cases of alleged impropriety related to a student’s residence will be investigated by an Athletic Eligibility Committee and students who are improperly enrolled will lose athletic eligibility for a period of up to 365 days.

Legislative Committee Update
Board member Kris Cooke presented an update on the Legislative Committee and the board’s legislative agenda.

Guilford County Board of Education meetings are broadcast live on GCSTV 2 (cable channel 2) and also online at http://www.gcsnc.com/depts/gcstv2/gcstv2live.htm. The meetings re-air the day after the meeting at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the Saturday following the meeting at 1 p.m.