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Recognitions

GCS Employee of the Month for October 2009
The board recognized Jackie Burney, assistant principal at Oak Ridge Elementary School, as the October 2009 Employee of the Month.

GCS Volunteer of the Month for October 2009
The board recognized Paul Farrar, volunteer at Allen Jay Elementary, as the October 2009 Volunteer of the Month.

Dudley High Step Team Recognized on Nationally Televised Program
The board recognized Dudley’s male step team, known as UMOJA, for winning $5,000 on national television after competing on BET’s 106 & Park in a segment called “Wild-Out Wednesday.”

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

1. Personnel Reports
2. 2008-09 Budget Amendments and Transfers Report
3. 2009-10 Budget Resolution
4. Approval to Submit Application for GoldenLEAF Opportunities for Work in Aerospace Manufacturing Grant sponsored by the GoldenLEAF Foundation
5. Praylor Construction Company, Inc. Bid Withdrawal for the Southern Middle School Auditorium and Athletic Field Improvements

Staff Reports

Public Hearing and Approval for the Naming of the New Northeast High School Gymnasium
The board voted to name the gymnasium at Northeast High after a longtime educator and faculty member. The Northeast gym is now called the John Primm Gymnasium.

A veteran in the Northeast community, Primm started at Northeast Junior High in 1972. Since then, he has served as a history teacher, mentor, coach and athletic director. Primm moved to Northeast High in 1981. For more than 20 years, he taught AP U.S. History and AP European History. He was the athletic director at Northeast from 1989-2008 and has also served as the commissioner of the 3A Athletic Conference for the past four years.

Update on Oak Ridge Elementary School
Staff is continuing to remain in constant contact with the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH has requested additional information regarding some of the work that has been done at the school.

Meanwhile, GCS continues to work with Turner Building Science and Design, LLC on the Oak Ridge facility. Turner has provided the district with protocols for various scopes of work throughout the school. The district expects to receive additional protocols within the next couple of weeks for other work that will need to be performed.

There have been concerns regarding some minor roof leaks and an imbalance of room temperatures at Oak Ridge Military Academy (ORMA). GCS is working with ORMA to resolve both of these issues.

Also, Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, explained that the work currently taking place at the school is estimated to cost $450,000, which is $40,000 more than the board had set aside. This amount does not include additional work that may need to take place after GCS receives NIOSH’s final report. Sharon Ozment, chief financial officer, is researching how the district can pay for this work. The board would approve any additional dollars that would be set aside for Oak Ridge.

Preliminary Update: Cumulative Effect
Dr. Amy Holcombe, executive director of talent development, and Dr. Gongshu Zhang, chief accountability and research officer, presented to the board a preliminary update on Cumulative Effect. Cumulative Effect is a focus project within Mission Possible that includes all Mission Possible high school math teachers as well as math teachers from Southern and Eastern High Schools. Funded through local, federal and foundation dollars, the primary focus of Cumulative Effect is to develop the content knowledge and instructional skills of high school math teachers.

Since implementing Cumulative Effect, the district has seen a strong applicant pool for the positions and this year, 100 percent of Cumulative Effect math positions were staffed on the first day of school. Additionally, teacher and principal turnover has decreased and school climate has improved based on annual faculty and parent surveys. However, when it comes to student achievement, there are still some fluctuations in reducing the gap between Cumulative Effect and non-Cumulative Effect schools.

Opening of Schools Survey
Dr. Eric Becoats, chief administrative officer, presented to the board information regarding the opening of schools survey. All GCS principals were surveyed regarding the support Central Office provided during the opening of schools. The response rate was 67.5 percent and overall, the results were positive.

Board Discussion

Nomination for the Raleigh Dingman Award
The board approved to submit an application for Dr. Nancy Routh for the Raleigh Dingman Award sponsored by the North Carolina Schools Boards Association.

Guilford County Board of Education meetings are broadcast live on GCSTV 2 (cable channel 2). 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.