Friday Notes from Guilford County Schools

March 16, 2007

Our Vision, Mission/Thematic Goals and Core Values

Our vision – what we will become, Our mission/thematic goals- how we will get there -- Our
core values - what we believe -- solidify the underlying foundation for all Guilford County Schools’ decisions and actions.

Guilford County Schools Expands IB Schools

Over the past five to 10 years, our community has seen many textile and furniture jobs move to other countries and have experienced the impact of a global economy. Our students now compete with students from across the world for seats in colleges and universities and for meaningful jobs.  It is increasingly important that our students are properly prepared to compete in this new environment. One of our strategies to help achieve that goal is expanding the district’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program.  By the 2008-09 school year, GCS will have eight IB World Schools in the district. These are schools that share a common philosophy and a commitment to high quality, challenging and international education.

To become an IB World School, schools must go through an intensive authorization process that lasts at least two years covering a number of key stages. Currently, three schools in Guilford County are considered IB World Schools. Five schools are waiting to be authorized, with four schools in the first key stage and one school in the third key stage.

* PYP = Primary Years Programme, MYP = Middle Years Programme, DP = Diploma Programme

The Diploma Programme assessment process is recognized by the world’s leading universities. The IBO actively trains and supports teachers to maintain its high standards and it encourages international-mindedness in IB students, who must first develop an understanding of their own cultural and national identity. In addition, the IBO encourages a positive attitude toward learning.

Schools applying to offer the PYP or MYP must begin implementing these programmes before the school is granted IB World School status. However, potential Diploma Programme schools cannot begin teaching the courses until authorization has been granted. A delegation appointed by the IBO will schedule a visit to the school and report on the school’s progress and capacity to deliver this programme. If the outcome is positive, the school will be authorized to offer the programme and will attain the status of IB World School. A goal for IB high schools is for all students in those schools to take at least one IB course prior to graduation.  For more information, please contact Tony Burks, Director of Magnet and Choice Schools, at 378-8832 or by email at tlburks2@gcsnc.com.

Board Approves Newcomer Center

During this week’s Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the GCS opening of a Newcomer Center for the 2007-08 school year.  The center will be located on the current campus of Guilford Primary and will serve approximately 325 students.  Guilford Primary students will move into a new Guilford Elementary School facility in the fall of 2007.  The new center will provide a one-year transitional educational program for newly arrived immigrant/refugee secondary students who need to learn English and become familiar with their new social and cultural environment. Students will receive intensive instruction in ESL and core academic classes in sheltered English.  As our district becomes more globally diverse, it is exciting to offer additional support to the newest members of our school district family.  For more information, please contact Don Hare, Executive Director of Federal and Special Programs, at 370-2375 or Myra Hayes, Director of ESOL, at 370-8982. 

GCS Students Perform at Regional Science Fair

After months of preparation, eight GCS students put their names on the board this year at the Region V Science Fair, with four students going on to compete in the state competition. A total of 110 students participated from across the region. Nicole Shaw of Jones Elementary, Sarah Geib of Oak Ridge Elementary and Kyle O’Donnell and Eric Luibrand of Southwest Guilford High will go on to compete at the North Carolina State Science Fair from March 23-24 at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Nicole took home first place at the elementary school level and received the Northwest AHEC of Wake Forest School of Medicine Best All Around award.

2007 Regional Science Fair Results for GCS Participants

The Region V Science Fair consists of eleven counties, including: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham and Stokes. The fair was held Wednesday, February 28 at SciWorks in Winston-Salem, NC.  For more information, please contact Haley Henderson, Program Administrator – Communications, at 370-3200.

GCS High School Orchestra Students in All State Orchestra Clinic

This past weekend, high school orchestra students from GCS were invited to participate in the Western Regional All State Orchestra Clinic held at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. These students auditioned among hundreds of student musicians from across the state to earn a chair in this prestigious ensemble. Students studied under Maestro Robert Moody, conductor of the Winston-Salem Symphony; Maestro Matthew Troy, conductor of the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony and music faculty from the Hayes School of Music.  Students participated in a rigorous three-day clinic involving rehearsals and small ensemble studies and concluded the weekend with a concert in the Farthing Auditorium at the Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University.  Congratulations to the following Guilford County high schools who participated:Grimsley High, Ragsdale High, Page High, Weaver Academy for the Arts, Northwest High and Southwest High. For more information, please contact Britany Green, Director of Orchestras, at 370-8240, ext. 6205.

Debbie Owens Named March Employee of the Month

Congratulations to Debbie Owens, a bus driver at Jesse Wharton Elementary. Debbie was named GCS Employee of the Month for March 2007. The Employee of the Month was awarded a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club and was recognized by the Board of Education at its March 13 board meeting. Her photo will hang at the district’s central office, at Jesse Wharton Elementary and at the Wendover Avenue Sam’s Club in the month of March. Watch for coverage of the Employee of the Month on GCSTV2.

We want to hear about employees who are extraordinary in their jobs. To nominate a GCS employee who goes above and beyond the call of duty, click on the following link to submit your nomination form online: http://www.gcsnc.com/emp_month/index.aspx. For more information, please contact Lillian Govus, Program Administrator-Communications, at 370-8997.

GCS Celebrates School Volunteers

During the 2005-06 year, volunteers spent 243,647 documented hours helping our students achieve great things. To ensure that these selfless volunteers be recognized, GCS created a Volunteer of the Month program. Each month, GCS will select a volunteer who has made a difference in their school and in the lives of the students, based on nominations. Persons who volunteer at GCS full- or part-time are eligible to be nominated. All nominations must be received by the 10th day of each month and are valid for 30 days.  Click here to nominate a volunteer who goes above and beyond, please visit http://www.gcsnc.com/community/vom.htm. Those selected as the district's Volunteer of the Month will receive a certificate of recognition from GCS and will be acknowledged at a Guilford County Board of Education meeting.  We are actively seeking a corporate sponsor for this program; if you or your organization would like to support this effort, please contact Lynne Brandon, Program Administrator-Communications, at 370-8353.

Mary Chase is the First GCS Volunteer of the Month

Mary Chase began volunteering at Southeast Middle when her daughter was a student at the school. Now, several years later, you can still find Mary at the school two or three days a week giving students positive reinforcement and one-on-one attention.

According to the teacher who nominated her, Mary has become a part of the “Southeast family” and the “students love and respect her.” Because of her years of outstanding service, her commitment to the betterment of all students and the way in which she impacts the lives of everyone she meets; Mary has been selected as the March GCS Volunteer of the Month and recognized during the Board of Education’s March 13 meeting.  For more information, please contact Lynne Brandon, Program Administrator-Communications, at 370-8353.

Parent Advocacy Project Provides Valuable Information to Community

On Saturday, March 17, the Parent Advocacy Project, sponsored by the Greensboro and High Point Human Relations Department, will engage its second session of training covering topics to include student rights, school discipline, the nature and latitude of suspensions and the role of school resource officers (SRO’s) in our schools.

The Parent Advocacy Project was established under the auspices of the Greensboro and High Point Human Relations Committee in February of 2007.  The training is designed to provide focused, ongoing support to parents/guardians of African American children in GCS.  The project is aimed at providing more immediate support and encouragement to African American parents while facilitating their active involvement in their children’s education.  Parent Advocates will serve as a source of support, information, resource and mediation.  Advocates are going through an extended training and must complete all sessions in order to serve in local communities and churches.  However, this session on March 27 is open to all parents who want to learn more about the response to discipline in our schools.  Please call 370-3284 to reserve a space and to confirm the location of the workshop.

Enroll Now for Fall 2007 Magnet and Choice Options

If you’re interested in possibly securing a spot for your child in one of GCS’ many magnet or choice schools, there’s still time to apply. Click here to access school brochures, as well as the QuickGuide, a helpful tool in making the choice between so many options.  You’ll also find open house schedules and applications for each school.

The deadline for elementary and middle school magnet applications is March 16. The deadline for high school options applications is March 23. For more information, contact Tony Burks, Director of Magnet and Choice Schools, at 378-8832 or by email at tlburks2@gcsnc.com.

Guilford County to Host NCAE Convention

North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) will hold its annual conference in Guilford County this year from March 23 - 24. As in the past, NCAE will sponsor a community service project as a way to give back to the host community. This year, NCAE has selected the Boys and Girls Clubs of Guilford County as recipients of "Operation Cooperation."  NCAE will collect physical and educational games and activities for the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs of Greensboro and the Greater High Point Area Boys and Girls Club. Click here for details.  Items can be delivered to GCAE, 3401-B West Wendover Avenue; GSO, NC  27403.  For more information, please contact Mark Jewell, GCAE President at jewellm@gcsnc.com.

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning Literacy Audit

On Wednesday, two McREL researchers met with district representatives and the Elementary Literacy Audit team to seek input in how to implement recommendations from McREL’s recently completed audit of the district’s elementary literacy programs.  Dr. Sammye Wheeler-Clouse and Dr. Matt Seebaum affirmed the strengths in current district programs found in the audit, while proposing how to address gaps and build school and district capacities to implement a comprehensive, sustainable approach to teaching literacy.  Implementation strategies for the remainder of this school year will focus on four crucial areas: 1) an infrastructure at the district and school level to support literacy instruction, 2) development of a balanced literacy framework that would unite the district in a shared definition of crucial literacy components, including effective and efficient diagnostic assessments, 3) expansion of current literacy training to address all components of a balanced literacy framework, differentiate staff development, and offer more site-based delivery options and 4) development and beginning implementation of an oral language component consistent with the NC Standard Course of Study.  The district’s Elementary Literacy Audit team is recommending strategies for involvement, communication and development of plan components, as well as individual teachers and stakeholders who could contribute to each phase of the implementation plan.   For more information, please contact Dr. Mack McCary, Chief Academic Officer, at 370-2365.

Registering for Professional Development Activities

As many of you attend and complete professional development courses, it is important to remember that you must register for each course through the online GCS Professional Development system. If you attend a course, but do not register online for it, you will not be able to get credit for that course.  Also, please make sure you arrive at the trainings on time and sign in on the daily roster.  If you are more than 30 minutes late for a course, you will not be able to get credit for the course.  Please sign the roster every day you attend training so you can get the appropriate CEU credit for that course. The GCS Course Registration Policy is noted below:

GCS Course Registration Policy
Participants must register for approved GCS/site based courses. Any person who attends a course, but does not register before the last day of the course, will not receive CEU credit,

For security reasons, GCS no longer requires participants to provide their social security number when signing the attendance sheet. As a result, the only way renewal credit can be awarded to the correct person is for the participant to register online for the course they attend. Signed attendance sheets are matched to those who registered for the course. Participants who fail to register and sign rosters at each session will not receive credit.
No partial credit can be given to any workshop participant. Participants who miss more than 30 cumulative minutes of any workshop are not eligible for credit. For more information, please contact Rick Cobb, Director of Professional Development, at 378-8811.

“Mastering the Three Ring Circus:”  Differentiation of Instruction Continues

In the second of a four-day training on differentiated instruction, trainers examined the content in three areas.  Looking at ways to differentiate instruction for males, Heather Blackmon, Professional Development Trainer, demonstrated how using activities that involve movement can help stimulate boys’ brains and how giving boys opportunities for choice in their reading and writing subjects may often encourage these skills from young men.  Janine Bracco Cox, Professional Development Trainer, discussed text levels and structures with participants and how these can influence reading difficulty. Participants were exposed to strategies, including showing students how to code text, a strategy which can increase a student’s involvement and comprehension with text.  Sonia Solis ended the session by having participants reflect about the importance of building and activating background knowledge and its impact in vocabulary and reading comprehension. The effectiveness of sample activities and strategies such as concept sorts, graphic organizers and other non-linguistic representations were discussed.  For more information about differentiated instruction trainings, please contact Stephanie Davis, Director of Professional Development, at 370-3269.

Read GCS Follow-up Training for K-2 Teachers Successfully Completed

On March 13, follow-up training was successfully completed for K-2 teachers in schools sustaining the Read GCS literacy program.  Participants were interactive while completing activities that highlighted the importance of knowing and applying the five elements of the Anatomy of a Lesson. Also, collegial conversations revolved around activities, strategies and literacy workstations that increase Academic Learning Time in the classroom.  Emphases were placed on students knowing the objective, manipulation of content and identifying student success during whole or small group instruction. Teachers expressed their enthusiasm to apply cooperative learning structures such as blind sequencing and gallery walk in their classrooms.  In closing the session, participants were presented with a certificate of completions they celebrated their accomplishments.   More than 200 teachers of kindergarten through second-grade students have completed follow-up training and coaching will continue at their schools.  For further information about Read GCS, please contact Stephanie Davis, Director of Professional Development, at 370-3269.

GCSTV 2

Tus Hijos y GCS Gears Up with Enrollment Season

Enrollment is now open for next year’s kindergarten classes, as well as magnet schools and high school options.  Join host Karin Young for the newest edition of our Spanish and English language program: “Tus Hijos y GCS.”  Karin provides the latest information on registering your child for school next year.  Tus Hijos y GCS airs daily at 1 a.m., 7 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

On Assignment

For the latest in news and information that chronicles programs and events throughout the school district, join host Leonard Simpson for “On Assignment.”  The video airs daily at: 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Magnet Schools

GCS is a leader in providing students and parents significant choices when it comes to education. Our magnet school program is among the best in the nation in helping to link a child with his or her strengths, stimulating their educational interests and fostering academic achievement. The magnet video provides insight into what’s available and helps parents make decisions that best serve the needs of their children. This program airs daily at: 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

GCS/ABC 45 Partnership Continues

GCS continues its partnership with ABC 45 television to share the current news and feature stories about our district. The segments run on ABC 45 (Cable Channel 7) during “Good Morning America” each Wednesday and Friday at 7:25 a.m. and 8:25 a.m. You can also learn more about GCS by tuning in to GCSTV 2 (Cable Channel 2).

Future Scientists Show Their Work
It takes an analytical and creative mind to excel in science.  Guilford County Schools puts its students to the test at the annual Science Fair.  Will the best scientific minds of the twenty first century emerge from the third grade?  You bet!  This Newsbreak airs Wednesday, March 21.

Helping At Any Age
GCS faculty and staff are dedicated to educating our children.  They do it with some important help: volunteers.  For Leonard Glashow, retirement didn’t mean slowing down when it came to helping out.  At 86-years young, Glashow spends much of his free time in classrooms at Jefferson Elementary.  Ask him why and he’s quick to tell you: “The kids need our help.”  This Newsbreak airs Friday, March 23.

For more information, please contact Leonard Simpson, Broadcast Production Manager, at 370-8167.

NON-GCS EDUCATIONAL NEWS

Plan Would Shift Teachers to Aid Achievement

Parents told the Kalamazoo school board Thursday that they are shocked and angry about a proposal to move teachers out of high-achieving elementary schools to reduce class sizes at high-poverty schools.  The plan is part of the 2006-07 budget developed by Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Janice Brown and was unveiled to principals last week. She said the move is necessary to help close the achievement gap between poor and middle-class students. "…It's all part of the budget process," Brown said after the board meeting. "The budget isn't approved until the end of June, and my guess is we'll be having a number of conversations about this." The five schools whose families have the highest poverty rates -- Edison, Lincoln, Northeastern, Spring Valley and Washington -- would have a student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1 in grades K-3.  Six schools ... would continue operating at a 24-to-1 ratio. Click here to read more.

Honoring Teachers Who Change Outcomes in Students’ Lives

The Turnaround Management Association is now accepting nominations for the 2007 Butler-Cooley Excellence in Teaching Awards. The award honors classroom teachers who have changed the outcome of students’ lives and the communities in which they live. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: primary or secondary school teachers employed by accredited schools for at least five years. Deadline: May 1, 2007. Click here to read more.

Recognizing Exemplary Service to the Community

The Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community is now accepting nominations. Sponsored by The Hitachi Foundation, the Award recognizes high school seniors from around the United States for their community service activities and social change efforts. Activities must foster longer term community change and be focused in socially and/or economically isolated areas. The Award is accompanied by a gift of $5,000, dispensed over two years. Recipients may use the Award at their discretion. The Award is not a scholarship and is not based on financial need or academic achievement. Deadline for submissions: April 2, 2007. Click here to read more.