Friday Notes from Guilford County Schools

September14, 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.

GCS Executes Extensive Student Recovery Effort

As of 12th day data, nearly 860 high school students have not reported to school.  Some may be students who moved out of the county during the summer and have failed to notify their previous school.  Unfortunately, many more are likely students who for myriad reasons have decided to give up on their educational pursuits. The district is not, however, ready to give up on them.  In an effort to bring these students back to school, I have assigned student recovery teams to all high schools in the county.  These teams will work with school counselors, social workers, dropout prevention counselors and graduation counselors to identify exactly how many credits are needed for each student to graduate, find and contact each, and hopefully encourage them to return to a school setting that is better suited to meet their needs.  We will utilize the variety of high school choices available in the county to find the best program for each student. 

If you are aware of a student who has dropped out, please encourage him or her to contact their assigned school and our teams will work to get them back in school. If you have any questions, please contact me.

13th Annual Search Under Way For Nation’s Top Youth Volunteers

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program launches its 13th annual search for young people who have demonstrated outstanding community service over the past year. Sponsored by Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the awards program has honored more than 75,000 middle and high school students since 1995 for exemplary volunteer activities. It also provides schools with an ideal opportunity to celebrate the spirit of volunteerism throughout their student bodies.

We encourage you to participate in this program and to promote it within your schools. This is a great opportunity to publicize the spirit of volunteerism in young people while demonstrating the positive role that schools play in promoting community involvement.

Young volunteers can apply online through www.prudential.com/spirit or www.principals.org/prudential.   Applications must be completed by October 31.

For more information, please contact Sonya Conway, Chief District Relations Officer, at 370-8386.

Science and Math Grants Available Through DonorsChoose

Burroughs Welcome Fund will support $50,000 in North Carolina teacher science and math related projects through DonorsChoose. If you have a qualifying project and would like to apply for a grant, go to the Guilford Education Alliance Web site, www.guilfordeducationalliance.org  and click on the DonorsChoose icon to complete your application. Deadlines are Monday, October 29 for the winter funding cycle and Monday, January 28, 2008 for the spring funding cycle. Teachers may submit up to three projects each. For more information, please contact Cecilia Adams, Manager of Community Partnerships, at 370-8355.

Students from GCS Named Semifinalists for National Merit Scholarship

Twenty seniors from Guilford County high schools are one step closer to becoming a Merit Scholar for excellent results on the preliminary SAT exam. These academically talented students now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth $34 million, that will be offered next spring.

The GCS semifinalists include the following students:

• The Early College at Guilford: Nikolas Antolin, Mark Draelos, Marion Driver, Diya Jost and Robert Loftin

• Grimsley High: Matthew Behrhorst, Matthew Borgmann, Sam Emrani, Jordan Preuss, Ross Taggart, Lauren Tarpey, Rachel Weinstock and Emily Zaruba

• High Point Central High: James Finnegan and Joseph Terrell

• Northwest High: Judson Van Wyk

• Page High: Andy Bouchard and Ran Song

• Western High: Brandon Reid and Charles Royster

For more information, please contact Chad Campbell, Manager of Media Relations, at 370-8356.

September Employee of the Month

Congratulations to Cindy Kernodle, office support for District Relations! A GCS employee for eight years. Cindy was named the district’s Employee of the Month for September 2007. As Employee of the Month, she was awarded a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club and was recognized by the Board of Education at its September 13 meeting. Her photo will hang at the district’s central offices and at the Wendover Avenue Sam’s Club in the month of September. 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, contact Lillian M. Govus, Program Administrator – Communications, at 370-8997 or govusl@gcsnc.com.

GCS is Boosting Language Curricula with Native Mandarin Chinese Speakers

GCS welcomes three new Mandarin Chinese teachers to classrooms as students take advantage of the international Chinese Guest Teacher Program, which seeks to immerse U.S. students in Chinese language and culture.

Wu Cai Xia (Iris) teaches at Northwood Elementary, Xia Ou Yang (Summer) joined the Ferndale Middle team and Cao Hong (Marie) teaches at High Point Central High. These three individuals are part of the group of guest teachers that arrived in the United States on August 3.

Northwest Guilford High participates in the Chinese Guest Teacher Program; however, the teacher has not yet arrived to the school.

Co-sponsored by the College Board and Hanban (China’s Office of Chinese Language Council International), the program began in 2006 with the first group arriving in January 2007. This latest group of 64 is the second one to arrive and more than doubles the number of participating teacher dispersed among districts in 23 states.

The guest teachers work at host schools for two years, with an option to renew for an additional year. Hanban provides the teachers with monthly stipends and international transportation, while host schools and districts provide housing, local transportation and administrative fees. All three teachers in GCS live with host families. 

The Board of Education hosted a welcome reception for the teachers before the regularly scheduled board meeting on September 13.

Mandarin Chinese is being offered at Hairston Middle thanks to a Visiting International Faculty member who is fluent in the language. For more information, please contact Haley Miller, Program Administrator-Communications, at 370-3200.

Johnson Street Global Studies Japanese Program Awarded Grant

The staff and students of Johnson Street Global Studies are excited to say Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu, (thank you), to the Japan Foundation of Los Angeles. The foundation recently announced the recipients of a grant designed to enhance the curriculum of schools currently teaching Japanese language courses. As one of the proud awardees, Johnson Street will receive classroom materials such as textbooks, visual aids, dictionaries and reference books totaling the equivalent of up to 100,000 yen, or approximately $600. These materials will be used to enhance the program offered at their K-8 Global Studies Magnet School. For more information, please contact Kym Gould, Magnet Coordinator Johnson Street Global Studies, at 819-2900.

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Schools

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are a valuable resource to have in the schools.  There are currently forty-three Guilford County Schools with AEDs. Training is provided yearly for First Responder Teams and other school designees to ensure proper use of the AED devices.  Staff continues to submit grant requests for AEDs so that additional schools can have them available. Community support in assisting with making AEDs available in every school is welcomed.  Schools currently without AEDs include: 

For more information, please contact Dr. John Morris, Chief Student Services Officer, at 380-8380.

Induction Coordinators Meeting

On Wednesday, September 12, Induction Coordinators met in elementary, middle and high school groups to plan support for beginning teacher seminars and mentor updates to be held in each school.  Sue Renn and Stephanie Gallop from the Office of Induction and Success facilitated these meetings. 

Induction Coordinators, who also serve as a teacher or curriculum facilitator at their school site, organize the mentor and beginning teacher support in their school.  The Office of Induction and Success provides support for the induction coordinator, mentor and new teacher.  For more information, please contact Martha Snavely, Executive Director of Induction and Success and Professional Development, at 370-8098.

Teachers on the Move

Induction support coaches are providing support to teachers who are being transferred to new schools due to decreases/increases in student enrollment.  The coaches have helped teachers pack materials at their previous schools, transport materials to their new schools, and set up their new classrooms. Induction coordinators will support the transitioned teachers as they arrive at their new schools.  These teachers will continue to receive additional support from the Office of Induction and Success.  For more information, please contact Martha Snavely, Executive Director of Induction and Success and Professional Development, at 370-8098.

Professional Development Questionnaire/Survey for GCS Assistant Principals

On going training and professional development are key to our continued success as a school district. Next week, we will invite our assistant principals to complete a short questionnaire/survey about their professional development needs. This online questionnaire/survey will be distributed to principals, instructional improvement officers, student support officers, and other central office administrators for their feedback. The data will be used to strengthen training and professional development for assistant principals in the coming months and years. For more information, please contact Dr. Beth Folger, Chief Curriculum and Organizational Development Officer, at 370-2313.

GCS and Cisco Learning Institute Partner to Develop Professional Development Materials

GCS is partnering with Cisco Learning Institute (CLI) to develop mathematics professional development materials for K-8 teachers.  Cisco is commited to standards-based relevant math instruction with rich teacher support.  The Department of Curriculum and Instruction has invited 18 GCS teachers in grades first through eighth grade to serve as teacher leaders on the project.  These teachers will collaborate with CLI and with one another to design/refine lessons that are Web-based and media rich.  These lessons will include a teacher focus for professional development in mathematics, as well as a student section to enable teachers to implement the classroom lessons that are well aligned with the NC Standard Course of Study.  In return for sharing their time and expertise, participating teachers will receive a stipend and the Webcam equipment required to collaborate online.  They will then become teacher leaders to carry on the project in the second year with a new group of teachers.  For more information, please contact Michelle Ungurait, Secondary Curriculum Officer, at 335-3293.

World Language Program Kicks-Off

About 100 world language teachers came together on September 12 at Mendenhall Middle for the 2007-08 School Year Kick-Off meeting to discuss plans for the school year. It was a very productive meeting and teachers discussed curriculum/pacing guides and lesson plans. Teaching and learning sessions are scheduled throughout the school year for teachers of Spanish, French, Latin, German, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, along with Visiting International Faculty (VIF) and immersion teachers in an effort to support the teachers in methodology, strategies and sharing of teaching ideas. Each GCS school is encouraged to send at least one representative to the sessions.  For more information, please contact Gisela Hood, World Languages Specialist, at 370-3273, ext. 2.

Retirement Seminars

Dates and times have been set for the 2007-08 GCS Retirement Seminars.  The schedule is below:

For additional information, contact Jeannie Greer, Personnel Specialist for Retirement and Disability, at 370-8165 or greerj@gcsnc.com.

GCSTV 2

Opt Out Rights for Students and Parents

The new school year is a time for choices, especially for high school seniors. One of those choices is whether they will go to work after graduation, go to college or perhaps join the military. The federal law known as “No Child Left Behind” stipulates that military recruiters have access to contact information for seniors in order to discuss a possible military career. But the law also provides a provision to “opt-out” so recruiters will not have access to address and telephone numbers. Find out more in this program that airs daily at 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.      

New Principals

There are new faces in the principals’ offices at GCS this year. GCSTV 2 introduces you to them as they share their philosophy of education and how they plan to get the school year off to a smooth start. This program airs daily at 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.  

Employee of the Month

There’s no end to the number of “hats” she wears in keeping the District Relations Department running smoothly. That’s why GCS honors Cindy Kernodle as Employee of the Month for September 2007. This feature airs daily at 6 a.m., 9:57 a.m., 1:27 p.m., 3:57 p.m., 6:57 p.m. and 9:57 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. Also, learn more about GCS by tuning in to GCSTV 2 (Cable Channel 2).

Test Scores Show Big Improvements
The numbers are in, and they are certainly encouraging. Guilford County students are showing significant improvement in scores for academic achievement. The district set out with a strategic plan to improve student performance, and the numbers indicate success. This newsbreak airs Wednesday, September 19.         

A New and Unique School
Acclimating to a new home and new culture can be difficult. GCS strives to make that transition somewhat easier as it debuts the GCS Newcomers School. This unique school provides for the special educational needs of our newest immigrant population. This newsbreak airs Friday, September 21.

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

NON-GCS EDUCATIONAL NEWS

2007-08 NC Teaching Fellows Scholarship Applications Being Accepted

Teachers, do you know any seniors who are planning on pursuing teaching as a career?  Please let them know that the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission has announced that the 2007-08 application for the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship Program is now available online at www.teachingfellows.org. Each Teaching Fellow receives a $26,000 scholarship from the state, payable in $6,500 annual increments. The full scholarship is forgiven after the Fellow has completed four years of teaching in North Carolina¹s public schools. The deadline for students to return completed applications and reference forms to the Fellows Liaison Counselor is October 9 by the end of the school day. 

General Hugh Shelton Leadership Initiative Offers Major Scholarship Opportunity

The General Hugh Shelton Leadership Initiative is pleased to offer for the fourth year a major four-year college scholarship. In 2005, North Carolina high school senior Ryan Nilsen won this national scholarship and in 2007 Sam Lazoff of Wake County was the recipient. The mission of this initiative, housed at NC State University, is to inspire, educate, and develop values-based leaders who are committed to personal integrity, professional ethics, and selfless service. The scholarship is valued at $10,000 per year (and renewable), plus an annual $2,000 stipend for external leadership experiences such as study abroad. Click here for more information. The criteria and application are due by November 5.

NYC Schools Offer Housing Support Program for Mathematics, Science, & Special Education Teachers

"You may be eligible for our housing support program and other program benefits worth up to $28,600." In an effort to recruit certified teachers of mathematics, science, and special education, the NYC Department of Education launched a housing support program and are advertising it in the New York Times.
The Housing Support program is aimed at attracting experienced, certified teachers in the fields of math, science and special education at the secondary levels to teach in New York City. The program recognizes the challenges of relocating to or living in the metropolitan area and encourages both previous NYCDOE teachers and current teachers in other districts to consider New York City as an alternative to other career choices or other competitive school districts.
Fully certified teachers who have taught a minimum of two years in the shortage area, either in their previous careers or currently, will be eligible to participate. All applicants must pass a rigorous selection process. Successful applicants will receive housing support of approximately $15,000 over two years in return for a three-year service commitment to teach in a high need school.
For more information on the program and upcoming career fairs, visit: http://www.teachnyc.net/.

Report: Schools Can't Solve Poverty Alone

School quality has a minimal impact on closing the achievement gap between low-income and advantaged students, according to a new report for U.K. charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation. "What this means is that if you simply looked at factors which varied from one school to another -- there would not be that much difference in educational performance. Looking at children's social background had much more of an impact," said Donald Hirsch, author of the report. Click here to read more.

Report: Top Teachers Help Students Overcome Achievement Gap

Despite huge achievement gaps, Pittsburgh students who have good teachers are the most likely to succeed, according to a two-year Pittsburgh schools study presented Monday. "In Pittsburgh, the teachers who are successful are successful with black kids and white kids," said lead author Robert P. Strauss, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Click here to read more.

Talk to Students to Make Classes Productive for Everyone

When teacher Ariel Sacks' previously enthusiastic eighth-grade class began to yawn and grow restless, she at first tried to ignore it. But after a few weeks, she negotiated with them to make her classroom more fun and found the remainder of the year amazingly productive. Click here to read more.

Education Investments Lower Rates of Violent Crimes and Incarceration

The Justice Policy Institute led off their four-part research brief series with a bang, announcing that states which invest more money in both their K-12 and higher education systems have lower rates of violent crimes and incarceration, and likewise save billions in crime-related expenses. The brief notes that increased graduation rates have a significant impact on public safety, as a five percent increase in males graduating from high school produces almost $5 billion dollars in savings on crime-related expenses.  Additionally, states that are able to get students farther along the educational pipeline had lower crime rates than the national average. Similarly, states with higher college enrollment rates experienced less violent crimes, and those states with the biggest increased expenditures on higher education saw decreases in violent crimes. Across the country, the difference between white and minority students’ educational opportunities are stark.  Consequently, minority students are more likely to be incarcerated but also more likely to face violent crimes in their daily lives. The next three research briefs will focus on the effect housing, employment, and drug treatment have on public safety and crime. Click here to read more.

Merit Pay for Teachers Reveals Sway of Affluence

Usually teachers at affluent schools receive better pay with greater access to high quality tools than their colleagues at low-income schools. Now it appears, at least in the Orange County Public School District (Fla.), that those teachers also have an advantage when it comes to merit-pay plans. At Palm Lake Elementary, a school with a predominantly white student body located in an upper class area, two out of every three teachers earned a bonus through the school district’s merit-pay plan. At Richmond Heights, a predominantly black school in an incredibly poor part of Orlando, no teachers received a bonus. These two schools illustrate the disproportionate distribution of merit bonuses -- teachers at predominantly white and affluent schools were twice as likely to earn bonuses as their colleagues at predominantly black and poor schools. The plan was supposedly designed so that the best teachers would win bonuses regardless of their school or subject, as the program focused on   student learning gains. Superintendent Ronald Blocker found the results discouraging, reports Erika Hobbs in the Orlando Sentinel, but added that privileged schools do better on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which is used to measure student learning growth for merit-pay. In addition, at schools like Richmond Heights, teachers operate at campuses without necessary equipment, and sometimes are presented with more pressing needs than education, such as students so poor they don't eat breakfast. While a lack of recognition for diligent work can be frustrating, most teachers say they are not discouraged from the bonus payout, as Carletta Davis-Wilson, a math and science coach said, "I didn't come [to Richmond Heights] for the bonus…I came to make a difference." For his part, Blocker hopes that teachers at schools facing more difficult challenges receive special consideration for merit-pay bonuses. Click here to read more.