Friday Notes from Guilford County Schools

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August 18, 2006

District Mission

GCS = College/Work Ready

District Core Values

The Board in partnership with parents and community members wants to share these district core values in order to strengthen our schools and improve the quality of life for all of our citizens.

Diversity.  We are committed to creating an educational organization where a variety of persons and perspectives are welcome. We are committed to providing an environment where students and staff from all cultures and backgrounds may succeed.
Empathy.   We are committed to developing a culture where our employees identify with and understand the feelings of our students and parents and their colleagues. 
Equality.  We are committed to creating a school system where everyone is appreciated and judged based solely on their contributions and performance. Through the work of this institution, we will create awareness of and develop strategies to understand and eradicate prejudice, discrimination and racism on the individual and organizational level.
Innovativeness.  We are committed to fostering a work environment where the goal is not to manage innovations, but to become innovative. Problems are identified, ownership of those problems is assumed by the adults in the district, and everyone works together as agents of the solution until the problems are solved. We will not stop until obstacles are removed, solutions found and clear and compelling goals are established.
Integrity.  We are committed to creating a school district that acts with honesty and forthrightness, holding ourselves to high academic and ethical standards, and dealing with everyone with respect.

Hairston, Kernodle and Eastern Middle Schools

GCS will delay the start of school for Eastern, Hairston and Kernodle middle schools until Monday, August 28, 2006.  The make-up day is scheduled for Tuesday, November 7, currently designated as an optional teacher workday/Election Day on the GCS 2006-07 traditional calendar.

Although we anticipate receiving clearance from engineers for the structural enhancement work conducted and final inspections from city, county and fire marshal officials no later than August 24, we made the decision to delay the start of school for those three schools in an effort to provide school employees with more time to prepare their classrooms for the new year.

GCS staff worked extremely hard with contractor teams to ensure that the improvements would be completed by the start of school. We wanted to inconvenience parents/students as little as possible without forsaking safety. This extra time will ensure that classrooms and school facilities are adequately prepared to present a bright and refreshing start of the year to our students.  Getting off to a good start helps to set the tone for the remainder of the school year.

Over the past few weeks, many news articles have reported on the work being done at these schools. Unfortunately, not always accurately. It has and always is the district's goal to be as transparent as possible. During the early stages of the work, there were so many unknowns and new information was provided to the district on a daily basis, which made communicating to parents and the community challenging.  We had hoped that more concrete information would be available before communicating so as to not provide conflicting and changing information on a daily basis. If we were not quick enough in reaching out to parents, or if our communication was not as comprehensive as some would have liked, we do apologize for any undue stress or confusion this may have caused. 

Throughout this entire process, we never loss sight of the safety and needs of our students, staff and parents. We hope all of our schools have a smooth start of school and successful 2006-07 school year. If you have any questions, please contact me at 370-8992.

GCS to Hold Community Forum Regarding School Resource Officers

In an effort to increase the effectiveness of the School Resource Officer program, the Guilford County Board of Education will host a community forum on Tuesday, August 22 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Smith High School. Local law enforcement, school representatives and parents are all invited to attend. For more information, please contact Cecilia Adams, manager of community partnerships, at 370-8355.

2006-07 Graduation Schedule

The GCS 2006-07 graduation schedule is now available to assist families and friends in making arrangements related to graduation.  Graduation ceremonies for all of the district’s 14 traditional high schools will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.  The 14 ceremonies will be held between Friday, June 8, 2007 and Monday, June 11, 2007. Graduations for high school options and special schools will be held at a variety of locations across the county.  These ceremonies will be held between Friday, May 11, 2007 and Friday, June 8, 2007. Click here to view the full schedule. For more information, please contact Barry Williams, instructional improvement officer, at 378-8802.

GCS Students Getting the Home Field Advantage

Approximately 41 percent of students who change schools during the school year can fall four to six months behind in the classroom. Additionally, research indicates that students who move more than three times in a six-year period can fall behind one full academic year.

Frequent moves can negatively affect a student’s relationship with his or her teachers and classmates. To help alleviate this problem, GCS is pitching a new program for 10 elementary schools, giving children a chance to stay in the game. The Home Field Advantage allows students whose families move to other parts of Guilford County to stay at their original school. GCS will provide round-trip transportation for these students.

Students who attend the following elementary schools are eligible: Bessemer, Brightwood, Foust, Gillespie Park, Jamestown, Johnson Street Global, Lindley, Sedgefield, Washington and Wiley.

To participate in the program, parents should fill out a GCS Home Field Advantage form, available at every elementary school in the district and turn it in to their child’s original school. For more information, parents can contact their child’s individual school or the GCS Student Assignment Office at 370-8303.

GCS Kicks Off Another S.M.A.R.T. Year

After the success last year of GCS’ pilot program, Students Mentoring Awareness and Resource Team (S.M.A.R.T.), the program is recruiting new peer leaders at all middle and high schools.

The program, funded by the Moses Cone Wesley Long Community Health Foundation, is a way for students to make a difference in their classmates’ lives.

S.M.A.R.T. members work as a team to provide their respective school with substance abuse awareness and prevention campaigns, an alternative to suspension programs, parent outreach and a cessation program. The cessation program is available for students who wish to stop tobacco use.

As GCS continues to grow and prosper, S.M.A.R.T. was created to meet the diverse educational, social and ethical needs of every student. The program consists of peer-led substance abuse prevention teams at all middle and high schools.

One major component of S.M.A.R.T. is that it provides an alternative to suspension for students who violate the substance abuse policies. Students who violate the tobacco policy attend an intervention program at the school. Furthermore, students who violate the alcohol and drug policy are referred to the Lifestyles program, which is a nationwide educational and intervention program to help students understand the dangers of drug use.

For more information, please contact Vernice Thomas, ASAP/safe and drug free schools administrator, at 621-4026 or Haley Henderson, program administrator – communications, at 370-3200.

Guilford County Schools’ Bus Stop Locator and Open House Schedule Is Now Posted Online

GCS bus routes are now complete for the 2006-07 school year. Parents and students can click here to access the Bus Stop Locator. Additionally, parents can contact individual schools for bus information. The Bus Stop Locator will provide parents and students with both morning and afternoon stop locations and times. Click here to view the 2006-07 school open house schedule. For more information, parents should contact their child’s assigned school.  

Transportation Department Prepares for August 25, 2006

On August 25, 2006, 620 school buses will depart from their parking sites en-route to transport 38,000 students to their assigned schools.  Buses will travel approximately 46,000 miles of roadway in Guilford County daily, with the foremost concern being the safety of the students.

Thousands of work hours have been spent preparing bus routes for students who attend various educational opportunities throughout the district.  The objective of the department is to provide safe efficient bus routing, which is reliable and provides the best possible service to the students.  In order to achieve this objective, preparation began in the spring of 2006 with plans set forth to minimize confusion and communicate department needs to those requiring services.  The primary component of the plan focused on informing and communicating with parents. The importance of the parental submission of the transportation request was recognized and highlighted. 

Utilizing all forms of the media and available resources, the department communicated the requirements and deadlines for planning and preparation.  The department continued after the transportation request submission deadline of July 10 to route bus stops and bus runs until the day the bus routes were posted on the GCS Web site.  The result was the ability to provide comprehensive bus routes on the GCS Web site on August 11 and the dissemination of printed bus routes to the individual schools on August 14.  Parents are encouraged to obtain bus stop information by either visiting the Web site or by visiting their child’s assigned school as soon as possible, thus reducing confusion and frustration on the first day of school.  Bus routes, as a general rule, will not be changed for the first 10 days of school, unless a safety concern exists, or the problem is a direct result of an error.  During the first ten days, routes and loads are analyzed for adjustment.

Due to the complexity of the magnet bus routing process, and to improve communication, staff members will call parents with students assigned to magnet schools with individual bus stop information with the intent of speaking with an adult, or if necessary leaving a machine message.  Staff members began making phone calls on Saturday, August 12, with a proposed completion date of Saturday, August 19. Transportation staff members will also attend every open house for both magnet and traditional schools to answer transportation related questions. 

Transportation staff members are confident in the plans and preparations made for the 2006-07 school year.  Minimal problems are anticipated and steps are being taken to reduce, identify and resolve “red flags” that may exist.  For additional information or assistance with bus routing, contact your area zone transportation supervisor.  Telephone numbers are:

For further information, please contact Jeff Harris, assistant director of transportation, at 370-8920. 

Magnet School/Special Programs Transportation Requests

To date, 4,897 transportation request forms have been received for students enrolled in magnet or special programs for the 2006-07 school year.  Postcards have been mailed to parents notifying them of receipt of their request for transportation.  The postcard serves as notice to the parent if the transportation request was complete or if additional information is needed.  According to student assignment records for the 2006-07 school year, there are 4,956 students eligible for transportation assigned to magnet programs and 3,119 students eligible for transportation assigned to special programs. 

Comparatively, 58 percent of the total number of eligible magnet students submitted a transportation request in August of 2005.  This year transportation requests have been received by the transportation department for 61 percent of the total number of eligible students.  For further information, please contact Jeff Harris, assistant director of transportation, at 370-8920. 

Proposed Routing Concept Enacted

The proposed routing concept, as presented to the board of education in February of 2006, was adopted for the 2006-07 school year.  Transportation routing staff used this concept as a basis of providing transportation services for Lincoln Academy, Dudley Academy and Aycock Science and Spanish Immersion students.  The objective of the concept is to provide equitable services for these students, using direct routes to school.  Of the 724 students attending these programs, 98 percent of the students were routed on direct bus routes, the remaining 2 percent were assigned to bus stops within the magnet shuttle points. 

In order to accommodate this routing concept, students were assigned together on buses, enabling full use of resources available.  Although some objection has been given by parents regarding the various programs and grade levels being assigned to the same buses, transportation and school administrators will continue to work together to overcome and address possible disciplinary problems.  Such actions include assigning younger students to the front area of buses and instructing bus drivers to be aware of and any report problems that might materialize. 

Another factor, which makes this concept a success, was the ability to reduce the number of buses at Lincoln Academy in the afternoons, thus reducing the traffic congestion problem.  Shuttle points will be utilized in the afternoon for approximately 14 routes.  Students are assigned a shuttle bus bound for a shuttle point location, then transfer to their assigned bus for their afternoon destination.  Furthermore, five buses will be used for direct routing for students who reside in the High Point area or in the outer regions of the county, thus reducing their travel time. 

Staff members in the department are constantly researching means and modes of transportation to improve the travel time and method for students.  This concept has provided an average longest travel time of 45 minutes to the majority of students.  A reasonable effort was made to provide services under a travel time of 90 minutes.  Those routes that may extend past 90 minutes will be examined after the first six days of school, with the intent of reducing their travel time if possible.  For more information, please contact Jeff Harris, assistant director of transportation, at 370-8920.

GCSTV 2

GCS Builds Futures

Guilford County Schools are growing and improving. Just look at the ongoing construction and renovation projects taking place on campuses throughout the district. We update the status of school construction projects and see how environmentally friendly materials and energy saving techniques are being incorporated. That’s coming up next week on GCSTV 2.

Why We Teach

Just ask the classroom teacher why he or she is devoted to their profession. Each has a distinctive reason, but each share a common bond, the student. In this exclusive GCSTV 2 feature, we hear inspiring stories from those who love to teach. Check it out on GCSTV 2.

GCS/ABC 45 Partnership Continues

GCS continues its partnership with ABC 45 television to share the following 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.

K-Camp Prepares Young Ones for School
Starting the school year is an exciting time for all students, but it’s an entirely new experience for kindergartners. Come along and see the academic world from the eyes of a five-year old as the new class at Bluford Communications Magnet gets acclimated to campus at “K-Camp.” This newsbreak airs Wednesday, August 23.

Healthier Eating At School
New nutritional guidelines will make it easier to find healthier foods at schools. Campus cafeterias across the district are reducing the fat, cholesterol and sodium found in some traditional school fare. GCSTV 2 explores how students and their families will benefit from the healthier choices within the lunchroom and beyond! This newsbreak airs Friday, August 25 … the FIRST DAY of the new school year!

For more information, please contact Leonard Simpson, broadcast production manager, at 370-8167.

NON-GCS EDUCATIONAL NEWS

It Takes More Than Schools to Close Achievement Gap

Many educators and policy makers struggle with a haunting question: What if the impediments to learning run so deep that they cannot be addressed by any particular kind of school or any set of in-school reforms? What if schools are not the answer? A growing body of research suggests that while schools can make a difference for individual students, the fabric of children’s lives outside of school can either nurture, or choke, what progress poor children do make academically. A $100 million school voucher bill sponsored by Republicans gives vouchers a prominent place in next year’s debate over renewing No Child Left Behind, reports Diana Jean Schemo. But other voices are likely to call for a sense of responsibility for improving children’s academic success that does not begin and end at the schoolhouse door. Click here to read more...

Students Getting Double Dose the Three Rs

Across the country, middle and high school students are being required to spend more class time on English and math as officials try to raise test scores and meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Variations of the double-dose approach are being used in districts in such places as Kansas, Missouri, Texas, New Jersey and California. Some students attend two class periods each day of English and math, and often one of those English classes is devoted to reading instruction -- something that traditionally ends when students leave elementary school. Some schools offer longer classes, or classes that meet every day instead of every other day, or classes that are offered for a full year instead of a single semester. The approach appears to pay off at test time, but some educators worry that youngsters forced to give up some of their electives are being deprived of a well-rounded education and the opportunity to explore new subjects. Click here to read more...

All-Year School Calendar Has Fans

Don't look for Debra Williamson-Dunn among the Wake County parents who are fighting efforts to convert their children's elementary schools to a year-round calendar. For Williamson-Dunn, PTA president of Hodge Road Elementary School in Knightdale, the year-round calendar is a win-win situation that will let Wake keep up with growth and help students learn better. So even as some well-organized groups fight conversion, pockets of support for the year-round calendar are forming around the county. Click here to read more….

Pre-K: Shaping the System That Shapes the Children

This year, states will add almost one billion additional education tax dollars to their budgets as politicians in more than twenty states consider moving toward a Universal Pre-kindergarten (UPK) system. Although a spirited debate has taken place over the advantages to children of a pre-K education, there has been little or no debate on how, rather than whether, to offer early-childhood education (ECE). Because of this lack of discussion and study, many states are implementing well-intentioned policies in a flawed manner that could cause more harm than benefit. The availability of pre-kindergarten education has increased steadily over the past four decades. While traditionally, government tailored these programs specifically for children with various disadvantages, ranging from socioeconomic to learning disability related, there has been increasing interest in recent years in expanding pre-K opportunities more universally. A number of factors are responsible for the nationwide  surge in funding for pre-K programs: (1) Concerns about children's "school readiness" and subsequent academic achievement; (2) Advances in early brain development research, which has shed light on the plasticity and learning capacity of the young brain; (3) The increasing proportion of working mothers and their need for child care; (4) Concerted and well-funded efforts by pre-K advocacy groups; and (5) Economists' promotion of pre-K as an economic development strategy. Education researchers disagree on the long-term efficacy of pre-K, but they do generally agree that children from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit most from high-quality child care and early education programs. Poor children are more likely to perform poorly in their classes and on tests of cognitive ability, repeat grades or drop out of school, and experience serious emotional and behavioral problems. The consequences of these failures loom large on these youth and their communities. The reported poverty rate among high school dropouts was 22.2 percent in 2000, compared with a 3.2 percent poverty rate among those with at least a bachelor's degree. In this paper, Stephen Goldsmith and Rhonda Meyer look at pre-K options in light of K-12 public education and higher education systems and consider how best to offer early-childhood education services to those who need them most. Click here to read more…

Do Student Shifts from Public to Private Schools Increase Racial Segregation?

Critics of private school choice fear that education vouchers will lead to increased racial stratification. White families will seek schools with fewer minorities, and African-American and Hispanic families will prefer the security found in schools that enroll high proportions of their own racial groups. A new paper by Robert Fairlie examines the racial implications of student shifts from public to private schools using the National Education Longitudinal Study. The author finds that African-Americans and Hispanics are under-represented in private schools. Further, decisions to switch from public to private schools seem to be based, in part, on race. White and Hispanic students in public schools with large concentrations of black students are more likely to move to private schools. However, to the degree that participation in private school is conditioned upon family income, educational vouchers for the poor may increase the numbers of African-American and Hispanic students who choose private schools, increasing their representation. Clearly the implications for racial segregation will depend upon the selection policies of minority families and of the schools that they apply to if vouchers are provided. Click here to read more…

Summer Learning Opportunities Can Be a Key to Academic Success

A growing body of evidence indicates that the test scores of low-income children drop significantly relative to their higher-income counterparts during the summer months. This Urban Institute evaluation on the nationally recognized summer enrichment program operated by BELL -- a nonprofit provider of after-school and summer programs to 8,000 low-income students in Boston, New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.—found that the program increases students’ reading skills and their parents’ involvement in their education. The study used a random assignment method to evaluate the effectiveness of the summer program, which is designed to improve students’ academic skills, parental involvement, academic self-perceptions and social behaviors among low-income children and families. It found that a well-implemented summer learning program can improve reading test scores and increase the extent to which parents encourage their children to read during the subsequent school year. The authors conclude these findings provide support for investments in out-of-school time programming for low-income children during the summer. Click here to read more…

Back to School: Education by the Numbers

Read this quick primer of statistics on U.S. schools. (1) Racial and ethnic makeup of public schools in 2004: 57 percent white, 16 percent black, 19 percent Hispanic, 7 percent other. (2) Public school enrollment Pre-K-12 in 2006: 49 million. (3) Average 2005 annual salaries of teachers in public schools: $47,750. (4) Sources of public spending on schools in 2003: Federal: 8.5 percent; States: 48.7 percent; Local: 42.8 percent. (5) Total 2003 education spending nationally: $450 billion. Click here to read more…