Friday Notes from Guilford County Schools

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September 15, 2006

District Mission

GCS = College/Work Ready

District Core Values

The Board, in partnership with parents and community members, would like 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.

Appropriate Use of Technology

The start of a new school year is an opportune time to remind all district employees about the safeguards to be taken in handling sensitive information. Personal student and staff information should never be saved/stored on a computer's hard drive nor distributed via e-mail. Information of this nature should always be stored in a more secure and appropriate location. If in doubt as to the type of information that would be deemed sensitive or the appropriate place to store such information, please contact your principal or department head. Refer to board policy Acceptable Use of Technology EFE and procedure EFE-P for more information.  Please contact Dr. Terrence Young, chief information and student support officer, at 370-2308 should you have any questions.

New GCS Employees

The Guilford County School district welcomes three new central staff employees:  Gwen Adamson, supervisor of high school counseling; Samara Johnson, supervisor of middle school counseling; and Chesseley Robinson, III, hearing officer.  Ms. Adamson has been with the district since 1996, and most recently was a counselor at Northwest High.  Ms. Johnson has been with the district since 2004 and was formerly at Dudley High.  Mr. Robinson was formerly with the Employment Security Commission as a hearing officer, has practiced law in Raleigh and Washington, DC, and been an adjunct professor at Bowie State University and Southeastern University.  We welcome these GCS employees into their new roles.  For more information, please contact Peggy Thompson, chief human resources officer, at 370-8340.

GCS Students Named Semifinalists for National Merit Scholarship

Thirty-two 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 have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth $33 million, that will be offered next spring. The GCS semifinalists include the following students:

• The Early College at Guilford : Graham R. Billings, Joshua M. Espinoza, Angela W. Pratt, Logan H. Stephens, Horatio R. Thomas, Jeremy R. Wang and Patrick K. Wang
• Grimsley High: Jackson R. Barber, Emily A. Bardolph, William S. Bayliss, Larsen E. Jones, Sarah R. Leimenstoll, Ian J. McDiarmid, Caroline R. Phillips and Hbley E. Phillips
• Northwest High: Kyle A. Brown, Sebastian Cerdena, Gavin W. Cobb, Justin R. Crowder, Anna N. Diemer, Samuel B. Heroy, Nathan T. Holst, Katherine M. Key, Ashley L. Mabe, Jordan P. McNeill and Matthew T. Millard
• Weaver Academy : Margaret A. Ralston-Asumend
• Western High: Peter J. Attayek, Lucy A. Berrier, Robert M. Littlejohn, Michael C. Simms and Sarah J. Sparks

For more information, please contact Haley Henderson, program administrator – communications, at 370-3200.

School Treasurer Named Employee of the Month

Mary Ensley has been the “go to” person at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts for the past 13 years. A proud graduate of the school, Ensley came back to serve her alma mater as treasurer, even before the school became a magnet, and was instrumental in Penn-Griffin’s transition from a traditional middle school to a performing arts school.

Ensley’s job involves maintaining the funds, which are crucial to providing services at this Title I school. Aside from her normal duties, Ensley loves dealing directly with students; working with those who have trouble in school or lending a motherly ear to those who need her guidance.  Her commitment to Penn-Griffin goes beyond the walls of the school. Ensley leads the school’s efforts in keeping the campus clean and organizes the effort to keep tidy the stretch of Washington Drive, which was “adopted” by the school.  “She never misses a chance to support the students or help her colleagues,” said Erica L. Davis, a co-worker who nominated Ensley for the Employee of the Month program. “Whatever needs to happen, she’s willing to step up and do it.”

GCS and Sam’s Club have stepped up to honor this professional who has given so much to her school. In a ceremony in front of Penn-Griffin faculty and students, Ensley was named GCS’ Employee of the Month for September 2006.  As Employee of the Month, Ensley received a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club, which has partnered with GCS to support the employee recognition program. In addition, the Guilford County Board of Education recognized Ensley at its September 12 meeting.  For more information, please contact Jacqueline Todd, program administrator - internal relations, at 370-8353.

Guilford Association of School Librarians Announces Media Coordinator of the Year

The Guilford Association of School Librarians (GASL) is excited to announce that Charlotte Bell is the winner for Media Coordinator of the Year. Guilford Middle is proud to have Charlotte as their current media coordinator and comments that she is an inspiration to fellow teachers and media coordinators everywhere. She is a great instructional leader and an important part of GCS. For more information, please contact Natalie R. Strange, media specialist, at 605-2085.

Read GCS Leaders

Curriculum facilitators from the new Read GCS schools and district Read GCS coaches/trainers participated in a leadership training from August 30-31.  This training provided strategies in differentiated coaching techniques, instructional monitoring, and other vital leadership skills.  This interactive session was intended to develop the participant’s coaching skills in order to facilitate continuous growth in teachers.  A strong emphasis was placed on the management of change and teacher morale.  Each participant received a manual, thought provoking ideas, and a list of supplementary reading materials for further study.  For more information, please contact one of the following professional development trainers:  Janine Bracco-Cox at 317-2392, Johnita Readus at 317-3177 or LaTina Robinson at 317-3096.

Student Talent Showcase

The Guilford Education Alliance needs volunteers for several committees to plan and execute the first ever "Guilford County Schools Talent Showcase" to be held in April of 2007. The show, to be held at the War Memorial Auditorium, will feature 30 acts drawn from our schools.  Needed are volunteers interested in helping with marketing/advertising, ticket sales, sponsorship and program ad sales, planning, and production. If you would like to help launch what promises to be an exciting and worthwhile event, contact Margaret Arbuckle at the Guilford Education Alliance at 841-4332 or marbuckle@guilfordeducationalliance.org. To learn more about the alliance, go to: www.GuilfordEducationAlliance.org

Florence Elementary Gets Ready for “Fun-Raising” Day

The PTA at Florence Elementary invites the community to a day of fun on October 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their big fundraising event for the 2006-07 school year. Participants will be able to enjoy various activities including: inflatable rides, a lottery, silent auction, games, food and drinks. Colonial Pipeline is once again lending their support to make this event a success for the students and PTA. For more information, please contact Ellen Wolf, PTA Volunteer at 819-2120.

Naval Reserves “Adopt-A-School” Program Partners up with Pilot Elementary

Pilot Elementary has partnered up with the Naval Reserves as they implement the “Adopt-A-School” program this fall. Starting the first week in October, the Naval Reserves will be serving as student mentors and lunch buddies. Along with these important roles, the Naval Reserves will offer self-esteem building and goal setting for selected students. For more information, please contact Katie Potts or Chuck Blair, school counselors, at 316-5820.

Eastern High Receives $4,200 Grant for P.R.I.D.E. Initiative

On September 5, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro awarded Eastern High with a $4,200 grant to improve the relationships and raise the expectations in the school both socially and academically through their Personal Responsibility, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Excellence (P.R.I.D.E.) Initiative. This program was developed to provide teachers with a common language when dealing with classroom management and building relationships with students. For more information, please contact Charlie Abourjilie, curriculum facilitator, at 499-6311.

North Carolina Special Praxis Administration Registration Information

Education Testing Service (ETS) is pleased to offer three special administrations for North Carolina candidates. These administrations are in addition to the seven regular national administrations of Praxis open to North Carolina candidates.

Registration Procedures:
For these three additional administrations available, only in North Carolina, candidates must register by mail using the registration form available online at: www.ets.org/praxis.

Since these additional administration test dates are not listed on the registration form, candidates must handwrite the date of their choice on the registration form and the outside the envelope. All registrations for the October, December, and July administrations should be mailed with payments to: Adriana Wells; ETS; Mailstop 57L; Rosedale Road; Princeton, NJ 08541.

Note: Registration forms must be at ETS by the deadline date.  The deadline date is not the postmark date, but the date that registrations must be at ETS.  Please be sure to mail your registration in time for it to arrive by the deadline.  Late registrations will not allow the time necessary to generate and mail admission tickets. 

North Carolina Test Centers
Candidates registering for the NC Special Administration should choose their test center preferences from the list below of centers for North Carolina. Education Testing Service (ETS) is making every effort to open as many North Carolina centers as possible from this list. Our goal is to have at least one center open in each of the eight regions of the state. If a candidate's first choice center is not open, the candidate will be reassigned to a center as close as possible to his/her first choice center. Ultimately, if the candidate receives an assignment that is problematic for him/her, they should call ETS and we will work with them to get them into an open center that is more convenient. In the main, we will try to keep center assignments within a reasonable mileage from the candidate's first choice.

North Carolina Test Center List

For more information, please contact Dr. Peggy Thompson, chief human resources officer, at 370-8340.

Induction and Success

The induction support coaches have visited all of the Mission Possible schools to introduce themselves to the new teachers and offer support as needed.  During the past three weeks, the coaches have made 251 teacher contacts. 

Right Start Orientation make-up sessions will be held on Saturday, September 16, and Saturday, September 23, for those new teachers who have joined the district since the earlier training in August.  All new teachers are scheduled for additional training in curriculum and instruction on September 18 and September 25.  For additional information, please contact Martha Snavely, executive director of induction and success, at 370-8098.

2006 GCS Principal of the Year Selection Committee  

The 2006 GCS Principal of the Year selection committee will begin its work next week to select this year’s winner. The committee will begin by reading and scoring portfolios submitted by the thirteen nominees. Top scorers from this round will be interviewed on October 11 and 12 with the winner being announced at the October 23 Board of Education meeting. The members of the selection committee are: Sandra Culmer (IIO), Martha Snavely (2005 Principal of the Year), Susan Poindexter (2004 Teacher of the Year), Dr. Ed Fort (former Chancellor and current professor at NCA&T State University), and Debbie Maines (Guilford County Council of PTAs President). Congratulations to the following principals who will compete for this year’s award:

For more information, please contact Carla Alphin, program administrator for employee relations, at 378-8821.

Benefits Department

The Benefits Department is once again scheduling flu shot clinics for all employees.  The clinics will be held at our high schools and central offices.  Flu shots are available to employees and their immediate families at no cost if the employee and family are covered by our state health plan or Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.  Those not covered by the proper insurance must pay $25 for the shot.  Children between the ages of nine and 17 may be immunized but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Children under nine years of age should see their primary care physician.  The clinics will be held between October 30 and November 30.  Additional information will be sent to all sites.  There will be Flu Shot Clinics for the general public at the Greensboro Coliseum (Pavilion Area) on October 10 and 11 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Our employees may also take advantage of these clinics as well.  You must bring your health card and photo identification in order to receive the flu shot.  For more information, please contact Patty Kinkade, director of benefits, at 370-8092.

GCS Celebrates National Literacy Month with Real Men

Southern Elementary is ensuring that all students see reading as cool. To do this, football players from Southern High are visiting the school to serve as both tutors and role models as part of their Real Men Read program.

The football players will visit Southern Elementary every Friday in groups of four and will spend about 70 minutes with the students. Not only will the elementary students benefit from the strong presence of well-rounded teenagers, but the football players will benefit as well.  “We want our students to see that you can be a popular athlete and still be an accomplished reader,” said John Lawrence, principal at Southern Elementary.

The football players, who were carefully screened and selected by the Southern Elementary staff, went through two training sessions that included a teaching unit as well as a leadership unit. “We are determined that this be a substantial effort to improve reading and not become a program with just a flashy name,” Lawrence said. “These athletes have an opportunity to grow as leaders and see themselves as having a positive influence on the life of a child,” Lawrence explained. “It may very well help them learn to place a greater value on their own education and even make them better parents someday.”  The Real Men Read program is just one way GCS is making an effort to end illiteracy in Guilford County. For more information, please contact Haley Henderson, program administrator – communications, at 370-3200.

What works?

You asked for it and we’ll deliver! Early returns on the GCS Insider Readership Survey indicate that our employees would greatly appreciate tips and advice from educators and staff.

So what works in the classroom, or in your department? Do you have any tips for effective time management, or dealing with stress, or keeping students engaged? What other successful strategies have you implemented to make your work better? Please share your tips with us and we’ll be happy to print them in upcoming issues of the GCS Insider.

Just e-mail your tips to Jackie Todd (toddj@gcsnc.com) or Lillian Govus (govusl@gcsnc.com) So that you can get credit, please include your name, position and work location.  For more information, please contact Jackie Todd, program administrator for internal relations at 370-8353 or Lillian Govus, program administrator for publications and special events, at 370-8997.

Clearwire Gives Back to GCS!

Clearwire internet service has not only adopted Archer Elementary, they want to help every school in the district! When you sign up for their service, they will give the school of your choice a $10 Target gift card. Click here for more information. Plus, Clearwire offers discounts to GCS employees. Click here for those discount offers, or visit Employee Express on the GCS Web page.  For more information, contact Cecilia Adams, manager of community partnerships, at 370-8355.

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.

Front Row Project
For Speech/Language Pathologist Robert Maxwell it’s just common sense.  It is also scientific fact.  If students can hear better, they can learn better.  That’s the idea behind “The Front Row Project.”  Through the use of wireless microphones and strategically placed speakers built into the ceiling, students can better hear the classroom discussion.  That translates into measured success!  This newsbreak airs Wednesday, September 20.

Germ City
It’s one of the most common ways to spread disease.  Our hands pick up bacteria with nearly everything and everyone we touch.  Some can be harmless, but some can make you sick.  Find out how GCS and the N.C. Department of Agriculture are spreading the word about the benefit of hand washing.  Come with us to “Germ City.”  This newsbreak airs Friday, September 22.

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

NON-GCS EDUCATIONAL NEWS

A New Perspective Needed for School Progress

The following article, written by Richard W. Riley former governor of South Carolina and the co-chair of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, appeared in Wednesday’s edition of The State newspaper.  
As schools all across the country reopen, parents have high hopes for their children’s future but growing concerns about the direction of American education. For the past five years, teachers and principals have been consumed with understanding and implementing the No Child Left Behind Act. In the process, we are in danger of losing our focus on what really matters when it comes to improving education.
Instead of focusing on teaching and keeping our best teachers in our classrooms, we have an almost myopic focus on testing and accountability. These are important and necessary, but all of the testing in the world will not help our children if we don’t provide our teachers with the tools they need to succeed.
I believe we must rethink the fundamental paradigm that has defined the teaching profession for the last century. While other professions invest massively in technology and teamwork training, the teaching profession generally remains fixed on the stand-alone teacher working in isolation in a self-contained classroom. This model is rooted in policies that were designed for the last century.
To make matters worse, we send our most inexperienced teachers into our toughest schools and close the door behind them to make do on their own. The result is a constant turnover and churn in our classrooms.
The common belief is that we don’t have enough teachers, but the truth is that we can’t keep the teachers we already have. Our nation actually prepares enough teachers to educate our 55 million children, but we lose one-third of new teachers after three years and almost half after five years.
In some cases, the teacher dropout rate is higher than the student dropout rate. Then we wonder why each year one-third of our nation’s high school students — 1.2 million students — are not graduating from high school.
What can we do to solve the problem?
First, we must recognize that No Child Left Behind is here to stay and use our energy to make it more meaningful. To that end, we should shift the current focus away from its strong emphasis on testing to a more promising and rewarding emphasis on improving teaching quality within a framework of accountability.
Second, we must eliminate antiquated school staffing policies and obsolete teacher compensation practices that are inefficient, ineffective and counterproductive. Our nation loses more than $2.6 billion annually due to unscheduled teacher attrition and billions more on teachers changing schools for better teaching conditions.
Third, we must develop many more incentives to encourage our best teachers to work in our high-needs schools. Research shows that an effective teacher can improve a student’s learning skills by a full school year. Teaching matters, and it matters a great deal.
Just as we have the Green Berets and Navy SEALs to tackle the most difficult military missions, we need teachers with specialized training to turn around our struggling schools. Such teachers need a real sense of mission, must work as teams and must have real incentives to stay the course in order to close the achievement gap.
Promising incentives include pay for performance, bonuses for experienced teachers who mentor first-time teachers, college-loan forgiveness, assistance for teachers in low-achieving schools to become National Board-certified, smaller classes and training in cultural competence and skills for effective engagement of students and parents.
Finally, we must work incrementally to improve teaching , even as we develop this new vision of change. Jim Stigler, a noted education researcher, states that steady progress toward high academic standards can be achieved if we improve the teaching quality of the average educator by just 5 percent a year. This incremental work can be done right now in every school in America.
At the same time, we must let go of the old and familiar paradigm of the solitary but dedicated teacher and recognize that we are losing many of our best teachers because they feel so isolated. The future of American education rests with groups of dedicated teachers working with each other, their principal, students, parents and the community to improve their teaching in order to create an environment that allows all students to shine. Putting teaching first is the most important thing we can do to improve American education.

Educating the Most Vulnerable Pupils

The imperative to educate all students to high standards has challenged educators in virtually every community. While many schools and communities have succeeded in raising performance overall, achievement gaps remain stubbornly persistent. Large numbers of students continue to lag behind, writes Robert Rothman. And these tend to be the same students the education system has, historically, served poorly -- low-income students, students of color, and students with learning needs. The children left behind tend to lack many of the social and family supports that their more-advantaged peers possess. Without a strong education system, many of our most vulnerable students will face a bleak future. In part, continued existence of the achievement gap puts a spotlight on the shortcomings of our efforts at educational improvement. The most common approaches, research and experience clearly show, may not be reaching the most vulnerable pupils. Underlying each of the articles in the new issue of Voices in Urban Education is a potentially radical idea: that the education system should consider each student as an individual and provide the support that he or she needs. This idea is radical because large systems are not designed to provide individualized supports. They were created to provide basically the same level of supports for all students. Such systems work efficiently, but not effectively for all students. The most vulnerable pupils lose out. Fortunately, many urban education systems are abandoning the one-size-fits-all approach. Cities are experimenting with a wide range of educational approaches, including virtual schools and charter schools, as well as traditional schools. Districts are creating new schools that cater to students' varied needs and interests. Schools are creating learning plans for every student. Despite their promise, though, these efforts remain fairly small-scale. Click here to read more…

School Restructuring Under No Child Left Behind: What Works When?

This free guide for education leaders combines the best education and cross-industry research to provide educators with a step-by-step approach to the most promising options for schools identified for restructuring under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The guide -- published by The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement at Learning Point Associates -- will help education leaders choose between chartering, contracting, state takeovers, or turnarounds with new leaders and staff when a school is faced with most students or very large subgroups failing to make adequate yearly progress. Educators will learn to organize a district team and assess district capacity as well as how to govern restructuring decisions and conduct a school-by-school analysis. It is supplemented with templates, checklists, and other practical tools. Click here to read more…

NBC Online Application Process for 2006-07 Candidates

North Carolina teachers planning to seek National Board Certification should complete the online application at www.nbpts.org and then complete the online application for North Carolina funding. Guidelines for applying for National Board Certification in North Carolina can be accessed at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nbpts/apply.html. Initial NBC candidates will pay a $65 processing charge to NBPTS before they submit their application. North Carolina pays the assessment fee of $2,500 for all candidates who meet the eligibility criteria. The NC funding application window for 2006-07 candidates pursuing National Board Certification is March 1-October 31.

NBC Renewal Information

National Board Certified teachers who achieved certification in 1997 or 1998 may pursue renewal of their National Board certificate this year. For NBCTs who achieved in 1997, this is your second and final opportunity to pursue renewal. For NBCTs who achieved in 1998, this is your first opportunity to pursue renewal. The application window for renewal is open November 13-December 31. Deadline for payment of the application fee is January 31, 2007. Your Profile of Professional Growth must be submitted by April 30, 2007. Scores for renewal candidates will be released in October 2007. For more information about renewal, visit the NBPTS Web site at www.nbpts.org/ and view the NBC Renewal Presentation on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Web site at www.ncpublicschools.org/nbpts/resource.html.

Study: Costs of Dropping Out Highest in U.S.

Adults who drop out of high school in other parts of the world typically earn about 80 percent of what high school diploma-holders earns, but in the U.S. dropouts earn only 65 percent, reports the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Yet the groups also found the disparity between what college graduates earn, compared with those who completed high school, is much greater in the U.S. than in other parts of the world. Click here to read more...