Friday Notes from Guilford County Schools

1458 page views

June 29, 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.

Administrative Assignments

The following administrative appointments will be effective July 1:

For more information, please contact Dr. Peggy Thompson, Chief Human Resources Officer, at 370-8340.

AYP Targets for 2007-08

With the beginning of the 2007-08 school year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is again raising the academic bar.  In order to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a school and each sub-group within a school must meet the listed percentage proficiency levels below.  A school group can be percentage proficient AYP, only if the group meets any one of three targets: State target, Safe Harbor target or Confidence Interval target.

The new targets of 2007-08 compare to the old targets of 2006-07 are as follows:

For more information, please contact Dr. Gongshu Zhang, Executive Accountability & Research Officer, at 370-8323. 

Kindergarten Entry

This past week, the General Assembly passed HB 150, Every Child Ready to Learn, which modifies kindergarten admission requirements starting in the 2009-2010 school year. Currently, a child must be five-years-old on or before October 16. In 2009, the birth date cutoff changes to August 31.  Please call me at 370-8992, should you have questions.

GCS Awarded for “VIP for a VIP” Program

The City of Greensboro awarded GCS for their outstanding community service for participation in the VIP for a VIP Program, which is presented by the Greensboro Fire Department and other area agencies.

VIP for a VIP, which stands for Vehicle Injury Prevention for a Very Important Person, encourages students to take a closer look at motor vehicle safety. During the program, junior and senior students witness a demonstration of a fatal car crash, which follows a PowerPoint presentation and video of facts and figures directly related to teenager fatalities.

“The VIP for a VIP” program is an excellent way that GCS insists on motor vehicle safety for our students,” said Anthony Scales, GCS program administrator for school safety. “It is a great honor to be recognized by the City of Greensboro for our efforts. Along with area agencies, we can work to eliminate teenage traffic fatalities in our community.”

In preparation of the event, students and parents are encouraged to complete and turn in a “VIP Contract for the Life of a VIP.” This contract outlines safety measures the student promises to take so that he/she can remain safe while operating a vehicle. In addition, the students agree to a “zero tolerance” for drugs or alcohol. The program is dedicated to GCS students who have lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents. For more information, please contact Mr. Scales at 370-8995. 

GCS Students Attend 2007 Governor’s School

Twenty-two academically gifted GCS students are winning the fight against summer learning loss. These students are spending their summer investigating personal interests and talents in a stimulating and encouraging environment.

The students attending Governor’s School of North Carolina do not take tests, nor do they receive grades or credits.  Instead, students gain valuable insight by attending classes and lectures, where their intellectual curiosity fuels discussions of the latest, most innovative topics and ideas.

The six-week summer program is the nation’s oldest statewide summer residential program for academically gifted high school students.  The program runs from June 17 until July 28.  The GCS students listed below were selected to attend the 2007 Governor’s School.

During the program’s summer session, students engage in a rigorous analysis of their chosen area.  Art, choral music, dance, drama, English, foreign language, instructional music, mathematics, natural science and social science are among the areas that students study. 

The program, funded annually by the General Assembly of North Carolina, is offered free of charge to students who are nominated at the district level.  Each school district is allotted a certain number of students based on its 10-and 11-grade enrollments. For more information, please contact Haley Miller, Program Administrator – Communications, at 370-3200.

Kiser Middle Staff Summer Shape Up

Three days a week this summer, Kiser Middle teachers are heading back to school.  Not to teach, but to stay in shape for the summer. The teachers are taking part in Fitness Boot Camp, taught by fellow teacher assistant Necia Meadows.  Necia is finishing her degree in Sports Science from NC A&T State University.  Not only will Meadows fulfill her graduation requirements, but she will also help her peers shape it up over the summer. 

Throughout the seven weeks, Necia has invited a Pilate’s instructor, aerobics instructor, nutritionist and shoe wear specialist to attend the camp and counsel participants in their areas of expertise.  At the end of the sessions, Necia will give all participants a posttest analysis to ensure participants achieved their goals.

Before the camp began, Necia had all 20 participants sign a waiver, turn in a medical release form and complete a medical history questionnaire. The camp is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. for seven weeks. For more information, please contact Haley Miller, Program Administrator – Communications, at 370-3200.

Literacy Intervention to Prevent Reading Failure will contribute to Literacy Framework

This week, Betty Anne Chandler, Director of Exceptional Children’s Services, with the support of Lee Ann Segalla, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction-Elementary, and Dr. Sammye-Wheeler Clouse, a McREL consultant assisting the district with improving elementary literacy, convened a cross-departmental team to incorporate a system of early literacy intervention/prevention into the district’s evolving elementary Literacy Framework.  Representatives of Exceptional Children, English Language Learners, Advanced Learners and pre-K have been involved in developing the elementary Literacy Audit and subsequent work on the framework since the beginning.  Just over 80 percent of students district-wide have been achieving proficiency in reading by the end of third grade.  The Literacy Audit recognized that to reach the district thematic goal of all students reading by the end of third grade, and to address the needs of students in schools that are far below the 80 percent level, there must be a highly effective system of early identification and increasingly intensive interventions to prevent reading failure.  These efforts include improved early assessments and a system of interventions that incorporates many of the support strategies utilized in Exceptional Education, although this support system will apply to all students at risk of early failure, not just students identified with exceptionalities.  This system of early assessments and interventions will be targeted in up to 20 elementary schools next year as part of district-wide implementation of the Literacy Framework.  For more information, please contact Ms. Chandler at 370-2328 or Ms. Segalla at 574-2657.

Elementary Cross-Departmental Teams Organized

Representative specialists from Curriculum and Instruction, Organizational Development, Advanced Learners and English Language Learners met this week to organize cross-departmental teams to provide better customer service to schools that will be implementing components of the elementary Literacy Framework next year. The purpose of these teams is to ensure a more coordinated and focused effort to increase the capacity of each school to improve instruction in literacy, especially those that will be piloting the intensive intervention services and assessments.  The team will continue their departments’ services to schools and the district, but will focus and coordinate their services to support principals, curriculum facilitators and teacher leaders in their efforts to improve literacy instruction in their schools.  The teams are not intervention teams or the former model of coaches working for an IIO (Instructional Improvement Officer), and will reserve Tuesday of each week for meetings with their team and additional support individual schools may need.  Each team will work with a specific elementary Instructional Improvement Officer to coordinate services and feedback from the specific schools supervised by that IIO.  Each team member will continue to report to their respective supervisors, who will also meet regularly with the IIOs to better coordinate and improve services to schools.  Principals will be trained on the roles and responsibilities of the team supporting their school at the summer Leadership Institute July 25 and curriculum facilitators will receive training the following week.  For more information, please contact Dr. Mack McCary, Chief Academic Officer, at 370-2365 or Lee Ann Segalla, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction-Elementary, at 574-2657.

Peck Elementary Receives State Sponsored Week of Enrichment

Peck Elementary students have completed an exciting week of enrichment.  The week’s activities were sponsored by the state of North Carolina as a result of Peck’s status as a High Priority School.  NC High Priority Schools are determined by its number of students receiving free and reduced lunch and its performance as determined by the end of grade tests.  In order for a school to retain its status, students are required to achieve high or expected growth. 

Activities for rising kindergartners through fifth-grade students were constructed around science themes.  Field trips included adventures to a butterfly farm, Millis Health Center, the Farmer’s Market, Children’s Museum, public library and the Natural Science Center to name a few.  Each grade level tied their field trips to their chosen curriculum.  The themes included:

• Kindergarten - Insects
• First - Animals
• Second - Nutrition
• Third - Health
• Fourth - Rainforest
• Fifth - Weather & Climate

The specialist schedule consisted of music and PE classes.  The music classes learned to play bells and performed in a small concert for their teachers on Friday.  The PE enrichment concluded with a fantastic slip-and-slide activity to help students beat the heat. For more information, please contact Principal Francine Mallory, at 370-8235 or Gay Citty, Instructional Improvement Officer, at 370-8060.

GCSTV 2

Reading Comprehension

Join faculty and staff at Monticello-Brown Summit Elementary for this look into the “Power of Retelling.”  It is an in-depth illustration of a comprehension strategy that helps children more fully enjoy reading and listening to stories and ultimately, develop into lifelong readers.  This special program airs nightly at 10 p.m.

The Home Field Advantage

Changing schools during the year creates a disadvantage for students when it comes to their studies.  Research indicates that children who study at one school throughout the school year do better academically than those who change schools one or more times during the year.  GCS offers students at select schools the “Home Field Advantage.”  The initiative gives children a chance to stay at their original school if their family moves during the academic year.  Get the latest information on this program that helps students stay in the game.  Home Field Advantage airs five times daily at 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. 

Tus Hijos y GCS (Your Children and Guilford County Schools)

The Guilford County Board of Education has authorized a new school for the coming year.  The Newcomer School is being established to serve newly arrived immigrant students. It will open August 28 on the current campus of Guilford Primary. Join host Karin Young for this latest edition of our Spanish and English language program, Tus Hijos y GCS.  Karin provides the latest information about the Newcomer School and how it will serve students and their families.  Tus Hijos y GCS airs daily at 1 a.m., 7 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.  

Young Drivers - The High Risk Years

If you have a teenager who is already driving or will be getting their licenses soon, don’t miss this program.  The focus is on ways to reduce injuries and death among our young.  It is told from the perspective of teens and parents who know the consequences of a simple mistake made behind the wheel.  This program airs daily at Noon, 9 p.m. and Midnight.

Sci-Vis

It’s a modern day art.  Sci-Vis is short for scientific visualization and it’s a field that is wide-open for students enrolled in GCS.  Come along as students at The Middle College of Entertainment Technology at GTCC explain their Sci-Vis class and how the technology has an effect on everything from medicine to architecture and entertainment.  This program airs daily at 8 a.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The Middle College of Entertainment Technology at GTCC

The Middle College of Entertainment Technology at GTCC is one of the exciting educational choices students have within GCS. It’s here where they can get hands on experience in television production and other aspects of the entertainment industry. This program is a sample of how students apply their skills to producing, videotaping, reporting, editing and ultimately creating their own show.  This program airs daily at 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 6 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).

Eastern High Tour
A new school year is just two months away, and GCS is planning for Eastern students to return to their campus.  Modular classrooms are being placed at the campus after fire destroyed the main building there last November.  It’s a monumental undertaking, but work is on schedule.  Get a look at the Wildcats’ temporary home as crews start the work to build a new high school.  This newsbreak airs Wednesday, July 4.

Middle School Marching Band
There’s only one in Guilford County and few, if any, throughout the rest of the state.  The marching band at Northern Middle wouldn’t be possible if not for the dedication of its director.  See how this band came about and where its members get the instruments and the inspiration.  This newsbreak airs Friday, July 6.

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

Central Office Summer Schedule

GCS central offices will operate on a summer schedule from June 11 through August 17. Office hours will be 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Normal office hours will resume on Monday, August 20. 

NON-GCS EDUCATIONAL NEWS

Court Limits Student Speech in "Bong Hits" Case

This week, the Supreme Court tightened limits on student speech, ruling against a high school student and his 14-foot-long "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner. Schools may prohibit student expression that can be interpreted as advocating drug use, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court in a 5-4 ruling. [AASA, the National School Boards Association and the National Association of Secondary School Principals filed an amicus brief in this case.] Click here to read more.

Study: Dads shape daughters' interest in math, science

Fathers play a major role in their daughters' interest in math and science, according to a 13-year University of Michigan study that traced the sources of the math and science gender gap. Females and males scored equally well on tests of science and math ability, but parents' attitudes -- particularly fathers' gender stereotypes -- had a significant effect on their daughters' math achievement and eventual career choice. Click here to read more.

Study: Tutoring Paying Off for Some Students

NCLB tutoring in reading and math is paying off in some urban schools, according to a new Rand study conducted for the U.S. Department of Education, with tutored students in five of nine large urban districts showing improvement. Click here to read more.

Thousands of Failing Schools Face Major Overhaul

The scarlet letter in education these days is an "R." It stands for restructuring -- the purgatory that schools are pushed into if they fail to meet testing goals for six straight years under the No Child Left Behind law. Nationwide, about 2,300 schools are either in restructuring or are a year away and planning for such drastic action as firing the principal and moving many of the teachers, according to a database provided to the Associated Press by the U.S. Department of Education. Those schools are being warily eyed by educators elsewhere as the law's consequences begin to hit home. Schools fall into this category after smaller changes, such as offering tutoring, fall short. The effort is supposed to amount to a major makeover, and it has created a sense of urgency that in some schools verges on desperation. "This is life and death," says John Deasy, superintendent of schools in Prince George's County, Maryland, where several schools are coming face-to-face with the consequences of President Bush's signature education law. "This is very high-stakes work." The schools bearing the label are often in poor urban areas, like Far Rockaway, at the end of the subway line in the New York borough of Queens. But they're also found in leafy suburbs, rural areas and resort towns. Only schools that receive federal aid for low-income students -- known as Title I -- are subject to the law's consequences. But they can be brand-new facilities with luxuries like television studios. Schools in low-income communities have trouble attracting and keeping sought-after teachers. Working conditions are often thought to be poor, and teachers in failing schools face increased scrutiny. The federal law says schools in restructuring can replace teachers. Local union contracts can make that difficult, but some collective bargaining agreements are starting to permit it. Usually, the teachers transfer to another school or work as substitutes. Click here to read more.

Long Reviled, Merit Pay Gains Among Teachers  

For years, the unionized teaching profession opposed few ideas more vehemently than merit pay, but those objections appear to be eroding as school districts in dozens of states experiment with plans that compensate teachers partly based on classroom performance. Minnesota’s $86 million teacher professionalization and merit pay initiative has spread to dozens of the state’s school districts, and it got a lift this month when teachers voted overwhelmingly to expand it in Minneapolis. A major reason it is prospering, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said to Sam Dillon in a New York Times interview, is that union leaders helped develop and sell it to teachers. Scores of similar but mostly smaller teacher-pay experiments are under way nationwide, and union locals are cooperating with some of them, said Allan Odden, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies teacher compensation. A consensus is building across the political spectrum that rewarding teachers with bonuses or raises for improving student achievement, working in lower income schools or teaching subjects that are hard to staff can energize veteran teachers and attract bright rookies to the profession. The rewards teachers receive for outstanding performance range from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 or more in a few districts. Click here to read more.

How to Support School Transformation

A growing body of research is illuminating the conditions and strategies that enable schools to change from low- to high-performing. According to this analysis by WestEd, one key to school transformation is how external technical assistance providers establish close collaborations and trusting relationships with internal advocates for change. When external assistance providers, such as local education funds, build strong relationships with internal advocates and other influential educators, their teamwork helps the key players sense trouble as it develops, choose appropriate responses, delegate responsibilities, and provide mutual support and encouragement. Click here to read more.