GCS News Briefs

May 30, 2008

Reminder - 2008 GCS Climate Survey

Just a reminder -- GCS is asking all non-teaching staff to participate in the 2008 GCS Climate Survey, which focuses on employees’ perceptions regarding their work environment. The 2008 survey is available online from May 23 – June 6.  Staff should have received an e-mail providing a link to the survey.  If you do not have access to a computer, hard copies of the survey are available in the lobbies of the Eugene Street and Franklin Boulevard offices.  Please provide your GCS picture I.D. to the receptionist to receive a copy.

The survey is anonymous -- the results are compiled by an outside company, so please feel free to take the survey in confidence. We will share the results with each school and each central office department. Your valued opinions and recommendations, combined with the information from the teacher working condition survey, will help us address your concerns.

Together, we can make positive changes to make GCS an even better place to work. For general questions, please contact GCAE President Mark Jewell at 299-9601 or for technical questions, please contact Dr. Eric J. Becoats, co-interim superintendent, at 378-8838.

Public Hearing on Budget Next Week

Next Thursday, you have an opportunity to let our county commissioners know that education is the key to Guilford County’s economic future. The Guilford County Board of Commissioners hosts a public hearing on the county’s 2008-09 budget on Thursday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the Guilford County Courthouse, 301 West Market Street in Greensboro. GCS encourages all employees, parents and community partners to attend this meeting to show support for the 2008-09 school budget.

The budget submitted by the Board of Education reflects a 9.57 percent increase, or $16 million, to cover an additional 1,294 students, increased energy costs, funds to address recommendations of the School Climate Task Force and state legislated employee salary and benefit increases. Almost half of this addition is due to the salary and benefits increases.

Currently, the county manager’s budget calls for a $12.5 million increase for GCS – roughly $3 million short of the needed amount, and the commissioners could decide to reduce that number even further. The County Commissioners need to hear from you before and during the public hearing. Click here for a list of commissioners’ email addresses and phone numbers. County staff will sign up speakers from the floor that evening, so please plan to attend this important meeting to lend your support to our students and teachers. For more information on the GCS 2008-09 budget, click here.

Early Release on Last Day for Students

For students at schools on the traditional academic calendar, the last day of school, June 11, is an early release day. The schools will dismiss two hours early. After-School Care Enrichment Services (ACES) will operate like other early release days, with students going from class to ACES.  

June 11 is a regular instructional day for students at Johnson Street Global Studies K-8 Magnet and Brooks Global Studies. Click here to view the 2007-08 GCS instructional day schedule.

Who is the Fastest Kid in Guilford County?

On June 19 at 7 p.m., the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF) in conjunction with the Nike Outdoor Nationals will host a race to determine the Fastest Kid in Guilford County. Any student in elementary or middle school is encouraged to submit an entry to run in the 100-meter dash. Finalists from Thursday’s races will compete on Friday night during the Nike Outdoor Nationals.

All elementary and middle school students are welcome to join NSSF and the Nike Outdoor Nationals for a free track clinic on June 19 from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. taught by running professionals. The first 150 children who register receive a free t-shirt.

All entries for the Fastest Kid must be completed online. Click here to register. For more information, please contact Lillian M. Govus, program administrator – communications, at 370-8997.

The Academy at Lincoln Tops the District in the Math 24 Online Game

Students on the First in Math teams at the Academy at Lincoln recently were honored by Barbara Asteak, vice-president of Suntex.  Lincoln was one of several schools sponsored by Tyco in the Suntex First in Math Online Challenge, also known as the Math 24 competition.  This year, the competition was held entirely online with participants logging in to complete skill sets.  Successful completion of these skill sets allowed students to win stickers which contributed toward their individual and team scores.  Additional stickers were awarded based on increased skill-set difficulty and speed of completion. 
  
Lincoln had two teams this year, an elementary team and a middle school team. Both teams ranked first and second among all schools competing in Guilford County.  The middle school team ranked 102nd in the state and 173rd in the nation, while the elementary team ranked 106th in the state.  Within each team there were several students who ranked for the state and nation individually.

In addition to placing first and second for the state, Timothy Chang and Jeremy Chang ranked 22nd and 46th, respectively, in the nation.  For more information, please contact Principal Rodney Boone at 370-3471 or Lewis Ferebee, instructional improvement officer, at 370-8301.

Professional Development Policy Revision

Beginning January 1, 2008, Professional Development changed the minimum requirement for Continuing Education Units (CEU) credit from 10 hours to six hours. Employees are now able to receive credit for a course that is six hours or more in length.  CEUs are awarded based on the number of hours of training, i.e. a six-hour training would be awarded .6 CEUs.  Previously, all courses had to be at least 10 hours to get any CEU credit.  Participants should not register for courses unless they can attend 100 percent of the sessions. No partial credit may be given to workshop participants.  For more information, please contact Martha Snavely, executive director, induction and professional development, at 335-3290.  

Elementary Curriculum Facilitators Learn about New Social Studies Textbook Adoption and GEMS

On May 14, elementary curriculum facilitators participated in professional development which introduced them to the recently adopted social studies textbook series for students in grades K-5. Trainers from the textbook company familiarized participants with the different features of the new textbooks, including the correlation of their content with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, as well as peripheral resources designed to support and enhance differentiated instruction.

Additionally, they learned about Guilford Education Management System (GEMS), GCS’ new curriculum management system. GEMS is an online environment for curriculum resources selected and designed specifically for educators in the district. GEMS will eventually provide teachers at all grade levels easy access to instructional resources such as curriculum guides and lesson plans as well as links to online videos, downloadable books and research articles related to current issues in education. 

Curriculum facilitators will provide these workshops to their respective faculty on June 12, one of the district’s mandated professional development days. This is just one of the ways that the office of curriculum and instruction is maximizing school-based leadership capacity, which supports student learning by encouraging best instructional practice in all areas of the curriculum.  For more information, contact Lee Ann Segalla, elementary curriculum officer, at 370-2339.

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

Principals, curriculum facilitators and lead teachers from 13 schools that piloted three universal literacy screening instruments recommended Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) as the screener for district-wide implementation.  The DIBELS assessments are standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. DIBELS have been thoroughly researched and demonstrated to be reliable and valid indicators of early literacy development. When used with fidelity, DIBELS measures can help teachers provide early intervention for students who are not making expected growth in the area of literacy.

Each of the DIBELS measures takes about one minute per child to administer. Screening results are downloaded into a data base where they are immediately accessible to teachers and administrators enabling differentiation of literacy instruction according to individual student needs.

DIBELS training will occur on August 25, one of the district’s mandated professional development days.  For more information about DIBELS measures and how they can be used to support literacy development in Grades K-6, contact Lee Ann Segalla, elementary curriculum officer, at 370-2339 or visit the DIBELS Web site at http://dibels.uoregon.edu/dibelsinfo.php.

Mission Possible Professional Development

Current Mission Possible faculty have until June 30, 2008 to complete the required training for their current Mission Possible participation year.  Beginning July 1, 2008, all Mission Possible faculty may begin taking the training required for their 2008-09 participation year.  All training should be completed during the summer with the exception of faculty hired after the first day of school.  Training for the current year and the upcoming participation year is now online and open for registration.  Please note that additional training sessions will not be added during the school year.  We strongly encourage you to make your training selection from the following courses in order to fulfill your training requirements:

• Foundations of Cooperative Learning: http://www.solutionwhere.com/guilford/cw/showcourse.asp?1633
• Anti-Racism: http://www.solutionwhere.com/guilford/cw/showcourse.asp?1556
• Differentiated Instruction: http://www.solutionwhere.com/guilford/cw/showcourse.asp?1634
• TESA: http://www.solutionwhere.com/guilford/cw/showcourse.asp?2078
  

Site-Based staff development for year three participants will be posted for registration in August.
For questions about the Mission Possible program or about this announcement, please contact Dr. Amy Holcombe, executive director of talent development, at holcoma@gcsnc.com or 335-3294.

Office of Employment - Mini Fairs

The Office of Employment has invited over 700 qualified candidates to attend this week’s mini fair.  Candidates will meet at the central office location to hear from Human Resource representatives and the district’s recruitment sponsors. At the end of a brief orientation of the district, candidates will visit schools posting vacancies for tours and interviews.  The mini fairs serve as an excellent opportunity for the district to display its rich and diverse offerings, as well as allowing candidates to test-drive the district.  For more information, please contact Alan Hooker, director of employment, at hookera2@gcsnc.com or 370-8055.

GCS Calendar of Events

Click here to view the district’s upcoming calendar of events.

Central Office Summer Schedule

GCS central offices will operate on a summer schedule from Monday, June 16 through Friday, August 15.  Summer office hours are:

• 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday
• 7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. on Friday
  

Normal office hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) resume on Monday, August 18. We will revert back to normal office hours during the first week of July (June 30 – July 4) due to the July 4 holiday.

GCSTV2

“Taking Initiative: A Look Inside Guilford County Schools”

GCSTV 2 is showing this UNC-TV documentary on the innovative approaches and educational accomplishments of GCS.  The program explores how initiatives like GCS’ Mission Possible, Home Field Advantage and Newcomers School are leading the way to better opportunities for our students.  This documentary is made possible thanks to the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, the Cemala Foundation and the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation. The program runs daily at 9:01 a.m. and 10:01 p.m.

Discussing the Budget

The proposed 2008-09 budget represents the financial plan for Guilford County Schools.  Our community is keenly aware of the continuing financial challenges the district faces.  If you have questions about the budget, our co-interim superintendents, Dr. Eric Becoats and Sharon Ozment, have the answers you need in this conversation with GCSTV 2’s Leonard Simpson.  This program runs Tuesday through Thursday at 8:01 a.m., 2:01 p.m. and 7:47 p.m.  It also airs Friday through Monday at 9:46 a.m., 5:48 p.m. and 10:01 p.m.

Students Cheer for The Grasshoppers

GCS students enjoy a day at the ballpark to cheer on their home team, the Greensboro Grasshoppers.  GCSTV 2 takes in the action and brings the excitement to you in this presentation that runs Tuesday through Thursday at 10:54 a.m., and Friday through Monday at 1:56 p.m.

Music Showcase-Middle School All County Band

Music plays a big role in the arts education offered at GCS.  The All-County Band Concert gives students a chance to showcase their talents, and GCSTV 2 provides you a seat in the audience.  This program runs daily at 9:01 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. 

Music Showcase High School All County Band    

This performance features the best of the best of GCS high school band talent taped at their spring performance at Grimsley High.  This program runs daily at 10:01 a.m., 6:01 p.m. and 10:01 p.m.

Science Collaboration

Wiley Elementary teams up with North Carolina A&T State University to inspire students to get involved in science through some unique “hands on” experimentations.  This program runs daily at 11:55 a.m.

Eat Smart-Move More

The right nutrition is important to maintain good health.  GCS offers some healthy advice on choosing the right foods and portion sizes to cut down on the extra fat and calories that lurk in our diets.  Join Registered Dietitian Amanda Hester and Ashley Mathis for our series: Eat Smart.  Your guide to healthier eating runs daily at 6:57 a.m., 7:56 a.m. and Tuesday through Thursday at 9:52 p.m.  Friday through Monday it is shown at 9:55 p.m.

GCSTV 2 & ABC-45

GCS continues its partnership with ABC-45 television to share the following current news and feature stories about our district. The segments air on ABC-45 (Cable Channel 7) during Good Morning America each Wednesday and Friday at 7:25 a.m. and 8:25 a.m. For more information, please contact Leonard Simpson, broadcast production manager, at 370-8167.