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GCS News Briefs
July 24, 2009 GCS Makes Significant Gains on AYPBased on preliminary results, GCS made significant gains in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) during the 2008-09 school year. Overall, 69.8 percent of the district’s schools met AYP. This is the highest number for GCS since the measure was established in 2003. About 82 percent of the district’s middle schools, about 70 percent of elementary schools and about 58 percent of high schools made AYP. Ten of the district’s schools met AYP for the seventh year in a row. To meet AYP, schools must reach target goals for all subgroups that include 40 or more students in a school. These subgroups include students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency and students of specific races or ethnicities. For GCS, many subgroups showed 20-point and higher gains in reading and math during the 2008-09 school year. AYP is all or nothing: if a school misses the target goal for one subgroup, it does not make AYP, even if 29/30 subgroups achieved at the targeted level. Some of our schools missed AYP by only one or two target goals. Due to the AYP results, two Title I schools will exit school improvement for the 2009-10 school year. Alderman Elementary and Archer Elementary have met AYP for the past two years, so they will no longer be under No Child Left Behind sanctions. AYP is a federal standard required by the No Child Left Behind Act. It is based on End-of-Grade and End-of-Course test proficiency in reading and mathematics in third through eighth grades and 10th grade. The released AYP results are only preliminary until the N.C. Department of Public Instruction releases the official results and they are approved by the State Board of Education. For more information and to view the preliminary results, visit http://www.gcsnc.com/ayp/index.html. “Plan B” Recommended for Oak Ridge ElementaryThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended Oak Ridge Elementary remained closed until the completion of work on the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system and other initial recommendations. As a result, GCS administration will relocate students and staff at other facilities temporarily using the “Plan B” developed in partnership with Oak Ridge parents and staff members. As part of this plan, the majority of students – grades two through five – will be housed at Oak Ridge Military Academy through October, depending on the successful outcome of the contract negotiations. Oak Ridge pre-K students will attend Pearce Elementary, while kindergarten and first grade students will go to Colfax Elementary. The estimated cost is $222,000. The “Plan B” committee and district administrators reviewed a wide range of options, according to Angelo Kidd, Western regional superintendent. After reviewing travel times, transportation concerns, the logistics of trying to monitor instruction at multiple sites, afterschool care concerns, cost and proximity for parents who might have students split among more than one location, the Plan B committee and district administration agreed that housing most of the student body at Oak Ridge Military Academy represented the best option. NIOSH and Turner have recommended removing the rest of the carpet, re-commissioning the HVAC system, adjusting moisture levels, installing a vapor barrier in the crawl space under the old building and removing any mold or mildew discovered during this process. At this point, Turner has not recommended cleaning the ductwork, saying that the money would be better spent on re-commissioning the HVAC system. GCS officials hope to have the work completed at Oak Ridge Elementary by the end of October, although the scope and timeline could change based on NIOSH’s final report and any issues discovered while recalibrating the HVAC system and taking other corrective action at the school. While we recognize that this transition will be challenging, we firmly believe this decision is in the best interest of our Oak Ridge students, staff members, parents and volunteers. When a division of the CDC says they have concerns, we need to listen and respond appropriately. For more information click here, or contact Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, at 370-3482. Contracts Renewed for an Additional 127 Interim EmployeesLast night, the Guilford County Board of Education approved to renew contracts for an additional 127 interim licensed employees that worked in the district during the 2008-09 school year. This brings the total number of interim licensed employee contracts approved to 275. In June, 578 interim employees were notified that GCS had delayed bringing their contracts to the board for renewal due to the uncertainty of the budget situation.The board approved the contracts of 148 of these employees during past meetings. District officials hope to continue bringing contract renewals for additional interim employees forward at future board meetings. Interim employees are those individuals who serve on a temporary contract that is revisited annually and stipulates a beginning and ending date for their employment status. Interim employees include those who have been employed for less than 120 days; are on emergency, provisional or lateral entry licenses; are retirees; are not in fulltime positions; or are Visiting International Faculty (VIF) teachers. For more information, please contact Shirley Morrison, interim chief human resources officer, at 370-8341 New Policy on Athletic Coaches ApprovedA new policy on interscholastic athletic coaches will take effect for GCS. The Guilford County Board of Education approved Policy GBDBA, Interscholastic Athletic Coaches, at its meeting last night. The policy provides guidance on who can coach interscholastic athletic teams within the district. It states that coaches should be faculty members at the school where they coach a team. If a faculty member is not willing or able to coach, the school can seek other qualified GCS employees for coaching positions. The policy states, “Non-faculty coaches should be used only in the event that no faculty coach is available.” The accompanying procedure requires coaches to sign a code of conduct and disclose potential conflicts of interest, including coaching students of the same age and eligibility and recruiting for compensation for other programs or organizations. For more information, please contact Leigh Hebbard, director of athletics, at 370-8950. GCS to Apply for Federal Stimulus BondThe Guilford County Board of Education gave the go ahead for GCS to apply for Qualified School Construction Bonds. These bonds are part of the federal stimulus money available to school districts. GCS will seek approximately $17.1 million in bonds to be used for school maintenance projects such as HVAC, roof, window and door replacements. The bonds are interest free and have a life of 15 years. For more information, please contact Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, at 370-3482. The Latest News from GCS
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