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Jan. 16-31, 2011, News Archive
1/31/11 $55 million and a quest for success in West Charlotte
"As they launched a $55 million reform plan for struggling westside schools, Charlotte's business and philanthropic elite pledged to push for permission to try bold experiments, such as lengthening the school day or school year."
"As they launched a $55 million reform plan for struggling westside schools, Charlotte's business and philanthropic elite pledged to push for permission to try bold experiments, such as lengthening the school day or school year."
1/31/11 New Wake superintendent begins first day on the job
"Wake County public schools' new superintendent will spend his first day on the job Monday touring schools and meeting principals, teachers and students."
1/31/11 3,900 could switch schools in Wake
"The Wake school board is expected to give final approval Tuesday to the bulk of its 2011-12 student reassignment plan, which could send many students to closer-to-home schools that have higher poverty levels than the ones they're now attending."
1/31/11 Northern exposure
"Speaking of pride, the writer should hold his head up and tell his friends from Boston to look more carefully at the battle over Wake County schools. Ironically, the migration of northeasterners to Wake County has been pivotal."
1/31/11 Elite but ignorant
"Furthermore, with regard to school desegregation, I'll take Wake County's history over the blood-soaked experience of our "betters" in Boston any day."
1/31/11 Cash Michaels on the school board's "surrender" to AdvancED
"Cash Michaels is speculating on why the Wake County school board had a "come to Jesus moment" last week in voting to cooperate with AdvancED in the accreditation review."
1/31/11 Kathleen Brennan on Washington Post article and Arne Duncan
"In a letter to the editor today in The Post, Brennan, a co-founder of Wake CARES, complains that the Jan. 12 article "reflected preconceived notions about the situation in Wake County." She argues the reality is the diversity policy "created nontraditional calendar assignments, widespread parental discontent and great instability, with over 60,000 students reassigned over 10 years."
1/31/11 Tata visiting Enloe High School today
"New Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata will mark his first day on the job with a visit this morning to Enloe High School to meet with teachers, staff and students."
1/30/11 Wounded Wake School Board concedes to agency probe
"When the Republican-led Wake County School Board came out of its 50-minute closed door session with it attorneys Tuesday morning, it was clear that the majority had a dramatic "come to Jesus" moment."
1/28/11 Why class size is such a big deal
"Management has to be spot on when you have these kinds of classes," said Glassford, who added that it is nearly impossible to spend quality time with each child with so many students."
1/30/11 Donors launch bid to help schools
"On Monday, corporate and foundation donors will unveil Project LIFT, a five-year plan to support talented educators, extend the time kids spend in classes, beef up technology and strengthen family and community involvement in the schools that feed into West Charlotte High."
1/30/11 Tata asking critics to give him a chance as new superintendent
"New Wake County Superintendent Anthony Tata is asking people, particularly his critics, to give him a chance and not prejudge him."
1/30/11 Afghan attack set Tata's path
"The rocket hitting the school, the seven dead children, the scramble to save the wounded. For Tony Tata, it was a searing moment of clarity about the importance of education."
1/30/11 Marvelous magnets
"When nationally recognized magnet programs continue to shine so brightly, it is a shame to look the other way in search of solutions. The nation is looking at us. Why can't our own school board?"
1/29/11 Good, close, diverse
"What disheartens me most about our current public discourse is the idea that solutions to these complex issues are either/or as opposed to both/and."
1/29/11 Accreditation
"The problem is that he's attempting to turn the issue into a purely intellectual exercise. In the real world of consequence, there are people and institutions, many beyond the reach of our beloved local paper, who take accreditation very seriously."
1/29/11 Proof and belief
"I do think that if anyone needs to provide such studies, it would be the people advocating a change in the current system."
1/29/11 Under-used school
"It is simple: Everyone wants choice. It is also complicated: Everyone wants great schools."
1/29/11 Teacher cuts to hit CMS' poorest kids
"The teacher cuts loom largest for some of the county's poorest campuses, fallout from the school board's Tuesday vote to cut 134 teachers specifically earmarked for helping low-income children."
1/28/11 Triangle residents think Wake School Board's actions hurt the state's image, poll says
"A large majority of Triangle residents say actions by the Wake County School Board are taking a toll on North Carolina's national image, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling."
1/28/11 Swearing in Tata and giving the state of the Wake County school system
"Tuesday's Wake County school board meeting will include the swearing in of new Superintendent Tony Tata, a state of the system address by school board chairman Ron Margiotta and the vote on the 2011-12 student reassignment plan."
1/28/11 Three Wake schools to stay year-round
"I really would love to hear what people have to say about it," she said. "But I'm really not liking the idea of making a change without looking at that broader impact."
1/28/11 CMS reform effort adds schools
"Superintendent Peter Gorman this week added five campuses to his signature strategic staffing initiative, which pays top teachers and administrators extra to tackle some of the area's worst-performing schools."
1/27/11 NYC charter school study finds disparities
"Despite the claims of Hollywood filmmakers, the best-selling books by education reformers, and the billions of dollars being poured into the education reform movement by billionaire philanthropists-charter schools have not statistically proven to be better than their traditional public school counterparts."
1/27/11 Why Bipartisanism Isn't Working for Education Reform
"Education reform, on the other hand, is one of the few policy areas in which we have seen growing political consensus. This has been good for the tenor of debate on Capitol Hill, but less so for the children in our public schools."
1/27/11 Pennsylvania school experiments with 'segregation'
"A Pennsylvania high school says some students are separated by race, gender and language for a few minutes each day in an effort to boost academic scores, raising controversy over the historically contentious issue of segregation in schools."
1/27/11 Statewide opinion on the Wake County School Board
"Most North Carolinians aren't following the ongoing controversies with the Wake County School Board but those who are have an unfavorable opinion of the body and think that it's hurting the state's image."
1/27/11 Plan for Durham schools outlined
"Public schools Superintendent Eric J. Becoats rolled out a districtwide strategic plan Wednesday night that seeks to shrink the high school dropout rate to 3 percent, raise student proficiency in various grades and subjects to at least 80 percent, and obtain a 90 percent approval rating on teachers' working conditions by 2014."
1/27/11 Schools center stage in politics
"People with a stake in the future of education in North Carolina and Wake County are making their case in the streets, in the halls of the legislature and with their e-mail send keys."
1/27/11 Stronger schools with an income mix
1/27/11 With the program
"This was not a complicated test facing the Wake County school board. It consisted of one item: "True or false? Cooperating with the agency that accredits the county's high schools makes a world of sense."
1/27/11 Now tuned in
"Those of us who attended Wake County schools, particularly the magnet schools, take our legacy seriously. John Tedesco won his seat in a landslide, but only with 6,658 votes. My senior year at Enloe, we had over 2,300 students. All us of are paying attention now."
1/27/11 School Reassignment Is Top Priority Of Wake Co. School Board Work Session
"Wake County School Board members will hammer out details of school reassignment, including classroom overcrowding and student shuffling."
1/27/11 CMS board puts off vote on Bright Beginnings
"The board voted to eliminate 134 teachers assigned to help impoverished students and to change school hours to save money on busing. And Bright Beginnings will still face the prospect of $10.4 million in cuts on Feb. 8."
1/27/11 Can two weeks save Bright Beginnings?
"Who's going to step up and save Bright Beginnings in the next two weeks?"
1/27/11 School board china shop bulls continue their trail of destruction
"A new press release from the good folks at Great Schools in Wake about the latest destructive acts of the Wake County School Board majority:"
1/26/11 CMS board puts off vote on Bright Beginnings
"After emotional pleas from parents and children, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board held off Tuesday on dramatic cuts to the Bright Beginnings prekindergarten program."
1/26/11 Chart: New schedules, school by school
"CMS leaders Tuesday approved changing start and dismissal times for schools as part of a plan to shave $100 million from the budget. Here are the proposed new start and dismissal times, subject to revision by CMS staff:"
1/26/11 Wake school board will pay attention to AdvancED
"Wake County school board members agreed Tuesday to cooperate with a national accrediting agency's review of the system's high schools."
1/26/11 Reassignments take a baby step in Wake
"On a limited basis, school board members are carrying out a new neighborhood school policy that will, in some cases, shorten commutes by 10 miles."
1/26/11 Peer Learning
"When a child's "home" environment does not offer and reinforce productive activities, like reading, then he or she has to learn the importance of this by observing or hearing it from a more privileged peer."
1/26/11 Testing Remains the Problem
"Unfortunately, his Race to the Top program, which he called "the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation," undermines these goals."
1/26/11 Chatham considering grade shifts in schools to save money
"Superintendent Robert Logan says that K-8 schools cost more to run because the state provides funding based on the number of students enrolled."
1/26/11 Durham schools unveil student achievement plan
"Durham Public Schools unveiled a strategic plan on Wednesday to increase student achievement."
1/25/11 School board member John Tedesco's node added to reassignment plan today
"Supporters of the old diversity policy are in an uproar over Wake County school board member John Tedesco getting his neighborhood added to the plan today."
1/25/11 Wake school board expected to decide on AdvancED review
"Wake County school board members are expected to discuss Tuesday whether they will officially cooperate with a pending accreditation review scheduled for next month."
1/25/11 Wake school board agrees to cooperate with AdvancED review
"Wake County school board members voted 6-2 Tuesday to cooperate with a national accreditation firm looking closely at how the board conducts its business."
1/25/11 School board works through student reassignment plan
"Sutton said they need to focus on helping Walnut Creek, where more than half the students will be performing below grade level and will receive subsidized lunches."
1/25/11 Wake board agrees to accreditation review
"Board member John Tedesco, who had strongly opposed the review by Georgia-based AdvancED, offered a statement in support of cooperating, saying that the agency had clarified the scope and process of the review."
1/25/11 Wake board goes into closed session
"Wake County school board members sparred this morning over whether to discuss whether to cooperate with a national accrediting agency in closed session or publicly."
1/25/11 Less than half of students proficient in science
"The nation's students are still struggling in science, with less than half considered proficient and just a tiny fraction showing the advanced skills that could lead to careers in science and technology, according to results from an exam released Tuesday."
1/25/11 Parents give Wake school board an earful
"Wake County school board members will meet today to begin deciding which students will go where this fall in the move toward neighborhood schools."
1/25/11 Forum promotes school choice
"An effort to rally public support for more charter schools and tax credits for private schooling culminated Monday night at a forum sponsored by a group that wants more options for students."
1/25/11 Wake Co. School Board Votes To Comply With Accreditation Review
"Board members Carolyn Morrison, John Tedesco, Kevin Hill, Keith Sutton, Debra Goldman and Anne McLaurin voted to move forward with the review. Chris Malone and Deborah Prickett voted against it."
1/25/11 CMS's deepest school cuts aim at youngest students
"Advocates for young children are urging the board to delay a vote, saying there's no need to rush a decision that sets back academic progress and closes schools in fragile neighborhoods."
1/25/11 CMS looks for help with hiring
"With Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools warning of layoffs, teachers are asking why a national nonprofit group is setting up shop in."
1/24/11 Dallas Woodhouse threatens to take professor to the woodshed
"In a remote television interview on RT America's Alyona show recently, Woodhouse was discussing the diversity issue in Wake County schools when he became irritated with a Georgetown University journalism professor in the studio who was interrupting him."
1/24/11 School will test board's resolve
"Two school board work sessions this week should lead to a series of unofficial votes that will shape the final plan scheduled to be adopted Feb.1."
1/24/11 Parents voice final concerns about Wake student assignment
"Public hearings about the future of assignment in Wake schools over the last two weeks have revealed a community divided."
1/23/11 School riddle rooted in taxes
"The overlooked news appears to be that Tedesco has become a county commissioner - or at least thinks he has."
1/23/11 Rubber meets road
"Am I to understand and accept that after all the work I've put in, I might be graduating from an unaccredited school?"
1/23/11 The evil within
"The Wake County Public School System was once held up nationally as an example of excellence. Now it is being destroyed from within by a Trojan horse cabal with financial, religious and intellectual ties to the private and parochial school industry."
1/23/11 Tata's homework
"Again, with homework, Tata would know that WCPSS was touted throughout the United States for our creative approach to achieving racial balance. Free and reduced lunch criteria are sadly an accurate indicator of race."
1/23/11 Student consequences
"Consequently, the ones who might suffer the most are the students."
1/23/11 Didn't vote for this
"I seriously doubt they had any idea at the time they voted that this same group of representatives would be taking actions that would result in our school district's possibly having its accreditation taken away."
1/23/11 More still less
"Creating high-poverty schools by limiting school assignments to neighborhoods and then throwing money (if we had any extra) to improve student achievement clearly does not work. Not in Charlotte, and not in numerous studies in education. Our board of education needs to focus on student achievement."1/23/11 WCPSS To Hold Student Assignment Public Hearing Monday
1/22/11 NAACP To Hold Vigil, Meeting To Discuss Wake Accreditation Concerns
"The State NAACP will hold an interfaith prayer vigil and meeting Tuesday Jan. 25 to talk about the accreditation concerns facing Wake County schools."
1/22/11 Wake schools likely to allow review
"The Wake County school board is expected to officially agree Tuesday to cooperate with the terms for a review set by an accreditation agency probing into the school district's elimination of diversity-based student assignments."
1/22/11 Choosy charters
"Charter schools have the right, which they often exercise, to cut loose under-performing students in order for them to maintain grade averages."
1/22/11 Uneven competition
"If competition be the order of the day, I welcome it. The rules cannot be different for one side than the other. That would not be a competition but a travesty."
1/21/11 Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman tells The Root, "We do not have a children problem; we have an adult problem."
"Edelman is "distraught" about the decision by a newly elected school board in Wake County, N.C., to return to neighborhood assignments that will mean less racial and socioeconomic diversity. (It has also drawn the criticism of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.)"
1/21/11 Forecast for magnet busing
"At the risk of making myself look foolish, I'm going to hazard a prediction about Tuesday's school board meeting: Magnet families will be spared further cutbacks in busing for 2011-12, but they still won't be able to breathe easy."
1/21/11 WakeUP group will meet with officials to discuss Wake schools and transit issues
"WakeUP Wake County, the citizens group that has pushed for balanced development and diverse schools in the county, will meet with county elected officials at the group's annual meeting Monday."
1/21/11 Weak Tea Party Connection to Wake County, N.C., School Board
"But was the school board really "backed by the national Tea Party"?"
1/21/11 Resegregating Schools in Wake County and New Hanover County
"The fact that many of the board members, including Tedesco, are from the North (Tedesco is from New Jersey) has not been lost on the natives who went through the raw and painful, but successful, desegregation process in the late 60's and 70's. Among some, the resentment is growing."
1/21/11 Gov. Bev Perdue warns Wake school diversity fight may hurt state's image
"In a meeting Thursday with the Greensboro News & Record editorial board, Perdue said she's concerned all the national publicity may cause businesses not to come to the state. She also complained that schools shouldn't "stuff all the poor kids in one school and all the rich kids in another school."
1/21/11 Wake school board could decide on AdvancED review
"Wake County school board members could discuss next week whether they will officially cooperate with a pending accreditation review scheduled for next month."
1/21/11 Neighborhood schools backers turn out en masse
"Motivated in part by lobbying efforts from the Republican Party, numerous speakers came to Thursday's meeting at Garner High School to criticize the diversity policy and to praise the school board's efforts to send children to schools closer to where they live."
1/21/11 Tedesco declines GOP's aid offer
"John Tedesco is turning down an offer from local Republican leaders to pass the hat to help him out during his financial difficulties."
1/21/11 Reality check
"Thanks to decisions by the Wake County school board to upend decades of progress and throw a student assignment policy into reverse, the county's schools and the entire community now find themselves suffering reflected embarrassment on a national scale."
1/21/11 Our just desserts
"We have reached the level of being mocked by Stephen Colbert. Fantastic. Wake County deserves it. Thank you, thank you, Stephen Colbert."
1/21/11 Hard to defend
"The tone and tenor of the public debate I have heard over the past couple of years suggest that many voters have come to regret and, indeed, be embarrassed by their decision vis-a-vis the current school board."
1/21/11 Agreeing not to postpone the consensus-building work sessions on student assignment
"On Tuesday, school board chairman Ron Margiotta suggested "holding in abeyance" the work sessions. But the board agreed to go ahead with them after vice chairwoman Debra Goldman and the Democrats objected."
1/21/11 John Tedesco asking that gifts go to Big Brother Big Sisters
"It looks like Wake County school board member John Tedesco will be avoiding any potential ethics concerns by turning down gifts being solicited in his name by the Wake County Republican Party."
1/21/11 Wake County GOP asking people to send gifts to support school board member John Tedesco
"Wake County Republican Party Chairman Susan Bryant is defending school board member John Tedesco and urging people to send him gifts to help him out."
1/21/11 Not everyone is laughing at Colbert's take on Wake County Schools
"During a meeting Thursday with the News & Record editorial board, the governor suggested the national attention the school board has received could adversely impact the recruitment of new jobs to the state."
1/20/11 New study ranks Wake County as highly efficient school district
"A liberal national think tank that has praised Wake County's old socioeconomic diversity policy has released a new report giving the school district high marks for educational productivity."
1/20/11 Atlanta Public Schools placed on probation
"Elgart said conflicts between Atlanta school board members go beyond normal squabbles between elected officials."
1/20/11 Sly satirist skewers Wake schools
"The swirl of attention - including a caution from the nation's top educator and a merciless ribbing from an influential late night comedian - shows the changing image of a system that was once praised as one of the nation's best."
1/20/11 Goldman's nod assures a 'go' on accreditation
"Goldman, who is vice chairwoman of the nine-member school board, said Wednesday that the board should resolve differences with AdvancED and move forward with the process."
1/20/11 Residents chide Wake school board members at hearing
"Wake County residents on Wednesday loudly criticized the Wake County school board's efforts to end a longstanding diversity policy during a hearing designed to discuss specifics of a reassignment plan for students."
1/20/11 Saunders: Colbert hits the target
"More accurately, people make themselves look stupid. Colbert merely provides them a platform and the humor-hungry audience. Rarely has he succeeded as well as he did this week."
1/20/11 Wake school envy
"Birmingham would love to have what you have had these past four decades."
1/20/11 School haves, have-nots
"When I read about the antics of the Wake County school board, I am saddened and frightened and reminded of the observation that the rich are different: They are ruthless."
1/20/11 Tedesco's duty
"Perhaps if he were to spend a little less time on national TV pushing his extreme ideology he'd have time to actually do the job he was elected to do and fight against slashing the Wake County school system budget. He may not win, but it is certainly his duty to try. A duty he clearly intends to neglect."
1/20/11 Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina to pass school diversity resolution
"As noted today by reporter Yonat Shimron, delegates to this weekend's annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina are expected to approve a resolution supporting diversity in student school assignments."
1/20/11 Assessing the impact of the recent national attention on Wake's image
"While it was a joke and obviously an exaggeration, it's not useful from a public policy perspective as we work to attract jobs to our region and county," Schmitt said."
1/20/11 More than 600 CMS teachers could go
"Superintendent Peter Gorman's $100 million budget-cut plan would eliminate "more than 600" teachers, but almost two-thirds could be spared if the scenario improves by spring, according to a priority list posted Wednesday."
1/19/11 Wake wants countywide vote for school board reps
"The Wake County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 on Tuesday to include on its 2011 legislative agenda a push to elect a majority of Wake County School Board Members at large. Currently each school board member is elected by district, but the proposal would make some school board elections county wide."
1/19/11 An open letter to Wake school superintendent Anthony Tata
"Anyway, my point in writing isn't to second-guess a hiring decision already made. Rather, it's to share with you my sense that, whatever people thought of that decision, they're saying their prayers that you will find a way forward through the minefield that Wake school politics has become."
1/19/11 Parents make passionate pleas on Wake student assignment
"The topic of student assignment in Wake County schools brought out passionate debate among parents on Wednesday night."
1/19/11 Goldman says she'll support AdvancED review
"Goldman issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying she will support the review and will meet with members of AdvancED when they come to Raleigh next month."
1/19/11 Colbert mocks Wake schools' assignment controversy
"The local business community is also concerned, says Harvey Schmitt, president of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce."
1/19/11 Goldman to support Wake schools' accreditation
"The Wake County School board should resolve its differences with the accrediting agency AdvancED and move forward with the accreditation process, board member Debra Goldman has just announced."
1/19/11 Wake Co. Reassignment Debate Featured On 'Colbert Report'
"The controversial proposal has gained national exposure - most recently featured on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."
1/19/11 Taking a break from tea time
"The most important thing facing the schools this year is not changing which kids go to which school, it's working together to make sure that whatever schools students attend have enough resources to provide a quality education."
1/19/11 Stephen Colbert skewers the Wake County School Board
"For Wake County advocates fighting to preserve the county's acclaimed socioeconomic integration policy, the video neatly sums up 13 months of insanity and provided new hope that common sense will ultimately prevail."
1/19/11 Article looks at impact of school reform efforts of Broad Foundation
"Dissent magazine has published an in-depth look at education reform in the U.S. The article includes an examination of the Broad Foundation and the Broad Superintendents Academy, of which new Wake County Schools Superintendent Anthony Tata is a graduate."
1/19/11 Colbert skewers Wake County School Board
"But Tuesday evening, the school board received a new level of attention (and mockery), courtesy of Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report."
1/19/11 Gorman: Pay cuts, furloughs impractical
"A week after laying out plans to cut 1,500 jobs from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools next year, Superintendent Peter Gorman said pay cuts and furloughs don't provide good options for saving jobs."
1/19/11 Atlanta schools given 9 months to keep accreditation
"School Board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El said the district takes the report seriously and will address all concerns. "Retention of our accreditation is a top priority ... because the academic standing and reputation of the district is at stake," he said."
1/19/11 Wake school board mocked on 'The Colbert Report'
"The Wake County school board is being mocked on national television for eliminating its socioeconomic diversity policy to move toward neighborhood schools."
1/19/11 Wake schools may go to state, county for money
"The Wake County school board is debating whether to ask county and state leaders for more money in the face of a poor economy that could lead to sharp budget cuts."
1/19/11 Second-rate status
"They can no longer hide behind that falsehood. There is no way on earth that dropping our accreditation can be represented as benefiting our children. There is no positive way to spin this. This is about a political agenda, not about education - they consistently turn their backs on education."
1/19/11 Chris Malone and Terry Stoops respond to The Colbert Report
"There's starting to be some backlash now against Stephen Colbert for his satirical mocking of the Wake County school board for ending the diversity policy."
1/19/11 Tata wants a two-day retreat with school board
"Margiotta said he doesn't know for sure what will be discussed. But he said he thinks Tata will cover all the concerns the board has, including student assignment."
1/19/11 Disputing that all school board members support community-based schools
"Wake County school board vice chairwoman Debra Goldman was challenged Tuesday evening on her assertion that all nine board members support moving to community-based schools."
1/19/11 School board showdown
"But now, who do you think will be most affected by the loss of Wake's accreditation - those same affluent citizens who would be sending their kids to out-of-state colleges. Isn't it going to be hard for the children of these anti-bussing supporters to get into an out-of-state school when their own high schools are no longer accredited?"
1/19/11 Comedian mocks Wake schools' assignment controversy
"The controversy surrounding the Wake County school board's plan to assign students goes up for another debate Wednesday night. The issue is once again getting national attention - this time on a comedy show."
1/18/11 In Wake County, N.C.: Which direction for diversity in schools?
"Do we want to go in the direction the Wake board is moving in, pretending that we have achieved a post-racial America? Or do we want to go in the direction of diversity, recognizing the reality that the gap has not quite been bridged yet?"
1/18/11 Wake schools: accreditation, diversity and Lady GaGa (20 LTE'S)
"The majority has pulled Wake out of the N.C. School Board Association, and they are now seeking to withdraw Wake from the accreditation agency, thus de-accrediting our students. Now that they are aware of the Standard for diversity will they follow it or strike it down and thereby de-accredit all Wake teachers?"
1/18/11 Hundreds of Wake teacher jobs could be at risk
"State budget cuts could mean the loss of hundreds of teacher positions in Wake County for the 2011-12 academic year, school board members learned Tuesday."
1/18/11 CNN debate on class size on MLK's birthday
"For Prof. Jeremy Finn's critique of Chingos' study of Florida's class size reduction program, Asking the Wrong Questions About the Impact of Class-Size Reduction, from the National Education Policy Center."
1/18/11 Magnets' fate splits Wake parents
"There is a delicate balance with the magnet program that we need to maintain," school board member Kevin Hill said."
1/18/11 The Word - Disintegration
"North Carolina Tea Partiers want to reverse socially engineered progress until things get so bad for the poor that they can't be ignored."
1/17/11 No Tea Party backing, Tedesco? Really?
"But on Monday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s national holiday, the board's most bombastic member, John Tedesco, took to the airwaves of Fox Business News and WPTF-AM in Raleigh, trashing WCPSS previous student diversity policy, pushing neighborhood schools, chiding Sec. Duncan for his rebuke, and incredibly, not telling the truth AT ALL in denying that the NC Tea Party movement is backing the Republican majority on the Wake County Public School Board."
1/17/11 Tedesco: King's legacy not at stake in Wake schools
"Wake County School Board member John Tedesco appeared on the Fox Business News Channel Monday to defend the board's controversial decision to abandon a long-standing student assignment policy that bussed students to achieve socio-economic diversity in schools."
1/17/11 N.C. School Board Dismantles Integration Program
"John Tedesco of the Wake Country School Board argues the state is spending too much money on the current bussing system."
1/17/11 Meeker says Wake school board 'way off track'
"Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker received a standing ovation Monday morning after criticizing members of the Wake County Board of Education for not upholding the dream and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."
1/17/11 Wake GOP raising money for school board elections
"The Wake County Republican Party is mobilizing its base for financial support as they look toward this fall's school board elections."
1/17/11 Charles Meeker on getting the Wake County school board "back on track"
"Invoking the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker issued a call to arms today for the public to get involved in this fall's Wake County school board elections "to get the board back on track."
1/17/11 Gov. Bev Perdue criticizes Wake County schools during MLK speech
"Perdue's criticism of the school board and the elimination of the diversity policy was a bit more veiled than the remarks made by Meeker. But she clearly conveyed to the audience that she wasn't happy with what was happening in the Wake school system."
1/16/11 School Desegregation Battle: A Thing of the Past . . . and the Present
"The conflicts of more than 50 years ago echo today, though divisions are as much economic as racial."
1/16/11 Charter Schools: What Would Dr. King Say?
"Whether located in the poorest, brownest neighborhoods of the Twin Cities or in the leafiest, whitest suburbs of North Carolina, charter schools often engage in a form of intensely segregated schooling that either contains or isolates minorities in urban centers, while offering middle-class parents escape routes from traditional schools that are increasingly tainted by the burgeoning poor, which now comprise 20 percent of American children."
1/16/11 Charter schools gain strength
"Republicans who will control the legislature promise to lift the state limit of 100 charter schools, offering more options for parents and energizing school-choice groups that have clamored for more since the law was new. Legislators say they intend to offer a proposed new charter law within the first two weeks of the session that begins Jan. 26."
1/16/11 Schools chief on reconnaissance
"Schools superintendent-in-waiting Anthony Tata, making his recent debut tour in Wake County, didn't explicitly promise to lay off the political commentary that has revealed him to be an enthusiastic admirer of Sarah Palin and a confirmed Barack Obama skeptic."
1/16/11 Character in practice
"Myers' cogent comparison of the behavior of some of the board members vis a vis their own Character Ed curriculum shows that a member of the county teaching staff has the courage to provide a valuable and much needed lesson to those board members."
1/16/11 Parents in the school
"What do studies show regarding the role of parent involvement in community schools compared with magnet schools?"
1/16/11 Tata's baggage
"Tata's political views are his own, and I respect that, but to have a very public airing of his radical views is outrageous. It shows that he does not have tolerance, and to bring that lack of tolerance in our school system is frightening. There is no way that he is not going to bring his political views into the job. We don't need someone who is so publicly controversial as superintendent of our schools."
