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Mar. 1-15, 2011, News Archive
3/15/11 Tata prioritizes teachers, classroom in Wake budget proposal
"Superintendent Tony Tata presented a "very creative" budget proposal to the Wake County Board of Education Tuesday, prioritizing teacher retention and classroom investment in the face of a projected $2 billion to $3 billion state budget shortfall next year."
"Superintendent Tony Tata presented a "very creative" budget proposal to the Wake County Board of Education Tuesday, prioritizing teacher retention and classroom investment in the face of a projected $2 billion to $3 billion state budget shortfall next year."
3/15/11 Tata's budget plan would cut jobs but not teachers
"It's very realistic that we will be able to implement this budget," said Tata, who started as superintendent of the state's largest district on Jan. 31."
3/15/11 Civil rights investigators to talk with Wake schools officials
"Federal investigators from the U.S. Office for Civil Rights have an interview scheduled with Wake County schools Superintendent Tony Tata Wednesday, a district spokesman said."
3/14/11 End school board feuding, auditors advise Tata
"An outside audit of the Wake County school system is recommending that Superintendent Tony Tata work to end the public feuding on the school board."
3/14/11 Goldman wants Wake school's chief to look into daughter's transfer
"While I believe that the staff's recommendations on behalf of my child were entirely appropriate, it appears that the issue has raised some questions," Goldman wrote Tata in an e-mail dated Sunday."
3/14/11 Peter Gorman to serve as Tony Tata's mentor
"The Wake school system announced today that the Broad Superintendents Academy has assigned Gorman to be Tata's executive coach for one year. Along with the audits, it's one of the services that Broad provides to its alumni."
3/14/11 Audit Suggests Wake Co. School Board 'Disagreements' Are 'Off Putting'
"An outside audit of the Wake County Public School System suggests the school board's "disagreements" are "off putting to the public and a source of negative news coverage of the district."
3/13/11 Check it out: Assembly-line education is so not working
"Very cool use of animation tool, courtesy of RSA Animate: Visualize our 18th century model of public education and how it's worked, and not worked, over the ages. In just 11 minutes. (!)"
3/13/11 New ratings for CMS teachers spark questions
"I am Mr. Lower Quartile," Strawn recently told the school board, using the CMS label for its least-effective teachers. "I have no idea why, and no one's been able to tell me why."
3/12/11 Goldman's child sent to out-of-zone school
"Using a rarely-exercised Wake County schools policy, Debra Goldman, school board vice chairwoman, received a midyear transfer for her middle-school-age daughter to an out-of-zone school, complete with door-to-door bus transportation."
3/12/11 N.C. NAACP to contest ban on school lunch data
"The state NAACP is contesting a federal agency's determination that Wake County can't use subsidized lunch data to assign students to schools."
3/12/11 Questions about approving the transfer for Debra Goldman's daughter
"Did you know that you could bypass the normal paperwork and procedure for getting a student transfer in Wake County by appealing directly to the superintendent?"
3/12/11 CMS magnets popular despite changes
"Almost 19,000 students have been placed in Charlotte-Mecklenburg magnet programs for 2011-12, with another 3,800 on waiting lists for specialized programs they hope to get into."
3/12/11 NAACP backs use of lunch data for student assignment
"The NAACP, the lead organization in a challenge to the Wake County Public School System policy of student assignment, issued a statement Friday backing the district's long-standing use of subsidized lunch information as a means of determining student socio-economic status."
3/11/11 Wake school board debates teacher attire
"Some Wake County school board members are making it clear they don't want to play the role of fashion police when it comes to what teachers are wearing in school."
3/11/11 Grade deflation
"It's better, in the view of many Republicans, to blame "the schools" or inattentive parents for bad numbers rather than point the finger at inadequate funding from lawmakers."
3/11/11 School kids in Cleveland County weigh in on charters
"Students at Kings Mountain Intermediate School in Cleveland County aimed right at state lawmakers' heartstrings when they made this video urging lawmakers to vote against Senate Bill 8."
3/11/11 Cold cruel workplace
"The North Carolina numbers mirror these, and a Google search indicates many states with lower dropout rates as well, so we are not necessarily a stand-out on dropouts. All the more reason to be careful with cuts to public education."
3/11/11 Left behind
"Now we can turn over all our colleges to out-of-state students - at a continued bargain, of course - for there won't be any N.C. high school grads able to pass college entrance exams."
3/11/11 Federal investigators to interview student assignment committee members next week
"Federal civil rights investigators will be in Raleigh on Thursday to interview the community members of the Wake County school board's disbanded student assignment committee."
3/10/11 Cash Michaels accuses Wake of not having a plan for high-poverty schools
"Cash Michaels is hammering the Wake County school board for not planning ahead of time for the financial costs of high-poverty neighborhoods schools while also warning that the budget cuts in Charlotte could be a sign of things to come locally."
3/10/11 Schools cuts begin to show in state
"North Carolina lost nearly 10,000 public school jobs for the current school year, and the state slipped to 46th in the nation in per pupil spending, a new report from the state teachers group says."
3/10/11 N.C. falls to 46th in per-pupil spending
"North Carolina lost nearly 10,000 public school jobs for the current school year, and the state slipped to 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending, a new report from the state teachers group says."
3/9/11 Education "options" we can't afford
"The list ought to send shivers down the spine of anybody who cares about public education. One option listed was to abolish more than 17,000 teacher assistants, taking away the help for classroom teachers in the crucial grades K-3."
3/9/11 Wake schools didn't keep busing for diversity records
"School district leaders in Wake County are turning over hundreds of documents to federal investigators in response to a charge that a controversial new student assignment policy will create unequal, high-poverty schools, but some requested data was missing."
3/9/11 Federal investigators to meet with Wake school board members
"Federal investigators from the Office for Civil Rights are coming to Raleigh in April to meet with Wake County school board members about a complaint filed by the state NAACP."
3/9/11 6 named to student assignment panel
"Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata on Tuesday announced a task force of school administrators he's forming to develop a student assignment plan."
3/9/11 Bill on charter schools revised
"A rewritten proposal for eliminating the charter school cap would limit how quickly the state could add new schools and would no longer require that traditional schools hand over their booster club money to charters."
3/9/11 GSIW hosting community forum Tuesday on the Alves Plan
"GSIW issued a media advisory yesterday on a March 15 community forum on the Wake School Choice Plan that it's sponsoring with the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children."
3/9/11 Worst-case CMS plans: 559 layoffs
"About 560 educators - including teachers, librarians and counselors - face layoffs next year under guidelines the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board approved Tuesday."
3/9/11 Wake can't tell feds how many students bused for diversity
"Wake County school officials are adamantly denying allegations of racial discrimination lodged by the NAACP while also saying they can't provide detailed information on the number of students who were assigned to schools for socioeconomic diversity."
3/9/11 Absolute power: An examination of Art Pope's dominance
"That's being played out in the Republican-dominated Legislature. Those lawmakers and their regressive agenda for social services, education, the environment and tax policy are brought to you largely by Pope and Pope-backed groups."
3/8/11 Tata assembles student assignment team
"Wake County's school superintendent has temporarily reassigned six members of his staff to devote themselves entirely to implementing the school system's new student assignment policy."
3/8/11 Will raising quantity of NC charter schools hurt quality?
"North Carolina has 99 charter schools, all of which are free to attend and don't come with the same guidelines as regular public schools. Test results show the state's charter students are performing well in the classroom, but some question whether raising the quantity of schools will hurt the quality."
3/8/11 John Tedesco to speak tonight at Americans for Prosperity event in Greensboro
"Tedesco is the special guest for a 6:30 p.m. showing of the documentary "The Cartel" at the Guilford County Republican Party Headquarters, 3950 West Market St, in Greensboro. The showing is sponsored by the Triad chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the conservative organization that has played a big role in the Tea Party movement nationally."
3/8/11 Public pleas for education
"Public school employees and supporters turned out in the highest numbers to say more cuts would hurt classrooms. Parents who sent children to the preschool program More at Four told legislators it was invaluable in preparing their children for elementary school."
3/8/11 Nonspecific survey
"Thanks for the Feb. 28 article "Board debate stings principals." Wake schools Superintendent Tony Tata, as well as The N&O, should be commended for obtaining and reporting information that is so vital to operating a quality educational program in Wake County."
3/8/11 Cash Michaels on how Wake "conquered" the rest of the state under Bill McNeal's watch
"Michaels has touted Wake's academic performance under McNeal's tenure during his ongoing series looking at Walnut Creek Elementary in the post-SES area."
3/8/11 CMS launches its first step in teacher layoffs?
In what's becoming a grim rite of spring for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Superintendent Peter Gorman will ask the school board to approve teacher layoff criteria today."
3/8/11 Wake Co. Schools Superintendent Announces Student Assignment Taskforce
"Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata has assembled a six-member team to begin work on the development of a new student assignment plan."
3/7/11 Millbrook Elementary named top magnet school
"Magnet Schools of America recently recognized six Wake County schools as "National Magnet Schools of Excellence." One of them is Millbrook Magnet Elementary."
3/7/11 Plea to NC lawmakers at hearing: Avoid deep cuts
"Education advocates, administrators and parents are urging legislative budget-writers for public education to avoid the kind of deep cuts they warn will set North Carolina students back after decades of progress."
3/7/11 Dem alternative to NC charter school bill unveiled
"North Carolina House Democrats are floating a bill they hope will change the discussion on charter schools to ensure the State Board of Education licenses the alternative schools and preserves more funding for traditional public schools."
3/7/11 Determining if a Wake County school is "healthy"
"How has the Wake County school system determined if a school is "healthy?"
3/6/11 Pay plan has CMS teachers on edge
"Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials are trying to ignite a revolution in teaching, one school at a time."
3/5/11 School support
"This would be a good time for all those who will be making critical calls on education spending to digest the latest recommendations from the Public School Forum, a group that over a quarter-century has laid down an impressive track record of advocacy for North Carolina's schools and thus its young people."
3/5/11 Performance counts
"It's interesting the government has said (news story, March 3) that school districts cannot use economic (free lunch) data to "diversify" individual school enrollments."
3/5/11 Words from the front
"The Wake County school board agreed to this goal at its recent retreat: Highly effective principals and teachers are the key to improving growth in student achievement."
3/4/11 Accusing the school board majority of insulting teachers by saying they set low expectations
"Is it "a slap in the face" to Wake County teachers to say that some of them set low expectations for students?"
3/4/11 NC House bill would allow earlier start to school year
"State lawmakers are considering a bill that would give local school boards more flexibility with when to start and end the school year."
3/4/11 GOP budget writers eye teaching jobs
"Republican lawmakers said Friday that they are considering cutting between 5 to 10 percent of North Carolina's teaching positions to help meet their spending targets for the 2011 fiscal year."
3/4/11 Give me a chance, Tata pleads
"Wake schools Superintendent Tony Tata urged critics Thursday to give him a chance as he tries to develop a new student assignment plan that he hopes will avoid creating high concentrations of low-performing students."
3/4/11 Two strikes at N.C.'s public schools
"Two proposals now before the General Assembly call into question our state's commitment to high-quality public education."
3/4/11 Hilburn SOS
"Hilburn needs help now, not in one year. The outcome could be disastrous: More families leaving, more teachers transferring, more students suffering. Superintendent Anthony Tata heard our message. Now it is time the school board acts."
3/4/11 CMS crime up, dropouts fall
"The report, released Thursday, showed 1,545 criminal or violent acts in CMS for 2009-10. That's up 19 percent from the previous year. Included in the overall number are 107 acts of violence, a 73 percent jump."
3/4/11 No fear at East Meck?
"So why are the teachers at East Mecklenburg High so bold about speaking up on controversial issues?"
3/4/11 Tony Tata takes NC HEAT questions
"Student assignment and diversity accounted for much of the questions that Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata faced Thursday night at the meeting organized by NC HEAT."
3/3/11 Bob Luddy demands NCAE remove attack video
"Conservative businessman Bob Luddy has demanded, unsuccessfully for now, that the N.C. Association of Educators remove its recent video that accuses him of trying to destroy public schools."
3/3/11 News report misstates law on free lunch data and student assignment
"Thankfully, the final decisions on critical legal issues like these are not made by program analysts from the Department of Agriculture. Both the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have held up Wake County's old socioeconomic diversity plan as a national model and no federal agency has questioned legality of the use of the data for more than a decade."
3/3/11 Carolinian looks at Bill McNeal era and Walnut Creek Elementary
"How good were the old days under former Wake County Schools Superintendent Bill McNeal and how bad could they get it after the elimination of the diversity policy?"
3/3/11 Rev. William Barber on preserving Wake's "succesful" diversity policy
"The state NAACP has released a copy of the opening statement from yesterday's meeting with Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata."
3/3/11 Feds won't give subsidized-lunch data to Wake
"But Mara McElmurray, a program analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Child Nutrition Division, told Wake last month that the school-lunch data is confidential information that can't be used for student assignment purposes."
3/3/11 Flexibility urged in U.S. education
"Saying the current rules on school are failing children, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a group of Democratic senators led by U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan plan to introduce a set of education reforms that would move away from rigid testing and toward flexibility for local school districts."
3/3/11 Budgeting as if we really do put children first
"When our legislature raises the specter of eliminating SmartStart and More at Four, two programs that are doing so much for North Carolina's young children and their families, we must raise the question of whether we are really behaving as if our children are indeed our future."
3/3/11 Houston considering using Wake's magnet lottery process
"Wake County's magnet school selection lottery is being discussed for possible use in the Houston Independent School District."
3/3/11 Looking at today's March 3 ED task force agenda
"Middle school math placement, the experience level of teachers at schools and the proposed equity/equality policy are on the agenda of today's Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force meeting."
3/3/11 Wake's Superintendent Wants To Hear From Community
"Wake County's new superintendent, Tony Tata, will meet with members of the community Thursday night at Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh."
3/3/11 Tata: "Am I gonna value diversity? Of course."
"Wake Schools Superintendent Tony Tata is out talking up his commitment to diverse schools."
3/2/11 Supporters extol "Luddy Education"
"Supporters of conservative businessman Bob Luddy are demanding equal time following the recent NCAE video alleging he's trying to destroy the public school system."
3/2/11 NCAE video alleges pact to kill public schools
"The N.C. Association of Educators has made a video linking House Majority Leader Paul Stam, Wake Board of Education Chairman Ron Margiotta and businessmen Art Pope and Bob Luddy in an alleged plan to destroy public schools."
3/2/11 Senate committee votes to dump high school tests
"A Senate committee passed a bill that aims to do away with four end-of-course tests for high school students, despite a warning from a judge that the move could lead to a constitutional challenge."
3/2/11 Wake school board requests more voting power for chairman
"The Wake County school board voted 5-3 on Tuesday to ask state legislators to give the board's leader power to vote more often."
3/2/11 Fix Hilburn, now
"I am frustrated by the board's inefficiency and for the response that we don't need a quick fix. If we wait any longer, children and teachers will suffer. Do empty classrooms and lack of basic staffing not scream that we need a fix now?"
3/2/11 Democratic senators tout education reform
"U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a group of Democratic senators this morning embraced a slate of education reforms that move away from rigid testing and toward flexibility for local school districts."
3/2/11 Wake superintendent meets with NAACP
"The Wake County Public School System's new superintendent met with the state NAACP on Wednesday afternoon to talk about diversity and the school board's controversial move away from the district's longstanding practice of busing students."
3/2/11 Durham school leaders want county cap on charter schools
"Durham school leaders want lawmakers to reconsider parts of a bill that would lift the cap on charter schools in the state."
3/1/11 Wake school board approves 2011 legislative agenda
"The Wake County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a draft of its 2011 legislative agenda, which includes a request to change state law so that the board chairperson can vote in meetings."
3/1/11 Way to better schools mapped
"Preschool programs for all at-risk children. Remedial help for struggling third-graders. More days in the school year. Consistent and more rigorous preparation for teachers-in-training at colleges and universities."
3/1/11 Asking about accreditation in the 2011 Legislative Agenda
"The school board is set to discuss and vote today on its 2011 Legislative Agenda, which lists the issues it will lobby the General Assembly on. One of the items in the draft agenda is to "review the state accreditation process and provide clarification to the school system."
