Mar. 16-31, 2011, News Archive

3/31/11 Hypocrisy on "local control"
"The local control speech frequently comes in the debate over public education (as in "it would be an infringement on local control to ban corporal punishment") or the environment ("it would be terrible for local control if regulators in Raleigh are allowed to tell local communities where they can and can't allow development")."

3/31/11 CMS seeks to bypass teacher vote on performance pay
"A local bill introduced by Rep. Ruth Samuelson this week would allow the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board to launch teacher performance pay without the approval of teachers."

3/31/11 Gorman defends CMS testing as parent protests rise
"Skeptical parents and adamant administrators are squaring off over a surge of new testing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, as teachers watch warily and brace for hours of new work."

3/31/11 Ron Margiotta on new data showing diversity policy "did not work"
"Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta is trumpeting the latest data being used to justify to federal investigators the elimination of the diversity policy."

3/31/11 What I Learned at School
"THE tumult over state budgets and collective bargaining rights for public employees has spilled over into resentment toward public school teachers, who are increasingly derided as "glorified baby sitters" whose pay exceeds the value of the work they do."

3/31/11 Tata on his way
"Wake schools Superintendent Tony Tata seems well on his way to helping us all regain our trust in our school system leadership and instilling into our school system the values and character we all encompass in Wake County."

3/31/11 Power play
"We disagree strongly with the bill that Rep. Nelson Dollar introduced that would change state law to allow the chairman of the Wake County Board of Education the power to vote on all matters, not just to break ties."

3/31/11 Jim Horn rails against state bills backed by Wake school board
"Jim Horn of the liberal Schools Matter blog is firing more barbs at the Wake County school board majority as he comment on a pair of bills in the state legislature."

3/30/11 Study Finds High Dropout Rates for Black Males in KIPP Schools
"The dropout rate for African-American males is really shocking," said Gary J. Miron, a professor of evaluation, measurement, and research at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, and the lead researcher for the study. "KIPP is doing a great job of educating students who persist, but not all who come."

3/30/11 Carolinian questions "mysterious numbers" cited by Wake in OCR response
"Cash Michaels and the state NAACP are questioning the validity of the data cited by the Wake County school system to justify to federal investigators why they dropped the diversity policy."

3/30/11 Wake school board denies bias
"Wake County's former diversity-based student assignment policy actually harmed the academic achievement of many of the low-income students it was designed to help, school board majority members said Tuesday as they denied any discriminatory intent or result from their own assigning of students."

3/30/11 Bill would let chairman of Wake schools vote
"A bill that would give the chairman of the Wake County Board of Education the power to vote on all matters - not just to break ties - moved forward in the state House on Tuesday."

3/30/11 Schools under attack
"The public school system is under attack and underfunded, and policymakers want to make further budget cuts in an effort to create more money for charter schools. Is anyone going to stand up for our public schools?"

3/30/11 Wake tells feds that diversity policy didn't help poor and minority students
"While it didn't satisfy AdvancED, Wake County school officials are using a variety of new and old data to justify dropping the old diversity policy."

3/30/11 A clear message on charters
"It has been no secret that Republican House leaders have been working with their Democratic counterparts and Governor Beverly Perdue to come up with a compromise on charter school legislation and House Speaker Thom Tillis confirmed it Tuesday."

3/30/11 NAACP says teachers' jobs can be saved
"But the plan, which centers on furloughs and normal workforce attrition, wouldn't save anywhere near what CMS has said it needs to fill an anticipated $100million budget gap next year."

3/29/11 Wake school board answers federal civil rights probe
"The Wake County Board of Education defended its actions Tuesday as part of a federal civil rights investigation. In a response to an inquiry from the Office for Civil Rights, the board wrote that decisions about how to assign students to the 163 schools across the county were not "motivated by racial animus."

3/29/11 Wake superintendent visits 60 schools, recommends teacher bonus
"Wake County public schools' new superintendent Tony Tata said Tuesday that he has visited 60 schools in 60 days and that his first priority is to "protect teachers and classrooms, first and foremost."

3/29/11 Wake school board denies 'racial animus' for student assignments
"The Wake County school board denies allegations that it discriminated, or based any action on "racial animus" when assigning students, as it responded today to an investigation by the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education."

3/29/11 Bill would expand Margiotta's voting power
"A bill introduced Monday in the state House would change state law to allow the chairman of the Wake County Board of Education the power to vote on all matters, not just to break ties."

3/29/11 Tony Tata recommending disbanding school board committees
"Tata said at the March 15 board work session that he'll recommend doing away with the committees and presenting the information directly to the committee of the whole. He cited the amount of staff time spent on committee work for his recommendation."

3/29/11 NC Justice Center, Great Schools in Wake Weigh in On Student Assignment Proposal
"A new report issued by Great Schools in Wake and the NC Justice Center says the Wake School Choice plan, authored by consultant Michael Alves, does not prioritize student achievement highly enough and lacks clear policies to ensure all schools are high-performing."

3/29/11 Can Controlled Choice Solve Wake County's School Assignment Problems?
"Across Wake County, people are eager for the community discord surrounding our public schools to be resolved."

3/29/11 Wake Schools denies discrimination in Civil Rights investigation
"The Wake County Board of Education is denying allegations of discrimination in a 42-page document sent to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights."

3/29/11 NC House panel agrees to accreditation changes
"Lawmakers representing areas where high schools may lose accreditation from a private group want North Carolina's public universities and community colleges to ignore it when deciding on student admissions or financial aid."

3/29/11 Choice schools not outperforming MPS
"Students in Milwaukee's school choice program performed worse than or about the same as students in Milwaukee Public Schools in math and reading on the latest statewide test, according to results released Tuesday that provided the first apples-to-apples achievement comparison between public and individual voucher schools."

3/28/11 Tony Tata to hold weekly meetings with the news media
"The 9 a.m. media availability is the start of a weekly event that Tata will hold on Fridays. Don't be surprised if you start hearing about news announcements coming out on Fridays."

3/28/11 Wake County school board member John Tedesco to speak at another Tea Party rally
"In a move likely to fuel conspiracy theorists even more, Wake County school board member John Tedesco is slated to speak at another Tea Party Tax Day Rally."

3/28/11 When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?
"A closer look at Noyes, however, raises questions about its test scores from 2006 to 2010. Its proficiency rates rose at a much faster rate than the average for D.C. schools. Then, in 2010, when scores dipped for most of the district's elementary schools, Noyes' proficiency rates fell further than average."

3/28/11 Charter school bill would cost local school districts millions
"One of the most controversial bills of the early 2011 state legislative session is a proposal advanced by legislative Republicans to dramatically loosen state regulations on charter schools. Unfortunately, rather than just promoting charters, the bill takes a number of steps that pose a real threat to traditional public schools."

3/27/11 How to Raise the Status of Teachers
"Raising the "status" of teaching is like chasing a mirage: It looks great from a distance but it never seems to materialize."

3/27/11 Parents, legislators discuss CMS budget crisis
"Parents pushing for high-quality education during tough economic times told state legislators Saturday that they'd be willing to pay more taxes to save teachers' jobs."

3/26/11 N.C. program may give the gifted a boost
"A U.S. Department of Education evaluation of a North Carolina program shows that when at-risk students are taught as if they are gifted and talented, they are likely to perform better academically."

3/26/11 Wake commissioners may lose two members
"Change is afoot on the Wake County Board of Commissioners."

3/26/11 Tata to chat online each month
"Parents and citizens will be able to ask questions of Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata during monthly "Virtual Town Hall" online chat sessions starting Friday."

3/26/11 Wide right
"That would be interscholastic athletics. A push is on in the Senate to allow students who don't attend public high schools to play on the sports teams of the public school they'd attend if, in fact, they did attend. Which they don't."

3/26/11 It's a science
"This is the classic example of using a "national figure" to diminish facts. Thernstrom's comments do what we fear most: disallow the facts and thus disallow society the right to make rational and objective decisions."

3/26/11 All figured out
"Who cares if AdvancEd or any other outside accreditation agency has anything to say about Wake County schools? Who cares about the NAACP's concerns?"

3/26/11 Dispersing poverty is policy kryptonite
"One of the most powerful tools for improving the educational achievement of poor black and Hispanic public school students is seldom even considered. It has become a political no-no."

3/25/11 GOP lawmakers mock students in charter debate
"The jesting began after a number of students from the Western North Carolina county emailed lawmakers about legislation affecting the state's charter schools and the funding they get from traditional public schools. Some of the emails arrived with grammatical and spelling errors, and that became an opening to start joking about the failings of the state's public school system."

3/25/11 Change on tap at educator summit
"Change swirls around public education in North Carolina, from revamped English and math standards to new science-and-math focused schools and classroom innovations made possible by a $400 million federal grant."

3/25/11 Cash Michaels on AdvancED proving board majority was "rolling the dice" with high-poverty schools
"In a blog post Thursday on the fifth part of his series in The Carolinian on the new Walnut Creek Elementary School, Michaels focuses on a section in the AdvancED report that accused the board majority of having no plans to help high-poverty schools."

3/25/11 The Kids Aren't All Right in Florida Schools
"Starting in July, new teachers in Florida will be given one-year contracts, effectively ending tenure. Beginning in 2014, contracts will be renewed according to a formula that counts test scores for half of evaluations. Teachers who perform poorly for two out of three years could be terminated."

3/25/11 Applauding the school board majority members at the Wake GOP Convention
"Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich wasn't the only one to receive a standing ovation when he appeared at the Wake County Republican Party convention Thursday night."

3/24/11 Tony Gurley files papers for lieutenant governor bid
"Under The Dome reported yesterday that Tony Gurley had announced he had filed organizational papers to run for lieutenant governor in 2012. Gurley's term on the board of commissioners doesn't end until 2014 so he could keep the seat while running for statewide office."

3/24/11 Wake Democrats on Wednesday's anniversary "toward high poverty and high cost schools"
"The Wake County Democratic Party is looking ahead to this fall's school board elections while noting Wednesday's anniversary of the move away from the old diversity policy."

3/23/11 CMS will explore privatizing services
"The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board moved Tuesday toward privatizing more of its operations, overriding some members' concerns that it might cost staffers their jobs or hurt services for children."

3/23/11 Experts duel over busing, diversity in Wake
"Two national education experts clashed at a forum Tuesday over whether schools in Wake County and across the nation should still be busing students to promote diversity."

3/23/11 Success makes pre-kindergarten More at Four a model
"This is the latest study in 10 years of independent evaluations that have consistently shown that children served by the program show growth beyond developmental expectations in language and literacy, math and social skills."

3/23/11 Debating the value of the research on middle class and high poverty schools
"How much value do you place on the national research on the benefits of maintaining socioeconomically diverse schools?"

3/23/11 Lawmakers, you've got to be joking about this move
"That's mind-boggling. A group funded by state lawmakers, wholly dependent on their support, is more credible on accountability than one with no ties to legislators and an established national reputation? We don't think so. This would be wink-and-a-nod accreditation. It's a worthless and wasteful idea."

3/23/11 Word: Wake Commissioner Stan Norwalk will step down this year
"Norwalk's term of four years has almost two more to run - he's not up for re-election until 2012. When he moves, he'll of course resign and his replacement will be named by a committee of the Wake Democratic Party."

3/23/11 Speculating on possible successors to Stan Norwalk on the board of commissioners
"Geary is reporting that Norwalk is telling friends and fellow Democrats "that he wants his replacement to be, as he is, a strong voice for the Wake schools." It means being a supporter of the old diversity policy, among other things."

3/22/11 Hunt back for Smart Start
"Two decades ago, Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt used his renowned political arm-twisting skills to get state lawmakers to support a pilot early-childhood program, then persuaded Republican leaders to spend more so all 100 counties had it by the time he left office in 2001."

3/22/11 A proven way to boost N.C. students' performance
"However, research has taught us one critical lesson. Schools where teachers clearly demonstrate to adolescent students that what they are learning is relevant get better achievement results compared to schools where teachers focus strictly on content."

3/22/11 A clear message on education
"What happened instead is that lawmakers received a clear message from Wake County School Superintendent Anthony Tata, N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson, and Wake Tech President Stephen Scott that significant state budget cuts would do serious damage to each institution's ability to educate its students."

3/22/11 Parents see hope in Tata's budget
"After years of pleading for resources to stabilize their shrinking school, parents at Hilburn Drive Elementary say they finally feel hopeful about the future."

3/22/11 The Devil's in the Details: Public Education
"The spending cuts below represent a selection of "options" under legislative consideration, which are presented to illustrate the severity of a "cuts-only" approach to balancing the North Carolina budget."

3/22/11 Speaker Tillis misleads reporters on charter school "negotiations"
"Tillis' people are not, for instance, including or reaching out to the House Democrats' point person on the matter and one of the state's most thoughful and best-informed public servants, Rep. Rick Glazier of Cumberland County."

3/21/11 Margiotta speaks to legislators from Wake today
"Margiotta could make the pitch for the school board's legislative agenda, which includes changing state law to allow the board chairman to vote on all issues. You might even see the high school accreditation bill come up."

3/21/11 Wake school protesters tire of legal delay
"Nearly 30 people charged with trespassing as part of protests during Wake County school board meetings last year are still awaiting disposition of their cases."

3/21/11 Knife work
"Any school budget these days that can avoid job losses in the teaching ranks qualifies as a nice piece of work. And that's a notable feature of the first budget proposed by Wake County's new school superintendent, Anthony Tata."

3/21/11 Education emerges as top priority in hearings
"When it comes to spending tax dollars, education should be the top priority in Mecklenburg County."

3/21/11 Wake education leaders ask lawmakers for better budget
"Education leaders in Wake County met with state lawmakers Monday, begging for a budget that goes easy on academics."

3/21/11 Separate and Unequal
"Educators know that it is very difficult to get consistently good results in schools characterized by high concentrations of poverty. The best teachers tend to avoid such schools. Expectations regarding student achievement are frequently much lower, and there are lower levels of parental involvement. These, of course, are the very schools in which so many black and Hispanic children are enrolled."

3/19/11 Parents like proximity of new Raleigh elementary school

"Aquarius Muldrow said she is just pleased that her daughter will have a new, nearby school to attend."

3/19/11 Teachers rally in Raleigh against cuts
"In a spirited display Friday in downtown Raleigh, hundreds of teachers rallied against budget cuts expected in public schools."

3/19/11 For insiders only?
"There are families who want to move their children from one school to another. After their written requests for transfer are denied, they are told that no other recourse is available."

3/19/11 A school's diversity
"Peek into my AP English class at Southeast Raleigh high school, and you'll see 10 African-American students, seven Caucasian, two Asian and one Hispanic."

3/19/11 Switching schools
"As for Donna Hargens [interim superintendent when Goldman's child was transferred and now the Wake system's chief academic officer], I ask: My understanding was that students could attend a school outside the assigned zone if parents were willing to provide transportation."

3/18/11 Cash Michaels on what Walnut Creek Elementary's principal needs to know
"If Moore is to be successful, and many in the community hope he will be for the sake of his new students, then he must be prepared to fight his own superintendent, if necessary, to ensure that he gets all of the resources the principal of a super high poverty school will need to improve student achievement," Michaels writes. "And the community must help him."

3/18/11 Conservatives and liberals react to the AdvancED report
"I thought I'd wrap up the week with various perspectives from the right and left on the AdvancED accreditation report on the Wake County school system."

3/18/11 A Crucial Conversation about Charter Schools with Dr. Helen Ladd
"Few issues have drawn more attention and spawned more controversy during the early months of the 2011 session of the North Carolina General Assembly than the debate over charter schools. At this point, lawmakers seem poised to dramatically expand the state's experiment with charters."

3/18/11 Barber calls Wake schools report 'scathing'
"The Rev. William Barber, state president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Thursday that a "scathing" report by the accreditation agency AdvancED validates the civil rights group's challenge of changes by the Wake County school board elected in 2009."

3/18/11 Preschool programs may be merged
"Legislative Republicans want to merge the state's early childhood education and health programs, Smart Start and More at Four, a move that would grant continued life to both but which raises the possibility of significant funding cuts."

3/18/11 Homework time
"The purpose of accreditation - whoever or whatever is seeking it - is simple: To obtain a well-informed outside opinion as to quality, and to identify areas for improvement."

3/18/11 Exceptional case
"I do hope that there was an exceptional need served by this exceptional decision, but when it appears that those in service serve themselves above others, the public trust is not served."

3/18/11 Public School Forum on accreditation bill removing "accountability"
"The bill would prohibit North Carolina-run universities, colleges and community colleges from using school accreditation to make admissions decisions unless applicants come from high schools accredited by a state agency. The bill is in direct response to the AdvancED accreditation investigations in Wake and Burke counties."

3/18/11 Locke Foundation hosting discussion on Wake school diversity controversy
"You might want to pencil into your schedule what could be an interesting discussion on Tuesday about the Wake County school diversity controversy."

3/18/11 Ron Margiotta to speak to Wake delegation
"Margiotta could also make the pitch for the school board's legislative agenda, which includes changing state law to allow the board chair to vote on all issues. You might even see the high school accreditation bill come up."

3/17/11 Mark Elgart defends statement that school board created "mistrust throughout the community"
"Mark Elgart, president of AdvancED, repeatedly defended today his organization's contention that the Wake County school board's actions have created "a climate of uncertainty, suspicion, and mistrust throughout the community."

3/17/11 NAACP says it's backed by Wake schools report
"The North Carolina NAACP said Thursday that a new report from the accreditation group AdvancED backs its position on diversity changes within Wake County schools."

3/17/11 The center must step up for Wake schools
"In the 1970s, our local business, civic and civil rights leaders crafted an agreement to unify the Wake County and city schools - a practical solution reflecting a shared vision of strong schools as a critical part of the region's national reputation as a center of commerce, technology and prosperity. That vision has been validated."

3/17/11 Schools lost Wake's trust, report says
"The Wake County school board has created a climate of uncertainty and mistrust in the community, according to a report by accreditation agency AdvancED, which warned school leaders that they have a year to fix problems or risk losing accreditation for their high schools."

3/17/11 Barber: 'Scathing' AdvancED report confirms NAACP's challenge to changes
"State NAACP president the Rev. William Barber said today that a "scathing" report by the accreditation agency AdvancED confirms the civil rights group's challenge of changes by the Wake school board elected in 2009."

3/17/11 Bill aimed at accreditation flap
"Key Republican lawmakers in Wake and Burke counties have introduced a bill that would help their embattled school districts deal with the possible loss of high school accreditation."

3/17/11 Charter call-out
"This legislation provides freedoms that go way beyond the original intent of establishing charters, which was to create schools that could experiment with approaches that might then benefit regular public education. Are sponsors of these changes trying to set up some kind of elitist system similar to private schooling?"

3/17/11 NAACP holding press conference on AdvancED report
"According to a media advisory, the state NAACP has scheduled an 11:30 a.m. press conference to "comment on AdvancED's 15-page analysis of the Margiotta Caucus and its actions." It's at their offices at 114 West Parrish Street in Durham."

3/17/11 NC NAACP applauds 'scathing' report of Wake schools
"The head of the state NAACP said Thursday that he hopes the Wake County Board of Education will take seriously a "scathing report" by a national accreditation group."

3/17/11 Ideology over children
"Two events Wednesday that received too little attention provide a vivid example of the dangers of this General Assembly session and what can happen when rigid ideology and political obsessions trump evidence and common sense."

3/16/11 Schools budget spares teachers
"Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata is proposing a spending plan that would eliminate more than 200 clerical and administrative positions, but it would spare teacher jobs - and even include teacher bonuses."

3/16/11 Time for the bully pulpit
"The morning after Perdue made the remarks the education appropriations subcommittee pored over a list of possible cuts in its quest to find $760 million more in budget reductions than Perdue recommended in the education budget she presented to lawmakers last month."

3/16/11 Wake schools keep accreditation, despite leadership concerns
"Accreditation agency AdvancED released a report on Wake County high schools Wednesday, placing them on "accredited warned" status due to a lack of effective governance and leadership."

3/16/11 Wake schools retain accreditation for now, but the report is blistering
"Whew, the AdvancED team didn't think much of the "governance" provided - since Dec. 2009 - by the Wake school board majority."

NEWS ARCHIVE

Mar. 16-31, 2011, News Archive

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