August 7, 2009

Top News

August Sales Tax Holiday

The NC Sales Tax Holiday is underway. G.S. 105-164.13C provides an exemption for certain items of tangible personal property sold between 12:01 A.M. on the first Friday in August and 11:59 P.M. the following Sunday. For 2009, the dates are Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 9. Clothing, footwear, and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreation equipment of $50 or less per item, computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item will be exempt. You can find more information at http://www.dornc.com/taxes/sales/salestax_holiday.html

School Board Selects Sutton

The Board of Education has selected Keith Sutton to represent District 4 on the school board through November 2011, following the resignation of former chair Rosa Gill.

Sutton, 39, is the legislative affairs program manager for the NC Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He is a past president and chief executive officer of the Triangle Urban League. In his application letter, Sutton wrote, "Since 1995, I have worked in the areas of race, government and community relations, as well as served as a nonprofit executive, and community and political organizer." Sutton served on the Healthy Schools Task Force, the board of directors of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Future of Wake County, and the Southeast Raleigh Assembly. He has two daughters, one of whom is entering the first grade at Conn Elementary School.

School Board Seeks to Fill District 6 Vacancy

A vacancy has been created on the Board of Education by the resignation of District 6 Representative Beverley Clark. Clark resigned from the board effective August 15.

The Board of Education is searching for eligible citizens to fill the vacancy created by Clark's departure.

Candidates interested in serving on the Wake County Board of Education must reside in District 6 to be eligible for the vacated seat. District 6 encompasses Central Raleigh.

Interested candidates should submit the following items to the Board of Education by noon on Thursday, August 27, 2009, to be considered for the vacancy:

• A letter of interest (no longer than five pages), outlining their background and listing three strategies for advancing the Board’s Goal
• Their resume
• Three letters of recommendation

Candidates must submit hard copies of each document, and all documents submitted will be considered public records. Appointment to the seat will be for remainder of the term expiring November 2011.

Materials must be sent to the attention of:
District 6 Board of Education Vacancy
Wake County Board of Education
3600 Wake Forest Rd.
Raleigh, NC 27609

Interested candidates may want to familiarize themselves with Board Policy, particularly the 1000 Series which deals specifically with the Board of Education.

Issue: 12 WCPSS Schools Earn State’s Highest Recognition The Wake County Public School System had 12 schools named School of Excellence or Honor School of Excellence and 50 named School of Distinction, as the state released the latest results of the ABCs of Public Education. That compares with four Honor Schools of Excellence and 26 Schools of Distinction for 2007-08. State Accountability Testing News for WCPSS WCPSS news release 2009 ABCs Results for WCPSS Schools NC DPI news release Honor Schools of Excellence in 2008-09 include: Adams Elementary, Apex Middle, Davis Drive Elementary, Davis Drive Middle, Highcroft Elementary, Lufkin Road Middle, Mills Park Elementary, Morrisville Elementary, Salem Middle and Turner Creek Elementary. Schools of Excellence in 2008-09 include: Apex High and Green Hope High. WCPSS had 8 percent of its schools achieve School of Excellence in 2008-09 compared with 5.1 percent statewide. WCPSS had 33 percent of its schools achieve School of Distinction in 2008-09 compared with 20.4 percent statewide. Under the state ABCs of Public Education, a school earns recognition as an Honor School of Excellence when 90 percent of students are successful on state testing, the school’s state testing results show that it met or exceeded expected growth and the school met the federal No Child Left Behind standard of Adequate Yearly Progress. Schools are recognized as Schools of Excellence when 90 percent of students are successful on state testing, the school’s state testing results show that it met or exceeded expected growth, but the school does not achieve Adequate Yearly Progress. Schools of Distinction have more than 80 percent of students scoring proficient on state assessments and meeting growth standards. WCPSS and Growth Standards WCPSS had 138 of 156 schools make high growth or expected growth during the 2008-09 school year compared with 127 of 151 schools make high growth or expected growth for 2007-08. Growth is calculated by averaging the academic growth of all the students in a school and comparing it to the growth students were expected to make. If the average gain is equal to or greater than the expectation, then the school is said to have “met its growth target.” If 60 percent of the students in the school meet their individual growth targets, then the school is deemed to have met “high growth.”

More News

Board Approves Public School Choice for Families at 15 Title I Schools

The Board of Education approved choice options for families at 15 elementary schools in compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind law for schools that are in Title I school improvement.

Of the 156 WCPSS schools, 45 are Title I schools this year. Title I status for schools changes annually, based on the number of students attending the school who participate in the federal lunch program. Title I provides federal assistance to these schools, and schools receiving this assistance must comply with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law.

When Title I schools do not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for all subgroups of students in a subject area for two consecutive years, they enter school improvement. Schools must meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards for two years in a row in that subject to exit school improvement.

Families have been mailed letter outlining their options and a timeline for the process. You can read more at http://www.wcpss.net/news/2009_august5_school_choice/

Board Receives Update from Closing the Gaps Committee

At its August 4 meeting, the Board of Education heard from Dr. Donna Hargens, WCPSS chief academic officer and Derrick Byrd, co chairs of the WCPSS Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Advisory Committee.

The committee, composed of 35 members, representing diverse segments of the community, provides feedback on issues, objectives, and action steps related to raising achievement and closing gaps. The efforts of the committee focus on four frames:

• Academic Equity and Access
• Parent/Community Involvement
• Teaching Diverse Populations
• Literacy and Math

The committee has focused its efforts for the past two years on Family/Community Involvement and Teaching Diverse Populations. The committee is working to align its efforts with other community initiatives and the State Board of Education’s Advisory Commission on Raising Achievement & Closing Gaps. WCPSS co-chair Derrick Byrd also serves on the state Commission.

You can find more on the statewide efforts at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/racg/

Board Delays Student Moves in Multi Year Assignment Plan

At its August meeting, the Board of Education approved delays in the multi-year student assignment plan, delaying the movement of students to coincide with a revised school construction timetable tied to county funding.

Much has changed since the board adopted the student assignment plan on February 3, 2009. The downturn in the national economy led Wake County to adjust the sale of bonds to take place over a longer period of time, and therefore the Board of Education had to adjust the school construction program to proceed as bond funds become available.

With the changed construction schedule approved by the school board on April 21, Forest Ridge High, Rolesville Middle and Walnut Creek Elementary will now open two years later.

The board action of August 4 delays assignments so that students remain at their currently assigned school until the new facilities open. The board assigns students to schools based on the nodes, or geographic areas, in which they live. As the new schools open, the same nodes as in the original assignment proposal will be assigned to them.

You can read the full story at http://www.wcpss.net/news/2009_august4_assign/

Board Approves Sanderson High Trip to China

At its August 4 meeting, the Board of Education gave approval to a trip by Sanderson High with students visiting a partner school, Zhonghua High School in Nanjing Jiangsu, China. A group of eight Sanderson students in grades 10-12 with five Sanderson staff chaperons will travel September 10-22. Sanderson High established a school partnership with Zhonghua High and this visit will allow the students and teachers to exchange ideas, to learn about the cultures and to experience the family life of the two countries. The exchange will also enhance the academic understanding of secondary education, school curriculum, teacher training and school management as well as foster Chinese-American friendship. Funds have been donated from Sanderson community partners for scholarships and to help defray other expenses incurred within the stated parameters of the exchange. Funds have also been provided for the cost of substitutes for the four teachers.

NC Watermelons Served in WCPSS Lunchrooms

A NC Department of Agriculture program cuts through red tape and helps deliver NC farm produce into Wake County Public School System lunchrooms. Marilyn Moody of WCPSS Child Nutrition Services says the state delivered freshly picked NC watermelon to WCPSS on Monday morning and students have been eating watermelon in schools this week. Click here to listen to NC Watermelons Served in WCPSS lunchrooms. This is a 10 minute mp3 file.

Board reviews policy updates

At its meeting August 4, the Board of Education gave first reading approval to revisions of
Policy 1324 - Minutes
Policy 1340 - Board Standing Committees
Policy 1350 - Ad Hoc Committees
Policy 7130 - Student Safety and Conduct While on Student Transportation

The board gave final approval to revisions for
Policy 1320 - Notification of Board Meetings
Policy 1321 - Board Meeting Preparation
Policy 1400 - Official Board Records
Policy 1500 - Review of Board Procedures/Operations
Policy 1518 - Administration in Policy Absence
Policy 1610 - Board Member Opportunities for Development
Policy 1662 - Expenses for Members of The Board Of Education
Policy 1700 - Official School Spokesperson
Policy 1800 - Board Advisory Councils
Policy 7155 - Bus Idling

Deletion of Policy 1345 - Board Committee Operations - incorporated into new Policy 1340
Deletion of Policy 7133 - Duties and Responsibilities of School Bus Passengers - incorporated into new Policy 7130

The review of board policies is based on a recommendation from the curriculum management audit.