July 24, 2009

Top News

2009-10 School Year Begins

School opened July 7 for about 31,000 students in 51 multi-track year-round schools to start the 2009-10 school year.

“We had a great opening,” said Superintendent Del Burns “It was very, very smooth. In fact, it was the smoothest I have experienced. I do have to thank every staff member who worked so hard to make that happen.”

Burns stood outside the new Banks Road Elementary School at 6 a.m. on the first day talking with reporters about the new school year. During the day, he visited 10 schools.

“It was exciting to see students present and engaged in learning,” said Burns. “I’m very impressed and proud of the efforts being made to address our students’ needs.”

Three new schools, Banks Road Elementary, Herbert Akins Road Elementary and Lake Myra Elementary, opened on July 7.

Another 10,000 students will report to school when track 4 students start July 27. That’s when Track 3 students begin their three week break. Modified calendar students at Southeast Raleigh High, Centennial Campus Middle, Moore Square Middle, Carver Elementary and Partnership Elementary start their new school year on July 27, also.

Board Members Prepare To Fill Gill Vacancy

In the committee of the whole meeting July 21, Board of Education members agreed to a process and date for selecting a candidate to serve out the term of Rosa Gill who left her District 4 seat for an appointment to the NC House. There are nine candidates for the appointment. Board members agreed to interview all of them on August 5, asking five questions in sessions of up to 30 minutes. The candidates are Lynette Aytch, Doris Burke, Johnnie Darden, Alice Garrett, Samuel Greene, Lillian Lee, Venita Peyton, Jonica Rowland and Keith Sutton. The Board will meet on Thursday, Aug. 6 from 9 a.m. until noon to make their final selection.

Board Member Clark Steps Down

At the July 21 school board meeting, Board member Beverley Clark announced her resignation. Clark was elected to the board in 1999 representing District 6. Clark’s term would have expired in 2011. Her resignation is effective August 12.

ISSUE:  Early Dismissal Wednesdays New for 2009-10 Early dismissal Wednesdays are part of the routine for WCPSS year-round school families who’ve had two early dismissals and one early release this school year. Policy 3610 Professional Learning Teams Early Dismissal and Early Release Wednesdays Pareventvision: Our First Early Release Wednesday Audio Podcast: Teachers Meet on First Earlly Release Wednesday Each Wednesday this year, time has been set aside for teachers and others to come together as teams to improve the process of learning for your child. Teachers of varying backgrounds and experience levels will be working together to improve the way we help your child learn. “This work as Professional Learning Teams, has been in place and highly successful in the private sector for decades, and we in Wake County have looked for ways to increase our use of this approach for years,” said Superintendent Burns. “This year we are carving out dedicated time. We are being focused and purposeful in how we help each child learn.” The Board of Education put Professional Learning Teams into policy and showed the commitment to the importance of this time by establishing Early Release Wednesdays into the 2009-10 school year. On March 31, 2009 the board approved the recommendation of the school system Time Committee creating a structure for weekly time for professional learning communities and the Early Release Days for each calendar/track. A subcommittee of the time committee developed a draft of a policy and R&P regarding Professional Learning Teams. The Student Achievement Committee reviewed the proposed policy on June 09. The policy was presented to the Board at the Committee of the Whole and then received First Reading approval at the board meeting on June 16. The policy was given final approval at the July 21 board meeting. “Early dismissal Wednesdays are meant to be more than a simple planning period,” said Burns. “It's collaboration time with a purpose, to review student performance and find ways to improve it. It's important for all of us to commit to it.” On the first Early Release Wednesday, WCPSS Chief Academic Officer Donna Hargens visited Brassfield Elementary. Hargens saw school bus and car pool pick up of students run on time while other students went to the school’s YMCA after school program. At 3 p.m., she was in the media center with the school’s second grade professional learning team as they discussed meeting the needs of individual students. Hargens found groups of grade level and specials teachers in discussion as she walked the campus during their Wednesday PLT time. “What I’ve seen is very focused, directed, targeted discussion about what teachers can do tomorrow to help kids improve and they are sharing what they know about kids,” Hargens said. “They are sharing strategies. They are development SMART goals. What I see is absolutely no time wasted in doing the targeted, strategic things that will help students learn.” You can find more information online at Early Dismissal & Early Release Wednesdays, including a reminder calendar that can be downloaded, printed and put on the refrigerator.

More News

State Testing Shows Continued Improvement for WCPSS Students

State testing results for students in the Wake County Public School System showed continuing improvement in 2008-09.

Students in grades 3-8 take the End of Grade testing in math and reading. In 2008-09, a slightly higher percentage of WCPSS students achieved proficiency than in 2007-08.

	2007-08	2008-09
Math	78.0	79.3
Reading	66.2	68.1

The state is changing the way it calculates End of Grade testing results and will now include students who achieve grade level when they are retested on the EOG. The state has determined that this will serve as the new baseline results for future EOG comparisons.

	2007-08 initial test	2008-09 initial test	2008-09 with retest New baseline
Math	78.0	79.3	84.5
Reading	66.2	68.1	74.7

End-of-Course tests are administered in ten specific courses most commonly taken by high school students. For nine of ten EOCs, WCPSS showed an improvement of between 1 percentage point and 6 percentage points in students performing at/above grade level.

Required EOC Testing

	Percent at grade level on 2008-09 EOC testing	Percentage points difference in students achieving grade level 2008-09 vs. 2007-08
English I	79.8	1.0
Civics & Economics	79.5	1.5
Biology	79.5	3.0
US History	76.5	2.4
Algebra I	74.6	-2.1

Elective EOC Testing

	Percent at grade level on 2008-09 EOC testing	Percentage points difference in students achieving grade level 2008-09 vs. 2007-08
Physics	92.1	4.4
Chemistry	87.2	3.4
Algebra II	80.3	3.4
Geometry	80.1	5.0
Physical Science	66.1	6.0

With the preliminary Adequate Yearly Progress results being reported today, WCPSS has increased the number of schools meeting the federal Adequate Yearly Progress standard.

	2007-08	2008-09
Made annual yearly Progress	37	98
Total number of schools tested	152	156

Board of Education Identifies Five Tracts of Land as Surplus

At its July 21 meeting, the Board of Education declared five tracts of land surplus. Upon approval from the Board of Education, staff will dispose of the property per Board Policy 7250.

The five tracts include

• Two tracts of land totaling 9.29 acres that are located on Rice Road in Matthews, Mecklenburg County, and which is more particularly described as having Mecklenburg County PIN #193-43-202 and PIN #193-3-201. Due to its location, the property is unusable for cost effective school uses.
• The Board of Education owns 17.77 acres of land on Louis Stephens Road upon which Green Hope Elementary School is located, and which is more particularly described as having Wake County PIN # 0744-17-5120. The limited size, shape, and location prohibit cost effective school uses.
• The Board of Education owns 106.56 acres of land on Forestville Road in Wake Forest upon which Heritage High School is located, and which is more particularly described as having Wake County PIN # 1749.01-47-7665. Its limited size, shape, and location prohibit cost effective school uses.
• The Board of Education owns 85.09 acres of land on Old Knight Road and Horton Road in Knightdale upon which Knightdale High School is located, and which is more particularly described as having Wake County PIN # 1755-50-1353. The limited size, shape, and location prohibit cost effective school uses.
• The Board of Education owns 23.60 acres of land on Fayetteville Street and bounded by South Dawson Street and South McDowell Street, upon which Washington Elementary School is located, and which is more particularly described as having Wake County PIN # 1703-53-2989. The limited size, shape, and location of the tract, together with the encumbrances by streams, flood plains, and existing easements, together prohibit cost effective school uses.

Board of Education Approves Agreement with Wake County for the Athens Drive Library

At its July 21 meeting, the Board of Education approved an agreement with Wake County to continue operating the Athens Drive High Library as a public library. The service agreement provides for reimbursement to the Wake County Public School System of salaries and benefits for Athens Drive Public Library staff for 2009-10, and details how Athens Drive Public Library expenses are to be managed and also includes a change in library hours for 2009-10. New hours are:

Monday-Thursday	10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Friday	10:00 - a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday	10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sunday	closed

Board reviews policy updates

At its meeting July 21, the Board of Education gave first reading approval to revisions of
Policy 1320 - Notification of Board Meetings
Policy 1321 - Board Meeting Preparation
Policy 1323 - Rules Of Order

The board gave final approval to revisions for
Policy 1000 - School Board/Authority and Duties
Policy 1005 - Responsibilities of a Board Member
Policy 1035 - Code of Ethics for School Board Member

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