April 29, 2011

Top News

Superintendent Tata Remembers Students Killed in Tornadoes

In his weekly news conference today, Superintendent Tony Tata offered his thanks to administrators and staff on their response to the April 16 tornadoes in Wake County.

Listen to Superintendent Tata's April 29 news conference 29 minute mp3 file

Listen to Harris Creek Elementary Principal Vicki Perry discuss making her school a safe place for students after the April 16 tornado 22.5 minute mp3 file

Tata said his thoughts were with Brooks Magnet Elementary School in the deaths of two students, Oswaldo Coronado Nino and his cousin, Daniel Quistian Nino, as well as two other family members.

“We mourn their loss deeply,” said Tata. “Principal Felicia Locklear, her staff and the Brooks PTA showed inspired leadership as their community came together to support those most affected by the storms. I was at Brooks first thing Monday to see firsthand the community coming together for that family and those families most affected.”

Tata thanked Heritage High Principal Mark Savage and Southeast Raleigh Magnet High Principal Beulah Wright for their efforts. The two schools served as emergency shelters following the storm.

The superintendent commended the WCPSS Security team and Russ Smith for their work with the Wake County Emergency Management team in the command center.

“Throughout the school system, our team worked hard and as a result, we missed only one day of instruction for five year-round schools that were damaged or were without electricity immediately following the storm,” said Tata. “In summary, regarding the storm, I just want to thank everybody for their hard work and their dedication.”

Superintendent Tata Discusses the Budget

Superintendent Tata said the board held a second work session on Tuesday to examine and question the proposed 2011-12 budget recommendations.

“There have been several questions, which we have answered,” said Tata. “There have been no changes to the budget presented to the board at their first meeting in March.”

You can find the latest questions from the board and staff answers online here. You can find the superintendent’s budget here.

The school board is expected to approve the school system budget at next Tuesday’s meeting so that the board will meet the May 15 statutory deadline. State lawmakers will continue to work on the state budget and the school system will have to bring its spending plan into line with the final budget state lawmakers adopt.

The superintendent presented budget recommendations to the board on March 15 that were based on the most current projected cuts identified by the NC Department of Public Instruction. Since that time, the Governor and the House budget committee made budget recommendations. Senate recommendations will be the next step.

“As we watch the state budget process, we are continuing to develop contingency plans should the final budget from the state require deeper cuts than DPI’s original proposal,” said Tata. “The Governor’s budget calls for a 5 percent reduction. The House budget would reduce our funding by 8.8 percent and it’s unclear what the Senate proposes to do. And then beyond that it’s unclear how the politics of it will play out.”

Some of the House’s major directive changes include a reduction of 288 months of employment for assistant principals and funding of teacher assistants only at kindergarten and first grade. This would mean a cut of about $26 million for WCPSS because the system currently provides teacher assistants in second grade as well.

Teacher assistants perform a variety of critical tasks each and every day. Their responsibilities fall into three primary areas:

• Direct instructional support of children to be sure they are being challenged beyond what is being taught or through remediation with students who are struggling
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with children especially in the early grades of kindergarten, first and second; how children bond with adults in school sets the stage for future success and possibly their entire academic career
• Providing clerical support for the teacher to allow them to perform their professional duties in greater depth as needed in the classroom.

In 2009-10, as part of a previous discretionary cut in the state budget, the school system lost 25 percent of its teaching assistants. The school system currently has 2,300 teaching assistants with a budget of $48 million. The cuts proposed by the House would eliminate an additional $26 million from the budget and the school system would still have to maintain the discretionary cut implemented from 2009-10.

Additional recommended cuts from the House include:

• Academically gifted programs would be cut by nearly $1 million
• Non-instructional support would be cut by $8 million affecting school-based clerical and custodial positions
• At-risk student funding would be cut by an additional $1.3 million
• Central Services would be reduced by more than $600,000
• Driver’s Education would be cut by $1.1 million and the House subsequently recommends passing that fee on to the students at a rate of $75 per pupil to take driver’s ed
• Transportation services would be reduced by $2.6 million
• There would be an additional $4.2 million discretionary reduction

“These are very serious recommended cuts and we are watching developments in state budget negotiations very closely,” said Tata. “We must remain steady as events unfold and our budget picture becomes clearer.”

Superintendent Tata said his priorities remain the same:

• Protecting teachers in the classroom
• Strategically setting the conditions for all schools to be in high demand
• Operating the system as efficiently as we can

Task Force Continues Work on Developing Student Assignment Proposal

Superintendent Tata said the task force working on student assignment began updating board members on the progress in developing possible options for a long-term student assignment plan.

“The board has not been involved with nor have they been updated on our progress since giving me responsibility for developing the student assignment plan in March,” said Tata. “Within these informational meetings, we’re seeking feedback on the nine courses of action before presenting some of them to the public in the coming weeks. There’s a clear structure to these meetings that mirrors the type of feedback provided by the chief officers and the area superintendents that we brought in last week. The structure allows for questions and general input.”

Tata said the task force is still in the concept phase of its work. The student assignment task force is evaluating nine courses of action against 18 criteria. They’ve researched school districts and are working through each option, looking at second and third order implications of each possibility.

The superintendent plans to bring two or three possible concepts to the community for feedback by mid-May. The WCPSS Communications Department is developing a web site to share information and gather feedback about the options examined by the task force. In addition, the task force will be speaking with stakeholder groups to gain additional feedback to the process. After receiving feedback from the community, the superintendent will prepare recommendations to present to the board by mid-June.

More News

WCPSS Makes Progress on Addressing AdvancEd Report

Superintendent Tata reported to the board at its Tuesday work session on the school system’s progress on meeting the directed actions from AdvancED, the accreditation division of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The results of a review by the accreditation agency were presented to the school system on March 16. Within the report’s seven directed actions, the school system has identified 57 action steps that need implementation. To date, 23 action steps have been completed and work has begun on an additional 26 steps.

“We are making progress and we anticipate meeting the November deadline set forth in the AdvancEd report,” said Tata.

Superintendent Tata Reports on Transportation Department Progress

Superintendent Tata spent a lot of time in February and March in the Transportation Department at the Rock Quarry Road Motor Pool and other outlying regional areas assessing operations.

After an increase in school bus accidents during the first two months of this year, the superintendent ordered a safety stand down in late March and required face-to-face meetings with every bus driver in each of the school system Transportation areas to discuss the high number of accidents.

For the month of April, the total number of bus accidents were cut in half to 15. There were 33 in March.

Fifteen are too many in my mind. But it’s certainly a trend in the right direction,” said Tata. “The safety of our children is first and foremost in my mind.”

The school system has opened a telephone hotline and a web based portal for members of the public to alert us to any concerns that they see on the roads. And the school system has partnered with the Department of Transportation to provide monthly mandatory meetings for drivers focusing on safety issues. The school system has stepped up accountability for those involved in an accident, as well as reporting to the Department of Public Instruction any accident, regardless how minor.

WCPSS Announces Schools added to STEM and Global Schools Networks

Superintendent Tata announced the names of the five Wake County schools joining the STEM Schools Collaborative Network and the first three schools that will join the Global Schools Collaborative Network. The five schools joining the STEM Collaborative Network are:

• Hilburn Drive Elementary
• York Elementary
• Aversboro Elementary
• Carroll Middle
• Knightdale High

The WCPSS STEM Schools Network will join a statewide group of schools dedicated to enhanced strategic planning, professional development, programming and community advocacy around science, technology, engineering and math.

Schools will benefit from shared professional development opportunities, instructional activities and connections to local, state and national leaders committed to having students focus on science, technology, engineering and math.

Three Wake County elementary schools will be joining the Global Schools Collaborative Network, another statewide educational initiative. They are:

• Timber Drive Elementary
• Jeffreys Grove Elementary
• Stough Elementary

The Global Schools Collaborative Network’s goal is to promote and support global education throughout the school system. The network will work to prepare students to compete globally through a number of means, including new technology, global curriculum as well as support for faculty in identifying global learning opportunities.

Tata also announced the deadline for middle and high schools to apply to the Global Schools Collaborative Network is extended to Friday, May 6 to give those schools extra opportunity to apply.

“These eight schools will make great additions to our innovative learning networks,” said Tata.

“Achievement and success in the 21st century will rely heavily on global awareness, as well as a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. WCPSS is committed to giving our students the tools needed to realize that success,” Tata added.

The eight schools joining the WCPSS STEM Schools Network and the WCPSS Global Schools Collaborative Network will begin their innovative instruction in the 2011-12 school year.  Additional support for these schools includes technology facilitators or foreign language instructors, along with 30 iPad tablet computers for each grade level to provide students opportunity to explore STEM and global concepts.

Applications were reviewed by a team that scored each application based upon student population/capacity, vision for network, summary of needs, key leadership support, and current aligned initiatives.

For more information about the NC STEM Collaborative, please visit www.ncstem.org

For more information about the NC Global Schools network, please visit www.globalschoolsnetwork.org