School Connection
September 20, 2002
2003 Goal: By 2003, 95 percent of students tested will be at or above grade level as measured by NC End-of-Grade testing at grades 3 and 8.
WAKE POSTS EXCELLENT RESULTS ON 2002 ABCs OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
The trend of improvement highlighted in the ABCs of Public
Education report this year is something to be proud of Chuck
Dulaney told the Board of Education at its Tuesday (Sept 17)
meeting. Dulaney of WCPSS Evaluation and Research told the
board that 55 percent of Wake schools achieved high growth;
33 percent achieved expected growth, 12 percent did not meet
expected growth but showed adequate performance; and none
were low-performing. The average performance composites increased
to 89.3 in 2002 from 73.6 in 1997 for Wake elementary schools,
to 88.2 in 2002 from 75.5 in 1997 for middle schools, and
to 80.0 in 2002 from 70.1 in 1998 for high schools.
He noted that 52 Wake schools were named Schools of Excellence and 37 were named Schools of Distinction. Schools of Excellence had at least 90 percent of their students perform at or above grade level and met expected or high growth. Schools of Distinction had at least 80 percent of their students perform at or above grade level and met expected growth.
CARY ELEMENTARY IS ONE OF THE STATE'S TOP 25 MOST IMPROVED
K-8 SCHOOLS
At Cary Elementary, students, teachers, and Principal LaVaughn
Buchanan are excited about being named one of the state's
Top 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools. NC Department of Public
Instruction officials recognized Cary Elementary as they announced
the results of the state's ABCs of Public Education. Cary
Elementary met the ABCs program's high growth standards and
was named a School of Distinction. The school had a performance
composite score of 86.4 this year, compared with 77.7 last
year. You can read more at http://www.wcpss.net/news/cary_el_2002_abcs/index.html
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION HONORS CARY HIGH
The State Board of Education honored Cary High Sept 12 for
earning the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School
of Excellence award. State Board of Education Chair Phil Kirk
presented Cary High Principal Dave Coley with a plaque commending
the school for obtaining national recognition for educational
excellence. The Blue Ribbon Award is presented each year to
schools across the nation that are models of excellence and
equity, demonstrate a strong commitment to educational excellence
for all students, and achieve high academic standards or show
significant academic improvement over five years. You can
read more at http://www.wcpss.net/news/cary_high_stateboard/index.html
ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL RENOVATIONS DISSCUSSED
WCPSS administrators told the Board of Education's committee
of the whole Sept. 17 they were considering changes in facility
improvements for Wake's alternative schools. Assistant Superintendents
Mike Burriss and Linda Isley said the Longview School site
doesn't meet the school's needs. They proposed identifying
a new site for Longview and the BRIDGES program, and renovating
the Longview site for an alternative middle school. Isley
said these steps could help meet the growing school system's
needs for the next 10 years. She said it would allow Longview,
BRIDGES, and Mount Vernon to serve more students and would
provide space for the new middle school. The proposal moves
BRIDGES from its current site at the Mount Vernon School.
The programs help students who have difficulty managing during
a regular school day to meet the emotional and behavioral
challenges that would prepare them to return to a traditional
classroom.
DISCUSSION CONTINUES ON YEAR ROUND SCHOOLS FOR WEST WAKE
WCPSS administrators continued discussions with the Board
of Education's committee of the whole Sept 17 about locating
year round schools in western Wake County. Parents at Olive
Chapel Elementary in west Wake and Hodge Road Elementary in
east Wake will vote on changing the crowded schools from a
traditional calendar to a multi track, year round school.
Associate Superintendent Walt Sherlin said the results of
the parents' vote should be available after Oct. 4, and will
help shape recommendations on which elementary and middle
schools in west Wake will operate as year round schools.
NATIONAL MAGNET SCHOOL CONFERENCE MEETS IN WAKE COUNTY
IN 2004
Wake County will host the 2004 meeting of Magnet Schools of
America, the national association of magnet school educators.
"Because of the strength of the magnet program in Wake
County, the Board of Directors of Magnet Schools of America
has requested that the 2004 conference be held in Wake County,"
Superintendent Bill McNeal told the Board of Education at
its Tuesday (Sept. 17) meeting. "We're extremely excited
about that." McNeal said the conference will bring 700-800
education professionals from across the U.S. to discuss magnet
programs. He said the meeting will bring national attention
to the Wake County schools. "We're proud of our magnet
staff and the work they have done," McNeal said. "They're
taking the word out nationally about what we're doing. It's
because of their presentations and involvement that the association
is interested in coming here." The conference will be
held April 18-22, 2004.
PURCHASING CARDS HAVE STREAMLINED PURCHASING PROCESS
Purchasing cards have made it easier for teachers to buy the
supplies needed for their classrooms and streamlined the administrative
process of Wake County Public School System employees making
small purchases. "Our goal was to speed up the purchasing
process and to cut down on the number of purchase order transactions,"
said Scott Doolittle, WCPSS Senior Director of Purchasing.
"It's been successful because it's an efficient way to
get supplies to the classroom. It's eliminated the paperwork
processing time. It's helped teachers not spend their own
money. It's given some flexibility in making purchases."
You can read more at http://www.wcpss.net/news/purchasing_cards/index.html
WAKE COUNTY SCHOOLS RECEIVE GRANT FOR TEACHER TECHNOLOGY
TRAINING
EDS, a leading technology company with offices in Cary and
Raleigh, awarded a $50,000 grant Sept. 12 to the Wake County
Public School System to launch institutes in technology training
for Wake County teachers. The EDS Teacher Technology Institutes,
which are a program of the Wake Technology Task Force and
Project Lighthouse, will provide intensive training for teachers
in areas such as use of the Internet for classroom projects
and research, effective use of technology to enhance teaching
and learning, and use of graphic organizers. Southeast Raleigh
High, the first Project Lighthouse school, will serve as the
focal point for the institutes, to be held in the summer of
2003. You can read more at http://www.wcpss.net/news/se_raleigh_high_grant/index.html
BUSINESS ALLIANCES NOTE GROWTH, LAUNCH NEW YEAR
Wake County Business Alliances have started the school year
with 34 active alliances and 484 alliance members - up from
150 members in 1999. The Business Alliances touched thousands
of students last year through job shadowing, career fairs
and classroom speakers, in addition to connecting with teachers
through faculty presentations and training sessions. "The
work alliances do is so important. It supports our students'
academic achievement. It develops our teachers and staff.
It makes our schools better," said Superintendent Bill
McNeal. "Alliances also serve a countywide goal. Our
alliances are a unique program that provides an effective,
focused, method for business community support of our public
schools." For more information about Business Alliances,
contact Eric Houck, Business Alliance coordinator, at 850-1873
or ehouck@wcpss.net
.
BOARD ESTABLISHES CAPACITY STANDARDS
At its Tuesday (Sept 17) meeting, the Board of Education gave
first reading approval to a new policy establishing school
capacity standards. Associate Superintendent Ray Massey told
the board the standards will be used for facility planning
and student assignment. The new policy will establish a consistent
calculation method and schedule for developing school building
capacities and school campus capacities. Massey noted capacity
will vary based on a school's program, grade level, and state
teacher-pupil ratios. The facilities department staff will
calculate the School Building Capacity, the Annual School
Campus Capacity, and the Long-range School Campus Capacity
for each school. The School Building Capacity reports the
number of students that the school's building can serve. The
Annual School Campus Capacity reports the number of students
that can be served by the school's building and current mobile
units, and the Long-range School Campus Capacity reports the
students that can be served by the building and mobile units
that can be supported by the building's bathrooms, cafeteria
and other core facilities.
BOARD APPROVES DESIGN FOR SCHOOL RENOVATION
At its Tuesday (Sept. 17) meeting, the Board of Education
approved schematic designs for the PLAN 2000 addition and
renovations at East Cary Middle. The facility planning staff
presented the plans, which were prepared by The Roberts Group.
WCPSS BOARD CHAIR INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN LEADERSHIP
AMERICA
Kathryn Watson Quigg, chair of the Wake County Board of Education,
has been awarded a full scholarship to participate in Leadership
America North Carolina's (LANC) annual issues program. As
a member of LANC's Class of 2003, Quigg will join other senior-level
women in business, government and nonprofit organizations
from throughout the state to gain a deeper understanding of
the most important public and private sector issues facing
the state. By participating in LANC's annual issues program
and through on-going interaction with the National Leadership
America graduates, Quigg and other participants will learn
more about impacting North Carolina and the nation's growing
and diverse economy and society, and form a powerful network
of senior-level women throughout the state and the nation.
GARNER HIGH STUDENTS ATTEND SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM
Garner High students Jessica Lisane, Lindsay Taylor, and Matthew
Watts attended the Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics
2002 program. The program brings rising juniors and seniors
together in residential settings for four weeks of intensive
study. Specifically, students learn experimental design, laboratory
skills, instrumentation, mathematical modeling, strategies
in mathematical problem solving, and exploratory data analysis.
Students also learn about computer applications, careers in
science and mathematics, social issues related to science,
and communication skills for mathematics and science competitions.
GARNER HIGH TEACHER ATTENDS SUMMER COMPUTER TRAINING
Garner High teacher Geoff Duncan took a two-week training
session at ExplorNet this summer. The session focused on learning
how to build computers and diagnose common computer problems.
The computer recycling course will introduce high tech job
training at the high school level and prepare students to
take the A-plus certification exam, an industry standard for
computer technicians.
WAKE ADMINISTRATOR TO VISIT JAPAN
Jesse M. Dingle, assistant principal at Durant Road Middle
School, will depart in October for Tokyo, Japan, as a participant
in the Fulbright Memorial Fund Program. Dingle was selected
from more than 2,100 applicants for a three-week trip to Japan
to promote greater intercultural understanding between the
two nations. He will visit Tokyo for a practical orientation
on Japanese life and culture and will meet with Japanese government
officials and educators. Then he will travel the country with
small groups of educators to meet Japanese teachers and students
in primary and secondary schools and visit a teachers college.
The program is sponsored by the Government of Japan and was
launched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright
fellowships.
VOICES & CHOICES VOLUNTEER TRAININGS SCHEDULED
Beyond 2003: Voices & Choices, the initiative to gain
countywide feedback on the next Wake County Public School
System goal, will begin holding community feedback sessions
next month. If you are interested in volunteering with the
project, please make plans to attend one of the Core Team
volunteer trainings. At these sessions, Core Team leaders
will guide you through the process for conducting Voices &
Choices feedback sessions in your communities. The training
session will last approximately one hour. For more information
or to register for a training session, contact Cyndi Soter
O'Neil at (919) 821-7609 extension 31 or coneil@wakeedpartnership.org
.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS '02: WAKE COUNTY'S PTA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
The Wake County PTA Leadership Conference will be held on
Tuesday, Oct 1, 5-9 p.m. at Daniels Middle School. The conference
is free to all participants who register prior to Sept 27.
After Sept 27, a $5 registration fee will be charged, including
walk-ins on Oct. 1. Highlights of Great Expectations '02 include
a keynote message from Superintendent Bill McNeal. You can
register for interactive workshops focused on skill development,
best practice sharing, leadership development issues and everyday
PTA challenges. WCPSS Cabinet members and Board of Education
members will be an integral part of the roundtable discussions.
The conference includes "The Great Exchange" - an
exhibitor venue showcasing program and fundraising ideas for
PTAs. Sponsors for the Leadership Conference include Progress
Energy and Xerox Corporation. For more information or to register,
contact Wake County PTA Council steering committee member
Liza Weidle at familyfilter@nc.rr.com
INSIDE THE NEWS
U.S. Department of Education reports "Paige Announces Formation of Two New Offices Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Office of Innovation and Improvement to be established at Education Department"; "Teaching American History and Civic Education"; and "2020 Visions, Transforming Education and Training Through Advanced Technologies" (This last file requires Acrobat Reader, free at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html ).
NC Department of Public Instruction reports "Number of High Performing Schools Increases in North Carolina, ABCs Report Shows"
Education Week reports "Report Relates Better Schools And Diversity"; "Brown Commission To Coordinate Commemoration"; and "Teachers, Principals Were The 'Quiet Heroes' of Sept. 11, Paige Says"
The Washington Post reports "Maryland Starts Fresh On Student Testing"; and "Two for the History Books"
The Beacon of LEARN NC reports on education
CNN reports on education
The National School Board Association reports the School Board News
CALENDAR
|
Sept 26, 10 a.m. |
Release of the results of the 2002 Public Education Community Assessment by Wake Education Partnership and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce at Cary High School |
|
Sept 26, 4 p.m. |
Work Session with the Cary Town Council and Board of Education, Cary Town Council |
|
Oct 3, 6:30 p.m. |
Cary Town Council work session on school assignment |
|
Oct 8 2 p.m. |
Board of Education meets as committee of the whole, 4 p.m. Board of Education meets |
|
Oct 15 |
11 a.m., Human Resources Committee Meeting; 12:30 p.m. Policy Committee Meeting; 2 p.m., Community Relations Committee Meeting; 3:30 p.m. Finance Committee Meeting |
|
Oct 16, 12 p.m. |
Board of Education luncheon with County Commissioners, Wake County Office Building, 336 Fayetteville Street Mall |
School Connection is published electronically every other week for everyone interested in the Wake County Public Schools. Is what you read in this edition helpful? What information would you like to see in future editions? Contact me by calling 850-1829 or e-mailing bposton@wcpss.net.
Bill Poston
Wake County Public School System
Communications Department
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
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