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Stay ConnectedRecognitionsDirectoriesGovernanceTop Links
GCS Media Room
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Friday Notes from Guilford County Schools
September 7, 2007 Our Vision, Mission/Thematic Goals and Core Values Our vision – what we will become, Our mission/thematic goals- how we will get there -- Our Viral E-Mail Alert It has been brought to our attention that students across the country are circulating e-mails encouraging one another to stay home on September 11. While the country certainly mourns the tragic events of this date, we ask that parents encourage students to attend school and be mindful of the district’s attendance policy. Click here for the policy. Lowering of United States and North Carolina Flags on Patriot Day President Bush has ordered United States flags to be flown at half staff on Patriot Day, Tuesday, September 11, on all federal buildings, grounds and naval vessels throughout the United States, and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. Likewise, Gov. Easley has ordered that all United States and North Carolina flags at state facilities be flown at half-staff on Patriot Day. Flags are to be returned to full staff on Wednesday, September 12. Guilford County Schools 2006-07 ABCs and Revised Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Results Just released data for ABC and AYP scores for 2006-07 show a substantial increase in performance for GCS compared with 2005-06 data. GCS also showed the highest growth gain when compared to other large urban districts in North Carolina, such as Wake and Mecklenburg Counties. ABCs Highlights include:
AYP Highlights include:
To view the power point presentation, please click here or visit http://www.gcsnc.com/ind_success/2007abc_results.html GCS Student Named Semifinalist in 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge A sixth-grader at Aycock Middle is one of 400 semifinalists in the national 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. Nicole Shaw, known for her “sick shopping carts” science project, won the Exemplary Award at the N.C. State Science Fair in March, which is how she was nominated for this well-earned distinction. From the 400 semifinalists, 40 finalists are chosen to attend the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge finals in Washington D.C. The finalists compete for a share of more than $45,000 in scholarships and the top prize of a $20,000 scholarship, as well as the honor of being named America’s Top Young Scientist. Shaw is one of only four semifinalists from North Carolina and the only from GCS. For more information, please contact Principal Valerie Akins at 370-8110. GCS continues to celebrate a wonderfully diverse student body. This year, students from 127 countries, who speak 136 languages other than English as their first language, are enrolled in our schools. The top six second languages spoken include - Spanish 3,937, Vietnamese 762, Arabic 318, Urdu 238, Lao 132 and French 123. To help meet the needs of these students, we opened the GCS Newcomers School this year. Small class sizes and ESOL instructors help students new to the district with limited English proficiency improve their English and adjust to their new surroundings. Islamic Holiday Please be reminded that starting Thursday, September 13 through Saturday, October 13, the Islamic community celebrates Ramadan, considered the most venerated, blessed and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year. During this time, fasting, prayers, charity, and self-accountability are especially stressed. We ask that staff be sensitive to Muslim students and fellow staff members who may be fasting during this time. As with any student and staff who observes a religious holiday, Muslim students and staff may ask to be excused from school/work for observances. And, like all religious holidays, these absences will be excused and students given the opportunity to make up missed work following the completion of the holiday. Staff who wish to observe a religious holiday should refer to the GCS Personnel Handbook. Click here for guidelines surrounding religious observances. Please call me at 370-8992 should you have questions. GCS 2007-08 Inclement Weather Plan Policy As the seasons change, we again remind staff, students and parents about our inclement weather policy. The inclement weather policy is posted on the parent page of the district’s Web site. Look for a video explaining the policy coming soon to GCSTV 2 as well as Connect Ed telephone message. The district will also send information home to parents in both Spanish and English. Click here to view the 2007-08 Inclement Weather Plan. GCS Receives CMSDC Public Sector Annual Award On August 14, GCS received the 2007 Public Sector Award at the annual Business Opportunity Conference sponsored by the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council (CMSDC). The CMSDC Public Sector award is presented to a public entity that promotes the use of minority businesses and increases the volume of business conducted with CMSDC Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) via enhanced outreach/technical support initiatives/efforts; proactive strategies for the inclusion of minority businesses in contracting opportunities; and increased community MBE awareness/involvement. Public Sector award recipients must be nominated by a corporate member of the CMSDC. GCS was nominated for the award by CC Lamberth of CoMor Communications/Construction. For more information, please contact John Mann, Purchasing Officer, at 370-3238 or Sharon Ozment, Chief Finance Officer, at 370-8343. The 2007-08 operating budget was recently approved, although it had a shortfall of more that $3 million, meaning some needed positions and programs will not be funded. Significant programs that were not funded include the school climate and student suspension improvement initiative ($4.3 million). Fifty positions were not funded for teachers, social workers and others. Budget cuts did not impact GCS employee salaries, although some employee health insurance costs did increase. Additionally, several programs that were not originally funded in the operating budget were approved and added back into the budget. These programs include the Twilight High School, New Light Suspension program, Home Field Advantage and teachers and assistants at the elementary school level. For more information, please contact Sharon Ozment, Chief Financial Officer, at 370-8343. Principal and Teacher of the Year GCS Principal of the Year committee has been reviewing portfolios and will interview the nominees on September 11. Five finalists will be selected based on a combination of both the portfolio and interview scores. The GCS Principal of the Year and the Teacher of the Year will be announced on September 26, 2007, at the Wachovia “Best in Class” awards which will be held at Embassy Suites. This year’s Principal of the Year committee members include: Dr. Doris Henderson, Lewis Ferebee, Gay Citty, Dr. Gilda Scott, Susan Poindexter and Linda McDougle. Congratulations to the following principal nominees who submitted portfolios to compete for the award. Valerie Akins – Vandalia Elementary (currently at Aycock Middle) GCS Teacher of the Year finalists were named earlier this summer. They include: Kristal Britton – Dudley High, Janice Clark – Aycock Middle, George Eckart – GTCC Middle College of Entertainment Technology, Carolyn Hiatt – Hunter Elementary and Michael Joncas – Summerfield Elementary. We look forwarding to honoring and celebrating the accomplishments of these outstanding educators on September 26. For more information, please contact Carla Alphin, Program Administrator for Employee Relations, at 378-8821. Know a Great GCS Volunteer? Nominate them for Volunteer of the Month! The success of GCS is due much in part to its volunteers. To recognize those who selflessly donate their own time to the district’s students, GCS and American Express have collaborated to offer the Volunteer of the Month program. Persons who volunteer at GCS full- or part-time may be nominated. All nominations must be received by the 10th day of each month and are good for 30 days. Those selected as the district’s Volunteer of the Month will receive a $25 gift card from American Express and a certificate of recognition from GCS. Additionally, during the month, his or her photo will hang on a plaque at the nominating school during the month of the honor. They are also recognized at the first Board of Education meeting of each month. The Volunteer of the Month program will resume in October. To nominate your favorite GCS volunteer, click here . For more information, please contact Lynne Brandon, Program Administrator II-Communications, at 370-8353. America's Legislator Back to School Week America's Legislator Back-to-School Week is September 17-21. Now is the time to extend invitations to your elected officials to visit and talk with students about what it’s like to be an elected official. For more information, please contact your local, state or federal elected officials. Click here to access a list of contacts. Mission Possible Performance Incentive Bonuses Beginning this week, the Mission Possible Office began the multi-week process of verifying Student-Teacher Linkages for the purpose of awarding performance incentive bonuses to Phase I Mission Possible teachers. Over the course of the next 10 days, Phase I Mission Possible teachers will verify and sign their Linkage Lists. The Mission Possible Office will compile verification data and will deliver it to SAS for generation of Value-Added Data. Resulting data will be utilized to determine the level of performance incentive bonuses to be awarded to Phase I Mission Possible teachers before the end of the calendar year. This is an exciting time as we pilot the awarding of incentive bonuses to our teachers. For more information, please contact Dr. Amy Holcombe, Director of Mission Possible, at 336-335-3294 or email at holcoma@gcsnc.com . Students and Teachers Benefit from Enrichment Fund Each year, the Enrichment Fund for Guilford County Schools donates tens of thousands of dollars to support our students and teachers through field trip scholarships and mini-grants. The fall deadline for scholarships is September 17 for trips scheduled after October 5. The classroom mini-grant deadline is November 16. We hope you will take advantage of this excellent opportunity to enrich your students’ learning experience. Click here to download instructions and application forms for the 2007-08 school year. For more information, please contact Cecilia Adams, Manager of Community Partnerships, at 370-8355. Eleven Schools Trained in Positive Behavior Support Teams from Fairview, Gillespie, Hairston MS, Kirkman Park, Kiser MS, Montlieu, Northeast MS, Northwest HS, Oak Hill, Welborn MS and Western HS completed training in Positive Behavior Support (PBS) during the week of August 6. These teams were trained in school-wide systems to promote positive behavior while decreasing the opportunities for inappropriate behavior. PBS is a process for creating safer and more effective schools; schools teach and support positive behavior for all students and all staff in all areas of the school. The PBS process teaches and supports research validated instructional and management practices. PBS schools will soon receive training in data collection and will begin to gather information that will be used to make decisions about strategies to create a safer and more orderly environment for all. These eleven schools join ten schools previously trained in PBS: Andrews HS, Cone, Gibsonville, Guilford MS, Jackson MS, Johnson Street, Lindley, Northwest MS, Page HS and Scale – Greensboro. For more information about PBS, contact Sherry Rogowski or Beth Woody at 370-8170. Safety in Science With student and staff health and safety as a priority, GCS has worked to ensure the safety of science labs. GCS high schools went through an internal safety audit assuring that each site’s designated chemical hygiene officer oversees the school’s science safety. Supporting this effort, the district-wide Chemical Hygiene Plan has been updated. On August 23, all school-appointed chemical hygiene officers attended a training session conducted by Sandra Strubinger, Grimsley High Science Teacher and Lead Chemical Hygiene Officer for GCS; James Smith, Program Administrator for Health and Safety and District Chemical Hygiene Officer for GCS and Debbie Kraszeski, Secondary Science Curriculum Specialist for GCS. During the month of September, the school-appointed chemical hygiene officers will train all science staff in up-to-date science safety and procedures. For more information, please contact Debbie Kraszeski, Secondary Science Curriculum Specialist, at kraszed@gcsnc.com or 336-370-3273, ext. 3. GCSTV 2 Choices for Students and Parents The new school year is a time for choices, especially for high school seniors. One of those choices is whether they will go to work after graduation, go to college or perhaps join the military. The federal law known as “No Child Left Behind” stipulates that military recruiters have access to school student contact information for seniors in order to discuss a possible military career. But the law also provides a provision to “opt-out” so recruiters will not have access to addresses and telephone numbers. Find out more in this program that airs daily at 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. New Principals There are new faces in the principals’ offices at GCS this year. GCSTV 2 introduces you to them as they share their philosophy of education and how they plan to get the school year off to a smooth start. This program airs daily at 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Employee of the Month There’s no end to the number of “hats” she wears in keeping our District Relations department running smoothly. That’s why GCS honors Cindy Kernodle as Employee of the Month for September 2007. This feature airs daily at 6 a.m., 9:57 a.m., 1:27 p.m., 3:57 p.m., 6:57 p.m. and 9:57 p.m. GCS continues its partnership with ABC 45 television to share the current news and feature stories about our district. The segments run on ABC 45 (Cable Channel 7) during “Good Morning America” each Wednesday and Friday at 7:25 a.m. and 8:25 a.m. Also, learn more about GCS by tuning in to GCSTV 2 (Cable Channel 2).
For more information, please contact Leonard Simpson, Broadcast Production Manager, at 370-8167. NON-GCS EDUCATIONAL NEWS
Teacher Donalyn Miller prides herself on turning her students into readers who devour an average of 50 to 60 books a year. In the first-part of a three-part series, she offers her secrets. Click here to read more. As Minorities Increase, Student Bodies Change As minorities continue to increase their share of America's population, white students are less likely to attend nearly all-white public schools, while African-American and Hispanic students are more likely to attend nearly all-minority schools, according to a new report from the Pew Hispanic Center. The nationwide enrollment shift comes because the Hispanic share of the public school population has increased from 12.7 percent in 1993-94 to 19.8 percent in 2005-06. The African-American share of public enrollment rose from 16.5 percent to 17.2 percent during this period. The white share fell sharply from 66.1 percent to 57.1 percent. "In part because whites now comprise a smaller share of students in public schools, white students are now more likely to be exposed to minority students," said the report, titled "The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Public Schools." But as the white share of the nation's public school population shrinks, "it has also led to a diminished exposure of black and Hispanic students to white students," the report said. About three in 10 black students (31 percent) and Hispanic students (29 percent) attended nearly all-minority schools in 2005-06, up from 28 percent for black students and 25 percent for Hispanic students from the 1993-94 school year. During this same period, the proportion of white students attending nearly all-white public schools fell from one in three (34 percent) to one in five (21 percent). Nationwide, the number of nearly all-minority schools has increased from 5,498 in 1993-94 to 10,135 in 2005-06. The number of nearly all-white public schools decreased from 25,603 to 16,769 during this same period. The report said school populations are determined largely by local housing patterns, reports Bob Dart for Cox News Service. Click here to read more. School Districts Search for Spanish Speaking Teachers With explosive growth in the number of Hispanic students in public schools in Oklahoma, school districts are searching for more bilingual teachers and classroom assistants. In a 10-year period from 1996 to 2006, the population of students in pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade in public Oklahoma schools went up 2.8 percent, while the Hispanic portion of that population jumped 135.5 percent, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics. And to teach students the English language, school districts need a growing number of professionals who speak Spanish. The problem is, there aren't enough Oklahomans graduating from the public universities to fill those spots. Some school districts are turning to other countries for help, reports The Associated Press. In a few weeks, representatives from Tulsa Public Schools will fly to Puerto Rico and offer contracts on-the-spot to December graduates of the University of Puerto Rico. In March, they'll go back to lure some of the May graduates, said John Harris, director of human resources for the district. "It's kind of like the NFL. If you've got a starter player, you try to get them in their junior year," Harris said. "You snooze, you lose." The district has offered about 15 contracts to Puerto Ricans in the past two years, he said. Tulsa also recruits teachers from 33 universities in five states, he said, but there are a limited number of Spanish-speaking education majors and a lot of competition for them. The Oklahoma City school district hasn't made the offshore trip yet. But school board member Wilfredo Santos Rivera, the District 7 representative and a native of Puerto Rico, said he suggested the idea to some colleagues a while back. "Puerto Ricans are already citizens, so you get that off the table right there, so you don't have to do a lot of paperwork. And their universities are bilingual, so it's a win-win situation." Click here to read more. Segregation in U.S. Schools is Increasing Public schools in the United States are becoming more racially segregated and the trend is likely to accelerate because of a Supreme Court decision in June, according to a new report by the Civil Rights Project of the University of California in Los Angeles. The rise in segregation threatens the quality of education received by non-white students, who now make up 43 percent of the total U.S. student body. Many segregated schools struggle to attract highly qualified teachers and administrators, do not prepare students well for college and fail to graduate more than half their students. The resegregation trend damages the prospects for non-white students and will likely have a negative effect on the U.S. economy, reports Matthew Bigg for Reuters. Part of the reason for the resegregation is the rapidly expanding number of black and Latino children and a corresponding fall in the number of white children, it said. Contrary to popular belief, the surge in the number of minority children in public schools was not mainly caused by a flight of white students into private schools. Instead, it said, the post-"baby boom" generation of white Americans are having smaller family sizes. Latinos are the fastest growing minority in U.S. schools and for them segregation is often more profound than it was when the phenomenon was first measured 40 years ago, according to the report, "Historic Reversals, Accelerating Resegregation and the need for new Integration Strategies." "Too often Latino students face triple segregation by race, class and language," it said. Click here to read more. |
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