Friday Report – December 1, 2017

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The Friday Report

December 1, 2017

State News

Public School Forum Program Aims to Alleviate Child Trauma

 Photo Credit: Kyo Azuma, Unsplash.

Two Edgecombe County Public Schools are now participating in a pilot program designed to help school teachers and staff become more sensitive to the traumas many children face.

Teachers at Patillo Middle School and Stocks Elementary School are working with the NC Resilience and Learning Project, which is an initiative of the Public School Forum of NC. The NC Resilience and Learning Project works primarily with high poverty schools where trauma is more prevalent.

“We are piloting this program at three schools in North Carolina this year and two of them are in Edgecombe County,” said Elizabeth DeKonty, director of the NC Resilience and Learning Project. “We chose Edgecombe County because they were the most interested and engaged with this work.”

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from: 

Harper, A. “Program aims to alleviate child trauma.” Rocky Mount Telegram. 11/29/17.

New Study: Quality Pre-K Boosts High School Graduation Rates

A new study shows that kids who participate in high-quality pre-kindergarten are 11 percent more likely to graduate from high school. Photo Credit: Jess Clark, WUNC. 

A recent analysis of five decades of data shows that high-quality early childhood education has lasting benefits for kids. Yet in North Carolina, less than one out of two young children participates in a qualifying program.

The study was published in the journal Educational Researcher. It showed that kids who attended a high-quality preschool program were 11 percent more likely to graduate high school. They were also 8 percent less likely to be held back or placed in special education.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Philip, L. “New Study: Quality Pre-K Boosts High School Graduation Rates.” WUNC.11/23/17.

Parents Used to Fight Year-Round Schools; Now Some Are Lobbying to Keep Them

Brannon Balsley, left, helps his son Austin Balsley, 7, with his homework after school at their home in Holly Springs on Nov. 15, 2017. He and other Holly Grove parents are lobbying Wake to open Buckhorn Creek as a year-round school. Photo Credit: Chris Seward, The News & Observer.

Wake County families fought against year-round schools a decade ago, but some parents are now battling to keep their children on a non-traditional calendar as the school system shifts away from the year-round option.

The debate is now focused on Holly Springs, but the outcome in this suburban town could affect families throughout Wake as the school board decides which calendar to use at specific schools.

Wake’s new student assignment proposal would move hundreds of Holly Springs students from year-round schools into a traditional-calendar school opening next year. Some parents are lobbying for the new school, Buckhorn Creek Elementary, to open on a year-round calendar, but school leaders say it’s too late to make the change.

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To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hui, K. “Parents used to fight year-round schools. Now some are lobbying to keep them.” The News & Observer.11/29/17.

Wake County Public School System Superintendent Announces Retirement

Wake County Superintendent Jim Merrill is asking parents to monitor what their children post on social media following online threats made against two high schools at the start of the 2017-18 school year.

Photo Credit: Robert Willett, The News & Observer.

Wake County Superintendent Jim Merrill announced Tuesday night (November 21st)  that he’s retiring after nearly five years as the leader of North Carolina’s largest school district.

Merrill, 67, said he’s resigning Feb. 1 so he can begin his retirement. Merrill started as superintendent in 2013, going on to win the state superintendent of the year in 2016 and being named a finalist for national superintendent of the year.

Why Durham Public Schools’ New Leader Won’t Try to Win Back Students Right Away

Pascal Mubenga is sworn in as the new superintendent of Durham Public Schools in by District Court Judge Shamieka L. Rhinehart on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017, in Durham, NC. Photo Credit: Casey Toth, The Herald Sun.

When Pascal Mubenga became the superintendent of Franklin County Schools, he sent a letter to all the families who had taken their children out of the school system, presumably for charter and private schools.

Mubenga, who was sworn in Monday as Durham Public Schools superintendent, said that was “a big mistake.” Several parents responded by asking him why they should return to the Franklin County school district when some of its schools still had performance grades of “D” and “F.”

He expects the same would happen here.

“I think they [would] have some valid points, and I think my priority [in Durham] is going to be to work with my staff to fix some of our schools,” he said. “ Once we get to that point, I think they’re going to be some students who come back to our schools knowing that we have a lot we can offer that charter schools cannot offer.” But first, Mubenga said he and DPS leaders and staff must put in the work to improve the schools.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:
Childress,  G. “Why Durham Public Schools’ new leader won’t try to win back students right away.” The Herald Sun. 11/27/17.

National News

The Transformative Power of Trauma-Informed Teaching

Photo Credit: Allison Shelley, The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.

A Punishing Decade for School Funding

Photo Credit: JJ Thompson, Unsplash.

Public investment in K-12 schools — crucial for communities to thrive and the U.S. economy to offer broad opportunity — has declined dramatically in a number of states over the last decade. Worse, some of the deepest-cutting states have also cut income tax rates, weakening their main revenue source for supporting schools.

Most states cut school funding after the recession hit, and it took years for states to restore their funding to pre-recession levels. In 2015, the latest year for which comprehensive spending data are available from the U.S. Census Bureau, 29 states were still providing less total school funding per student than they were in 2008.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Leachman, M. Masterson, K. Figueroa, E. “A Punishing Decade for School Funding.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 11/29/17.

Opportunities

Grow Your Career Skills with the Kenan Fellows Program

The 2018-19 Fellowship application period opens today, December 1, 2017. The Fellowship begins with a summer internship in a higher education lab or industry setting and is supported by 80 hours of professional development that focuses on building leadership capacity and proven instructional strategies.

Each Fellow is awarded at least a $5,000 stipend, and must develop and implement relevant educational materials and/or programs based on their internship experience. To apply click here.

Biogen Foundation Spark Video Contest

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Application Open for Promoting Innovation in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) Award

The Promoting Innovation in Science and Mathematics or PRISM Award provides NC public school teachers the opportunity to receive up to $3000 in funding towards the purchase of STEM-related materials and up to $1500 for any necessary training for those materials.

The award was created in 2012 by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to support teachers in their efforts to provide quality hands-on, inquiry-based activities for their students.

“The PRISM Award enables teachers to provide new and inventive ways of teaching STEM in their classrooms,” said Dr. John Burris, president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. “For a relatively modest investment students all over North Carolina can benefit from the wealth of material that may not otherwise be available to them.”

The Fund has provided 238 awards to 77 of North Carolina’s 115 school districts for a total of $750,000. One teacher, Matthew Kinnaird in Buncombe County, used the PRISM Award to build a radio telescope with his class to gather information for NASA.

Teachers may apply at https://www.bwfund.org/grant-programs/science-education/promoting-innovation-science-and-mathematics. The deadline to apply is December 5, 2017.

The Friday Report is published weekly by the Public School Forum of NC and is distributed to Forum members, policymakers, donors, media, and Forum subscribers. Archived editions can be found at www.ncforum.org.

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