Friday Report – December 8, 2017

The Friday Report

December 8, 2017

Governor’s Commission to Weigh In On Leandro Case: How to Give Access to Sound, Basic Education

Governor Roy Cooper’s Commission on Access to Sound, Basic Education met for the first time this week. Photo Credit: Liz Schlemmer, WUNC.

A new commission tasked with giving input on a decades-long court case with broad implications for public education in North Carolina met for the first time last week.

Governor Roy Cooper swore in 18 members of the Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound, Basic Education at its inaugural meeting Thursday. Cooper is asking the board of educational experts to weigh in on how the state can meet the requirements of the landmark 1997 Leandro decision.

To continue reading the complete press release, click here.

Excerpt from:

Schlemmer, L. “Governor’s Commission To Weigh In On Leandro Case: How To Give Access to Sound, Basic Education.” WUNC.12/1/17.

PTA Groups are Mobilizing Against Smaller K-3 Class Sizes in NC Elementary Schools

Ann Spencer of Combs Elementary School PTA talks with parents as they wait in the carpool line

Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, near the school. Photo Credit: Travis Long, The News & Observer.

Smaller class sizes are great, PTA volunteer Ann Spencer told parents at Combs Elementary School on Monday, unless they lead to consequences such as losing art and music classrooms.

Spencer and other PTA volunteers at the Raleigh magnet school urged Combs parents waiting in the carpool line to lobby state lawmakers to back off from requiring smaller class sizes in kindergarten through third grade starting next year. Monday’s effort at Combs is just one example of how PTAs across North Carolina are mobilizing parents to advocate on the issue of class sizes.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:
Hui, K. “PTA groups are mobilizing against smaller K-3 class sizes in NC elementary schools.” The News & Observer. 12/4/17.

Legislative Committee Talks Lab Schools, Teaching Fellows and Future of Community Colleges

Jennifer Haygood presents a strategic plan for the future of community colleges to the NC General Assembly. Photo Credit: EducationNC.

Lawmakers heard from leaders of several state education programs at the Joint Legislative Education Oversight committee meeting on Tuesday. At the committee’s final meeting of 2017, representatives heard updates and future plans on North Carolina’s new laboratory schools, Teaching Fellows program and the state’s community college system. 

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Staff. “Legislative committee talks lab schools, Teaching Fellows and future of community colleges.” EducationNC. 12/6/17.

NC Superintendent Hires McCrory’s Former Press Secretary

State Superintendent Mark Johnson at Ephesus Elementary School in Chapel Hill on March 15, 2017.
Photo Credit: Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson has hired Graham Wilson as his community outreach coordinator, a new position Johnson created after receiving $700,000 from the General Assembly to staff his office.

Wilson, who will make about $72,000 in his new role, previously served as press secretary for former Gov. Pat McCrory. He is not the first McCrory staffer Johnson has hired. Lindsey Wakely, who serves as the superintendent’s senior policy adviser and chief legal counsel, was McCrory’s deputy general counsel.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hinchcliffe, K. ” NC superintendent hires McCrory’s former press secretary.” WRAL. 12/5/17.

State Board Moves Foward on Heritage Charter Revocation

State Board of Education Chairman, Bill Cobey.

In the second day of their monthly meeting, the State Board of Education recommended revoking the charter of Heritage Collegiate Leadership Academy in Bertie County.

After Heritage Collegiate appealed the State Board’s November decision, a three-member review panel met Tuesday to hear presentations from the school and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). With remarks considered from both sides, the panel supported the board’s call for a charter revocation.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Gentilviso, C. “State Board moves forward on Heritage charter revocation.” EducationNC. 12/8/17.

CMS Has More English Learners Than Other NC Districts; Here’s Why That Matters

Flags of many nations fly at Independence High, which includes an Academy of International Studies.

Photo Credit: Ann Doss Helms, The Charlotte Observer.

The ranks of immigrant students learning English grew by more than 12,000 students across North Carolina this year, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leading the list.

The tally, which will be presented to the state Board of Education this week, is another sign of the changing face of public education. Public schools, especially those in the large urban districts, are seeing steep growth in the number of students who need help mastering the language, even as overall enrollment flattens.

For instance: The first-month count of all students in North Carolina districts and charter schools grew by only about 3,500 this year, about two-tenths of a percent. But the count of English learners, taken at the same time, grew by 12,759, or 13 percent.

To continue reading the complete article click here.

Excerpt from:

Doss Helms, A. “CMS has more English learners than other NC districts. Here’s why that matters.” The Charlotte Observer. 12/4/17.

Thousands of NC Students Aren’t Vaccinated – All Becuase of This Easy Exemption

Maren Caldwell, who volunteers with People Advocating Vaccine Education, a Charlotte-based nonprofit shares information with parents trying to decide whether to have their children injected with the 23 doses of vaccines now required for every kindergarten-age child in the state. Photo Credit: Martha Quillin, The News & Observer.

The number of N.C. kindergarteners opting out of required childhood vaccinations on religious grounds more than doubled in the five school years from 2012 to 2016. And both public health officials and anti-vaccine advocates agree that the exemption is being claimed by parents whose true objection to the shots has nothing to do with faith.

“I’ve had parents tell me they use it because there is no way for the state to decline it,” said Sen. Jeff Tarte, a Republican from Mecklenburg County. In 2015, he introduced a bill that would have eliminated the religious exemption for all children except those who are homeschooled. He and his co-sponsors dropped the bill within two weeks because of opposition from those who say the government should not force anyone to be injected with anything.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Quillin, M. “Thousands of NC students aren’t vaccinated – all because of this easy exemption.” The News & Observer. 12/7/17.

National News

U.S. Charter Schools Put Growing Numbers in Racial Isolation

Photo Credit: JJ Thompson, Unsplash.

How a Dropout Factory Raised Its Graduation Rate from 53 Percent to 75 Percent in Three Years

City Year member Shawn Wiyninger greets a student at Webster High School. Photo Credit: Amadou Diallo, The Hechinger Report.

The first thing you notice during morning arrival outside Daniel Webster High School is the cluster of red-jacketed young adults, each holding up a sign identifying their favorite hobby. They’re members of City Year, a nonprofit partner of AmeriCorps that recruits college-age members from across the country to serve as tutors and mentors in high-poverty urban schools. Many of the Webster upperclassmen simply walk by the City Year members, but several younger students stop and engage in conversations about a shared love of video games or binge-watching YouTube clips.

“There are statistics showing that high-poverty students typically have three negative interactions before they get to school,” explained City Year team leader Keanna Marshall, a college graduate who grew up in Tulsa. “So our daily greeting provides a positive interaction before they get into their classroom.”

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Diallo, A. “How a dropout factory raised its graduation rate from 53 percent to 75 percent in three years.” The Hechinger Report. 12/5/17.

Into the Breach: South Carolina Cracks Down on Poor-Performing Virtual Charter Schools, Rejects Their Bid for New Sponsor

Photo Credit: The 74 Million.

Following months of political tensions and a contentious public hearing, the South Carolina agency that oversees 39 of the state’s charter schools has signed off on the requests of five charters seeking permission to transfer to a new sponsor. Another four, though, including three online schools, are in “breach” status because of persistently poor performance and will not be allowed to leave.

“We don’t feel that’s taking care of our fiduciary duties,” Don McLaurin, chair of the statewide South Carolina Public Charter School Board, said of the underperforming schools’ request to leave. “That’s just not how you improve education.”

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hawkins, B. “Into the Breach: South Carolina Cracks Down on Poor-Performing Virtual Charter Schools, Rejects Their Bid for New Sponsor.” The 74 Million. 12/3/17.

Opportunities

Grow Your Career Skills with the Kenan Fellows Program

The 2018-19 Fellowship application is now open. 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.The 2018-19 application period ends Jan. 22, 2018.

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

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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