Friday Report – November 2, 2018

The Friday Report

November 2, 2018

Bullying Preceded Fatal Shooting of Butler High Student, Officials Say

Parents walked to go pick up their kids outside Butler High School after the scene was considered safe in Matthews, N.C. on October 29, 2018. Photo Credit: Joshua Komer, The Charlotte Observer.

America’s nightmare reached Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Monday morning, as a fight between two students at suburban Butler High turned into a fatal shooting.

The clash in a hallway outside the school cafeteria left 16-year-old sophomore Bobby McKeithen dead and 16-year-old freshman Jatwan Craig Cuffie charged with first-degree murder.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Price, M., Doss Helms, A. and Wester, J. “Bullying preceded fatal shooting of Butler High student, officials say.” The Charlotte Observer. 10/29/18.

 CMS Delays Controversial Suburban Schools Report as Shooting Rocks the District

Image Credit: WBTV.

A controversial Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools report on changing school boundaries in four suburban towns has been postponed in the wake of the fatal shooting of a Butler High School student Monday.

In August, the CMS board approved a “Municipal Concerns Act of 2018” that called for the superintendent to report Oct. 30 on the prospect of changing boundaries to relieve crowding and assign students who live in Matthews, Mint Hill and Huntersville to schools within the town boundaries. But the district postponed after a student was shot to death Monday morning at Butler High in Matthews, with another student a suspect in his death.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Doss Helms, A. “CMS delays controversial suburban schools report as shooting rocks the district.” The Charlotte Observer. 10/29/18.

NC Says $688 Million Needed for Schools to Get Enough Nurses, Counselors and Cops

Photo Credit: Travis Long, The News & Observer.

Two days after a student was fatally shot at a North Carolina high school, state education officials say they want $71 million more next year to increase school safety.

Staff at the state Department of Public Instruction said Wednesday that it would require around $688 million more in state funding to hire enough additional nurses, social workers, counselors, psychologists and school resource officers to reach nationally recommended ratios for North Carolina’s public schools.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hui, K. “NC says $688 million needed for schools to get enough nurses, counselors and cops.” The News & Observer. 10/31/18.

Guilford County Schools Trying New Partnership to Improve Student Attendance

Photo Credit: Pixabay, Pexels.

Guilford County Schools is looking far away — and close to home — for help cutting down on student absences.

The school system recently signed a contract with Attendance Works, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, to study root causes of chronic absenteeism in the school system and make plans to tackle them.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Pounds, J. “Guilford County Schools trying new partnership to improve student attendance.” News & Record. 10/30/18.

A Black Man Was Lynched near Rolesville in 1918. Now Wake Students Are Honoring Him.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala., Aug. 31, 2018. Photo Credit: Robert Rausch, The New York Times. 

At least 120 African-Americans were lynched in North Carolina after the Civil War, and Wake County was not immune from the racial terror.

On Nov. 5, 1918, George Taylor was lynched near Rolesville after the black man was accused of raping a white woman. With the 100th anniversary approaching, students at Exploris Middle School and Middle Creek and Knightdale high schools want the community to commemorate the lynching as part of a campaign to “remember all those who have been victims of any injustice.”

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hui, K. “A black man was lynched near Rolesville in 1918. Now Wake students are honoring him.” The News & Observer. 10/29/18.

National News

NC School Shooting Spotlights Importance of Family Reunification Plans

The authorities responded to a shooting at Butler High School in Matthews, N.C., on Monday, October, 29, 2018. Photo Credit: Cassie Cope, The Charlotte Observer.

A sophomore boy was shot and killed by a classmate in a crowded hallway at a North Carolina high school Monday morning. The alleged shooter, a freshman boy, has been charged with first-degree murder, authorities said.

The boy’s death marks the 35th this year in a shooting on a school campus during class hours or during a school activity, according to Education Week’s school shooting tracker.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Blad, E. “North Carolina School Shooting Spotlights Importance of Family Reunification Plans.” Education Week. 10/29/18.

More Work, Worse Relationships, and Better Feedback: How Teacher Evaluation Has Changed the Job of the Principal

Principal Melody Smith discusses how students at A.B. Hill Elementary grew significantly in test scores. Photo Credit: Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat.

Teacher evaluation overhauls were supposed to reshape the teaching profession. New research suggests they may have had an even greater impact on what it means to be a school principal.

As policymakers overhauled teacher rating systems in the last decade, principals began spending much more of their time watching teachers in action and talking to them about how to improve. But the shift also overwhelmed them with work, stopped them from fulfilling other responsibilities in their schools, and weakened their relationships with teachers.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Barnum, M. and Cramer, P. “More work, worse relationships, and better feedback: How teacher evaluation has changed the job of the principal.” Chalkbeat. 10/25/18.

Opportunities

Public School Forum Seeking a Policy Analyst

The Public School Forum of North Carolina is seeking a Policy Analyst. This individual will contribute to policy analysis and research efforts on a number of key educational issues in North Carolina. This position would be an excellent early career opportunity for an individual interested in education policy. Reports to the Senior Director of Policy.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Monitor, document, and provide analysis of current education policy issues in North Carolina, with a focus on school finance, teacher pipeline, and education data systems.
• Conduct and interpret quantitative and qualitative research on K-12 education policy topics.
• Attend state legislative convenings and committee meetings.
• Contribute to the Forum’s communications efforts including op-eds and guest columns, newsletter articles and social media efforts addressing current policy issues and initiatives impacting education in North Carolina.

To learn more about this position and how to apply, click here.

NC Teaching Fellows Applications Are Now Open

NC Teaching Fellows applications are now open. All applications must be submitted online by 11:59 PM (EST) on Monday, January 7, 2019.

• Receive up to $4,125 per semester for up to eight semesters.
• Study at a premier educator preparation program in North Carolina.
• Benefit from meaningful program activities to enrich your studies.
• Teach in a Special Education or STEM field in a North Carolina public school.

To learn more visit: https://myapps.northcarolina.edu/ncteachingfellows/ . 

FAST NC Fundraising Drive to Aid Public Schools

A historic storm has devastated parts of North Carolina. In response, a historic, bipartisan coalition of current and former state education leaders presented their effort to aid schools to the State Board of Education, promoting Florence Aid to Students and Teachers (FAST NC) as a drive to help North Carolina’s public schools as students and educators struggle to return to normal.

Hurricane Florence caused at least 1.2 million, or about 80 percent, of North Carolina’s public school students to miss some school. Many school buildings are damaged, and several school districts are still closed due to displacement, flooding and storm-related disruptions. Now, FAST NC has brought together an illustrious steering committee for the effort to help schools recover.

To learn more about FAST NC and how to donate, click here.

Biogen Foundation Spark Video Contest

The Biogen Foundation is inviting middle and high school students in Massachusetts and North Carolina to create videos on the topic of biotechnology in your life. These videos must be between thirty seconds and three minutes, accurate, and creative. We are accepting videos from September 14 through December 17. Work with a teacher at your school to submit your video (up to two submissions per school), because the first 200 schools to submit an eligible video will win $500! See spark.biogenfoundation.com for more information about the contest and to submit your video today!

Submissions are open until December 17th.  ALL NC schools are eligible to enter. Teachers MUST be the ones to submit the videos; students and parents are not allowed to submit videos.

Questions? Contact the Biogen Foundation here.

The William Friday Teachers Retreat

Sunday, Nov. 11 – Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018 | UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library

Designed to equally educate and appreciate our state’s incredibly teachers, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina K-12, in partnership with the North Caroliniana Society and Wilson Library’s North Carolina Collection, invite 4-12 grade teachers from around the state to join us for an engaging (and FREE!) two and a half day academic retreat in beautiful Chapel Hill, NC, with a special “field-trip” to Historic Hillsborough. Throughout these engaging three days, teachers will enjoy a snapshot of some of North Carolina’s most captivating history, events and people, all the while celebrating each participating teacher and the important work you do!

Check out the agenda here. For additional information and to apply, click here.

Upcoming Professional Development at NCCAT 

North Carolina educators have plenty of opportunities throughout the fall to attend the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), a recognized national leader in professional development programming for teachers. Applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible to ensure a spot. Programs are available to North Carolina educators at the Cullowhee and Ocracoke campuses, online and with NCCAT faculty visiting school districts. NCCAT provides food, lodging and programming. Teachers and or their districts are responsible for travel to and from the center and the cost of the substitute teacher.

For a complete list of upcoming NCCAT programs, click here.

For more information on how to apply for NCCAT programs, click here.

Synergy Conference 2019

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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