Friday Report – September 1, 2017

The Friday Report

September 1, 2017

The General Assembly approved its court-ordered redistricting maps this week in time for the September 1, 2017 deadline, and they have adjourned again under a new Senate Joint Resolution 692 – this time until October 4, 2017.

Also this week, the legislature overturned Governor Cooper’s veto of HB 770, “Various Clarifying Changes,” which had been vetoed on non-education grounds. Nonetheless, this bill is now law and, relevant to education, makes a clarifying change to the A-F School Performance Grades law. Now, the State’s plan under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – which is due to the federal government in mid-September – will better comply with the federal law. The NC State Board of Education’s September 6-7 monthly meeting will address the State’s final ESSA plan and presumably take its final vote before submission to the US Department of Education.

The concerning element about the General Assembly’s return in October is that they have allowed themselves a wide berth of possible issues upon which they can vote. Under the terms of this most recent adjournment, they can take up the revision of judicial districts, constitutional amendments, more veto overrides, impeachment proceedings, technical corrections bills, and other pre-existing bills that are under conference between the two chambers. Legislators on both sides of the aisle are questioning whether they truly are a “part-time” legislature. At the end of the day, September will be a nice break for all, but there will be plenty of jockeying for the upcoming October 4 Session.

State News

Nearly 2,500 Students Have Left NC’s Online Charter Schools: Why Did They Leave? Where Did They Go?

Amelia Hempel, a student at North Carolina Connections Academy, works alongside her teacher while visiting the school’s Durham headquarters in March 2017. Photo Credit: Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL.

Jennifer Murray remembers the first time she heard about virtual charter schools. The Wendell mother was at a ballet fundraiser with her teenage daughter Macy when a woman sitting nearby suggested they check out North Carolina Connections Academy, one of the state’s two new virtual charter schools. The classes were online and flexible and would allow Macy to keep up with her demanding ballet schedule.

Murray was intrigued. “I went online and started demoing the options they had,” Murray said. “Academics are very important to our family.”

Macy, now 15, recently finished her second year with Connections Academy. The online public school has allowed her to take intensive dance lessons at the Raleigh School of Ballet during the day and complete schoolwork online, mostly on her own schedule. This past March, she was able to take classes in the car on the way to a ballet competition, her mother recalled.

“The school environment has been so wonderful for us because we’re driving to Philadelphia and my hotspot’s on and she’s in class,” Murray said. “I mean, you don’t have to miss a beat with this. You don’t have to get behind. She can work on Saturday and Sunday if she has a tight rehearsal schedule.”

Macy is one of more than 4,400 students across North Carolina who enrolled this past year in the state’s two virtual charter schools – Connections Academy and North Carolina Virtual Academy. Both are based in Durham but serve students across the state.

Since the schools launched two years ago, they have enjoyed strong support from families, often receiving high marks on parent satisfaction surveys. But they have also struggled with low performance grades and high withdrawal rates.

Their first year, the schools enrolled nearly 3,900 students combined. By the end of the year, more than 1,200 students – more than 30 percent – left to seek education elsewhere, prompting one State Board of Education member to warn, “We need to monitor this closely.” This past year, the schools enrolled more than 4,400 students and lost nearly 1,200, or about 27 percent.

Tracking how many students leave the schools has been a complex and controversial topic since lawmakers granted the schools four-year pilot programs beginning in 2015. Virtual charter school leaders say their withdrawal numbers appear inflated because of the unique students they serve, some of whom only enroll for a brief time. Last year, lawmakers decided to allow the schools to stop counting certain students who leave, including those who withdraw within 30 days. The change allowed the schools to report drastically lower withdrawal rates of 5 percent each.

While the schools’ overall enrollment and withdrawal numbers are publicly reported, not much is known about why students leave. In public meetings and interviews with WRAL News, leaders at both schools often rely on anecdotes to explain why students depart, typically sharing stories of children undergoing cancer treatments or other personal struggles who need to take online courses for a short time before returning to their previous schools. But a detailed breakdown of specific reasons why students leave the online schools has never been reported – until now.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hinchcliffe​, K. “Nearly 2,500 Students Have Left NC’s Online Charter Schools: Why Did They Leave? Where Did They Go?” WRAL. 8/30/17.

ECU’s Youngest Students Ready for Lab School

Karon Harris picks a new book bag filled with school supplies in his second-grade classroom at the ECU Lab School. ECU College of Education students who receive scholarships or live in education’s living-learning community coordinated donations of school supplies and 75 book bags from faculty, staff, other students and area businesses.

Photo Credit: Cliff Hollis

East Carolina University’s youngest students got their first look inside the ECU Lab School during open house on August 24. “I love it, everything,” exclaimed fourth-grader Breanna Daniels after seeing her new classroom.

The scene was repeated over and over — families touring the school, students entering their classrooms wide-eyed and grinning, and all leaving hopeful for the year to come.

“I think it is going to be something awesome for the kids,” said Erica Gray, Breanna’s mother. “It is not the traditional type of classroom that I was raised on. It is about taking a whole new learning style and seeing if it can work, so we shall see.”

The journey that brought Gray and 74 other families to open house began on Nov. 1, 2016, when UNC President Margaret Spellings announced that ECU was selected as one of eight universities across the state to open a laboratory school as a training site for future teachers and administrators.

Dr. Laura Bilbro-Berry, the College of Education’s director of partnerships and enrollment management, said everyone involved adopted a proactive approach following the announcement. “We knew the need for something like this was present in eastern North Carolina because we see it every day and we knew we would be poised to take on the initiative,” she said.

Bilbro-Berry said ECU’s partnership with Pitt County Schools has been critical to the school’s success. It’s one of the first two lab schools to open in North Carolina. “We could not have done this without the cooperation of Pitt County Schools…they have been very forthcoming with helping us figure this out,” she said. “All of those things that had to happen from transportation to nutrition to facilities…they have been really helpful with everything.”

Housed in a renovated wing of South Greenville Elementary School, the ECU Lab School is designed to serve students who have underperformed in their traditional school setting by building upon the students’ strengths. The Lab School will not only address students’ academic needs, but will also provide students with additional resources to enhance their development physically, socially and emotionally. Additionally, the Lab School will operate on an extended day schedule with students remaining in school until 5 p.m. As a tradeoff, Lab School students will not be given homework.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Dittmer, C. “ECU’s youngest students ready for Lab School.” ECU News Services. 8/25/17.

Turnover ‘Seems Higher Than Usual’ As More Top Officials Leave NC Education Agency

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Photo Credit: Kelly Hinchcliffe​

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is preparing to say goodbye to more senior staff members, the latest in a string of high-level departures at the agency this year.

Those leaving include:

• State Board of Education Attorney Katie Cornetto (resigning effective Sept. 15)
• Special Deputy Attorney General Laura Crumpler (retiring effective Oct. 1. She is employed by the state Department of Justice but works with the state education agency on a daily basis and has an office in the building.)
• K-3 Literacy Program Director Carolyn Guthrie (retiring effective Aug. 31)
• Career and Technical Education Director Jo Anne Honeycutt (resigning in September)

A handful of other senior staff members left earlier this year, including the deputy state superintendent, chief financial officer, human resources director, legislative director and communications director, among others.

Many of those announcements came as newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson said he was seeking ideas about “organizational and staff changes to make the department run more efficiently.” Johnson, a Republican, beat out incumbent state superintendent June Atkinson, a Democrat, who served in the role for 11 years and spent 40 years at the state education agency. 

Johnson released the following statement Friday: “I wish all four of these professionals the best in their careers, thank them for their service to students and the state, and look forward to working with them in their new capacities.”

In an interview Thursday, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey praised the employees who are leaving as “outstanding” and “very talented.” “It does seem like we’ve lost a lot of our best staff,” Cobey said. “We have been losing staff ever since I got here (four years ago), but it seems like we’ve lost more than usual.”

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hinchcliffe, K. “Turnover ‘seems higher than usual’ as more top officials leave NC education agency.” WRAL. 8/25/17.

NC State Board of Education Member Wayne McDevitt Receives National Public Service Award

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is pleased to announce that state education leaders from Georgia, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina are recipients of NASBE’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award. This national award honors current and former state board members who have made exceptional contributions to education. It is given to three outstanding leaders each year and is the highest award that NASBE can bestow on a state board of education member.

Wayne McDevitt has served on the North Carolina State Board of Education for over 16 years. He was the board’s vice chairman for six years, and he served on its Executive Committee and many of its standing committees. McDevitt chaired several of the board’s special committees, blue ribbon commissions, and task forces. He also led the board’s innovative global education initiative, from initial design to shepherding the successful implementation.

“He is a consistent voice at the table whose primary concern is whether the board is doing the right thing—putting the needs and concerns of children and educators first,” said North Carolina State Board Chairman Bill Cobey. “He is the epitome of a board member who understands that his board colleagues will always have different philosophies and opinions, but that at the end of the day, when the votes are counted, the board will speak with one voice.”

McDevitt was chief of staff to North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and senior vice president for University Affairs for the University of North Carolina’s 17-campus system. During a career of public service spanning more than four decades, McDevitt also has served on the boards of business, education, economic development, conservation, church, arts, civic, community, nonprofit, foundation, and government organizations. He is currently engaged in several consulting and business opportunities.

The 2017 Distinguished Service Awards will be presented Friday, November 3, 2017, at NASBE’s national conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

National Association of State Boards of Education. “North Carolina State Board of Education Member Wayne McDevitt Receives National Public Service Award.” 8/24/17.

National News

Americans Express Support for Traditional Public Schools in New Poll, Even as Trump Disparages Them 

Most American adults are weary of the intense focus on academics in public schools today, according to a new national survey, and want students to get more vocational and career training as well as mental, physical and dental services on campus. Even so, a majority of public school parents give higher grades — A’s and B’s — to the traditional public schools in their neighborhoods than they have in years.

A majority of Americans polled also said they oppose programs that use public money for private and religious school education, policies that are supported by President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. And a majority said they do not think that standardized test scores — which have been used for more than a dozen years as the most important factor in evaluating schools — are a valid reflection of school quality.

These are some of the findings in the 49th annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, the longest continuously running survey of American attitudes toward public education, released late Monday. It was commissioned by PDK International, a global association of education professionals that is headed by Joshua Starr, former superintendent of the Montgomery County Public School District, and was conducted, for the second year, by Langer Research Associates of New York City. Gallup had long conducted the poll.

“These and other results suggest that some of the most prominent ideas that dominate current policy debates — from supporting vouchers to emphasizing high-stakes tests — are out of step with parents’ main concern: They want their children prepared for life and career after they complete high school,” Starr said in a release.

The poll indicated increased support for traditional public schools at a time when Trump and DeVos have pushed alternatives to them. DeVos has called the traditional public education system a “dead end,” and Trump has repeatedly disparaged public schools as “failing.”

 Tennessee’s Turnaround District Scores Worse in Nearly All High School Subjects 

Photo Credit: Monica Disare

Tennessee’s school turnaround district has little to celebrate with the latest batch of scores from the state’s new test.

In all subject areas but one, the Achievement School District produced high school scores that were the same or worse when it comes to passing grades. The exception is English III, which saw only a 4 percent increase in students testing on grade level.

Math and English remain a gargantuan challenge for students in the state-run district. Only about 8 percent of high schoolers passed English — fewer than last year — while math scores stalled with less than 1 percent meeting expectation.

The lower scores call into question the turnaround tactics being used by the ASD, at least when it comes to its oldest students.

Tennessee launched its school improvement district in 2012, gradually taking control of some of the state’s most struggling schools and assigning charter management organizations to turn them around. The ASD now oversees 32 schools in Memphis and Nashville, with all six of its high schools in Memphis.

Superintendent Malika Anderson said Wednesday that more collaboration is needed across the district’s charter groups to address significant differences in testing results. That’s a tact that has helped the Innovation Zone, another Memphis turnaround program operated by Shelby County Schools, which has logged stronger gains than the ASD in past years. (Whether iZone schools outpaced ASD schools this year remains to be seen. School-level scores won’t be released until the fall when Tennessee publishes its state report card.)​

How Letting High School Students Sleep Later Could Actually Help the Economy 

Students crowd a stairway as classes change at Heritage High School in Wake Forest NC on Sept. 10, 2015. A new study from the RAND Corporation says the U.S. economy could gain $83 billion within a decade if high schools switched to a later 8:30 a.m. start time. Photo Credit: Chris Seward, The News & Observer.

The U.S. economy could gain $83 billion within a decade if high schools nationwide went to a later 8:30 a.m. start time that lets teenagers get more sleep, according to a new study released Wednesday morning.

The RAND Corporation and RAND Europe calculated the economic benefits that would be produced from later school start times leading to more well-rested teens who avoid fatal car accidents, do well academically and get higher-paying jobs after graduation. Researchers at the global think tank said the economic gains outweigh the costs that schools would have for adjusting to later start times, such as buying more buses and changing bus schedules.

View the RAND Corporation report.

The study comes at a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that about 80 percent of U.S. high schools and middle schools start before 8:30 a.m. Groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics advocate later school start times because teenagers have a hard time falling asleep before 11 p.m.

“Over time, more and more students will profit from getting more sleep,” Marco Hafner, a senior economist at RAND Europe, said in an interview Wednesday. “Less will die from car crashes. More will get better grades and go on to college. That will affect their future earnings.”

A UNC-Chapel Hill study from December found that the average high school start time in North Carolina was 8 a.m. The RAND study calculated that North Carolina’s economy could gain $2.5 billion within a decade by shifting to a uniform 8:30 a.m. start time.

“From an economic perspective, it’s pretty much an obvious thing to do,” Hafner said.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from: 

Hui, K. “How letting high school students sleep later could actually help the economy.​” The News & Observer. 8/30/17.

Closing Failing Schools Doesn’t Help Most Students, Study Finds

Discarded furniture and textbooks litter an abandoned classroom in the old Crispus Attucks School on Chicago’s South Side. The school was closed in 2008 and reopened in a new location nearby as the Crispus Attucks Academy.
Photo Credit: Jon Lowenstein, NOOR for Education Week-File.

Forum Opportunities

Beginning Teacher Leadership Network Accepting Applications

The Public School Forum’s Beginning Teacher Leadership Network (BTLN) is currently recruiting teachers in Cabarrus, Carteret, Mecklenburg, Onslow, Union, and Wake counties for the 2017-18 cohort. Applications are open through September 8, 2017.

North Carolina traditional and charter public school teachers in their first three years of experience are eligible to participate. Participants may remain in the network for three years, regardless of when they enter the program. The core program will consist of monthly sessions, one during each traditional teaching month, during after-school hours. Forums will consist of education policy briefings, teacher collaboration sessions, and interactive professional development.

By bringing together educational practice and policy, BTLN hopes to produce and retain teachers that are “empowered to lead and informed to change” in a new era of teaching. BTLN provides unparalleled access to information and key decision makers in education, while simultaneously giving beginning teachers high-level professional development.

To apply for the 2017-18 Beginning Teacher Leadership Network, click here.

Opportunities

RACE: Are We So Different?

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s RACE: Are We So Different? exhibit continues at the museum through October 22, 2017.

This exhibition looks at race through the lens of science, history, and personal experiences to promote a better understanding of human variation. Interactive exhibit components, historical artifacts, iconic objects, compelling photographs, multimedia presentations, and attractive graphic displays offer visitors to RACE an eye-opening look at its important subject matter. RACE tells the stories of race from the biological, cultural, and historical points of view offering an unprecedented look at race and racism in the United States.

Admission is free but tickets are required. For tickets, as well as additional details on the exhibit, visit https://naturalsciences.org/exhibits/featured-exhibitions/race.

In addition to the exhibit, a series of Speaker Events which includes Diversity in STEM topics were jointly planned in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science and sponsored by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. All of the exhibit events were free of charge and the Speaker and Conversation series were streamed live and recorded for continued access and playback. You may access the series of recordings at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7dONoqMaCHZ1hXtBTm1wLxEGwNA2W4ju.

Women in Educational Leadership Symposium

Registration is open for the second annual Women in Educational Leadership Symposium (WIELS). The purpose of WIELS is to bring women together to share, learn, and grow in leadership. Women who are interested in learning from others and those who are willing to share skills and expertise are urged to attend. This conference aims to provide personalized learning and mentoring opportunities for those who aspire to become, or currently serve as educational leaders.

The symposium will be held September 22 through September 24, 2017 at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. This year’s conference theme is Advancing the Leader Within: Building Capacity.

Registration for the conference is online at https://wiels.appstate.edu/about-us/registration. Additional information can be found at https://wiels.appstate.edu/.

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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