Annual Meeting to Celebrate a Community United

Online registration is now available for the Partnership’s 2006 Annual Meeting on Oct. 12 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the McKimmon Center. Engaged parents, teachers and representatives of business, government and universities will come together to renew a shared commitment to public education in Wake County as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the merger of the Raleigh City and Wake County school systems into the Wake County Public School System. The Annual Meeting will provide an opportunity to:

• Celebrate 30 years of courageous decisions and progress by Wake County schools in meeting higher standards;
• Pay tribute to special guests who were instrumental in the historic merger;
• Recognize community leadership in public education;
• Unveil Wake Education Partnership’s 2007 Program of Work; and
• Challenge participants to take an active role in future courageous decisions that impact school improvement efforts.

Visit our web site to purchase a ticket or a corporate table today.

Wake Schools Selected for New Calendar

Earlier this month, the Wake County school board voted 7-1 to convert 19 elementary schools to a year-round calendar in 2007. School leaders are converting the 19 schools, mostly located in growing areas such as Apex, west Cary, north Raleigh and Knightdale, to help keep up with the new students arriving in Wake. The conversion of 19 elementary schools will shift more than 15,000 students from a traditional to a year-round calendar, eliminating those students’ long summer vacations in favor of shorter but more frequent breaks throughout the year. The lone “no” vote today came from board member Ron Margiotta. The board is now considering five middle schools for year-round conversion.

Hispanic Achievement Conference Set for October

The North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals will host its 4th annual Hispanic Achievement Conference on Oct. 20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the McKimmon Center. The purpose of the conference is to: empower education leaders and teachers with a better knowledge of the Hispanic student population and the factors that interfere with their educational performance; learn methods and practices that help Hispanic students overcome barriers to academic success and promote their involvement in school life; hear successful practitioners share their experience and expertise in ESL programs, self-esteem development, parental involvement, and linguistically diverse populations as a positive resource. Registration is available online and costs $80.

Partnership Offers Information about School Bond

On Nov. 7 voters will help determine the future of education in Wake County. The ballot will include a bond referendum to fund school facilities. A poll conducted early this year by Fallon Research for the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and released in March showed modest support from the public for a large bond package, but also revealed that an overwhelming majority of those surveyed knew little about the issue.

In an effort to ensure the public has the information it needs to understand this critical issue, Wake Education Partnership offers answers to some of the most commonly asked questions around the bond referendum and growth in Wake County's public schools. To read more, visit our article in Wake Living magazine.

Wake SAT Scores Slip, Stay Ahead of State and Nation

Nationwide, including North Carolina and Wake County, SAT scores fell in 2006 from the previous year. The national average score (critical reading and math) on the SAT fell from 1028 to 1021. In the same comparison, WCPSS seniors averaged 1066 in 2006 compared with the WCPSS record of 1075 set by students in 2005. In North Carolina, students averaged 1008 in 2006 compared with 1010 in 2005. In 2006, WCPSS seniors average score of 1066 was 45 points above the U.S. average and 58 points above the North Carolina average.

The new SAT scores are the first to reflect the new scores of a three-section SAT with math, critical reading and writing. On the first administration of the new college entrance exam, WCPSS seniors averaged 544 on math, 522 on critical reading and 510 on writing. The combined average score is 1576.

The College Board has maintained a scoring system of a total of 800 points per section. On the two sections of the old test, a perfect score would have been 1600. Students can now score up to 800 on each of three sections, or a perfect score of 2400. The new writing section includes an essay and multiple-choice questions on writing. The WCPSS average score of 1576 compares with a U.S. average score of 1518 and a N.C. average score of 1493. WCPSS participation remained high with 77 percent of students taking the exam, higher than the North Carolina participation rate of 71 percent and the U.S. participation rate of 48 percent. Seven WCPSS high schools scored above 1600.

Parent Seminar to Discuss Bond, Teacher Conferences

The Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children is sponsoring a seminar about the bond referendum and parent-teacher conferences on Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Martin Street Baptist Church (1001 East Martin Street, Raleigh). Guest speakers include Don Haydon, Chief Facilities and Operations Officer, and Dr. Donna Hargens, Chief Academic Officer WCPSS. For more information, contact Calla Wright at cccaac@nc.rr.com or call 231-9057.

NAACP leader urges diversity in schools

The leader of the North Carolina NAACP last week urged state education officials to take steps to discourage local school districts from allowing schools to resegregate. The Rev. William Barber, president of the state conference of the NAACP, told the State Board of Education that it can't meet its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education to all students if schools are sharply divided by race. Barber noted that nearly all of the state's 44 lowest-performing high schools have predominantly minority enrollments and cope with numerous educational disadvantages, including fewer fully licensed teachers, fewer teachers with graduate degrees or national certification, and higher rates of teacher turnover.

Charlotte Parent Fights Neighborhood Flight

A two-day series from The Charlotte Observer tells how Pamela Grundy, a Plaza-Midwood historian and activist parent, spent months trying to convince neighbors to join her in sending their kids to their assigned school, the high-poverty Shamrock Gardens Elementary. Although Plaza-Midwood's situation is unusual -- a relatively affluent neighborhood assigned to a school with years of low scores -- it highlights a larger issue of “bright flight” threatening the whole metro region's economic health. For more on this mother’s decision and the phenomenon of better-educated, higher-income parents abandoning public schools in favor of private, charter or home schools or suburban systems with fewer poor kids, visit The Charlotte Observer.

New Regulations Announced for Students with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Education last month announced new regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The regulations, aligned with No Child Left Behind, focus on ensuring that students with disabilities achieve to high standards. They further provide flexibility in spending resources to ensure that students with disabilities are identified early and accurately, and they receive the support they need; ensure that students with disabilities have highly qualified teachers; reduce paperwork for educators and administrators; and strengthen parents' involvement in their children's education. The Department has prepared a package to guide the public through the changes, including an analysis of the public's comments and a summary of the significant changes since the draft regulations' publication.

National Poll Studies Attitudes Toward Public Schools

Nearly 60 percent of Americans believe the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has had no effect on our schools or has actually harmed them, but widespread support exists for the law’s goals, according to a nationwide poll released last month. The 38th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools also found that 60 percent of those polled oppose the use of public funds for children to attend private schools. Despite frustrations with NCLB, the poll found strong support for local schools – 49 percent of those surveyed gave the schools in their community an A or a B, a level of support that increases to 56 percent among public school parents.

PEN Launches Campaign to Give Kids Good Schools

Public Education Network (PEN) announced its new Give Kids Good Schools campaign last month. Wake Education Partnership is a member organization of PEN. In conjunction with the announcement, PEN released a new national poll in which the American public said public education is the number one issue local leaders should address, edging out health care, the economy and fears of terrorism at the local level. The same poll indicated that 84 percent of the American public believes the quality of public schools has stayed the same or declined over the past five years. Give Kids Good Schools is a multi-year campaign aimed at achieving the goal of quality public education for all children by building a constituency of Americans who will use their voices and votes improve our public schools. A new website will help the public stay informed about issues that impact public schools and provide ideas for taking action to improve public schools in the community. The website will be a central resource for information, facts and materials about public schools and will provide easy-to-use materials for individuals. Please visit http://www.givekidsgoodschools.org/pledge to sign the pledge to demonstrate your commitment to making sure that ALL children in America receive a quality public education.

MAKE AN INVESTMENT

Your donations make the Partnership's work possible. Please help us continue to support excellence in public education in Wake County by making an investment in the Annual Fund for Education today. When we invest in our schools, we build a better, stronger, more prosperous community for us all. And together, we all win.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Oct. 12: Annual Meeting from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the McKimmon Center. "A Community United: Celebrating 30 Years of Courageous Leadership." Join us for a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the merger of the Raleigh City and Wake County School Systems.