Wake Education Partnership presents "EduBrief," a periodic update about education topics and activities in Wake County and beyond
04.19.07
EduFACT: In the 2005-06 school year, black males made up 14% of North Carolina’s student population but received 40% of the short-term suspensions. For more information, read the Annual Study of Suspensions and Expulsions from the Department of Public Instruction.
 


Education Exchange Meeting to Compare Construction Costs

Wake Ed Partnership invites you to join us for the second meeting in our Education Exchange series on May 9 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Holly Springs Cultural Center (300 W. Ballentine Street). This meeting, which is free and open to the public, will provide Wake County citizens an opportunity to learn more about school construction and how costs in Wake County compare to districts around the country. No registration is required.

The meeting will discuss data from the Wake County Citizens’ Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) consultants on cost of school facilities and construction in Wake County compared to its peer districts around the state and the country. Jeff Merritt, a member of the Wake Ed Board of Directors, will facilitate the meeting. Presenters will be Rob Weaver, a member of the CFAC, and Mike Burriss, WCPSS assistant superintendent for facilities. Presentations will be followed by time for Q&A and discussion with participants.

Wake Ed ’07 Campaign Continues Conversation

Wake Education Partnership’s annual fundraising campaign, “Wake Ed ’07–Join the Conversation,” continues to work toward its million-dollar goal. We’d like to recognize our newest donor, Smith Anderson, as well as long-time donors First Citizens Bank, Investors Management Corporation (Golden Corral), Time Warner Cable and DeVere Construction for their investment.

For nearly 25 years, Wake Ed has served as a vital link between the Wake County Public School System and the community it serves. As an independent non-profit advocacy organization for public education, Wake Ed works to convene the political, education and business leadership of Wake County to ensure that our students have what it takes to succeed in a rapidly changing world. By working together, we can make world-class public education possible for all students in Wake County. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the campaign. To join the conversation and make an investment in public education, visit Wake Ed online or call 919.821.7609.

WCPSS Seniors Named Teaching Fellows

Thirty-four WCPSS seniors earned N.C. Teaching Fellows scholarships this year, with another 13 students named as alternates. The Teaching Fellows Program provides a $6,500 per year scholarship for four years to 500 outstanding North Carolina high school seniors. Upon acceptance of the scholarship, the student agrees to teach for four years following graduation from college in one of North Carolina’s public schools or United States Government schools in North Carolina. If the recipient cannot repay the scholarship through service, the loan is repaid to the State with interest. Wake Ed Partnership congratulates these students for their commitment to public education!

Recent Education Headlines in The News & Observer


Special Education Meetings, News

The Wake County Special Education PTA (SEPTA) will hold two meetings this spring. On April 26, the general meeting features Bob Sturey and Joanne Medlin, senior administrators from the WCPSS Special Education Department, who will discuss changes to special education services as a result of the phasing out of cross-categorical self-contained classes as well as how the year-round conversion will affect services for students receiving them. The meeting will be from 7-9 p.m. at the Nationwide Insurance Building (4401 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh). For more information, call 919.788.2500 or visit SEPTA online. Read the SEPTA newsletter online.

On May 3, SEPTA will co-sponsor a meeting with Family Support Network of Wake County for parents of children who will be transitioning from Early Intervention Services to WCPSS Preschool Services. The meeting will feature a panel discussion with Janet Godbold, director of WCPSS Preschool Services, as well as a representative from Early Intervention and a parent who has recently made the transition. The meeting will be from 7-9 p.m. at the CDSA Early Intervention Offices (319 Chapanoke Rd #101, Raleigh). Please register with Rene at 919.662.4600 x257 or rene@familysupportonline.com.

For additional information related to special education policies, check the following links:

  • Comments Accepted on Policies Manual: The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Exceptional Children Division will hold a public hearing in Raleigh on April 30 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Room 150 of the Education Building to receive comments on the revised Policies and Procedures Governing Programs and Services for Children with Disabilities. Written comments on the proposed state policies and procedures, including changes in class size, will be accepted through May 1. The revised policy manual is available online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ec or by contacting the Exceptional Children Division at 919.807.3969.
  • U.S. Department of Ed Announces New NCLB Regulations: Changes to the No Child Left Behind Act announced earlier this month will allow states to assess certain students with disabilities using an alternate assessment. Specifically, states may develop modified academic achievement standards and alternate assessments based on grade-level content for students with disabilities who are capable of achieving high standards but who may not reach grade level in the same time as their peers.

Community Invited to Reading Workshop

The Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children will host a reading workshop for parents, educators and students on April 28, 2007, from 10 a.m. to noon at Martin Street Baptist Church (1001 East Martin St., Raleigh). Dr. Donna Hargens, chief academic officer for WCPSS, will present reading strategies for decoding, building vocabulary and comprehension. A parent or other adult must accompany his or her child to this workshop. Please register online or contact Calla Wright at 919.231.9057 for additional information.

Budget, Lottery Focus General Assembly Debates

The Joint Education Appropriation Subcommittee unveiled its response to the Governor’s proposed budget last week. The differences between the Governors proposals for K-12, Community Colleges and UNC and those put forward by the Joint Subcommittee were stark, setting up what could be a long and contentious debate over educational spending.

In a separate discussion, the House Education Committee deadlocked over a proposal to change the distribution of lottery revenue earmarked for school construction. Fueling the debate is a provision in the current distribution formula that penalizes counties with below-average tax rates (like Wake County) for not making adequate effort in supporting schools. For Wake, that means that while it spends a great deal of money on schools, its tax rate, when compared to counties that have far less taxable or less valuable real estate, is relatively low. The impact is that while Wake County and Charlotte have roughly the same number of school-age children, Mecklenburg is slated to receive roughly $18 million per year of lottery revenue, while Wake County is slated to receive only of that or $9 million per year.

For more detailed information about these debates, read The Friday Report from the Public School Forum.

Nominations Sought for Power of One Awards

Communities In Schools of North Carolina (CISNC) is now taking nominations for the annual H. Glenn Williams Power of One Awards, honoring community leaders who have made an impact on educational efforts across the state. The award honors individual volunteers, organizations or corporations who have demonstrated considerable contributions of time and/or resources to educational efforts in North Carolina. Nomination forms are available online or by contacting Kristin Hicks, khicks2@nc.rr.com or (919) 846-3589. The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2007.

Student Segregation and Achievement Tracking in Year-Round Schools

Twenty-five percent of California's elementary schoolchildren attend schools operating on nontraditional, staggered, overlapping attendance calendars collectively referred to as multi-track year-round education (MT-YRE). A new case study reported by Teachers College at Columbia University reveals substantial differences in the characteristics of students and teachers across the four attendance tracks of eight MT-YRE schools in one large California school district. Analyses of Stanford Achievement Test data, controlling for student and teacher characteristics, reveal strong association of achievement with student demographic, programmatic, and teacher segregation within these MT-YRE schools. These findings suggest that MT-YRE readily (re)segregates students within schools and thereby inhibits access to equal educational opportunity relative to traditional and nontraditional single-track school calendars.

 

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.

 

UPCOMING WAKE ED PARTNERSHIP EVENTS

May 9: Education Exchange meeting from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Holly Springs Cultural Center. Topic: Comparing school construction in Wake County to districts across the country. No registration required.

June 6: Reception hosted by Ann & Jim Goodnight to support the Wake Ed ’07 campaign at Prestonwood Country Club. Online registration available soon.
 
Wake Education Partnership is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to making world-class schools possible in Wake County through business and community involvement. We play a critical role in bringing people together, raising the level of discussion through capacity building, and brokering information and relationships around key issues in public education. Founded in 1983 by Raleigh’s leading business, civic and political leaders, Wake Education Partnership serves as an independent link between the school system and the community to promote public responsibility for globally competitive schools in Wake County. Programs for 2006-07 focus on retaining effective teachers, developing effective education leaders, and ensuring healthy schools for all students.
www.WakeEd.org