Wake Education Partnership presents "EduBrief," a periodic update about education topics and activities in Wake County and beyond
05.17.07
EduFACT: According to the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES), about 12 percent of students receive special education in at least one grade between kindergarten and third-grade, including 16 percent of boys, 8 percent of girls, 18 percent of poor students, and 10 percent of non-poor students. Half of those who begin special education in kindergarten are no longer receiving special education by third-grade.
 


Goodnights to Host Campaign Celebration

Ann & Jim Goodnight invite you to join with friends and colleagues who share a common vision of world-class public education as we celebrate the Wake Ed ’07 campaign. The reception will be held on Wednesday, June 6, 2007, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. Online registration is now open -- individual tickets are $50 and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Proceeds will benefit Wake Education Partnership. For more information, contact Jackie Brown at 919.821.7609 ext. 140.


Education Exchange Meeting to Discuss School Finance

Wake Ed Partnership invites you to join us for the third meeting in our Education Exchange series on June 11 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Brier Creek Community Center (10810 Globe Road). This meeting, which is free and open to the public, will provide Wake County citizens an opportunity to learn more about the 2007-08 school system budget, as well as policies and practices which exist to ensure financial accountability. No registration is required. Gordon Brown, a member of the Wake Ed Board of Directors, will facilitate the meeting. Presenters from WCPSS will be Chief Business Officer David Neter, Finance Officer Mark Winters and Budget Officer Terri Kimzey. Presentations will be followed by time for Q&A and discussion with participants.


Peace College to Offer Evening Teacher Education Program

Peace College this fall will open a new program designed to help working adults obtain licensure in both elementary education and special education. The program is designed to meet the needs of working professionals, such as WCPSS teacher assistants, who already have a bachelor’s degree but want to obtain teacher licensure. Peace’s evening teacher education program builds on the innovations included in its new undergraduate-level teacher education program. Both programs are designed to give students extensive in-classroom experience, in addition to the education needed to meet the needs of today’s schools. The evening program will be open to both women and men, representing the first time that Peace will enroll males. For more information about teacher education at Peace College or to apply for the program, visit www.peace.edu, send an email to teacherinfo@peace.edu or call (919) 508-2396.


Volunteers Needed for Textbook Selection Process

WCPSS seeks parent and community volunteers to serve on committees for textbook/materials selection for 2007- 08. The content areas involved in the adoption process this year are Social Studies K-12, Business & Information Technology Education 6-12 and Marketing 9-12. If you are interested in being considered for membership on a committee, please complete the application form and submit to Julie Pearce, textbook coordinator, by May 18.


Community Meeting to Explain Test Scores

The Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African-American Children is hosting a workshop for parents, advocates and educators about understanding test scores on May 26 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Martin Street Baptist Church (1001 E. Martin Street, Raleigh). Dr. Donna Hargens, chief academic officer for WCPSS, will talk about the North Carolina State Student Accountability Standards, End-of-Grade/End-of-Course tests, kindergarten assessments, promotion requirements, and focused interventions for grades K-12. Please register online or contact Calla Wright at 231- 9057 for additional information.


Wake Schools in the News

Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. ruled on Thursday, May 3, 2007, that the school system cannot require students to attend year-round schools without informed parental consent. In its lawsuit, Wake CARES had sought an injunction barring the Wake school system from converting 22 schools to a mandatory year-round schedule. Manning agreed with the plaintiffs' argument that the plan to assign some but not all students to year-round schools violated the state constitution's guarantee of a "uniform system" of education with "equal opportunities" for all students. Visit The N&O online to read a series of articles about the decision, the response from the school system and reactions from the community.

In other school news:
- Schools’ budget would hike taxes: In order for Wake commissioners to grant the county school board's request for a $29.4 million budget increase, they'll likely have to raise property taxes further than the amount already expected.

- Expansion Magazine gives WCPSS gold medal: The Wake County Public School System earned a Gold Medal in Expansion Management Magazine’s 16th Annual Education Quotient™ Ranking of 2,800 School Districts. Gold Medal schools rank in the top 16 percent of those districts the magazine evaluated. Although the Education Quotient (EQ) includes data on spending, teacher salaries and the socioeconomic background of the surrounding communities, the most important factors are test scores and graduation rates. The magazine rated WCPSS at an EQ of 83, the highest of any North Carolina urban school district. For comparison, the magazine gave an EQ of 37 to Forsyth County; 36 to Guilford County; and 33 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg.


Recent Reports Examine Teacher Pay

1. Teacher Merit Pay Boosts Student Standardized Test Scores: Students learn more when teachers are given financial incentives to do a better job, concludes a new University of Florida study that finds merit pay for instructors equates to better test scores for their pupils. Pay incentives for teachers had more positive effects on student test scores than such school improvement methods as smaller class sizes or stricter requirements for classroom attendance. Students at schools with teacher pay-for-performance programs scored an average of one to two percentage points higher on standardized tests than their peers at schools where no bonuses were offered. Many teachers criticize these bonus plans, saying they raise questions about fairness and destroy cooperation among teachers.

2. Expert Teachers Call for Performance Pay: A group of expert teachers from across the country is calling for radical changes in the way teachers have traditionally been compensated, saying teachers are ready for performance-pay that truly advances student achievement and the teaching profession. Their report, Performance-Pay for Teachers: Designing a System that Students Deserve, is the first from TeacherSolutions, an initiative of the Center for Teaching Quality to bring the views of expert teachers to bear on critical issues facing public education. The teachers’ recommendations include replacing the traditional teacher-pay structure that rewards only seniority and advanced degrees with a comprehensive new framework that would allow all teachers to earn more through a variety of incentives as they progress from "novice" to "expert." Incentives would be tied to student progress, relevant professional development, school and community leadership, and collaborative work, including mentoring and coaching, that extends teacher expertise beyond a single classroom.

3. Promises and Pitfalls of Alternative Teacher Compensation Approaches: Merit pay systems for teachers, although currently popular with policy makers, are no panacea, according to a new policy brief from the Education Policy Research Unit and the Education and the Public Interest Center. "The Promises and Pitfalls of Alternative Teacher Compensation Approaches" explores the three main types of teacher compensation systems used in the United States: the uniform salary schedule used in most districts, performance-based merit pay and outcome-based merit pay. The report notes that there are advantages to each approach but that there are adverse, often unintended, consequences to each system as well. The policy brief does not endorse any particular approaches, but carefully explains each approach’s strengths and weaknesses.

 

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

June 6: Campaign celebration reception hosted by Ann & Jim Goodnight to support the Wake Ed ’07 campaign at Prestonwood Country Club from 5:30-830 p.m. Online registration available now.

June 11: Education Exchange meeting from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Brier Creek Community Center. Topic: School budgeting and financial accountability. No registration required.
 
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.