News-Record.com

Did Tim Mann offer any ideas for improving schools other than to throw out anyone who supported the High Point plan? The ABC/SOS group is not a "School Reform" group. At best, they are a confederation of parents whos are held together by their opposition to one action by the Board of Education. As for the letter's timing, give Grier the benefit of the doubt---for once. I checked with another district, and theirs hasn't even made it home to parents!

Dear Mr. Cooder,

In the interest of clarity, could you please share your definition of a School Reform Group?

What would a school reform group look like, and what would they do or not do?

I am interested in your opinions on this matter as well as anyone in the comunity that feels reform is wanted or needed in Guilford County Schools.

I am also interested in hearing from those who feel that everything is fine in Guilford County public schools, and no "reform" is needed.

I will share with you that I have been to most of the ABC meetings, and there are always many other issues discussed besides the HP Plan, and the "lottery" aspect specifically. (In fact, these two issues have not been discussed specifically for some months.)

I share this as a way to communicate my own experience of ABC not my opinion. There is a difference.

If you have not attended a meeting and do not know anyone who is actively involved in this group, you certainly would not know this based on the media coverage surrounding ABC, so it IS certainly understandable!

I understand the beliefs that people in this community have adopted regarding ABC of Guilford County as a group, and the individual "members" of ABC as citizens of this community.

I would ask you and others to consider if these beliefs are founded on rumor and innuendo, on something that you read in the paper, on something your neighbor said?

If it was communicated by word of mouth was it communicated from a position of upset or againstness? Was it communicated from a position of being right or wrong?

I encourage the community to begin to look at ABC of Guilford County with fresh, open eyes. I encourage this community to "experience" the parents who 'are' ABC of Guilford County.

I encourage you to find out for yourself who we really are.

There is nothing more important to the health and ecomomic viability of a community than having strong, excellent public schools.

It takes everyone in the community to acheive this.

I hope you personally, will join in the effort in whatever way you feel appropriate whether it is with ABC or other.

We are all in this together.

Sincerely,

Terrina Picarello
Summerfield/Laughlin Parent

So let me get this straight, Dr. Grier and his highly paid staff had to make 66,000 copies or 132 packs of paper(which the taxpayers paid for) to tell everyone that he and his programs are ineffective.

Let me do the taxpayers of Guilford County a service and do it for free:

Dr. Grier, you are incompetent and need to leave immediately. No one within your group can read a basic application and fill it out correctly in order to acquire funding from the Federal government. You move children from bus hub to bus hub and don't really care when they have to leave in the morning or when they are able to arrive home in the afternoon or evening.

As far as Dot Kearns, this letter that is being sent home from the state of North Carolina is proof positive that you are a total failure as a leader in the community. Your campaign literature says "Guilford County Schools Must Not Go Backwards". Well guess what, under your leadership the only gears left on the bus on reverse.

Ms. Kearns you quoted John Adams as saying "facts are stubborn things" This letter from the state of North Carolina is certainly a stubborn thing.

One last quote from your campaign literature, "For Continued Progress and Excellent Education for All Children". Let me finish this quote for you, if this is what you truly mean, than you need to resign effective immediately from the Board of Education.

Bruce - just saw these posts today. Had to cut & paste my post from "Crowded Classrooms" discussion. Fit better here about the letter.
CUT & PASTE BEGINS HERE:

Bruce,

You make me laugh. Had to throw a little break in there. Now today all the parents are livid about getting that letter just recently about Title I and Guilford County failing AYP's.

I went to the Community Dialogue in Education Group this morning in East Greensboro. Parents are not happy campers. The parents who attended the meeting this morning just received their letters Monday. Now the Board of Education is having a meeting tomorrow a.m. on Eugene Street. Many parents work and some do not have transporation so they cannot make it. I too have two other meetings tomorrow.

One parents addressed the PR lady from Guilford County Schools Central Office why they only had two days notice about this meeting. I can't repeat an exact word in writing here something like what the #@?#%! is that. You get the point. No, no one is happy about the "timely" notice.

Once again, not much notice for the parents who will be effected by this the most. It is very frustrating to these parents to say the least.

Conincidently, the letter was dated 10/28/04 and SWH got their letters Friday afternoon. They were delivered by courier Friday morning to the school. How convenient is that, Bruce? A few days after the elections. What a coincidence. Darn and my friend told me SOS had more ad money.

Take care Bruce. I am ever aware of the issues.

Barbara Ann

Posted by: Barbara Ann at November 10, 2004 12:24 AM

YOU GO TERRINA!

This is really a great site! I hope it does not get taken over by the HP Plan Opponents though. Great venue for powerful education related dialogue and who better to moderate than Bruce Buchanan! Only Joe Stafford equals Buchanan at attending school board meetings!
I say hooray for Anita Sharpe and Darlene Garrett! Just haven't said that in a while and wanted to. Anita is the shrewdest player on the team....learned the ropes under Peggy Abernathy. Hats off to Alan Duncan, who really wants to see GC schools be the best! Okay, enough kudos, here's the ugly side: We would all be better served to see Deena Hayes and Susan Mendenhall move to another county. They are as useless as teats on a boar hog! Deena's heart ain't in it, and if Susan were ever a rock star, she'd be singing in Branson now!

So the news here is what? ABC and SOS neglected the real issues?

Ry,

Seems like you must have been to some School Board meetings. Do you know why does Joe Stafford always get to speak last?

Is this some special procedure?

Just curious?

Barbaa Ann

No David, neglecting the real issues is the skillset of the School Board. Not really surprised that they have added deception to their bag of tricks.

Joe Stafford likes to attend school board meetings, pure and simple. I asked him once "WHY" and he said "just because". In the past few years he actually has made some really good points--most impromptu. My theory is that he is a member of Toastmasters and he gets extra credit!

The reason Joe gets to speak last is because he speaks at every meeting. Somewhere along the line, it became a tradition to have him speak last. As someone who likes traditions, I think it's kind of neat.

I have to tip my hat to Joe. He attends virtually every board meeting and stays from start to finish. Most folks only come to school board meetings if they have a direct stake in what's going on (myself included, since my job requires me to attend). But Joe comes simply because he's a concerned citizen who cares about education. There's something admirable about that.

I was present at the Nov 9 meeting where Tim Mann questioned the timing of the AYP notification. I have to say that he mirrored my thoughts. A few minutes after the speakers were through, there was a break and Dr Grier ran out and had some copies of the N&R Aug articlemade and distributed. He used that to back up his position that the news was not being kept from the parents. I differ in my opinion that
a) it is NOT the N&R responsibility to notify parents. Many, many people don't even subscribe to the N&R.
b)There was no info about ESOL/EC in the letter as Dr. Grier stated. He said that it took time to get the 'numbers' together and insert them in the letter. There was no isertion!
C)every school could have copied these and handed out to students within a few hours if requested. I happen to volunteer in a school office and know this is possible, if requested.

I would hope the timing was not on purpose, but any sense of impropriety is a strike against gaining the confidence of parents.

Other interesting things that were covered at the meeting was the proposed "learn/earn" program. Another new idea that has great potential, but every new plan takes money!!! If we can't get the basics correct then we need to rethink spending new money on something that has no proven history of success.

If any of you remember 3.5 million of the left over bond money was allocated to refurbish McLeansville with the idea that a middle school for math and science would be housed there. The administration now wants to make this a k-5 instead. It is not economically to bus kids from all over the county to a school that far removed for the center of the county. (Boy,what a lightbulb idea-- anyone think of this before Brown Summit magnet was launched?) The idea of the k-5 is probably good, but Dr Grier also has ideas of where to put the middle school math/science magnet. MONEY? who knows? Money for McLeansville and more money for the middle school magnet. Grier stated that they had 'heard' the parents from General Greene, and would look into the location at a different site. I wish he had 'heard' the thousands of parents from Summerfield/Laughlin and spend some money on our needs.

Ry and Bruce,

Thank you for the explanation on Joe. I like the "Toastmasters" theory. It is great practice. I also like tradtions. He certainly hangs in to the end. I remember the night of the speeches on the busing fiasco. He stayed when most in the audience had long gone home.

It is good to see senior citizens who still care to get involved.

Barbara Ann

Regarding "learn and earn" I think it is an excellent idea. It seems like the School Board can always find money somewhere. Grants maybe?? In this case, many businesses could contribute who want to train "interns" for jobs. Dell will be coming. They could get involved too.

This is actually not a new concept but was around when I grew up (many years ago). It was used in many public schools as vo-tech training for trades and apprenticeships. Kids went to school until noon only then off to a technical vo/tech school or to their jobs to learn job skills.

All kids do not want college and all children will not get in. We should, however, provide students with a means to function and grow in society. All kids do not want A/P courses.

Currently, if students are sitting there and not interested in learning, they do need something to keep them in school and to provide them with jobs when they graduate.

If we can't provide that now, we will all pay later one way or the other in they just drop out.

I would rather help these kids now then feed the pipeline to prison. This would also provide the smaller class sizes that teachers and students need so desperately.

Bruce,

Did you or Jennifer go to the special meeting on Wednesday morning at Eugene Street. I heard there were only three school baord members who attended? I also heard that all of the participating parents had been handpicked already on Saturday at a special meeting from: Title I schools; EC classes and ESOL classes? I also heard that the report had to be in Raleigh by Friday morning, tomorrow?

This is why one of the regular participants at CDE was so upset about only 2 days notice for parental input. Many parents were upset as they could not make it on such short notice.

Do you know if parents who want to can still participate? Is there a number they can call in Raleigh? There are several parents whom I know who wanted to be part of this team. Do you think they will have another meeting in the evening when parents can get off work to come?

Can you separate fact from fiction as to what happened at Wednesday's meeting and any other information you might have about participating in the parent process?

I received many phone calls and e-mails from parents who are still upstet about the letter dated 10/28/04 who only received it on Monday. They wanted to come Wednesday but could not get off work on such short notice.

By the way, there is a Town Meeting this Sunday in Greensboro at Gillespie Park Elementary regarding NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. There will be small group discussions with facilitators from CDE followed by a large group discussion. Aycock Drumline will be performing. All parents are welcome to participate and come out and learn about the law and how it affects you. Check exact time and the meeting agenda in the News & Record.

Thanks, Bruce.

Barbara Ann

I'm not really sure if parents who want to participate in this discussion will have a formal chance to do so, such as at a special meeting. They can call the Guilford County Schools' Title I office at 370-8106 if they want to provide input, though.

Just to explain the situation, the Guilford County Schools are on a federal watch list for failing to meet test score goals. Because they are on the watch list, the district must file a report on how it intends to help struggling, low-income students.

The U.S. Department of Education requires the school system to consult with parents. However, it doesn't say which parents or how many.

It also doesn't leave the decision-making power up to the parents. That remains with the school board, as it always has.

I would say that parents always have the opportunity to provide input - on this or any other issue. The phone numbers and e-mail addresses of the school board members are on the GCS website and if I was interested in this process, I'd contact my local board representative.

Please join the community to learn more about No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Tim Mann

Dear Friend of Education,
The Community Dialogue on Education is sponsoring a Town Meeting on No Child Left Behind on Sunday, November 14, 2004, from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. The meeting will be held at Gillespie Park Elementary School at 1900 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Greensboro, NC.The purposes of the meeting are to increase awareness and understanding of this important federal legislation and to explore, in an open forum, ways that members of the Guilford County community see it affecting our public schools. Small group discussions will follow in order to explore issues in more detail.Everyone is invited to attend who wants to ensure that all children get a high quality education. The Community Dialogue on Education is a group of people who have committed to meet weekly to discuss public education in Guilford County. The Group meets at 7:30 AM on Tuesdays at Faith Community Church located at 417 Arlington Street in Greensboro. Our meetings are open to concerned citizens of education, and you are invited to attend.
For additional information, call Alma Purvis at (336) 230-0001.
Sincerely,Z. N. Holler, for the Community Dialogue on Education Enclosure

As an aside, Aycock's drumline will most likely NOT be performing, That was simply an idea that we were trying to pull together. I'm sure we'll post numerous other opportunities in the future.

Tim Mann

Thanks, Tim; I appreciate the info.

Sunday's No Child Left Behind forum should be a good one; I just put something up on the main page to give it a little more visibility.

And welcome to The Chalkboard. I hope you will visit often!

Bruce,

Thank you for posting on the main page. I had already called some folks and sent out some e-mails. This should help too. Also there is a letter to the editor going in the N & R by one of the participants.

I was at the CDE meeting this Tuesday and we discussed the agenda all morning. The Aycock Drumline was definitely on the written agenda to play. So hopefully they will be able to make it.

I had the privilege of hearing them this year at the Volunteer Breakfast at Florence Elementary School. They were truly awesome.

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