News-Record.com

That's fine to try to justify Grier's recommendations that we shouldn't use Title I funds in high schools because no one else in the state is doing so, but that doesn't speak to the fact that GCS decided to do so three years ago. And, to change that strategy now that NCLB sanctions are threatened is disingenious. If everyone says that the Choice Plan needs to be given time to succeed, then why are we not using the same argument for Title I funds in high schools? The only justification is really to avoid sanctions just becaue we can. Do we really have a plan in GCS or are we just throwing money against the wall to see if anything sticks?

As we all know in the past, when there is a special meeting before any board meeting, it has already been decided what will be done. Remember the vote on "Black Tuesday"; all the research, data, special meetings, forums, letters, e-mails, presentations, etc. etc. etc.

You could go to a School Baord meeting, stand on your head, do backward flips and sing "Zippity Do Dah" and it would no effect their decisions. Once there has been a special meeting, it is a done deal.

Why do you think no Grimsley parents showed up at the last school board meeting to speak out against the 9th grade academies? Dah!

Because they knew ahead of time through their political pull that they got what they wanted.

Unfortunately, High Point does not have reps who do what their parents want. That is the bottom line.

If you have any hopes of making a difference in funding,county budgets and in the taxes you pay that are continually wasted on outside consultants, high paid employees at GCS, seminars and training for teachers who go right back to doing what they always do, and being who they are - good or bad teachers; fair or unfair; prejudiced or not; nice or mean. etc., you need to go through the Commissioners. They hold the purse strings to the money in this county.

And let's not forget supposedly money being spent on Character Education that we all read about int he paper that is being taught by convicted felons (see GCS policy) and teachers who cheat on their spouses and teachers who scream at kids or verbally abuse them. Let's not forget about all the temporary janitors who come into contact with our children daily who have not had sufficient background checks before they enter our schools and disappear after a week or so.

Of all the MANY great teachers I know they were surprised to hear they were supposed to be teaching Character Education. They had no memo to do so; no written curriculum; no books on character education; no time in their day planners to "teach" it. They have a poster on a wall in a room among the other many papers, posters, charts that list "respect, honesty, etc." They have a word of the week heard on a PA system in elementary schools.

My 10th grader says this is all she knows that the schools are teaching - a poster on a wall.

You just can't believe everything you read in the papers these days.

In high school they have Student Council, Civitan, Students for Social Awareness and other clubs where the kids do service projects on their own. Look at the kids in these clubs and look at their home life and their parents and know once again that Character starts early and at home.

Now Barbara Ann- tell us how you really feel :))

I agree that many times a special meeting is a hint (like a hammer on your head) that there are changes coming. But I won't quit speaking my mind, nor do I think you will! The title 1 thing is a mess! If Dr Grier is planning on talking to principals tomorrow, and they don't vote tonight about the title one money-- is the staff going to work all night to change this if the BOE has another idea of how to spend the money, or does Dr Grier know that it's a 'done' deal. This is HP time to come and scream-- the meeting is even in your town! I will be there, hope most of you will.

THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW

High Point must form its' own school system.

After many years of oppression from Guilford County Schools System,High Point schools are in the worst shape they have ever been in.

After much thought,my wife and I have decided that I will offer my services for one year,to serve as "The Superintendent"of the "High Point Free Society School System"
There will be no charge for this year of service.

This new school system will be based on the following:

1. Neighborhood Schools

2. Strict Discipline

3. Basic Curriculum

4. Parental Involvement

As we start the new system,we will need volunteers from all of High Point,who are willing to serve as Board Members.These citizens shall not bring personal agendas with them if they wish to serve on this new board.

Past,Present and Future Board members in GCS have, and always will have their own pet projects and agendas.

Presently on the board we have,Two bored houswives with little or no common sense,one lawyer,whos'major concern is doing PR work for his law firm,one activist whos' main goal is to racially heal all the privileged white teachers in GCS through her friends Consulting firm, and one dinosaur who is still dreaming of the homecoming dance at High Point Central back in the early 50's.At least not as many are sleeping during the meetings this term.Not much positive production comes from this group of disfunctional clowns.
Unfortunately the few board members that do care are outnumbered in votes and can do nothing but sit back and be frustated.

This type of behavior will not be tolerated in High Point.

If you feel the urge to serve,Heed the call!

Thank You,
The Honorable Superintendent, Slakattak

THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW

High Point must form its' own school system.

After many years of oppression from Guilford County Schools System,High Point schools are in the worst shape they have ever been in.

After much thought,my wife and I have decided that I will offer my services for one year,to serve as "The Superintendent"of the "High Point Free Society School System"
There will be no charge for this year of service.

This new school system will be based on the following:

1. Neighborhood Schools

2. Strict Discipline

3. Basic Curriculum

4. Parental Involvement

As we start the new system,we will need volunteers from all of High Point,who are willing to serve as Board Members.These citizens shall not bring personal agendas with them if they wish to serve on this new board.

Past,Present and Future Board members in GCS have, and always will have their own pet projects and agendas.

Presently on the board we have,Two bored houswives with little or no common sense,one lawyer,whos'major concern is doing PR work for his law firm,one activist whos' main goal is to racially heal all the privileged white teachers in GCS through her friends Consulting firm, and one dinosaur who is still dreaming of the homecoming dance at High Point Central back in the early 50's.At least not as many are sleeping during the meetings this term.Not much positive production comes from this group of disfunctional clowns.
Unfortunately the few board members that do care are outnumbered in votes and can do nothing but sit back and be frustated.

This type of behavior will not be tolerated in High Point.

If you feel the urge to serve,Heed the call!

Thank You,
The Honorable Superintendent, Slakattak

I think it is time for Dr. G, known on this blog as "the bad Dr. and the Nutty Professor" to follow the lead of Nido Quebein over at High Point University.

When Mr. Quebein declared that HPU needed more money, he kicked in the first million dollars on the way to $20 million in under 60 days. It turns out Mr. Quebein's donation was 5% of the total.

I think Dr. G. should also kick in 5% for the Guilford County Schools. If he needs $16 million then let him pledge $800,000 back to the schools; by the way this probably works out to pretty close to what he has been paid over the past 5 years.

No wait I don't want his pledge, just the money, his word isn't worth a dime.

I probably should have said this a couple of weeks ago, but I let it slide.

Lately, I've noticed some personal attacks and name-calling sneaking on to this blog.

C'mon; we can do better than that.

Now, I'm not saying you can't have strong opinions here. If you are angry at the school board or the administration, this is the perfect place to air those frustrations. But can we please keep it civil?

Thanks,
Bruce

Bruce,

Does that apply to the School Board members and Dr. Grier himself?

Bruce,

Can you post a link to the counterpoint on today's (March 8) editorial page?

Thanks,
Monica

Bruce, your comments are heard loud and clear. However, I view the first personal attack was done by the School Board and Dr. Grier. This attack was directed towards the children of Guilford County and from a personal standpoint my daughter in particular.

I agree with Debora that HP needs to speak up at the board meeting tonight. When I signed up yesterday, I was #11 on the list, so there s/b room for more speakers. I know I am going to address moving all schools to 75% requirement for Title 1 $ - that is a crazy thing to do especially for the elem schools. Anyone want to take my bet that Dr G already has another spreadsheet prepared that leaves the elem schools at 40%? Nothing like lots of #s and no time to look at them to get the board to vote for what you want.

All kidding aside, I w/b glad to help with an effort to make HP a stand alone school system. Everyday there are many examples that the system is just too big to manage (but how do they do it successfully in WS/Forsyth schools?). There are the stories that hit the news and then there are the smaller issues like ms guidance counselors told the week before of the dates that they had to conduct hs tours (regardless of planned testing/field trips), a girls' softball game cancelled due to no softballs (allotment hadn't arrived) and field trip buses requested months ahead to arrive at 9am sharp to go the the women's ACC tourney-buses begin showing up at 9:30 because the drivers were told to "take a break" and show up no earlier than 9:30. The list goes on and on...

A quote from Paul Murphy:

"A social or economic tipping point is characterized by a sudden burst of mass sanity as mainstream public opinion abandons an unsustainable mythology in favor of something closer to reality."

Now, if I could only predict when this will happen with the Board of Education and Grier.

Mythology - that's a good word to describe their education plans.

Bruce,

After one year of dealing with the greatest school superintendent in the nation and the most compassionate group of school board members around,I now realize why Guilford County Schools rank where they do today.

Sorry Bruce, I tried to be nice but it just ain't me.

Message to school board.

If the shoe fits,wear it.

The Truth Hurts.

If you can't stand the heat,get out of the boardroom.

Ahh,now I feel better.

Monica,

Glad to help. I don't have a link, but here is that Counterpoint from today's paper:

Grier’s playing "Three-Card Monty"
By A. Gib McEachran

If you’ve ever been on a New York sidewalk, you surely have seen the hucksters tempting you to play the card game “Three-Card Monty.”
The con artist shuffles three cards quickly face down and you are to guess which is the Ace of Spades. If they let you bet, you’ll likely lose. Terry Grier is trying to play this game with taxpayers, and if the county commissioners let him play, Guilford County residents will lose.
According to a March 1 article in the News & Record, Grier is attempting to avoid sanctions that four under-performing schools would receive while still receiving the dollars these underachievers are entitled to. Andrews, Central, Dudley and Smith failed to meet scores mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act for two consecutive years.
If the county accepts the $1.5 million of federal aid this act allows, sanctions will be handed down, and the offending schools must allow any student to transfer.
This is a dilemma for Grier. Five previously sanctioned elementary schools for 2004-05 saw adverse selection occur.
High-achieving students transferred, leaving weaker students behind. Justifiably, this same exodus would occur in these high schools.
Grier’s hope is that he can avoid sanctions by refusing the federal aid and coaxing the county Board of Commissioners to grant the dollars as part of its 2005-06 budget, thus spending Guilford County taxpayer dollars versus federal dollars. He proposes to quickly flip cards and avoid the embarrassment that sanctions would bring to his school system, and have us pay for the system’s deficiencies.
Grier’s “Three-Card Monty” speaks to a deeper issue: How much longer can he be effective as superintendent?
I have not previously been one of his many detractors. However, it has become apparent that the cumulative impacts of his missteps have taken their toll.
We have witnessed questionable redistricting in Greensboro that has left many high schools less safe than they were before these changes. Reports last month show his grand scheme in High Point has left Andrews, Central and Southwest all less safe and far less academically competitive.
I hope the county commissioners will keep his latest plot from seeing the light of day and begin to address some other very tough issues regarding his leadership.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Bruce,

Thanks for posting this. That was a super counterpoint for all to share.

Barbara Ann

Debora,

Hope there will be great attendance tonight. I cannot make it tonight as my husband is out.

Correction to your post: meeting is not in my town - High Point is not my town. It is where my daughter's school is located and it was a "county" school before that. I am in the county; Jamestown is our mailing address for getting mail. Our closest school is Ragsdale but no room for us there. Western is somewhat close but no room there either. SWH is the closest HP high school and that is the zone have been in.

Good luck tonight. You have great posts and I know your speech will be just as good. Hope you have a great turnout.

Barbara Ann

to r.i.g.o.r.

As I said, when there is the "Special" meeting before the public meeting, beware. It was a done deal. The real plans take place behind the scenes with lots of phone calls and little meetings.

Also remember a clue is to how the vote will go is when it is late or last on the planned agenda. Just like the vote on Black Tuesday when the kids were kept up late.

Thank you, Darlene, for voting your conscience.

Barbara Ann