News-Record.com

Is anyone surprised?

If Dot and Susan have their way - Southwest will be dropped next year and replaced with Central.

Again, I hear that raising the bar is an excuse for a failing grade. Didn't everyone know ahead of time that the bar was going to be higher this past year?

It's a little old to hear the School Board and the N&R say that the dog ate my homework.

The chickens are coming home to roost. You cannot get good scores on reading, writing, and arithmetic if you do not emphasize the subjects in school and in the Board meetings. It may get worse before it gets better. The prime contributor to the problem is on-site management and a lack of clear direction by the BOE.

"It's a little old to hear the School Board and the N&R say that the dog ate my homework."

We're saying no such thing; sorry if there was any confusion. We're simply pointing out a fact that schools had to meet a tougher standard this year - a fact the schools absolutely were aware of.

Just like we pointed out in last year's stories that the state added a "confidence interval" - or statistical margin of error - that made it easier for schools to pass in 2003-04 than in 2002-03.

I thought you guys might like to know all of the facts, that's all.

direct link to GCS spin on the numbers.

http://www.guilford.k12.nc.us/0506news/050725aypprelim.htm

I can't believe that we can't get 35.4% of kids in 10th grade to pass reading! Maybe all schools passed the reading and not the math. Small schools might work, but why are the two HS that passed the test under the most crowded situations? Small size probably helps everyone, just think how well the kids at SW/NW might do if they had the opportunities of small classes, extra help, more money etc.

Looking forward to more info from Bruce/Jennifer!

Debora,

Thanks for the link. What a spin it was! I thought I was in the Magic Tea Cup ride at Disneyworld for a moment there!

If you didn't know that only 2 of 14 traditional high schools made AYP this year, you would have trouble reading that from the spin.

I got the feeling GCS was proud of its AYP results for the year.

Bruce - I, too, am looking forward to your article tomorrow. Please, no spin.

Debora,

If I didn't read it with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it! Are you kidding me? (Here's the link again for those who want to teach their child how to get a 5 on the writing test if they're prompted to write a fairy tale about a tragic event

http://www.guilford.k12.nc.us/0506news/050725aypprelim.htm

Grier and the BOE should fix what IS BROKEN and leave what IS WORKING alone!

Without the benefit of the #'s as it relates to the sub groupings and how each school did, it's difficult to comment much further.

It is EASY to see, however, regardless of this year's elevated standards, this year was a BUST!

Isn't it coincidental that the BOE gave themselves and Grier a HUGE raise BEFORE the results were published. Kind of like a board of directors and a CEO giving themselves a HUGE raise before terrible earnings are declared. Is this Guilford County's Enron?

What everyone needs to realize is that they're screwing with something more valuable than money ..... they're messing with our kids!

So Andrews and Central did not meet AYP.
Please refresh my memory. Grier and the board took these schools out of the tier 1 program this year right?

Oh come on Tim,

Kids, shmids....they're so resilient! They'll be fine. In fact I can recall vividly a board member saying those very words just recently about how our kids can adapt to circumstances better than adults.

Just do what we did: Insert one of those "apology" letters that are going around, into all the applications for college where little Tim is applying. Admissions officers all over the country are becoming very familiar with them.

Although I know that Timmy is a bright, young man, this letter helps these admissions officers understand that your child got screwed of a real education. The letter goes on to explain that even with millions of dollars, your child may have slipped through to the 12th grade without learning basic reading, writing and math.

It's a great letter, please email me if you need a copy. It's really very touching and even has a cute little picture of a child pissing on the Board of Education office. In fact, on the bottom of the letter it has the home phone number of Guilford County's superintendent and it says "No, really, call if you don't believe me. My school system screwed me. I'm really a nice kid, please call for verification."

I'm sorry to say that Guilford County schools are not going to get any better until some heads start rolling. In the meantime, get a copy of this letter.

Good luck in the college application process!

Andrews, Central as well as Smith and Dudley were removed from Title 1 status.

Q: Why do you take the $$$ away from the schools that need it most?
A: So the schools won't face sanctions from the federal government that would give the kids attending those schools "TRUE" choice.

Q: Who gets the shafted?
A: The kids who need the most help.

Z,

If there's a question about your Q & A, it's answered by an article written in a national education magazine that quotes TG and his perceived successes INCLUDING the HP FIASCO!

I'll let you know how to get a copy as soon as I receive mine.

Must be written by the same author as the GCS website

Tim

PS Are you considered a "ghost writer" if you write your own stuff?

They are not so stupid are they? If fact it’s all carefully planned.
Bruce, I feel that the removal of tier 1 status from the Andrews and Central really slipped under the radar. People need to be made aware of how cunning and devious these people really are.

Continuing tier 1 status would of meant all of us reassigned to the school of our non-choice would have the possibility of a transfer.

SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!!

These people are cunning dirty bastards...

Tim,

I can't wait! Please post all the info when you get it.

Until then, I'll sit and ponder the possible titles of such an article.

"Grier Pulls Giant Whammy Over District"... or

"Grier, a Houdini-like Superintendent Makes the Achievement Gap Disappear by Screwing Kids Over"...or

"Highly Paid Superintendent Laughs himself to sleep at Night"...or

"Title 1, That's for Sissy Districts!"...or

"107 Schools aren't so Bad when You're a SUPERintendent"..

"Screwing Schools for Dummies"...

OK Bruce, so either tomorrow or Wednesday, your editor will have some token comments about how things must get better, it is up to the School Board and Dr. Grier to address these shortcomings and you know what, by Friday all will be forgotten.

I appreciate the attempt to put the numbers and the facts out there for everyone and for that I say thank you. What I don't appreciate is the spin that will be put on the numbers.

It sounds like the School Board and Dr. G. will need a bigger raise to fix a problem this size. It's a good thing Bruce Davis and Paul Gibson are back from Hawaii so they can go and beg to the two world travelers. I wonder if Davis and Gibson picked up any pointers in how to budget for SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT ARE A TOTAL FAILURE.

Reassigned,

You're bloody right. Makes you want to go back home doesn't it.

I'm sorry that our schools disappoint you. I'm even more sorry that you are just now realizing that...well, what you said in your last sentence.

You're right. Education is the LAST thing on the minds of most on our school board. I believe they just think it's special to sit up at a big desk and be on tv.

Changing the Title 1 status at Andrews and Central was done in the nick of time as they were fully aware that they would most likely NOT meet AYP's. It's very well thought out and the scariest part is the plan is just beginning. Just wait until the news breaks of what they've been plotting since the choice plan.

Duncan's "announcement" was only the tip of the iceberg from hell.

Again,
my sincere apologies that the American way is not NEAR what you believed it would be. I'm embarrassed that this is all we have to offer such fine folks as you and your family.

Good luck

Bruce,
seems like everyone feels the same as me. Why not mention what would of happenned if Andrews and Central were still Title 1.
Of course there would be no choice plan.
MAh, thanks for the kind words. Whats your take on what's under the iceberg?

Well, Well, Well,

The numbers are in and the final analysis on Guilford County Schools is showing total FAILURE!!!!!!!

Dot Kearns Legacy of ruining GCS will not soon be forgotten.

Dr. Grier should be TAR and FEATHERED and run out of town.

Recently I have interviewed hundreds of GCS teachers and have yet to find one that has any respect for Dr. Grier or the School Board.

Dr. Grier, PLEASE LEAVE. Your work force hates you and would probably have a better job performance working for someone that is not considered a crooked con-man.

You have just about finished the job of ruining the GCS System with your experiments gone wild.

Please, for the children, pack your bags and take your magic show to another land, Maybe the hills of Pakistan or Baghdad would be a good destination.

mah,

my guess re: the "announcement"

Guilford College corridor "reassigned" to Andrews, our 5th closest school. All who are affected should feel OK because "all of your neighbors" are being bused too.

Why I think this:

#1 3 votes from HP want to "capture" this group (the largest residential tax base in HP)

#2 3 votes to "pay back" the vocal opponents of the lottery

#3 Ragsdale taken out of the picture because of "increased construction costs."

Why this shouldn't happen:

#1 In order of proximity closest schools are Ragsdale, Southwest, Western, Grimsley, Andrews

#2 SW can and should be built out to 1600 student capacity. Construction costs are SIGNIFICANTLY reduced with the crews on site. (Why not do it right the first time?)

#3 During the redistricting process in 1999, the OVERWHELMING desire, articulated LOUD and CLEAR, was for neighborhood schools. Amos Quick is such a strong advocate for neighborhood schools because he listened to what people were clamoring for.

forgot to add....

it's NOT, I repeat NOT, OK to bus anyone in this entire county away from their neighborhood schools!

Tim,
not to add fuel to the fire but have you seen all the new developments around Barrow rd and Willard Dairy? Where are the children going to go to school?
Why hasn't some bright spark got the developers to add $1000 on the house price for schools.
There is just no strategy that links economic growth to education!

An analysis of the AYP results yields some interesting information:

High Schools that did the worst in meeting AYP's:

Andrews - 17 Targets, 8 Met, 9 Missed

Central - 19 Targets, 9 Met, 10 Missed

Smith - 17 Targets, 6 Met, 11 Missed

Certainly, removing Title I status and funds from these three schools did nothing to help them. And, isn't it interesting that two of them were in the Choice Plan, so I guess that the experiment didn't work too well. These three schools didn't come close to meeting AYP's with less than 50% success ratio. so now that tehy are no longer Title I, what is the game plan for these three schools?

Three High Schools that made AYP's:

Early College - 5 Targets, 5 Met, 0 Missed

GTCC Middle - 3 Targets, 3 Met, 0 Missed

Bennett Middle - 3 Targets, 5 Met, 0 Missed

It is interesting to note that these three made their AYP's, but they only had a minimal number of targets to meet, whereas other high schools had as many as 19 to meet. Obviously, the enrollments there are pretty homogenous, reducing the difficulty factor significiantly. Also, the number of students enrolled in these schools is very low with a very positive teacher to student ratio. Typically, the teacher to student ratio in these schools is in a range of 5-10 to 1. Shouldn't they be successful with those focused resources, and wouldn't the other high schools have a great opportunity for success if they enjoyed that same ratio?

Reading GCS's declaration of victory is pretty amazing. They seem to be declaring a great victory in the war of education, when the truth is that GCS has suffered a terrible rout. Whoever wrote the article for the website is very well trained in creative writing. They should be given an "A+" for their creative writing skils. I wonder where they learned them?

One queston comes to mind as I look at this data. Why do we have a special school in Bennett Middle that is only for girls? The information that I read said that it is specialized for 100 girls. As a publicly-supported school, how can GCS maintain a girls-only facility? Isn't that illegal? Do we have any boys only schools?

Could someone please explain to me the 3 different ways the data could be manipulated so that this is the result and all of the Middle Colleges pass?

Apparently there are a lot of upset people over at Western Guilford who last week thought they had passed AYP. Then Dr. Grier changes the way the numbers are presented and this is the result.

I wish someone at the N&R would ask Dr. Grier and contact staff and teachers at Western Guilford. As a tip to the N&R these people are easy to find if you head over to the McDonalds by Guilford College any morning between 6:30 and 8AM.

The middle school at A&T is for boys only. I believe Bennett has alot of girls that dropped out due to pregnancy-- it's an all girl college so I don't think they would be open to boys on campus.
Not sure what The Great 1 meant about Western Guilford. I know that their elem school passed AYPs and with over 30(was it 35?) subcatagories that was great. I stand on my statement that we need to immulate this school and Jones. One has a large ethnic diverse group and the other a large FRL group and they are successful. Why can't we learn from our own?

Jennifer and Bruce,

Thanks for the article in today's paper. I especially enjoyed the title.

Congratulations - no spin!!!!

Thanks!

I think the logic behind GCS encouraging students to take more advanced classes is that if we expect a higher standard from our students, the students will learn more and perform better.

Shouldn't the same logic hold true for our district?

If there are now higher standards in place for passing AYP (which has been known), the same logic suggests that we as a district should be performing better.

More expectations.... better results.

Just and fyi.

I found it interesting to read the "Mission Statements" for the following schools. You can probably guess just by looking at each, which schools made AYP and which didn't. Also note that Andrews and Central's statements don't use nice, cozy words like "nurturing", "boost",
"success", "smaller classrooms", "promising future".... Central does have a phrase before the mission statement about how Central is located "in the heart of High Point, North Carolina, home to the International Home Furnishings Market."--big deal.

MIDDLE COLLEGE AT AT&T: Our mission is to provide a single-gender education that will establish a school culture that will raise educational achievement in an innovative, nurturing environment where young men are offered a new change at success; a boost to their self-esteem and an outlook toward a promising future.

MIDDLE COLLEGE AT BENNETT: Middle College at Bennett provides a unique opportunity for female students struggling to stay in school. In the nurturing environment and smaller classes the school provides, these young women are offered a new chance at success, a boost to their self-esteem and a promising future.

ANDREWS HIGH: The Center for Advanced Research and Technology WILL (when??) be a comprehensive, state-of-the-art education program combining rigorous academics with technical, design, process, entrepreneurial, and critical thinking skills. On campus career-specific laboratories, designed to replicate high performance business atmospheres, in conjunction with a comprehensive cross-curricular program, will enable students to complete industry-based projects and get a jumpstart on reaching future career and secondary education goals.

HIGH POINT CENTRAL: High Point Central strives to develop specific goals and high academic standards, using communication and commitment within a shared learning environment.

FYI

It doesn't have to be this way.

We all have options and I just exercised mine. I put my house on the market and took another job.

I have middle school and elementary school aged kids. I didn't pay much attention about all of this stuff until a co worker informed me of the ramifications. I didn't take her at her word and decided to do some of my own research.

When you get to the statistics, the numbers are frightening. That was last year's numbers. More and more bad news continues and the school board is silent.

So I have decided to take a lateral move within my company to afford my kids a better opportunity. To stay in this chaos would be nuts.

Good bye my friends .... come see me down the highway.

You are right, Debora, the middle college program at A&T is an all-boys program, just as the Bennett program is all-girls.

Single-sex public schools are legal. In fact, the Bush administration is such a big fan of single-sex schools that they won't let states ban them.

And I'm not sure what you mean either, Great 1. The state - not GCS - sets the criteria for meeting AYP. Local school officials have no control over the rules. They are given the goals and told to meet them. The results, good or bad, are what they are.

Western made 19 of its 21 goals. While you have to get 100 percent to make AYP, it's not like they are miles away from getting there. Western made AYP in 2003-04, so they are right there. A good year in 2005-06 and they'll make it.

And if Dr. Grier really was manipulating the AYP data, why did 75 percent of the high schools fail?

Debora,

OK, I understand that we have a middle college each for boys and girls, but that doesn't answer my basic question as to how GCS can justify having either school that is gender-specific and accepts only one sex. Aren't public, taxpayer-supported schools required to be open to boys or girls, equally? I thought that only private schools that didn't accept federal funds could discriminate in that manner. By doing this, isn't GCS admitting that boys and girls do learn better in a non-coed environment?

See the previous post, Dean.

And you have to realize these are kids (at both the A&T and Bennett middle colleges) who have failed in traditional school. Many had dropped out or had flunked one or two grades. Many of the girls are teen mothers.

Still, 99 percent of GCS students attend a co-ed school, so I don't think they're saying single-sex works better for everyone. Just for a small number of kids. I think that makes a lot of sense, actually - one size doesn't always fit all.

Let's make Andrews and all boys school and Southwest an all girls school. Central can be a mixture to keep it the "Crown Jewel of High Point".

I'm serious. I have no beef with an all girls/boys school. What I have a beef with is that not all schools are given the "special" creditials as the newer college programs.

If each school had a real theme, a "cozy" atmosphere, students that WANTED to be there, then they would be successful.

It's NO SECRET why these college programs are working--the kids CHOOSE to be there.

Take BUSING out of the equation, make schools are REAL choice and success rates will skyrocket.

Discovery Liftoff in T-29 minutes....

Bruce,

While I tend to agree with rocket scientist that there can be definite advantages to having all-boys or all-girls schools, isn't this in conflict with Title IX regulation 34 CFR 106.34 which states that with rare exceptions separate educational facilities for boys and girls is illegal for schools that accept federal funds?

And, if we are trending toward establishing all-boys and all-girls schools because it enhances learning, then shouldn't it be available on a broader scale than just two small highly-focused middle college schools? If it enhances the learning of these students, then shouldn't other students in the county be given an equal opportunity to learn in such an environment, if they should "choose" to do so? I agree that it is not for all, but then we aren't making teh choice readily available to any others, are we?

"why did 75 percent of the high schools fail?"

I'm sure the goal was to have more schools fail, people at Northwest and Southwest obviously did not follow marching orders.

Who can explain the rattles on that snake, just be careful because it will bite you.

Just a question that begs to be asked about NW and SW. Was the passing grade the result of the hard work of the teachers, students and parents or Dr. Grier and the School Board?

I'm sure my neighbors and I would love to have Dr. Grier over by the SW sign today for a photo-op or better yet have our district representative stagger over there and have her picture taken.

The No Child Left Behind Act rewrote the federal laws and explictly protect single-sex schools. The U.S. Department of Education released new guidelines in March, 2004, which spell out what districts can do with single-sex classes and schools.

In fact, the new federal provisions don't even require districts to offer, say, an all-boys school if they offer an all-girls school or vice versa. They just say those same courses have to be available, either at a single-sex or co-ed school.

President Bush is a big backer of single-sex schools and he made sure these were protected in NCLB. What GCS is doing with the middle colleges is completely legal.

Would anyone else like to see more single-sex offerings?

I still think there were too many excuses from the school district in the article.
Don't they understand it called "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" hence the idea it 100% or nothing.
End of excuses please!

I was told that the reason the high schools took so long to release their AYP numbers is that they were trying to decide what to do with the scores of students that moved during the year. They weren't sure where to count their scores. As soon as they started to manipulate the scores of one school, another suddenly became affected.

Give the "Genius" a week and he will be able to work it out like he originally planned.

Please let's not bring "sex" into the discussion. Let's call them "single-gender" schools and YES they work and yes they should be available as a choice to all students.

Some districts offer "girls only Math" etc., within co-ed schools. The results speak for themselves.

Guilford County seems to thrive on experiments. It's a shame that they cannot implement ones that have proven success.

I'm sick to death of the media acting like our failing school situation is par for the course..."Mecklenburg has the same dilemma.." blah, blah, blah....So if Mecklenburg kids start jumping off Mt. Pilot, we should all follow suit?

To Grier et al: Let students CHOOSE their own school. If it's on the other side of the county then they transport themselves, if it's within a reasonable distance, say for instance the distance from Downtown Jamestown to High Point Central, then the system provides the transportation.

MORALE is the secret to success. So let's ask the students and teachers what they want. No more secret meetings with 11 members and Grier. Let's actually ASK the people that fill the schools each day. When students and teachers are happy and in a nurturing environment, success is a given. It's like the old saying, "if MOMMA ain't happy, then NOBODY's happy."

And this momma ain't happy.

Come on. Lets be pratical. There has to be some order/organisation. If you could choose any school it probably would be chaos and impossible to coordinate.
Neighborhood schools together with some reasonable/manageable amount of specialised magnet schools has to be the way to go.

Reassigned,

Actually, there are many school districts that have a wealth of choice for students using open enrollment. Most of them tend to be in the western states. It seems that it's in the eastern states that the idea of choice doesn't exist or is so convoluted. This is how one that I know of works:

1) All students have a home-based neighborhood school that they attend and to which they are assigned through an attendance zone

2) Magnet schools are available for students to attend on a choice basis.

3) All students can attend any school in the district that they choose, on a space available basis. They have to have their own transportation, but they aren't limited, other than whether there is space available.

So, mama mia is not off-base with something that can't or won't work. It does work in enlightened school districts where the board truly wants to offer choice. You'll note that what makes the open enrollment or choice work is that it is on a space available basis. These districts maintain order and organization while offering school choice.

Reassigned,

Oh, one other thing. In many of the western states, the school boards are subject to recall elections. So, they tend to be much more sensitive to and receptive to the concerns of parents and taxpayers, something that doesn;t happen in Guilford County. Do you think that our school board and county commissioners would ride roughshod over voters and taxpayers here if they were subject to recall election? I think that we all know the answer to that question.