News-Record.com

Great!!!! Our 2 cats enjoy having his picture line their litter box.

He's one busy beaver. I see he is selling Kias now. Does he go on the test drive with you?

I would hope you could slide in one last question and ask him about freshmen orientation at High Point Central yesterday.

HOW IN THE WORLD IS IT POSSIBLE FOR KIDS TO GET THROWN OUT OF ORIENTATION? And why would these kids misbehave while parents are in the audience?

The only answer I can come up with is that it is "preseason" and you have to practice misbehaving. Suspensions start for real next Thursday.

How about inviting some guests to attend this secret meeting? How do you know what your readers want to hear? Have you asked somewhere that I've missed, what the community would like to know from the good doctor? Maybe there's better questions out there other than what the N&R will drum up?

Have you already supplied Grier with the questions (maybe given to him at a previous secret meeting) so that he can create the perfectly, politically correct answers or will the questions be impromptu?

I'm so intrigued that finally a secret meeting goes public. I especially can't wait for him to elaborate on the part about "his future in Guilford county".

Please do the right thing and invite some questioning from his fan base. It'll be very disappointing if we hear the same ol' Grier statistics about how GCS has improved compared to some long ago date and umbrella statements like "we're doing all we can..."

If the N&R takes their baby bonnets off and puts their thinking caps on, this interview might actually sell a few Sunday papers.

"i wanna go",

The questions won't come from the community NOR will Bruce and Jennifer give Grier the questions beforehand. I bet GRIER has given BRUCE a list of questions to ask! That makes it sooo much easier.

Oh yea, "guess again" that makes sense...kind of like his goal to 'dummy down the curriculum'. I wonder if there will be any questions in Spanish?

I got the insert in today's paper too.

We all know Grier doesn't do anything for free. I would guess he is getting a commission on each car sold during this promotion.

Personalmente, algo consigo dietes perados que escucho ma's Grier!

I wanna go,

What questions would you have asked?

Jennifer,please ask him.
Why not spend bussing money on lower class sizes and better teachers instead of swapping children from one side of town to the other?
Plus how would he feel if his child could not go to a school that he could actually see and instead be bussed for 3 hours a day back and forth.
What does he feel would be the emotional effect on that child and how would he recommend the child cope with the school time,bussing time ,homework and any attempt of leisure time!
Get the gist?

MP,

Basically you want us to ask only about the effects of the High Point reassignment plan?

We did ask questions about the plan, although not the exact ones you have.

We also thought readers in other parts of the county might have questions that affect their children, such as ABCs/AYP results, helping struggling schools, construction, etc. So we asked those types of questions, too.

You know it's funny that Grier has tied Guilford County Schools with Kia.

When the High Point Choice Plan was approved last year I believe the quote in the N&R was "although it is not a Cadillac, it is a very good Chevrolet".

Why is it now Kia? It looks like High Point will wind up with a Yugo.

MP,

I wasn't trying to be condescending, just pointing out that our questions weren't as focused on one issue as yours were. You could have asked other pointed questions, but chose to focus only on those that seem to relate to the High Point plan. Just an observation.

Seems that you dont listen either.

WOuld you like a job on the School board.

No, MP, Jennifer listens quite well. You, on the other hand don't. There are those of us in other parts of the county who have other concerns as well as the High Point issue. You excluded our concerns in a condescending way to Jennifer, who, by the way, was quite civil to you in response to your rudeness.

Well, Nonya, how do you think Grier will fix the problems with Guilford County Schools?

That's the point MP was trying to make! Grier cares about his resume not about the children and that includes your children!

His only solution to these problems is forced bussing. What would stop him from doing this where you live? So you better be concerned and pay attention on what he does in HP. With the NCLB legislation no one is safe from any of this!

And futhermore children who have to endure a 3 hour bus ride all for the sake of the numbers is inhuman and it doesn't matter where they live and that includes all of Guilford County not just High Point!

NO, MP ask "please ask him"
MP did not ask "please only ask him"
comprehension skills lacking

Dear
"itcouldhappen2u" ...Exactly.

-The human cost to the individual child vs Griers resume! Thats my whole point.

-What would he say if asked those questions? We will never know because the Horse and Hound will never ask.

-It also seems that anyone that complains about the choice plan is automatically slighted as being a self centered,bigoted person. That is probably just part of the plan. Thats just adds more weight to the individuals that push this forward.
Nonya, Jennifer you have fallen into that trap I am afraid.

The answer is simple.
Concentrate all efforts on good neighborhood schools only. If SW and NW are good schools leave them alone.If Andrews is not give it more money, better teachers,programs or whatever to improve. Dont hide them problem face it straight on.

Grier is apparently incapable of doing that and the School Board are blind because they dont see through him.

MP,

I think that we all expect that this "interview" with Terry Grier will be a hard-hitting interview along the lines of a Barbara Walters or Larry King interview. I don't expect that there will be any unexpected or thought-provoking questions for Terry Grier that can't be answered with a lot of homilies. To use a baseball analogy, they will be batting practice fastballs that he can hit out of the park. It'll be a good opportunity for the good doctor to exhibit his skills and knowledge without taking any risks.

I hope they had two microphones so the interviewer could catch the comments from both sides of his mouth.

Hey Jennifer,

What with the censorship? You cannot isolate one person from this blog just because they hit a nerve!

If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!

A couple of thoughts after listening to the interview.
-My conclusion is that Grier thinks the reassigment plan is dead based on the current thoughts of the board. It will not spread to other parts of the county (suprise suprise).He also feels a little frustrated and complained that the board have granted too many appeals .Did we ever get the numbers on that ?
-He blames the press for Andrews situation.
-He doesn't want to take away from SW to improve Andrews( do you believe he said that?).He thinks Andrews should get more resources.

I'll answer that one, "censorship".

That poster wasn't banned for "hitting a nerve." We probably could get rid of lots of people if that was the case - this is the only poster whom we've ever had to ban.

They were banned for a variety of offenses, most recently a now-deleted obscene post, but also for insulting to other participants (name-calling, not debating), and using multiple identities to misrepresent himself/herself. It wasn't just one incident; it was many negative ones.

This particular poster was banned once before. We gave him or her a second chance, but they couldn't abide by the rules. If they had left a legitimate e-mail address, we perhaps could've straightened this out without going those lengths, but they didn't.

Of course, you may already know all of this...

Just read the Grier interview in the "fishwrap".

Bruce, you have once again proven to be a Candy-Ass when interviewing your Boss.

Just once I would like the "fishwrap" to allow TIM MANN to Interview Grier and then we may see the truth come to the surface.

There is no doubt, Terry Grier has now proven to me that he is a better CON-MAN and LIAR than Bill Clinton.

The unfortunate thing about this interview is that I think Grier is never leaving. He is surrounded by a sea of FOOLS, who aren't smart enough to see through his unethical behavior, therefore why would this maniac want to leave.

Dr. Grier again shows his ignorance of the facts and his love for skewing them to fit his agenda. I persoanlly know of 3 schools that do not teach Literacy First (expensive program with out of state trainers and facilitators) and have done well with ABC's. I also know of schools (I taught at one) that do use Literacy First (L.F.) and they did not pass their ABC's.

There are much better ways to teach phonics than with this simplistic and overblown program. They stopped using Write..from the Beginning and started a "new program"...drum roll please and it's called Writer's Workshop. Well, that has been around for many years...Write from the Beginning is an excellent way to teach primary aged kids how to read through writing. In Kindergarten I taught students how to write (and of course read) by using the best phonics program. Their own authentic words. Phonectically, it's either right or it's wrong.

If a child writes big as BF, you simply tell them correct beginning sound and now let's talk about that ending sound. When a student reads there are far too many words that are exceptions to the rules, but it NEVER happens when writing. It's either "write" or wrong. When we use a canned program like L.F. it only addresses those rules that fit. Otherwise it gets far too complicated and five through eight years olds just don't get it.

Dr. Grier is ready for his top down management that is at best intimidating and at its worst is not empowering of it's best professionals...the ones in the trenches, the teachers AND assistants.

Dr. Grier has spent far too much time padding his resume with new school programs, mostly high school. Yes, it has made a difference in some cases but in far too many ways he has forgotten the lower grades where we have many more numbers of schools that do not pass the ABC's.

If school systems would provide more assistants, more tutors for helping kids that come to school with a much lower level of vocabulary words, etc., schools would pass their ABC's. It also takes inventive teachers that are allowed to integrate subjects in order to get all of the subject matter taught within one year.

Dr. Greir wants to top down that approach and I challenge him to provide a comparison of schools last year, 2004 - 2005 that have had at least 3 years of Literacy First and compare their ABC test scores to ones that do not use that ill advised program. Come on Dr. Grier, don't just talk about it...produce the numbers so we can see the real facts.

Bruce,

I was disappointed with the Grier interview.

Grier showed us once again that he is the Master of Deception. You asked him a question regarding "specific trouble spots on the AYP report". His response, "...We saw some very good things. For the very first time, all of our high schools met their graduation requirements..."

For many readers unfamiliar with AYP, this statement would imply that for the "very first time, all of our high schools met" AYP.

You asked a specific question, he did not answer your question, but rather twisted the words to his benefit. Your question was in reference to AYP, his response was that all high schools had succeeded for the first time. Was he talking about AYP? No, of course not. I know that because I understand AYP. I don't imagine for a minute that most of your readers understand AYP. They walk away thinking positively about his comment, when in fact, there was little good to report with GCS high schools this year academically.

Bruce, I am disappointed that you allowed his statement to stand. Why didn't you strongly ask him again to answer your question - directly?

Cheers!

No, Bruce, I didn't know ALL of this! All I know is that I believe in FREE SPEECH!

But I do also know is that many people DO NOT use their real identities. And I wanna go was only asking Jennifer or anyone, for that matter, at the N&R to ask MORE thought provoking questions of the good doctor! I think it would of been more beneficial for the taxpayers to have their input.

But then again how can we expect that from a newspaper that does a PR dog and pony show for the benefit of the good doctor.

General Slack is correct. This paper is only good for fishwrap!

Hold on, our cats have something they would like to say:

MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, PURR, PURR, MEOW, MEOW.

"We like it when you change our litter box and put a picture of Terry Grier in the bottom of the litter box. There's nothing like a little extra motivation to get the job done."

MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, MEOW.

"We need the litter box changed again, if you are out of Terry Grier pictures could you put one in of Dot Kearns? She'll due in a pinch.

Although I usually like Bruce and Jennifer's writing and appreciate their efforts, I, too, was disappointed by the interview. For example, when Dr. Grier said that more students take AP classes but are scoring lower on the tests--shouldn't that be expected? I actually agree with him that students should be encouraged (but not mandated) to take the challenging class. However, it makes sense to me that, as more students take the exam, the lower the scores will be. I wish Bruce had followed up with deeper questions.

I'm also curious about the new program requiring students who passed English 9 and/or Algebra I but failed the EOC to retake the class. The state says that the EOC is 25% of the final grade. This means it's quite possible to fail the exam but pass the class. If Dr. Grier feels that these students need to take the class again to show proficiency, how does he feel about students who could pass the EOC without ever taking the class? It seems that his reasoning would be that these students should get credit for the class and move to the next level. I would have liked for Bruce to ask follow up questions, not just surface ones. Unfortunately, the interview did read as a scripted one where Dr. Grier approved the questions in advance.

The N&R could save money by firing Bruce and Jennifer and just let the bloggers do the investigating. Any Guilford county elementary school child could have asked more enlightening questions.

Readers should have been made aware that the big exclusive interview was coming so that questions could have been solicited.

I wanted to puke where Grier states that "voters were made well aware that possibly all bond projects may not get done." (paraphrased) He's a lying-bastard like someone said before. The "priority list" for the bond package projects was never created until just recently, so how would voters have known what projects might get the ax. I will never, ever, ever vote for any school bond.

Also, when is the N&R going to come out with their Spanish version of the newspaper for the Spanish speaking population? How do those families get to reap the benefits of these top-notch, exclusive interviews with school officials?

Muy mal N&R,
Adios!

I guess Dr. Grier was more accessible this summer for an "IN-DEPTH" interview since he did not go on any vendor junkets this summer, (THAT WE KNOW ABOUT).

Wait a minute, was that a picture of the evil Dr. carrying Bruce Davis' and Paul Gibson's bags in Hawaii?

Bruce when you asked about the Southwest people who were upset because of him and he responded by saying that he deeply cares about the kids at SW.
Bruce you let that one go too. That was not an answer to the question.
Does he deeply care about my daughter who starts at Central this week instead of the school around the corner? DOes he care about her long bus ride and what it will do to her day? DOes he care that her best friend is at SW?
He then went on to state that he doesnt want to take away from SW and give to Andrews? Maybe he was right there since most were given to Central!

Bruce, you let the side down.

Jennifer, do see now the point of my proposed questions on fridays post.

Once again Bruce,he did not answer your question and you failed dismally to do your job!

The million dollar question for me would have been about assistant positions being cut. I would love to hear the suggestions of how kindergarten teachers should provide a positive learning environment during the first weeks of school with no assistant.

How does one teacher comfort several crying children at the same time?

How does this same teacher assure parents that everything will be fine?

How does this same teacher help each child find their cubby/desk/etc.?

How does this same teacher walk the entire class to the lunchroom in a safe manner? (Most have no concept of what a line is)
The list could continue on.............

Although Grier praised the raises for teachers, I bet that most would trade their raise for better working conditions and an assistant.

I would love to have a journalist do an in depth report of the first day of school in a Kindergarten class that is without an assistant.
I would love even more for those who voted to cut teachers assistants to have to serve in those rooms for at least the first two weeks of school.

I know that money is the excuse, but I also know that we have frills/programs/outrageous salaries that could be eliminated in order to keep asssitants in the classroom.

Bruce and Jennifer,

I am continually amazed at your fortitude.

I am convinced that you two could skewer Dr. Grier and rotisserie him publicly over and open fire and present a full page spread of the event complete with pictures... but still many commenters on this blog would self-righteously complain that the resulting meat, once served up, was just a little on the rare side.

Sure, there were lots of additional questions that could have been asked in the interview, but then you would have been roundly criticized for giving the adminstration waaay too much ink and few here would have liked or agreed with any of his answers anyway.

Overall, I give the interview a C+. But I give you two an A+ for your continued willingness and capacity for tolerating abuse.

I still read your posts on the Chalkboard and find them informative and helpful. But I rarely view the ensuing comments anymore because I have tired of the all-too-predictable venom that is continually spewed by the regulars, such as the examples above.

Great idea, Kay!

Hear that Jennifer and Bruce; people want more in-depth reporting!

Also how could you let Dr. Grier get away with his comments regarding Andrews? I know for a fact a teacher who could not transfer simply quit! I would tend to think if Andrews isn't as bad as he portrayed in this interview, why do so many teacher want to leave?

"there were a lot more questions that could have been asked...." TRUE

Great questions, Kay.

Bruce and Jennifer thank you for your time in getting the interview, but could you do a second interview and incorporate the questions being asked here?

David if you rarely view the comments here because they are "predictable" and you don't like them how would you know now what to comment on? Me thinks you must be reading more than you admit. And then again, there is always your own web site if you don't like the chalkboard. You can listen to yourself all you want.

With an open blog site, one can take the good with the bad and sift through what you don't like to read.

I think Jennifer and Bruce do a great job most of the time. Grier is an expert at coming up with quick answers. No matter what questions an interviewer asks, he will always come up with the "right answer" or have a spin on it.

Bruce and Jennifer,

I would first like to state that you did an excellent job trying to pin Grier down and perhaps hold his feet to the fire a bit. I cannot imagine that anyone could really make him squirm, so given that, a big thank you!!!

on a slightly different note, My children started their newe schools today. Along with the terms of "my choice" plan, they are both now in private school. I cannot begin to convey how different the atmosphere is and the only quasi-negative i felt at all, is that it's sad that all children cannot enter a learning environment like this. I had to laugh at the welcome letter that Central sent. ( they obviously had not noticed that we had withdrawn my daughter) it was, don't do this, and don't do that. you will not, and you'd better not. That's supposed to provide a sense of welcome to incoming freshmen??? what a joke!!!

Mikeg

I hope your children will not only be happy but successful.

Just remember, make sure your children graduate in the top half of the class. Bottom half at private school is not better than top part of public school.

You may be hurting your childrens chances of getting into a really great school like Harvard, Yale or Duke. At one time they had a bias for private school students. This is no longer the case, they have a bias for public school students.

I wish you luck. Just remember, we will not know if the decision was good or bad until your children are grown.

Joe, thanks for the cooment. I have great confidencethat with parental support, my children will do just great!!! Conversely,
I have absolutely no confidence in the public school system, which is why my children are where thay are. You should know, Joe, that I have been a long time supporter of public school education and resisted the thought of sending my children to private school. However, given the absolute lunacy of the GCS, combined with what appears to be a runaway train in High Point, my had has been forced. I will continue to monitor the public schools, and if/when my confidence is restored, i may opt back in. However, I certainly don't see that happening with the current board and administration.

Joe, one more thing,

I disagree about knowing whether it was a good or bad decision. I know now that it was a good decision. They could not do worse than GCS in high point. unfortunately, there is only one grimsley, and the rest of the schools pay the price for having one great high school.

Mikeg,

I don't have first hand info on High Point. I have always assumed that the learning environment has not broken down in the vast majority of the school. If the whole school is broke, then I would pull my children in a heartbeat.

Best of Luck

Grier's leadership of fear and intimidation has trickled down to affect my six-year old niece - and I am none too happy about it.

The principal at her Northwest Greensboro elementary school is so afraid of losing in the numbers game that she refused to retain her in kindergarten even though she met virtually none of the NC goals for that grade level. All year long her progress reports were below grade level but at the end of the year the principal was adament about promoting her to first grade.

When the parents met with the teacher and principal to request that she be retained they were shot down. Similarly, "downtown" said the same thing. It is NOT up to the parents to make that decision.

Did all of you know this? It is not your decision as a parent to decide if your child should be retained?

It is my opinion that the teacher and principal would have supported the parent in giving this child another year to reinforce the basics, but out of fear for their jobs, they allowed themselves to do what was clearly not in the best interest of this child.

Can you imagine the angst this child will endure in first grade not knowing her letters, her numbers or how to read? She came home every day saying, "I don't understand". And she's being thrust forward with the group because if she were to be retained it would be a black mark for the school and the principal. Shame!

Let's find educators who want what's best for our children and not those who want impressive bottom-line numbers. Educaton is about people - it's not a business.

We need an administration that does not promote mediocrity or lip-service from its educators.

Dear S. Bergen
This happened at our school and the parent insisted that the child be held back. Remember that Kindergarten is optional(isn't that still correct?), so you don't even have to go to "K"-- it sounds like the principal bullied the parents into giving up-- they have to hold their ground. It is much easier to catch up when the child is young. Also much easier socially. I am very sorry this happened and I think the parent should still go in and make the principal reassign that child. The parent is the last word! It might be different if the child was succeeding, but if the scores showed differently, then there should be no question. My suggestion is to write a letter to the principal and BOE members and GCS and state "due to lack of emotional/social/educational achievement that you are expecting your child XXX to be placed in kindergarten to give them the opportunity to succeed instead of the continuation of the struggles that last year presented"--- and then take it give it to the principal and DON"T LEAVE until she does it! The letter can be used to prove that the school didn't do anything wrong (saves her grief-remember: play the game)but you as a parent have made this decision!

S. Bergen,

That same thing happened to my neighbor. You are right; it is all about the numbers.

What is so tragic is these children just may need one more year in their current grade level in order to achieve success later on. When I was a teacher in public school in another state, the trend was to keep kids back in the earlier years to avoid failure in the upper grades. I still believe in that philosophy! And I am willing to bet the teachers and principals feel the same but are afraid for their jobs. That's a great way to enpower your staff, isn't Dr. Grier?

That's what made me furious when Dr. G. portrays he cares about our kids when in fact it is all about the numbers.

By the way, my neighbor is looking into private school because the principal would not retain her child. Good luck to your niece and her parents.

S Bergen

Debra has given great advice. This just must be that school.

I know of another elementary school where several children had been retained in the past. Some are being retained this year. It was a combination of teachers and the principal and in some cases, the parents. In two of the incidents (and two different kindergarten teachers) the teachers insisted that the child not be put back in their class the next year.

Each case is certainly different, but if the parent feels this way, I would put it in writing and copy the state.

Bruce and Jennifer,
You both are great reporters and I think most of the readers here at the Chalkboard appreciate your hard work and efforts to uncover the truth in GCS. Grier is a sly fox. I was disappointed in the article as I had hoped to actually learn something I didn't already know. (You could see the answers a mile away). It was basically a mouthpiece for Grier to spread his agenda.
I am unhappy with GCS on many fronts. It started with the High Point High School plan, but since I started getting more involved and started paying much more attention to what is actually going on, I became so angry and disgusted with the current school board, and especially with Grier. Teachers are not getting the support they need. I am outraged at the teacher assistant cuts they plan to make. Surely they could have found the money for such crucial positions as teacher assistants...they found money for high-paid central office positions.
The changes they have made and continue to make to the Advanced Learner programs are, in my opinion, hurting children who need the challenges that the A.L. programs provide.
Conversely, the children who are struggling are not getting the extra help they need. Children are being promoted when they need extra time and help, children are being expelled when they need help. The denial of disipline problems is unbelievable!!!! There are so many problems I can't list them all. GCS is going down the tubes...especially in High Point. The High Point High School plan is only the tip of the ice berg. Bussing children is not the answer. Bussing children from one school to another is just "arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic". Until Grier addresses the real issues, this ship is sinking.
Life goes so fast. A year in the life of a child is crucial. A year of failure at teaching any child is crucial. It can never be recovered. I hope that Grier, and more importantly, the school board will think seriously about how best to approach the High Point redistricting. Sometimes you must admit that you have made a mistake and choose another path.
I personally will not sacrifice my childrens' education to the school board's experiments, bussing and general dummying down of the system. I will move if I can't afford private school when the time comes. My children are my NUMBER ONE priority.

Mike,

I am so happy that you found a private school for your children. I know you are a very involved parent from how much time and effort you put in the past 2 years in hopes of positive results in the High Point schools. No one could ever say it was for lack of trying to work it out in the public school system. You gave it your all. Your last speech to the School Board that I watched on TV was full of passion and conviction for your children. It was extremely moving and gave us all a lot to thing about all the kids who will suffer at the hands of some GCS's decisions. It made me sad all day. (It was even better than the "MacArthur Park" speech.)

With a dedicated parent like yourself, your kids will do outstanding. On another positive note, it sounds like your new school wants input from parents. I wish all the SW parents could say the same.

The last post by Jtownmom said it best. "My children are my NUMBER ONE priority." Contrary, to the guilt some people want us to feel, this says it all. We can all care and work for all the children in our schools but at the day's end, we must all do what is best for our own kids. Who better knows this than a child's parents.

Best of everything in your new adventure.

Barbara Ann

I was wondering if I missed something this week.

Is this National Promote Terry Grier week?

First there is the interview and big spread with photo op in the newspaper, then a comment section on the chalkboard. There are:

The grammatically incorrect letter.
The retraction of the letter on the second page.
The article on what happened about the letter.
The reprinted letter and ad on another page later on.
I believe a new improved letter is coming out this week.
Now the editorial in today's paper about how popular Terry Grier is.

An interesting note in the editorial is that Mayor Becky says she does not know all the names of the school board. How will she ever get that stadium deal if she has insulted the school board. I would bet that the majority of the parents in High Point whose kids have come under the influence of the High Point reassignment plan, past redistricting, proposed redistricting, etc. can name every school board member and recite the names in alphabetical order backwards.

Where has the mayor been for the past year and a half?

I am so glad I do not live in High Point.

Oops, forgot the "grammatically incorrect letter" was also mentioned in today's editorial

also the blog stand about "a mistake"

I don't think President Bush got this much coverage when Dan Rather (think it was him; see not as much coverage as TG) had to apologize for bad news

I wish Becky Smothers was more in touch with High Point. I bet most 9th graders I know along with most High Point parents could name the school board members. These people have controlled our lives and changed them forever.
Why does the News and Record keep promoting Terry Grier?????

Okay, I am ready for the HP parents to come out swinging on this one, but I think that Bruce and Jennifer do a fair job. Do I think they could be deeper investigations? Yes, but they have bosses that tell them what to do! It's not like they own the paper. Also, those of us in the know, all have opinions about Dr Grier and the BOE, but we are a very small minority of parents! Most parents need to be informed about small things, like open house times, new principals, etc. They don't get paid for their opinions, just to report as fairly and unbiased as possible. I have never read where Bruce or Jennifer endorsed Dr Grier!

I agree that it is embarrassing for the Mayor of HP to say that she doesn't know all their names! Even if she doesn't, why would she admit that?

Deb,

Great points as usual.

I think many parents have their opinion of the BOE and the administration and it is far from a minority of parents. It is just that many parents choose not to get so involved in their schools or are involved in other ways but not as vocal. They don't do meetings and speeches. They have their jobs, their day-to-day lives and as you said open houses, their issues at only their own schools, etc.

Your last paragraph says it all.

It certainly is embarrassing for the Mayor of HP to say she doesn't know the names of the school board. She has been in meetings with some of them. You would think the mayor of any town in the county whose constituents' kids go to schools in that county would know who is on the school board.

Does she really not know them? Is she being flip? Is she making a statement that she doesn't care about schools, just "High Point City issues", i.e. furniture market?

Although city government is indeed separate from the county, I would like to think that anyone on a city council or in a position of leadership in a city or town would communicate with school board members of any community and their county commissioners, state officials, etc.

I bet Steve Wood knows the names of all the school board members.

Perhaps residents of High Point should keep that in mind come November.

The comment Dr. Grier made on Principal compensation was interested. However, I am puzzeled. Why did he not make it to the BOE. Why did he not use it in this years budget proposal?

Gamblin Man,

I bet Steve Wood knows the names of all the school board members and the commissioners and a few other people who could help our kids.

I bet he wouldn't want to "gamble" with the futures of the High Point children. The more happy children in High Point, the more happy parents will want to stay in High Point , the more tax dollars, and so on.

I think he has some great campaign slogan ideas in the making.

He might just care about some issues other than "the market".

Joe,

what comment?

please explain?

The largest factor in Principal compensation is number of teachers. Dr. Grier says he has trouble keeping good principals at small schools because they want to move for more pay. He wants more pay for principals at the small schools. We are talking about supplement. Principals at small schools often make in the 65k-80k range. Large schools go to 122k. If Dr. Grier wants to reduce supplement for large schools and give it to small schools that is one thing, if he wants to raise supplements for small schools and leave large schools untouched, that is an entirely different thing.

Joe,

That sounds like a great question. I guess you could email him for clarification. If the net dollar amount changes, I would think it should have been in the budget?

My sons 5th grade class at Southwest has 29 students. A couple of years ago may daughter went through the same grade/ same school with 25.

Sign of the times.

Twenty nine is a lot!!!

On that note, the problem is the bigger schools do have more students and may require more supervision. So with the larger schools, you have to also have funds set asside for assistant principals.

Joe, how does this fit into the equation?

Dear HP Parent,
welcome to the world of overcrowding! All schools are having to pay for the 15 to one in the title one schools, by having less teachers which means more students per class. At Summerfield we usually have the maximum that the law permits each year! The law says that if you have more than the limit(29 in 4/5th) that the amount over has to be for every class before getting another teacher. So 5 classes with 30 and one with 29= no new teacher. Also in the GCS proposal for cuts to balance budget as well as cutting TA's is to cut 4/5 grade teachers. I don't have the number of teachers in front of me, but seems like 30 or so!

HP parent,

My daughter also has 29 in her 5th grade class.
That's alot for even the most experienced teacher.

I was told that each class has to reach 32 students before they will hire another teacher.

The legal limit for 5th is 29-- but there must be more than 29 in each of the 5th grade classrooms. The number of 32 is not correct unless they have requested a waiver from the state. To the best of my knowledge it is 30-but if the county doesn't have the money (they did pass the budget to hire 3 more teachers) that could be one of the problems. I have seem them transfer teachers from schools that aren't as crowded.I thought that only middle/high schools got waivers. You should ask again. Also call your BOE rep and let them know. Its time that they know the real issues not just the ones that the staff tell them!