News-Record.com

Once again the N&R is doing a nice PR job on making what look like very modest gains in some areas look like a big improvement.
It looks like they have done a nice job on the graph scale to the best with more mediocre results.
While we continue to focus on expensive middle colleges and bussing for some and not others, thousands of children fail and continue to fail.
Morgan, don’t help perpetuate this cycle of failure.
Don’t accept mediocrity for our children. They/ we deserve better.

He did not want to say it, when asked, but our expensive statistican would not admit that the increase's as well as the decreases are staticistically irrellevant (as pointed out by Alan).
He probably did not want to lose his job!

Did I just see on the news that Governor Mike Easley is now threatening to fire the principals and break some Guilford County schools up if scores don't improve? Let me guess, Grier thinks he is just "grandstanding" like he said about Judge Manning!

I think they said Dudley, Smith, Eastern and CENTRAL!

Can anyone confirm?

bison,

We have a story on our Web site from the Associated Press about Easley's threat and are running it in the paper tomorrow. He's targeting high schools that fall below the 60 percent passing rate for the past two years.

From Easley's press release:
All 44 schools were required to develop detailed improvement plans with the turnaround teams. However, any of the 44 schools that remain below 60 percent proficiency on this year’s end-of-grade tests will be required by the State Board to either: 1) implement a research-based high school restructuring model or; 2) the school will be reconstituted and redesigned through the state’s New Schools Project. Further, the State Board will require districts to decide whether to replace the principals or recommend that current principals should remain on the job with intensive training.

Remember, Judge Manning originally threatened 19 schools with pass rates of 55 percent or below. Dudley and Smith were on that list.

But he also expressed disappointment - to put it mildly - about this larger list of failing high schools that Easley is now targeting.

Here are the high schools potentially affected, based on Manning's letter to the state Department of Public Instruction. He looked at 2004-05 tests.

Dudley
Smith
Central
Andrews
Eastern
Southern
Bennett Middle College
Greensboro College Middle College
Middle College at A&T

This is if the schools don't go over the 60 percent pass rate this year. Most would need to make big double-digit gains to avoid Easley's threat.

Looks like we are well on our way to a total county-wide failure.

Why doesn't Abbott and Costello, I mean Duncan and Dr. Grief mention this in that sickening infomercial that is replayed all of the time.

Is this the reason that it is rumored that Revonda Johnson is leaving Central after this year? Her departure has been very mysterious, so it may well be that Grier has decided to just replace her rather than retrain her. Personally, replacing the principals in these schools will have no effect. As a matter of fact, trying to solve the problems in these schools by replacing the principal is a joke. The problems in these county schools has little to do with the principal and much to do with the superintendent and school board. That is who needs to be replaced.

All so sad. A 60% passing (a D, mind you, in most grading scales) is considered the acceptable AVERAGE (not median), and many schools still can't reach that...whoa! We are a county and a country of the dumb and dumber.

Let's face it: parents who can't or don't or won't read and think and exercise their own, even if limited, brain power and applaud those who do so consistently rather than just cheering for idiot actors, sports stars and NASCAR are setting one hell of an example for their kids.

Are these kids lost, unteachable? No, certainly not the vast, vast majority. But when our standards are so low to begin with, how can we be surprised when students fail to even meet the lowest expectations? They should be inspired by not only teachers but a whole community and a culture of excellence...rather than celebrity. Pah! And Mr. Grier himself is just one more mediocre brain running a mediocre company. We need, desperately, GENIUS: I nominate Dr. Svi Shapiro as a change for a new beginning with a new superintendent!

from today's HPE:

Board responds to e-mail threat
BY KATISHA HAYES
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
GUILFORD COUNTY – School board members responded Tuesday to allegations that staff at High Point Central High would lose their jobs if they spoke up about concerns with the establishment of an early college academy at the school.

An e-mail surfaced Monday afternoon to board represen­tatives, detailing concerns from the Central school com­munity that the “rush” to im­plement the culinary arts/hospitality academy this coming school year “seems hasty and ill-conceived.” The e-mail also pointed out concerns with recruiting stu­dents for the academy, finding space to house the program and hiring qualified teachers.

According to the e-mail, those that had planned to ad­dress those concerns at Tues­day’s school board meeting were warned by a school offi­cial who allegedly made a threat that staff would lose their jobs if they voiced doubts about the program to school board members.

“It’s a problem if people be­lieve things like that,” board member Susan Mendenhall said in response to the threat during the meeting.

Mendenhall said she replied to the e-mail, inquiring about who made the warning to Central staff, but did not get a response.

“We regularly have teachers who come to meetings and speak on concerns ... many times not in agreement with administration,” Mendenhall said. “To my knowledge, I don’t know anyone who has lost their job for coming and speaking up. I don't know where that (threat) came f ro m .” But board member Darlene Garrett also addressed the e­mail, saying that too many times teachers are advised “don’t talk to board mem­bers” and not to “cause prob­lems” when they don’t agree with administrative deci­sions.

Superintendent Terry Grier responded by saying that he had not tried to “disway” any­one from coming to the meet­ing, nor was he aware of any­one on staff who told teachers not to come.

Discussion about the pro­posed academy at
Central had not been on Tuesday’s school board agenda as the con­cerned individuals had mis­takenly thought.

Garrett suggested putting discussion about the academy on the agenda for the next board meeting.

The academy – a school within a school of about 100 students – would allow high school students to earn a diploma and two years of col­lege credit after completing the program.

On 11:00 p.m. news last night. Mike Harris, Human Resources Director,has taken another job.

Funny thing was that Grier had launched into a speech of how he wanted a healthy open shcool system with "candor".
He went on about it forever and then Darlene hit him with a ton of bricks with this Central teachers news. One of the teachers had E-mailed her.
You should of seen him squirm in his chair!

The thing that gets me is why is it time after time that Darlene bring up High Points concerns and not Dot or Susan?

Does Harris' departure indicate that some in this administration see the handwriting on the wall and are abandoning ship? With the bad news that seems to be srfacing, can it be long before Dr. Grief is "recruited" for another great opportunity? If so, he may decide that his heart isn't in Guilford anymore?

That reminds me of the pitiful opinion in today's edition by the Academic Officer praising the district's success in getting students to entroll in AP courses, and at the same time most of them can't even be judged "proficient" on rollover-easy state tests (NC got an F for their proficiency tests). It seems that she overlooked mentioning the pass rate for students taking the AP courses. There can be little disagreement that students that are college bound benefit from AP classes, but it is still a very questionnable expense and expended effort for students that are not going to attend college or can't get accepted to enroll in AP. How much money is being spent on AP testing for these students? It's got to be a big ticket item with questionnable value. Why not use the funds to give these students a good basic education, so they can read, write, and do simple math? That will prepare them for life better than any AP class and exam.

funny,

It's simple. Grier is doing Dot and Susan's bidding in High Point. What HP and Central get is what Dot and Susan want. It's just not what the Central teachers want, but they don't count.

How many graduations is it that Susie missed for Southwest now?

Darlene has to take care of Colfax too.

I'm glad Darlene and a few other school board members have adopted Southwest. You won't get any help from Dot or Susie.

Dr. (what was his dissertation on?) Grier has made my case with one word: the problem with Guilford County Schools is constantly veering "disway" and "dot". Perhaps he really menat to "dissuade dissent". But that wouldn't be "descent" of the man, would it?

Typos, I submit, are not on the same order as unintentional neologisms (or Freudian slips).

Questions for Ms Thompson ( Academic Chief )
concerning advanced classes
Ms Thompson,

As I understand two of these prestigious schools may be shut down.

Was News week aware of this?

Now real questions. I would like real answerers.

1) What percentage of students taking courses passed the test?

2) What percentage of students got academic/course credit at a four year school?

I get no answer.
Figures doesn't it.