News-Record.com

Not only do I believe they misrepresent criminal incidents I also believe they cook the books concerning other numbers - does anyone really believe their drop-out numbers?
Not too long ago, I was in attendance when an elementary class was taking EOG tests - the proctor told all students they would be notified when three minutes remained and, at that time, students were to mark just any answer for all questions not yet answered - later, when I asked about this I was told that overall scores might possibly improve by a child guessing the correct answer, but if left blank the answer was sure to be incorrect.

Holden! Surely that was not the first time you were told of that strategy? I'm 41 and can remember being told to do the same thing on the California Achievement Test in elementary school.

Even though quickly filling in dots at the end of a test is not a new practice, it should not be encouraged by proctors if the goal is to achieve accurate results.

See...that's the irony of it all. Accurate results are not the goal for school systems. Never have been, never will. Just as accurate results are not the goal of a public company when reporting earnings. Accurate results are not the goal our society in general. The only results that count in our society are the ones that gets us what we want!

GCS said the bad reporting could be human error.

It has not been human error, it has been the Grier propoganda machine!

It really was a great day in Guilford County when ole Docteur Grier decided to go.

Enough of the cover ups. Enough of the lies. Until this school Board shows that they are prepared to be honest I am a no vote to the bonds.

We just cant trust these people. They lie and cover up everything.

Griers salary, AL programs in middle schools, School construction. Discipline. You name it.

They have forgot their customer. They have the customer client relationship inverted. They need to be here to serve the children, parents and tax payers of this County not some "make the numbers look good agenda".

We NEED change!!!

Grier leaving is a good start. School Board, Take advantage of this and turn over a new leaf!

When Becoats started he declared that he was responsible for the "day do day operation of the district".

Doesn't safety/crime reporting fall under that.

Fact is these people fudged all the numbers to please the good Superintendent.

Would you believe that the News Week AP numbers
were sent directly/individually to News Week from each school as opposed to being checked by the central office.

I asked the administration when I found bad numbers.
They confirmed it.

I'm not sure who at each school. The
janitor, athletic coach, secretary, a student?. Your guess is as good as mine.

Maybe each school individually sent the crime stats to the DPI?
I
3% drop out and only about 78% graduate.
I'm still working on that. Perhaps Zhang can explain
it.

We are data driven except the data is fudged/wrong

The board never questions it..
.

..

A couple of points from someone who covered GCS a good while back:

* Do yourselves a favor and dig up a state school crime report. Here's one from a couple of years ago. (Warning: pdf). Look at what's *not* listed - theft, vandalism, burglary and simple assault, to name a few. Students who show up drunk or high don't fall into any of the categories, either. I'd bet that these sort of offenses are more prevelent than a lot of what's on the state report. But DPI doesn't require schools to report them, so they don't. In other words, whether or not the GCS numbers are accurate, they present a distorted picture of the day-to-day disruptions that affect schools.

* Dropout numbers are the squishiest sets of figures that any school system deals with simply because there's no accurate way to keep track of kids who leave school. Schools don't have the time or staff to find kids who leave school, especially if those kids move out of state or the country. Also, kids 17 and older who leave school don't count as dropouts, regardless of whether they get their high school diploma. I've always thought schools should track four- or five-year graduation rates like colleges do. That would be a much more accurate picture of how many kids successfully make it through high school.

One of my all time favorites is the kid that brings a six pack of beer to class, hands out to friends in front of teacher and teacher goes about class as if all is normal. Teacher was to scared of students to act as were other students. It was reported to me by an Eagle Scout in my Sunday School Class. SRO’s that report too much are pushed out if possible. Pressure is on these people from all sides not to report and it must stop.

Sadly, a school board worried about reelection, county funding and voter discontent will support an administration in not pushing the issue. Teachers are scared for their careers if they report or push too hard. You have no idea how bad it really is.

I love how the principals have all made "human errors". Channel 2 reported that they uncovered nearly 100 criminal offenses that were never reported to the state. 0 arsons were reported when we know that in addition to the Eastern High fire, there were many others.

And, Grier blames the principals. He places blame on the principals and teachers for whatever is wrong in the district and at the same time, takes all the credit if anything good ever occurs.

Good Riddance Grier!

Wake up School Board and make this school system better. Enforce strict discipline and stopping cooking the books!

Striving. Achieving. Excelling.

Sounds good.
Maybe he can use it California.

It.s all presentation.

Garth:

Once again I'm puzzled by your statements and behavior. The accusations you leveled (alcohol being distributed in a classroom and SROs being retaliated against for reporting incidents) are incredibly serious. It would seem that you have an obligation that evidence forward at a BOE meeting.

If you and other board members know "how bad it really is," you must inform the public.

David C. Ribar (the "C" stands for "can't type")...

It would seem that you have an obligation to bring that evidence forward at a BOE meeting.

Dave,

Who knows? Garth has likely already done so - but in one of those special "closed session" meetings. You know - the ones where the discuss such things as this and the public never knows.

My daughter has been in class at High Point Central when a can of beer was passed around.

Dave, I think Garth's record for trying to open up the eyes of the SB is plain to be seen. He has got zero credit for it from the community and for the majority he gets no support from the other members of the board who are whole heartedly onboard with Griers keep it hidden under the mat philosophy.

When Garth has commented on closed session issues of public concern he has been told to keep it shut.

We as a community need to decide do we support open honest communication on issues or keep rewarding those that want the status quo?

I know what I think.

My school days date back to the 1970s when I was a student in what was then the Greensboro City Schools. I was beaten almost to death by a local gang inside the building at Dudley High School and the incident went unreported.

As a matter of fact the school system tried to deny it happened on school property even though an assistant principal found me laying in a pool of my own blood.

Our local elected leaders, city, county and school board alike have a very long history of corruption and hiding the truth.

It's time we got in their pockets by boycotting everything that's dear to local leaders beginning with the Wyndham Championship Golf Tournament.

Remember: Only when Irving Park feels the pain will positive change come.

I think Irving Park is feeling the pain. Havent there been some crimes up there lately?

Last night News 2. ( Feb 19)
Terry blamed the errors on the sheriff..

Well that clears that up.

Was the Grimsley fight reported correctly?

To place things in perspective one must realize that for decades college campus crime has been hushed, especially rapes, theft, drug and alchohol. Many reformers have tried in vain to open up the security view of these campus environments and colleges and their hosting cities have effectively and quietly kept these problems under wraps. By and large I believe these environments are safe but if I had a daughter I would never want her to be alone in quiet parts of these campus environments.

By and large our school environment is safe and secure, but we have let our guard down and bred an environment that is far too lenient on the problem and we now see the evidence of this in the things happening in our schools, many of these things have occurred for decades, but they appear to be increasing in frequency.

When I arrived on the Board I tried to discover the depth of the problem and got the all is well party line, yet I knew otherwise. Solution, call former principals, those that retire and those that move to other systems. The most telling and most credible of these put it this way;

"I do not believe he meant it but Terry has said things that could be interpreted as do not suspend kids if at all possible or you will answer to me, but having worked with him closely I believe it was his unusual sense of humor and not his real intent". This principal was I believe on the mark, sadly they also believed many principals may have misinterpreted these remarks. Having a more unusual sense of humor than Terry I can see how innocent comments can be misinterpreted and in the environment of leadership meetings, newer and younger principals might go for strict interpretation.

We have problems, we can openly and honestly deal with them and gain public trust, or we can continue the policy of hide and slide. It is time to open the windows and air out the house. Let the light shine in the darkened corners that many know exist, we can dust off and fix much by being open and honest promoting an atmosphere of trust with our teachers, our parents and taxpayers and our staff. Most important, we can provide a safe and open learning environment for our kids that is conducive to real education and real excellence.

Garth,

Thank you for your post - outstanding response and thank you to you for bringing an air of freshness to this stale board of education.

Does the BOE ever have meetings where they actually answer questions submitted by their constituents? If the prospect of an open forum is too frightening for the board and staff, then questions could be submitted ahead of time. I think if the board openly and honestly fielded questions from the public every now and again they might just gain some trust.

"Having a more unusual sense of humor than Terry I can see how innocent comments can be misinterpreted and in the environment of leadership meetings, newer and younger principals might go for strict interpretation."

A good leader will not use humor that obfuscates meaning. Better to err on the side of the Horton principle, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant."

There was a fire two days ago at my daughter's school. A recording was sent through the phone tree explaining that school was closed early and that there would be an update which never came. Rumor has it that a student drove his car into a building. There was no explanantion on the school website, the gcsnc website, the local paper or the paper's website or the local news website. I didn't watch every news cast but if there was a story there, I missed it.

Is this a cover up or very poor communication?

ZhaK:
email is garth@thecpafirm.com
do not provide name of child, just school and date and time.
Thanks
Garth

ZhaK,

In which city is the school? Maybe you could check the police reports. High Point has theirs online for viewing.

ZHak,
Where did the fire occur? You can e-mail me at mjosey@news-record.com

ZhaK:

RE good leader:
I am a simple man with many weaknesses and shortcomings. I repent often for many screw-ups and I do mean many. I have lost count of how many businesses I have started and failed at. I have helped many entrepreneurs and mergers and acquisitions specialists and can tell you one thing, those who are innovative and daring enough to break the norm are rarely politically correct and frequently poor leaders in the so called normal corporate environment.

Terry will never fit the normal mode but his creativity and shoot from the hip management style have their place in a dynamic and changing environment such as our community and the San Diego community. The problem with having over 10,000 employees is that the corporate mentality most employees are used to translates the entrepreneur as over the edge and much, much more gets lost in translation. I have said that this Board was not able to handle Terry and I believe it now more than ever. Terry in the right environment, with the right Board and second in command could be a great combination. I more than ever believe that the real problem is the Board, not Terry. With Terry on the sidelines we are beginning to communicate with each other better, but still mob thinking greases the slippery slope.

I may be the worst communicator on the Board but also the most forgiving, hoping others will be as tolerant with me. I am not a politician, just some dumb Joe trying to do his best. We just need to fix the communication lines with staff to get rid of the environment that may or may not have been accidentally created.

Morgan, I asked first....

I sent information regarding the fire in side e-mails. Anon., it was at the GTCC Jamestown campus.

Garth,

Absolutely, Dr. Grier is creative. Also if a parent is persistent enough he would be effective in pointing out a route to resolution. He brought some good ideas to the table. He seems to be good at the big view, the visioning at the expense of the details. An example of this is the hub transportation system. It's great that students can attend schools and programs that suit their capabilities when their local school does not. It is not great that students are still being picked up at their homes at 6 a.m. and run through a series of ride, wait, change bus, wait, get to school, wait outside because the school isn't open yet before getting to a classroom at 8:20 a.m. Mr. Moen (who I remember fondly) understood that four and five hour round trip transportation schedules will never be acceptable.

Dr. Grier is not a great communicator. That's OK. An effective leader can recognize strength-vacuums in him- or her-self and hire people who have the skills to complement or compensate. There is no reason why a public agency - and the people who rely upon it - should suffer because the person in the helm is great but less than perfect. I am glad that you see the school board pulling together and finding some lines of communication without Dr. Grier's razzle dazzle. I hope you continue to draw together with a baseline of common sense to complement the vision of a high quality education for all students.

Guilford County School System busted for not reporting campus crimes? Say it ain't so.....

I believe I heard Sheriff BJ Barnes state that it is a criminal offense for school not to report certain crimes.

Well, if I were a leader or effective at organizing groups of individuals, I would certainly gather a group of parents, make a visit to the magistrate's office and file criminal charges against Guilford County Schools. Then I would look for an attorney and see about a lawsuit against Guilford County Schools. I would do these things before Superintendent Grier leaves as I believe he may be partially responsible.
It is incomprehensible that schools would suppress information which allows parents to make viable decisions about their childrens' education and safety.

Guilford County Schools and the Board of Education need a good lesson. I think this may be a wonderful opportunity to insure Guilford County Schools no longer commits crimes such as these. It is the responsibility of parents to act as advocates for their children.

Thats another reason this country is in a mess!

TV news tonight (FEB 20)

GCS has forbid any employee to talk to media.
Talk about intimidation.
Garth interviewed five principals. Two said they were intimidated not to report.

Garth did not feel it was a serious problem.
Different attitude from when he was running for office

Superintendent of the year moves on.

By the way none of this is on the GCS WEB page.
Wonder why?.

The news interview was edited to reword a couple things. I interviewed 6 former principals, only 2 of which related to the pressure not to report. Coincidently the same 2 felt same on the suspension issue. I have also talked with several current principals, teachers, counselors and vice principals. It was through this process that I learned that the instructional improvement officers were the ones perceived to be putting pressure on principals and vice principals. NOTE, not one current principal was willing to tell me they felt pressed on either issue, but 2 more senior, very experienced and respected principals did tell me they could understand how some newer principals might feel that way regarding suspensions.

The atmosphere is so political and careers are at stake so please understand that everything I hear I suspect, both for inflated sensitivity to the issue and for fear of risking career by talking with Board Member. Yes, I suspect both sides of the issue and am truly searching for the truth. I now suspect GCS email may not be safe, I have never used the system and would advise all employees of all organizations to use an internet based mail service for any and all personal emails for a myriad of reasons. I am an employer and would never intentionally access employees’ email, that does not mean that my firms email is not subject to reporting laws under SEC and other laws. School System email is subject to Freedom of Information reporting and other laws that would give the system administrator rights to search and review the email system.

In my full interview with News 2 I asked GCS employees not to use email to contact me, there are many good reasons for them not to. I will be using an intermediary shortly for such email in order to keep it from Freedom of Information Act rules. Any other Board Member wishing same confidentiality for GCS employee reporting of incidents may contact me and I will arrange same for them. Phone is still the safest way to contact us and my phone number at my office is 629-9121 and home is 885-6024.

Sadly, since news interview I have learned more as teachers have contacted me (news was at 11:00 last night, it’s now 7:00 am), apparently I might have minimized issue, one employee informed me that their school tells parents to keep child out of school for x days voluntarily and they will not put suspension on record. Any Principal having done this should contact myself and/or Jeff Belton, he is a good man and can be trusted. We will not report them to administration, we want to know it is happening and why!

Any employee of Guilford County Schools that I find helped promote such an atmosphere that does not contact a Board Member prior to discovery does not want to find what a pain I truly can be. I am not out to punish but to fix, therefore I will keep identities confidential if they are ones contacting me. Such acts are illegal, misdemeanor or not I will do my best to make sure they are career limiting acts. Employees need safety valve and if I have to, I will be it. Is this clear and plain enough?

On a very positive note, with Terry gone, now is the best time to purge this from system.

garth@thecpafirm.com

Don't you think that big business and organizations like Action Greensboro are more concerned about how our schools look so they won't scare new businesses away?

Like someone said, sooner or later the truth gets out. You can't keep a lid on what's really happening in our schools forever. Parents have proof.

To clarify my last post, I am asking a man I trust by his church position and personal integrity as well as familiarity with our schools to handle these emails, verify veracity, strip names and report verbally on the applicable details. He will set up and own the email address, not me and it will be clear that mail is being sent to him, not the school board or school board employee. It will be set up not to keep from public, but to allow independent verification and provide secure means so that employee emails cannot be placed in public domain where it might be possible for their supervisors to discover their identities. IT IS NOT TO HIDE FROM PUBLIC which I detest!

As I said before,

Once Terry actually leaves the tempo of the
I was not a Nazi Polka will increase.

Data driven. By manipulated data.
Much more to come.

Oh Garth
See If you can actually check on Dr. Zhangs
credentials( education in statistics ),

Look at DPI certificate requirements. Then tell me why
he does not have one.

"The Licensure Section is responsible for examining credentials and issuing licenses that qualify individuals to seek employment as teachers, administrators and other special service personnel in North Carolina public schools. All professional employees of public schools must hold a license for the subject or grade level they teach or for the professional education assignment that they hold"

Zhang advises Principals on education of students.

Check his credentials.

He has no license.
See if your HR dept actually has transcripts on file.

The Greensboro Police Department also has a website to allow citizens to review incident reports (http://p2c.greensboro-nc.gov/main.aspx) but the information is rather sparse.

"Welcome to the Greensboro Police Department`s Police to Citizen (P2C) website. You can print copies of public police reports, view a daily bulletin of events, or view the the community calendar along with many other items of interest. In addition, you may file a report of a crime directly to the Police Department via this site."

I am not too surprised by all this. It is simply not in GCS' perceived best interest to report all the crime.
It's like asking a kid to tattle on himself. How can we make it in GCS' perceived best interest to report crime accurately?

Maybe BJ and his counterparts in GSO and HP should be doing the reporting.

I know I am going to get yelled at, but do you think there is something to the old southern way of making things "look nice" instead of being nice? Have you read the book, "Civilities and Civil Rights"?.... do you think the southern way is to only talk publicly about what is "nice and good" and not to discuss the warts?

And what about the business community spending $500,000.00 on a positive PR campaign for GCS instead of investing in teachers or infrastructure??? Is that "looking good" over "being good" in action????

Terrina,

You are not going to get yelled at for the substance of what you said because it is true. However, there is no need for you to couch it in terms of the "southern way." That is inflammatory and derogatory and whether you realize it or not, it sounds like you feel superior to Southerners. In order to be more effective in your advocacy (and thank you for being an advocate), you need to think about the way you say things. You would do well to consider what Isaac Newton said: "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy."

You have reaped the benefit of your segregated schools over the last few years and now you are on your way out your true colors are showing.

Goodbye Terrina.

By now I thought you would be already working on the gang situation in Pheonix.

Terrina, Many posters have remarked about the 500K Grier and Co publicity campaign over the years. Now you come out of the woodwork? Where have you been Terrina?

I am a Southerner and I have questioned it myself.

Dont lable people Terrina. I though you with all of your qualifications would know better than that.

Parent,

All of that womens posts and acts are of someone that thinks she is superior and knows better than anyone else.

We moved here from Pheonix a few yesars ago and regularly go back to visit. When we compare the education of our son to his friends Guilford County has served us very well. For all the complaining that people do, they do it with very little reference. My son will start college next year with several college credits. Although not completely confirmed he will almost probably start as a sophomore saving us a LOT of money.
His old friends in Pheonix are not being challenged at all.

My intent was not to bash Terrina. I simply wanted to reflect back to her what I read in her post. I am not sure Terrina was aware of how her post came across.

Terrina is a passionate advocate of children and she has done a lot for Guilford County. She is still young and she has a lot of potential in the years to come However, the ends do not justify the means and in order to be more effective in her advocacy, Terrina needs to temper her passion with a modicum of restraint.

Terrina's last two blog entries on this chalkboard have been to insult and belittle the people of this region.

These comments are in stark contrast to any post that she has ever made. She is now leaving and she is showing her real personality.

Terrina: I was not offended by either one of your last two posts here. I appreciate you having a backbone. Too many people in this county complain about the problems and not enough of them try to solve them.

Terrina has always been direct. It has been my experience that she has always called things as she saw them - regardless of whether it meant she got named the "bad guy." That's because she was always willing to be the one in th line of fire if it meant that our children were better off because of it. People want to divert from the substance of what she is trying to say by attacking the way that she chooses to say something or the words that she uses to get the point across. That way if they can attack that, they don't have to look at the real issue.

You have never stated that GC was flawless. You have stood up for children in this county when parents and the community let them down.

Unlike the rest of us here, including me, you have never hidden behind a pseudo-name. Not one single person who jumped on the bandwagon to attack you here, listed their name. My guess is that they are each someone whom you have called-to-task before on an issue and they didn't like the result and somehow now this is their way to "get you back." Unfortunately for them, I do not believe that they know you too well or they would know that this type of public attack does not phase you.

I have seen you advocate for our children, regardless of their color, sex, school or socio-economic background. There are people here that may not know what all you have done for the children of Guilford County. Not only were you ELECTED as president of the GC PTA, co-chairing the school climate task force, all the other committee's you have been on, but you have also spent numerous hours, personally advocating for children who have been let down by our schools and those who are running them. You have stood beside them in court, before the school board, and stood up on their behalf and asked the hard questions, that everyone else was afraid to ask. You have taken the un-popular side, because it was the side that was right to take. When school administrators and SRO's weren't being fair to our students, you were the voice for our children; and people listened to you and our children, my children, are safer because of you and your work here. AND as far as I know, you have never asked for a single dime for any of your time. Every bit, every hour spent was done because you cared about the children of Guilford County. Thank you.

Terrina, you can bet that you have shown your true colors, and thank God for that!

I think it is hillarious (and I hope you are able to find the humor in it as well) that the bloggers here jump as quick as they do any and every time you post. Doesn't matter what you say, they jump! You could say that you are having steak for dinner and they would jump and come up with something hateful to say about it. I think that speaks volumes. The last post they even attacked your husband if I remember correctly! (rolling my eyes!) WOW.

On behalf of the parents who care about ALL of GC's children, thank you for your service and commitment. You will be missed.

Not all parents and not all children!

Dont speak for me.

Response,
I haven't been in these blogs long so I do not know how people have treated Terrina in the past. She has done a lot for Guilford County but that does not give her a pass to broadly criticize an entire region of the country--especially when she is leaving it. That tactic accomplishes nothing--it just makes people angry. If that was her intent, then she accomplished it. If it wasn't her intent, then she needs to think about how she words things. Terrina has a lot to give but she can't influence people if they have quit listening to her. That will not change in Phoenix. My previous comments stand--I think they are very fair to Terrina.
I only wish the best for her.

The post above was mine.

Re-read what I said. "On behalf of the parents who care about ALL of GC's children." Obviously, you are not one of "the" parents who care about ALL of GC's children, but perhaps just one parent who only cares about their own.

I do believe that unfortunately in GC, there is an attitude of selfishness when it comes to the kids. We only want to help the kids that are at our school or the ones we personally know and love. What separates Terrina from most, is that she isn't selfish when it comes to our kids and I believe that she doesn't pick and choose the kids that she chooses to help, but rather, they end up picking her and when everyone else has turned their backs, she reaches her hand out to help them.

The saddest part is that I would bet that Terrina has even helped your own child (if not directly, then indirectly) at one time or another, and you just don't even know it. How sad for you that you are unable to see that. I feel sorry for you.

Parent: I think that you have stated your concerns appropriately and that you even did it with a certain amount of integrity and I applaud that.

My post was not directed at your comments. However, I will say that I do not believe that Terrina did anything wrong by stating "southern way." Truth: That is the "southern way" of making things look nice instead of being nice. I bet that there is research somewhere to back that up, just like there are certain things that northerners say or do or act. It is just the way that it is (whether it is right or wrong).

I do not believe that it was meant to insult anyone here. There are lots of southern "ways", and I think it would be inappropriate to accept some (the ones that look favorable on us) without recognizing the others. Lots of people in this town are still very stuck on southern traditions and the way things are done in the south, and what is said and what is done, and I believe that was what was meant.

Parent: I think that you have stated your concerns appropriately and that you even did it with a certain amount of integrity and I applaud that.

My post was not directed at your comments. However, I will say that I do not believe that Terrina did anything wrong by stating "southern way." Truth: That is the "southern way" of making things look nice instead of being nice. I bet that there is research somewhere to back that up, just like there are certain things that northerners say or do or act. It is just the way that it is (whether it is right or wrong).

I do not believe that it was meant to insult anyone here. There are lots of southern "ways", and I think it would be inappropriate to accept some (the ones that look favorable on us) without recognizing the others. Lots of people in this town are still very stuck on southern traditions and the way things are done in the south, and what is said and what is done, and I believe that was what was meant.

Terrina's comment about "the southern way" was intended to be mean and she even said it herself. Why do that? Whats the point in that? Is she helping my child in saying that?

Stop sugar coating her spiteful remarks because its not our fault that she has to leave this great place. I am from the North but I love this place and I am very proud of it. My children are receiving a great education here and they are not even in the best of the best segregated schools that Terrina's kids go to.

Many, many , many people would take Guilford county over Pheonix ANY DAY!

If you think your children are receiving a "great education" here, you are delusional. Guilford County has so much work to do it is not even funny.

Response,

I hear what you are saying and I certainly appreciate your civility. However, just for debate purposes, Terrina could have said this:

"Let's not try to make things "look nice" instead of being nice. And what about the business community spending $500,000.00 on a positive PR campaign for GCS instead of investing in teachers or infrastructure??? Is that "looking good" over "being good" in action????"

If she had insulted anyone, it would have been on the substance and not the delivery. And that substance is what is worth arguing about. Needlessly insulting people on the delivery is unecessary and, more importantly, counter-productive.

It doesn't really matter what Terrina said or meant. She is leaving Guilford County and only she knows what she meant, why she said it and her true intentions in working in our schools. It does seem easier to help in other schools when your school is one of the whitest and wealthiest in the county. NIMBY. I think this strand has spent too much time on Terrina now. I wish her well wherever she goes.

Many of us parents know that unfavorable incidences with children in Guilford County Schools has been covered up for a long time. It would not look good to outsiders. Like someone else blogged "are you going to tattle on yourself".

One solution is to vote for the jail bond so we will have more room to house gang members. We need to make more room in the jails, not in the classrooom for members of society who refuse to obey the law.

Anon,

What are you comparing Guilford County too? I am orginally from Boston and regularly visit. As I said I lived in Pheonix before here.

What is your reference?

I agree that there are many problems here but I believe that it is possible to get a good Education if your kids are willing to stretch themselves.

In fact there are a lot of opportunities for smart kids. Its the poor children that need moew help.

I agree. This strand is etting boring, its spending to much time pandering on those looking for attention.