News-Record.com

I don't have in faith in their numbers - they find creative ways to "cook the books"

We had also, Mo followed request of Sate to wait until today to release.

Typo - Sate SB State

Garth,

So I was both lied to and the central office withheld public information?

Do you condone this type of behavior?

Brian, Brian, Brian....get used to this. Guilford county is a master at concealing the real facts and figures because they have hired people, who have hired more people to deal strickly with contorting numbers.

Hold on there, because GCS staff honored a request from DPI and were provided a heads up so as to enable them to answer your questions intelligently is not a lack of transparency. I might be the biggest critic of the historic lack of transparency, but in this case Mo honored legitimate request and Board did not have access until after 3:00 PM yesterday along with the caveat that DPI embargoed the release.

It took me over an hour of modeling to be comfortable with the information in the data and I do it for a living and was only interested in answering 2 questions for myself. YES, you were told a false hood, but whoever answered you might not have had access to “embargoed” (State Term) information. If they intentionally lied, a Public Apology and true repentance is your just reward, were it honest don’t impeach your contact, go for DPI, things are much better so far with Mo. Iif you were intentionally lied to, well roast-em well for me, a roasted fanny does improve cognitive function in some.

My post on the Chalkboard was not meant as a condemnation at all, quite the opposite, when you are given something on condition of imminent release and honor it there is nothing wrong. If the person you asked told you they did not have it and they knew we did they should have told you the COMPLETE TRUTH but honored the request not to disseminate.

Transparency, anyone following my post knows I will push the envelope in my desire that the public has access to information. I recognize the DPI request for what it was and question Dr. Gorman’s breach of protocol and privilege, I had thought better of him. If you were lied to (intentionally mislead) by staff by all means roast them! If it was oversight, compliment them, the drop out rate in GCS is something to be impressed with and while it increased slightly I know how much Terry worked last year to finagle rate last year, Mo has not. Apples to Apples, call it a draw in my book and we are the lowest urban district in the state using NCDPI’s bogus methodology. Mo did as asked by DPI and public can judge the way it was handled. I do not condone the intentional deception if it was there, I hope either way it is a learning experience for those involved.

Simply put, the truth was what you deserved (ie: “we have the information but have been asked not to disseminate until tomorrow”), not the information delivered by GCS staff contrary quid pro quo request by DPI, a few hours would not have hurt public interest and might have served it better. Yes, my comments are open for rebuke and I welcome the experience.

Garth

I must object most vehemently.

State law does not make exceptions for embargoes. The obligation to follow the law (i.e., hand over the documents) supersedes the request from DPI.

In other words, DPI does not trump state law.

I hear that a New York school has decided to name one its schools after our President.

Isnt something that we should consider for that for GC?

Obama Elementary,
Obama Middle,
Obama High School.

Maybe some of the struggling kids will get inspired!

I want to know exactlly how they get this percentage. I know my son's freshman class had
300 in it only 119 graduated 4 years later......
Is this some sort of new math?

"Hold on there, because GCS staff honored a request from DPI and were provided a heads up so as to enable them to answer your questions intelligently is not a lack of transparency." -- Garth

Garth is wrong and Margaret Banks is right. Any information that would otherwise be public cannot be withheld because of an "embargo" no matter who "embargoes" it. Nor can information be withheld so that parties have time to properly "parse" it. If an agency has it, they must release it. It either is or is not a public record on its face, it does not become a public record upon the expiration of an embargo or upon approval of some bureaucrat.

Garth would do well to acquaint himself with public records laws in this state. The reasons he offers for the delay have him defending violations of state law.

Who cares?

The Drop out rate is 3 plus percent. The graduation rate is 79%.

Seventeen percent of the kids are hiding in the rest rooms.at graduation time.

No sane individual can deal with the absurdity of the numbers. generation methods. There is no question that well over the so called 3 plus percent "never" graduate.

Mark Twain/Disraeli
There are "lies,damn lies, and statistics"

Roch101 – I am wrong! Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate, the good friar must have cut himself often, the razor, it is sharp.

David, what he should have said was, "there are liars, damn liars and Polysticians...

David,

Who is served by misleading the public into the concept that 3.3 percent of our kids drop out of High School? It is nothing more than self serving dribble by a bunch of political hacks serving nonsense to other political hacks desiring to be mislead into thinking things are not that bad.

There are a million variables and excuses you can use and methods you can justify, the one I use for guess work is simple…how many 8th graders in 2008, how many diplomas did we issue in 2008, difference divided by 8th graders is % drop out. It is only a quick and dirty and I know it’s fallacies but it does give a general feel for the problem.

Garth

Absolutely.

Read my comment on the editors log.

Also

"t is nothing more than self serving dribble by a bunch of political hacks serving nonsense to other political hacks desiring to be mislead into thinking things are not that bad"

A good deal of it however is also( our dribble) administrators/board members in our school system playing numbers games for appearance and presentation.

The sickest thing I read on this was the comment from Alan Duncan.

"School board Chairman Alan Duncan echoed the sentiment of several board members, saying while the increase is disappointing, the fact that the rate remains low shows a commitment to the issue.

“We won’t rest until we don’t have dropouts,” Duncan said".

To me that just shows that this man is just not to be trusted! Lies, lies and more lies!

I have said before that there should be no secrets between school boards (or any other public body) and the public. I don't know what transpired between Brian and GCS with regard to his request but if he asked for the dropout information and and GCS had the numbers they should have been provided them.

I have also said that GCS and the board have a public relations problem caused by what a lot of folks see as an unwillingness to be more open, and the opaque quality of the information that sometimes is provided, i.e., we have a 3% drop out rate but only 79% of students graduate within 4 years. This sort of information does not, at first glance, pass scrutiny and it does sometimes appear that the numbers are being manipulated to put schools in the best light possible. This is why a free and impartial press is so important.

Having said this, I think too often the N&O is more a cheerleader for the schools (afraid that criticism of the schools will undermine public support for them) than an objective watchdog. Garth is doing a great job trying to keep up with the numbers and analyzing the data to the extent it is provided to him, but there is no substitute for voters and a media who demand honesty from elected officials.

Believe me folks, I have learned during the past two months that it is a lot harder to sit up at that dias with the school board than it appears from down below. For myself, I am increasingly aware of my own short-comings. I hope that when I do make a mistake (and there will be mistakes) that I will have the courage to do what I tried to do before entering public life and own up to them.

Paul Daniels

Paul, Its precisely because of the comment above yours that its difficult to change things.

Alan Duncan runs the show. He manipulates everything.

Mr. Daniels

"public relations problem"

You’re Close.

Actually we have an education problem that we try
to cover over with public relations.

For instance the new Strategic Plan

“The GCS Continuous Improvement Process Model

In GCS, we are striving to reach a state of excellence,
one characterized by outstanding achievement and
high performance at every level in the organization.
As part of this strategic plan, GCS is putting a new
process in place, one that focuses on continuous
improvement. The goal is to be better tomorrow
than we are today.
The GCS Continuous Improvement Process Model
The graphic on this page depicts the continuous
improvement process model GCS will use during the
next three years to ensure the district implements
the strategies outlined in this plan. The model
requires the district to set goals (PLAN), develop and
implement strategies toward meeting those goals
(DO), monitor the district’s progress toward meeting
the goals (CHECK), and adjust plans as necessary if
progress is not being made (ACT).
The cycle of continuous
improvement will be
managed by a cross-section
of district staff whose
primary responsibility
will be to ensure that
implementation strategies
are executed as planned.
When barriers or impediments
exist and progress toward successful completion
is at risk, the Strategic Plan Monitoring and
Accountability Committee (SPAC) will have the
responsibility to provide resources and direction
to staff that will enable the task to be achieved on
time and within budgeted resources. SPAC also will
clarify organizational priorities and timelines when
resources and initiatives overlap.

GCS Strategic Plan Monitoring & Accountability
Committee (SPAC)”

Back as early as 2002 they had their “Process Management System”
Complete with “Continual/Continuous Improvement” “Plan Do Check Act, Their own version of “SPAC called MRT (Management Revue Committee)” Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on it. Got a” prestigious certification/accreditation” Lost it, gave up and never again mentioned it to us.

Until Now.

Along comes Ms Carr the organizational GURU with the same flowerily words from her organizational GURU Bible. Quite simply she is a feather merchant. Albeit a bright one.
Wall Street is full of them.

Mr Daniels Mr. Garth:

What your system does is present the story and calculate the numbers in different ways to best accomplish their agenda/scheme and give different audiences a different picture
Not lies just cleverly construed to be different.

Now this group talks about building character in the students. Hardly the role models to emulate.

When one points it out they see nothing wrong.
In fact they get very upset with the messenger.

Give me your E_mails and I will give you some
details..
Blog readers don't care any more they are numb.
Bet you're not really interested

I'm very cynical.

David:

I am always interested. I took this job because I believe we can (and must do better). I hope that you will find that I am very much results oriented.

You are right, we have had these seemingly intractible problems in education that have festered for years with no solution in sight. People have justification to be cynical about public education for this reason. What we need is bold leadership - a willingness to do what MUST be done to do resolve these problems, i.e. the so-called "achievement gap", etc. (As I have said from day one, to fix our schools we must demand more not only of our teachers, board members, administrators, etc., but also of parents and students. Parents must understand that what happens at home affects what happens at school; they must instill values in their children and let them know that they must work hard at school, do their homework, etc., and children must put forth maximum effort once they get to school, and as Mo has said, treat school as if it were their job. Unfortunately, there are some who believe that the reason that students don't do their homework, are disruptive in class, assault teachers, etc. is the schools' fault. We have our work to do, but we need to spread the word that we can't get the job done without parents and students doing their part.)

I believe bringing Mo in was a good idea; he is a non-traditional educator and is not weighed down with a lot of the baggage that often comes with being a traditional educator. He is focused on results and I am rooting for him to succeed.

If you have ideas about how we can get were we need to go or anything else you would like to communicate to me, my email address is: danielp2@gcsnc.com. If you need additional contact information go to the GCS website and click on the the picture of the good looking bald guy on the board of education and it will take you to more information.

Best regards,

Paul Daniels

Mr Daniels.

Yes I will get back to you.

This is Crap.

“The GCS Continuous Improvement Process Model"

"GCS Strategic Plan Monitoring & Accountability
Committee (SPAC)”

It's strictly from the feather merchants make believe quality seminar. bible.

Lots of presentation i.e. the Summer Mathematica's Institute and the Parants University

Fancy names don't make it so.

The math institute teaches high school math.
I bet the University will give the parents a degree.

The System would do well to get the administrators
( from principal up ) more into directing and leading education as opposed to managing their careers.

I will send you info.

It is worse then we thought.

From School WEB page:

“GCS’ high school dropout rate has declined almost 50 percent since the 1999-2000 year, when it was 5.97 percent. The district is a state and national leader in the middle college high school movement, locating six middle college high schools for disconnected students on local college and university campuses. The schools form the foundation of “Zero Guilford,” the district’s national award-winning dropout prevention and recovery program”

I was wrong about our Graduation rates.
They are not 79%

From DPI:

2006 4-Year Cohort Graduation Rates by LEA
February 28, 2007

Attachment 3 GCS5
Guilford County Schools 63.5%
Wake County Schools 82.6%
Mecklenburg County Schools 74.6%

The state average is 68%

What credibility do these people ( GCS ) have

They could all work on wall street..

Something does not add up.

Best drop out rates worst graduation rates.
And we employ a statistician

Smoke and mirrors.
Ms Carr can spin it.

The problem with any of these wonderful methods is that they all have serious flaws. Both Wake and Meck have large transient populations that skew these numbers more positive that Guilford that doesn’t have that large transient population giving us more accurate numbers.

So where do we go now? Apples to apples, in my dreams. Posting great accomplishments by anyone on these numbers…al PR. I have to deal with reality and when information is as hard to get as it is, good luck. This is not a criticism of Mo and Co, they have had no influence at all. It is nothing but admission that info gathering is hard to do in this case as national privacy kills data tracking and anything that makes you look good appears to be fair game when you have to justify your existence. Again, see my 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 post.

David, the numbers you quote have just as much misinformation as the numbers GCS posted, all lack veracity on some major point.

Mr. Daniels like our other new Board members is feeling the shock of tons of information in a strange setting trying to get a handle on prioritizing an ocean. The job is not for the faint of heart and looks much easier the less you know. The issues are very real, special interests are many and deep and if you have the heart to care knowing the results of your decisions can be quite painful.

One of the greatest things I have witnessed since I have been on the Board has been Amos Quick’s real influence and accomplishments in not only the perspectives’ of students at Dudley, but the very real accomplishments of the students. Could we bottle it and export it to other schools it would really turn around our perspective in education.

"David, the numbers you quote have just as much misinformation as the numbers GCS posted, all lack veracity on some major point."

I agree. However my system keeps posting the ones that make them appear good. You have made my point exactly. We are dealing with Smoke and mirrors.
and we mow have a Chief of Staff that is a professional PR person.

"Mr. Daniels like our other new Board members is feeling the shock of tons of information in a strange setting trying to get a handle on prioritizing an
ocean. The job is not for the faint of heart and looks much easier the less you know" ( I think you just called me or Mr Daniels stupid )

Sounds like you're lost.

I expect they can speak for themselves. No?

What is this all about.

"The job is not for the faint of heart and looks much easier the less you know."
"Faint Hearted" this is not a Shakespearian tragedy
Come on you're on the school board not the front lines. You know what Harry Truman said about the heat.
.
Simply put our system games the numbers.
And PR is paramount.

"Complete with “Continual/Continuous Improvement” “Plan Do Check Act"
Come on.

As I said
"And we employ a statistician"

"The System would do well to get the administrators
( from principal up ) more into directing and leading education as opposed to managing their careers"

Smith was in the best 1000 schools in America (Newsweek) Think about that.Best 1000 in America.

The fictitious "prestigious awards" and numbers are how they manage their careers.

The School "report cards" speak for themselves.

Go through them one at at time and look at the proficiency levels.

We are turning out many kids that are simply illiterate.

We make a 2% improvement in AYP and get all excited.

They can't read they can't write and if you take away their calculators they can't make change.
Hell forget the tattoos, body piercings and green hair
SMOD will handle that

Obviously not all but too many.

We keep celebrating our successes.
Trying to maintain self esteem.

The kids that qualify really qualify for AP courses will do just fine.

The rest better hope to win American Idol.

All I want them to say is overall we suck.
But we are going to fix it. If they keep telling us how great they are doing they never will.

Your an accountant. What we are doing is the equivalent of going out of business on a budget

I'm not interested in the Hubert Humphrey Award.
"Most Improved" For God sakes look at their "report card"
It is BS.. Smith does not deserve an award yet.

Maybe some day but not yet.

.

All I know is what I see.....

Their were 300 kids in my son's 9th grade class....
At the beginning of his senior year their were 135
119 walked the stage........

My other child now tells me of students that made 7 F's last year and may graduate in June.............

Please tell me that no administrator is now capapble of giving a diploma to a student with 7 F's.......

This makes high school diplomas worthless pieces of paper.

David:

Anyone in the debate is not stupid and I would not imply such as I am sure Mr. Daniels is aware. As for PR, again my own criticism is hard to outdo, but you are giving it the good ole college try. It is hard to note change in a school system overnight, like an aircraft carrier the turning radius is measured in miles and takes time to observe, sometimes the best indicators are those that you can observe and that make sense like turning the wheel at the helm, you know it has been done, now you have to watch for the subtle signs the turn has begun.

Just because it has begun to turn, I am still trying to make sure it doesn’t stop. If you doubt my veracity, my kids future is on the line and that is saying something.

RE: Parent said:
I cannot comment on specifics, but can say that you cannot graduate without meeting state minimum requirements. Sometimes kids rumors are a touch misleading, but it is possible to overcome with make-up work and testing. Not easy, but possible.

Also take note, most States use a 10 point grading scale like our universities, in NC we use a 7 point scale which makes a 70 an F where it is a C in most other states. This can be discouraging to many “average students” and could contribute to our “drop-out” rate. Miss 1 question on a 5 question quiz and you have a C, 1 on a 10 question quiz is a B. A lot of drivers on the road today wouldn’t be using this scale, but that might be a good thing. In North Carolina a 70 average and you fail High School, most other states and you are “average”. How many kids with 70’s give up and leave school branded as failure when in other states they would be considered average?

No, I do not buy the argument that our schools are better or tougher, far from it, we have a long ways to go, but as a motivational factor for normal kids our grading scale may be a serious impediment.

Garth,

Dont waste your breath with this guy.

Anonymous!

That says it all doesn't it

"I cannot comment on specifics, but can say that you cannot graduate without meeting state minimum requirements. Sometimes kids rumors are a touch misleading, but it is possible to overcome with make-up work and testing. Not easy, but possible"

Thats meaning less.

Other than the courses like Algebra 1 that you must pass a state test the teacher can pass anyone.

If you are really interested in what can graduate I suggest.

1) Talk to the GTCC Developmental Division. The majority of kids coming from high school must take developmental ( remedial ) math and English. For some the math is actually arithmetic.

2) Check with the regional NC state universities. Many require remedial courses at the start.

Just looking at the school report cards should make it obvious

It is appalling. That is simply a fact.

Now look at courses like Physics/Chemistry.
They do good why. They are harder. Because only the brightest kids take them.

Now were talking about at grade level not excelling.

Sorry, when I referred to specifics I was referring to specific kids. Also I know what it takes to get into GTCC and other institutions, mostly a DESIRE TO LEARN. I am appalled at how poorly most kids today are prepared for rigorous academics.

Four years of engineering taught me a bit about hard core science and math, Five years of accounting taught me about business and organization, seventeen years as a parent has taught me a bit about life and teaching, two years on a school board has taught me how messed up society is and how difficult managing the learning and development of 70,000 children is when half of them are living in close to poverty conditions.

Yes, I believe our current system is seriously lacking, yes I despise malicious use of statistics, yes I hate the cover-up of the classroom conditions (violence and misbehavior). That said, I am looking for solutions, under rock, in corners, wherever I can find them. Having said that I must and do walk the fine line of being critic, leader and motivator. Motivation I believe is the most key ingredient to all of the above and much more and being critic without providing opportunity for achievement is only being irresponsible. Solutions must be found, lamenting is all that happens when hope is lost.

I have great hopes and am not so entrenched in my own preconceptions and desires that I cannot see from another pair of glasses. When the Emperor admits he is naked, then he will get dressed. Providing him with quality clothing is our responsibility as well as getting him to admit his error and redress it.

It is not just Guilford County students that need remediation in college, it is a national epidemic. We have just institutionalized it as many “remedial” classes at our universities (nationwide) are now renamed freshman skills or other linguistically challenged PC fodder. There must be an admission by the educational leaders in NC that we must openly and honestly evaluate our State Educational System against a national benchmark, not our own self directed, mismanaged method of self deception.

NCDPI (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction) has become an Orwellian nightmare perpetuated by the belief that big brother knows best because the populous supports them and there is no other organization better managed or more capable. (time for Aspirin and Tylenol)

We are not looking for solutions,
Just manipulating numbers.

Look at the backgrounds of most high school principals.

Phys Ed and Social Science in education.

Hardly people of letters.

Other than perhaps a foreign language a principal if pressed into action ought to be able to teach just
about any non AP course in high school with a little advanced warning. Certainly all the first and second year courses.

What engineering did you study where.

Dave, What do you think this is Guantanamo bay?

Give the guy a break.

I'm Just curious.

He is a politician and he choose to enter the Blog

I have been very civil.

Which Anonymous are you?

What does where Garth studied Engineering and what Engineering did he study have to do with this blog?

If you are so curious, why don't you hire a PI or just google him.

I voted for Garth. I support Garth and I trust Garth, not like some of the other BOE members.

Incidently, have you heard about the other School Board in High Point? It has a past school board member on an educational committee, a wanna-be school board member who lost the election and some other familiar names in High Point business (oops) education.
They put Mo on the committee too. The reason for the committee (see last week's Rhino) is to help communication between the BOE and the commissioners. Someone said now we have the "real" school board and the "fake" school board.

Does anyone know who picked the members for the High Point Committee?

How do we know you are the "real" David Collins? Which one are you? The David C from Greensboro, High Point, Raleigh, or Asheville? Where did you go to school? What was your major? What is your background and your qualifications on education? Do you want to run for school board in the next election?

G racious

A rticulate, accountable

R eliable

T ransparent

H ardworking

We hope you run again but can't blame you if you don't.

David,

I would not class Garth as a Politician.

He was a concerned parent who was sick of the school Board screwing with his kids and his friends kids who stood up and got counted!

Garth:

Well said (your last post).

Best regards,

Paul Daniels

First of all

!) I am not upset with Garth personally.

2) He brought up his credentials not me. I am just curious. I voted for him also.

3) I did not I repeat not question his veracity.( Look up the word) Yes he is in politics, That goes with asking for votes. I trust him I just don't always think he is on the right issues with the right methods.

3)Again Anonymous says it all. Garth uses his name

For Autonomous

Electrical Engineering ( actually graduated but it was close )

Georgia Tech ( no outstanding awards )

From working class blue collar family that paid every dime of it with money earned from their sweat

I have actually taught math. ( Albeit only high
school level) too young people

Many years in Industry and space program projects.
Made it all the way to Engineering Director ( Chief Engineer ) Again no awards

Taught lots of young engineers about the profession
In the grand scope of things I'm what you call a journeyman. Which is actually a lot more than you can say for much of the American public School system.

I am not interested in being on the school board.
Not Qualified. I don't suffer from Megalomania . Howerver there are many people on it that fit that
description. Including college drop outs. they all banter about data and statistics they have no grasp of and in fact only obscure/ convolute the problem.
Others on it are simply worried about diversity and who gets the contracts. Hardly important for education that has the problems we have.

As an example I asked a principal who's school has been given a great deal of technology, if he thought it was important and necessary for educatio and why". He said "Yes" " Because we got a grant"

However as I said in an earlier post

Many Principals: "Phys Ed and Social Science in education"

Teaching requires a blackboard, chalk, a teacher that has a superior grasp of the material The desire,
personality and chemistry to connect with the kids.
And finally the most important ingredient interested kids.

Everything else is commentary

Including Drop out rates, AYP, and manipulated self esteem awards. "Smith is in the top 1000 of schools in America" We have simply thrown those kids away.

However throwing kids away has become an American Tradition.

Mr Garth you comparison to Aircraft Carrier.
Someone on the board should have impressed that on Grier years ago. He made right angle turns and on a regular basis we all went along..

Mr Garth as an accountant you will appreciate this.

I once was sent over seas to fix an engineering
manufacturing operation.

Then managing Director looked at his problems
as a numbers issue.

The parent company was into "RONA" goals. The Managing Director told me they had a problem with the denominator.

I told him. " No" The problem is "we"
have a warehouse full of finished product that no one wants because it doesn't work. Note the word "we" not you. Our educators don't think that way.

Like I say it is difficult to really teach algebra to kids that can't do long division. You can get them to pass and make your numbers, That is very different than teaching/educating them

Having to teach Mission Possible math teachers algebra one in the Summer Mathematics Institute
speaks volumes.

Oh I am not David "Collins"

The thing is that Guilford County folks seem to think that this is your disease only (Por kids not getting educated)

Its not!

Its happenning all over the country and nation after nation.

Dont be so conceited.

Wooooo Looks like we hit a little nerve, David C. (not "Collins") All kidding aside, your last post was super. You have pointed out many, many truths of what public education is today.

I find it amazing that public education keeps pushing albegra for kids who don't "get it" (don't know their multiples and still counting on fingers so how in the heck can they do algebra???), don't care to "get it" and will never use it. We would to these students more justice to keep them how to add, multiply, subtact and divide without a calculator, balance a checkbook, learn how to save money and make interest (as sorry as it is these days), make a budget to feed a family, buy a car, etc.

Good post David not "Collins". Sorry for the mispelling.

"Someone on the board should have impressed that on Grier years ago. He made right turns and we all went along." David Colins

Correction: "we" did not all go along.

Now you are talking Politics. Look who paid part of Grier's compensation. Always follow the money trail.....Action Greensboro for one.

You are right about the many politician on the board, particulary when it comes to their involvement in outside contracts. The Rhino had had many stories on this, but it seems that some things never quite change.

You can't blame Grier. Remember as he always said, "I work for the pleasure of the board." (that and Action Greensboro). Notice that many of the original Grier lovers on the board have been dethroned. The times they are a changin but as you have pointed out there is still lots of work to be done.

To the anonymous who posted about being conceited (aka probably member of the BOE). Yes this goes on all over the nation in public education. I beg to differ about country after country. Japan could run circles around us in Math and other technologies. Just because this goes on all over the country, are we to give up on Guilford County. We elect the BOE who in turn hires an employee known as "the superintendent". Their feet need to be held to the fire.

One more thing...

Now how would it look to outside businesses wanting to move to Guilford County if our schools had bad numbers?? That's what they read about. GCS would rather look good than work on real problems. This is so much easier. Why do you think we have a PR person at the top and a highly paid statistician? There is no such thing as a coincidence in GCS.

You got it Uncle.

Statistician?

Actually to the best of my understanding no one has ever seen his undergraduate credentials.

Neither the school system or DPI would actually tell me they had confirmed his credential;s for statistics.

Now I just asked had "they" reviewed them. I was told both by GCS and DPI that was confidential.
Neither would confirm to me they had actually seen
them.

I have never seem him do anything but take means (fancy word for averages ) Hardly the thing of
real statistics.

Perdue will be doing away with the DPI leader soon.
She( DPI leader ) is a real educator. Vocational Education.

l styatistics.

Does anyone know which school board I am on? Did I screw up again and get on the fake Board? Maybe someone could call the county commissioners and find out for me?

David:
I burned out studying 4 years of digital circuitry and microelectronics (today it’s all called microelectronics – then a PC - Univac Jr. was as small as a VW bus) in the 70’s in San Diego and changed majors to one I thought would be less intensive (I copped out). By the way it is less intensive and I know I took the easy road, sadly what I really wanted to do was teach, but I was too greedy and didn’t want to raise a family on teachers pay. I realize I am a politician and fair game and I do offer a very big target but I am trying to reduce target size by treadmill and crystal light. If I keep it up (1 year, 10 lbs) I can hit my goal in 2014. (hint by stock in Kraft – Crystal Light)

Garth,

Rest assured you are on the Real Board. You won the election fair and square. Read last Thursday's Rhino (2/5/09) and read who is on the "Fake Board". It's like the Action Greensboro of High Point. All names will be very familiar to you. Some of these people are like the Energizer Bunnies. They just never quit. Others like to drive their cars backwards on one way road while admiring 3-D displays.

RE: Crystal Light and target.....You are too funny. I love Crystal Light. Hint: Mix Crystal Light Orange with Minute Maid Light orange drink in a carton. Pretend you are drinking real OJ. It works for me.

And who said we don't learn various thinks on the Chalkboard?

Oops meant to say "various things". Just typing a little too fast.

Mr Garh.

Thought this might interest you
Superintendents with character and ethics
Note the word winners not whiners

You want numbers GCS can supply numbers

We could be the Bernie Madof school system.
My whole country is appearance and presentation.

It does not work forever.

Look at your 401K's and real graduation rates.
Add to that graduates that simply "can't" anything

Newsweek's high school rankings ignite dissent -- from winners

“In reality, it is impossible to know which high schools are ‘the
best’ in the nation,” the letter stated. “Determining whether different schools do or don't
offer a high quality of education requires a look at many different
measures, including students' overall academic accomplishments and
their subsequent performance in college, and taking into consideration the unique
needs of their communities.

“Students and school communities deserve better than simplistic and
misleading school rankings, and that is why the signers of this letter
will not respond to your request for our A.P. or I.B. test data. We
respectfully insist that you omit our schools from your rankings, no
matter how well we score, even if you already have our data, or obtain
it in some other way.”

School Districts - Superintendents: ("Those with standards and ethics " I was told that Newsweek has dropped the rating farce ) Terry knew when the end was near.

Mo. Why not add your name to the list. Still time.
These people copied US News as well.

New York Schools:
Ardsley UFSD – Jason Friedman
Bedford CSD – Debra Jackson
Blind Brook-Rye Public Schools – Ronald D. Valenti
Brewster CSD – Jane Sandbank
Bronxville UFSD – David Quattrone
Byram Hills CSD – John Chambers
Chappaqua CSD – David Fleishman
Dobbs Ferry UFSD – Debra Kaplan
Greenburgh/North Castle UFSD – Robert Maher
Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools - Les Omotani
Katonah-Lewisboro UFSD – Robert Roelle
Mamaroneck UFSD – Paul Fried
Mt. Pleasant-Cottage School, UFSD – Norman Freimark
North Shore Schools – Ed Melnick
Ossining UFSD - Phyllis Glassman
Rye Neck UFSD – Peter Mustich
Scarsdale UFSD – Mike McGill
Spackenkill UFSD - Lois Colletta
Tuckahoe UFSD – Mike Yazurlo
Valhalla UFSD- Diane Ramos-Kelly

New Jersey Schools:
Montclair Schools - Frank Alvarez
Montgomery Schools - Sam Stewart
Tenafly Schools – Morton Sherman
Verona Public Schools – Earl Kim

Connecticut Schools:
Darien Schools – Don Fiftal
Simsbury Schools – Diane Ullman
Stonington Public Schools – Michael L. McKee
Wilton Public Schools - Gary Richards

Illinois Schools:
Decatur Public School District #61 – Gloria J. Davis
Deerfield/Highland Park Township HS District 113 – George V. Fornero
Evanston Township High School – Eric Witherspoon
Glenbrook High School District 225 - Dave Hales
Lincoln-Way High School District 210 – Lawrence A. Wylie
New Trier High School District 203 – Linda Yonke
Oak Park and River Forest High School - Attila J. Weninger

Massachusetts Schools:
Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools - Jere Hochman
Masconomet Regional School District - Claire Sheff Kohn
Wayland Schools – Gary Burton