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GCS News Briefs
August 7, 2009 ABC Results Show Improvement for GCSABC results released yesterday by GCS show that 10 of the district’s schools are 2009 Honor Schools of Excellence, the highest level a school can obtain on the ABCs, compared to only one school being named in 2008. At these schools, 90 percent or more of students scored at or above grade level, made expected or high growth and met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). ABC results are the state’s accountability system for measuring the academic achievement of individual schools. Within GCS, about 75 percent of schools made expected growth. The average performance composite for GCS was up to 66.5 percent compared to only 60 percent in 2008. The performance composite is the percentage of students’ scores at or above grade level on all end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. GCS also had an increase in the number of Schools of Distinction, from 14 last year to 17 this year. Schools in this category had 80-89 percent of students score at or above grade level. Ten GCS schools did fall in the ABCs low-performing category; last year, there were nine. “Now that we have gathered data from ABC and AYP results, we can see that our schools did make significant improvement over the past year,” said Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green. “Teachers and staff are moving our students in the right direction. We look forward to seeing this progress continue over the next few years.” Compared to the other six large school districts in the state, on ABCs, GCS had the fourth highest average performance composite. When looking at AYP, GCS had the second-highest percentage of schools that made AYP in 2009. The difference could be attributed to the way the measures are calculated. ABCs measure growth – the change in academic achievement for students from one year to the next. AYP measures proficiency goals met by schools in all subgroups of students. Since the reports measure achievement differently, it is possible for a school to have high growth on ABCs and not make AYP. “As a district, it is good for us to examine both ABCs and AYP,” said Green. “Looking at both allows us to celebrate the amount of growth our students have experienced during the past year while also making sure we are working to increase academic achievement levels for all students and to eliminate academic achievement gaps.” For school-by-school results and for more information, click here. For more information, please contact Haley Miller, media relations manager, at 370-3200. Regional Offices OpenGCS regional offices are officially open. As part of our plan to improve respectful and responsive service district-wide, our regional offices will serve as “one-stop shops” for employees, parents and community members to get information about GCS and our schools, including academics, discipline, transportation, facilities, finance, technology, health and safety, and some elements of exceptional children services. You may learn more about each of our offices by visiting www.gcsnc.com or tuning in to GCSTV 2.
Please note: student assignment is still located at the Franklin Boulevard building; however, the department is located on the ground floor, which is accessible from the side parking lot. For information, call 370-8303. Tax Free WeekendThis weekend is the North Carolina Tax Free weekend – a great time to stock up on school supplies for your children and for GCS students who may need a little extra help in getting the tools they need to go back to school. Several area school supply drives are well underway.
Supplies collected from these district-wide drives will help stock the Teacher Supply Warehouse (TSW), which provides teachers with free supplies for their students. The only payment teachers make is a thank-you letter to one of the donors. The TSW is a partnership of GCS, Guilford Education Alliance and Welfare Reform Liaison Project. Click here for a list of commonly needed school supplies. Check with your child’s school for a more detailed list. School Choice Deadline for Title I Parents Is August 17GCS is notifying parents at some Title I schools of upcoming deadlines for public school choice. District schools that must offer opt-out options under the No Child Left Behind Act have mailed letters to parents detailing the choices they have for their students. In the midst of great achievements for Title I schools in 2008-09, some schools are still under sanctions for not meeting target goals for student growth, according to preliminary Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results. The parents of students who attend the 18 schools that must offer school choice for the 2009-10 year have the option to transfer their child to another school or stay and participate in the school improvement process. Parents who opt to transfer their child should submit Request for Reassignment and Request for Transportation forms to the Student Assignment Office by August 17 at 5 p.m. in order for bus transportation to be available on the first day of school. Letters sent last week included information about the schools that have been identified as opt-out options so parents can decide what school is best for their child. Town hall meetings will be held for parents as well. The district’s Title I schools had many successes in 2008-09 on End-of-Grade tests, End-of-Course tests and AYP. Of the 25 schools under sanctions, 19 made AYP in one or both reading/language arts or math. Two Title I schools, Alderman Elementary and Archer Elementary, made AYP and exited sanctions. Many more schools left the watch list or stayed in a holding pattern that may allow them to exit sanctions next year. Under federal law, Title I schools that do not make AYP in the same subject for three years must offer the option for students to transfer to another school chosen as an opt-out option. Opt-out options are chosen by GCS based on criteria including proximity, available capacity and transportation routing. Other Title I schools in improvement, Title I schools on the watch list and magnet schools cannot be opt-out options. For more information, please contact Kelly Hales, director of Title I, at 370-2368. Changes to “Plan B” for Oak Ridge ElementaryAfter having an industrial hygienist conduct an assessment of Oak Ridge Military Academy (ORMA), GCS has made adjustments to the “Plan B” for Oak Ridge Elementary. Rather than house grades 2-5 at ORMA, the district will house grades 2-3 at ORMA and use existing mobile classrooms on the Northwest Middle and High School campus to house grades 4-5. Pre-kindergarten students will remain at Pearce Elementary. Kindergarten and first grade students will remain at Colfax Elementary. The hygienist also conducted an assessment of the mobile units at Colfax. Although mold contamination was found on the HVAC diffusers of one of the mobile classrooms, the mold will be removed with a HEPA vacuum. As reported earlier this summer, Oak Ridge is not opening in the fall to students until work on the HVAC system and other initial recommendations from the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH) are completed. GCS officials hope to have the work completed at Oak Ridge Elementary by the end of October, although the scope and timeline could change based on NIOSH’s final report and any issues discovered while recalibrating the HVAC system and taking other corrective action at the school. NIOSH and Turner have recommended removing the rest of the carpet, re-commissioning the HVAC system, adjusting moisture levels, installing a vapor barrier in the crawl space under the old building and removing any mold or mildew discovered during this process. At this point in time, Turner has not recommended cleaning the ductwork, saying that the money would be better spent on re-commissioning the HVAC system. For more information about the preliminary reports from NIOSH and Turner, click here. Attention Physical Education TeachersThe Western County Regional Physical Education (PE) workshop is on August 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Shadybrook Elementary. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Members of the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NCAAHPERD) pay $12, and non-members pay $32. Beth Edwards, North Carolina National Board Certification Program Coordinator from the Department of Public Instruction, will present a session at 12:30 p.m. For more information, contact Nancy Abel, PE adapted teacher, at 259-7457 or abeln@gcsnc.com, or Linda Hinkle, PE teacher at Shadybrook, at hinklel@gcsnc.com. Extended-Year Schools Opened WednesdayBrooks Global Studies and Johnson Street Global Studies began the new school year Wednesday. Both schools are on an extended-year calendar for GCS. Brooks serves kindergarten through fifth grade and Johnson Street serves kindergarten through eighth grade. Both Brooks and Johnson Street are magnet schools that follow a global studies theme. In addition to the curriculum followed by all schools, the global studies magnets study additional countries at each grade level. Natives of other countries are regular guests at the schools for assemblies and classroom visits. Extended-year schools have a 200-day calendar, which means students go to school an extra 20 days or four additional weeks. By fifth grade, students at Brooks and Johnson Street have attended school 120 more days than students in other schools. By eighth grade at Johnson Street, students have attended about 180 days – a full school year – more than students on traditional calendars. Both principals were very excited to have students returning to the schools. They agreed that the extra days students have on the extended-year calendar make an impact on learning. Principal Charles Foust shared that Brooks had almost perfect attendance on the first day. Out of the whole school, only one student was absent. For more information, please contact Trent Vernon, principal at Johnson Street, at 819-2900, or Charles Foust, principal at Brooks, at 370-8228. GCS Completes Athletic Investigation at Northern HighSeven student-athletes at Northern High were declared ineligible Monday by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). GCS officials completed their investigation into athletic eligibility issues at the school late last week and reported their findings to the NCHSAA. The athletes participated in varsity football, junior varsity football, varsity men’s swimming, varsity and junior varsity baseball, and men’s track. In each sport except varsity and junior varsity baseball, school officials applied appropriate or “reasonable scrutiny” in determining the students’ athletic eligibility, the NCHSAA found. As a result, the junior varsity team must pay a $500 fine and forfeit any games in which the athlete dressed out. That fine was reduced to $250 for self-reporting. Since the varsity baseball team had already forfeited its season due to an earlier eligibility violation, the team was not punished further. According to the NCHSAA, entire teams are punished only if school officials – principals, coaches and athletic directors – violate the rules or fail to provide a “reasonable” amount of oversight and due diligence in determining a student’s athletic eligibility. If student-athletes or their parents/legal guardians violate the rules, the student-athletes are penalized by having their athletic eligibility revoked for 365 days. They also have to return any medals, points or awards. In total, 12 student-athletes in 10 sports at Northern have been found ineligible since the probe by the district began last fall. Last year, 653 student-athletes competed on 37 teams at Northern. The entire school was placed on probation in the spring by the NCHSAA for a one-year period, which means Northern teams may still compete but will be monitored closely by the organization for the 2009-10 school year. The findings released Monday are considered part of the original investigation and do not affect the length of the probationary period. Principal Will Laine, who moved from Kernodle Middle to Northern this year, has named a new athletic director, Ronnie Hayes, and has appointed several new coaches. The coaches and their respective sports include: Ryan Freeman, varsity men’s basketball; Chris Shaffer and Donald Ciaravino, assistant coaches for varsity football; Stacey Corne, assistant cheerleading coach; and Cindy Jones, assistant softball coach. To strengthen oversight regarding athletic eligibility district-wide, GCS is beefing up its policies, strengthening its training for coaches, athletic directors and principals, and launching a new awareness campaign that stresses the importance of honesty, integrity and character development in sports. “Our athletic programs must be above reproach, especially if we want sports to serve as character-building experiences for our students,” said Maurice “Mo” Green, superintendent. “Students need to learn that demonstrating good character and sportsmanship are just as important as winning, if not more so.” For more information, please contact Haley Miller, media relations manager, at 370-3200. Patio for Adaptive P.E. Donated to Gateway Education CenterGCS has a friend in Jason McMasters and a new concrete patio to use for adaptive physical education classes. The concrete was poured Tuesday at Gateway Education Center to complete the summer project in time for students to return to school. As the district faced budget cuts, McMasters stepped forward to donate his time and organize the repaving of the concrete patio, which had been in disrepair for some time. The concrete was worn and cracked, making it difficult for teachers to take students with disabilities outside for physical therapy and practice using wheelchairs. H.J. McMasters and Associates, along with several other area businesses, donated labor and supplies free of charge to the district for the complete replacement of the patio. Chandler Concrete, Carolina Tractor, Weldon Clodfelter Concrete, Guaranteed Supply and Rodger Martin’s Hauling contributed to the project. Principal Linda Lyon said she is thankful for the support McMasters and others in the community have shown to the school. “I can’t begin to describe the difference this will make for Gateway students.” For more information, please contact Ms. Lyon at 375-2575. Free Math Add-On License for Qualifying Elementary Teachers and Curriculum CoachesGCS is one of only two districts selected to be a part of a new program which will help 22 qualifying elementary teachers and curriculum coaches to obtain an elementary math add-on license. Sponsored by the UNC General Administration in partnership with East Carolina University, UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State University, UNC Charlotte and NC State; faculty will participate in six graduate level math courses over the next two years. Through grant funding, all related tuition and textbook expenses will be covered. Graduates of the program will be able to apply coursework towards a master’s degree in education. To apply to participate, send a resume and cover letter stating how you believe you will benefit from this opportunity to Dr. Amy Holcombe, executive director of talent development, holcoma@gcsnc.com, no later than Friday, August 14 at 5 p.m. For more information on this program, please contact Dr. Holcombe at 335-3294. Principal of the Year - UpdateThe GCS Principal of the Year Committee will soon begin reviewing the portfolios submitted by the thirteen principal nominees. The top eight principals will move onto the interview round which will be held on September 8 and 9. Five finalists will be selected based on a combination of both the portfolio and interview scores. The winner will be announced in late September. This year’s Principal of the Year committee members include: Dr. Beth Folger, Rodney Morgan, Dr. LaToy Kennedy, Dr. Barbara Zwadyk and Toni Jones. Congratulations to the following principal nominees who submitted portfolios to compete for the award: Anna Brady – Grimsley High For more information, please contact Carla Alphin, program administrator for employee relations, at 378-8821 or alphinc@gcsnc.com. The Latest News from GCSGCS Newsbreak GCSTV 2 - Now streaming live on www.gcsnc.com Also on GCSTV 2:Tdap Alert – Vaccinations Required to Attend School:GCSTV 2 NEWS ALERT-Tdap at 10 a.m., 11:16 a.m., and 7 p.m. New Rules for Kindergarten:Kindergarten Kickoff Newsbreak Video GCSTV 2 Programming GuideFind out what else is showing on GCSTV 2 here: GCSTV 2 Programming Guide Showcase Your Talent on GCSTV 2GCSTV 2 is now accepting student, faculty, staff or parent produced programming. See the Details for submissions here or Watch the video. GCSTV 2 & ABC-45GCS continues its partnership with ABC-45 television to share current news and feature stories about our district. These Newsbreak segments are broadcast on ABC-45 (Cable Channel 7) during Good Morning America each Wednesday and Friday at 7:25 a.m. and 8:25 a.m. For more information, please contact Leonard Simpson, GCSTV 2 production manager, at 370-8167. |
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