Friday Report - April 12th, 2019 - Public School Forum

The Friday Report

April 12, 2019

Forum News

This Week on Education Matters: Expanding NC’s Teacher Pipeline

Our state’s public schools are facing critical teacher shortages and longer term teaching vacancies. At the same time, enrollment in the state’s teacher preparation programs continue to lag. In response, state leaders have been looking at ways to expand the teacher pipeline including recruiting more out-of-state teachers and adding new pathways to teaching careers. This week we talk with several education leaders who are at the center of these efforts to discuss the challenges and the most promising solutions.

Guests:

Dr. Patrick Miller, Superintendent, Greene County Schools (pictured above, right)
Dr. Aaron Fleming, Superintendent, Harnett County Schools (pictured above, left)
Dr. Anthony Graham, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Winston-Salem State University (pictured below, right)
Dr. Diana Lys, Assistant Dean for Educator Preparation and Accreditation, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education (pictured below, left)

When and Where to Watch Education Matters

Saturday at 7:30 PM, WRAL-TV (Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville)

Sunday at 8:00 AM, FOX 50 (Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville)

Sunday at 6:30 AM and Wednesday at 9:30 AM, UNC-TV’s North Carolina Channel (Statewide)

The North Carolina Channel can be found on Time Warner Cable/Spectrum Channel 1276 or check your local listings and other providers here.

Online at ncforum.local.

Education Matters is also available as a podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Overcast, and Google Play Music.

NC Legislative Updates

Senate Bill 399: Rehire High-Need Teachers.

Sponsor(s): Horner; Berger; Chaudhuri (Primary) Britt; Burgin; J. Davis; deViere; Foushee; Garrett; J. Jackson; Lowe; Marcus; McInnis; Mohammed; Perry; Robinson; Sanderson; Searcy; Smith; Van Duyn; Woodard

Status: Re-ref to Education/Higher Education. If fav, re-ref to Pensions and Retirement and Aging.

Summary: Senate Bill 399 aims to address teacher shortages in high needs schools across the state by allowing retired teachers to reenter the classroom without adversely impacting their retiree benefits. This law would apply to teachers who have retired on or before February 1. 2019 and were 1) at least 65 years old with five years of creditable experience, 2) 60 years of age with 25 years of service or 3) obtained 30 years of creditable service. These teachers would be able to re-employed by a district to teach at a high needs school, that is, a school with Title 1 designation or that has received an overall school performance grade of D or F. These teachers would be hired for no more than one school year and would be paid on the first step of the teacher salary schedule ($35,000/year) except for those going into STEM or special education classrooms, who would be paid on the sixth step of the salary schedule ($40,000/year). Regardless of their time spent in the classroom post-retirement, high needs teachers would not be eligible for salary supplements or pay increases. This bill, importantly, would allow teachers with extensive classroom experience to fill positions in hard-to-staff subjects in schools with the most need without losing their pensions.

House Bill 639: Clarify Roles DPI/SBE Staff

Sponsor(s): Saine; Jones; D. Hall (Primary) Pittman

Status: Ref to the Com on Appropriations, Education

Summary: In the wake of 2016 legislation that transferred a substantial amount of power over North Carolina’s system of public schools away from the State Board of Education to State Superintendent Mark Johnson, HB 639 would transfer even more power to the Superintendent by enabling him to shift legal support away from the State Board of Education. This bill enables the Superintendent to establish his own general counsel division within DPI that would manage the entirety of legal affairs of the Department and provide legal services on an as-needed basis to support the operations of the State Board. The bill also eliminates two positions that currently support the State Board of Education: the Legislative and Community Affairs Director, a position currently held by Cecilia Holden; and the State Board’s staff attorney position, currently held by Eric Snider. In place of these two positions, the superintendent would appoint a full-time Rules Coordinator who would be responsible for overseeing the administrative rulemaking process for the State Board and DPI.

House Bill 642: Additional Funds/UNC Lab Schools.

Sponsor(s): Fraley (Primary) Fisher; Horn; Lucas

Status: Ref to the Com on Appropriations, Education, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House on 4/10/2019

Summary: HB 642 would give lab schools an additional $500,000 in recurring operational funds for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Lab schools share similarities with charter schools but are operated by state universities’ schools of education. Created by the General Assembly in 2016, lab schools were intended to allow educator preparation programs the opportunity to experiment with innovative teaching methods while simultaneously serving high-needs populations; however, they were also controversial in part because of widespread concern that there was not adequate time and resources appropriated to get them off the ground successfully. Lab schools were intended to improve the academic outcomes of high needs students by giving priority for enrollment to children assigned to “low-performing schools” or schools that did not meet expected academic growth. In addition to new funds appropriated, this bill would also expand access to children of university employees and would allow up to 20% of seats to be filled by other students who live in the district but do not meet the enrollment requirements if the school has not reached capacity by June 1.

House Bill 199: Permanent Charter School Transportation Grant.

Sponsor(s): Hardister; Saine; Iler; Brockman (Primary) Conrad

Status: Re-ref Com On Appropriations, Education on 4/9/2019

Summary: House Bill 199 would appropriate $2.5 million in recurring funds to a permanent Charter School Transportation Grant program. The program would award grant funds to charter schools that have identified 50% of their student population receiving free or reduced lunch to reimburse them for up to 65% of eligible student transportation costs incurred by the school. Costs that are eligible for reimbursement include transportation fuel, vehicle maintenance, contracted transportation services, and transportation personnel services. Proponents of the bill say it addresses equity concerns because it provides transportation to charter schools, which, unlike traditional public schools, are not currently obligated to provide this for students. However, this bill only targets charter schools in which more than 50% of students live in low-income households, which would limit the extent to which charters, which are more segregated by race and class than traditional public schools, would become more inclusive and integrated. In particular, the growing number of exclusive, well-resourced charters that serve predominantly white and affluent students would be no more accessible to students living in poverty under this bill.

House Bill 276: Modify Low-Performing School Definition.

Sponsor(s): Riddell; Fraley; Clemmons; Ross (Primary) R. Smith; R. Turner

Status: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate on 4/11/2019

Summary:This bill would modify the definition of a low-performing school from those that receive a school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of “met expected growth” or “not met expected growth” to read as follows:

Schools that receive a school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of “no met expected growth”.

However, schools that fit the previous definition of a low-performing school would still be able to request the adoption of a reform model if they met the previous definition for at least two to three consecutive years.

House Bill 734: NC Collaborative School Improvement Pilot.

Sponsor(s): Johnson; Horn (Primary)

Status: Filed on 4/11/2019

Summary: House Bill 734 would establish the North Carolina Collaborative School Improvement Pilot Program headed by the Department of Public Instruction. It would be a three-year pilot program and utilize school turnaround experts in a pay-for-performance model to provide direct and sustainable support for 10 low-performing schools. In order to obtain school turnaround experts, the bill will also establish a School Turnaround Committee, comprised of relevant stakeholders, that will partner with the local board of education in the selection of the experts and the completion of a school turnaround plan that will be submitted to DPI for approval. If DPI does not approve the plan then the local board of education can appeal that decision based on the rules established by the State Board of Education. The State Board will also be responsible for holding pilot schools accountable for meeting standards set by DPI. DPI will also be reporting on the pilot program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.

NC Resilience and Learning Project’s Elizabeth DeKonty Appears on ncIMPACT to Discuss ACEs

Elizabeth DeKonty, Director of our NC Resilience & Learning Project, appeared last week on a television program hosted by Anita Brown-Graham of the UNC School of Government called ncIMPACT, which airs on UNC-TV.

Last week’s topic was Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Elizabeth appeared alongside Sharon Hirsch, President and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse NC and NC DHHS Chief Medical Officer and State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson to discuss how the NC Resilience and Learning Project works in communities across North Carolina to create trauma-sensitive schools.

Watch ncIMPACT’s Adverse Childhood Experiences episode online by clicking here.

The Resilience Reader is a new monthly newsletter for anyone nterested in issues such as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), childhood trauma, resilience and the power of trauma-informed schools and communities. Sign up for our monthly Resilience Reader to stay connected and informed.

2019 Jay Robinson Education Leadership Award Gala

James (Jim) and Barbara Goodmon are the recipients of the 2019 Public School Forum of North Carolina Jay Robinson Education Leadership Award. The Forum established the award in 2000 to recognize leaders who have demonstrated innovative, creative, and effective leadership for public education in North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Goodmon will be honored at a gala event on Thursday, May 30, at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Jim Goodmon, chairman and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting Company, and Barbara Goodmon, president of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, have spent decades finding innovative ways to meet their community’s needs—and public education has been at the top of their agenda. As actively engaged philanthropists and changemakers, the Goodmons have promoted effective and high-quality human services for disadvantaged people and communities and spearheaded efforts to ensure North Carolina’s citizens have access to first-class early childhood education and public schools across the state.

Complimentary NC Educator Tickets

Each year the Public School Forum reserves complimentary tickets for NC educators to join us for the Jay Robinson Education Leadership Award Gala. Complimentary tickets will be given on a first come, first served basis with priority given to Public School Forum program participants.

To request a ticket, fill out the form here. We will notify those selected on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Please note that filling out the request form does not guarantee you will receive a ticket. Please contact Irene Mone at 919-781-6833 ext. 102 or [email protected] with any questions.

Event Details:

Thursday, May 30, 2018

Raleigh Convention Center

6:00 p.m. Reception, 7:00 p.m. Dinner and Program

To purchase event tickets, click below.

Purchase Tickets & Tables

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Marisa Bryant at [email protected].

State News

For Rural Schools, Extra Money Could Help Keep The Roof On

The front of Evergreen Elementary School, built in 1924. Photo Credit: Wilson Sayre, WUNC.

Evergreen Elementary School in Columbus County is clean, tidy, and nearly 100 years old. Light comes in through parts of the roof in the gym where the dark brown floor boards have buckled up in little swollen hills two inches tall. Classrooms inside the main building are small based on today’s standards, the auditorium is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and technology is an afterthought.

“Its hard, it’s really hard, because everything’s old,” said Harvey LeSane, janitor at Evergreen Elementary. “There’s a lot of bricks and stuff just worn out, sidewalks cracked, fences just torn from all the long years and wear and tear.”

North Carolina schools, including places like Evergreen Elementary, are in need of roughly $8 billion worth of renovation and construction, according to the latest state facilities survey. And there does seems to be bipartisan agreement in the General Assembly that the state should contribute to some of those repairs. House Speaker Tim Moore’s version of that push, HB 241, would prioritize low-wealth counties in the allocation of funds.

To continue reading the complete interview, click here.

Excerpt from:

Sayre, W. “For Rural Schools, Extra Money Could Help Keep The Roof On.” WUNC. 4/5/19.

Advocating for ‘Our Children’ or a ‘Marxist’ Event? NC’s Upcoming Teacher Protest Draws Debate.

On Wednesday May 16, 2018, the opening day of the legislative session, educators and their supporters from across the state traveled to Raleigh to demand more funding for public education. Photo Credit: Julia Wall, The News & Observer.

School districts across North Carolina are canceling classes for May 1 in advance of what could be a larger protest than the one that brought more than 19,000 people to downtown Raleigh last year.

The N.C. Association of Educators has urged school employees to request the day off, prompting districts such as Wake County on Wednesday and Charlotte-Mecklenburg on Thursday to say they won’t have enough substitute teachers to hold classes. All four of the state’s largest school districts have announced they’ll be closed May 1.

To continue reading the complete interview, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hui, K. “Advocating for ‘our children’ or a ‘Marxist’ event? NC’s upcoming teacher protest draws debate.” The News & Observer. 4/11/19.

In ‘Ugly’ Fight Between a Charter School and Its Operator, State Board Won’t Take Sides

Clark Eselgroth dances in an advanced program at the International Ballet Academy in Cary when most others his age are in classrooms or science labs. Eselgroth, a 14-year-old freshman, moved from Asheville to Cary two years ago and was soon confronted with the question of how to balance school with the hours of daily work required to realize his goal of becoming a professional dancer. Photo Credit: Travis Long, The News & Observer.

A state advisory board is refusing to take sides in an ugly fight between leaders of a North Carolina virtual charter school and the for-profit company that’s paid millions of dollars a year to educate its 2,400 students.

N.C. Connections Academy wants state permission to no longer be managed by Pearson Online and Blended Learning, part of the international company Pearson that publishes textbooks and sells a wide range of education products.

To continue reading the complete interview, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hui, K. “In ‘ugly’ fight between a charter school and its operator, state board won’t take sides.” The News & Observer. 4/8/19.

NC Should Be Wary of Arizona Charter Operator

Photo Credit: Pixabay, Pexels.

Charter schools were conceived as laboratories of educational innovation, but increasingly they are becoming laboratories for financial inventions. Among the creations are for-profit school chains with complex ownership arrangements that make it hard for the public to see where its tax dollars go and how much is going into profits rather than education.

North Carolina’s charter school program has grown increasingly ripe for financial exploitation since Republican lawmakers lifted the state’s 100-school charter cap. North Carolina now has 184 charter schools with 15 more approved to open this fall. According to the Public School Forum, a group that supports traditional public schools, 20% of North Carolina’s charter schools are operated by for-profit companies, most of them based outside of the state.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

N & O Editorial Board. “NC should be wary of Arizona charter operator” The News & Observer. 4/10/19.

Edgecombe Schools Seek More Money

Photo Credit: Pragyan Bezbaruah, Pexels.

Edgecombe County Public Schools is preparing to ask for a raise from Edgecombe County commissioners to meet the growing needs of students in the school district.

The school board approved a $72,542,724 budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year at Monday night’s school board meeting. The spending plna includes a request of $8,411,905 in operating funds from Edgecombe County commissioners— a $960,287 increase in the amount of local funding given to the school district for current operating expenses during the current fiscal year.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Harper, A. “Edgecombe schools seek more money.” Rocky Mount Telegram. 4/10/19.

CMS Cancels Classes for May 1 Because of Planned Teacher Protest in Raleigh

From left, Melodie Bryant from Shallotte, Carol Cosetti from Clayton and Sandra Thornton from Willow Spring cheer on the speakers during the Rally for Respect at Bicentennial Plaza in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Photo Credit: Ethan Hyman, The News & Observer.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School officials have decided to cancel classes May 1, in anticipation of teacher absences due to a protest rally in Raleigh expected to draw thousands of educators from across the state.

Superintendent Clayton Wilcox told the school board this week that more than 1,200 CMS teachers and 100 support staff have asked to have May 1 off so they can travel to the state capital and lobby state legislators for increased funding and other needs.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Price, M. “CMS cancels classes for May 1 because of planned teacher protest in Raleigh.” The Charlotte Observer. 4/11/19.

University of North Carolina Greensboro SOE Honors Inspirational Educators with New Program & Endowment

Wishing to recognize the significant impact that so many educators have made in the lives of students, the UNC Greensboro School of Education will honor its first class of 48 Inspirational Educators on Sunday, April 14, 2019.

Modeled after East Carolina University’s (ECU’s) Educators Hall of Fame, the Inspirational Educators program is designed to elevate the profession of education by honoring educators who have made a difference in the lives of others. The educators receiving this honor this year include educators in a variety of roles who were nominated by their colleagues, family, friends, and former students honoring their service, their impact on this world, and most importantly, how they have inspired their own love of education.

“We’re trying to elevate the profession of education,” said Randy Penfield, Dean of the School of Education at UNCG. “We want to honor people who have made a difference in other people’s lives, and we’re raising needed funds for people who want to go into the education profession.”

Nominations are secured with a $1,000 gift to the School of Education, which funds Student Excellence Awards for UNC Greensboro School of Education students.

WHO: UNCG School of Education

WHAT: Inaugural Inspirational Educators Event

WHEN: Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Ceremony at UNCG Auditorium, reception at UNCG School of Education Building

To learn more about this event click, here.

National News

As States Debate Arming Teachers, Opponents Detail Mishandling of Guns in Schools

Drug and gun-free school zone signs in Phoenix, Ariz. Photo Credit: Matt York, AP-File.

There have been more than 60 publicly reported incidents of mishandled guns in schools in the last five years, a gun-control group found in an analysis released this week.

Those firearms were carried by employees, including teachers and school police, often with permission from schools, says the report by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The report comes as Florida and Tennessee consider expanding the ability of teachers to carry guns in schools.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Blad, E. “As States Debate Arming Teachers, Opponents Detail Mishandling of Guns in Schools.” Education Week. 4/5/19.

The Promise and Peril of ESSA School Spending Transparency

Photo Credit: Pixabay, Pexels.

We’re entering a new era in school finance. Under a requirement in the federal “Every Student Succeeds Act,” states’ school report cards must now include comprehensive school-level information on per-pupil spending. More than a quarter of the states have already begun to implement the rule.

ESSA’s “per pupil reporting requirement,” as it’s called, has the potential to bring greater transparency to public school funding. And it could promote greater spending equity, helping students received the resources they need to succeed in the classroom, especially traditionally underserved students.

But early evidence suggests that the new school-level spending data is easily misinterpreted. There are several potential pitfalls that states and school districts need to avoid to ensure that the new funding information supports increased student learning.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Hawley Miles, K and Travers, J. “The Promise and Peril of ESSA School Spending Transparency.” Future Ed. 4/9/19.

Opportunities

Making Innovation a Priority in NC Schools

Watson College is hosting its second “Making Innovation a Priority in NC Schools” conference at UNCW, May 13th. The goals of the conference are to: highlight innovative programs and practices across the state; build support for an infrastructure for innovation; and provide attendees with an opportunity to engage in innovative/design thinking.

For more information about the conference go to the conference website here. Registration is FREE. We ask all attendees to register by May 1st.

2019 Professional Educators of NC Conference

PENC will be hosting it’s 2019 Conference, “Supercharged with STEAM” on May 4, 2019, in Raleigh at the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel.

Attendees will earn 0.5 (digital learning) CEUs while they learn about STEAM Education. STEAM is showing success in schools all around the world to better teach academic and life skills in a standards-backed, reality-based, personally relevant exploratory learning environment. It is a framework for teaching that is based on natural ways of learning, customizable for ALL types of students and programs and is FUNctional!

Keynote speaker Jan Hargrave, author, an expert in the field of nonverbal communication will teach you how to improve your communication skills in order to become a more effective communicator. Her information could help you to “read” your family, your students, your associates, in fact, everyone around you. Bring your body, your curiosity, your sense of humor and learn what your body – and the body of others – is communicating to the world.

Visit www.pencweb.org/2019-conference for more details and to register!

Purchase orders may be used for school groups! Please contact Alex Cozort at [email protected] with any questions or for more information.

Schools That Lead’s NC Networked Improvement Communities

Schools That Lead, in partnership with the NC General Assembly and the NC Department of Public Instruction, is excited to announce it will launch its second cohort of North Carolina Networked Improvement Communities for public schools seeking to improve learning outcomes for their students.

In this network, principals and teachers learn to use improvement science to articulate their theories and assumptions, select change ideas and measure impact over time as they work to solve a common problem, seen here by school level.

High schools: Increasing on-time graduation rates;
Middle schools: Reducing 9th grade retentions; and
Elementary schools: Reducing the number of students who have below grade level academic performance, and/or chronic absences and/or behavioral issues.

The total three-year membership fee is $6,000 per school, payable to Schools That Lead in $2,000 increments each year of the three-year program, or by other mutually agreeable terms. Schools should also budget for the costs of travel and substitute teachers for the professional learning sessions.

To apply click, here.

DEADLINE AND SELECTION

Applications are due April 15, 2019 by 12:00 p.m. and are to be completed by the school principal.
Schools will be selected by lottery (if necessary) and notified of selection by May 1, 2019.
The first convening of selected schools will be held in the Raleigh/Durham area in September 2019.

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Accepting Applications for Student STEM Enrichment Program

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has opened its application for the 2019 Student STEM Enrichment Program (SSEP) grant awards. SSEP supports diverse programs with a common goal: to enable primary and secondary students to participate in creative, hands-on STEM activities for K-12 students and pursue inquiry-based exploration in BWF’s home state of North Carolina. These awards provide up to $60,000 per year for three years. The application deadline is April 16, 2019.

For more information or to access the application, visit

https://www.bwfund.org/grant-programs/science-education/student-science-enrichment-program.

Synergy Conference 2019

The Synergy Conference 2019 for afterschool professionals will convene April 24-25, 2019 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC. This year’s conference is themed “DOING THE M.O.S.T.: MAXIMIZING OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME”. The conference timeline can be viewed here.

Early Registration is now open for the annual SYNERGY CONFERENCE! You can register here by February 10th for the discounted rate of $200. Regular registration will begin on February 11th at the regular rate of $225.

We are excited to announce that Mentoring has been added as a new workshop strand. Workshop strands include Arts & Literacy, Closing Gaps, College & Career Readiness, Mentoring, Organizational Capacity, Public/Private Partnerships, S.T.E.M., and Youth Development.

Keynote Speaker Spotlight

Byron V. Garrett will be this year’s lunch and award ceremony keynote speaker. One of the most compelling voices of our time, Byron V. Garrett is Chairman of the National Family Engagement Alliance (NFEA); a nonprofit dedicated to transforming education through meaningful family engagement. Byron is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of The Valdecio Collection, a lifestyle brand consisting of clothing, watches and fragrances. The former Director of Educational Leadership & Policy for Microsoft, Byron is a consulting author for Scholastic and released the Byron V. Garrett Social Emotional Learning Collection in 2017 to foster social and emotional learning in today’s classrooms.

To learn more, please visit: ncafterschool.org/synergyconference2019/

The Friday Report is published weekly by the Public School Forum of NC and is distributed to Forum members, policymakers, donors, media, and Forum subscribers. Archived editions can be found at ncforum.local.