Friday Report – August 17, 2018

The Friday Report

August 17, 2018

Lauren Fox Joins Public School Forum of NC as Senior Director of Policy

​​Lauren Fox has joined the Public School Forum of North Carolina as Senior Director of Policy. Fox will lead the Forum’s overall education policy analysis and research efforts and promote the Forum’s role in evidence-based policy decisions that promote world-class public education in North Carolina.

“Lauren’s deep experience in education policy research and analysis, coupled with her North Carolina roots and passion for public education makes her an ideal fit for this role,” said Keith Poston, President and Executive Director, Public School Forum of North Carolina. “I am particularly excited to add her expertise on equity issues to our work here at the Public School Forum, including school finance and racial disparities that are evident in our education system, here in North Carolina and nationally.”

Fox has more than ten years of research and policy experience in the education sector, with particular expertise in educational equity, racial and socioeconomic integration, and school choice. Most recently, Fox worked in New York at The Public Good (a public school support organization), housed at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she conducted research to inform and develop strategies to help public schools in New York City improve curriculum, teaching, and engagement to better serve their racially, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse school communities.

Prior to her work at The Public Good, Fox worked for several years as a researcher for the Center for Understanding Race and Education and The National Center for Children and Families. She has also provided research and policy consulting for the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and the Ford Foundation.

Fox is currently completing her Ph.D. in sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she received the College’s Research Dissertation Fellowship, an Education Policy Dissertation Grant, and the Dean’s Fellowship for Teaching and Diversity. She holds an M.A. in sociology and education with a concentration in education policy from Columbia Teachers College and a B.A. in psychology from the University of North Carolina, Asheville. While in Asheville, she was the lead education researcher with The State of Black Asheville project and was a guardian ad litem volunteer in Buncombe County. She is a proud graduate of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school system.

Color of Education: An Evening with Nikole Hannah-Jones 

This fall, the Public School Forum of North Carolina, in partnership with Duke Policy Bridge and the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, will host the first in a series of annual summits and convenings focused on race, equity and education in North Carolina under the banner “Color of Education.” The kick-off event will feature award-winning New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones. The event is sponsored in part by the Grable Foundation.

Color of Education: An Evening with Nikole Hannah-Jones

When: Tuesday, October 2nd at 6:00 PM

Where: Duke University at Penn Pavilion

Tickets:

https://tickets.duke.edu/online/article/nikolehannahjones18

“Nikole Hannah-Jones is one of the country’s most respected and influential voices on issues of race and education and we’re thrilled to have her kick-off this new phase of our work to address the systemic inequities and barriers facing students of color in North Carolina,” said Keith Poston, President and Executive Director, Public School Forum of North Carolina.

In 2019 and beyond, “Color of Education” will evolve into an annual summit as well as other statewide and regional gatherings, bringing together educators, policymakers, experts and other key stakeholders focused on achieving racial equity and eliminating racial disparities in education.

State News

Two Formerly – High Level DPI Staffers Out, Another State Board Member Resigns

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Photo Credit: Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL.

The Chief Financial Officer and former Chief Academic Officer of the state Department of Public Instruction are both leaving the department, and yet another member of the State Board, Greg Alcorn, announced his resignation today as well.

Adam Levinson was made CFO by the State Board of Education in March 2017 following former CFO Philip Price’s departure back in February of 2017. Superintendent Mark Johnson was opposed to his hiring, according to an affidavit filed as part of a now-resolved lawsuit between the State Board and Johnson.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Granados, A.”Two formerly-high level DPI staffers out, another State Board member resigns.” EducationNC. 8/10/18.

2,000-Student Charter School Won’t Open in Cary, Where Neighbors Pushed Back

The Triangle Charter School Association and Charter Schools USA will not open a 2,000-student K-12 school on this land in Chatham County near Cary. Photo Credit: Autumn Linford , The News & Observer.

The group behind Cary’s Charter Academy has abandoned plans for a 2,000-student charter school near the Cary-Chatham County border.

The Triangle Charter Education Association and Charter Schools USA had planned to open Cardinal Charter Academy West Campus, a K-12 school, on 20 acres at the intersection of Yates Store and New Hope Church roads.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Bolejack, S. “2,000-student charter school won’t open in Cary, where neighbors pushed back.” The News & Observer. 8/14/18.

Parents Wanted These NC Schools to Keep Spanking Their Kids. But It’s Stopping Anyway.

North Carolina is down to one county that allows corporal punishment of students after Robeson County schools voted on Aug. 14, 2018 to disallow physical punishment. Photo Credit: Tom Fox, MCT.

Last year, two of North Carolina’s counties allowed schools to use corporal punishment — physical pain as a disciplinary measure — on students.

As of Aug. 14, that number was down to one county. At a Tuesday meeting of the Robeson County Board of Education, board members voted narrowly (6-5) to end the practice of corporal punishment, or spanking, as first reported by Scott Bigelow of The Robesonian.

More than 100 miles west is Graham County in the mountains of North Carolina, the only county continuing the practice of “intentional infliction of physical pain upon the body of a student as a disciplinary measure,” according to North Carolina state statute.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Bennett, A. “Parents wanted these NC schools to keep spanking their kids. But it’s stopping anyway.” The News & Observer. 8/15/18.

Racist Threats, Nazi Graffiti, Trump Feuds: Records Reveal Racial Tension in Orange County Schools

Photo Credit: JJ Thompson, Unsplash.

In May 2017, an assistant principal entered a boys’ bathroom at Cedar Ridge High School in Orange County. There, scrawled on the wall, was a threat: “Kill all (racial slur).” He soon found similar graffiti in other bathrooms. Swastikas and slurs littered the walls.

A few months earlier, a Cedar Ridge High teacher heard a student yell “white power!” as they walked to the bus, but she couldn’t make out who it was. Back in her classroom, she found a swastika scratched into a desk in her classroom.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Hinchcliffe, K. “Racist threats, Nazi graffiti, Trump feuds: Records reveal racial tension in Orange County schools.” WRAL. 8/16/18.

Cooper Visits Rosewood Middle, Pushes for School Construction Bond

Governor Roy Cooper talks to Ken Derksen, at right, from Wayne County Public Schools during his tour of Rosewood Middle School. He stopped by the school to talk about school bonds that could help build schools to replace instead of continue to repair schools. Photo Credit: Casey Mozingo, News-Argus.

Classrooms that can be only accessed through outdoor entryways, leaking roofs and paint chipping from the ceiling are just a few challenges school buildings built in the 1920s might face. For Rosewood Middle School, these infrastructure issues have rendered several classrooms unusable, Catherine Lassiter, RWM principal, said.

“When you’re in different buildings, when you’re having to maneuver around classrooms that leak, it’s challenging. Very challenging,” Lassiter said.

In January, these maintenance issues could be addressed through a nearly $2 billion school construction bond heavily supported by Gov. Roy Cooper.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Henry, S. “Cooper visits Rosewood Middle, pushes for school construction bond.” The Goldsboro News-Argus. 8/15/18.

1 in 5 Teachers Have Second Jobs. In Forsyth County, They Do It for School Supplies, for Groceries, for Medical Bills

Stephanie Wallace, an East Forsyth High School English teacher who spends her own money to help cover the costs of school supplies and food for her students, has to take on outside work to make ends meet.

Photo Credit: David Rolfe, Winston-Salem Journal.

Stephanie Wallace has been a teacher for 18 years. For nearly half of that time, she has worked extra jobs to help support her family.

Specifically, she’s worked teaching and tutoring jobs online, as well as selling life insurance on weekends or during school breaks. Wallace, an English teacher at East Forsyth High School, does this to help pay for the treatment and care for her son, who has a rare liver disease, where health insurance won’t pick it up.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Bragg, M. “One in 5 teachers have second jobs. In Forsyth County, they do it for school supplies, for groceries, for medical bills.” Winston-Salem Journal. 8/10/18.

National News

The State of America’s Student-Teacher Racial Gap: Our Public School System Has Been Majority-Minority for Years, but 80 Percent of Teachers Are Still White

Photo Credit: NeONBRAND,Unsplash.

In 2014, according to U.S. Department of Education projections, the demographics of the nation’s classrooms were set to break a historic barrier: For the first time, the majority of students in America’s public schools would no longer be white.

Based on population trends, National Center for Education Statistics predicted that 50.3 percent of the student body for the 2014-15 school year would be people of color — a precursor to the country as a whole becoming majority-minority in the next three decades. (The Office for Civil Rights is expected to release more complete student demographic information for that time span in the next year.)

But are the classrooms of 2018 and beyond rising to meet this seismic shift?

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Fay, L. “The State of America’s Student-Teacher Racial Gap: Our Public School System Has Been Majority-Minority for Years, but 80 Percent of Teachers Are Still White.” The 74. 8/14/18.

Enrollment Is Down at Teacher Colleges. So They’re Trying to Change

Photo Credit: Pixabay, Pexels.

Colleges of education are in a Catch-22: They’re needed more than ever to produce well-trained teachers as school districts struggle to fill certain positions. But fewer and fewer people are enrolling in their programs.

That’s one of the findings in a comprehensive report of the state of teacher preparation by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, released today for the organization’s 70th anniversary. The report examines the steps colleges of education have taken to revamp themselves in light of increasing challenges for the teaching profession.

To continue reading the complete article, click here.

Excerpt from:

Will, M. “Enrollment Is Down at Teacher Colleges. So They’re Trying to Change.” Education Week. 8/9/18.

Opportunities

Schools That Lead: Networked Improvement Communities in NC

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 North Carolina Networked Improvement Communities this fall for traditional public and charter schools seeking to improve learning outcomes for their students.

Over the last four years, we have partnered with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to grow practitioners’ capacity to use improvement science.  In our work, 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. 

Thus, Schools That Lead will convene and lead K-12 networked improvement communities for teachers and principals in up to 60 North Carolina public schools to address problems of practice using improvement science. Schools That Lead will work with networks of up to 20 elementary schools, 20 middle schools and 20 high schools to solve the following problems:

1. High schools:  Increasing on-time graduation rates; 
2. Middle schools: Reducing 9th-grade retentions; and 
3. Elementary schools: Reducing the number of students with early warning indicators in course failures, absences and discipline.

DEADLINE AND SELECTION

• Proposals are due September 5, 2018.
• Schools will be selected by lottery and notified of selection by September 14, 2018.The lottery will be weighted in favor of schools with NC Report Card grades of C, D, and F.
• The first convening of selected schools will be held in Raleigh on Wednesday, September 26, 2018.

Access the RFP here: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTyy773dg5VcKgL7fVIbFW91Yiak51ZiOcCaWQ_iH4ydyoVA/viewform

The RFP should be completed by the school principal and should take no more than 30 minutes. For questions please email: [email protected]

Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership Seeks a Program Manager

Women in Educational Leadership Symposium

Registration is open for the third annual Women in Educational Leadership Symposium (WIELS). The purpose of WIELS is to bring women together to share, learn, and grow in leadership. This conference aims to provide personalized learning and mentoring opportunities for those who aspire to become or currently serve as educational leaders.

The symposium will be held October 5 through October 6, 2018 at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. This year’s conference theme is Advancing the Leader Within: Building Capacity.

Registration for the conference is online at https://wiels.appstate.edu/about-us/registration. Additional information can be found at https://wiels.appstate.edu/.

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards for Science and Mathematics Teachers

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Science and Math Teachers (CASMT) application is now available online. The Career Award for Science and Mathematics Teachers is a five-year award available to outstanding science and/or mathematics teachers in the North Carolina public primary and secondary schools. The purpose of this award is to recognize teachers who have demonstrated solid knowledge of science and/or mathematics content and have outstanding performance records in educating children. The deadline for submission is September 24th, 2018. For more information or to access the application, visit https://www.bwfund.org/grant-programs/science-education/career-awards-science-and-mathematics-teachers.

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 www.ncforum.org.

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