Last night the Wake County School Board placed Del Burns on administrative leave until the effective date of his resignation as superintendent of the Wake County Schools, June 30th. While I respect Mr. Burns’ contributions to Wake County Schools, I cannot agree with his decision to refuse to sign a statement to carry out board policy, as reported on last night’s TV news. Burns’ refusal is surprising to many. It also begs the question: If Burns doesn’t think he was hired to carry out school board policy, what then, does he consider his duties to be? Burns’ responsibilities are clearly spelled out in the statutes and his current employment contract. Those provisions also underscore, without question, that the superintendent serves the board and is an employee of the school board.
Three weeks ago Burns said he couldn’t agree with the direction of the board and submitted his resignation. Since then, his intemperate remarks have left no doubt that he couldn’t and wouldn’t carry out his responsibilities. The school board had no choice but to remove Mr. Burns. It was the right thing to do.
Last Friday current school board members and interested individuals gathered in Raleigh for a day of professional training. Attendees heard from Lindalyn Kakadelis, former member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board, on the roles and responsibilities of school board members. Doug Punger, General Counsel with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools led a session on employment law. In the afternoon, Phil Price of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction talked about school finance issues, while Phil Strach of Ogletree Deakins closed out the day with a discussion of parliamentary procedure. Feedback for Civitas’ first school board member training was encouraging. So, stay tuned for information on upcoming sessions.
With the Wake County School Board set to vote on Tuesday on a resolution calling for community-based school assignments to replace economic diversity, proponents of the diversity have been in overdrive trying to sell board members and community about the importance of diversity. Shouldn’t we also look at classroom results?
Does the following data suggest Wake’s diversity plan has been a success for minority students?
Percent of students by group who passed both reading and math elementary school EOG tests:
Whites: 2005-06: 87%; 2006-07: 88%; 2007-08: 79%; 2008-09: 86%
Blacks: 2005-06: 46%; 2006-07: 48%; 2007-08: 33%; 2008-09: 45%
Hispanics: 2005-06: 53%; 2006-07: 55%; 2007-08: 35%; 2008-09: 47%
Econ. Disadv.: 2005-06: 46%; 2006-07: 48%; 2007-08: 31%; 2008-09: 44%
Lim. Eng. Prof. : 2005-05: 38% ;2006-07: 41%; 2007-08: 23%; 2008-09: 35%
Stud. Disabilities: 2005-06: 44%; 2006-07: 43%; 2007-08: 27%; 2008-09: 36%
Percentaage of students by group with passing score on high school EOG Tests:
White: 2005-06: 90%; 2006-07: 88%; 2007-08: 89%; 2008-09: 91%
Blacks:2005-06: 60%: 2006-07: 51%; 2007-08: 53%; 2008-09: 58%
Hispanics: 2005-06: 66%; 2006-07: 59%; 2007-08: 61%; 2008-09: 66%
Econ. Disadv.: 2005-06: 60%; 2006-07: 51%; 2007-08: 52%: 2008-08: 58%
Lim. Eng. Prof. : 2005-06: 46%: 2006-07: 43%: 2007-08: 50%: 2008-09: 57%
Stu. Disabilities: 2005-06: 61%; 2006-07: 52%: 2007-08: 54%; 2008-09: 57%
(Econ. Disadv=Economically Disadvantaged Students; Lim. Eng. Prof. = Limited English Proficiency; Stu. Disabilities = Students with Disabilities)
Four Year Graduation Rates by Group:
All: 2005-06: 83%; 2006-07: 79%; 2007-08: 79%; 2008-09: 78%
White: 2005-06: 90%; 2006-07:88%; 2007-08: 88%; 2008-09: 89%
Black: 2005-06: 70%; 2006-07: 65%; 2007-08: 65%; 2008-09: 63%
Hispanic: 2005-06: 58%; 2006-07: 55%; 2007-08: 52%; 2008-09: 51%
Econ. Disadv: 2005-06: 60%; 2006-07: 63%; 2007-08: 56%; 2008-09: 54%
Lim. Eng. Prof.: 2005-06: 51%; 2006-07: 44%; 2007-08: 39%; 2008-09: 39%
Stu. Disabilities: 2005-06: 63%; 2006-07: 57%; 2007-08: 56%; 2008-09: 57%
In seven of ten minority achievement categories, EOG and EOC scores declined from 2005-2008. One category experienced no change; two others showed improvements. Four-year graduation rates for Black, Hispanic, Economically Disadvantaged , Limited English Proficiency and Students with Disablities all experienced significant declines. Clinging to a policy that has failed to produce results offers minority students no help. These failures are a compelling reason why the school board should move ahead with other options.
Complaints about voter fraud at UNC-Chapel Hill continued over the weekend. Taylor Holgate filed her second complaint with the Student Supreme Court last Saturday to seek a re-vote in Student Congress District 5-Greek housing. According to the Daily Tar Heel,
As many as 296 students could have had problems voting in the student body election Feb. 9 because of incorrect class or residential information.
The Tar Heel junior lost her race by only 25 votes, which she claims could be the result of technical problems. But UNC’s own “Greek Tragedy” may not conclude for another few weeks as the Student Supreme Court agreed Sunday to hear the case after Spring Break.
Many UNC students support Holgate’s efforts saying they deserve representatives elected by a fair system, according to the campus newspaper. You can check out the list of court documents here and follow the case at dailytarheel.com.
Race to the Top taught us that competition and incentives drive reform . . .So even as we continue funding important formula programs like Title I and IDEA, we are adding money to competitive programs that are changing the landscape of our educational system.
The quote is from Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education in a February 1, 2010 press release on President Obama’s new budget for education. It’s hard to miss the new emphasis on reform, innovation and competition. Gosh, states now battle with each other for Race to the Top funds – and may the best application win.
I wonder, if everyone benefits from states competing, you’d think the same logic would apply to schools. The reality is, such logic is still alien to the federal mindset. President Obama has not supported a single real initiative to bring competition to our schools since taking office. In fact, earlier this year – despite favorable Congressional evaluations — President Obama and Secretary Duncan worked to dismantle the DC Opportunity Scholarship program, a voucher program that allowed 3,300 of Washington’s poorest families to attend quality private schools. A new emphasis on competition? Don’t believe it. Actions speak louder than words.
“It appeared the superintendent and board members were at least trying to work together in the first two months, but it was a lopsided relationship. A majority of the board dictated changes often driven by campaign promises made during an unusually partisan race. Several members also made it clear they didn’t trust the information they were getting in response to their requests.”
That blurb is from Tim Simmons who’s writing in yesterday’s Wake Education Partnership Newsletter about the resignation of Wake County School Superintendent Del Burns. I found much of the phrasing curious. Simmons says a “lopsided relationship” is in part the reason for Burns’ decision. Really? Last I checked the superintendent was an employee of the school board. Since the school board hires the superintendent to carry out the policies and directives of the Board, I’d guess that an arrangement is accurately described as an employer-employee relationship. As such, there is every expectation that the relationship is NOT one of co-equals but of superior-subordinates.
Simmons also claims “a majority of the board dictated changes often driven by campaign promises made during an usually partisan race.” How dare that duly-elected school board tell Del Burns to carry out policies that – at times — differ from his own views! Sounds like Simmons thinks Del Burns should have the opportunity to pick and choose which policies he’ll follow and which board members he’ll listen to –since after all, a member’s election might have been contested or highly partisan.
Silly me. Here all along, I thought the voters were supposed to be in charge.
School boards are notoriously noxious niches for elected officials. They are rarely liked, often attacked and always the subject of a self-interested cadre of liberal elitist. Wake County is no different and the news coverage proves the point. Today’s N&O story acts as if the sky is falling due to the abrupt, but not entirely surprising, exit of Superintendent Del Burns. The N&O would like to act like the entire community was in lock step with Burns and the former board:
Those supporters (of the previous board) include many Democrats and Raleigh’s traditional leadership, including the business community, which has staunchly supported the school district and its national reputation for its diversity policy.
That is an interesting statement. If true, and there’s no documentation to prove it, then the new board could not have been elected. But the N&O doesn’t stop there. It also makes several statements that are somewhat true, but haven’t been proven to improve education in any way.
A diversity policy that has won Wake schools national recognition (but haven’t been shown to improve education) mandatory year-round schools (ditto) and early class dismissals for teacher planning sessions (ditto). . .
Again, it should come as NO surprise that these policies are being redressed. The candidates who won RAN for office on changing those policies. I’m hopeful that this school board continues to keep the promises it made and focus on outcomes of education rather than feel good policies and politics that do little to improve a child’s ability to prepare for the real world.
Chairman Ron Margiotta and his fellow board members should be commended, but they won’t publicly, school boards are known for having long political life expectancies. Activists showing up in droves doesn’t mean they reflect the will of the people, that was taken care of at the ballot box in November.
From what I hear, DPI is getting an earful about the new draft social studies curriculum (See: DPI: Don’t Know Much About History). If you’re not keen about giving America’s founding documents short shrift or having your child learn that Roe v. Wade is an example of “the U.S. Supreme Court upholding rights against oppressive government,” speak up. DPI has extended the public comment period until March 2 (the old deadline was February 15, 2010). Submit your comments to: feedback@dpi.state.nc.us
If you thought that the Wake County School Board was having fun with controversy (in spite of being elected with their issues on the table) the Tennessee Board of Education has brought forth a bible class for public schools.
Beginning in the fall of 2010 high schools that want to teach students from the Bible will be able to do so using this approved cirriculum. Here are a few of the guidelines according to the Tennessean:
• Students will read biblical narratives, identify chief characters and analyze plot, literary form and intended impact on the reader.
• Students will learn and discuss pivotal historical events and geographic locations and compare the religious, social and cultural lives in the ancient world.
• Students will show how the Bible has impacted art, literature, music and thought by reading pieces of work that use biblical allusions and listening to music that relies on biblical text.
So, how controversial would this be in North Carolina? Better yet, would elected officials in our state EVER let such a system even be considered on the floor of our legislature? But in North Carolina we are content, from an educational standpoint, to ignore the impact that the Bible has had on our society or on history. It is as if it never existed.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI) has received some media attention recently for its attempts to restructure the standard curriculum for public high school students in the state. A look at the department website reveals that the social studies area of a students’ education will include three mandatory classes. These three classes are global issues, civics and economics, and US history. The US history course would only begin after the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the global studies course appears to go back only as far as 1945, and the civics and economics course covers only the foundations of the US government.
A quick search of the proposed standards for each course reveals a shocking omission. Not once in any of the three courses, as defined by the department’s website, was the Civil War mentioned. The only time that the term “civil war” is mentioned in the documents is in the outline of the global studies course which states that students should: “analyze the origin of political revolutions and civil wars and their influence on individuals, governing bodies and diplomacy.” The document suggests that students should discuss the finer points of the Sudanese Civil War but does not specifically mention the American Civil War.
The Civil War has had major implications on the entire American political system and marked the end of slavery in America. North Carolina, as most everyone knows because they studied the Civil War in their high school history course, was one of the states that joined the Confederacy. Why would the NC DPI omit the Civil War? Your guess is as good as mine.
Check out the courses here: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/phase2/