Talk Priority Schools

By Christy Levings, NEA Executive Committee

The morning of March 2, 2011 rocked with excitement as hundreds of second and third graders put on red and white Dr Seuss Cat in the Hat hats!   They filled a theater in downtown High Point, North Carolina, where they cheered over stories and a huge Cat in the Hat that made them giggle and shout.

I followed, with my team of great NEA staff, the students at Oak Hill Elementary back to their school that afternoon.  We came to see the work at this SIG school that choose a turnaround model to work with its hugely diverse student group.   Oak Hill serves a student population that is roughly 80% minority students and nearly 40% of the students are English Language Learners.  Although Spanish is the most common first language, they come to school with 14 languages in their homes.

This school has been rated as one of the lowest performing elementary schools in North Carolina and has made AYP only once in the last five years.  In reading all of that you might expect to find a staff that felt the burden of their work or at least seemed daunted by the task at hand to get these students up to grade level on tests designed for learners with fewer challenges. read more »

By Christy Levings, NEA Executive Committee

In North Carolina last week, I visited two alternative high schools that have received SIG dollars with fellow Executive Committee member Paula Monroe. We met hard working teachers and educational support professionals who educate students in danger of dropping out or who are failing in the system to move towards graduation.  After visiting their schools and observing their work, I am convinced we need to answer tough questions like this one: How do you support those who work with students who are the toughest to teach?

The resources from the SIG grant should fill in some of the financial holes in these programs but there are bigger issues to address.  In both sites, the folks on the ground who make magic happen in those classrooms each day were not the folks who put the applications together.  The educators had little input about the grants or the programs the grants would fund.  At one site, a major concept of the grant was to replace most teacher instruction and face-to-face interactions with students with more time on computer.  This proved to be a disaster for students already at risk in less than one semester and they are changing the students’ school day.

I left with more questions than answers.  How will we support programs for the students we are most at risk to lose? read more »

By Paula Monroe, NEA Executive Committee

On March 1^st Christy Levings and I had the privilege of visiting two alternative high schools in North Carolina – the first one was Davidson Extended Day.  In the beginning the staff at Davidson were not quite sure what we were doing there.  The principal, James Fitzgerald, made it possible for us to have time at the beginning of their day to have a full conversation with the staff.  The more we talked and listened, the more relaxed everyone was with our presence.

Paula Monroe (left) and Christy Levings of NEA's Executive Committee.

As at many of the SIG (School Improvement Grant) schools I have visited, the staff was not involved in putting “the plan” together – a transformation model.  That was done by a district level person who has since retired, as has the principal who was at Davidson at the time.  The challenge that staff are dealing with is what the grant said they were going to do and what they actually can do.  While the new principal was given the plan, according to staff, he has done an excellent job of working with them to find solutions and creative ways to address their issues.  It was a rough start to the year but, together, with the leadership and support of the principal, they have tried to figure out how to make it work.  One thing that is exciting for the staff is, after having gone to a virtual instruction format that made them feel more like tech support than teachers, they now are back to providing face to face instruction.  As one of them said, “Now I can actually teach!” read more »

Forsyth County Association of Educators President Tripp Jeffers was in Denver this week for the Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration conference, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

Jeffers was part of a presenting team, along with Donny Lambeth, Chairman of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education and Donald Martin, Superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The three have a worked to build a collaborative relationship that has allowed WSFCS to move forward on a number of innovative projects in North Carolina, which is a non-bargaining state.

During the presentation, Jeffers shared an example of how collaboration guided the union and the district through a difficult Reduction in Force (RIF) policy that bases RIF decisions both on a teacher’s work experiences as well as performance on evaluations.

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By Greg Johnson, NEA Executive Committee

On Tuesday, November 23^rd, I visited 2 schools in the Winston-Salem Schools.  My Association contact was Forsythe County Association of Educators President Tripp Jeffers.  Tripp prepared a full day of school visits combined with some discussions with Administrators from WS/FCS.  Accompanying us were Rodney Ellis, Vice-President of the North Carolina Association of Educators and Steve Snider and Denise Alston of the NEA Priority Schools Campaign.

Our day began bright and early entering the halls of Petree Elementary.  Petree is a turnaround model school that has close to 70% new staff, 2 new principals, 16 first year teachers and a huge challenge ahead of them.  From the beginning of our visit we were met with friendly, smiling faces welcoming us to their school.  From the secretary in the office, to the Assistant Principal, to the teachers who came to meet with us in the media center, you could just feel a good vibe at the school.  With Priority Schools Campaign materials in their hands, we talked about the road ahead and how they would tackle the task at hand.  Although reluctant to verbalize any concerns, the staff took the time to write comments about what was working and what needed some help.

Promptly at 8:30, a video announcement started the day.  Students from different grades gave out lunch menus, thoughts for the day, and ended with a cheery message to all the students to make it a great day.  It’s all part of the new vibe at Petree.  Staff and students coming together and working positively towards making Petree a great public school.  So far test scores are up, the community is supporting the changes, and best of all, the students are learning in a positive, encouraging environment.  The Home/School Coordinator (a full time person devoted to creating partnerships with the school and the community) talked to us about how the neighborhood has embraced the change, and is even looking forward to sending their kids to Petree, something that hasn’t always been the case in the past. read more »