Yes, I know they are long, and I know they are, for the most part, boring, but it is important that as many HES parents as possible attend tonight's full Orange County Board of Education meeting.
Orange County Board of Education
Full meeting
Monday, April 23, 2007
7:00 pm
Gravelly Hill Middle School
(Directions are below)
Here is a link to the Board's agenda for tonight's meeting. The CES/HES sub-committee report is scheduled for 8:45 pm, but I hope the public comments period takes more than the scheduled 15 minutes.
The overflow turnout for last month's meeting led BOE Chairman Dennis Whitling to move this meeting to a venue with more space. Let's show him that the effort was not in vain.
Directions to Gravelly Hill Middle School:
I-40 west/85 south
Take exit #160
Turn left at end of ramp onto Mt. Willing Road
Turn right onto West Ten Road
Travel approximately 1.5 miles
The school will be on your right at 4819 West Ten Road (Efland)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
The survey says!
As I listened to the Orange County Board of Education discuss the proposal to merge CES and HES at their last full Board meeting, it became clear that many of the Board members had no understanding of what attracted parents to HES. And, the Superintendent's staff was providing the board with data implying that 100% of HES parents would continue to enroll their children at the combined school - regardless of its total detachment from reality.
When I spoke to Dennis Whitling and Liz Brown after the meeting, they defended the Staff's implication by saying that the only reason they had ever heard that parents prefer HES was the year-round calendar. As I told them then, and have repeated often since that night, my son is not at HES because of the year-round schedule. He is on a year-round schedule because we want him at HES. I felt that surely mine wasn't the only family to feel this way.
So, I did what any good researcher would do, I decided to collect some data based in reality.
I distributed an online survey to the parents of HES students on March 22. The survey stayed open for only 10 days and collected 201 responses. The key findings are shown below:
I have emailed a link to the survey findings directly to all HES parents for which I have an email address. Additionally, that link and a PowerPoint presentation of the survey results will be sent directly to each Board of Education member later today. Finally, I will be speaking to this issue during the Public Comment portion of the full Board meeting scheduled for Monday evening at Gravelly Hill Middle School.
If you did not receive an email with the survey findings link, you can see the results here.
I encourage every parent to join me at the meeting in Efland and sign up to speak on this subject. This is your best opportunity to be heard and it should not slip away.
The Board needs to know how widespread the impact of this decision will be. They also need to understand that no matter what they hope to accomplish by merging the two schools, those plans are destined to fail. Just like HES parents chose to enroll their children at HES, most will make other choices if the schools are merged.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete this survey and I hope to see a large crowd on Monday evening.
When I spoke to Dennis Whitling and Liz Brown after the meeting, they defended the Staff's implication by saying that the only reason they had ever heard that parents prefer HES was the year-round calendar. As I told them then, and have repeated often since that night, my son is not at HES because of the year-round schedule. He is on a year-round schedule because we want him at HES. I felt that surely mine wasn't the only family to feel this way.
So, I did what any good researcher would do, I decided to collect some data based in reality.
I distributed an online survey to the parents of HES students on March 22. The survey stayed open for only 10 days and collected 201 responses. The key findings are shown below:
I have emailed a link to the survey findings directly to all HES parents for which I have an email address. Additionally, that link and a PowerPoint presentation of the survey results will be sent directly to each Board of Education member later today. Finally, I will be speaking to this issue during the Public Comment portion of the full Board meeting scheduled for Monday evening at Gravelly Hill Middle School.
If you did not receive an email with the survey findings link, you can see the results here.
I encourage every parent to join me at the meeting in Efland and sign up to speak on this subject. This is your best opportunity to be heard and it should not slip away.
The Board needs to know how widespread the impact of this decision will be. They also need to understand that no matter what they hope to accomplish by merging the two schools, those plans are destined to fail. Just like HES parents chose to enroll their children at HES, most will make other choices if the schools are merged.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete this survey and I hope to see a large crowd on Monday evening.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Food for thought
I have been spending some time going through the results of the HES Parents' Survey over the past few days. I will be presenting these results to the Board during the public comment period on Monday and openly distributing them (as promised) via this blog before the meeting.
One the of most interesting things I have seen in the data is the strong interest that will exist among HES parents for charter school opportunities if HES is dismantled.
According to survey respondents, enrolling their children in a charter school will be second only to returning to their neighborhood school among parents that say they will not keep their children at a merged CES/HES. I found that to be pretty surprising.
As I have said many times, I am not well versed in the complexity of public schools nor did I pay much attention to the different flavors of education before enrolling my son at HES. We looked at our neighborhood school, considered a few local private schools and then we visited HES, and the decision was made for us. The idea of a charter school never even crossed my mind.
After seeing the importance many other parents are placing on this option, I started doing some reading and I found some interesting information on the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools website.
Did you know that you can convert an existing public school into a charter school if a "majority of the teachers" and support staff, and a "significant number of parents" support the idea?
"§ 115C‑238.29B. Eligible applicants; contents of applications; submission of applications for approval.
(a) Any person, group of persons, or nonprofit corporation seeking to establish a charter school may apply to establish a charter school. If the applicant seeks to convert a public school to a charter school, the application shall include a statement signed by a majority of the teachers and instructional support personnel currently employed at the school indicating that they favor the conversion and evidence that a significant number of parents of children enrolled in the school favor conversion."
And, to make things even more interesting, the application to convert an existing school into a charter school can be made directly to the State Board of Education - in essence, entirely bypassing the local School Board. The local Board will be allowed to comment on the application but the decision is entirely up to the State Board.
The administration of a charter school is entirely up to that school's Board of Directors. They "decide matters related to the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum, and operating procedures" without input from the local School Board. Even so, the local School Board is required by state law to fund the charter school "an amount equal to the per pupil local current expense appropriation to the local school administrative unit for the fiscal year" and "no other terms may be imposed on the charter school as a condition for receipt of local funds."
This may be a viable alternative should the OC Board of Education move forward with dismantling HES.
Hillsborough Charter Elementary School has a pretty nice ring to it.
One the of most interesting things I have seen in the data is the strong interest that will exist among HES parents for charter school opportunities if HES is dismantled.
According to survey respondents, enrolling their children in a charter school will be second only to returning to their neighborhood school among parents that say they will not keep their children at a merged CES/HES. I found that to be pretty surprising.
As I have said many times, I am not well versed in the complexity of public schools nor did I pay much attention to the different flavors of education before enrolling my son at HES. We looked at our neighborhood school, considered a few local private schools and then we visited HES, and the decision was made for us. The idea of a charter school never even crossed my mind.
After seeing the importance many other parents are placing on this option, I started doing some reading and I found some interesting information on the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools website.
Did you know that you can convert an existing public school into a charter school if a "majority of the teachers" and support staff, and a "significant number of parents" support the idea?
"§ 115C‑238.29B. Eligible applicants; contents of applications; submission of applications for approval.
(a) Any person, group of persons, or nonprofit corporation seeking to establish a charter school may apply to establish a charter school. If the applicant seeks to convert a public school to a charter school, the application shall include a statement signed by a majority of the teachers and instructional support personnel currently employed at the school indicating that they favor the conversion and evidence that a significant number of parents of children enrolled in the school favor conversion."
And, to make things even more interesting, the application to convert an existing school into a charter school can be made directly to the State Board of Education - in essence, entirely bypassing the local School Board. The local Board will be allowed to comment on the application but the decision is entirely up to the State Board.
The administration of a charter school is entirely up to that school's Board of Directors. They "decide matters related to the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum, and operating procedures" without input from the local School Board. Even so, the local School Board is required by state law to fund the charter school "an amount equal to the per pupil local current expense appropriation to the local school administrative unit for the fiscal year" and "no other terms may be imposed on the charter school as a condition for receipt of local funds."
This may be a viable alternative should the OC Board of Education move forward with dismantling HES.
Hillsborough Charter Elementary School has a pretty nice ring to it.
Why so many from Efland?
Over the past few weeks I have been involved in a running debate of the proposed merger on a local politics blog named Squeeze the Pulp.
One of the people debating me on the issue is Brad Davis who recently sent a Letter to the Editor of The News of Orange County in support of merging CES and HES. Throughout his arguments, Mr. Davis keeps repeating that:
"55% of children at HES come from Central and Efland-Cheeks."
In reality, the number is more like 57%. According to the OCS data presented to the BOE in February, 31.1% of HES students are zoned to Efland-Cheeks and 25.7% are zoned to CES.
As a CES parent, Mr. Davis believes that parents from the ECES and CES zones who enroll their children at HES are "largely responsible for the situation" facing those two schools and that such an exodus should have been prevented by the Board of Education.
However, he is generous enough to suggest a compromise under the guise of "school choice." He suggests a 15% cap on HES enrollment from any one school zone - in essence forcing more than half the HES students zoned to Efland-Cheeks and over 40% of those zoned to CES back to their neighborhood school, while at the same time virtually guaranteeing admission to anyone zoned to New Hope (5.4%), Pathways (8.8%) or Grady Brown (10.5%).
While I am very opinionated, I am also comfortable admitting when I don't know something. This is one of those cases.
My family is zoned to New Hope Elementary, so I don't know first-hand what drives so many parents from the ECES and CES zones to seek out alternatives to their neighborhood schools.
I would love to hear from parents with first-hand knowledge and can explain why HES is so popular in these neighborhoods. With the Board of Education's next full meeting scheduled for Efland on Monday, I encourage as many local parents as possible to signup to make public comments and share your experiences with the Board.
If you are unable to speak about this at the Board meeting, feel free to leave your comments here or join the discussion on STP.
One of the people debating me on the issue is Brad Davis who recently sent a Letter to the Editor of The News of Orange County in support of merging CES and HES. Throughout his arguments, Mr. Davis keeps repeating that:
"55% of children at HES come from Central and Efland-Cheeks."
In reality, the number is more like 57%. According to the OCS data presented to the BOE in February, 31.1% of HES students are zoned to Efland-Cheeks and 25.7% are zoned to CES.
As a CES parent, Mr. Davis believes that parents from the ECES and CES zones who enroll their children at HES are "largely responsible for the situation" facing those two schools and that such an exodus should have been prevented by the Board of Education.
However, he is generous enough to suggest a compromise under the guise of "school choice." He suggests a 15% cap on HES enrollment from any one school zone - in essence forcing more than half the HES students zoned to Efland-Cheeks and over 40% of those zoned to CES back to their neighborhood school, while at the same time virtually guaranteeing admission to anyone zoned to New Hope (5.4%), Pathways (8.8%) or Grady Brown (10.5%).
While I am very opinionated, I am also comfortable admitting when I don't know something. This is one of those cases.
My family is zoned to New Hope Elementary, so I don't know first-hand what drives so many parents from the ECES and CES zones to seek out alternatives to their neighborhood schools.
I would love to hear from parents with first-hand knowledge and can explain why HES is so popular in these neighborhoods. With the Board of Education's next full meeting scheduled for Efland on Monday, I encourage as many local parents as possible to signup to make public comments and share your experiences with the Board.
If you are unable to speak about this at the Board meeting, feel free to leave your comments here or join the discussion on STP.
Are you ready for Monday?
On Monday evening, the Orange County Board of Education will hold its first full meeting since scores of parents (from both CES and HES) found out about the proposed merger. With all the news that has broken since the last meeting and the growing awareness of the merger issue, I expect the crowd to be very large.
Thanks to the requests of an HES parent, the meeting has been moved from the cramped district offices on King Street to a larger space at Gravelly Hill Middle School. (I guess I need to figure out where that is.)
One of the key points on the Board's agenda will be the Merger Study Group's presentation of a "process" for exploring a merger of the two schools. I attended the Group's final meeting last night and found it pretty disturbing that they were ready to put forth a nine-point process without ever defining the problem they were creating a process to solve. That seems a bit backward to me, but then again I've never worked in government. So, it might be entirely normal.
I want to encourage every parent to take an active role in this decision-making process. I was proud to see how many parents attended the last full Board meeting given the short notice and lack of awareness of this proposal. I hope the numbers are even higher for Monday's meeting. I will be there, and I will be using my time during the public comments period to discuss the results of the HES Parents' Survey I distributed in March.
Will I see you there?
Orange County Board of Education
Regular Meeting
Date: Mon., April 23, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m
Location: Gravelly Hill Middle School
Thanks to the requests of an HES parent, the meeting has been moved from the cramped district offices on King Street to a larger space at Gravelly Hill Middle School. (I guess I need to figure out where that is.)
One of the key points on the Board's agenda will be the Merger Study Group's presentation of a "process" for exploring a merger of the two schools. I attended the Group's final meeting last night and found it pretty disturbing that they were ready to put forth a nine-point process without ever defining the problem they were creating a process to solve. That seems a bit backward to me, but then again I've never worked in government. So, it might be entirely normal.
I want to encourage every parent to take an active role in this decision-making process. I was proud to see how many parents attended the last full Board meeting given the short notice and lack of awareness of this proposal. I hope the numbers are even higher for Monday's meeting. I will be there, and I will be using my time during the public comments period to discuss the results of the HES Parents' Survey I distributed in March.
Will I see you there?
Orange County Board of Education
Regular Meeting
Date: Mon., April 23, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m
Location: Gravelly Hill Middle School
Monday, April 16, 2007
Watch the process in action!
The OCSB's Merger Study Group has changed the time of its final meeting before reporting back to the full School Board.
Media reports following the last Group meeting, said that the group made up of School Board members Ted Triebel, Debbie Piscitelli, and Anne Medenblik would meet again in the School Board's offices at 9:00am on Wednesday, April 18.
According to the Board's website, the meeting has been changed to 5:30 pm Wednesday evening in the Board's King Street offices.
Also, be prepared to attend the Orange County School Board's next full meeting: Monday April 23, 2007 at 7:00pm.
It is important that people closely watch the process in action and share their comments with both our elected officials and the community at large.
Will I see you there?
A Board Committee appointed by the Orange County Board of Education Chairman will meet on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in its offices at 200 East King Street, Hillsborough, NC. The purpose of the meeting is for the Board committee to continue discussion on a process that the Board of Education may want to consider relative to combining Central Elementary and Hillsborough Elementary Schools.
Media reports following the last Group meeting, said that the group made up of School Board members Ted Triebel, Debbie Piscitelli, and Anne Medenblik would meet again in the School Board's offices at 9:00am on Wednesday, April 18.
According to the Board's website, the meeting has been changed to 5:30 pm Wednesday evening in the Board's King Street offices.
Also, be prepared to attend the Orange County School Board's next full meeting: Monday April 23, 2007 at 7:00pm.
It is important that people closely watch the process in action and share their comments with both our elected officials and the community at large.
Will I see you there?
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING(s)
A Board Committee appointed by the Orange County Board of Education Chairman will meet on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in its offices at 200 East King Street, Hillsborough, NC. The purpose of the meeting is for the Board committee to continue discussion on a process that the Board of Education may want to consider relative to combining Central Elementary and Hillsborough Elementary Schools.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Maybe this isn't the right time?
Much of the discussion of dismantling HES has revolved around the lack of "diversity" created by its status as a school of choice.
Does anyone else see the irony of this discussion followed shortly by this news?
The African-American, female Superintendent of Orange County Schools, Shirley Carraway has announced her retirement effective October 1.
The African-American, female Principal of Hillsborough Elementary School, Mamie Jay has requested to take an immediate "leave of absence."
With the need to immediately start the search for a new superintendent, who may have different ideas about how best to address the problems facing all of the district's schools, this may not be the best time to make potentially irreversable decisions about the future of two elementary schools and alienate a sizeable number of the district's families.
Situations change and the Orange County School Board needs to change its priorities.
Does anyone else see the irony of this discussion followed shortly by this news?
The African-American, female Superintendent of Orange County Schools, Shirley Carraway has announced her retirement effective October 1.
The African-American, female Principal of Hillsborough Elementary School, Mamie Jay has requested to take an immediate "leave of absence."
With the need to immediately start the search for a new superintendent, who may have different ideas about how best to address the problems facing all of the district's schools, this may not be the best time to make potentially irreversable decisions about the future of two elementary schools and alienate a sizeable number of the district's families.
Situations change and the Orange County School Board needs to change its priorities.
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