Hill elected chairman as Wake school board returns to Democratic control – Source: News & Observer

CARY — Democrats retook control of the Wake County school board today, taking the top two leadership positions and removing Republican John Tedesco from the vice chairman’s position.

Democrat Kevin Hill was elected chairman, receiving five of the nine board votes to serve until June. The new Democratic majority also exerted its muscle by electing Keith Sutton as vice chairman, getting five votes.

"It’s time to get to work," Hill said. (More)

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School board district 4 race is key to school policies – Source: News & Observer

RALEIGH — East of downtown, stretching north and south and all the way to Knightdale, Wake County school board District 4 is home to a wealth of sought-after magnet schools, but also to high numbers of low-income students.

The Oct. 11 school board elections pit incumbent district representative Keith Sutton, a Democrat, against Republican Venita Peyton. They have competing ideas about the Wake system’s overall direction, which will closely affect the district. (Read more)

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SUTTON BLASTS SCHOOL BOARD FOR SILENCE ON TEACHER HIRING – Source: The Cash Roc

By Cash Michaels

Editor

             Saying that, “…I for one, support the effort of our Superintendent to close the gap between our minority student population and our minority teaching force,” Wake School Board member Keith Sutton blasted his fellow board members for remaining silent as Wake Superintendent Anthony Tata comes under fire for suggesting that more black and Hispanic teachers are needed for an increasing diverse student population. (Read more)

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Wake school ideas include four-day weeks–Source: News & Observer

RALEIGH — Taxpayers are asking Wake County school board members to consider four-day school weeks and fees for sports to help deal with next year’s budget crisis.

Shorter school weeks and charging students to play sports are among the most common ideas left in the school district’s online budget suggestion box. School leaders have received 463 suggestions on how to deal with more than $100 million in state and federal funding cuts that are expected to lead to layoffs, larger class sizes and the loss of some programs next year. (Read more)

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Read The CAROLINIAN real story by Cash Michaels about the Tedesco/Margiotta scheme to get over 6,000 SouthEast Raleigh students re-assigned back to their neighborhoods. The school system’s own documents prove it:

THE TEDESCO SCHEME
By Cash Michaels, Editor
…

The agenda for the Nov. 30th Student Assignment Committee (SAC) meeting, chaired by Wake School Board member John Tedesco, was simple.

The committee would review and approve the minutes from the prior meeting.

The three board members, and nine citizen representatives appointed by all nine school board members, would get a staff overview and update on where they were per the third year of the multi-year assignment plan they were supposed to fine tune.

And the last agenda item listed, “An opportunity to share concerns related to school assignment issues in the 2011-12 school year.

As it happened, all but one of the Republican board members and citizen representatives knew exactly what that last agenda listing meant, and they were ready. (Read more)

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Wake County Public Schools

Wake County Public Schools BOE News

Hello! Here is the weekend’s BOE news.

 

Federal investigators grilling WCPSS

Why did the current BOE drop the diversity policy? That’s one of the questions being asked by federal civil rights investigators, according to the N&O. More than $70 million in federal aid could be at risk, pending the investigation’s outcome.

 

Diverse schools, healthy neighborhoods

Steve Ford expounds on how diverse schools can foster more integrated neighborhoods in this editorial. He concludes stating, "…the fact that school quality (in Wake County) has been maintained at a fairly consistent and high level throughout the county has stabilized neighborhoods by reducing incentives to move away from markedly poor schools. Wake is economically sounder because, with diversity as a guiding principle, educational opportunities have been safeguarded for all students – setting a standard for today’s leaders to uphold."

 

Intent for magnet, calendar students

There seems to be some confusion regarding the deadline for magnet and calendar (year-round) applicant students to indicate whether they want to continue with their current school assignment for the 2011-12 school year. In a previous update, Jan. 10 was the indicated deadline. However, postcards received during the weekend list midnight on Mon., Dec. 20, as the deadline for indicating intent. I recommend using the Dec. 20th date. Then, apparently, you have until Jan. 10 to change your mind. Here is the link. Sorry for the confusion.

 

LTEs

Goldman’s courage

Tax cuts’ price

 

Thanks for staying engaged with WCPSS.

 

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Wake County Public Schools

[CoalitionofConcernedCitizensforAfricanAmericanChildren] Updates

Updates

Greetings! Hope you’re staying warm and dry during this wintery blast of weather. Here is today’s update.

Margiotta blames Goldman – again

Yesterday, I posted a link to BOE Chair Ron Margiotta’s WPTF interview this week with Bill Lumaye. You can read some of Margiotta’s comments, blaming the BOE’s lack of progress on student assignment on Vice Chair Debra Goldman, here on the WakeEd blog. I don’t know about you, but the PR spin Margiotta is weaving [to demonize Goldman and build public outcry against her for "switching sides"] makes me dizzy. Please consider emailing Mr. Marg iotta and the rest of the BOE to remind them that Wake County’s BOE is supposed to be nonpartisan. This "us vs. them" mentality is not productive for anyone, least of which the children of Wake County.

Sutton on WAUG-AM today at 4PM

BOE member Keith Sutton will talk about the Republican BOE members’ failed attempted to reassign 6,000+ minority students to Southeast Raleigh schools on "Make it Happen." The show will air at 4PM today, Dec. 16, on WAUG (750 AM).

Raleigh among least segregated

I sent the link to this story earlier this week, but wanted to highlight that it lists Raleigh as one of the least segregated cities in the country. Much credit for this is due to WCPSS’s diversity policy — which is no longer in effect as of 2010, thanks to the current BOE. Here are some additional observations on this topic, courtesy of a Great Schools in Wake colleague:

"Folks in Wake County don’t have to worry about avoiding certain parts of town (due to) high-poverty schools. A lot of "white flight" or "middle-class flight" in other cities gets started because people are worried about the schools. And once the "flight" starts, the worries come true — tragic for those who "flee" and also for those who are left behind!

(John) Tedesco has argued that we don’t need a diversity policy because our towns are relatively integrated. He is wrong about this in (at least) two ways:

1. Even though we are not as segregated as most cities, we are still somewhat segregated. Many neighborhoods are COMPLETELY segregated.

2. The diversity policy is the REASON we are not segregated, and eliminating it will CAUSE segregation, over the years."

Snow make-up days

WCPSS has altered its schedule for snow make-up days. Please refer to the website for the latest info.

In the News

Wake teachers set records in earning national board certification

LTEs/opinion

Steadier on schools

Innovate and educate

Exclusive charters

Equalizing schools

Thanks for staying engaged with WCPSS.

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Wake County Public Schools

Goldman: Dump the assignment plan, start over – Source: News & Observer

RALEIGH — The Wake County school board has just thrown out its controversial, zone-based assignment plan on a motion by vice chairwoman Debra Goldman.

A directive passed out by Keith Sutton, a member of the former board minority, calls for the following action:

"Any and all efforts to create a zone-based assignment model will cease effective immediately." (Read more)

Note: I knew it would work out. C. Dancy II – DCN Publisher

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Wake County Public Schools

School discipline changing in Wake – News & Observer

RALEIGH — Wake County school leaders are rejecting the strict zero-tolerance student discipline policies that swept across the nation this past decade following deadly school shootings.

In a rare sign of near unanimity, school board members on Tuesday embraced plans by school administrators to overhaul discipline policies that are among the strictest in North Carolina. The goal is to reduce the length and number of student suspensions. Policies will be rewritten so that most offenses will be eligible short suspensions. That will keep students in school, improving academics and the graduation rate. (Read more)

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Wake County Public Schools

Consultant will lay out plan for ‘controlled choice’ in Wake schools – Source: WRAL

Raleigh, N.C. — Amid a raging debate over community-based schools in the Wake County Public School System, a consultant out of Massachusetts says he might have an option that can help give parents more choices in their children’s education without creating high-poverty schools. (Read more @ WRAL)

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Wake County Public Schools

Board member Sutton wants Raleigh police apology – Source: WRAL

Raleigh, N.C. — A Wake County school board member almost arrested in a scuffle between protesters and police said Wednesday he’s owed an apology.

Keith Sutton, who represents East Raleigh District 4, said Wednesday that police officers grabbed him during a break at Tuesday’s school board meeting while he was caught in a protest against a controversial change to the county’s student assignment policy. (Read more @ WRAL)

Note: Damn now Margiotta board chair wants to speak for Sutton. Margiotta said, “But school board Chairman Ron Margiotta defended the increased security presence and said he thought Sutton might have been trying to get arrested.” Margiotta wants to speak for the NAACP also.

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Wake County Public Schools

 

Board member Sutton wants Raleigh police apology

Raleigh, N.C. — A Wake County school board member almost arrested in a scuffle between protesters and police said Wednesday he’s owed an apology.

Keith Sutton, who represents East Raleigh District 4, said Wednesday that police officers grabbed him during a break at Tuesday’s school board meeting while he was trying to protect a young girl caught in a protest against a controversial change to the county’s student assignment policy. (Read more @ WRAL)

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Wake County Public Schools

Raleigh NC – Former Rocky Mount Native Keith Sutton Appointed to Serve on the Wake School Board

Keith Sutton is your newest Wake County school board member.

The school board moved so quickly through the interview process today that the vote wasn’t held off until tomorrow. Board members tapped Sutton, legislative affairs program manager for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, for the District 4 vacancy in Southeast Raleigh. (News & Observer)