Durham Public Schools Board of Education – April 29, 2016 BOE Regular Meeting Highlights from April 28, 2016
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Durham Public Schools Board of Education – April 29, 2016 BOE Regular Meeting Highlights from April 28, 2016 The Durham Public Schools Board of Education met at 6:33 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, 2016, and considered an agenda that included the following highlights: Board Chair Heidi Carter extended a warm welcome to everyone present and to all the television viewers. She promised that the meeting would be rich in information that would support and enhance the vision statement of Durham Public Schools. The standing committees of the Board presented information and reports that keep the public informed on what the district is doing to ensure that the vision of success for every child is realized. Celebrations: Be Our Guest –Spring Valley Elementary, Easley Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, Parkwood Elementary, Shepard Middle School, The Performance Learning Center and Early College. Herald Sun/ DPS Student of the Month – April – Samantha Armistead, Jordan High School Employee of the Month – DPS is proud to honor Tim Velegol from Riverside High School Governor’s School – Thirty–seven Durham Public School students have been selected to attend the 2016 session of the Governor’s School of North Carolina. Science Fair Winners – All winners were recognized and asked to walk the red carpet. Jordan High School Rocketry Team – Physics teacher Dr. Jeffrey LaCrosse and his team; Emma Jaynes, Samantha Armistead; Judy Chang; Ryan Hill and Evan Perry is one of only 19 teams in the county to be invited to Washington, DC, to participate in the national NASA student launch competition. While in DC they met the President and First Lady. Battle of the Books – Pearsontown Elementary School, Rogers-Herr Middle School and The School for Creative Studies were celebrated for their wins. Student Advisory Council – Members were recognized and asked to walk the red carpet. Spelling Bee – Bettie Closs and her sister, Hannah Closs were recognized for their accomplishments. Agenda: The agenda was approved with addition of a resolution, removal of 2016 Bond Referendum and the placement of the Mentor Program update. 1 Consent Agenda: There were no items on consent. General Public Comment: There were three people who signed up for Public Comment Reports of the Board: Resolution in Support of Black Boys and Young Men WHEREAS, the Durham Public School Board recognizes that white supremacy, anti-Black racism, and economic inequality deeply affect the lives and educational success of our Black students; and WHEREAS, the Board believes that democratically governed, fully funded, and inclusive public schools are essential institutions for confronting social inequity and that public schools can and must allocate resources to combat the disparities created by the existence of inequity in our economy and society; and WHEREAS, historically, Black students are below district averages on graduation rates, ACT scores, and other measures of achievement and proficiency; and WHEREAS, Black boys and young men exceed district averages for suspensions, expulsions, absences and dropouts; and WHEREAS, the Board is committed to providing a high quality education for all students, recognizes that the educational underachievement of Black boys and young men is of concern, and has as our goal that young Black men who matriculate through Durham Public Schools exit equipped for success and full lives; and WHEREAS, we believe Black boys and young men, like all young people, deserve well-resourced schools and district personnel who are trained and supported in their work to recognize differences in learning styles and strengths and to adapt teaching methods and activities to promote rigor inclusion, cultural competency, and high expectations; and WHEREAS, the Board believes that the high stakes, standardized tests currently imposed by the state of North Carolina are ineffective means for assessing the actual proficiency and educational needs of all students, especially those of Black boys, young men, students of color, and students from low-income families; and WHEREAS, the Durham Public School Board will critically explore, adopt and implement initiatives targeted to accurately measure and improve the educational outcomes for Black boys and young men in pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade; and WHEREAS, we will develop evidence-based initiatives, maintain data and regularly monitor and report the academic progress, on reducing suspension data and the disproportional proportion number of Black boys and young men in the exceptional children’s program; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Durham Public Schools Board of Education, as a collective body will determine and address the causes of, and solutions to, the underachievement of Black boys both within and beyond our classrooms and schools and directs the Superintendent to develop and present to the 2 Board recommendations on how the Board may support the implementation of a plan for addressing the aforementioned initiatives and goals. This the 28th day of April, 2016 The Resolution in Support of Black Boys and Your Men was approved by a unanimous vote with revisions. Resolution on Increasing Per Pupil Funding and Fully funding Public Schools in North Carolina WHEREAS, the North Carolina Constitution includes an obligation to provide a sound, basic education to all school aged children in our state, acknowledging that talent and ingenuity can be found among all our children; and WHEREAS, public education is the cornerstone for our democracy and economic future; and WHEREAS, state and federal elected politicians have attacked public education and public school teachers instead of attacking poverty among our public school children; and WHEREAS, inflation-adjusted per pupil spending is still below pre-recession levels; and WHEREAS, when adjusted for inflation, North Carolina's average teacher salary has actually dropped more than 13 percent since 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics; and WHEREAS, in terms of per pupil spending, an NEA National Education Association report ranks North Carolina 46th in the United States in 2014-15, spending $8,632 per student, compared to $8,620 per student in 2013-14; and WHEREAS, in 2008, North Carolina teacher salaries ranked 25th in the nation but had fallen to 46th in the nation in 2014-15; and WHEREAS, that despite research showing cost–effectiveness of Pre-K services, the NC General Assembly has cut funding and reduced the number of state-funded pre-kindergarten seats by 5,400 since 2008 resulting in continued waiting lists; and WHEREAS, approximately 60 percent the majority of public education funding comes from the State, while the remainder is funded by local and the federal governments; and WHEREAS, as the state has abandoned its commitment to fully fund our public schools, many local government leaders have shouldered more of the burden by increasing property taxes or by local districts cutting important programs and staff; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Durham Public Schools Board of Education Calls for the N.C. General Assembly to fully fund public education in Local Education Agencies to reflect growth and student needs; and Calls upon the General Assembly to reinstate K-12 enrollment growth (ADM average daily membership funding) as part of the continuation budget; and 3 Calls upon the legislators of both parties to reject the trend toward shifting education spending to local counties; and Calls upon the General Assembly to raise additional state revenue in an equitable fashion in order to avoid regressive tax shifts to counties; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: The Durham Board of Education urges the Durham Board of County Commissioners to ratify a similar resolution and advocate within the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners to increase per pupil funding in North Carolina and fully fund North Carolina public schools and advocate within their Association to make full funding a top priority in their Association’s Legislative Goals. This the 28th day of April, 2016. The Resolution on Increasing Per Pupil Funding and Fully Funding Public Schools in North Carolina was approved unanimously with changes. Reports of the Work Sessions: Academic and Student Support Services Work Session • Revision of Policy 3405-Students at Risk of Academic Failure - Approved • Board Policy 3227 – Academics Standards and Promotions for Grades K-8 – Approved with changes • Board Policy 4000 – Equal Opportunity for All Students - Approved Operational Services and Policy Work Session Update on Proposed 2016 Bond Referendum This item was removed from the agenda Reports of the Superintendent: • 2016-2017 Budget Update – Approved with changes All policies can be viewed on our website at www.dpsnc.net. Superintendent’s Updates: Dr. Bert L’Homme shared the following: Madam chair, board members, I want to start off tonight’s meeting with some good news. This month, I was notified that the Trustees of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust have approved a restricted grant to support a partnership between North Carolina Central University and Durham Public Schools to establish a college preparatory middle school on the NCCU campus. 4 This grant, for $625,000, lays the foundation for us to work with our partners at NCCU to create Eagle Academy. Eagle Academy will draw students from the area surrounding NCCU, primarily from Eastway and Y.E. Smith, and also attract future first-generation college students from other neighborhoods, to bring to middle school students the same kind of partnership that we have been able to provide for high school students at Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College. This is only the start; given our budget situation, we need more help to get Eagle Academy off the ground. Outside funders are more inclined to support new, well-defined initiatives than ongoing operational funding for a school district, so we will continue to apply for grants to fund this partnership. NCCU is very excited about the potential for Eagle Academy, and so am I. Board members, I’d also like to talk a bit about the resolution you discussed at last month’s meeting, and I know that you have been working on it since then.