WAKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING MINUTES October 21, 2008 Board Members Present Staff Members Present Rosa Gill, Chair Superintendent Del Burns Donna Hargens Kevin L. Hill, Vice Chair Terri Cobb Don Haydon Beverley Clark Danny Barnes David Holdzkom Eleanor Goettee Mike Burriss Ann Hooker Patti Head Kathy Chontos Bev White Anne McLaurin Marvin Connelly Jonibel Willis Ron Margiotta Chuck Dulaney Mark Winters Lori Millberg Michael Evans Board Attorney Present Horace Tart Lloyd Gardner Ann Majestic Chair Rosa Gill called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m. Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Chair’s Comments • Ms. Gill congratulated Principal of the Year, Matt Wight, principal at Apex High School and the WCPSS 2008 Assistant Principal of the Year, Shejuanna Rodgers, assistant principal of Apex Middle School. Ms. Gill thanked all of the principals and assistant principals for their hard work and dedication they give to the schools and students of Wake County. • On October 16, the ribbon-cutting for Lynn Road Elementary School was held. Ms. Gill provided a welcome from the Board of Education and Ms. Clark was in attendance. • On Friday, October 17, Ms. Gill attended the dedication of the Shaw University Center for Early Childhood Education, Development and Research. • On October 9, Ms. Gill attended the Freedom Fund Banquet sponsored by the State NAACP. • Ms. Gill shared that over the past month the Board has met with mayors and municipality boards. Meetings were held on September 22 with the Towns of Knightdale, Zebulon, and Raleigh, September 25 with the Towns of Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs, and Fuquay-Varina, September 30, with the Towns of Wake Forest, Rolesville, and Wendell, and October 14, with the Towns of Cary and Garner. Discussion topics included CIP 2006, student assignment, and other topics of interest to both groups. Ms. Gill thanked the Board members and the Elected Officials for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet. • On Monday, October 13, the Wake Education Partnership held a summit at the McKimmon Center. The topic discussed was “Skills Needed by 21st Century Learners. Ms. Gill thanked Board members and staff for attending. The committee members will take the work from the summit and develop a plan that will be released in the spring. • On September 22, the ribbon-cutting for Sycamore Creek was held. Ms. Gill thanked the Board members who attended. • Ms. Gill reminded Board members and the public that the November 4 Board meeting has been moved to November 3. • On Thursday, November 6, the Board will hold a work session at Crossroads II. • On November 5, Board members have been invited to a reception for PTA Presidents from 7:00 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. at Paragon Commercial Bank. Superintendent’s Comments • On Thursday, October 16, the Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year Banquet was held at Marbles Kids’ Museum. Dr. Burns congratulated the WCPSS 2008 Principal of the Year, Matt Wight, principal at Apex High School, and the WCPSS 2008 Assistant Principal of the Year, Shejuanna Rodgers, assistant principal at Apex Middle School. Other finalists for Principal of the Year included James Sposato, Powell Elementary, Dalphine Perry, Zebulon Middle, Rod Stanton, Cary Elementary, and Savon Willard, Salem Elementary. In addition to Shejuanna Rodgers, finalists for Assistant Principal of the Year included Edna Faye Jones, Forest Pines Elementary, Kathy Godfrey, Harris Creek Elementary, Lisa Cruz, Brier Creek Elementary; and Teri Whyte Scott, East Wake High School of Engineering Systems. Dr. Burns thanked Board members and Leadership Team members who were in attendance and thanked the many sponsors for the event. • On Friday, October 17, Dr. Burns spoke at the dedication of the Shaw University Center for Early Childhood Education, Development and Research where over 100 people attended the ceremony. Dr. Burns thanked Shaw University President Clarence Newsome and his wife for attending, and Board members Rosa Gill and Dr. Anne McLaurin for attending and showing their support for the partnership. • Middle Creek High School junior student, Ansley Byers, attended the Summer Ventures Program in Math and Science this past summer. The program was sponsored by the University of North Carolina system. Ansley won the “Catalyst Award” and will have the privilege of presenting her research to a group of teachers at the NC Council of Teachers of Mathematics this month. • Dr. Burns congratulated Vandora Springs Elementary School P.E. teacher, Charleen Powers, for being named Wake County Public Schools Physical Education Teacher of the Year. • Dr. Burns congratulated Salem Elementary School and P.E. teacher, Tommy Hager, for being named the Wake County Public Schools Physical Education Program of the Year. • On Saturday, October 4, the Latino Outreach Program held their first interpreter/translator training for WCPSS employees. Twelve WCPSS employees and two community persons participated. • On October 7th and 8th, Special Education Services had an opportunity to team with Human Resources in supporting and training new special education teachers in WCPSS. The teachers discussed and received training on a variety of topics including North Carolina policies and procedures as they relate to special education students. • The Hispanic Achievement Conference sponsored by the NC Society of Hispanic Professionals, took place on October 16 at the McKimmon Center. The first keynote speaker was Dr. Jaime A. Castellano, who is one of the leading national experts in gifted education and in the identification, assessment, and education of culturally and linguistically diverse and low-income status students. The second keynote was Dr. Aida Walqui, who described 5 research-based principles that underlie quality language and subject matter socio-culturally appropriate teaching. Many of our WCPSS staff members were very actively involved in the conference. • Dr. Burns shared that Green Hope High School was featured in a recent USA Today article related to their cross country team. The article describes an incredible coach, Michael Miragliuolo, reaching out to the student body by coaching a team of 205 boys and girls. Two years ago, Will Craigle, a student on the team was fighting a brain tumor. It was amazing to see how the team rallied behind Will. Will is now a sophomore at N.C. State. Another team member, Nathan Baker, is hearing impaired and has cerebral palsy. Nathan recently ran a personal best of 24:18. He has also cut his time by eight minutes in a 5-kilometer race. It is exciting to see students learn from teachers and each other in setting and achieving goals that will make a difference throughout the rest of their life. • On Wednesday, October 15, Dr. Burns spoke at the North Raleigh Methodist Church regarding community leadership. Dr. Burns thanked Jody Gross for the opportunity and those in attendance for their support. • On Monday, October 13, Dr. Burns attended the Wake County Indian Education Open House at the Indian Education Center in Garner. Board Member’s Comments • Ms. Head shared that on October 7 she attended and participated in the Raleigh Medal of Arts Awards at the Convention Center. Chuck Davis founder of the African American Dance Ensemble received an award and gave lots of credit to his teachers at Ligon High School who impacted his life and character. J. R. Richardson, Band Director of Broughton High School received a medal of arts award as well. Ms. Head also shared that the reception for Sycamore Creek changed to Wednesday, October 22. • Ms. Clark shared that being at the Principal of the Year reception is a special event where there is an opportunity to sit at a table and talk with principals. • Ms. Goettee shared that she joined Larry Savage and Dawn Dawson at Cary High School’s ESL Academy. Eleven students were in the class representing seven countries where they spend three hours a day working on the foundations of English. Ms. Goettee shared her pleasure with the progress of the academy. APPROVAL OF THE MEETING AGENDA Ms. Gill added an additional Closed Session Agenda item, to consult with an attorney employed or retained by the Board in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege as provided in G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), and moved Capital Improvement Program Adjustments from Action to Information. Lori Millberg made a motion to approve the amended agenda, seconded by Eleanor Goettee. The motion was unanimously approved. INFORMATION ITEMS 1. THE CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT AUDIT QUARTERLY REPORT The Curriculum Management Audit report was presented to the board by lead auditor, Dr. Roseanne Stripling on September 4, 2007. The first of regular quarterly reports was presented to the board on April 8, 2008. The report provided an overview of how the work of the implementation of the action steps has been mapped over seventeen quarters. The first quarterly report for 2008-2009 will provide a brief review of the work done in the first quarter of 2008-2009 and a review of the work done since the last update. It will also provide a review of the work to be addressed next. A Curriculum Matters Newsletter serves as a report of the quarterly audit progress. The Curriculum Management Audit Resource Center website continues to provide the updated status of our work. Fiscal Implications: None. Recommendation for Action: None. Dr. Hargens shared the 5th quarter implementation plan with the Board. WCPSS staff members are currently undergoing intensive training to be able to design the curriculum that addresses alignment, equality, and equity issues. The training has also assisted staff in looking at the systems that support learning and teaching. Dr. Hargens shared that the Curriculum and Assessment Decisions Policy and the Curriculum Management Policies that will be presented for second reading at the Board meeting will clarify the roles for the effective design and delivery of the curriculum.