Save CMS Kids

A community gets the government it deserves

2006-03-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

District 5 is a utopia of gentle living here in Charlotte. Excellent schools, roads, landscaping, and any other measurement of a living index. Here is the thing, they vote. More than any other district, more than any two districts combined. Politicians notice that and remember who got them elected. Especially at-large candidates.

The No vote on the bonds is most surprising it gives hope to the rest of Charlotte. If the rest of Charlotte sinks into gang warfare and disaster maybe that's not good for South Charlotte....

If it's not Parks Helms, then who?

2006-03-12T16:19:00.000-05:00

Parks Helms announced that he is running for the County Commissioners At-Large seat for Mecklenburg county. In the write-up it announces that he has been on that governing body for the last 14 years and the chairman for 10 of those years.

This perfect storm of disaster did not form over night. The schools have been over-crowded in the suburbs for the last 12 years(at least). He just noticed NOW that there is a problem? Was it the failed bond vote? The talk of Deconsolidating? Do people have to get mad for the admins to notice they are not educating the kids or keeping them safe?

If I can't hold Parks Helms responsible for ignoring this mess until it's hit a crisis proportion, who is responsible?

Urban vs. Surburban leads to failure for our community

2006-03-11T14:38:00.000-05:00

I was completely stunned by the comments from an urban education activist. He stated that suburban kids were passing the state tests so we shouldn't put any effort into their education. Resources should not be given to those suburban kids because they 'don't need it to pass the tests'. The federal test results show how the low the state tests are worth. We are not just competing against other states with our work force but other countries. Should we lower our education standards so there is no gap within our community? Should we broaden our focus outward and try to reduce the gap between our community and the education leaders of the world? Ambition exists in every child, let them see the challenges of the world. Rather then the micro-community vision that seems to exist in Charlotte. It should not be urban vs. suburban, we should all be pulling together.

Dumont Clark says that suburban parents don't care about urban kids? Prove it! We(surburban parents) just have assumed that the resources are in the Urban schools because they are certainly not in Suburban schools. Where the hell are they? Judge Manning says we have enough funding...Where is it?

They'll do fine

2006-01-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

I caught with one of the urban education advocates in person a few days ago. We agree on most things about education. Low poverty kids need an excellent education to show them the path out of poverty. I appreciate his dedication and even his anger about the abysmal situation in CMS.

Then, he declared that he did not care about the education of middle class black and white children, or children in the suburbs. They could all rot as far as he was concerned. They pass the achievement tests so we should not give any resource to them.

My response to this diatribe was to pull a child over and ask bluntly, 'Do you mean that this child does not deserve an education?' Eye blinking and some back pedalling from the gentleman.

Later on in the night a friend of mine was speaking to the same individual. He said 'OK, you're son deserves an education but you should bus them to an inner-city school!' Her completely truthful response was that she all ready did. I believe there was a jaw drop.

The urban activist said all this with conviction and visuals to prove the point. I know that Vilma Leake said the same thing in her last campaign for school board. It was another thing to hear it come out of a person who looked rational. Who could could say that only children that fit a certain color and income level are deserving of an acceptable school situation?

Is racism acceptable now?

Maybe we should apply the achievement test in the beginning of the year. If kids pass it they are sent somewhere for holding until everyone catches up to the standard level. It is more kind than mind numbing them in the classroom. Hold them in large groups like a free play, it will save a fortune in teacher costs.

Never mind that the achievement test is a ridiculously low standard. We compare our children to the lowest performers in our country rather than the standard for other countries.

It's so easy to only see a situation from one perspective. Challenging each others assumptions and stereotypes is much more beneficial for our community.

If middle class parents don't trust the school system to challenge their kids they will leave. It does matter. If the whole school system is high poverty and extra challenged there will be no diversity at all.

Overcrowding numbers under-reported - Enroll your kids

2006-01-13T08:16:00.000-05:00

Overcrowded schools are a real problem in the suburbs of Charlotte. I think the numbers are too low. People have scrambled to find alternatives for their children because of the unacceptable conditions at CMS schools.

Similar to unemployment numbers, people give up looking for a job the unemployment numbers don't reflect them. Families have given up looking for a spot at CMS schools, the overcrowding numbers don't reflect them.

Let's make those numbers real. Enroll kids that attend private or home-school in CMS so the numbers are more accurate. The deadline is January 31, 2006. Withdraw them before schools starts.

Let's hold a meeting

2006-01-09T06:38:00.000-05:00

Charlotte is beholden to Raleigh for basic government services such as adequate roads and law enforcement. Asking nicely and/or begging for our own money back is met with smug condescension. Bunch of newcomers, make do, if you wanted more you should have moved to Wake county. The legislators see Mecklenburg as competition or worse and don't wish us well. Mayor Pat Mcrory is threatening to withhold money from Raleigh.

The Charlotte Capitalist

My view of what Hizzoner should lobby? Calculate the amount of dollars that Charlotte citizens are looted by the state government. Cut the NC budget by that amount. Return dollars back to the looted.

Kind of like what the police do when they catch the bad guys. They return the stolen goods.

Maybe Charlotte should hold a meeting to discuss seceding from North Carlolina. We could at least get a task force appointed on the issue.

Which Task Force will be most effective?

2006-01-07T13:33:00.000-05:00

Priorities are a subjective thing. Do you worry more about crime or schools? The crime rate is skyrocketing here in Charlotte. We may be in the top of the top ten crime-ridden cities this year. Our children have dangerously overcrowded schools to attend. Many get lost in the crowd and turn to a life of crime. Increasing the crime rate. Is it a coincidence things are spinning out of control?

Whatever your priority, we have a plethora of task forces in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Which do you think will be the most effective?

Robbery & Auto Theft Task Force
CMS Task Force
Homicide Task Force
Ex-Gov. Jim Martin's Education Task Force

Vote in the Poll

Ann Doss Helms is still reporting the news

2005-12-26T12:18:00.000-05:00

I blasted the Observer the other day. I think what they are doing to Kaye McGarry is slanderous. The only reason it is not worthy of a lawsuit is that Kaye is a public official and open for abuse.

Ann Doss Helms wrote an informed article the other day about the additional facts of the case. The editorial board of her paper and the other columnists clearly do not read her work or ignore it because it ruins their fun. Either way it makes me want to spit nails.

Open a fund to develop a school in North Meck

2005-12-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

Consider opening a fund that citizens of North Meck can contribute to voluntarily to build another Charter/private school in Huntersville.

People are desperate for a school in the area. Why can't we raise the funds and build one. It's called capital funds. It will releave some of the pressure on the public school and it will help the children and community.

Lake Norman Charter is successful, popular and full. The North Meck area needs to make more options for themselves.

Drug trade is hopping in Charlotte

2005-12-22T14:21:00.000-05:00

Last spring I visited E.E. Waddell for a dance recital. Nice school, well built. When I left the school at dusk to return home I headed North to Tyvola. At the intersection of Tyvola I saw something that still disturbs me.

Drug dealing by teen-age kids. At the shelter on the east corner, perfectly placed. About 10 kids hung out. Gregarious, shouting out to the cars, approaching some to 'high five' people.

The shelter is placed perfectly for quick transactions. It has dense woods behind it for quick getaways if a cop is spotted. Close enough to the street to run out and service customers. Customer pulls up with their window down, money in hand, double high-five, transaction complete.

I grew up in a more urban area outside of New York. The behaviour was clear and business seemed brisk. It was so blatant. If you want to be urban, understand what you are attracting to the city and exposing the kids to as influences.

Quick money, exciting lifestyle, material excess or plug away and maybe someday get an office job with some far-away degree. Why do you think they're acting up at school? Delayed gratification is not a teen-age trait.

You know what the answer is? Cut down all those damn trees.

The 'Observer' blows any credibility they had with the general public

2005-12-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Observer

The Observer is writing editorials and labelling them News again. This time in a campaign to destroy Kaye McGarry's credibility. Yet, they do not report the serious and racist things that Vilma said at the school board meeting and they do not mention, in their rant that Kaye should stop trembling, that George has been disciplined for hitting a female police officer. The Observer also did not have a representative present at the first meeting. Yet they are ridiculing Kaye McGarry for her sensitivity. Maybe they should read Brian Gott's first hand account of the scenario to get more info.

I read the editorial on Sunday looking for a correction or an apology to Kaye. Instead I find a tribute to Molly Griffin and further derision of Kaye McGarry. Molly Griffin has done nothing but represent the wealthiest and most powerful district in Charlotte. She hasn't had to get mad because her district is treated well by CMS it is where the power brokers live and is likened to a private school situation. That is not reality for the rest of CMS and our reps are understandibly making a fuss.

This school board was put together by the Observer and has voted as the Observer thought was correct. Look at what a mess CMS has become now. Who do they blame? Larry Gauvreau. The public supports his initiatives and backs his ideas. The voters in all districts backed Kaye McGarry by voting against the bond. So they are going for that lucrative 43% of the market who voted for the bonds. Well, it's a business plan.

WCNC and News14 have had the best coverage of the school board situation. Making it more clear that the Observer is editing out facts. Be aware, if you're getting most of your 'news' from the Observer your just getting their opinion labelled as News. It seems like an easy pot shot to ridicule the district representatives. But, guess what, District 2 likes Vilma and she is representing them. When you make fun of her you're making fun of District 2 constituents.

Smearing Kaye's name through the mud does not increase the editorial board's credibility or make it more likely the public will buy their paper. Check out the website, all about the latest gossip, sports and movie listings. One step closer to a gossip rag. If I want gossip I have better sources, same with fashion or sports.
Well, looks like there is an opportunity in Sports blogs but the bottom line stinks...

I read in the Observer that opinion writer Tommy Tomlinson is an excellent writer. Maybe he is (if they say so) but it looks to me like he should stick to fiction. Writing opinion while only using the Observer as a new source makes him seem very ignorant. For example, he wrote that voters should vote for the bonds before North Meck needs to be held in a football stadium. Without an understanding that the bonds did not give any relief to North Meck. Then he makes fun of Kaye without knowing that her concern is credible.

Charlotte needs a credible source of news. The Charlotte Observer is clearly not that source.

Observer
Meddler

Disturber
Interloper

Vilma Leake a constant surprise

2005-12-16T12:25:00.000-05:00

At first glance, it seemed Vilma Leake accusations against Larry Gauvreau were backing up George Dunlap. Tit for Tat. Then I realized that she was really backing Kaye McGarry. Demanding security be assigned to the room. Bless her Heart! Kaye asked for more security and it was voted down 5-4. Vilma found a way around that vote while still looking like George's ally.

On top of that Vilma gets a free pass to call a grown man and fellow school board member a 'boy' and liken him to Emmitt Till while appearing to be on his side. Again, not doing much good for George because it keeps the issue in the headlines of all the major local news. The more it stays there the more incidents keep popping up. Former school board member Lindalyn Kakadelis has come forward to confirm a similar incident. There is also the assault on a fellow female Police officer.

It also inconveniently brings up the Superintendent Pughsley attempting to attack Gauvreau incident. Not only was Pughsley not reprimanded, George Dunlap & Vilma Leake were on the school board at the time.

Kaye took a big risk to step forward and deal with this issue. Nice of Vilma to back her up.

It's a de-consolidation?

2005-12-14T20:11:00.000-05:00

I attendeded the CMS Task Force findings and recommendations presentation today. I had thought the task force info was irrelevant since it was not delivered before the election. Nope. Parks Helms stood up like a proud grandpa and declared it his and Joe White's baby. It was kind of sweet. Since they are both the chairmens of county & school board respectively it looks like a done deal. At this point, really, it almost doesn't matter what it is, just do something.

The statement I value is Harvey Gantt's “We know we can’t continue the status quo,” he said. “We know that we need to make substantive changes.” To see Joe & Parks nod & agree to that remark is worth almost a half mil. alone. Putting the issues on the table and admitting they are there, it's akin to a large 'schools anonymous' meeting. We've worked through steps 1-3, let's skip over 4 too much bickering, well..., Ok... the analogy falls apart.

I assume they can't reduce our school board representation from District reps to at-large reps without a vote; so that is an issue to be debated in the community. They announced it's time for de-consolidation and everyone just tilts their head and wants to know about the funding for their school.

Parent Leadership Network was represented well by a parent who asked thoughtful and pertinent questions in the Q & A. I'm sure the Charlotte Advocates for Education team was proud.

Bashing CMS is a Spectator sport not only for frustrated Char-Meckians

2005-12-04T16:53:00.000-05:00

Looks like I'm not the only one ridiculing Charlotte's claim to be a world class urban city.

The Daily Howler has been ripping Charlotte's Propaganda to shreds...

GUSH, GUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (PART 3)! Everyone gains—except the kids—when bogus claims go uncorrected:

Second claim: Shooting to the top on the NAEP. According to the PBS web site, Eric Smith’s reforms in Charlotte “shot” the district “to the top on NAEP tests.” Fuller quote: “After eight years of system-wide reform, Charlotte-Mecklenburg shot to the top on NAEP tests in early 2004, with each ethnic group outperforming its peers in nine other major urban school districts in reading and math.” That is, of course, a pleasing story—but once again, it’s absurdly misleading, a case of Charlotte-Meck propaganda. This claim refers to a one-time NAEP program called the Trial Urban District Assessment, which conducted testing in ten “urban” districts in 2003 (results were released in 2004). Of the ten districts, however, Charlotte was by far the least “urban.” In fourth grade reading, for example, only 44 percent of the Charlotte students qualified for free or reduced lunch; by contrast, 89 percent of New York students qualified. (Boston: 81 percent. Chicago: 85 percent. Cleveland: 100 percent. Los Angeles: 83 percent.) Almost surely, this large difference in poverty factors explains Charlotte’s modest success on the measures the web site mentions.

Yes, Charlotte’s black kids scored (marginally) better than black kids from Boston and New York in this study. (As is typical with the NAEP, kids were tested in fourth and eighth grades.) But in all likelihood, Charlotte’s black kids were less impoverished than their counterparts from these large urban centers. Indeed, here’s what the PBS web site doesn’t tell you: Among kids who qualified for free or reduced lunch, Charlotte-Mecklenburg did not “outperform its peers” in this trial NAEP study. How did Charlotte fare among low-income kids? In the fourth-grade reading portion of this study, Charlotte-Mecklenburg actually finished fourth (out of ten) among such children. (Low-income kids from Boston, Houston and New York scored higher than low-income kids from Charlotte.) In eighth grade reading, Charlotte finished fourth again (behind Boston, Chicago and New York.) Let’s say it again: Among students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, Charlotte-Mecklenburg finished fourth out of ten at both grade levels, not at the top of these ten “urban” districts. But this fact would kill the “small revolution” story, so the PBS web site leaves it out.

Do we start to see the way mainstream press organs pimp and peddle the “schools that work” narrative? No, Charlotte-Mecklenburg hasn’t “lifted low-performing inner city schools to district-wide levels of achievement.” Spaugh, the low-income school which PBS featured, sits light-years behind district norms. And no, Charlotte-Mecklenburg didn’t “shoot to the top on the NAEP tests in early 2004” if you adjust for low income. Among the low-income kids this show claims to feature, Charlotte-Mecklenburg finished fourth out of ten “urban” districts. And no: From 1995 to 2001, “the number of African-American students in Charlotte schools reading on grade level” almost surely didn’t “more than double.” On North Carolina’s end-of-grade tests, Charlotte’s black kids have gained some ground on the statewide black student population as a whole. But North Carolina’s student population has been showing no progress on the NAEP reading tests. We’d guess that those “end-of-grade” passing rates on the state tests are just another pleasing fantasy.

Do we care about the interests of low-income children? If so, we have to find respectable ways to identify low-income schools that (actually) work. As we see from Eric Smith’s salary, everyone gains when we pimp phony claims. Everybody gains except low-income kids, the kids we’re pretending to care for.

Looks like bashing the Charlotte media machine is a spectator sport even outside of Mecklenburg.

Also from the Howler
GUSH, GUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (PART 1)! A school chief makes remarkable claims—claims which don’t seem to be true:

HOW SWEET IS CHARLOTTE? Have Charlotte’s schools really made big gains? The data suggest they have not:

Special Report: Gush, Gush, Sweet Charlotte!
PART 4—IT’S ALL GOOD: Is there a reason to gush over Charlotte? Has Charlotte-Mecklenburg worked a “small revolution...with enormous implications for public schools nationwide?” We’d have to say that it has not.

Two bright spots for the suburbs

2005-12-02T19:23:00.000-05:00

I am not a complainer, no matter that my significant other started DumpCMS, or that's seems like all I've had to say lately. I got involved with Education advocacy because this is a time for action in our community. Changes need to happen or the deterioration continues. Hanging around the preschool this week I talked to another mom who is moving out of Mecklenburg for Cabarrus county before her kids start kindergarten. District 2 reps would say that it's white flight and they would be wrong. Just more bright flight that isn't even quantified. Cabarrus county is going to be more diverse than Mecklenburg in the true sense of the word, soon.

I am not surprised that Mecklenburg re-elected it's district representatives. Each district feels that their rep is speaking for their communities. That is the problem, each district feels separate and distinct. We are not working together as a whole. More like jealous siblings. If they get this, I want that. Districts 1 & 6 feel like the unwanted step-children and want to leave the crowded nest. Do you really blame them?

When I look at the big, big, picture, I get really bummed out. The world is our competitor now, not just the next district. If we don't turn out an employable work force, we are in a race to the bottom. The bottom of wages, benefits and human rights.

The bright spots are a new Charlotte Chamber of Commerce leadership team and a new publisher for the Observer. The Chamber may embrace the suburbs and say "At least they are our suburbs, we like them." It's almost safe to take the daily paper again, Peter Ridder leaves Jan 1, 2006. Then if the new publisher, Ann Caulkins, continues center-city Charlotte boostering by repeated bashing of the suburbs, you have the satisfaction of cancelling your subscription again.

We insist, Charlotte is an urban school system

2005-12-01T16:54:00.000-05:00

"Once again, a highly respected, national assessment shows that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is leading the nation in urban school reform," said Dr. Frances Haithcock, superintendent. "Charlotte should be very proud of its public school system and its public school employees. Today's announcement is a reflection of the dedication and hard work of our teachers, principals and support staff, and I want to thank them for the great work they're doing on behalf of our community's children."
View the full story

Charlotte is a city of suburbs. The more you insist it is a troubled urban system and compare yourself to DC and Los Angeles, the more you move closer to that as a truth. I do not celebrate our academic success compared to Los Angeles.

The only person that could justify that is someone angling for a job that pays $300K.

Stop complaining and appreciate the great school system

2005-11-30T06:41:00.000-05:00

There have been several letters recently in the Observer defending CMS. A teacher wrote in yesterday and said how happy he is that he works in CMS. One phone call, yes he does work at Myers Park H.S.

A letter last week talked about all the scholarships recieved at Myers Park H.S., over 4 million...The population rivals a private school...How about graduation rates. I guess Richard McElrath is correct. Neighborhood schools work if you live in a good neighborhood. District 5 people are happy because they are treated well by the school board. They are not all 'newcomers' either.

Overcrowding issue not accidental or New

2005-11-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

I wrote a post that pointed out that Overcrowding is not accidental. It was definitely planned by Center City interests. What I forgot to point out is that the quotes from Norman Mitchell about the overcrowding/under-utilising issue are from the Oct. 2003 archives. The issue started way before that.

The archives for the Rhino only went back as far as 2002. They don't exist anymore except at DumpCMS.com. That is a real issue for this community. There are no archives or timelines for newcomers to read and get up to speed on issues. I feel like we're living in 1984. Winston spends his days 'correcting the news'.

School Bonds & CMS Task Force same pedigreee

2005-11-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

Since Kit Cramer brought up the task force in her latest letter on the bonds. It got me thinking how similar the bonds and the task force seem.

Kit Cramer is instrumental in putting together both the bonds and the CMS Task Force. Coach Joe White and Parks Helms took credit for the CMS Task Force idea yet Ms. Cramer implemented it and filled out the roster.

Funded by the same groups, boostered by the same groups that were rejected by voters on the school bond issue. Representatives of Architectural firms and construction companies that stand to profit from the construction.

What are the priorities of Chairmen Helms & White, Vice-Chair Cramer?

I can't figure out what they stand for except demands for more money. No open audit of the $889+ Mil budget. Other school systems envy our funding yet it's not enough. Judge Manning say it is the management(or lack of) not the funding. He's been studying this problem for years...How much money actually impacts the classroom not just the central admininstration offices? It will take a lawsuit to get those numbers out of them.

Do I trust the maneuvering behind the task force? No

Do I get to vote on the implementation of the Task force findings?

What really happened on Election Day?

2005-11-16T08:11:00.000-05:00

Forget what you read: Most African Americans backed the school bonds
By Tara Servatius
Published November 16, 2005

It was like the game of Telephone. Exactly when rumor and innuendo became truth is hard to pinpoint, but sometime before midnight on election day, shocked politicians started talking about how voters in both suburban and urban areas had rejected the school bonds.

The story went this way: Frustrated white suburban voters resoundingly rejected the bonds, which failed 57 percent to 43 percent. It was said to be a message to the school system that voters were tired of the way school-bond money has been spent in the past. The reason the bonds had failed in African-American - or "urban" - precincts was because black voters were protesting the continued inequality and large number of suburban projects in the $427 million bonds package.

That night and into the next day, politicians told reporters that the voters' mandate regarding the the bonds would be hard to interpret, since black and white voters were clearly sending very different messages.

The problem is, it didn't happen that way. While it's correct that suburban voters overwhelmingly rejected the bonds, voters in heavily African-American precincts voted overwhelmingly for them.
...
Charlotte City Council member James Mitchell, who is African American, thinks the near-unanimous support for the bonds by Mecklenburg's black leadership influenced black voters. He also cited a recent high-profile lunchtime brawl at North Mecklenburg High School. But why would black voters care about what happened at an overcrowded suburban school?

"The incident was fresh in their minds and a lot of those kids come from the African American community," said Mitchell.

While suburban schools like North Meck have been long tagged as "white schools," each year they're becoming increasingly diverse, a factor that seems to have been almost completely left out of the racially charged school-building debate. North Meck's student population is now almost 30 percent African American. In precincts in the University area and suburban parts of north and south Mecklenburg, blacks now make up a quarter to a third of the population.

For African American power brokers, the recent election seemed to settle a long-running battle between two rival political factions in the black community. One faction likes to play ball with the uptown crowd and often supports big initiatives like the school bonds. The second group, which coalesced to support losing school-board candidate Dwayne Collins, favored a no-vote on the bonds in part because of the suburban school funding. That group tends to be more vocal about what it sees as civil rights issues, and it tried to turn the bond vote into a racial issue that would propel Collins into office.

This group controls the executive committee of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus, which puts out an endorsement slate for African American voters each election season. After the committee voted to recommend a no-vote on the school bonds, the caucus as a whole overturned the recommendation and backed the bonds anyway, a move that further demonstrates the political power shift in Charlotte's African American community.

"That faction, they took a loss all the way around," said Mitchell.

Tara Servatius -Creative Loafing Article Nov. 16, 2005

Charlotte Mecklenburg School are FULL! Alert! Alert!

2005-11-15T19:00:00.000-05:00

If no one complains, nothing would change. The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce still boosters our excellent school system. People are still falling for it and kicking themselves for what they've done to their children. (They write me sad letters and ask for advice)

If everyone voted Yes on the School bonds(for the children) it would be business as usual. Each individual thinking 'Maybe it's just me, maybe the situation is fine for everyone else.' Nope, it's everyone. Urban to Suburban parents are horrified we are trusting these people with children. What to do?

The editorial cartoon by Kevin Siers shows what the schools look like today. Those bonds would not have helped for years.(2009)

The schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg are FULL!

Fire Code violation Full!

Get the word out!

No matter what you do...

2005-11-15T06:57:00.000-05:00

It's a catch-22 for suburban parents. There is no room for my kids at the schools, when I request some more seats it's selfish. We find an alternative for my children to attend at great cost, then we're responsible for contributing to resegregation of the school system.

It's a no-brainer

2005-11-10T17:31:00.000-05:00

I am looking forward to the CMS Task Force report. They will be the beacon of light to guide us through this selfish time, showing us the way for the kids. Their consultant told us that voting yes for the bonds was a no-brainer.
They are fine-tuning their report through December.

It is about the children, not business as usual

2005-11-09T06:44:00.000-05:00

The school bonds were voted down overwhelmingly. Blame is the name of the game this morning from the school superintendent, the observer & Joe White.

People don't care about the children....It's about the children.

Yes it is. It is about the children today, not it 2009 when the schools are promised to be built. Ask Northeast Middle parents tonite if they are happy with how bond money is spent.

Spend the money in your budget wisely. Show you are good stewards of the school system. Willing to talk about reform and address systemic flaws. It doesn't 'toughen your task'. Like an alchoholic, admitting the problem is the biggest step. You are accused of academic genocide, there is a problem.

Continue to blame the middle class for the ills of the school system. The selfishness of those people. Then wonder why they are abandoning your school system, County and newspaper.

It is about the children and that is why people voted a no confidence vote for the situation as a whole. We are done with business as usual.

Districts back the incumbents

2005-11-08T22:19:00.000-05:00

When parents rate the school system, they rate their kids school high, but the system overall low. Looks like the same with district representation for school board. All the incumbents were re-elected. No one is happy with the school board but everyone backs their representative. Election results

Tommy Tomlinson wrote in the Observer today that we should vote for the school bonds to solve the problems of North Meck H.S. before it looks like Panther stadium. He didn't seem to realize the bonds didn't solve that problem, or even touch it.

Riot brings more options to North Meck Area

2005-11-07T19:52:00.000-05:00

Since the riot at North Meck H.S. there is renewed interest in finding options for school. Some families have called the Charlotte Catholic Diocese to inquire about a Catholic High School in the Northern part of the county. This interest has caused the planners to re-think building another elementary school and instead consider building a High school around Davidson.

If your interested in this or want to help make it happen, send a note to the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.

Linda L. Cherry, Superintendent of the schools in particular. LLCherry@charlotteDiocese.org

St. Marks is K-8 and they still have openings.

Another questionable endorsement for Rhonda

2005-11-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

I spent a few minutes waiting in line to vote talking to people around me. The couple in front of me were old time Huntersville residents. Wonderful to chat with about gardening. The women behind me works in CMS central administration downtown. We had a pleasant conversation for a bit. Good news for Rhonda, another endorsement. CMS central administration voters support her, since there are 900 in that bloated office that's a solid endorsement. You get a monster to a certain size and then it starts to be able to feed itself.

She also supports the bonds whole-heartedly to solve the problems like North Meck H.S. So I ask earnestly, "So are they building a new high school up here with those bonds?" Answer "Well no..." My turn to vote!

Since there are 900 people in central office what do they do all day, you ask? Well, they put together professional quality spam demanding money from the citizens of Mecklenburg. I guesstimate that someone spent at least a week putting it together. Do we use their skills to teach the kids in the schools how to do desktop publishing so they can get an actual job when they leave our high schools?

Sounds like something that should be happening at Philip O Berry.

It turns out that spam from CMS might be borderline illegal. CMS sent out a revision statement last night. They apologized for the subject line ' Bricks, buildings and bus lots - your support needed for Nov. bonds' They did not apologize for the waste of talent on the content of the spam.

Don't complain, Vote!

2005-11-04T08:02:00.000-05:00

I voted yesterday. There was a line, about 25 people long. A line in a local election. I don't care at this point who wins I'm just glad people are voting.

Early voting is Saturday Nov. 5 at the libraries and Tuesday at the polling locations 6:30 am - 7:30 pm.

Overcrowding is planned not an Accident

2005-11-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

Let's start with this:

If Larry Gauvreau truly wants to promote the safety of students in his district, he should set aside his narrow agenda and quit trying to hold the school board and bond money hostage until he gets his way on every detail.Crowding didn't cause the incident at North Meck, but the fact that 700 kids were in the cafeteria when violence broke out should be a wake-up call of what could have been. North Mecklenburg needs that bond money!

M.B. Walsh
Huntersville

Now the facts:

North Meck H.S. will get 16 additional classrooms in 2009 with approval of the bond but not more cafeterias or another H.S. planned for the area.

This 'overcrowding is not accidental' it was planned to force 'reverse busing' to under-utilised schools.

Commissioner Norman Mitchell, a Democrat, said that he’d like to see CMS send students to schools with empty seats, instead of continuing to build more schools.

“I’m very concerned about the overcrowding at some schools, but I’m also concerned about schools that are underutilized,” said county commissioner Norman Mitchell. “I can’t support building schools when you continue to have schools that are underutilised.”

Mitchell says under-filled schools should stay open and kids should be bused in to fill the empty seats.

"It would be easier to fill 12,000 empty seats than to consolidate those schools and send the kids somewhere else," said Mitchell.

Mitchell was also clear on who should fill empty seats. White kids, he said. "That's the bottom line.

How to be irrelevant while spending gobs of money

2005-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Spend 3 months cleaning up the wording of the task force report. Deliver now and candidates can declare their support or contempt. Deliver it in December and it is irrelevant. Great consultants would advise them better about delivery. At least they are only blowing $500 Thousand on this lump.

At the Task Force Shareholder's meeting the consultant informed the mixed political crowd it was a no-brainer to support the huge pork-barelled school bond. That one is $500 Million

Catalysts for Change

2005-10-28T06:55:00.000-04:00

Donna Jenkins Dawson has told me several times over the last year that the kids in CMS are the key to changing the system. The events yesterday may be a catalyst for change. Granted I was hoping for a more positive approach. Donna has decided to endorse Sheila Ann Johnson for School Board District 2. She entered the race to make sure Vilma ran unopposed, she leaves the race to make sure that Sheila Ann Johnson can win. Another great team player for her community.

I was starting to worry that Huntersville was war-weary with fighting for fairness from CMS. We are portrayed as selfish for expecting a better situation by the Observer. Stop complaining & play nice, compromise & get results, we are told. I am not a complainer. I want action and Larry Gauvreau is our only hope at this point to make the systematic changes for our district. If he doesn't win I see a lot more bright flight. They won't be able to build all the private schools quickly enough.

Brawling & Bonds in North Meck

2005-10-27T22:04:00.000-04:00

You heard about the brawl? Can't say that we are suprised here in Huntersville. It's not the first time things got out of hand in the school. Just the first time the media was able to pick it up. Couldn't hide this one...

It's a good thing those school bonds are going to solve the problems of overcrowding here in North Mecklenburg. When are they planning to get that new high school built to reduce crowding? No new schools built in N.Meck until 2010, Really?...Only 3 schools to be built in the next 10 Years? That won't solve the overcrowding we have today.

I am not voting to force each taxpayers to fork over another $100./avg on $175.K house a year to build schools in areas that are overbuilt. The kids don't need more schools in the central areas, they need excellent teachers and reduced turnover. It's a travesty to talk about wasting more money without addressing the real issues.

Coaching styles

2005-10-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have been following the school board and CMS pretty closely. I admit I don't watch the board meetings because I don't have cable. Attending the meetings is akin to travelling to another planet on a school night. Yet I thought I had a handle on the dynamics. I thought Coach Joe White's inability to lead the board, his sound bites and general air of confusion were enough to indict him as a poor school board member. I thought he was 'Coach' in the style of the character Coach on Cheers. It is only in his results he resembles that coach. Turns out he's a command style coach. In the worst sense of the definition. Certain female school board members NEVER speak to him alone because he is so verbally abusive to them.

FUME was involved with the At-Large elections two years ago. Rhonda Lennon interviewed all the candidates and endorsed three for the at-large spots: Kaye McGarry, Kit Cramer & Mike Kasper. Rhonda mentioned at the time that Joe White was furious with her but she couldn't endorse him. I am sure that a lot has happened since then and Coach Joe White has forgotten.

Rosa Parks

2005-10-26T07:22:00.000-04:00

Rosa Parks and all the other brave people who stood up to systematic repression are the average citizen choosing the heroic. When rap and consumer culture reference her as a symbol without teaching a new generation about the journey to freedom it distorts the message. Suffragists and civil rights heroes worked hard for a right to vote that 80% of our population takes for granted and ignores on November 8. We need to retrace their steps and remember, not to hold onto the anger, but to continue moving forward.

The systemic culture in urban areas is democrat party control. I think that the democrat party is condescending and expects little from the urban population. Pretending to be kind and caring, protecting them from the mean bullies of republican philosophy. I am centrist and I pick the pieces from each party as I vote. I think that the democrat philosophy has completely destroyed urban areas fostering feelings of entitlement. That is the same thing that rots & spoils the children of rich families that don't see the need to work. Some never develop a drive & desire to make their way into the world.

I read the Secret Life fo Bees the other day. It really resonated with me. We need to remember this era and revisit it often to find courage. The character development of all the characters but one was exquisite. The only one not developed adequately was the role of the white souther male. In particular, her father as a hateful man not worthy of the title father. It struck me how much anger this author and segments of the population have to white southern males. It makes every action they make suspect and worthy of immediate anger. We will all be in a better place when we can move past the anger of the past and work together.

Candidate Backgrounds

2005-10-22T13:49:00.000-04:00

We'll see if the voters in District 5 are aware of what is going wrong in the school district, and if they care, when they vote in November. Myers park is an island of excellence in a sea of mediocrity. I've heard rumbling that the elementary school Elizabeth Traditional will not be a feeder for Myers Park and isn't TEAM out of District 5. Ellen Martin is the leader of the TEAM effort that wants to keep the school district the same. "Parents not happy with their home school really have very little choice," said Ellen Martin, an educational consultant who charges $80 an hour to help parents with school assignment. "My advice? If you want your child at a certain school, you better live in its back yard." Ellen Martin backs Mollie Griffin.

I tried to do research on Mollie Griffin. There isn't much there except one article a while back in Educate!. It detailed how Ms. Griffin was going to participate more and speak up, the change didn't last long. If you want a representative that does not express opinions and rubber stamps whatever the majority of the board says, then Mollie's your candidate. Ellen's consulting business appreciates things just the way they are and she pays taxes.

Ellen Loflin is running on a reform ticket mentored and endorsed by Kaye McGarry. She intends to be a part of positive changes to the schools system. At this point in time I respect Kaye McGarry more than anyone else in Mecklenburg. A pro-active, polished, professional, top vote getter at-large (by far) in the last election. A role model for respectful interaction. The school board doomed themselves to failure when they chose 'Coach Joe White' over Kaye to Chair the board.

Focusing more on education than partisan politics and finding solutions rather than criticizing. Is it Rhonda Lennon again? Nope, Mollie Griffin.

Rhonda Lennon says "Being an advocate for naysayers does not get anything done. Continually demanding change doesn’t solve problems when you can’t convince other members to support your views. Accomplishing change begins by working with those on the other side - whose votes you need to meet your needs."

She might want to check with Lee Kindberg, because that story is all ready written. Kindberg said her so-called consensus-building style is more effective than the combative nature of other district school board members and county commissioners who are Republicans. However, she’s starting to draw their ire. Lee Kindberg is incredibly smart and was incredibly ineffective on the school board. Then she abruptly quits...Strongly endorsing Liz Downing. Is that supposed to help Liz?

Rhonda is all ready on Kindberg's path. How is she going to get along with everyone when she can't get along with her own party? It seems she plans to speak only to 'those on the other side'. Kaye McGarry endorses Larry Gauvreau.

2005-10-19T05:42:00.000-04:00

I used to get up and read the paper online in the mornings.

It's become almost unbearable to deal with the online paper because the O figured out that's what a lot of people are doing. They put a bunch of rollover adds that take over your screen. It's lame. It is not an effective ad for Bloom, it's a map.

I would read more regularly again if Ann Doss Helms or Peter Smolowitz wrote a blog together...

Labelling the school system is a self-fulfilling prophecy

2005-10-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

Charlotte is a city of suburbs. There are a few pockets of very urban. Overall, the balance is suburban.

The adminocrat who decided our numbers would look better if we compared ourselves to urban schools instead of suburban was a great marketer. We're top 7 in the nation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(of urban schoool systems)

Well, looks like we have an urban school system now.

Jonathon Kozol's new book The Shame of the Nation
The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America addresses the pain of the problem. He hasn't done enough research about the solution. The solution failed here and drove more people out of the school system. He doesn't have kids so he doesn't seem to understand the middle class' desire to protect their kids. The urban high schools are associated with violence. Note I said middle class, not one specific race. He doesn't mention that the suburban schools are diverse, so are the private ones. The only people that haven't abandoned the inner-city schools have no other choice. Seems like Katrina to me...

I am glad that there is a champion for the kids in urban schools. I just wish I didn't feel like he's looking to blame me.

To those who point out that segregation today is not imposed by law, Kozol replied: "Whether the causes of school segregation are residential, social factors, economic factors, whatever they may be, segregated schooling is the oldest failed experiment in American social history. It didn't work in the past century. It's not going to work in the century ahead."

Kozol's solution -- not likely, he conceded, to be enacted soon -- is to repeal No Child Left Behind, establish universal public preschool for needy children, drastically reduce class sizes in schools that serve the poorest children (to 18 or fewer students per teacher) and give white suburban schools financial incentives for a new racial integration initiative with massive, but voluntary, systems of crosstown transportation.

William Britt shows class

2005-10-10T15:58:00.000-04:00

Last week the Republican party endorsed school board candidates in the districts. The races needed to tighten up to be competitive.

William Britt dropped out of the District 5 race and endorsed Ellen Loflin for School Board. He has been lauded for his expertise and skills, he is also a team player.

Larry Gauvreau received the Republican nomination in District 1. Rhonda Lennon disregarded pleas from many and continued her campaign. I miss the idea of good cop/bad cop that the two could have played. If Rhonda has waited to run At-Large. I think that would have been pretty effective. I might have even ordered one of the yellow t-shirts.

Ken Gjertson is the Republican candidate in District 6. The school board has done some pretty lame flip flops to put Liz Downing in as the incumbent. Larry Bumgarner has declared himself unaffiliated and stayed in the race.

It's more fun that way...

2005-10-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

If you want to make children BELLY LAUGH, put on Lawrence Welk.

Wake County

2005-10-03T07:36:00.000-04:00

There have been several recent articles about Wake County, Nc and the school system integrating by income it's students about the system. The articles state that it has worked well for test scores.

For the last five years or so, the Wake County, North Carolina school board has worked to ensure that no school in its district has more than 40 percent of low-income students, those eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Ten years ago, less than half of the district’s black and Hispanic third through eighth graders scored at grade level on state tests. Now, nearly 90 percent of the area’s elementary school students meet or exceed performance expectations. BlackAmericaWeb

September 30, Cynthia Matson responds to the New York Times Article

As a parent of two Wake County students and as President of Assignment By Choice Inc., a non profit parent advocacy organization I take issue with the conclusions drawn by Alan Finder in his recent article "Integrating Schools by Income Is Cited as a Success in Raleigh".

I agree that Wake county schools do many things well, however, there were important facts left out of the article that lead towards different conclusions. Mr. Finder attributes Wake County's success to integration, however, busing has existed in the triangle for the past 30 years and it's only in the last 10 years that we have seen improvement. When you consider that 2.5% or 3000 of the 120,000 students are forcibly bused for diversity, one must question how that percentage can be credited for the success of an entire system. The vast majority of children attend schools within five miles of their home. This allows for greater parental involvement and less time spent on a bus. In addition, the Triangle is infused with highly educated people transferring in for employment with world-renowned companies located in Research Triangle Park. Our area has one of the highest concentrations of PhD's in the entire country and for the past 10 years thousands of children from well educated parents have been entering our school system helping to raise test scores. We also have incredibly hard working, dedicated teachers that largely contribute to our children's success.
...
Mr. Finder's article correctly indicated that the majority of children forcibly bused are low income and minority. What he did not explain is that these children are bused away from neighborhood magnet schools to attend schools in the suburbs that, under Wake County Public School guidelines are not allowed to offer courses or electives that compete with magnet schools. Affluent students chose to apply to attend magnet schools while low-income minority children are forcibly bused to traditional schools. Is this equal education for all children? Is it right that most of the low income children must get up in the dark, spend up to two hours on a bus, attend school all day and then get back on the bus for another long ride home? Is it right that many are unable to participate in after school activities because their parents have neither the time nor the means to pick them up? Is it right that they don't have a choice in the matter when affluent children do? Finally, where is the data to support that the children who are forcibly assigned are actually making progress? It does not exist because Wake County does not track the academic progress of these children independent of others. I don't have to be a low income or minority to object to the discrimination that is taking place here in Wake County and it is upsetting to me as an informed parent and a child advocate to see the limelight placed on this very suspect program.
In summary, when ALL of the facts are presented, a very different conclusion can be drawn, credit to the socio-economic diversity program is being doled out without basis. All children deserve an equitable educational opportunity without regard to race, ancestry or socioeconomic status.

Cynthia Matson, President
Assignment By Choice, Inc.

We have a different situation here in Charlotte. Charlotte-Mecklenburg is surrounded by various counties & South Carolina. Families have many more options for education and they are all ready leaving the system. Fort Mill is vigilant to enforce admission rules to their schools.

Joe White takes a firm stand

2005-10-01T07:37:00.000-04:00

Joe White, the chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board, said he supports using force when necessary. "If this kid needed to be Tasered, then so be it,� he said Wednesday. "I have no patience with anyone who is going to strike a member of our staff."

Both students have been charged with assaulting their assistant principals.
....
White acknowledges that some people might criticize the school district for using the stun guns, but he said there would be critics either way. "If we didn't do something to this child, there would be those that would clamor, 'You're letting those people who won't behave run your school system,' he said.
News14 Video & Article

Informal public polls with the News item support Joe White's stance on the issue. It seems a reasonable statement by him. It also sets a line that CMS won't tolerate violence towards members the staff.

He has not wanted to talk about discipline in the past. It's not his issue. The Rebublican officials boycotted that meeting.

Recent past history shows that a firm stand does not mean much for Joe White. Here's two examples off the top of my head.

It's unlikely the board will choose any of the three candidates running in November to keep the seat. Board chairman Joe White has said it would be unfair to give one the edge of incumbency. Then he chose one of the candidates, the democrat. White said Wednesday Downing did more lobbying for the post than any other applicant and will make an excellent board member. He said he's still not sure it was wise to pick a candidate, but "it wasn't an issue worth falling on my sword over."

When talk of changes(to public meetings) emerged in May, Chairman Joe White said: "We need to do everything in the public we can do in the public."
Last week they didn't have a public meeting but a private poll by their lawyer to get around the public vote for fees. "That's not the way we should be doing public business," said Mayor Pat McCrory. "If they feel like this is important, they ought to have a discussion and they ought to have it in public."

Teacher Shortage

2005-09-30T07:45:00.000-04:00

Governer Easley vetoed a bill that would let more out of state teachers get licenses easier in NC.

I think it is a travesty that substitute classes are teaching core classes but I think the governer is right. The reason we have a teacher shortage is we treat our teachers badly. Horrible. Getting a fresh supply of naive teachers that don't know the situation doesn't solve the problem, it causes another one. Teacher turnover.

Teachers are threatened, physically assaulted, ignored, blamed and don't get the proper respect for the hard job that they do for our children. Address the systemic problems for teachers in our school systems then we won't have to import & burn through more teachers.

I talked with a CMS board member about how we treat teachers and he said 'Well they're lining up to get in so you're mistaken'.

CMS Bonds whose numbers are closer to the truth?

2005-09-29T17:02:00.000-04:00

The Charlotte Observer is going to run a detailed report on the CMS bonds in Sunday's paper. I wonder if they are going to run Kit Cramer's adjusted numbers or the Republican elected officials.

Kit Cramer is the group Vice President for the Charlotte Chamber, Education. She is heading up the campaign for the bonds. The numbers Ms. Cramer uses are adjusted by what type of school is considered. Focus Schools need smaller classes for the children. Music rooms, art rooms and other resource rooms are not counted in the capacity numbers. Suburban school count the alcove to the elevator and the janitor's closet as rooms. Skews the number quite a bit.

The Republican Representatives & Candidate respond,

Two weeks ago, on behalf of a well-financed pro-bond campaign, school board member and Chamber of Commerce official Kit Cramer labeled a “myth” our report of half-full, newly rebuilt schools. She claimed utilization rates of 89% or more for the eight schools we cited, except for two in the mid-60s and one that is a foreign language immersion program in transition. A number of recently replaced schools, Ms. Cramer claimed, are at more than 100% capacity

Well, Ms. Cramer, you didn’t say where you got your numbers, but we’ll tell you where we get ours. From CMS and your bond campaign web site.

Busting the MythBusters Letter

Gangster Culture

2005-09-28T08:22:00.000-04:00

The two taser incidents in CMS this week have gotten a lot of attention. CMS is really getting put through the wringer again on discipline. Not suprising, there are huge systemic problems but no major changes to deal with them.

It's not CMS' fault that children & teen-agers act bad. The reasons are more complex and far-ranging. Teen Culture, media, lack of parental/communtiy involvement are major players in kid's decisions. Allowing students who are identified as violent/and or dangerous to wander the halls is tantamount to allowing 'Pit Bulls in with innocents'. Quote attributed to Mr. Richard McElrath. Most of the weapons in school today are the victims trying to protect themselves from these bullies. Bullies who even the school administrators need to fear.

Teens embrace gangster culture & thuggery. The boy tasered Monday is going to have more street cred with his peers than before the incident. He is going to be patted on the back by his friends & most likely will not have any problems with dating. Rappers get more respect by their bullet wounds & jail time. They are the role models for many teens these days. Li'l Kim going to jail for lying to protect an associate is going to help her career.

The child I was so worried about yesterday is a child I am more worried about today. She was home from school because she was not allowed back on campus. Safer for the kids at that school, sure, not safer for her. What are her families options? She's 11 years old, have we as a society given up on her all ready? How do we reach her?

Real Heroes are teachers & assistant principals who confront the kids who need to be disciplined. Even with the chance that child is going to take off their belt & beat them with it. Those brave educators are making a difference although I'm sure they don't always feel that way. Especially when they're blamed for all the problems of the schools.

Missing 11-year-old Found

2005-09-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

My heart is with Tempie Mitchell's family today. Please keep an eye out for her.

We watched March of the Penguins this weekend. I really identified with the story. Life is so harsh and brutal, you just want to protect & cocoon kids.

Family finds missing 11-year-old

An 11-year-old girl who was missing for more than a day was found Tuesday, according to her family.

Tempie Mitchell, known by family as Shakia, disappeared from a relative's house in southeast Charlotte around 9:30 a.m. Monday. She was found at Eastland Mall Tuesday afternoon and appeared to be all right. -
Charlotte Observer

Living in separate universes

2005-09-26T17:44:00.000-04:00

Blacks and whites: We exist but do we co-exist with one another?

THIANÉ CARTER

George Bush doesn't care about black people. Kayne West said it, and that makes it true. And therein lies the problem. While white people were trying to figure out who Kayne West is, black people were nodding in agreement. Hurricane Katrina, in its massive destruction and color-blind fury, cast one long truth on race relations in America: Blacks and whites live in separate worlds.
...
So is this a problem?

It wasn't until recently. We aren't separated by Jim Crow laws anymore, so this isn't a legal separation. Interracial couples and friends are more common, so it isn't a socially mandated separation. I submit that blacks and whites exist in parallel universes because we like it that way. It is only when Mother Nature forces us together that our universes collide, and we're forced to look each other in the eyes.

The fact is, we like different music, and we watch different television shows. Sure, I occasionally, watch "Will & Grace" -- it's funny. But when I want to see people who look like me, in situations I can relate to, I watch "Girlfriends" on "black night" on UPN. If I polled the white people I consider friends, they wouldn't know what "black night" is, much less that there is a show called "Girlfriends." I have a certain fascination with Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5. I think it's because they are so different from the music I usually listen to -- plus they are catchy. But I don't buy white music -- I listen to it on the radio or download it. I save my precious purchasing power for artists who need my support; mainstream white artists don't usually qualify. (There was that whole Alanis Morrisette thing, but I'm over it now.)

In any event, I don't consider myself a racist. I don't consider George Bush a racist. But I, like the president, don't take note of the needs, interests or music of the members of other races. It's not racism, but willful indifference and genuine disinterest. And it's harmless. At least, it was until Hurricane Katrina.
...
Many, many more died because they could not leave. And I'm not referring to the homeless and forgotten, but to the invisible, working, able-bodied people who were left behind. The men, women and children who spend every day being ignored by more affluent members of society. The human beings who live in our country, work every day, and make just enough money to feed, clothe and house themselves but not quite enough to get "ahead." I'm talking about the people who could not escape the storm, just as they could not escape their poverty. The hurricane's fury picked up their lives, shook them and laid them out for the world to see. It wasn't pretty.The hurricane was devastating but the lives of many of its victims before the hurricane were almost equally tragic.

Charlotte Observer Viewpoint

Thiané Carter, a former community columnist for Viewpoint, has a master's in public administration from UNC Charlotte and is working as a planner in Jacksonville, Fla. Reach her at thianecarter@hotmail.com.

Resegregation

2005-09-26T09:23:00.000-04:00

I read an article today that details the resegregation of urban schools. I am not an expert in the numbers or the trends. I am a citizen of the area affected.

I don't think it is a racial separation on purpose. I think that different groups are less tolerant of conditions within school systems. Middle class parents see the systemic issues occurring in CMS and withdraw their children from the system. Parents that don't have other choices or are not aware of the basic problems tolerate it. It's an urban system, expect less is not acceptable to a large number of families.

People are abandoning the system, black & white, mainly upper and middle class. Private schools, moving, charter schools are their destination. That is the resegregation, not based on color.

Similar to the evacuation from New Orleans when trouble was heading their way, families evacuated. The people and children left were the ones that had no option or did not see the danger.

Families are not choosing less diversity, the options are more diverse than ever. The children left behind in these urban wastelands are the ones losing the diversity. I don't blame the victims but I also don't blame the families that evacuate a disater in the making.

As a community we need to stop pointing fingers and build some real support between communities. Building bridges and all that.

Fftc Task force Management models

2005-09-25T15:52:00.000-04:00

I think the Fftc Task force was trying to gauge public support/animosity on a several key issues without asking directly 'Do you love it?'

First part covered Management models of the school system

1. Make the Superintendent more of a CEO and have a provost for Education issues. Like a college president model. Less board involvement, more power concentrated. People didn't like it because it is similar to what we have now, plus less power to elected board.

2. Single District - Decentralized Geographically
Minority groups did not like this because it cSould reduce diversity. Reduce specialization in the center office and could cause bloat in staffing. People like that it had representation closer to the families and community involvement.

3. Single District - Decentralized schools
More power to the principals & teachers. Teachers liked this model but worries over standards. Sort of like charter schools, Charlotte would need to build an oversight structure. Thought there was a potential for chaos

Money to the Backpack of the child. Weight the amount by the children's needs. Right now there is a formula for equity. Margaret Carnes told me that the money formula now doesn't mean the children who need it actually get the money.

People like the idea of the money associated to the child.
Didn't like the idea that connected parents would make some schools better than others.

Ideas to consider
1. Money follows the child. Weighted to need.
2. Outsourcing all but educational services. Transportation, school building, food services.
3. Any type of change from centralized approach cause discomfort for people whose goals are high levels of diversity.
4. If we don't change the structure we have now, diversity is affected as people abandon the system. Abandoning the system is quieter, a less than squeaky wheel approach.

Stakeholder Conference

2005-09-24T14:07:00.000-04:00

I attended a 'Stakeholder Conference' for CMS schools this morning. I think I was part of of the outreach to 'critical friends' the consultants referred to at the meeting. Right up front the consultant took the debate for deconsolidation of the district off the table. They said it was too complex, needed another study.

They put us into small groups and asked for our opinions on different approaches to the school system. Strong superintendent through stronger community/principal approaches. 13 minutes devoted to each model. Nothing was clearly defined or concrete. That made me wonder why we couldn't spend 13 minutes saying the advantages/disadvantages of deconsolidating. Humor me. It invalidates the findings if you ignore such a large subject.

They also said there was no debate for the bond issue. They said there was a crisis so we should just pay up. I really wanted to know how much they were going to kick in. They're the experts. So we pork barrel the bonds to pass them. Did they know off the top of their head how much all that pork is going to increase the tax rate? That the additional Money spent on title 1 schools should be spent on teachers, not squandered on more under-utilized buildings? That didn't need a study. Those consultants are just that good.

There were so many interesting people that I didn't know who to talk to first.

Margaret Carnes was even better than I had hoped. I voiced controversial opinions to her that may have been contrary to hers yet she encouraged discussion.

I sat next to Ellen Loflin and had a great time. She really knows her facts and is enthusiastic. Ellen Martin was also in my group. I am struck by how much she and I agree, yet we end up on the opposite side of major issues.

Sharon Starks is kind and thoughtful. Quiet also, one of the last people you would expect to speak up in a public setting. If we watch our community abandoning the public schools by moving or switching to public schools are we the cause when we point it out? Change agents, critical friends, complainers to some, point out the trend that may be lost in the noise of need. Middle class suburban families are leaving the school system. Don't be mean to the messenger, she's brave to point it out.

Donna Jenkins Dawson is always a bright spot in my day. She introduced me to Sheila Ann Johnson who is kind and has a fascinating job doing investigations for social services. Sheila's picture at the conference.

Conflicts of Interest, they are all over this town

2005-09-23T18:37:00.000-04:00

The news about conflicts of interest on the CMS Task force is old news at this point. Yet it's never been covered or addressed in the Charlotte Observer. I expected at the least a nameless News/opinion article to belittle the concern of citizens.

If we don't address these issues, corruption flourishes. If you need new quotes on the issue, Larry Gauvreau can fill you in. Here is the most recent article from the Huntersville Herald.

Gauvreau discounts charges that being publisher of a weekly newspaper that regularly covers (and criticizes) both CMS and the school board, is a conflict of interest.

He says it is no more of a conflict of interest than an official with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce,— school board member and chamber vice president Kit Kramer, for example — sitting on the school board while pushing for the bonds that the chamber supports.

"Conflict of interest is (former school board chairman) Arthur Griffin selling school books to the school district, and we buy them," Gauvreau says. "Conflict of interest is when (school board) chairman (Joe) White and the rest of the board, with their tacit,subtle endorsement, launches (architect) Harvey Gantt, who is doing business with the school district and whose school design we just approved,to the position of chairman of a so-called independent task force to study reorganization of the school system."

Gauvreau says Gantt, the former Charlotte mayor and U.S. Senate candidate and his architectural firm are doing several million dollars in business with school system, and has done so for a number of years. How can someone in that position be appointed to an allegedly independent task force? The official answer, of course, is that the task force Gantt heads is technically not tied to the school board or county government, but is, instead,funded and directed by local business interests.

Gauvreau shakes his head at that charade. It's a clear conflict of interest that makes his work with the Rhino Times pale by comparison. "What I am doing as publisher of a small weekly newspaper that is a political voice in Charlotte isn't a conflict, especially when the views of the paper tend to align with mine.We let our biases show and we tell people we are biased."

Black Political Caucus Endorsement

2005-09-22T07:08:00.000-04:00

The Black Political Caucus met to vote on endorsement of candidates. Buzz is District 3 candidate Lucille Puckett garnered a lot more support than expected. The voting was so close between candidates Lucille Puckett and Dwayne Collins(who was considered a slam dunk endorsement) that members held off the final vote until they could shore up support for Mr. Collins.

Nothing bad about being a selfish parent

2005-09-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

IN MY OPINION / PETER ST. ONGE
PETER ST. ONGE

First week of school in the neighborhood. Young ones strolling to the bus stop again, some with their mothers in tow, one with a mom risking great social calamity by offering a hand to hold. A sweet and funny scene, perhaps. If it weren't all so selfish.

That's right. We're hearing it again out here in the suburbs -- those verbal sneers each time a school boundary zone is redrawn or a county budget debated. Most recently, it was Mecklenburg County commissioner Norman Mitchell, fed up last month with Republican commissioners wanting more bond money for crowded suburban schools.

"This whole thing about growth," he said, "is a selfish attitude."

Well. It's time to come clean up here off Interstate 85, down there off I-77, or wherever you are on the edge of Mecklenburg County, sprawling and smogging our region.

It's OK. Unburden yourself. Say it with me: We're selfish.
....
Yes, some folks out here care nothing about the core of Charlotte, just as some in and around center city believe the apocalypse nears with every home foundation dug near the county line.

But there are more of us who understand that with public dollars, everyone has to give a little if there isn't enough to go around.

We know a community benefits when more of its children succeed -- no matter where they live -- and that suburbs thrive when a city's center is dense and vibrant. When blight sends people fleeing outward, it is trouble for traffic and the environment and, most important, for the shell that's left behind.

So we understand public and private urban efforts. Some of us volunteer our money and time there.

I had a friend in Alabama who was a principal at an inner-city elementary school. He was a tireless advocate, working businesses for money and tutors. He did it not out of guilt but because, as he told me: "These kids need us."

His own children, however, went to private school.

Selfish? Of course. Every good parent is, at least a little. Can this discussion ever get anywhere without first acknowledging that?

Instead, some frame the suburban-urban tug as racial. But at the bus stops in my neighborhood -- and many of those that ring this county -- white children stand with black children and others.

They are out here because parents want the best for their children -- and yes, for themselves.

Selfish? Yes. Aren't you?

Charlotte Observer Article

New diversity specialist at CMS & Ellen Martin appointed

2005-09-17T09:20:00.000-04:00

He says it is important for CMS to make diversity a top priority.

“The biggest challenge, I would say, is putting it at the same level as the educational goals,” he said. “Making human relations and diversity as important as academic achievement for everyone.”

Hernandez-Paris will hold biweekly discussions on diversity.

Has Mr. Hernandez-Pariz noticed that CMS is not doing so hot on the educational goals achievement? Can we get one thing right first? He left an executive position International House for this job.

Ellen Martin has been appointed to the Equity Committee by Molly Griffin in District 5. Isn't that a slap in the face to District 6 parents?

Molly Griffin is challenged by Ellen Loflin and William Britt for her District 5 seat in the November election.

CMS Public School Board Meetings

2005-09-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

The new editorial opinion for the Charlotte Observer is out today, filed correctly under news/opinion.

And I agree with the opinion. The school board should not cut back on televised meetings. The board must think hiding the bickering would make people think better of them. I think it would have the opposite effect.

When talk of changes emerged in May, Chairman Joe White said: "We need to do everything in the public we can do in the public."

That would seem to me that Chairman Joe White is pretty firm about keeping the meetings public. He was very firm about not filling Ms. Kindberg's spot with a candidate. Which he flopped on at the last minute.

I wonder who's pulling his strings?

Media Bias rules

2005-09-10T22:07:00.000-04:00

How to Be a Media Critic, Part 1
READ MORE: New York Politics, new york times, photos

What we have here is what they call a teachable moment.

This email arrived earlier today, with the picture at right attached:

From: xxxx@aol.com
To: tips@gawker.com
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 12:35 PM
Subject: Nytimes tip

Looks like the nytimes may be biased after all…

Endorsement posters of scott stringer at 26th and 9th ave

Far be it from us to argue that the people constantly complaining about media bias are — how to put it? — f***ing morons. But let us at the very least suggest that before you start criticizing things, you first obtain at least the slightest idea what you’re talking about.

To wit: Newspapers have news sections. Newspapers also have editorial pages. Editorial pages are separate from the news sections, with different writers and different editors. And one of the things newspaper editorial pages typically do is endorse candidates. The editorial page of The New York Times on August 28 endorsed Scott Stringer in the Democratic primary for Manhattan borough president. The news pages did not endorse anyone. So Scott Stringer’s election claim that he is endorsed by the Times is both wholly accurate and in no way a demonstration of any news bias at the Times.

Thus endeth the lesson.

Go tell your rightwing friends.

Gawker.com

Except when it's filed as News...The Charlotte Observer prints their paper with the anonymously written editorials on the Opinion page. When it releases the articles online the articles are filed as News. An Apt Intervention for example. More examples.

Community Volunteering

2005-09-10T07:19:00.000-04:00

The general consensus around Charlotte education advocates is Ms. Frances Haithcock is doing a good job in addressing some of the major issues of CMS. Giving hope that systemic problems will be addressed.

Ms. Haithcock wrote a request last week that the community ease up and support the schools. In particular, requesting volunteers to bolster the situation. There are a lot of people who want to volunteer but don't know how or are turned away. There is no way to identify resources and place them. And there is no structure so that each school PTA is not reinventing the wheel each year.

I have tried to join the Parent Leadership Network but cannot since I don't have an anchor school. I understand there are several people that are in the same situation. These are available resources that we are not using as a community.

I am uncomfortable that a person making a quarter of a million dollars a year plus perks & bonuses from this community would be making a volunteer demand. She sure is not volunteering her services. And my expectations of her results are astronomically higher due to her acceptance of such a large salary.

Local officials can make all the difference

2005-09-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

After my last post I read the New Orleans disaster plan.

They just didn't use it.

Now more than ever it's clear we need to pay attention to Local elections. These are the people that effect our lives directly.

There are candidate forums this fall. Please take the time to attend a forum and find out about the candidates.

Char-Meck Emergency management plans

2005-09-03T16:13:00.000-04:00

Charlotte, NC gets kudos from D.C. about our emergency management plan. I've never appreciated the effort until this week. I do now.

There was no coordination on the ground of first responders in New Orleans. No coordination between parishes, no plan at all. Thanks for putting the work into Charlotte's Disaster management plan. I'll be listening more closely now.

I know it's my responsibility to be prepared for my family. Thanks for putting tips on your web site.

Concord, NC has a program to teach neighborhoods to coordinate in disaster situations.

University City Political Action Committee

2005-09-03T10:07:00.000-04:00

The Charlotte Observer is going to recommend candidates for election tomorrow. They reserve the right as free speech editorial. The columns are posted as NEWS anonomously , some propaganda.

It bothers me that this is all propaganda machine for Center City Partners. They don't care about the families in Charlotte.

Parks Helms is a director of Center City Partners. So is Harvey Gantt, Michael Marsicano, Dr. Francis Haithcock and Peter Ridder.

This is the goal of Center city Partners
Overview

Charlotte Center City Partners is an award-winning organization dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of business, cultural, retail and residential initiatives in Charlotte's central business district.

We help support businesses that already exist in the Center City and Historic South End. We also support businesses that locate here by connecting them with the people and services that will ensure a smooth transition into the central business district.

We also make sure the heart of Charlotte is lively, vital and growing. We put vendors and banners on the streets. We produce multiple events including the Downtown Countdown, the Continental Tire Bowl Pep Rally, Center City Green Market, North Pole Goes South End, the Historic South End Artist's Alley and Movies on the Green; we make events happen on the streets of Charlotte.

The stated goals of our public servants are the focus of Center City at the expense of the rest of Charlotte. They despise the suburbs, but at least they're YOUR suburbs. Treat them as a resource. We could have easily moved to a different county or state. Do you really want a core with a rotten shell around it? All of Charlotte should be the focus of Center city Partners since they are public servants of the COUNTY.

This is the most powerful group in Mecklenburg. Please help Mecklenburg. The way it's going now, we have to splinter into groups to have our concerns heard.
I understand the goals of the Center City Partners but they're trashing the rest of the county in the process.

I am joining the University Political Action Committee. I see no other choice as an under-represented area of influence.

U-Pac.org

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

2005-09-02T17:36:00.000-04:00

Atkinson named State Superintendent
By: News 14 Carolina Staff

Democrat June Atkinson will take the state's top education job.
In a rare joint session, the state House and Senate voted to name Atkinson State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Lawmakers voted 93-21 in favor of Atkinson. Twenty-six members said they could not determine a winner.

She had been fighting for the job with Republican Bill Fletcher for more than nine months.
News 14 article

Top Education job in the state pays about $120K
Top Education job in Charlotte pays about $208K PLUS PERKS and Bonuses

They fought for 9 months to get that job. They enacted special laws to get that job. I checked salaries for superintendents in the state. The top salary is supposed to be $119K, it is a sliding scale of how many kids are in the district. You get paid more for more children in the district. Same with Administrators.

We are spending a fortune for poor results with CMS. They say the budgets are bare bones yet we are paying the superintendent more than the statewide office.

CMS welcomes refugees

2005-09-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

I am shocked to see how many people are left in New Orleans when there was a mandatory evacuation. I thought it would be an empty town. Did those people have anywhere to go? What should have been done differently?

More buses to shelters away from the coast? Would people have left with more opportunity available?

I am almost numbed with the horror for these families.

CMS is welcoming refugee families. That is wonderful.

Problem, Hide it, No Problem

2005-08-31T06:45:00.000-04:00

The school board has been taking a lot of heat for the mess it's made. It's kind of embarrasing for the whole community if it wasn't so tragic for the kids.

How do we fix the problem? Hey let's start meeting in private so people only see the decisions after they are made. Sounds like Kit Cramer came up with this one, she is fond of private meetings.

Hide behind closed doors that should increase the public's trust in the decisions. The League of women voters spoke out against it at the last school board meeting.

Squandering money for all the right reasons

2005-08-29T13:53:00.000-04:00

I support the spirit of Title I in schools so there is equity. Looking at history I think it is an excellent idea.

The SPIRIT of the law is equity. Giving kids an equal chance. Urban kids in Charlotte don't need more school facilities for equity, they need more teachers.

That is the main problem I have with the School bond up for the vote in November. It squanders money for equity among all the school districts, without looking at what is desperately needed.

District 1 has needed schools built for years. It's driving MANY suburban parents out of the public school system. Hence the rising poverty ratios.

Urban area schools need continuity of qualified teachers.

Neither of those needs is addressed by the Record Bond demand. It is action for the sake of action. It is mis-guided, wrong & squandering limited resources for all the right reasons.

Hiring teachers for CMS

2005-08-26T11:31:00.000-04:00

Bill deserves Easley's OK
FANNIE FLONO
.....
As this year's session surged to an end, the N.C. legislature passed legislation Tuesday called the "Facilitate Hiring of Teachers" bill. It eliminates a state requirement that middle school and high school teachers rated highly qualified in other states must pass a standard test before getting rated the same in North Carolina and being hired here.
.....
In North Carolina, many students are being taught routinely by substitutes with only a high school education.

Last week, just a week before this new school year began, CMS had 21 vacancies in Title 1 schools, high-poverty schools that get federal money tied to specific federal guidelines. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires highly qualified teachers at Title 1 schools. All states have to meet federal standards for that designation.
CMS had candidates for its vacancies, but the teachers were from out of state.
Read the article...

Many of the vacancies for teacher spots are still in Title I schools. Those underfilled positions filled by substitutes is unacceptable.

Rather than slamming more teachers through those high turnover spots and finding new sources. Can we please deal with WHY those spots are not filled and why the turnover is so high. The constant turnover and new teachers is just as upsetting to the situation as the spots not being filled. Covering the problem with another source of teacher turnover does not fix the problem.

More teachers Ok...How are we addressing turnover?

Trimer-Hartley said nearly 50% of new teachers leave the profession in the first five years on the job primarily because they don't have administrative support, community support or financial support. The alliance report cited job dissatisfaction or the pursuit of another job as key reasons for teacher turnover.

"If you want to disrupt the school and learning environment, create a revolving door of staff and you will do just that," Trimer-Hartley said. "We need to figure out how to create stability in the school setting to carry out the curriculum and provide the continuity kids need.
Michigan FreePress Article

The article also discusses the high monetary cost of teacher turnover.

The teachers aren't lining up to get in anymore?

2005-08-24T19:46:00.000-04:00

Teachers are to blame for all the problems in the system. That is what CMS has been saying to Judge Manning.

The attitude has been treat them bad. The teachers put up with it because they care about the kids. CMS Drives teachers new & old out of the system with poor treatment.

Seems like the only way things will change for teachers is if CMS fails to attract new ones. With the shortage of teachers this night before school starts maybe they'll get the message. I do hope that people who fill in are not the all ready overworked teachers in the system. Save the teachers & the Kids!

The education experts will go into 10 CMS high schools and offer ways to improve.

"The day before school starts, I'd be much more excited if I had a group who wanted to drive buses and get in the classroom and teach," said White.
WSOCTV Article

Liz Downing Chosen for District 6

2005-08-24T08:40:00.000-04:00

By: News 14 Carolina
Liz Downing will replace Lee Kindberg as the District 6 representative on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board

Article & Video

Didn't Coach Joe White say he didn't want to pick a candidate from the November election? Here's the basic quote.

It's unlikely the board will choose any of the three candidates running in November to keep the seat. Board chairman Joe White has said it would be unfair to give one the edge of incumbency.
Article

So I wonder what changed his mind...

Equalizing Education Dollars

2005-08-23T14:26:00.000-04:00

By Marguerite Roza and Paul Hill
Sunday, August 21, 2005; B07

The federal government's $13 billion Title I program has been controversial since its enactment in 1965, but almost everyone has agreed on one thing: It not only increased the money school districts had to educate disadvantaged children but also made sure that the extra money was spent on them.

That turns out to be wrong.

Old Title I hands remember the crisis early in the program's history when the NAACP showed that school districts were diverting Title I funds to buy band uniforms and swimming pools for nicer neighborhoods. The resulting uproar produced rules requiring school districts to spend as much on poor schools as on richer ones before Title I money was added on.

But our new research shows that abuses persist, despite the federal requirements. Now, however, the problems are driven by school districts' accounting practices and by demands from teachers unions -- not from some parents group working the system for band uniforms.
Washington Post Article

Sounds similar to the situation here in Charlotte. We maintain equity with the school buildings, to a fault. But the education in Title I schools is failing because of the lack of teacher resource in those same schools.

How do we find out the bottom line number that CMS is spending on the schools to make sure it is legal? Is that a number that Judge Manning has in hand?

Buses, no thanks

2005-08-21T17:28:00.000-04:00

Parents in Huntersville are so against long bus rides they don't even bus their kids to neighborhood schools. It makes quite a mess around the schools this time of year until everything is sorted out.

The police have changed traffic patterns around some of the schools to deal with the issue.

The Charlotte Observer gives citizens the O.K to speak up about schools

2005-08-21T16:26:00.000-04:00

Speaking up the last few months has felt odd to me. I am a very quiet person in general. Bookish, you could even say. I do feel very strongly about education. So I felt compelled to speak up on the issues.

I am pleased today that the Charlotte Observer is calling on people to speak up. Not only that but they are calling on citizens to get involved and giving them places to do it. Charlotteans are so polite yet civic-minded.

"It's a fine line between love and hate sometimes," says Margaret Carnes, managing director of the advocacy group, which polled more than 1,200 voters in June and July. "As long as people are willing to get mad, then they've still got the fire in them that it takes to make sure the public's doing its part."*

So, please speak up about CMS. It needs to be heard and it's easier than moving.

Overcrowded Schools

2005-08-20T07:41:00.000-04:00

Clearly there are issues at overcrowded schools. Not enough space for teachers, not enough books.

What about the kids that go to overcrowded schools? Do they connect with the teachers? Do they feel that anyone cares about them or are they just a number?

What about kids that are acting out because they need attention? Are they treated harshly because there is too much going on all ready?

Huntersville Elementary in ...Huntersville, has a reputation among parents as extremely harsh on young children. This is a very crowded, older school. Has anyone looked at why parents are pulling their kids out of the school? Other children see this punishment, are afraid they are going to be treated that way also and they shut down.

An article today says that CMS is going to give teachers more positive classroom-management training, let's hope they include the principals.

Until they stop punishing Huntersville kids for not commuting to Charlotte's under utilized (but beautiful) schools I'm afraid it won't change.

I think that is the strategy. Don't plan to build enough schools in the suburbs. Force parents to find alternative schools, keep taxes down by driving kids out of the school system. Their original plans said the school population would shrink...And you thought some politicians were all tax & spend!

Administrators are Educators

2005-08-19T08:53:00.000-04:00

I worked in a small bank when I was in high school. When we fell behind on check processing after a holiday weekend, the bank President ,VP and our manager would help out the process. As a h.s. kid I thought that was amazing. They knew all the jobs in the bank & they jumped in when help was needed.

I'm reminded of that today when I read about teachers needed for CMS classrooms. The administrators & superintendents could help out with the scramble to staff the classes. Can't they? Aren't they educators? I can't see how a swift hire is good for a new teacher or the students. Is it really a good match or is it just make it work? With the turnover in the system, I suspect the latter.

I read an earlier article that said teachers are covering the open spots. Does that help the situation? Doesn't that make it harder for those teachers to get to know their kids & get off to a good start?

Like she said...

2005-08-18T15:48:00.000-04:00

I just found this quote attributed to Margaret Carnes (of Charlotte Advocates for Ed) by Ruth Samuelson. Ruth quoted Margaret in 2004 when Ruth was running for office. It's a circular, I apologize.

At least that’s what Margaret Carnes of Charlotte Advocates for Education says. She was quoted in the daily paper as saying, “Based on the history of other large urban districts in the country, I would suggest that county flight of middle-class families poses a greater threat to the future of our schools and community than does the threat of private schools.”

Margaret went on to describe the destructive cycle that results from this middle-class flight – affluent families and businesses disengage, the cost of teaching the remaining students increase, taxes go up, and more families flee into nearby counties with lower taxes and more desirable schools.
Rhino Times article

This is what I tried to say in my earlier post. She says it better.

2005-08-18T09:42:00.000-04:00

Everyone else in the country is talking about real estate prices. They are getting crazy money for fixer uppers in the Northeast. Friends in Florida are thrilled with the appreciation in price of their new homes.

I'm fascinated by the situation. This is affecting land use here and in far-flung places like Northern New Hampshire. Development further & further out from cities. People are willing to move across the country to an affordable house without making sure there is actually room for their kids at the schools. These families are buying where they can afford.

Generally when children are spilling out of a school, a new school is built. It is not considered selfish to hope for a seat at school for your child. Families moving here, unfamiliar with the politics of the area, are blindsided by the charges of selfishness and racism.

The traffic is intense in Huntersville on the way to Charlotte in the morning. Elected officials in Charlotte think parents are selfish because they don't want to put their kids in the rush hour traffic for an hour plus to get to school. What effect does it have on rush hour traffic in general to have all these slow moving buses adding to the congestion in the morning?

Is it a realistic argument that Huntersville kids should all bus to under-utilized schools? No. I am pretty sure that Vilma Leake and Norman Mitchell have not tried the trip they are demanding for young children. Can someone suggest they try it?

A real estate article today is titled Home prices: City crawls as U.S. soars The article goes on to explain that it is healthy, really. What do you think? Development is moving outside the borders of Mecklenburg. Most of the surrounding counties are dealing with higher growth numbers and school crowding also. Looks like they're becoming more attractive than Mecklenburg. That is not going to help home prices, tax receipts or the balance of poverty in the schools.

I want to volunteer with Advocates for Education!

2005-08-17T12:26:00.000-04:00

Something excellent is going on in Charlotte. Parent Leadership Network developed by Advocates for Education. Ms. Margaret Carnes and her group all ready get Kudos from the Uptown Crowd. That doesn't always mean much from a bunch of Cheerleaders. In this case it does.

Every interaction I have had with members of this team have been positive, and I always learn something new from them. They are kind, positive and are making good things happen for our schools. They structure projects with parent leaders they mentor to make positive changes in specific schools. Serious stuff too.

My only complaint? I want to work with them but can't because they have a plethora of volunteers. I attended a meeting with the potential candidates for their training. I want to be a part of this and it's full at 25 contested spots!

These are not just cheerleaders. These are people addressing identified problems and are making great things happen.

The research they're doing on relevant topics needs to be covered in later posts.

Cable lawsuit, how about Satellite?

2005-08-15T06:59:00.000-04:00

David Mildenberg
Staff writer

Mecklenburg County's flap with Time Warner is drawing national attention because millions of dollars are at stake. Both sides have hired Washington law firms after years of negotiations proved fruitless.

City officials believe a private network is an essential economic development and public safety tool. Time Warner contends the county is using "blackmail" in pressing for a network expected to cost $20 million.

Article

Cable is a monopoly. It doesn't make sense to physically bury every cable to wire every school. Wireless networks, satellite! This is not new technology. I am not tele-comm, but I am a citizen of Mecklenburg. I can't get the government meetings on TV because I don't have Cable. There is no other way to get them. That is perpetuating a monopoly.

Technology has changed. Since Millions are at stake, look at OTHER OPTIONS. Lawsuits are a bunch of junk.

LOOK Philadelphia is doing it.

A government plan to provide the city with free wireless Internet access has as yet gone unrealized, but the national publicity surrounding it has given Philadelphia a progressive image. Sunday, August 14, 2005 N.Y. Times Article

It would be better for Charlotte to be known as progressive then for ANOTHER Lawsuit.

Different type of Superintendent?

2005-08-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

CMS responds to Manning's criticism
8/10/2005 6:42 PM
By: Mercer Merrill, News 14 Carolina

Manning, who has heavily criticized CMS in the past, said action needs to be taken immediately.

"Year after year after year, you cannot continue to have these scores be so bad,” he said.

Later, he brought up former Gen. George Patton: "I wish he was still around, because I’d send him to Charlotte.”
Article

But does Patton love kids?

The idea of bringing a new type of superintendent to Charlotte is not new.

Back in 1999, Gauvreau wrote a letter to Marine Corp Commandant General Charles Krulak to see if he’d be interested in taking over the reigns of CMS. Krulak was so impressed with the letter that he called Gauvreau, who wasn’t even on the board of education at that time.

“I had seen him on the Today Show and they were interviewing him because he was planning to retire,” Gauvreau said. “Somebody like him would be fresh, a real leader who would be able to reform Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s failing school system.”
article

Nine candidates for Kindberg's spot

2005-08-14T09:41:00.000-04:00

Nine candidates are running to fill Lee Kindberg's District 6 seat for a few months. They needed to cite a reason for filing. Here is an example:

• Bolyn McClung.

Occupation: Printer, J.R. Cole Industries.

Children: Son graduated from Harding in the mid-'80s.

Experience: Chairman of Pineville's Board of Adjustments.

Reason he applied: "To squeeze a little more education opportunity out of our schools without maddening any further the people who have to pay the bill."

•

More candidate info

Legislation Updates

2005-08-09T19:51:00.000-04:00

From: Rep. Rhodes
Please forward to you list

Supporters of Deconsolidation/Reform of CMS please take time to read the following from John Hood and The Carolina Journal released today, August 9, 2005. http://www.carolinajournal.com/jhdailyjournal/display_jhdailyjournal.html?id=2689

Currently H.B. 1494 (Study Optimal Size of School Systems) has been introduced by Rep. Rhodes and others but the leadership has blocked this legislative item from being discussed. http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2005&BillID=H1494

From John Hood's story today:
[..........The study offered several findings that should be of interest to North Carolina policymakers. First of all, there is a wide variation among states in average size of school districts. When you hear stories from Northeastern transplants in North Carolina cities about how many school districts they had choice of in their former abodes, believe it. The average North Carolina school district encompasses 406 square miles. The average district in New Jersey, with a comparable population, is only 12 square miles. Among nearby, Southeastern states, only Florida at 800 square miles has a higher average size. The national median is 260.............Greene and Winters found that state with larger districts had lower graduation rates.......]

Please feel free to contact my office anytime. I am always pleased to hear from you.

Rep. John W. Rhodes (R) Mecklenburg
Lucille Carter Legislative Assistant
North Carolina House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street RM 1017
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-733-5530
johnrh@ncleg.net

Vacations

2005-08-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

I've been on vacation for a few weeks now. I didn't think it's a big deal. I've been checking in but not really doing much. I guess I should have contacted the media. It's FOXNEWS worthy. I didn't keep up on my moderating and dropped the ball. Try to think about that the next time you plan a vacation. Go on vacation, make the news.

I'm consorting with the Boston Liberals. I was on Beacon Hill several times today.

The Museum of Science, Planetarium, & Duck tour. Lots of Quacking involved, we got the duck lips & the kids loved it. Their motto is 'Half boat, Half tank'

I'll keep you updated.

Boston Liberals

2005-08-07T07:41:00.000-04:00

I'm vacationing with several school teachers from Boston area public schools. Interesting conversations. Self Defined ultra-left, we've talked about
schools and they say that the Boston public schools have been abandoned by many parents. They suggested I read David Kozol...He's on a list of the most dangerous people in America.

It's going to be a real race!

2005-08-05T21:33:00.000-04:00

Three People filed to run in District 2 today! Two more people filed in District 3. It looks like there is going to be a real race in all these districts. As a citizen of Mecklenburg I am looking forward to hearing the candidates.

Now don't forget to register to vote.

Vilma unopposed again?

2005-08-04T19:31:00.000-04:00

17 and a half hours until the end of filing to run for elections in November. Vilma Leake has no challengers, none. Looks like four more years of Vilma for Charlotte. She ran unopposed last election also.

Here is the latest quote from Vilma

Others saw busing students miles away from their neighborhood schools, and in some cases likely preventing siblings from attending the same schools, as a move in the right direction.

“This community cannot afford to have neighborhood schools,” Leake said. “We talk about we love everybody, but we have no intention of sending our children to school with everybody.”
Article

The Swann fellowship supports busing and has changed tactics by using poverty as a criteria for the courts. Focusing on the bigger picture & letting the courts decide is more responsible than picking on certain addresses and specific families.

Every political race should have a challenger. It makes for a more focused race and it forces dialogue with constituents.

Hot real estate markets

2005-07-31T22:12:00.000-04:00

The real estate market in other areas of the country is phenomenal, if you own property. Not so great if your new to the market. Starter homes in the Northeast are starting $500K.

I have a bunch of relatives, newly married, that can't find anything decent. Now I understand why so many people are moving to Charlotte. Young families that need more room, new families just starting. People are priced out of those markets.

Bill James offers to serve on both school, county boards

2005-07-22T08:16:00.000-04:00

Posted on Fri, Jul. 22, 2005
Candidates pounce on open CMS seat

ANN DOSS HELMS
Staff Writer

James, a Republican who represents the same district as Kindberg, said Kindberg is trying to “rig (the election) for her buddy” Downing, a Democrat. School board elections are nonpartisan, but in practice “that board is as partisan as any other board in Mecklenburg County,” James said.

Downing, a parent activist who has filed to run for the seat in November, said knowledge and continuity are more important than party affiliation.

Kindberg, a Republican, said it would make sense for the board to tap Downing, whom she described as a fiscal conservative with business sense.

“I feel that Liz will be a very good school board member,” said Kindberg.

Read more

Bill James knows that school board would never appoint him to that seat. Is he priming the voters to get out & vote in November? He's made sure the issue got a lot more press this morning then it would have otherwise. He's on the radio(WBT) right now. Still, Liz Downing is a sure thing for that seat.

Lee Kindberg District 6 Resigns citing workload

2005-07-21T06:57:00.000-04:00

District 6 representative cites growing workload

ANN DOSS HELMS
Staff Writer

Saying the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board workload is incompatible with holding a job, Lee Kindberg resigned her seat at the end of Wednesday's five-hour meeting.

"This board needs to make a commitment that it is not going to exclude the entire working population of this county from serving on this board," Kindberg said during an earlier discussion of meeting schedules.
Read more...

I have talked to several education advocates this summer to make sure they knew filing dates for running. I am not affilitated, I called everyone who I thought should know the dates. 90% of them are not going to file because of the time commitments. They have young families and cannot think of adding 20 hours of work to their week.

We are missing out on people who are qualified and really care because of the time commitment. Those meetings are marathons.

The Talk is the meetings will complete in half the time once Louise Woods is off the board. Bless her Heart.

Lee Kindberg has been introducing Liz Downing around, supporting Liz as her replacement. It will be a surprise if anyone other than Liz is chosen by the school board

We are an urban school system, expect less - Check out V.A. Beach

2005-07-20T18:32:00.000-04:00

CMS is not inventing the Superintendent search. A look online to see how other school districts handled it & their criteria reminded me how LARGE our school district has grown. Most are for 10K students.

Virginia Beach was the closest. I found their criteria interesting, they categorized by the board, administrators, teachers, community, parents & students & support staff. They categorized issues and their hopes. I find it fascinating. I checked & the students requirements weren't looking for 'love' from their superintendent.

This is what the students of Virginia Beach Schools value:
* Encouraged to successful careers and toward college
* Extensive class offerings
* Great opportunities for extra-curricular activities
* Pushed to achieve
* Quality teaching staff; they are cool
* Sports programs
* Well-rounded programs that reach students with all types of learning needs

I really liked what I saw on this site. They took the time to ask the KIDS about the issues and they wrote them down and reference them. So I checked how their school system is doing in general. They don't seem to have a lot of spin on their site, but it looks like they don't need it.

Preliminary analysis of the 2004-2005 Standards of Learning (SOL) test results shows sweeping success in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. For the first time since 1997-1998, when SOL tests were first administered, 100 percent of the district’s 80 testing schools are projected to earn full SOL accreditation.

Across the school division, projected fifth-grade English writing scores jumped six points to 95 percent from Spring 2004 to Spring 2005. At the middle school level, projected seventh-grade history scores are up seven points to 84 percent for Spring 2005.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Sheila Magula characterizes the division-wide results as spectacular. “The 100 percent accreditation is the culmination of a year of hard work by every student, teacher, and administrator in the school division. From the people who develop the targeted curriculum to the teachers who carry out the instructional strategies in the classroom, it takes considerable initiative and teamwork to see this level of success,” said Magula. Read article

I know, CMS is an urban district & we should expect less.
....
Wait I checked!
Va. Beach is 75K students and the first H.S. I checked is Bayside H.S.
They're split evenly between black & caucasion!
Their at 33% free reduced lunch! They passed with flying Colors! HMMMM! See for yourself!

Student identification numbers

2005-07-20T18:05:00.000-04:00

Missouri is assigning a 10-digit identification number to its public school students, from the 34 in tiny Wyaconda, Mo., to the more than 37,000 students in the St. Louis Public Schools. The ID numbers will allow educators to track students from preschool through high school.

It will provide a way to track students and their scores year to year, even if they move to other schools and districts. It also could help answer questions about how many students should be counted as dropouts.

"All states in the country are in the process of putting in place a student identification system,"
Article

This sounds like such a great idea. I know, just know, that there is some civil liberty issue, or privacy issue that a group is going to point out that makes this look evil. I just know it. Like the Federal ID, I also think that sounds like a good idea.

Their pretty excited about all the ways this will save money also.

But does he LOVE Children

2005-07-20T05:42:00.000-04:00

JOHN ROSEMOND

Most Ridiculous Item of the Week: Someone recently asked me if I like children. I didn't say so, but the question is as ridiculous as "Do you like adults?"

The fact is, I like children who are well-behaved and mind their manners. I like children who do not attract a lot of attention to themselves. I like children who do not interrupt conversations, do what they are told the first time they are told, entertain themselves, share freely, can take "No" for an answer, go to bed readily and stay there, eat what is put in front of them, are kind and patient with younger children and pets, understand that a rule on Monday is a rule on Tuesday as well, have a good sense of humor, shake hands with adults (as opposed to "high-fiving"), address adults formally (as opposed to using first names), don't ask for much, are curious and inquisitive, and don't give up if at first they don't succeed.

In other words, I like some children. Mind you, I don't necessarily dislike the rest; I just don't want to be around them for very long, especially if they're with their parents.

Sounds like a candidate for our superintendent spot. First we'd have to find someone brave enought to ask him if he really LOVES children.

2005-07-20T05:27:00.000-04:00

Remember that Newsweek article that rated schools by number of AP tests taken and some additional loopy criteria? CMS had four schools that made that list. Maybe the new criteria can be getting a decent rating on the NCLB goals. That is a federal standard.

Harding, Myers Park, North Meck & Butler made that list. Yet only Harding & Butler made their NCLB goals. Myers Park at 75% & North Meck at 76% did not fare as well.
How can you be rated a top high school and have such a poor showing on NCLB tests? Maybe that rating doesn't mean that much...

How do you know it's time to turn off the TV

2005-07-18T21:19:00.000-04:00

When you're three year old says with conviction " No! Trix are for kids!" to the Rabbit.

******************
From several sources: Lee Kindberg is not running again for her District 6 School Board seat. Was it due to the interview with Rep. Jim Gulley stating he now has lost faith in Kindberg’s leadership.

“People in Matthews and Mint Hill are a little put off with how she stands up for the school district,”“I did help support her, but I won’t be this time,” Gulley said.

Rep. Gulley is one of the kindest people you could meet. That is harsh language coming from him.

************************
How's the school superintendent search progressing?

“I was shocked one board member said we don't need to say someone who loves children,” school board member Vilma Leake said. “That should be the focus of any superintendent that we get, he or she must first love children.”

I guess that question would filter out all the insane people who would state that they want to work with children because they hate them.

Pottermania - the kids are reading!

2005-07-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

My rising second grader is just discovering the Magic of Harry Potter. The first book, not the most recent release. I appreciate a book that can get a kid to put down the video game to read.

J.K. Rowling.com

With today's long-awaited publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," J.K. Rowling's official site should be absolutely besieged by fans. Regardless, we could no longer resist its magical powers. Even if you don't give an owl's hoot about Harry Potter, this site offers the author's mysterious, cluttered workspace to explore -- and Rowling clearly loves a good treasure hunt. She hides "Potterania" throughout the site and offers extra-special content to the "curious and clever" who discover it. The famous author redesigned the site last February. She posts to it regularly, and uses it to put rumors to rest, share information that's excluded from the books, and hint about Harry's future. Rowling's site conjures a world of the senses, evoking the game Myst as much as her world-famous novels. (in Literature > Authors)

from Yahoo picks

School Board Superintendent Search

2005-07-16T09:24:00.000-04:00

You've got to get up pretty early to keep up with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' superintendent search.

The school board will gather at 7:30 a.m. Monday to list qualities they'd like to see in the district's next leader. Chairman Joe White said he's alternating morning, midday and evening times for special sessions to accommodate members' schedules.

The meeting is open to the public -- it's in the Education Center's board room, 701 E. Second St. -- but White doesn't expect a crowd. He isn't even sure the meeting's needed.

"We want someone who will walk on water, blah, blah, blah," he said Thursday. "The bottom line is we will eventually hire a true human being who will be like the rest of us and have some strengths and some faults." -- ANN DOSS HELMS
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlo...ws/12147505.htm

Note to Joe White:
http://blahblahblah.org/ is all ready taken by School Board District 6 Candidate Larry Bumgarner to market his campaign for school board. Larry was blasted in the local media a few short years ago in a previous campaign for saying just that phrase. Officialblahblahblah.com is still available.
Christine

Register to Vote

2005-07-16T08:21:00.000-04:00

If you haven't register to vote, you can even do it online!

Mecklenburg Voter RegistrationForm.html

If you want more info or FAQ’s, it’ s all there on the site.

Anonymous Opinion pieces at the Observer

2005-07-14T06:42:00.000-04:00

An unsigned opinion piece in the Charlotte Observer this morning

Last month, we called the performance of Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schoolers on state tests abysmal. Nearly 40 percent failed to perform on grade level. We said this community must not tolerate that situation."

Now no one likes an 'I told you so', but to do it while demanding anonymity is intriguing. I wanted to link to the article written last month but I Can't because I don't know who is writing this stuff.

Dear anonymous Observer Opinion writer,

Those poverty rate percentages are climbing. Continued focus on Center City Charlotte without giving Suburban Mecklenburg residents a reason to trust the school system is turning this thing into the Titanic.

Please read Tara Servatius over there at the unsigned Observer article desk. She will show you how it's done right. Get a little more depth on the issues, then sign your name when you write.

Your ruining the credibility of the whole newspaper. Ann Doss Helms and Peter Smolowitz deserve better.

Thanks,

Christine

On the Move!?

2005-07-13T23:21:00.000-04:00

On the move! On the Move? Where? Towards what goal, sir?

I'm sticking with Tara . This new article confirms my loyalty.

Here's one issue we're not dealing with in CMS

2005-07-13T19:59:00.000-04:00

The Kansas School Board vs. established science has been brewing for a while. It's a pretty lively topic nationally. Amazing, but there is a new theory on the table to confuse things even more.

OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD
I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

Read more of this new theory, diagrams are included.

There are replies from Members of the Kansas School Board on the Site.

From Fussy.org

Gangs NOT responsible for Melee

2005-07-11T21:30:00.000-04:00

Citizens of Charlotte can breathe a sigh of relief. The melee the other night was not Gangs, it was just a large group of citizens out of control. It was not organized gangs. Strangely, I'm not comforted by this but I'll keep repeating and see if it helps.

Did I mention clearly that the fireworks were lame? Maybe that's why they were melee'ing? Low, short and lame. Maybe they were holding out for the real fireworks.

There is a WBT3 web cam in Center city so you could have watched it all from home.

Tara Servatius for mayor of Charlotte

2005-07-10T08:42:00.000-04:00

Can I nominate Tara Servatius for Mayor? At the minimum we should have her on a task force, that way no one can say they didn't hear about the issues. Did you see she won a national award? I believe that she does more for Charlotte than any Center city booster. A booster does not mean your a cheerleader, it means you care and work to make things better.

If you want to know why people who move to Charlotte are surprised with reality, read the Chamber of Commerce web site. Our public school system is AWESOME! Just in case, there is a huge listing of private schools available though.

Homicide Task force

2005-07-10T08:09:00.000-04:00

Charlotte has a new task force. It's not getting a ton of press but it is significant. Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon hopes the homicide task force can help improve the homicide rate in Charlotte. He's not running for mayor this November?

I am struck by how the same names pop up in Charlotte. Contracters for large development projects given lead roles in task forces. Large business owners pulling the strings on benign sounding groups such as Center City Partners.

These groups are urging people into the Center City for the good of all. They fail to mention the skyrocketing violent crime & murder rate. They fail to agitate for anything to be done about that crime rate. Are they upset the police set up a murder task force? Tara Servatious has detailed it brilliantly over time. This not another 'OOPS' population boom or crime wave. This is from a pattern set of allowing lawlessness. The dismissal rate for lawbreakers is extremely high, in school & out.

Knowing and ignoring these crime rates while urging people to sacrifice their families & children to Center City development is evil. Is it lucrative in the long run?

Summer Reading

2005-07-08T21:48:00.000-04:00

Last year there was a controversy over the required reading list for UNC Chapel Hill. Local people wrote in with book suggestions for the list. Larry Gauvreau was one of them. I thought of it today when I read a post suggesting everyone read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. That book sums up for me how Charlotte center city is becoming blue surrounded by Red. The Charlotte Capitalist would suggest you read anything by Ms. Rand.

I talk often to to Donna Jenkins Dawson who is considering a run for school board District 2. She says I need to read the book Boom For Whom? Education, Desegregation and Development in Charlotte by Steven S. Smith. He has a couple of books that deal with the subject. He also testified as an expert witness in the Swann lawsuit.

I wish the 'Task Force' would share the reading list & research with us. We could all grow together as a community, everyone on the same page. Seriously, if we could follow the path then more people might appreciate the result. Harvey Gantt is breaking the silence by speaking to the Tuesday morning breakfast club on July 12.