Dr. Tim Markley

Graduation Speech by Mosley PLC Valedictorian Jaime Mancari

Valita Quattlebaum — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:55:16 +0000

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, teachers and administrators, school board members and of course, Mosley scholars. First, I would like to thank each of you for being here tonight and for your support throughout our high school careers. We are here tonight to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2013.

Helen Keller once said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Standing upon this stage today, we all know we have achieved success. Each one of us has had our own unique experiences with trial and error during high school, and these experiences have surely strengthened our souls. Every disappointing grade has inspired our ambition. Through all of our hard work and lessons learned, each member of this Class of 2013 has developed character and rightly earned their high school diploma. However, none of us would be accepting our diplomas this year if it weren’t for Mosley PLC and its outstanding administrators, teachers, and staff members.

For many of us, Mosley was our last chance. Some of us may have just dropped out of school completely had we not come here to stay. This school provided me with a chance to save me from myself. In traditional high school, I lost my focus. I started the 9th grade at Laney with no fear and no regard for my future. I had never really gotten along well with kids my own age, and as a result, I quickly made friends with some of the badly-behaved upperclassmen. Soon I found myself going to my classes when I pleased, and although I did well when I was present, my absences took a huge toll on my grades. For obvious reasons, I was extremely upset with myself over my performance during my first year of high school.

The following summer, I heard about Mosley and the benefits that it could potentially offer me. I jumped at the opportunity to apply and was excited to go interview with Mr. Jeter, Mrs. Larson and Dr. Oates. After 15 minutes, they told me I could come to their school. Although I was nervous about switching and even a little scared of what my friends might think of me, I was so grateful to be given a second chance. I had no idea what this school would do for me academically and personally.

I am so thankful for all of the experiences I have had here, because I know that without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am now. I know that no high school other than Mosley could have offered me so many opportunities. If I had stayed at Laney, I would not be graduating today as the Class of 2013 valedictorian. I know that I would have never had the opportunity to start a school yearbook or participate in clubs such as our Recycling Club, the STEM project, or the Chess Club even though it sort of didn’t last so long.

This school has truly been a home away from home to me. No other school in the county has teachers, staff members or administrators that are as empowering, supportive, caring, respectful, and just all around wonderful as Mosley PLC does. Despite rumors and what many of you in the audience may still believe today, this is not a school for delinquents. This is a school for students. We are all learning here, academically and personally every day. We’re constantly learning and gaining from our authority figures and even our peers.

When I was switching over to Mosley, one of my biggest fears was that it would be difficult to make friends. I was pleasantly surprised by the supportive atmosphere Mosley maintains. In saying that, I would like to thank each member of this graduating class and all the other Mosley scholars I have come into contact with for being so supportive not only to me, but to each other. As this day has drawn closer, you have all really provided me and your fellow classmates with some extra motivation to be successful. Speaking of motivation, those of you in the audience may have heard of our traditional “Morning Motivation.” If not, it’s kind of what other schools might call assembly, or just the morning announcements. Every morning, we all gather in the media center to say the pledge of allegiance and recite the Mosley Creed. Then, the hosting faculty member shows a video or does some sort of interesting activity followed by whatever announcements there are. Gathering every single weekday morning of the school year to do the same old thing again and again sometimes seemed tedious, but after awhile I actually got kind of into it. I’d say the Creed in a different voice to keep myself entertained, but I did try to make myself say it every day. Believe it or not, self-spoken motivation can really have an effect on your attitude and productivity. It makes sense if you think about it. If you think to yourself that you can do something, it will be a lot easier to accomplish than if you think to yourself that you can’t.

Again, thank you all for being here tonight to join in the celebration of our graduating Class of 2013. We wouldn’t have made it here without you guys. Graduates, we have finally finished high school. Now all we have to do is get through the rest of our lives. I hope all of us move forward from here with the same mentality we have today: to be successful.

Congratulations to the best graduating Class of 2013!

A VERY SPECIAL VOLUNTEER by Mrs. Maryann K. Nunnally

Valita Quattlebaum — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:35:09 +0000

Mrs. Nunnally is a former New Hanover County Board Member and principal.

Many years ago, I was fortunate to have a male volunteer in my classroom at a public night school or extended day program. There were about forty students in my class, all of whom were older high school kids who wanted to earn a high school diploma. Most of them could barely read, write or do basic math, and my responsibility was to get them through the high school curriculum. The only way I could deal with that many needy students was to make a contract with each one with their individual assignments which they could then work on independently.

One evening, my principal asked me if I could use a volunteer. Could I use a volunteer? I would have taken a gorilla in that classroom, if he could have read. So of course I said yes. And that’s how I got Mr. Stewey.

Mrs. Stewey had called the local high school to ask if they could use a volunteer as her husband, a retired engineer, was interested in helping in a classroom. He felt that his background would make him more useful with older students, but the principal of the day school didn’t have the time or inclination to bother setting him up. So he passed the request on to the extended day program. My principal knowing the overwhelming needs in my class gave me first chance at the man.

The very next evening Mr. Stewey showed up. He was about seventy years old, short and pleasant looking. His gray hair and glasses gave him a dignified appearance that I knew would help him gain respect in the classroom, since the students seemed to really appreciate older citizens.

My methods for working with the night school pupils were basically simple. Each student had a folder with the academic work in it that the student needed to complete and it included history, English, math, and science. Since most of the students could barely read, much of the work was simplified to an elementary level. As each student completed his or her work, I raised the bar to a more difficult level. However, that meant staying on my feet and helping every student every evening with whatever material each was trying to accomplish. It worked, but it was an almost impossible task to get to every student during the three hours they were with me.

Enter Mr. Stewey. He was simply wonderful from the first evening on. Once I had explained to him how the class worked, he said, “This is great. I can move around and work with students who need the help, and you and I together can help these kids make real progress.” Just like that he became a partner, and we became a teaching team.

The students took to him almost at once. If Mr. Stewey needed an evening off, which was not very often, the kids would ask, “Where is that grandfather who helps us?” If I replied that he needed a rest, they were okay with it, but if I said he was taking a vacation, they wanted to know why he was going away on a school night. After all, if they were there trying to get through school, then he should be there also. Telling them that he did not get paid didn’t impress them. One girl, Barbara, pointed out that she wasn’t getting paid either, but she still showed up.

Mr. Stewey was delighted when I reported the conversation to him. He chuckled and said, “I’ll tell them that I had to attend my granddaughter’s birth, and then they will understand.” Every student was interested in Mr. Stewey’s explanation for his absence, and when he presented pictures of the new baby, their acceptance of his absence was complete.

Barbara, who was angry and aggressive most of the time, was particularly attached to Mr. Stewey. She called him Mr. Stewey to his face, but when he was absent she referred to him as that “older teacher-man.” Mr. Stewey loved the fact that Barbara had given him the title of teacher. He said, “My mother was always disappointed that I became an engineer. Now she can rest easy, since I’ve gained the position of teacher.” And my reply to that was that he definitely was a teacher in our classroom.

The year went on, and there was seldom an evening that Mr. Stewey did not appear. When he was late or absent, there was a restless difference in the class. Obviously I could not get to every student quickly enough, and without Mr. Stewey the students often had to wait for my help if they were stuck on a difficult assignment. There was a kind of class sigh when Mr. Stewey arrived, even if he was a little late.

Graduation arrived and some of the students had completed their requirements for a high school diploma. Barbara was one of them, and she told me she had an extremely important problem that only I could solve. She explained, “We get just enough tickets to graduation for our families, and I want Mr. Stewey to be there. But I think maybe you can get me an extra ticket. So will you, please?”

I wasn’t sure if I could get another ticket. Teachers were given one ticket, so that we could see our students graduate. The gymnasium where the ceremony was to take place was too small for more than five thousand guests, and the stringent fire laws prohibited anyone standing. However, I agreed to try to get the extra ticket.

When I asked the principal if an extra ticket was available, he shook his head, but then backed off a bit and said that maybe some student would not want all his or her tickets, so he would see what he could do. The week went on and every evening Barbara whispered to me, “Did you get the ticket?” Just when I thought I would have to give her my ticket, the principal came to the door of the classroom and handed me a ticket.

“One of our kids is not graduating, and they already assigned him his tickets. I have to turn them back in, but I don’t think they will miss one,” he said in a conspiring voice. So Barbara got her ticket which she then presented to Mr. Stewey.

The graduation ceremony was loud and raucous as parents and other guests celebrated each student’s diploma. When at last the extended day students were called up on the platform, Barbara hesitated by the microphone, and then as I watched she caught Mr. Stewey’s eye and gave him a victory sign by lifting two fingers in the traditional V.

At the close of the ceremony while families and friends milled around, Barbara left the group and went to Mr. Stewey. To my surprise she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Here was a young woman who was angry and aggressive most of the time, showing real affection for an old man. I wish I could have been privileged to hear their conversation, but I was too far way. Still from the smiles on their faces, I knew Mr. Stewey was celebrating with Barbara her fantastic accomplishment.

The next year, Mr. Stewey arrived ready to volunteer again. I noticed that he seemed to be slower and maybe a little more fatigued that year, but still he came almost every evening and the old students from the previous year, as well as the new kids, were always glad to see him. So was I as he made my life and my job easier to handle.

At the end of that year, Mr. Stewey said good bye to the students and to me, but promised that he would be back the following year. So when the new year began and Mr. Stewey did not show up, I was perplexed. After all, he had been there for two years, and said he would be back. Finally, I found his number in the phone book and called his house.

When his wife answered the phone, I identified myself and asked for Mr. Stewey. His wife paused for just a moment and then said, “My dear, Mr. Stewey cannot come to the phone, and he will not be volunteering this year. His Alzheimer’s has gotten much worse.”

I was at a lost for words. For two years, Mr. Stewey had tutored students in my classroom, and I had never realized that he had Alzheimer’s. When I stumbled over a reply to Mrs. Stewey, she said, “Honey, you don’t know what you did for Mr. Stewey. He was so depressed when he realized that he was losing his mind. Then I suggested that he volunteer in a public school and use what he had left. He seemed to get much better for awhile, and going to night school each evening gave him a goal for the day. He so admired what you could do with the students you taught. He constantly talked about you and ‘his’ kids, and looked forward to every class. You and your students gave him back his life for the last two years.”

Mumbling some trite reply, I hung up before I started crying. Mr. Stewey had been my partner and fellow teacher. He had math skills that not only showed the students how to get an answer, but helped them to really understand what they were doing. Obviously his long-term memory was functioning at a high level, and if he had short term memory problems, I never knew it. What a fantastic model he was for every senior citizen who suffers from Alzheimer’s or any disease that slows the mind.

Now that I am retired and have some years on me, I think often of Mr. Stewey. Three days a week I volunteer in a small, very poor school. When I sit down to work with a student on his or her math, I know that Mr. Stewey is sitting right next to me urging me on. When I am tired or frustrated with the more challenging kids, I know Mr. Stewey is telling me to get over it and get on. And I hope that he knows that he was my mentor and teacher and that I was also one of his “kids.”

Maryann K. Nunnally

An Open Letter from Superintendents on New Education Legislation

Tim Markley — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:04:52 +0000

This article was written collaboratively by superintendents of the state’s largest public school districts.

The goal of our public schools is to make sure that each child is prepared for career, college or the military – and a rich, productive life. Across the country, and in North Carolina, state legislatures are discussing how to improve public education. The standard to apply is whether reform legislation will actually result in improved outcomes for each and every child. Our state is recognized nationally as having strong public education. Our graduation rate is 80.4 percent, the highest in state history. Our annual dropout rate in 3.01 percent, the lowest in state history. We are among the top 11 participating education systems in the world for fourth- and eighth-grade math on the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. We are working to push graduation rates even higher and to develop accountability standards that accurately capture student performance. The changes we make should help children succeed, not reduce local control of education and create more bureaucracy.
Those of us who work in public schools welcome this year’s legislative focus on our schools. Here in North Carolina, the 10 largest school districts have come together, collaborating to work proactively and cooperatively with lawmakers to ensure that legislation will make schools better. Together, we represent nearly half (43 percent) of all the students in North Carolina, and we are working to ensure that legislation is aligned with the goal we all share: better schools that prepare each student for college, career or the military.
• We are very enthusiastic about House Bill 902, which would build strong schools for the future. It provides strong incentives for schools to partner with business and the community to benefit each student. The bill would establish a North Carolina Education and Workforce Innovation Commission, which would provide grants to schools that have formed partnerships with colleges and local business that will employ our high school students. Strengthening our ties to business and the community with these innovation incentives will enable us to better prepare students for the workplace of the 21st century. The funding for this would be shared by the state (50 percent), local businesses (25 percent) and statewide businesses (25 percent).
• There is concern among some lawmakers that it will be hard to fund innovation incentives in this session. Delaying funding for this could also potentially delay or deny our students some important opportunities.
• This is particularly worrisome at a time when so much money is being considered for vouchers. On nearly every national survey of per-pupil spending, (when all funding sources are counted), North Carolina is in the bottom 20 among the 50 states. In recent years, education funding has been cut. North Carolina was hit hard by the recession and districts across the state have absorbed many cuts and diminished resources. Now that the economy is improving, is this the best and wisest use of money to strengthen the education we offer our children? Many families have indicated discomfort with cutting spending on public education while simultaneously paying for vouchers.
• We need to have consistent definitions and standards. The voucher legislation defines “at-risk” students eligible for vouchers as those whose family incomes are 225 percent to 300 percent of the federal standard for poverty. The pre-kindergarten program proposals define “at-risk” as children whose families are below the poverty level. Shouldn’t at-risk mean the same thing in all policies and laws?
• For each child to succeed, there is a growing body of evidence that early education is critical. Proposed legislation would limit pre-kindergarten programs to children whose family incomes are below the federal poverty level. We should be expanding, not restricting, access to pre-kindergarten programs if we want every child to have a good start in school. Pre-kindergarten programs have been recognized by educational researchers, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as providing a great return on investment. The chamber said in a 2010 report that investment in early childhood education – for children from birth to age five – yields very high returns, including increased earnings and decreased use of social services. “Achieving a world-class education system and creating a highly-skilled workforce begins with high-quality early learning opportunities,” the report said.
Pre-kindergarten programs provide a real and measurable educational boost to children who need it most – and they provide it early, rather than letting a student slowly slide into failure by eighth grade. Academic gaps linked to family income have widened in the past three decades and the numbers tell a clear story: Wealthy families are investing more in their children’s early education and it is paying off all through school.
As Sean F. Reardon, a professor of education and sociology at Stanford, wrote in a recent New York Times piece, “The academic gap is widening because rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school than middle-class students. This difference in preparation persists through elementary and high school.”
Given this compelling evidence of early education’s effectiveness, why would we not invest heavily in pre-kindergarten programs? The benefits they provide persist all though school – a great return on investment and the kind of help that students need. It would also help us meet new state requirements that all children are reading by third grade. How does limiting access to pre-kindergarten programs help districts meet these benchmarks?
• The need to align all pieces of legislation to benefit each student is critical. We need accountability and we also need the right measurements for it. There is currently proposed legislation to grade schools on academic performance. On this A-F grading system, student academic growth is considered a key measure in some legislation but not all of it. If we want each student to excel in school, shouldn’t we measure the academic growth of each one in assessing the success of our schools? In all pieces of legislation involving teacher evaluation and pay for performance, growth is counted as an important measure but academic growth is omitted from some of the proposals for grading schools. How can parents fairly assess their child’s progress in school if they don’t also consider where the students started? Many students start the year meeting or exceeding proficiency standards. If they started the year at or above the standard, leaving out growth doesn’t tell us if they’ve actually progressed, stayed the same or declined. We should focus on the success of each child in any school grading system and we should ensure that the grading system we use is accurate and clear to parents.
• We understand and support the need for parents to have accurate information. We welcome a focus on accountability that will help parents assess schools accurately – all public schools, traditional and charters. That requires a level playing field for traditional public schools and public charter schools. Charters, which are funded with public money, should not have more flexibility and less accountability than public schools when it comes to managing resources and people to achieve academic excellence.
• Finally, we believe that North Carolina must recognize that for each child to excel in school, each child must have a good teacher. Investment in teachers is important. If we want to attract and keep the best teachers available, teacher compensation must move closer to the national average. Right now, we’re about $10,000 below the national average salary for teachers. We also need to invest in providing teachers with the opportunity to grow and learn new skills. Any discussion of evaluation and tenure should also address these gaps.
As educators, we recognize that the North Carolina General Assembly is an important partner and we appreciate the focus on education in this year’s session. North Carolina has long had a good education system. This year, we see the opportunity to make it great with improvements that help our public schools reach their goal of enabling each child to succeed in life.

Dr. Heath E. Morrison, Superintendent
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Dr. Frank Till Jr., Superintendent
Cumberland County Schools

Dr. Eric J. Becoats, Superintendent
Durham Public Schools

Mr. Reeves McGlohon, Superintendent
Gaston County Schools

Mr. Maurice “Mo” Green, Superintendent
Guilford County Schools

Dr. Ed Croom, Superintendent
Johston County Schools

Dr. Tim Markley, Superintendent
New Hanover County Schools

Dr. Mary Ellis, Superintendent
Union County Public Schools

Dr. Stephen Gainey, Interim Superintendent
Wake County Schools

Dr. Beverly Emory, Superintendent
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

The Rest of the Story: Understanding the Numbers

Tim Markley — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:59:09 +0000

A wise friend once told me never to pick fights with people who buy their ink by the barrel. I have generally lived by this and do not respond to media articles. The Star News article on the achievement gap in last Sunday’s paper is an exception. The news article presented data comparing student proficiency over the past decade. While the numbers presented were technically correct, they were misleading at best. The initial test results from 2002 were based on a very different test than the one administered in 2011. It is difficult to compare data from the 2001-2002 school year with the 2011-2012 school year due to the differences in the assessment content, assessment specifications, and assessment performance standards as depicted in Table 1.

Table 1: Comparison of 2001-2002 and 2011-2012 Assessments

Without considering the differences in the assessments, the news article compared percentages for schools with students in Grades 3-8 that are based on the number of students scoring at or above Level III in both reading and mathematics on the End-of-Grade tests. Therefore, scores of students who demonstrated proficiency on one of the two assessments were omitted from the reported percentages, and therefore, some student successes were inadvertently omitted from the news report.

Furthermore, student progress was omitted, which reveals more clearly the learning from year to year. When analyzing student data, proficiency (passing) is only one facet; growth needs to be analyzed in order to clearly assess progress. Students are making progress. When conferring with parents, we discuss both proficiency and progress, because parents want to know if teachers are moving their children forward.

Therefore, a better representation of student progress can be gleaned from analyzing student performance data that is based on the same curriculum standards, the same assessment specifications, and the same assessment performance standards. From 2008-2009 to 2011-2012, students were assessed on the same standards in both reading and math; meaning the content, assessment specifications, and assessment performance standards were constant.

By digging deeper into the data; delineating for both reading and math; and analyzing student performance data based on the same assessment standards, the results indicate that during a period from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012, all student groups made progress, but at different rates. Although there continues to be achievement gaps among all student groups, we, as educators, are not discouraged because students are making progress as indicated in Table 2.

Table 2: Student Proficiency Comparisons in Math and Reading:
2008-2009 and 2011-2012

Although the progress varies for each child, a comparison from 2008-2012 indicates that Black student proficiency in reading increased from 43.9 percent to 51.1 percent, a percent increase of 16.4. In math, Black student proficiency increased from 60.5 percent to 66.5 percent, a percent increase of 9.9 during the same time period as indicated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Percent Increase in Math and Reading:
2008-2009 and 2011-2012

We are making progress. New Hanover County Schools is committed to a rigorous and comprehensive plan to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction so that students are prepared for success in post-secondary education and the workforce.

Public Education Under Assault by Dr. Tim Markley

Tim Markley — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:55:26 +0000

“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.” – John F. Kennedy

Horace Mann, the great American educator, wrote that “education, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men.” Mann argued that the bridge between the divisions of rich and poor is public education. Education, he said, “gives each man the independence and the means by which he can resist the selfishness of other men.” Public education allows for social mobility, it is the tool by which any person can change their circumstances and improve their life. I have grave concerns that this great equalizer is under assault here in North Carolina. As Nobel Prize winning economist Gunner MyDral said, “Education has in America’s whole history been the major hope for improving the individual and society.” A review of three bills in particular that are currently working their way through the state house illustrate my point. Each has the potential to seriously undermine our public education system.

These bills are a purported fix for problems in a system that is not broken. Consider these facts:

North Carolina’s public education system is graduating students at its highest rate in history-80.4%.
North Carolina public schools are among the top 11 participating education systems in the world for 4th and 8th grade math scores on the 2011 “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).”
North Carolina public school students are 22nd in national ACT scores.
North Carolina public school students are 12th in national 4th grade math NAEP scores.
24th in national 4th grade reading NAEP scores.

HB 944: Opportunity Scholarship Act: This bill would give $4,200 in taxpayer money to private schools per student. The total bill for this would be $40 million per year. There is no accountability for these dollars; there is no requirement that private schools have to accept all students thus allowing them to restrict access. Experience shows that those who would most benefit from a voucher program would be excluded. The amount of the voucher would not be enough to help low-income parents in many cases. Here in New Hanover County, a private school can cost in excess of $15,000 per year. A $4,200 voucher is not enough to make that viable for most low income parents.

Instead of vouchers, school choice should continue under the existing public school structure. These choices include charter, magnet, early college and specialty schools.

HB 935: NC Pre-K Changes: This would reduce the income eligibility of the NC Pre-K program by changing the definition of an “at-risk” child from that of a child in a family with an income of 200% of the federal poverty level, to that of a child in a family with an income of 100% of the poverty level. This makes no sense when you consider the voucher bill allows families up to 300% of the poverty level to take advantage of Pre-K programs. This bill also would not allow school systems to serve as the contract administrator. The intent is to limit the access of some of our neediest parents to high quality Pre-K services.

SB 361: Excellent Public Schools Act: This bill would grade schools on an A-F scale basis only on proficiency, and it would not include any growth component. North Carolina pioneered the growth-model accountability system that assesses gains in individual student performance from year to year. This model not only has won the state national acclaim, but also is being adopted by other states and is part of the proposed revisions to the federal No Child Left Behind law that has been criticized for not acknowledging student growth. Assigning letter grades to schools largely on test performance will be misleading to the public, overly-punitive to the schools, and ultimately will erode the parental and community support that is crucial for the continuing viability of a school.

Beyond these bills, the legislators have eliminated funding for some truly beneficial programs. Among these is the Teaching Fellows Program which was a scholarship program designed to bring our best and brightest into the profession. The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching is also being threatened. This long-standing program has provided critical training for teachers across the state in both traditional and charter schools.

The end result of all of this is a gradual undermining of public education in favor of privatization. As Diane Ravitch, a former education expert in the Bush administration says: “Privatizing our public schools makes as much sense as privatizing the fire department or the police department.” My own life is a testament to the value of public education. Both of my parents were high school dropouts; however, they recognized that if I was to live a better life than they had, I would need an education. They, along with my teachers, pushed me to succeed and to go on to college. Without an excellent free public education, it would have been impossible for me and millions of others to achieve the American Dream.

Online Learning Expanding in New Hanover County Schools by Wendy Kraft, Supervisor of Online Learning

Valita Quattlebaum — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:15:01 +0000

“Any time, any place, learn at your pace” is an approach to teaching and learning that is changing the way in which many of our students interact with their coursework in New Hanover County Schools (NHCS).

Virtual Courses-NCVPS
Rather than sitting in “brick and mortar” classrooms with 25-30 peers and one teacher, many students are now engaged in virtual classrooms with certified NC teachers and classmates from around the state. This is an exciting learning opportunity that all NHCS middle and high school students can access through our partnership with North Carolina Public Schools (NCVPS). These online learning experiences allow students to access courses that might not otherwise be available.

All NCVPS coursework is web-based, which allows students to work from school, home, or any place that the internet can be accessed. Instruction and activities are presented in an asynchronous format, which allows students to work on the weekly assignments at a time that is most convenient.
Courses such as Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, African American Studies, SAT Prep, and many others are now available to our middle and high school students. Over 100 courses are currently accessible through NCVPS to support on-level, honors, Advance Placement (AP), and credit recovery coursework.

NCVPS Blended courses provide both a face-to-face and a virtual teacher for select courses including those in the Occupational Course of Study (OCS) and Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pilot. All NCVPS courses offer engaging, rigorous instruction and activities aligned to the Newly Redesigned Standard Course of Study (Common Core/Essential Standards), and are facilitated by virtual teachers who are NC certified.

NHCS began implementing NCVPS courses with high schools students in 2007. Between 2007 and 2010, we supported 350 students in online learning courses. Our selection process was rigorous, the course offerings were few and school-level support to students was limited. As we began to expand online learning opportunities, we realized that additional school-level supports were critical. New Hanover County has nearly 1800 students enrolled in NCVPS coursework for the 2012-13 school year. These enrollments reflect both middle and high school students, even though the majority of the NCVPS courses are high school content (with the exception of Success 101 for Middle School). We are proud to share that our district average is above an 80% pass rate for each of the first two quarters of the year.

Beginning this fall, students participating in NCVPS courses at our traditional high schools and Mosley PLC will have the benefit of the Virtual Academy. The Virtual Academy provides a strategic system of supports to ensure that students receive assistance with navigating online platforms (Moodle or Blackboard) as well as managing time and communicating with virtual teachers and classmates. These supports will be provided to students participating in their online coursework in a school computer lab as well as to those who are accessing their coursework off-campus. In unique circumstances, high school students may be approved to access an entire semester, year or career of coursework via NCVPS without having to attend classes on campus.

With summer quickly approaching, current middle and high school students may access NCVPS courses for credit recovery or to gain additional credits towards high school graduation. Based on previous experience with online learning, students may be required to attend daily lab sessions on campus. Summer courses begin June 10th and end August 2nd. Registration has already begun.
The NC State Board of Education recently voted to require that beginning with the graduating class of 2020 (current 5th graders), all students must successfully complete at least ONE online course prior to graduation. This places North Carolina among those states leading the charge in online learning nationwide. In April of 2006, Michigan became the first state to require online learning for high school graduation. Since that time, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, and Virginia have added requirements.

While North Carolina and specifically, NHCS are committed to ensuring that all students have access to high-quality online learning opportunities through NCVPS, this is not all that’s happening in the world of online learning in our district!

Blended-APEX
Blended learning is a formal process in which a student learns through both online content delivery and face-to-face instruction. These courses are facilitated by a certified teacher and incorporate some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace. Our high schools are utilizing Apex digital curriculum to supplement their face-to-face instructional delivery. Through this model, teachers are better able to differentiate instruction, allowing students to work at their pace.

Video-Conferencing-NCSSM
Another online learning opportunity for NHCS high school students involves participating in interactive video conferencing courses through North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). Available courses include advanced science, math and humanities courses such as Honors Aerospace Engineering, Honors Genetics and Biotechnology, Honors Statistics and Honors African American Studies. Students enrolled in these courses must be scheduled in the computer lab on their campus for a 90-minute block daily. Here they will interact with their distance classmates through webcams and specialized software. Students will participate in discussions, collaborate on projects, and complete activities facilitated by an NCSSM teacher.

Last but not least, it should be noted that because of our dedication to online learning, our district has made all of these online learning opportunities available at no cost to our students and families. NHCS remains committed to providing options and choices to schools and students as we work together to equip each student with the skills and tools necessary to achieve full potential.

For more information about any of the online learning opportunities available to NHCS students, please contact your school administration, visit the NHCS Online Learning website or contact Wendy Kraft, Supervisor of Online Learning at (910)254-4235.

We’ve Come A Long Way with Technology by Dawn Brinson, NHCS Chief Technology Officer

Valita Quattlebaum — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:08:35 +0000

As we go from school to school, we are inspired by all of the innovative ways that students and teachers are seamlessly incorporating technology into their day. No longer is technology use optional – it is essential and will only become more so. In the past, aversion to technology use was not uncommon. Now, we hear more about how teachers want to use it but are limited by lack of equipment, infrastructure, and time to put creative ideas into practice. For the past three summers, our teachers have showcased their innovative ideas at our Summer Technology Institute. We have come a long way.

Over the past three school years, the amount of technology in schools has grown exponentially. Mobile laptop labs, iPads, interactive whiteboards, handheld voting devices, document cameras, and other devices used for MClass assessments…the list of equipment goes on. Behind the scenes, there have been other district-wide undertakings such as server upgrades, Novell to Active Directory conversions, Sagebrush to the Destiny library system, and the shift to Google Apps for everything from storage and email, to teacher webpages. Adhering to the district’s strategic plan has meant the expansion of wireless networks to ensure all schools have wireless access. It has prompted the mounting of interactive whiteboards and projectors in classrooms across the district. The addition of mobile carts in anticipation of online assessments and keeping up with the growth in school populations is also part of our district plan. Bottom line, the equipment increase has outpaced the personnel who support the technology both at the district level and in the schools.

Currently, the Technology Department supports:

● 17,769 computers and iPads
● 98 physical servers
● 96 virtual servers
● 855 wireless access points
● 42 telephone systems
● 41 intercom systems
● Computers per client service technician = 2,733:1
● Over 14,000 pieces of audio visual equipment
● Over 2,100 printers
● Over 1,000 whiteboards and slates

Between 2008 and 2012, there was a 26.6% increase in computers and tablet devices. Be mindful that those numbers just include computers and tablet devices. The numbers do not include interactive whiteboards, projectors, document cameras, printers, and televisions – items commonly found in classrooms across the district. It also does not include the infrastructure necessary to make things work such as servers, intercom and phone systems, and wiring. Halfway into the current 2012-2013 school year, over 2,000 new devices have been purchased – and we still have four and a half months left.

Also, while the volume of technology is increasing, between 2008 and 2012, the Technology Department experienced a 3.57% decrease in personnel. During this same time, school site Technology Assistants (TA) and Computer Resource Teachers (CRTs) have been given other duties that increasingly limit their time for technology troubleshooting and support. Due to the enormous growth of technology in the district, we are presently looking at a 1:433 ratio of TAs/CRTs to computers and iPads alone. That is an average. At a typical high school, the CRT could be responsible for over 1,000 devices in addition to supporting a large faculty and staff. It’s not just about the devices – acquiring and maintaining the equipment is only one part of the picture.

What matters most is how the devices are used. Technology cannot magically transform a classroom, but it can help differentiate, assess and engage students. It helps keep parents and students informed. It has the potential to create global learning communities. It is transforming our schools and libraries into 24/7 places of learning. Instructional support for the ever increasing equipment and programs is arduous and the need is constant.

At this moment, teachers are making the transition to Google docs and to a new platform for their web pages. Our media specialists have all been trained, and are still learning, a new software inventory and circulation system. Science teachers have been trained on Discovery Techbook. The move to a state initiative called “Home Base” is coming soon and students will be assessed using the Smarter Balanced Assessments. Governor Pat McCrory recently signed a bill that created a vocational pathway for a high school diploma, so there will be a greater need for support for the Career and Technical Education Department’s newly-revised curriculum. The list of devices and applications our district supports grows daily.

There is no doubt that supporting creativity and innovation will pay off. Students and teachers today have a multitude of educational and instructional options they didn’t have a few years ago. It is imperative that we systematically implement tools and resources to assist teachers in creating a learning environment that ensures every student has opportunities to discover, discern, and apply the appropriate tools in order to make them career and college ready. We have come a long way. However, without adequate personnel to support the influx of technology, are we limiting how far can we go?

Mrs. Brinson expresses her thanks and appreciation to the Technology Department staff and the Technology Instructional Specialists for their contributions to this article.

Passionate, Hungry, and Driven: Earning Our PHD at New Hanover High School by Todd Finn

Valita Quattlebaum — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:54:08 +0000

Back in 1997, I was working as a teacher assistant at a tiny high school just west of Boston, Massachusetts. I was finishing up my Bachelor Degree so that I could one day become a history teacher, getting my foot in the door as an assistant basketball coach at this particular high school, and somehow finding a way to get by.

Papers, Coffee, and Court Time

In order to coach that JV team after school, I chose to supplement my extremely low income by waking up at 4:00 a.m. each morning to deliver 150 Boston Globe Newspapers before their affluent recipients woke up in their suburban Boston homes. My beat up Geo Metro could never be seen in that Acton, Massachusetts neighborhood when the sun was up: (folks would’ve called the police). After that, it was back to my tiny apartment to change, off to the high school to work that TA job, and then back to the university to go to a class. After that class, it was right back over to the gymnasium for basketball practice. Somewhere along the way, I picked up Dunkin Donuts coffees for the coaches, and in turn they gave me some court time with the players while they sipped away from the coffee cups I could not really afford to buy.

I always got those coaches “larges” because it gave me more court time.

When practice ended, I would get my nose in the books, study a while, read a few chapters of my Rick Pitino coaching and motivational books, and then hit the hay. The days were long, nights of sleep were short, the pay was nominal, and it was all I ever wanted to do.

If I had to, I’d do it again.

Turning the Tables

Four years later, I was walking out of the brand new locker room at Babson University, following the collegiate men’s team of whom I was now the Head Coach: the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Granted, it was only a Division III gig, but it may as well have been the Boston Celtics for a guy who was delivering newspapers and fetching coffees for high school coaches just a short while back.

Especially when our winning box score was in that newspaper that I used to deliver.

I knew that the Big Guy upstairs had a sense of humor when those very same coaches were sending me their players’ recruiting tapes. I always smile when I think of that.

How I got from the hardwoods in Providence to the Principal’s Office at 1307 Market Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a story for another day. What can never be lost, however, is the PHD Mentality that Coach Pitino wrote about in those books which I still keep in my office.

“PHD” was not a degree to Coach Pitino. It stood for Passionate, Hungry, and Driven. I guess that’s what I still try to bring to the table in this position at New Hanover High School. Maybe I simply believe that the PHD mentality will make that next dream a reality at this level.

The Mindset

Before I get into some of the things we have been able to pull off at New Hanover High with our PHD mindset, let me preface everything by stating that it wasn’t necessarily broken when I got there in 2011.

But it wasn’t mine, either.

Like those basketball teams I loved to coach years ago, the fact of the matter is that NHHS was going to be reflective of the personality of this principal before too long. The reality of that statement is scary if you have ever spent any time with me. For an up-tempo coach who led the conference in technical fouls for three years in a row, that meant that the entire school was getting ready to go sky diving, HALO style.

If we were going to be a passionate, hungry, and driven school – and if we were going to win in this business of saving kids – we weren’t going to wait for the success fairy to come and sprinkle turnaround dust on us. We were going to wake up early, deliver those papers, work with our kids, learn about our craft, earn some court time in the classrooms, and try to get better every day. Of course, somewhere along the way we – would be incorporating coffee.

Lots and lots of coffee.

The Critical 200

We start each day off at Hanover with a good morning, stating the school vision, pledging our allegiance to the flag and republic, telling the kids that they will always come first, and our school motto: “Respect Self, Respect Others, and Respect Tradition.” Sometimes the order varies, but we make every effort to fit those fundamentals in to start the day.

You see, this very brief interaction is part of what we call the “Critical 200,” or the 200 minutes when they are not being taught the Common Core or Essential Standards in a classroom. In fact, on any average day, we supervise the students for about 560 minutes in a typical high school. 360 of them are in a classroom. The other 200 minutes? You guessed it. That is why they are so critical.

A good teacher will have a lesson planed, carry out that lesson in a manner that engages the students, while keeping them all safe and cared for in the classroom. Most principals would agree that a teacher who consistently does this work has a place in their school. The thing is that the PHD teacher does all of this and more. We emphasize the importance of being in the building at least 30 minutes prior to that pledge of allegiance. We stress the non-negotiable practice of stepping into the hallways between classes and greeting kids, encouraging students to move to their next class, and having a passion for being a presence in each sector of the building. Three class changes per day at six minutes each? That’s a total of 18 minutes of engagement each day.

Saying hello.

Giving a high five or a fist bump.

“Hey, great game last night.”

“Nice work on that painting in the display case.”

Encouraging that young man to pull up his pants, because Mr. Finn may be right around the corner.

Never allowing a group to form, a student to post up against a wall, or voices to be raised at above indoor levels.

Give me 18 minutes of that each day, and I will show you 104 teachers who get it. I will also guarantee that we had a collective, good day to put in the books before we all go home for the night.

Did I mention that in our school, we don’t even ring bells? We haven’t since the day I arrived. Teachers dismiss the students on their call, and the students then move quickly to the next class. If we do what we are supposed to do, it is impossible to be tardy for class. Imagine 1,623 students changing classes with no bell.

PHDs can pull that off.

We decided to take the two hours allotted for lunches and move from three, 40-minute lunches to five, 24-minute lunches. The result? Faster lunch lines for kids, more time with friends at an actual lunch table, a smaller crowd to supervise, and exponentially fewer incidents in the cafeteria. This takes five teams of five teachers, an administrator, and a team of SROs to ensure it actually works. But the PHD mentality is what makes it all happen. Does it work? Ask the child nutrition staff.

Smooth as silk and chocolate milk.

120 minutes of lunches, 18 in the hallways, 30 before school, 30 after school for supervision and tutoring, and maybe two minutes to pray that it all works out each day.

There you have it. The Critical 200, made possible by 104 PHDs with a common vision.

Not-So-Subtle Changes

I could probably go on to list a dozen other things we refocused on in order to evoke a cultural shift at New Hanover. We no longer have assigned parking for teachers or administrators. The “best spaces” go to those who get to school first. How many folks are in the building at 7:45 a.m. now? On any given day, mostly all of my PHDs are. Do you know who benefits from that? You guessed it: those early arrivals that now have a place to go.

As a lifelong learner who is always refreshing his PHD, I have come to believe that there is nothing more powerful than a teacher, (or a group of teachers), with a collective PHD mentality, a plan to help kids love school, and the will to make it happen. We empowered a group of 12 teachers and an energetic guidance counselor last spring to create a Freshman Academy for first-year, 9th grade students. They called it “The Odyssey Academy.” After just one semester, I challenge anyone from DPI to tell me that those kids are displaying behaviors or performance levels that are typical of freshman students. I have had more folks tell me that many of them act like juniors. They have only been in high school for five months.

Surrounded by motivational quotes (chosen by last year’s freshmen) hand-stenciled in hallway walls by teachers, our Odyssey students are engulfed by positive thoughts. These are emphasized in bright, orange banners with bold block letters depicting the Ron Clark Excellent Eleven words of power, and wrapped up in the collective arms of PHD teachers who love to teach freshman students.

How could anyone fail in that environment?

Not to mention that this phenomenal group of kids will move up from the 9th grade Odyssey Freshman Academy to the 10th grade Iliad Academy next fall. Twelve more teachers already have this project planned out. Truth be told? They’ve got this.

We are a safer school. We are a constantly improving school. We are a school where even if it isn’t broken, we break it and build it a better way for kids. We are a school where teachers who share the vision, to “form young leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion,” are empowered to make this vision a reality.

We are a destination school.

We are a school of PHDs.

Are we perfect? In no way, shape, or form will we ever be perfect. We are getting outcomes that are encouraging and results that prove we are on the right track. EOC scores are up. Graduation rates have increased across the board. Suspensions are down. Police are reporting fewer offenses. Enrollment is up. Dropouts are almost non-existent.

Yet we have so very far to go. Not everyone is convinced that the vision we seek to attain is the way to go. And do you know what? That’s OK, too. It gives me that extra something that I need to strive for, like delivering newspapers at 4:00 a.m. so that I can coach at 4:00 p.m. We are only seventeen months into what will be a 48-month trek, so to speak. I gave this team four years to realize our vision, so 31 months from now, we will have a much better idea as to how we really did. Maybe by then, we will know whether or not we created a better place for kids to go to school, and if the PHD mentality really worked at New Hanover High School.

So, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. But I don’t need to see a scoreboard to know that we are winning this battle. Anyone who walks in our halls can sense that we are up by two with the ball and the arrow.

Yet we are still shooting three’s and pressing.

Tomorrow, I am going to get up early and head down to Market Street. I am going to read over the notes I took on Friday when I got to meet one-on-one with 11 teachers to talk about their individual weeks. By the time 7:45 a.m. rolls around, my game plan for the week will be set, and I will come out of that locker room like I did on that October night at Babson University, ready to compete and expecting to win.

I am so fortunate to lead this team of passionate, hungry, and driven teachers who believe they are the hardest-working team in America.

Are they the hardest-working team of educators? Who knows?

But as long as we believe we are, and keep striving to prove it to ourselves and for our kids, that is all that matters in the end.

We are New Hanover:

Home of the PHD Educator.

We are making a difference.

A Letter from NHCS Superintendent Dr. Tim Markley: The Safety and Security of Our Students and Staff is Our Top Priority

Valita Quattlebaum — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:26:22 +0000

Dear Parents, Staffs and Community Members:

We extend our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to all of the families involved in the Newtown tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. In the meantime, we will remain diligent in providing security and protection here in the New Hanover County Schools.

I believe it is important for us to come together as a community in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy that occurred last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This is a difficult time for us all and especially for parents with school-age children. When something like this occurs, it is understandable that we would have concerns. I have included a link with some information which you may find beneficial from the National Association of School Psychologists about helping children cope.

http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/CaregiverTips.pdf

Please be assured that the safety of all students in New Hanover County Schools is and always will be our first priority. As we prepare for this final week before the winter holiday break, we have reviewed and increased our safety plans. The following is a list of precautionary measures we are taking:

1. All of our high schools and middle schools have Sheriff’s Resource Officers (SROs) on duty.

2. We are working closely with the Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach, and Kure Beach Police Departments, as well as the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. They will increase patrols around our elementary schools.

3. Central Office administrators will be at schools during the week to provide additional support.

4. If students need additional counseling, our team of counselors and social workers are ready to support and assist them.

5. All schools are reviewing their safety procedures including lock down and check-in procedures. Each of our schools has a safety plan and participates in regular lock down drills.

NHCS Safety Officer David Spencer and law enforcement assist with the drills and work with the schools to improve the process.

If you have any questions regarding the safety procedures of your child’s school, please contact the principal.

Sincerely,

Tim Markley, Ed.D.

The Season of Giving and Helping Others by Dr. John Welmers

Valita Quattlebaum — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:40:11 +0000

Somewhere around Halloween, we begin to be bombarded by the sights and sounds of the holidays and by Thanksgiving, the season reaches a peak which will last through to the New Year. Regardless of why you celebrate or if you celebrate at all, it is almost impossible to escape the hype of the continual sales, the music, the television specials (each now airing five times), whether it will snow and the jewelry will be free, and that it’s fine if we gain ten pounds. I too was feeling a little bit “seasonally overwhelmed” when a friend of mine put it in perspective as she was trying to wait on all the shoppers packed in her small downtown store. She told me that she loved the holidays, not because of the sales she would ring up, but because of the energy and kindness of the individuals she dealt with. Sure, she said, some people can be difficult, but right now almost everyone takes on a persona of good. Her observation was that during this time of year, we treat each other with a degree of respect and kindness that she just doesn’t normally see. We are friendlier, we smile more, and each person wants to do something good for someone else. For each of our own personal reasons, the holiday season brings our need to help others much more into focus. Maybe it is a combination of the hype and our own individual memories associated with the season, maybe it is our individual faith or belief, but overall we want and like to help others.
As educators, we should know that the holiday season is not just about the hype. Charlie Brown will pick the same underachieving tree each year – which can now be purchased online – and each year, through love, understanding and a little work, it will grow into something beautiful, representing much more than merely a tree. Don’t we practice that same thing? Don’t we either make or help to make those individual differences each day with each student we teach and reach? We know that a school’s overall test scores, the equivalent of seasonal hype, tell us little about the true success of our students. Instead, we get to see individual students, sometimes just like that underachieving tree, light up in so many beautiful ways.
A beginning teacher and I were talking about the holidays and she explained how even as special as it is, she is concerned about the personal needs of so many of her students. She felt the holidays magnified those needs. This was obviously frustrating for her and she asked me about why our society doesn’t do something better to meet people’s basic needs. She believes if those basic needs were met, we would be in a better position to do our jobs as educators.
The teacher’s questions are challenging and the answers are complex. I remember asking a similar question many years ago to a principal that I worked with in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. The poverty in Appalachia was overwhelming and there was very little help available to most of the folks there. Beyond an education, our public schools provided many students with the only food, medical services, and the opportunity for change, that they would ever have. Sound familiar? All our high schools had private showers, washers and dryers for students to use to clean up as many had no running water or electricity at home. I was helping some special education teachers wash a load of students’ clothes one day when the principal, Mr. Moore, walked up to check on us. In the same vein, and for all the same frustrations as I was asked by our teacher, I asked Mr. Moore why our society didn’t do more to help these student’s families and then let us do our jobs in the classroom. I have never forgotten what he said and to this day; it is still my simple answer to that difficult question. He didn’t hesitate for a moment. He said, “Our society did do something for all of those families. They sent them you. You and all these people working with you are the answer. Make it count.”