Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week, including school budget votes, pronouncements from state leaders, a bit more on testing controversies and teacher evaluations, and a few other subjects…
A new post on our blog analyzing past school budget voting results and speculating on how the tax cap might affect the outcomes in next Tuesday’s votes.
The Albany Times Union explained some puzzling results in calculating tax levy limits for different school districts.
Education Week’s Politics K-12 blog wrote about a bill passed by the U.S. House of representatives designed to avoid the automatic cuts to education programs which would occur if Congress and the president fail to agree on a deficit reduction plan by January 1, 2013.
The Senate and President Obama will not agree to the House plan and advocates warn that it would not be much better than the automatic cuts. The article gives a concise forecast of what could be in store for federal education programs.
Tom Precious of the Buffalo News interviewed State Senate Education Committee Chair John Flanagan. The Senator delivers thoughtful observations on the controversy over releasing individual teacher evaluation results. The 10-minute audio interview is available here.
Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch spoke at a business gathering on Wednesday in New York City. She made some headlines by not slamming the door on speculation she might be a candidate for New York City Mayor next year. But she also offered comments on recent testing controversies, calling problems with the grades 3 through 8 state assessments “inexcusable.”
“The psychometricians have assured us that the reliability and validity of the exams … is not contaminated by these errors. What does drive my anxiety is [test-maker Pearson's] ability to deliver on the contract. The mistakes that have been revealed are really disturbing. I don’t think children should sit in an exam and be confused about the exam. I think testing needs to be as straightforward as possible.”
She added,
“I would suggest to Pearson that they take this very seriously, because next year we are moving to the Common Core standards and those tests are going to be harder still. What happens here as a result of these mistakes is that it makes the public at large question the efficacy of the state testing system.”
Last weekend, Time magazine posted a letter from a Pearson executive to the Education Department presenting its perspective on the 8th grade English language arts test “pineapple-gate” controversy.
US News & World Report issued its ranking of the nation’s best high schools. The digital magazine found some errors in the data behind the rankings, but in the initial list, 20 of the top 100 are New York state public high schools. New York’s share of the top schools is way above its share of nationwide public school enrollment — 5.6 percent.
The battle over teacher evaluations which threatens to cost Buffalo schools over $ 5 million federal grants continues. The Buffalo News reported on Monday that the local teacher union is winning support from counterparts around the state.
For example, the Yonkers teacher union president said, “Someone has to turn to the state Education Department and say, ‘Your tests are faulty, you’re not taking into account student attendance, you’re not giving us enough time.’”
Then on Tuesday, the News reported on a survey of local voter reactions to the controversy. The survey found a slight majority of voters agreed with the union’s position on the issue of how student attendance should apply in teacher evaluations. The pollster said, however, that there were no winners. Voters hold the school board in low regard and support for the union dropped when respondents were apprised of the potential loss of federal aid.
Under the new evaluation requirements, all districts must negotiate new procedures with their unions and have a state approved plan in place by January 17, 2013 or risk losing state aid increases. We are watching Buffalo for insights into how voters might react to impasses elsewhere.
President Obama came to Albany on Tuesday to speak at the State University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. State Education Commissioner John King used the occasion to author a column for the Times Union on a proposal to expand high school graduation options.
The Ithaca Journal reported on Southern Tier school districts feeling financial pressure to consolidate.
This was national “Teacher Appreciation Week,” and a New York Times column about one mother’s example as a teacher drew a lot of attention.
Finally, Diane Ravitch and others have speculated over whether Governor Cuomo’s Education Reform Commission is a threat to the State Board of Regents.
Question by Agent Smith: Will we see more Chicago Public Schools “Gay Charters” now that there is a massive increase in education funds?
Best answer:
Answer by Ron Bing And everywhere else too.
– report several years old but still applicable. –
Although New York City is $ 3.5 billion in debt, with its education budget slashed $ 450 million, officials still found the money to start the
nation’s first all-homosexual public high school.
Why, in the name of diversity, which demands mainstreaming of all kinds, take such action?
In 2003 New York City opened a “gay only” high school in flagrant violation of the civil rights of most New Yorkers.
http://www.rfcnet.org/news/default.asp?action=detail&article=154 for our 2003 Update)
One of the chief opponents of the “gay only” school was, New York State Senator Ruben Diaz (D-NY). A lawsuit was filed against the New York City School system by Mat Staver, the chief counsel of Liberty Counsel to stop this intolerant injustice against the normal heterosexual community. The lawsuit has been settled, with New York City admitting it was wrong and opening the school to normal heterosexual children.
http://lc.org/libertyalert/2006/la070506.htm for Liberty Counsel news release.
– Read the rest at:
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Realizing that some of your children’s toys can be wonderful teaching tools, helping to engage them in developing essential life-skills, can open up a whole new realm of interactive play experiences for you and your child.
School Dolls come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. They also come in both male and female versions. Using these toy to role-play with your child can assist them in learning positive ways to communicate, and aid in social and educational development.
Play is the foundation for all Early Learning for young children, and giving your child the time and a few basic toys can provide her with a variety of valuable learning opportunities. “Play is how children begin to understand and process their world,” says Angie Rupan, Program Coordinator for Child Development Center in South San Francisco, CA and early childhood educator for over 20 years. “Children’s play unlocks their creativity and imagination, and develops reading, thinking, and problem solving skills as well as further develops motor skills. It provides the base foundation for learning.”
Playing with a Multi Level Wooden Dollhouse or Lots to Love Babies allows your child to reenact what happens in her everyday life, using the words and phrases she hears. You are likely to hear your own words come out of her mouth as she recreates events that have happened, perhaps with an outcome more suited to her liking!
Maybe your little learner would like to play school! Children can teach their doll reading, writing, and arithmetic! Get a Pretend Play School Set, complete with grade book, stickers, hall passes, clock, bell, dry erase board, markers, calendar, map, and pointer in a convenient tri-fold carry board.
My personal favorite is the classic Tea Party! We all have visions of little girls setting up their dolls and stuffed animals at a miniature table for an afternoon drink. Throw a party in style with the Pretend Play Tin Tea Set – a true classic!
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week, including school budget votes, pronouncements from state leaders, a bit more on testing controversies and teacher evaluations, and a few other subjects…
A new post on our blog analyzing past school budget voting results and speculating on how the tax cap might affect the outcomes in next Tuesday’s votes.
The Albany Times Union explained some puzzling results in calculating tax levy limits for different school districts.
Education Week’s Politics K-12 blog wrote about a bill passed by the U.S. House of representatives designed to avoid the automatic cuts to education programs which would occur if Congress and the president fail to agree on a deficit reduction plan by January 1, 2013.
The Senate and President Obama will not agree to the House plan and advocates warn that it would not be much better than the automatic cuts. The article gives a concise forecast of what could be in store for federal education programs.
Tom Precious of the Buffalo News interviewed State Senate Education Committee Chair John Flanagan. The Senator delivers thoughtful observations on the controversy over releasing individual teacher evaluation results. The 10-minute audio interview is available here.
Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch spoke at a business gathering on Wednesday in New York City. She made some headlines by not slamming the door on speculation she might be a candidate for New York City Mayor next year. But she also offered comments on recent testing controversies, calling problems with the grades 3 through 8 state assessments “inexcusable.”
“The psychometricians have assured us that the reliability and validity of the exams … is not contaminated by these errors. What does drive my anxiety is [test-maker Pearson's] ability to deliver on the contract. The mistakes that have been revealed are really disturbing. I don’t think children should sit in an exam and be confused about the exam. I think testing needs to be as straightforward as possible.”
She added,
“I would suggest to Pearson that they take this very seriously, because next year we are moving to the Common Core standards and those tests are going to be harder still. What happens here as a result of these mistakes is that it makes the public at large question the efficacy of the state testing system.”
Last weekend, Time magazine posted a letter from a Pearson executive to the Education Department presenting its perspective on the 8th grade English language arts test “pineapple-gate” controversy.
US News & World Report issued its ranking of the nation’s best high schools. The digital magazine found some errors in the data behind the rankings, but in the initial list, 20 of the top 100 are New York state public high schools. New York’s share of the top schools is way above its share of nationwide public school enrollment — 5.6 percent.
The battle over teacher evaluations which threatens to cost Buffalo schools over $ 5 million federal grants continues. The Buffalo News reported on Monday that the local teacher union is winning support from counterparts around the state.
For example, the Yonkers teacher union president said, “Someone has to turn to the state Education Department and say, ‘Your tests are faulty, you’re not taking into account student attendance, you’re not giving us enough time.’”
Then on Tuesday, the News reported on a survey of local voter reactions to the controversy. The survey found a slight majority of voters agreed with the union’s position on the issue of how student attendance should apply in teacher evaluations. The pollster said, however, that there were no winners. Voters hold the school board in low regard and support for the union dropped when respondents were apprised of the potential loss of federal aid.
Under the new evaluation requirements, all districts must negotiate new procedures with their unions and have a state approved plan in place by January 17, 2013 or risk losing state aid increases. We are watching Buffalo for insights into how voters might react to impasses elsewhere.
President Obama came to Albany on Tuesday to speak at the State University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. State Education Commissioner John King used the occasion to author a column for the Times Union on a proposal to expand high school graduation options.
The Ithaca Journal reported on Southern Tier school districts feeling financial pressure to consolidate.
This was national “Teacher Appreciation Week,” and a New York Times column about one mother’s example as a teacher drew a lot of attention.
Finally, Diane Ravitch and others have speculated over whether Governor Cuomo’s Education Reform Commission is a threat to the State Board of Regents.
One of the perks of my job is that I get to organize and host various happy hours for our clients and groups we’re involved with. It just so happens that this week, I get to do it twice!
Our first happy hour was on Tuesday night right here at our Dupont Circle office. We partnered with SBNOW in inviting their members to mingle and munch on some snacks and drinks while listening to our fearless CEO, Ryan Ozimek, discuss how technology can help businesses become more sustainable. This correlates directly to SBNOW’s mission of transforming “the ways businesses appraise, engage, and enhance human, ecological, and financial resources in order to make the national capital region a better place to live, work, visit, and do business.” Thanks to all who made that event possible and attended!
This week’s second happy hour happens tonight at 6 pm at Madam’s Organ in Adams Morgan. NTEN, a group I’ve been coordinating events with for a year and a half, is partnering with Community of Hope for a Happy Hour of Hope. Madam’s Organ is having drink specials, I will be ordering some appetizers for our attendees, and best yet – a portion of all proceeds will go toward Community of Hope! Didn’t register? No problem – there’s still time, so do so here.
Realizing that some of your children’s toys can be wonderful teaching tools, helping to engage them in developing essential life-skills, can open up a whole new realm of interactive play experiences for you and your child.
School Dolls come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. They also come in both male and female versions. Using these toy to role-play with your child can assist them in learning positive ways to communicate, and aid in social and educational development.
Play is the foundation for all Early Learning for young children, and giving your child the time and a few basic toys can provide her with a variety of valuable learning opportunities. “Play is how children begin to understand and process their world,” says Angie Rupan, Program Coordinator for Child Development Center in South San Francisco, CA and early childhood educator for over 20 years. “Children’s play unlocks their creativity and imagination, and develops reading, thinking, and problem solving skills as well as further develops motor skills. It provides the base foundation for learning.”
Playing with a Multi Level Wooden Dollhouse or Lots to Love Babies allows your child to reenact what happens in her everyday life, using the words and phrases she hears. You are likely to hear your own words come out of her mouth as she recreates events that have happened, perhaps with an outcome more suited to her liking!
Maybe your little learner would like to play school! Children can teach their doll reading, writing, and arithmetic! Get a Pretend Play School Set, complete with grade book, stickers, hall passes, clock, bell, dry erase board, markers, calendar, map, and pointer in a convenient tri-fold carry board.
My personal favorite is the classic Tea Party! We all have visions of little girls setting up their dolls and stuffed animals at a miniature table for an afternoon drink. Throw a party in style with the Pretend Play Tin Tea Set – a true classic!
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
Realizing that some of your children’s toys can be wonderful teaching tools, helping to engage them in developing essential life-skills, can open up a whole new realm of interactive play experiences for you and your child.
School Dolls come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. They also come in both male and female versions. Using these toy to role-play with your child can assist them in learning positive ways to communicate, and aid in social and educational development.
Play is the foundation for all Early Learning for young children, and giving your child the time and a few basic toys can provide her with a variety of valuable learning opportunities. “Play is how children begin to understand and process their world,” says Angie Rupan, Program Coordinator for Child Development Center in South San Francisco, CA and early childhood educator for over 20 years. “Children’s play unlocks their creativity and imagination, and develops reading, thinking, and problem solving skills as well as further develops motor skills. It provides the base foundation for learning.”
Playing with a Multi Level Wooden Dollhouse or Lots to Love Babies allows your child to reenact what happens in her everyday life, using the words and phrases she hears. You are likely to hear your own words come out of her mouth as she recreates events that have happened, perhaps with an outcome more suited to her liking!
Maybe your little learner would like to play school! Children can teach their doll reading, writing, and arithmetic! Get a Pretend Play School Set, complete with grade book, stickers, hall passes, clock, bell, dry erase board, markers, calendar, map, and pointer in a convenient tri-fold carry board.
My personal favorite is the classic Tea Party! We all have visions of little girls setting up their dolls and stuffed animals at a miniature table for an afternoon drink. Throw a party in style with the Pretend Play Tin Tea Set – a true classic!
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
One of the perks of my job is that I get to organize and host various happy hours for our clients and groups we’re involved with. It just so happens that this week, I get to do it twice!
Our first happy hour was on Tuesday night right here at our Dupont Circle office. We partnered with SBNOW in inviting their members to mingle and munch on some snacks and drinks while listening to our fearless CEO, Ryan Ozimek, discuss how technology can help businesses become more sustainable. This correlates directly to SBNOW’s mission of transforming “the ways businesses appraise, engage, and enhance human, ecological, and financial resources in order to make the national capital region a better place to live, work, visit, and do business.” Thanks to all who made that event possible and attended!
This week’s second happy hour happens tonight at 6 pm at Madam’s Organ in Adams Morgan. NTEN, a group I’ve been coordinating events with for a year and a half, is partnering with Community of Hope for a Happy Hour of Hope. Madam’s Organ is having drink specials, I will be ordering some appetizers for our attendees, and best yet – a portion of all proceeds will go toward Community of Hope! Didn’t register? No problem – there’s still time, so do so here.
Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week, including school budget votes, pronouncements from state leaders, a bit more on testing controversies and teacher evaluations, and a few other subjects…
A new post on our blog analyzing past school budget voting results and speculating on how the tax cap might affect the outcomes in next Tuesday’s votes.
The Albany Times Union explained some puzzling results in calculating tax levy limits for different school districts.
Education Week’s Politics K-12 blog wrote about a bill passed by the U.S. House of representatives designed to avoid the automatic cuts to education programs which would occur if Congress and the president fail to agree on a deficit reduction plan by January 1, 2013.
The Senate and President Obama will not agree to the House plan and advocates warn that it would not be much better than the automatic cuts. The article gives a concise forecast of what could be in store for federal education programs.
Tom Precious of the Buffalo News interviewed State Senate Education Committee Chair John Flanagan. The Senator delivers thoughtful observations on the controversy over releasing individual teacher evaluation results. The 10-minute audio interview is available here.
Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch spoke at a business gathering on Wednesday in New York City. She made some headlines by not slamming the door on speculation she might be a candidate for New York City Mayor next year. But she also offered comments on recent testing controversies, calling problems with the grades 3 through 8 state assessments “inexcusable.”
“The psychometricians have assured us that the reliability and validity of the exams … is not contaminated by these errors. What does drive my anxiety is [test-maker Pearson's] ability to deliver on the contract. The mistakes that have been revealed are really disturbing. I don’t think children should sit in an exam and be confused about the exam. I think testing needs to be as straightforward as possible.”
She added,
“I would suggest to Pearson that they take this very seriously, because next year we are moving to the Common Core standards and those tests are going to be harder still. What happens here as a result of these mistakes is that it makes the public at large question the efficacy of the state testing system.”
Last weekend, Time magazine posted a letter from a Pearson executive to the Education Department presenting its perspective on the 8th grade English language arts test “pineapple-gate” controversy.
US News & World Report issued its ranking of the nation’s best high schools. The digital magazine found some errors in the data behind the rankings, but in the initial list, 20 of the top 100 are New York state public high schools. New York’s share of the top schools is way above its share of nationwide public school enrollment — 5.6 percent.
The battle over teacher evaluations which threatens to cost Buffalo schools over $ 5 million federal grants continues. The Buffalo News reported on Monday that the local teacher union is winning support from counterparts around the state.
For example, the Yonkers teacher union president said, “Someone has to turn to the state Education Department and say, ‘Your tests are faulty, you’re not taking into account student attendance, you’re not giving us enough time.’”
Then on Tuesday, the News reported on a survey of local voter reactions to the controversy. The survey found a slight majority of voters agreed with the union’s position on the issue of how student attendance should apply in teacher evaluations. The pollster said, however, that there were no winners. Voters hold the school board in low regard and support for the union dropped when respondents were apprised of the potential loss of federal aid.
Under the new evaluation requirements, all districts must negotiate new procedures with their unions and have a state approved plan in place by January 17, 2013 or risk losing state aid increases. We are watching Buffalo for insights into how voters might react to impasses elsewhere.
President Obama came to Albany on Tuesday to speak at the State University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. State Education Commissioner John King used the occasion to author a column for the Times Union on a proposal to expand high school graduation options.
The Ithaca Journal reported on Southern Tier school districts feeling financial pressure to consolidate.
This was national “Teacher Appreciation Week,” and a New York Times column about one mother’s example as a teacher drew a lot of attention.
Finally, Diane Ravitch and others have speculated over whether Governor Cuomo’s Education Reform Commission is a threat to the State Board of Regents.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week or so, covering mandates, State Education Department news, the Governor’s Education Reform Commission, and the NYSUT Representative Assembly.
Writing in Newsday, E.J. McMahon of the conservative Manhattan Institute suggested that Governor Cuomo’s new education reform commission,
“would be wise to steer clear of district reorganization, rather than touch off a big political fight over relatively small potential savings. Instead, it should attack state mandates — especially in the areas of collective bargaining (for example, the Triborough Amendment) and special education — that do the most to drive up school head counts and compensation costs.”
Mr. McMahon notes that, “…when it comes to [school district] administrative overhead, New York doesn’t look far out of line from the national norm.”
On the other hand, New York State United Teachers General Counsel Richard Casagrande made the argument for the Triborough Law in a letter to the Albany Times Union.
The State Senate had a heated debate over “bullet aid” to school districts on Tuesday, when it took up a resolution to allocate a nearly $ 10 million lump sum appropriation included in the new state budget enacted last month. The link includes the text of the resolution, with the amounts allocated to benefiting districts.
There have been advances in transparency: up until a few years ago, the allocations were made by unpublished memoranda of understanding.
Some Assembly bullet aid was allocated to districts through direct appropriations to individual districts as detailed in the state budget, and some remains to be allocated by a resolution like the Senate’s.
As we reported in a separate blog post, Governor Cuomo announced the members of the Education Reform Commission he called for in his State of the State address last January. The Middletown Times Herald Record cautioned that the commission was “put together from the top down, when the problem is best viewed and analyzed from the bottom up.”
I missed doing a Friday wrap-up for last week, so here are a few items from that period:
The State Board of Regents met on April 23rd and 24th. They received a briefing on issues with the grades 3 through 8 English language arts assessment (e.g., “pineapple-gate”). You can watch the Regents discussion here.
The Regents also considered a proposal to create additional pathways to high school graduation for students, by allowing them to substitute an approved career and technical education assessment or second math or science exam for the current Global History and Geography Regents Exam.
The proposal drew some criticism as misguided at a time when students need greater global awareness. It is important to note that students would still be required to take and pass the global course and that passing the exam would still be an option for meeting graduation requirements.
In its regulatory relief white paper, the Council called allowed students to substitute a CTE assessment for one of the five required Regents, excluding those in English and math.
The pathways proposal will now be circulated for field and public reaction.
The Regents also approved the outline for a legislative proposal to authorize regional high schools, an idea supported by superintendents in several rural areas as I explained to the Albany Times Union.
In its defense the state cites the Foundation Aid formula and other reforms enacted in 2007, although those initiatives have essentially been on hold since 2009. The Albany Times Union followed up with an editorial criticizing “legal gamesmanship” by the state.
The state’s attempts have the case dismissed have been rejected by two lower courts. The Court of Appeals will issue the final ruling. A win for the small cities would allow the case to go to trial a process which entail years of arguments and appeals.
At PICnet, were not about just moving pixels around to create a website. We’re about empowering non-profits to better meet their missions through web technology. So when the good folks over at the Coast Guard Foundation let us know that’s exactly what happened as a result of the launch of their new site, we had to do a little jig.
We could have posted a video of that but, since our jig skills leave something to be desired, we figured it would be better to let the Foundation give you the low down in their own words:
Last year, we decided to fully overhaul our website, coastguardfoundation.org. We knew that our mission — helping the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and their families — was important, but our online presence needed improvement.
Our old site was difficult to update, sorely lacking interactive features and was generally unappealing. So in conjunction with nonprofit technology consultants Big Duck and PICnet, we embarked on a nearly year-long project to transform our website into something modern, engaging and more user-friendly.
The redesigned website has delivered results already. We know from looking at the metrics, traffic to the site and user engagement has improved. But the statistics only tell part of the story. We’re attracting attention from national sponsors like The Weather Channel, Girl Scouts and Huggies. Our website now reflects who we are, a national nonprofit with reach and scope across the country.
The people we serve are everywhere, and now with the new site, we’re able to reflect that online. We’ve long sought to engage better with the people who make up our community, and the redesigned PICnet site allowed us to do just that with their commenting system, which lets our stakeholders be a central part of the conversation.
In addition to the increased functionality of the site, our redesign improved the aesthetics of our mission and message, as well. Our president, Anne Brengle, was on the West Coast recently on donor visits. Due to a delayed flight she wasn’t able to meet with a prospective major prospect. Just hours after their meeting was supposed to take place, Anne received a call from the donor.
“He said, ‘I just looked at your website. I have all the information I need to make a donation,’” Anne said. The result was a $ 25,000 gift to one of the Coast Guard Foundation’s scholarship funds.
As an organization, we’re convinced that if we were still operating our old site, this type of donation would have never happened. Non-Profit Soapbox has allowed us to have a platform that presents our organization’s message in a powerful and compelling way online. Our website serves as the face of our organization, and we are confident that we’re presenting the Coast Guard Foundation in our best light thanks to PICnet.
Congrats on the success! May the website continue to open doors as you work to serve the men and women of the Coast Guard and their families!
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
Hoosic Valley voters go to the polls from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at the elementary gym. Proposed budget: $ 20.23 million Spending change from 2011-12: Up 1.39 percent Tax impact: Levy up 2.75 percent. Highlights: Reductions made through retirements. Propositions (2): – To reduce the size of the board from nine to seven members. – To purchase buses, $ 90,380. School board seats: Michelle Weigert and Craig Wilson filed. Three seats are open.
Hoosic Valley voters go to the polls from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at the elementary gym. Proposed budget: $ 20.23 million Spending change from 2011-12: Up 1.39 percent Tax impact: Levy up 2.75 percent. Highlights: Reductions made through retirements. Propositions (2): – To reduce the size of the board from nine to seven members. – To purchase buses, $ 90,380. School board seats: Michelle Weigert and Craig Wilson filed. Three seats are open.
Hats off to everyone for making the 2010/2011 school year a great one! Now lets help our kids retain what they have learned! Here is something you may have not known:
“Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer” – The National Summer Learning Association
What is our recommendation to prevent summer learning loss? The award winning Summer Bridge Activities™ series! These workbooks have been embraced by parents and educators alike and are continually updated to provide the best in supplemental education.
Parents and teachers have trusted these books for over 10 years books because they work. Students really do retain their classroom skills over the summer when using these. The Summer Bridge Activities™ was created by classroom teachers and is based on national and state standards.
Summer Bridge activity books by Carson Dellosa consists of daily activities in reading, writing, mathematics, and language arts with bonus activities in science and geography. Full-color Summer Bridge activities make summer learning fun and easy.
There is a new section, Building Better Bodies and Behavior, which contains interactive prompts and activities on character and fitness. 160 pages. Summer is also a great time to prepare your students for the standarized tests that they will take in the spring. We offer a complete line of test prep workbooks for various states and grade levels.
We dig the community we work with: smart folks committed to the social good who are seeking innovative ways to bring about positive change as effectively and efficiently as possible. Of course, we know that all the smarts and ingenuity don’t get you too far without the funky dollar bill.
All of these ideas of how to shake the money tree to fund non-profit technology projects had us reflecting a little equation we posited back in November on this here blog:
Or, put another way, can non-profits investing in technology to integrate their website and their Salesforce instance get a leg up on securing funding for those investments?
“Why?”, you query. We’d thought you’d never ask. Essentially, because it opens the door to check off several of those ten tips Bennet shares. The more you can integrate your website with your Salesforce instance, the more the silos between a static web presence and your back office systems get busted up in ways that make both more dynamic, more able to engage with clients and donors and supporters and members, and more wired to deliver program services and rather than talk about program services or bean count program services.
In other words, we’re talking program dollars, baby, rather than taht dreaded overhead line item on your budget’s Excel spreadsheet.
Got a page on your website describing your mentoring program? Great but not very persuasive for funders to cough up some cash. Got a page on your site that describes your mentoring program, a form that submits mentor applications directly to Salesforce, and a password-protected matching system also integrating with Salesforce for mentors to find mentees. Now you’ve got yourself a program.
“Whoa, you just jumped several orders of magnitude in terms of cost for that website, buddy!” you exclaim. “Sure, maybe it’s easier to get some funding for projects like that but you just radically increased the amount of funding we’d need to score.”
We hear ya. That’s the whole reason why we’re building affordable tools that integrate websites with Salesforce.
Got an idea for transforming your website into a program powerhouse by connecting it to Salesforce? Hit us up! We’d love to chat.
Our diverse team of professionals are dedicated to providing leading-edge, affordable technologies to organizations that serve the public around the world. We provide custom technology solutions that help each organization harness the power of the Internet and other technologies to benefit their constituents.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week or so, covering mandates, State Education Department news, the Governor’s Education Reform Commission, and the NYSUT Representative Assembly.
Writing in Newsday, E.J. McMahon of the conservative Manhattan Institute suggested that Governor Cuomo’s new education reform commission,
“would be wise to steer clear of district reorganization, rather than touch off a big political fight over relatively small potential savings. Instead, it should attack state mandates — especially in the areas of collective bargaining (for example, the Triborough Amendment) and special education — that do the most to drive up school head counts and compensation costs.”
Mr. McMahon notes that, “…when it comes to [school district] administrative overhead, New York doesn’t look far out of line from the national norm.”
On the other hand, New York State United Teachers General Counsel Richard Casagrande made the argument for the Triborough Law in a letter to the Albany Times Union.
The State Senate had a heated debate over “bullet aid” to school districts on Tuesday, when it took up a resolution to allocate a nearly $ 10 million lump sum appropriation included in the new state budget enacted last month. The link includes the text of the resolution, with the amounts allocated to benefiting districts.
There have been advances in transparency: up until a few years ago, the allocations were made by unpublished memoranda of understanding.
Some Assembly bullet aid was allocated to districts through direct appropriations to individual districts as detailed in the state budget, and some remains to be allocated by a resolution like the Senate’s.
As we reported in a separate blog post, Governor Cuomo announced the members of the Education Reform Commission he called for in his State of the State address last January. The Middletown Times Herald Record cautioned that the commission was “put together from the top down, when the problem is best viewed and analyzed from the bottom up.”
I missed doing a Friday wrap-up for last week, so here are a few items from that period:
The State Board of Regents met on April 23rd and 24th. They received a briefing on issues with the grades 3 through 8 English language arts assessment (e.g., “pineapple-gate”). You can watch the Regents discussion here.
The Regents also considered a proposal to create additional pathways to high school graduation for students, by allowing them to substitute an approved career and technical education assessment or second math or science exam for the current Global History and Geography Regents Exam.
The proposal drew some criticism as misguided at a time when students need greater global awareness. It is important to note that students would still be required to take and pass the global course and that passing the exam would still be an option for meeting graduation requirements.
In its regulatory relief white paper, the Council called allowed students to substitute a CTE assessment for one of the five required Regents, excluding those in English and math.
The pathways proposal will now be circulated for field and public reaction.
The Regents also approved the outline for a legislative proposal to authorize regional high schools, an idea supported by superintendents in several rural areas as I explained to the Albany Times Union.
In its defense the state cites the Foundation Aid formula and other reforms enacted in 2007, although those initiatives have essentially been on hold since 2009. The Albany Times Union followed up with an editorial criticizing “legal gamesmanship” by the state.
The state’s attempts have the case dismissed have been rejected by two lower courts. The Court of Appeals will issue the final ruling. A win for the small cities would allow the case to go to trial a process which entail years of arguments and appeals.
Hoosick Falls voters go to the polls from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at the school. Proposed budget: $ 20.66 million. Spending change from 2011-12: 3.5 percent increase. Tax impact: 2.29 percent increase Highlights: Budget includes summer school for grade K-8 and Regents prep for grades 9-12. Proposition: $ 321,000 to buy buses School Board seats: Two seats are up.
Hats off to everyone for making the 2010/2011 school year a great one! Now lets help our kids retain what they have learned! Here is something you may have not known:
“Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer” – The National Summer Learning Association
What is our recommendation to prevent summer learning loss? The award winning Summer Bridge Activities™ series! These workbooks have been embraced by parents and educators alike and are continually updated to provide the best in supplemental education.
Parents and teachers have trusted these books for over 10 years books because they work. Students really do retain their classroom skills over the summer when using these. The Summer Bridge Activities™ was created by classroom teachers and is based on national and state standards.
Summer Bridge activity books by Carson Dellosa consists of daily activities in reading, writing, mathematics, and language arts with bonus activities in science and geography. Full-color Summer Bridge activities make summer learning fun and easy.
There is a new section, Building Better Bodies and Behavior, which contains interactive prompts and activities on character and fitness. 160 pages. Summer is also a great time to prepare your students for the standarized tests that they will take in the spring. We offer a complete line of test prep workbooks for various states and grade levels.
Our diverse team of professionals are dedicated to providing leading-edge, affordable technologies to organizations that serve the public around the world. We provide custom technology solutions that help each organization harness the power of the Internet and other technologies to benefit their constituents.
Albany school district voters go to the polls from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 15 at 18 locations citywide. See www.albanyschools.org for the list.
Proposed budget: $ 207.7 million Spending change from 2011-12: 0.6 percent increase.
Highlights: 38.4 teaching positions, increase class sizes at high school and middle schools, convert two prekindergarten classrooms from district staff to community-based organizations.
Tax impact: 1.5 percent tax levy increase.
Propositions: Sell former Philip Schuyler Elementary School/ Former Albany High and former Sunshine School. School board seats: Election held in November. Public library: $ 6.4 million tax-levy proposed by the Albany Public Library. Four candidates seek three 5-year seats on the library board: Arlene Way of Second Street, Daniel Curtis of Spring Street, Vince Quackenbush of Stanwix Street, and Mary-Ellen Piché of Elm Street. .
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 4:23 pm by Robert Lowry
Here is a power point presentation analyzing the property tax report cards school districts filed with the State Education Department for the votes coming up on May 15.
Some of the key findings:
• Statewide average proposed tax increases are down from a year ago (from 3.4% to 2.2%).
• Proposed spending increases are up from a year ago (1.7% vs. 1.3%), but still well-below inflation (2.7% in latest CPI).
• School districts were holding down tax and spending increases even before the tax cap became law.
51 districts are seeking to over-ride the tax levy limit for their districts. About half of districts are proposing levy increases within 20% of the maximum increase allowed by their limit.
• Unlike some past years, there do not appear to be clear wealth-related patterns in proposed spending and tax increases, at least looking at the state as a whole.
• There is widespread concern about the year after next (2013-14). Looking at reserves helps identify why.
• Some state aid data:
− The overall pattern of state aid increases appears somewhat random due to the mix of (1) expense-based aids funded by current law, and (2) new general aid increases directed by the Governor and Legislature.
− Distribution of new general aid this year is more progressive than in some past years, but additions remain small in comparison to past cuts.
Some additional observations and conclusions:
• Despite an improved fiscal outlook for state government, the position of many school districts remains grim.
• The state aid increase for many districts is offset by the end of federal Education Jobs Funds.
• For the third straight year, proposed school spending increases average under 2% — probably less than what pensions and health insurance alone would drive, requiring districts to cut other spending on balance.
• After three difficult prior state budget cycles, many districts have exhausted easier budget cutting options.
•The tax cap does appear to be pushing down the tax increases which school districts are proposing.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 4:23 pm
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The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.
The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.
Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.
Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”
Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”
The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.
Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]>
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman. Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.
According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.
“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.
“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added. Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.
In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.
Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”
The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”
The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations. For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>
In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.
His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.
Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]>
Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha
A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!
Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports. These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.
Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $ 291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $ 1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund. This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.
Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $ 2,006,849 with $ 305,854 being
used for management and general expenses. This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.
The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.
From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]>
Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.
Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.
In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review. From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.
To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $ 10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $ 8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.
The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.
First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools. Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.
Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.
The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding. One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year. Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year. Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request. Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.
A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals. So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.
The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.
Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”
“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL. We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,” he concluded.
NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer. Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.” Gail Taylor
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>
Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .
Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online. Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point. His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.
“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD. With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross. “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application. But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.
But how does the new on-line application work?
The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss. This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.
Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents, how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed. Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at
RALEIGH, N.C. – N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis will serve as the keynote speaker at the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ third annual charter school conference, which is set for July 22-24 at the Concord Convention Center in Cabarrus County. Speaker Tillis will address attendees at the dinner on Monday, July 23. For more information on the conference, visit the Alliance’s website at http://nccharters.org.
“We are grateful that Speaker Tillis has chosen to attend our conference and speak to North Carolina’s current and future charter school leaders,” says Todd Havican, the Alliance’s conference chair and a board member at Union Academy. “Now that the legislature has eliminated the cap on public charter schools, the charter school movement is poised to expand throughout the state. We appreciate Speaker Tillis’ leadership in lifting the cap and his willingness to speak to our members.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.
“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors. “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”
“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt. “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”
Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm. He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011. Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry. He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl.
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead [...]]]>
As many of you know, in recent weeks the Alliance has undergone some changes and moved to a less centralized, regional approach. As part of our reorganization, we introduced Pioneer Strategies as our communication partner in early January.
Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.
Frank Williams, Lead Strategist
Frank serves as the lead strategist for Pioneer’s work for the Alliance and will play a key role in the organization’s future as we seek to better serve you. Frank can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Frank is a native and resident of Brunswick County, N.C. He earned a degree from North Carolina State University’s Department of Communication in 1993. Frank formed Pioneer Strategies in August 2001. Since that time, the firm has served nearly 100 clients throughout North Carolina. Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized by both the MarCom Creative Awards and the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. In addition, Frank received the N.C. State University Communication Alumni Circle’s Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2006.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Dana’s experience includes working as a corporate event planner. She will be instrumental in ensuring that this year’s charter school conference is the best yet.
Dana is a Raleigh native and a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. She has interned or worked with two successful campaigns for the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Dana achieved her goal of becoming Miss North Carolina and competed in the Miss America Pageant, where she received an award for her work with pediatric cancer patients. Following the 2004 election Dana worked at Bockorny Petrizzo, a bipartisan governmental relations firm in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to North Carolina, Dana worked at Fetzer Stephens as the director of client services. Dana also worked as a project manager at Universal Meeting Management, having total oversight of multiple customer meetings, conferences and conventions.
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
Karen will be your initial point of contact for the conference, magazine and general inquiries and will play a key role in handling the various organizational details associated with running a statewide organization like the Alliance. Karen can be reached through the Alliance’s main phone number or via email at communication@nccharters.org.
Karen Valiquett is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. With Pioneer Strategies, Karen utilizes the organizational and project management skills she developed as an engineer to ensure that client projects are completed on schedule and according to the client’s specifications.
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional [...]]]>
Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state. The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.
“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham. “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges. Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”
The regional meetings were held at the following locations:
Eastern North Carolina Region: Charter Day School in Leland;
Piedmont Triad Region: Greensboro Academy;
Triangle Area Region: East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
Western North Carolina Region: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
Charlotte Metro Region: Union Academy in Monroe; and
Raleigh-Durham Urban Region: Carter Community School in Durham.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 4:23 pm by Robert Lowry
Here is a power point presentation analyzing the property tax report cards school districts filed with the State Education Department for the votes coming up on May 15.
Some of the key findings:
• Statewide average proposed tax increases are down from a year ago (from 3.4% to 2.2%).
• Proposed spending increases are up from a year ago (1.7% vs. 1.3%), but still well-below inflation (2.7% in latest CPI).
• School districts were holding down tax and spending increases even before the tax cap became law.
51 districts are seeking to over-ride the tax levy limit for their districts. About half of districts are proposing levy increases within 20% of the maximum increase allowed by their limit.
• Unlike some past years, there do not appear to be clear wealth-related patterns in proposed spending and tax increases, at least looking at the state as a whole.
• There is widespread concern about the year after next (2013-14). Looking at reserves helps identify why.
• Some state aid data:
− The overall pattern of state aid increases appears somewhat random due to the mix of (1) expense-based aids funded by current law, and (2) new general aid increases directed by the Governor and Legislature.
− Distribution of new general aid this year is more progressive than in some past years, but additions remain small in comparison to past cuts.
Some additional observations and conclusions:
• Despite an improved fiscal outlook for state government, the position of many school districts remains grim.
• The state aid increase for many districts is offset by the end of federal Education Jobs Funds.
• For the third straight year, proposed school spending increases average under 2% — probably less than what pensions and health insurance alone would drive, requiring districts to cut other spending on balance.
• After three difficult prior state budget cycles, many districts have exhausted easier budget cutting options.
•The tax cap does appear to be pushing down the tax increases which school districts are proposing.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 4:23 pm
and is filed under Finance.
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You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Our diverse team of professionals are dedicated to providing leading-edge, affordable technologies to organizations that serve the public around the world. We provide custom technology solutions that help each organization harness the power of the Internet and other technologies to benefit their constituents.
Eric Ely (John Carl D’Annibale/Times Union Archive)
You need a flow chart to keep track of where former Schenectady superintendent Eric Ely is a job candidate these days.
Ely, famous in the Capital Region for being accused of possibly tipping off his facilities supervisor Steven Raucci to a State Police probe into Raucci placing explosive devices at houses, agreed to a settlement to leave Schenectady in June 2010. Raucci was convicted on arson and weapons charges that April. (You remember, he sent Raucci an email the same week Raucci was arrested stating “There aren’t many I trust. You are one. Thank you. ”
Ely was hired 24 hours after he left Schenectady by a small district in Southbridge, Mass.
But less than two years later, Ely is looking to get out of Southbridge. He applied to a district in Ohio, which we assumed was because Ely is from Ohio. But recently, he popped up as a candidate in Billings, Montana – where he was a candidate previously during the Schenectady scandal. However, he apparently was not selected as a finalist candidate Monday.
Ely is also a candidate for a superintendent’s job near Knoxville, Tenn. as well.
A new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Education Services) don’t actually offer the savings they promise. In fact, contracting for services through BOCES costs taxpayers an average of 50 percent more. I reported on this more than a year ago when some small telecommunications businesses pointed it out.
Taxpayers spend $ 2 billion a year on our BOCES. Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to increase their role.
Do you work in a district? Have you found this to be true?
Though they claim to offer savings, BOCES do little to control costs in the non-instructional services they provide for school districts, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found. In the four BOCES used as a representative sample, taxpayers ended up paying 56 percent more for the same services that could have been performed by a school district or private vendor. The audit found that BOCES should be able to save money because they bundle services for a large number of districts, but instead they end up spending more.
As an advocate of charter schools, you have likely found that if you ask 10 people for the facts on charter schools, you will receive 10 different answers…to the same question. You will also many times hear inaccurate information that directly contradicts your own experience in charter schools.
Below are a few of the most common charter schools myths you’ll hear…AND the truth behind those myths.
Myth: Charter schools aren’t required to meet the same standards as traditional public schools.
Truth: Charter schools are held to the same academic accountability ratings and financial requirements as traditional public schools, as established by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Myth: All charter schools are college preparatory models.
Truth: In reality, charter schools have diverse missions, 36 percent of all charter schools in Texas have a mission to prepare students for college. A close second to these mission types—approximately 29 percent—focus on a specialized mission, such as math and science, language or the arts. Dropout Recovery schools account for 27 percent of charters in the state, while 8 percent of schools are focused on learning in special environments like residential treatment or juvenile detention center.
Myth: Charter schools are succeeding because they “cream” the best students and the most involved parents.
Truth: Charters accept any student who applies, including those that have fallen behind their peers, previously dropped out of another school and those with special needs. With 56,000 students on waiting lists to enter charter schools across the state, the students who enter charters via a lottery are representative of a diversity of backgrounds. Charter schools serve higher percentages of African-American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students than traditional schools and are producing more results.
Myth: Charter schools perform no better than traditional public schools.
Truth: According to the TEA, standard accountability charter schools outperform traditional schools with minority students in state assessment passage.
Myth: There is higher attrition among charter school teachers.
Truth: Across all schools, including charters, teacher attrition is a challenge. For charters, attrition is likely the result of the ease with which teachers can leave or be removed from their positions. The positive result is that charter schools are able to make personnel decisions that are in the best interest of their students.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Charter School Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Question by Agent Smith: Will we see more Chicago Public Schools “Gay Charters” now that there is a massive increase in education funds?
Best answer:
Answer by Ron Bing And everywhere else too.
– report several years old but still applicable. –
Although New York City is $ 3.5 billion in debt, with its education budget slashed $ 450 million, officials still found the money to start the
nation’s first all-homosexual public high school.
Why, in the name of diversity, which demands mainstreaming of all kinds, take such action?
In 2003 New York City opened a “gay only” high school in flagrant violation of the civil rights of most New Yorkers.
http://www.rfcnet.org/news/default.asp?action=detail&article=154 for our 2003 Update)
One of the chief opponents of the “gay only” school was, New York State Senator Ruben Diaz (D-NY). A lawsuit was filed against the New York City School system by Mat Staver, the chief counsel of Liberty Counsel to stop this intolerant injustice against the normal heterosexual community. The lawsuit has been settled, with New York City admitting it was wrong and opening the school to normal heterosexual children.
http://lc.org/libertyalert/2006/la070506.htm for Liberty Counsel news release.
My wife has a cheesy ring tone on her phone. Do you know that LMFAO song “I’m Sexy and I Know It?” Terrible…and catchy! The other day the phone rang and the addictive chorus began to play (“I workout!”). As I looked up, I saw our one-year-old daughter begin to bop around to the beat. Next thing I know, there is a cheesy, impromptu dance party breaking out in the kitchen!
Early childhood, a period of rapid change and development, is the most critical early learning period in a child’s musical growth. This period of development has been identified as the “music babble” stage (Moog, 1976; Gordon, 1988). Even the youngest infant is wired to receive music and discriminate among differences in frequency, melody, and stimuli (Bridger, 1961; Trehub et al, 1990; Standley and Madsen, 1990; Zentner and Kagan, 1996).
Very few people would dispute that infusing music into a child’s life is great. But what does great mean? How does having a bouncing toddler in your kitchen correlate to real-world success?
Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests. UCLA professor, Dr. James Catterall, led an analysis of a U.S. Department of Education database. Called NELLs88, the database was used to track more than 25,000 students over a period of ten years. The study showed that students involved in music generally tested higher than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. The study also noted that the musicians scored higher, no matter what socioeconomic group was being studied (Dr. James Catterall, UCLA, 1997).
So what can we do as parents and teachers to incorporate music into our children’s lives? The easiest is to include a passive form of music infusion into your day. Flip on the children’s music radio station, or pop in a children’s music CD. Let it be the soundtrack to everyday life…in moderation, of course. Excessive Raffi = mommy that’s Coco for Cocoa Puffs!
What about children’s music instruments? No need to refinance the home to purchase professional-grade instruments and instruction. Start with a few basic instruments and see which style your child gravitates towards…
The point is that music makes kids smart. The benefits of teaching music to children, and the effects of music on the brain, are proven to foster creativity and improve development. Find ways to infuse music into your child’s life. Close this blog post and download the Best of SchoolHouse Rock CD. Nostalgic bliss!
My wife has a cheesy ring tone on her phone. Do you know that LMFAO song “I’m Sexy and I Know It?” Terrible…and catchy! The other day the phone rang and the addictive chorus began to play (“I workout!”). As I looked up, I saw our one-year-old daughter begin to bop around to the beat. Next thing I know, there is a cheesy, impromptu dance party breaking out in the kitchen!
Early childhood, a period of rapid change and development, is the most critical early learning period in a child’s musical growth. This period of development has been identified as the “music babble” stage (Moog, 1976; Gordon, 1988). Even the youngest infant is wired to receive music and discriminate among differences in frequency, melody, and stimuli (Bridger, 1961; Trehub et al, 1990; Standley and Madsen, 1990; Zentner and Kagan, 1996).
Very few people would dispute that infusing music into a child’s life is great. But what does great mean? How does having a bouncing toddler in your kitchen correlate to real-world success?
Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests. UCLA professor, Dr. James Catterall, led an analysis of a U.S. Department of Education database. Called NELLs88, the database was used to track more than 25,000 students over a period of ten years. The study showed that students involved in music generally tested higher than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. The study also noted that the musicians scored higher, no matter what socioeconomic group was being studied (Dr. James Catterall, UCLA, 1997).
So what can we do as parents and teachers to incorporate music into our children’s lives? The easiest is to include a passive form of music infusion into your day. Flip on the children’s music radio station, or pop in a children’s music CD. Let it be the soundtrack to everyday life…in moderation, of course. Excessive Raffi = mommy that’s Coco for Cocoa Puffs!
What about children’s music instruments? No need to refinance the home to purchase professional-grade instruments and instruction. Start with a few basic instruments and see which style your child gravitates towards…
The point is that music makes kids smart. The benefits of teaching music to children, and the effects of music on the brain, are proven to foster creativity and improve development. Find ways to infuse music into your child’s life. Close this blog post and download the Best of SchoolHouse Rock CD. Nostalgic bliss!
On April 6th, we were happy to announce that with the launch of Great Place to Work Greece, Non-Profit Soapbox entered its twenty-second country.
We’ve been busy with our friends at Great Place to Work since then as well, launching sites in Colombia, Sri Lanka, and now Nigeria, our first country in Africa.
With today’s launch, Soapbox now hosts sites for country locations on six continents – seven, if you’re feeling geopolitically adventurous and want to grant Chile, Argentina or Great Britain their claims to Antarctic territory since there are Soapbox sites in each.
Or perhaps Phil Penn Gwynn’s site is targeted his fellow sistern and brethren on Antarctic shores.
As an advocate of charter schools, you have likely found that if you ask 10 people for the facts on charter schools, you will receive 10 different answers…to the same question. You will also many times hear inaccurate information that directly contradicts your own experience in charter schools.
Below are a few of the most common charter schools myths you’ll hear…AND the truth behind those myths.
Myth: Charter schools aren’t required to meet the same standards as traditional public schools.
Truth: Charter schools are held to the same academic accountability ratings and financial requirements as traditional public schools, as established by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Myth: All charter schools are college preparatory models.
Truth: In reality, charter schools have diverse missions, 36 percent of all charter schools in Texas have a mission to prepare students for college. A close second to these mission types—approximately 29 percent—focus on a specialized mission, such as math and science, language or the arts. Dropout Recovery schools account for 27 percent of charters in the state, while 8 percent of schools are focused on learning in special environments like residential treatment or juvenile detention center.
Myth: Charter schools are succeeding because they “cream” the best students and the most involved parents.
Truth: Charters accept any student who applies, including those that have fallen behind their peers, previously dropped out of another school and those with special needs. With 56,000 students on waiting lists to enter charter schools across the state, the students who enter charters via a lottery are representative of a diversity of backgrounds. Charter schools serve higher percentages of African-American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students than traditional schools and are producing more results.
Myth: Charter schools perform no better than traditional public schools.
Truth: According to the TEA, standard accountability charter schools outperform traditional schools with minority students in state assessment passage.
Myth: There is higher attrition among charter school teachers.
Truth: Across all schools, including charters, teacher attrition is a challenge. For charters, attrition is likely the result of the ease with which teachers can leave or be removed from their positions. The positive result is that charter schools are able to make personnel decisions that are in the best interest of their students.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Charter School Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
As an advocate of charter schools, you have likely found that if you ask 10 people for the facts on charter schools, you will receive 10 different answers…to the same question. You will also many times hear inaccurate information that directly contradicts your own experience in charter schools.
Below are a few of the most common charter schools myths you’ll hear…AND the truth behind those myths.
Myth: Charter schools aren’t required to meet the same standards as traditional public schools.
Truth: Charter schools are held to the same academic accountability ratings and financial requirements as traditional public schools, as established by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Myth: All charter schools are college preparatory models.
Truth: In reality, charter schools have diverse missions, 36 percent of all charter schools in Texas have a mission to prepare students for college. A close second to these mission types—approximately 29 percent—focus on a specialized mission, such as math and science, language or the arts. Dropout Recovery schools account for 27 percent of charters in the state, while 8 percent of schools are focused on learning in special environments like residential treatment or juvenile detention center.
Myth: Charter schools are succeeding because they “cream” the best students and the most involved parents.
Truth: Charters accept any student who applies, including those that have fallen behind their peers, previously dropped out of another school and those with special needs. With 56,000 students on waiting lists to enter charter schools across the state, the students who enter charters via a lottery are representative of a diversity of backgrounds. Charter schools serve higher percentages of African-American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students than traditional schools and are producing more results.
Myth: Charter schools perform no better than traditional public schools.
Truth: According to the TEA, standard accountability charter schools outperform traditional schools with minority students in state assessment passage.
Myth: There is higher attrition among charter school teachers.
Truth: Across all schools, including charters, teacher attrition is a challenge. For charters, attrition is likely the result of the ease with which teachers can leave or be removed from their positions. The positive result is that charter schools are able to make personnel decisions that are in the best interest of their students.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Charter School Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
News items we highlighted on our Twitter page and website this week:
How the new property tax cap is affecting school district budgeting is getting more focused attention in the media.
A report on the recently enacted state budget projects a small overall deficit and a 3.5 percent School Aid increase for next year.
The state’s English Language Arts assessment was given to 3rd through 8th graders this week. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Board of Regents will consider giving high school students alternatives to the Global History and Geography Exam as a requirement for graduation.
Plus pieces on teacher evaluations and mandate relief.
Tax cap Several stories about how the new tax cap is affecting school budget decision-making…
Last Sunday, the Journal News reported that school districts in its territory (the lower Hudson Valley) had sharply reduced proposed spending and tax increases over the past four years compared with the preceding four years.
For example, school spending increases for the region averaged 7.6 percent per year between 2003-04 and 2007-08, but only 1.6 percent annually for the four years since.
This occurred before the tax cap was enacted.
The paper followed up with an editorial, “School districts learn their lesson,” and ascribed the shift in budgeting chiefly to an influx of more fiscally conservative board members.
I wrote a blog post about the Journal News pieces explaining that the new restraint occurred statewide, because “democracy works,”
the change happened because superintendents and board members – veteran as well as new – concluded it had to: following the “Great Recession,” taxpayers either could not or would not support a continuation of increases that had been common.
I included a chart showing statewide changes in school spending, tax levy, and state aid since 2003-04. I pointed out the contrast between the last two years with 2003-04: state aid was cut and pension costs surged in all three years, but tax increases averaged about five percentage points lower in the two more recent years than in 2003-04.
I concluded,
School district leaders responded to voter concerns over property taxes. In a month we will see how voters respond to the choices presented to them for 2012-13 school budgets, and eventually, to the consequences of the choices for their schools.
Writing in Newsday, E.J. McMahon, a key figure in the movement to enact the tax cap, wrote that,
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wisely modeled New York’s tax cap law on Proposition 2½, the 1980 Massachusetts initiative limiting annual growth in local property tax levies to 2.5 percent.
Well, not exactly.
In Massachusetts, communities may increase their tax levy by up to 2.5 percent without voter approval and require approval by only a simple majority of voters to over-ride the cap.
New York’s law requires 60 percent of voters to approve.
Those points aside, Mr. McMahon is fair in explaining why the actual “tax levy limit” for individual districts will not always equal the widely referenced 2 percent figure (because of exemptions), why individual taxpayers may see larger increases (because of changes in property value) and why the law’s cap on tax levy increases is sounder than a cap on tax rates.
Mr. McMahon concludes,
The real game-changing element of the tax cap law is a two-strikes-and-you’re-out provision for school boards: If any proposed budget, even one holding taxes under the cap, is rejected in two submissions to voters, or withdrawn after failing to pass on first submission, the allowable tax increase is zero — no exceptions.
In a separate editorial, the Poughkeepsie paper concludes, School districts have their work cut out for them. The piece explains why districts still face tough budgeting choices despite getting an increase in state aid and calling on districts to explore consolidation and sharing opportunities and negotiate harder with employee unions.
A Newsday editorial (LI schools feel tax cap pressure) concludes that the cap has already been, “groundbreaking in its effect on contracts,” and adds,
Officials on both sides of the bargaining tables agree things have truly changed, perhaps permanently.
Our sense from exchanges with superintendents is that the perception that the tax cap has increased the likelihood of gaining cost-saving measures in union negotiations is more common on Long Island than in other regions of the state.
State Budget Outlook for 2013-14 and beyond By law, the Governor’s Budget Division is required to publish quarterly reports on the state’s financial plan – the implementation of the current year’s budget and the outlook for the next few years following.
This is one area where the performance of state government has improved over the past decade or so – the volume of information now disclosed in these reports is impressive.
The first report on the recently enacted 2012-13 state budget was released yesterday. As one would expect (or hope), it concludes that budget is balanced.
Looking to the future, it projects a small structural deficit for 2013-14, and a $ 712 (3.5 percent increase in School Aid).
In a separate blog post, I provide more details and stress that how the planned increase is to be allocated remains to be determined, so no individual district can count on a specific increase.
The Board of Regents next week will consider state Education Department recommendations to make the global history and geography exam optional. Instead, students could take an additional math, science or vocational exam, starting with freshmen who enter high school in 2013.
This was the week students in grades 3 through 8 took the state’s required English Language Arts assessment.
One reason for the extended length of this year’s tests is the inclusion of field-test questions in the actual tests, as opposed to annually recruiting rotating groups of schools to subject their students to stand-alone field-tests.
The new approach is thought to produce a better representation of students and more reliable results, since all students participate and they do not know which questions are being field-tested and which count.
The author of the story on which the question is based — acclaimed children’s author Daniel Pinkwater — weighed-in too.
Teacher Evaluations Debates over teacher evaluations continue to make news.
New York State United Teachers President Richard Iannuzzi authored two pieces on publishing individual teacher evaluations — “Drawing the Line on Teacher Privacy” and “Shameful tabloids sully evaluation process.”
Both begin by describing the treatment of a teacher of immigrant students unfairly tagged by the New York City tabloids as the City’s worst teacher after individual evaluation results were released.
Mr. Iannuzzi concludes by answering yes to two questions:
Can a balance that addresses the appropriate needs and concerns of parents, teachers, principals and school officials — not to mention students — be achieved? Can we maximize the value of the teacher evaluation process without the public shaming of teachers
Meeting with the editorial board of the Staten Island Advance, State Education Commissioner John King shared some thoughts on the evaluation disclosure controversy:
There’s a tension now, King said, over how much information ought to be available to parents.
“I don’t think it’s helpful to have the newspapers publish ratings by name,” King said.
But he said the aggregate information ought to be available – and it often shows poor teachers concentrated in single schools, he said.
Commissioner King also said he thinks it is inevitable that New York City and its teacher union will agree on new evaluation procedures.
The Commissioner said,
I think a lot of it is about trust-building, on the (state education) department’s part, and on the city’s part, to have people believe that the evaluation isn’t just about firing people – it’s actually about helping people get better.
Meanwhile the ordeal in Buffalo over agreeing on new teacher evaluation procedures continues – the State Education Department is withholding $ 5.6 million in federal School Improvement Grants because of the impasse over evaluations.
One day after the Buffalo News said, Teachers must step up and compromise, the city’s teacher union voted to reject the district’s latest proposal.
The Buffalo impasse may foreshadow problems more schools could confront, due to the new state budget’s requirement that districts have an evaluation in order to receive their enacted state aid increases.
Perhaps anticipating difficulties, the Utica school board this week adopted a budget which will defer spending $ 3.8 million in increased state aid until teachers agree to new evaluation procedures. The Utica union voted to reject a proposal earlier in the week.
Mandate Relief Finally, a few items on mandate relief…
I did a short blog post about the white paper our Executive Director Robert Reidy did on regulatory relief the Board of regents could adopt to support raining student achievement – Time for learning.
The article quotes a survey finding: “86 percent of public school superintendents and 84 percent of principals say that ‘keeping up with all the local, state and federal mandates handed down to the schools takes up way too much time.’”
The Education Speaks blog did a clear and concise post explaining the state’s Wicks Law which requires multiple prime contractors for construction projects above a specified cost threshold.
As an advocate of charter schools, you have likely found that if you ask 10 people for the facts on charter schools, you will receive 10 different answers…to the same question. You will also many times hear inaccurate information that directly contradicts your own experience in charter schools.
Below are a few of the most common charter schools myths you’ll hear…AND the truth behind those myths.
Myth: Charter schools aren’t required to meet the same standards as traditional public schools.
Truth: Charter schools are held to the same academic accountability ratings and financial requirements as traditional public schools, as established by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Myth: All charter schools are college preparatory models.
Truth: In reality, charter schools have diverse missions, 36 percent of all charter schools in Texas have a mission to prepare students for college. A close second to these mission types—approximately 29 percent—focus on a specialized mission, such as math and science, language or the arts. Dropout Recovery schools account for 27 percent of charters in the state, while 8 percent of schools are focused on learning in special environments like residential treatment or juvenile detention center.
Myth: Charter schools are succeeding because they “cream” the best students and the most involved parents.
Truth: Charters accept any student who applies, including those that have fallen behind their peers, previously dropped out of another school and those with special needs. With 56,000 students on waiting lists to enter charter schools across the state, the students who enter charters via a lottery are representative of a diversity of backgrounds. Charter schools serve higher percentages of African-American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students than traditional schools and are producing more results.
Myth: Charter schools perform no better than traditional public schools.
Truth: According to the TEA, standard accountability charter schools outperform traditional schools with minority students in state assessment passage.
Myth: There is higher attrition among charter school teachers.
Truth: Across all schools, including charters, teacher attrition is a challenge. For charters, attrition is likely the result of the ease with which teachers can leave or be removed from their positions. The positive result is that charter schools are able to make personnel decisions that are in the best interest of their students.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Charter School Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
The most famous local alumnus of any local college has some great insight into the current student loan mess, courtesy of President Barack Obama.
Obama was on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night. They “slow jammed” the news on student loans together. Fallon (a College of Saint Rose graduate, as you’ve no doubt heard umpteen times) even calls the POTUS “Barack-ness Monster.”
The most famous local alumnus of any local college has some great insight into the current student loan mess, courtesy of President Barack Obama.
Obama was on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night. They “slow jammed” the news on student loans together. Fallon (a College of Saint Rose graduate, as you’ve no doubt heard umpteen times) even calls the POTUS “Barack-ness Monster.”
The Soapbox User Summit is dangerously close, but it’s not too late to throw your hat in the ring. At long last, we’ve come to the end of our countdown for the top 7 reasons why you can’t afford to miss this whopper of an event. This is without question the most critical and compelling argument we could muster …
Reason #1: Everyone goes home with their own penguin
You’ll walk away from SUS12 with a new best friend and accidental techie, Phil Penn Gwynn, who can be that inflatable birdie on your shoulder as you tackle the latest and greatest updates to your website. What more could you ask for?
The Soapbox User Summit is dangerously close, but it’s not too late to throw your hat in the ring. At long last, we’ve come to the end of our countdown for the top 7 reasons why you can’t afford to miss this whopper of an event. This is without question the most critical and compelling argument we could muster …
Reason #1: Everyone goes home with their own penguin
You’ll walk away from SUS12 with a new best friend and accidental techie, Phil Penn Gwynn, who can be that inflatable birdie on your shoulder as you tackle the latest and greatest updates to your website. What more could you ask for?
As an advocate of charter schools, you have likely found that if you ask 10 people for the facts on charter schools, you will receive 10 different answers…to the same question. You will also many times hear inaccurate information that directly contradicts your own experience in charter schools.
Below are a few of the most common charter schools myths you’ll hear…AND the truth behind those myths.
Myth: Charter schools aren’t required to meet the same standards as traditional public schools.
Truth: Charter schools are held to the same academic accountability ratings and financial requirements as traditional public schools, as established by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Myth: All charter schools are college preparatory models.
Truth: In reality, charter schools have diverse missions, 36 percent of all charter schools in Texas have a mission to prepare students for college. A close second to these mission types—approximately 29 percent—focus on a specialized mission, such as math and science, language or the arts. Dropout Recovery schools account for 27 percent of charters in the state, while 8 percent of schools are focused on learning in special environments like residential treatment or juvenile detention center.
Myth: Charter schools are succeeding because they “cream” the best students and the most involved parents.
Truth: Charters accept any student who applies, including those that have fallen behind their peers, previously dropped out of another school and those with special needs. With 56,000 students on waiting lists to enter charter schools across the state, the students who enter charters via a lottery are representative of a diversity of backgrounds. Charter schools serve higher percentages of African-American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students than traditional schools and are producing more results.
Myth: Charter schools perform no better than traditional public schools.
Truth: According to the TEA, standard accountability charter schools outperform traditional schools with minority students in state assessment passage.
Myth: There is higher attrition among charter school teachers.
Truth: Across all schools, including charters, teacher attrition is a challenge. For charters, attrition is likely the result of the ease with which teachers can leave or be removed from their positions. The positive result is that charter schools are able to make personnel decisions that are in the best interest of their students.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Charter School Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Dana L. Reason Evans, Event Planner
Karen Valiquett, Project Manager
At PICnet, were not about just moving pixels around to create a website. We’re about empowering non-profits to better meet their missions through web technology. So when the good folks over at the 
