Education

Forum for CHCCS School Board candidates sponsored by PAGE, NAACP, and PTA Council

News ReleaseSeptember 13, 2011

For Immediate ReleaseContact: Emily Martine (919) 933-5222Margaret Samuels (919) 699-4400Lalanii Sangode (919) 636-7557 School
Board Candidates Forum Set for September 28
Chapel Hill, NC -- Candidates for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of
Education will respond to questions from the public at a forum to be held on
Wednesday, September 28th from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Chapel
Hill Town Hall.The forum is sponsored by the district PTA Council, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
chapter of the NAACP Education Committee and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro chapter
of Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education (PAGE).School board candidates who have accepted the invitation to participate
in the forum are James Barrett, Jamezetta Bedford, Mia Burroughs, Kris
Castellano, Mike Kelley and Annetta Streeter.Commenting on the first-time partnership of the three sponsoring
organizations, PTA Council President Margaret Samuels said, “It’s very exciting
that these organizations that work on behalf of families are collaborating. The
questions will be truly encompassing. I hope representatives of all the PTAs
will attend.”The school district traditionally has been supportive of educational
excellence, she said, but the PTA Council is concerned about the prospect of
additional budget cuts, and the effect of those cuts on funds that the District
has set aside for a rainy day. She said the public will also be interested in
the proposed quarter-cent sales tax and its impact on the school budget.The Council continues to be concerned with closing the achievement gap
between white students and minority students, this and decreasing the
suspension and expulsion rates has been the focus of the NAACP .“We’re concerned with equity and accountability, and seeing that there
is follow-through on the data that is collected and how to gain a quality
education for all students,” said Lalanii Sangode, a member of the NAACP
Education Committee. “We want to know why we continue to lag in reading and
math, why that varies from one school to another.”Emily Martine, chair of PAGE, said that she believes all three
sponsoring organizations want schooling that will enable children to meet the
demands of working and thriving in the twenty-first century. “Our community should aim for excellence, and that includes making sure
that all children are appropriately challenged and stimulated to reach their
true potential,” she said.  “We hear district administrators beginning to talk about a challenging
and engaging educational experience that provides growth for every child,” she
said, “but the primary measure of success -- which puts
tremendous pressure on our teachers and many students -- continues to be the
percentage of students who score at proficiency level on end-of-grade tests. We look forward to hearing the candidates’ views on measurements that go
beyond proficiency and beyond EOGs, and to their ideas on how best to prepare
all students to think critically and creatively.”Ms. Sangode said there is value in parents actually being present with
the people who represent them on the school board, and that parents need to
know directly about such matters as how disciplinary policies affect them, how
standardized tests are used, how parents can advocate for their children &
be supported in Individual Education Plans for their children, and what
resources are available to them.Navigating the system was a concern expressed by both Ms. Sangode and
Emily Martine.“The gifted plan is long, complex and not fully understood by the
majority of parents in our district,” Ms. Martine said. “The school system
currently is not recognizing the gifts of a lot of bright kids who may not have
had the preparation or opportunities other kids have had, or who are not native
English speakers, or are twice-exceptional learners, or who don’t raise their
hands and speak up in class.““In part our goal is to ensure that all students receive an equitable
education that gives them the tools to attend college. We know that there are
African American students with wonderful gifts, and we know that there is
little funding for gifted and the nurturing portion of gifted education,” Ms.
Sangode said.“It’s all relevant,” she said. “If something is affecting one segment of
the community, it’s affecting all of us, they are all our children.”Members of the public may submit questions for the candidates online through
the end of September 21st. The form for
submitting questions is at www.ChapelHillPAGE.org.For more
information visit Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP: www.chapelhill-carrboro-naacp.org/ CHCCS PTA Council: www.chccs.k12.nc.us, click on “Family
Resources” then “PTA.” Chapel Hill PAGE: www.ChapelHillPAGE.orgThe Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools PTA council and Chapel Hill PAGE
are also on Facebook.

Date: 

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: 

Chapel Hill Town Hall, Council Chambers

Public Meeting on Proposed Boys and Girls Club Facility in Pine Knolls

Public Meeting on Proposed Boys and Girls Club Facility
Posted Date: 8/10/2011

A public forum will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Pine Knolls Community Building, 107 Johnson St., to discuss a proposal to build a Boys and Girls Club facility on Johnson Street. The Pines Community Association has worked closely with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Eastern Piedmont to plan the Boys and Girls Club at the Pine Knolls Community Center. Plans include renovating the existing Pine Knolls Community building at 107 Johnson St. and building a new facility on Town-owned lots at 107A and 107B Johnson St.

The Town Council must approve the use of Town land for this purpose. When making such a decision the Council typically considers a wide range of issues, including the potential effect of the project on the surrounding community. Residents are invited to share their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions about this proposal to build a Boys and Girls Club facility in the Pine Knolls neighborhood.

If you cannot attend the meeting, please share your thoughts by email, telephone, or mail.
Telephone: 919-968-2819
Mail: Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation, 200 Plant Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Email: bwebster@townofchapelhill.org.

If you would like to be included on an email distribution list dealing with the Boys and Girls Club project, send an email to bwebster@townofchapelhill.org.

Proposed Site for Boys and Girls Club in Pine Knolls

Download a high-resolution map

Date: 

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: 

Pine Knolls Community Building, 107 Johnson St., Chapel Hill

Overcrowded Schools, New Home Construction, and Existing Inventory

It's being reported that school overcrowding "threatens" a moratorium on construction of new homes in Chapel Hill and/or Orange County. Meanwhile, the number of "for sale" signs for existing homes in our neighborhoods are proliferating, as old listings languish and new listings appear.

I was unable to find (after an admittedly quick search) current stats for the number of houses on sale in the various school districts or for the average time a house sits on the market -- probably not numbers that local realtors consider very happy. (Did find reference to an approx. 9% vacancy rate for Chapel Hill, but not certain what that includes -- commercial? residential? both?)

However, it doesn't take a lot of scrutiny to know that there are an unprecedented number of existing houses for sale -- far more than are likely to be built new in the next year, I'd bet. And in the likely event that every one of those houses -- or even half of them -- were sold to families with children by September, the schools would have a difficult time accommodating them.

Carol Woods forum for School Board candidates

Dear Candidates for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education, The Carol Woods Retirement Community Public Forums Committee invites you to a Candidates Forum on Tuesday, October 11, 3-4:30pm in our Assembly Hall, at 750 Weaver Dairy Road. Carol Woods has some 450 residents and always has a very high voter turnout. Though retirees, residents are still heavily engaged in community activities, and there are usually 150-200 attendees at our forums. At the forum all candidates will be asked to speak briefly, but the majority of the time will be given over to questions from the audience. Closer to the date I will be sending you directions to our campus and also details of the format. We will appreciate your calendaring this date to be here and providing your confirmation by email. We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our campus.

Roz McGee, Carol Woods Community Relations Public Forums

Date: 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 3:00pm to 4:30pm

Location: 

Carol Woods Assembly Hall

2011 CHCCS School Board candidates

I wanted to create a thread for folks to share their thoughts on the school board candidates and what you'd like to see in the election, especially since the filing day thread has devolved into old attacks and counter-attacks.  And especially since we school board candidates always get the shortest stick in any media coverage (note the CH News editorial today which only had TC candidates).

The CH News did print one story similar to the one on Town Council races today.  Unfortunately (or not, for me), they only gave any details on the challengers.  

So the candidates for 4 four-year seats are (in order of filing)...

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