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 28Chapel 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.
