Is the new common core math curriculum too rigorous for elementary school students to be accelerated to take middle-school math?

As noted in today's article, most of the Triangle High 5 school districts are reacting to the transition to the common core by holding off on math compacting until middle school. In the Wake County school system, this means no replacement for the eliminated 5th/6th-grade compacted math class and no longer allowing elementary school students to go to a middle school to take math.

It created a mini-stir on PAGE of Wake County's Facebook page last week about rumors of Wake suspending acceleration. Wake is clarifying that this only applies to single-subject acceleration under the new math placement policy.

How much stock should people place on the new list of the nation's best public high schools that was released this week by U.S. News & World Report.

As noted in today's article, the rankings saw some schools that do well on other lists such as Raleigh Charter High, Enloe High and East Chapel Hill High not getting ranked. Less academically heralded schools such as Garner High and Southern Wake Academy were honored on this new list.

The difference from the lists done by Newsweek and The Washington Post seems to be that U.S. News requires schools to do well with their low-income and minority students.

Story we are working on:

We received 2 calls this week alleging grade fixing at a local high school. We are checking this out as we would any unverified tip. The principal has not returned our call, and a day after our first call the CHCCS system says it can't comment on any personnel matter.

If you have information about this and would like to speak with a reporter please call 919-932-2003 or email editor@newsobserver.com Thanks

Delinquent parents owe the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools tens of thousands of dollars for their children’s unpaid cafeteria meals.

At its March 15 meeting, school board members agreed to forgive about $45,000 in unpaid meal accounts and transfer the expense to taxpayers, instead of sending parents’ unpaid bills to a collections. agency.

The board voted 4-2 to appropriate the money to clear the balance, almost all of which is owed by parents who don’t qualify or haven’t applied for federal free or reduced lunch programs.

“There have been hundreds of phone calls made, thousands of letters sent home and mailings to all parents with students who have accrued balances over $25,” according to a staff report.

It is the district’s policy not to refuse meals to elementary or middle school children who do not have money for lunch. Students who cannot pay receive a standard school lunch charged to an account in the name of their parents or guardians.

Here's a look at today's local headlines:

HOTEL, APARTMENTS PROPOSED: A developer will bring a plan to the Town Council later this month for a hotel and student apartments at the corner of Estes Drive and MLK Boulevard across from Amity Church. The change would require a rezoning and appears aimed at serving the future Carolina North campus planned for across the boulevard.

UNPAID SCHOOL LUNCH TAB: The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education wants to forgive about $45K in unpaid lunch tabs. In some cases, parents owe more than $600. Tom Hartwell reports the board voted 4-2 against sending the unpaid bills to a collection agency.

BRUSHSTROKES: BEIJING: In this month's visual arts column Debbie Meyer interviews Barbara Tyroler about her exhibit opening this month at the FedEx center on the UNC campus. Debbie has also started a monthly arts feature in our sister publication, The Durham News.

Former Mayor Ken Broun responds to Chas Gaertner's downtown criticism in today's letters (Broun has bought a unit in 140 West and says the project is a sign of good things to come). Also in today's letters, writer Judy Hogan says poet Jacki Shelton Green needs your help.

And in other news today, look for a report later today on last night's meeting of the Chapel Hill Community Policing Commitee (lots of talk there about what defines a "critical incident" and how to respone to one), and we'll get opening arguments in the first trial associated with the nine accused killers of Josh Bailey four years ago. Tammy Grubb is in the courtroom.

And tonight, Dave Hart will be in Carrboro for a forum for candidates for the Orange County Board of Commissioners District 1 seat: incumbent Pam Hemminger, Chapel Hill Town Council member Penny Rich and former Carrboro Alderman Mark Dorosin are seeking two seats.

Thanks for reading,

Mark

A weekend report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on test cheating has "found high concentrations of suspect math or reading scores in school systems from coast to coast."

The AJC analyzed year-by-year performance on reading and math tests for 69,000 public schools across the country. The paper reported that "196 of the nation’s 3,125 largest school districts had enough suspect tests that the odds of the results occurring by chance alone were worse than one in 1,000."

The AJC posted a searchable database for the thousands of school districts it reviewed.

The Wake County school system is taking a different approach than the Durham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems in how they view proposed new charter schools.

As noted in today's article by Jane Stancill and Lynn Bonner, Durham school leaders are urging the State Board of Education to not give approval to a new charter high school that would be located in Research Triangle Park. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system is also raising concerns about a new charter school proposed in Orange County.

But Wake school officials have not submitted any response to the proposed Triangle Math and Science Academy that could open for the 2012-13 school year in the former Exploris Middle School building in downtown Raleigh.

The State Board of Education will revisit nine charter school applications next month; one of those is the Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter school proposed for Orange County.

The application is a part of the "fast track" process, said Joel Medley, director of the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools. It will go to the state board for discussion in Febuary, and a decision will be made in March, he said.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools opposed the school, and sent a letter to the state board last year, pointing out what it called factual errors in the school's application.

Nothing like a little holiday advertising to drive up the page count and allow us to bring you even more local news. Today's 16-page A section is packed; here's some of what we've got:

SCHOOL CROWDING: The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schoools' new elementary won't open for another year and a half. New correspondent Brooks Dareff reports what the school board might do to ease crowding at Carrboro, Glenwood and Seawell in the meantime.

CONDO SITE SOLD: Developer Carol Ann Zin paid $1.14 million for the Aydan Court site off N.C. 54 in 2007. Find out why she sold it to UNC this fall for $410,000. (And she's not happy about it; read her guest column in today's opinion section.)

LONG LEAF GOODBYE: If you've got tickets to "Amahl and the Night Visitors" today (left), you're seeing one of our local opera company's final performaces. What? You didn't know we had an opera company? Read Dave Hart's story.

Anne Blythe says watch for the Lovette trial closing arguments tomorrow. Katelyn Ferral says watch for the town's report on the Yates Motor Co. raid this week. And police have arested a suspect in the mysterious shooting of a Chapel Hill man in his Ashley Forest home last weekend. 

Julie Moore is learning more things about Chapel Hill in today's My View, and Will Allen, Elias Schwartz, Roy Brock, Harvey Carnes, Jill Bone and Robert Dowling have letters in today's edition. What's on your mind?

Thanks for reading,

Mark

If the Triangle High Five has its way, Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties and the Chapel hill-Carrboro school system will have a uniform set of math course names and sequences.

As noted in today's article, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board will review the Triangle High Five proposal at tonight's board meeting. Ruth Steidinger, Wake's senior director of middle school program,s said the board would likely get the presentation in January.

Wake will need to decide relatively soon so that high school students can make their course selections for the fall 2012 semester.