Coming up on Tuesday, May 7, it's Teacher Appreciation Day at Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Teachers with a school ID can score a Buy-One-Get-One-Free deal on any burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos.

The deal is good from 4 p.m. to close on Tuesday.

Here are some letters that got overrun by other issues before they made it into the paper.

The recent story about the NRA calling for armed guards in every school set off a firestorm among N&O readers. Here is a look at some of the letters we've received (largely unedited). I can't post a nifty link to the original story because our blog system is, um, broken. But here's the story:

WASHINGTON -- The nation’s largest gun lobby, which has stayed mostly quiet since the shootings that killed 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school a week ago, called Friday for Congress to require armed security guards in every school, saying that doing so could prevent acts of mass violence from happening again.

In a defiant and unapologetic speech, Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, said Friday that the organization would use its resources to build what he called a “national school shield emergency program.” The NRA’s program will be led by Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican congressman and U.S. attorney from Arkansas.

LaPierre on Friday blamed the Connecticut shooting spree on violent video games and movies, as well as the portrayal of guns and mass shootings in the media and the lack of a comprehensive database of the mentally ill. He also said no-gun zones at schools could invite new attacks by those he described as “monsters and predators.” The only thing stopping a “bad guy with a gun” is “a good guy with a gun,” LaPierre said.

www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/21/2560444/nra-calls-for-congress-to-require.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

In response to the tragic school shooting in Connecticut, Tijuana Flats restaurants have established Teacher Hero Day.

All teachers will eat free on Thursday, Dec. 27, at all Tijuana Flats locations, including Triangle locations in Raleigh and Cary.

Teachers will receive a free entree -- no purchase necessary.

The Tex-Mex restaurant said it plans to make Teacher Hero Day an annual event.

Getting lots of letters about the Connecticut shootings that are too long to run. Here's one from a Raleigh firearms instructor. See what you think.

A Union County teacher who also toiled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools and who previously taught in New Mexico and Oregon has submitted her resignation in a letter that made its way through my Facebook feed. Anybody who knows a teacher has heard some of her complaints. Here are a few:

"I refuse to be led by a top-down hierarchy that is completely detached from the classrooms for which it is supposed to be responsible.

"I will not spend another day under the expectations that I prepare every student for the increasing numbers of meaningless tests.

"I will not spend another day wishing I had some time to plan my fantastic lessons because administration comes up with new and inventive ways to steal that time, under the guise of PLC meetings or whatever. I’ve seen successful PLC development. It doesn’t look like this.

"I will not spend another day wondering what menial, administrative task I will hear that I forgot to do next. I’m far enough behind in my own work.

"I will not spend another day in a district where my coworkers are both on autopilot and in survival mode. Misery loves company, but I will not be that company.

I refuse to subject students to every ridiculous standardized test that the state and/or district thinks is important. I refuse to have my higher-level and deep thinking lessons disrupted by meaningless assessments (like the EXPLORE test) that do little more than increase stress among children and teachers, and attempt to guide young adolescents into narrow choices.

"I totally object and refuse to have my performance as an educator rely on “Standard 6.” It is unfair, biased, and does not reflect anything about the teaching practices of proven educators.

"I refuse to watch my coworkers being treated like untrustworthy slackers through the overbearing policies of this state, although they are the hardest working and most overloaded people I know.

"I refuse to watch my district’s leadership tell us about the bad news and horrific changes coming towards us, then watch them shrug incompetently, and then tell us to work harder.

"I refuse to watch my students slouch under the weight of a system that expects them to perform well on EOG tests, which do not measure their abilities other than memorization and application and therefore do not measure their readiness for the next grade level—much less life, career, or college.

"I refuse to hear any more about how important it is to differentiate our instruction as we prepare our kids for tests that are anything but differentiated. This negates our hard work and makes us look bad."

Want to read the rest? Click here to read the letter.

Television ad: "The new legislature balanced the budget, they cut waste, lowered taxes - they even added state funding for 2,000 more teachers."

Sponsor: Americans for Prosperity Foundation

That an excellent teacher can make all the difference in the world in the life of a child is something upon which we can all agree ... no matter what our opinions are on the current school contentiousness in Wake County.

A letter-writer points out that "quality teaching" is a buzzword in numerous education stories these days, and he wonders whether we can define it. Is it like art and pornography? Can we recognize it only when we see it?

How do you define quality teaching? Any teachers to whom you'd like to give a shout-out?

Here's the letter.

We hope you liked the weekend feature on fixing the achievement gap. (Be sure to click on 'Related Content' on the right to see the responses).

Durham Public Schools released its first ever "State of the System" performance report earlier this month at a committee meeting. The school board adopted a policy in April to create a summary of the system's work in meeting target goals like testing, attendance, graduation and teacher satisfaction.

"There's a lot to celebrate," said superintendent Carl Harris at the committee meeting. "Another good thing about this report is that we recognize that there is much work to be done."

Out of 15 goals this year, the district met or exceeded seven: test scores for third, fifth and eighth graders, percent of schools meeting federal adequate yearly progress goals, percentage of students considered academically and intellectually gifted and vocational test performance.

The district missed six goals. Overall test score composites, graduation rates and Advanced Placement participation increased between 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 but the district did not meet their self-imposed goal. Attendance, SAT scores, and teacher working conditions survey results declined between the two school years.

The data from two other measures, a survey from parents and a survey from students, had not yet been released.
The report will be reviewed by the board again at its Sept. 24 meeting.

Other highlights:

• Achievement gaps between white and black students and between white and Hispanic students shrunk over the last year even as all groups increased proficiency in math and
  reading exams in grades 3-8
• A teacher working conditions survey, which measures leadership, professional development, time and having a sense of empowerment, saw a slight decline. On a scale of 1-5, the survey average dropped from 3.34 to 3.30
• Suspensions dropped in middle school but rose in high school
• In grades 3-8, the highest overall score was in grade 5 math, which had 71 percent of students proficient on end-of-grade exams.
• Fewer than half of third and eighth-graders read at grade level

Teachers, students and parents prepare for upcoming classes.