Here's a very abbreviated recap of today's Wake County school board policy committee meeting with more details to come later.
Teachers will be reminded of the need to dress professionally following concerns raised by school board member Debra Goldman. The student dress code will be revised to meet some legal concerns from board attorney Ann Majestic about potential violations of First Amendment free speech rights.
Chief Academic Officer Donna Hargens will meet with high school principals about the possibility of setting up waivers so that students who miss class because of a doctor's orders won't be penalized when it comes to counting absences for exam exemptions.
Staff will research whether the board should adopt a policy that would subject board members to all district policies. Board members are considered the employers so they're not subject to the policies that staff must follow.
The policy committee recommended that the full board ask the Wake delegation to change state law to allow the board chair be able to vote on all issues. The state law creating the merger of the Raleigh City and Wake County schools only allows the board chair to vote to break ties.
Comments
Teacher Dress Code - seems madam, I know not seems
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 21:48 — SElviraLBuzz, buzz. Who cares.
No one is going to respect anyone until they deserve it. Teachers need to command respect, not demand it. If they want to wear horrible clothing, it won't make a bit of difference if they know what they are talking about and act accordingly. One of the best teacher's my kids had didn't wear shoes to class. Smart guy, and ran the class with interest and integrity. On the other hand, they had a teacher who wore very professional clothing, but she couldn't read out loud. She actually couldn't pronounce some of the words and she didn't know what they meant. She had the kids read for her. So, who cares what they wear! Kids know quality when they see it, and they can smell incompetence. So, Tata, have them wear whatever you like, but it won't change a thing.
Exam exemptions
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 21:43 — SElviraLWhy should attendance have anything to do with exam exemptions? Either the kid knows the material, or they don't. If there are any exam exemptions, they should be based on the grade the kid has in the class rather than attendance. There are already attendance rules without this (I believe you can miss 10 days a year).
If a student chooses to miss a ton of school, that's on them. I think once a kid is in high school, they should be treated like they can make some decisions themselves. Trying to get high school kids to graduation day by controlling them too much is like squeezing a butterfly while its emerging from its chrysalis. You have to let go a little, or they'll never fly.
I'll get into more detail in
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 22:19 — KeungHui (author)I'll get into more detail in a later post but exemptions are based on grades and attendance. A high school student with an A grade in a class can have up to three excused absences a semester or, at a non block schedule school, six a year and be exempted from some final exams. The number of days you can miss drops as your grade drops in the class. The issue today is whether some waiver should be given to students who exceed the absence limit if they have something like H1N1 and are ordered by a doctor to not go to class.
And at most schools it's only for seniors.
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 23:06 — midtownmom.