WakeEd

The WakeEd blog is devoted to discussing and answering questions about the major issues facing the Wake County school system. How much will the new Democratic majority on the school board do to undo the changes made by Republicans since 2009? Will the new student assignment plan be a hybrid of the last two models or primarily be a return to the use of busing for diversity? Who will replace Tony Tata as the new superintendent of the state's largest district? How will voters react to a likely request in 2013 to borrow potentially more than $1 billion to build and renovate schools?

WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.

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Still no applicants for the school board vacancy

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The response has been really overwhelming so far to replace Rosa Gill on the school board.

As of Thursday afternoon, school administrators said they hadn't received a single application for the District 4 Southeast Raleigh vacancy on the school board. The deadline is noon on July 20th so there's still time.

The last time there was a vacancy, 10 people applied in 2001 for the opening in District 8 in southwest Wake. Applicants included a former Wake school board member, the president and president-elect of the Wake County PTA Council and the chairman of the Wake County Planning Board.

Board members ultimately chose Jeff York, a lesser known applicant who had stressed his business background. York was defeated at the ballot box in 2003 when he ran against Ron Margiotta, who had been one of the applicants in 2001.

This time around, community activist Venita Peyton has announced she'll apply for Gill's seat.

Other names that have been mentioned as possible candidates include Lillian Lee, the retired principal of Rolesville Elementary School; Alice Garrett, a retired administrator and former principal of Carroll Middle School; Jonica Rowland, an active PTA volunteer; and the Rev. Johnny Darden, who mentors at-risk students

School board members hope to fill the position by next month. The new board member would finish out Gill's term, which expires November 2011.

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verdict still out

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/16/charter-schools-hit-miss-in-new-report/

Hmm...

From your article...  "The bright spot: Students who live in poverty and students who had limited use of English were found to do better academically in charter
schools, with gains posted in reading and math, researchers said."

In general, it should not be surprising that charter schools do not consistently out-perform public schools.  Charter schools, after all, are each an individual experiment in education.  The idea is to create a way for people to try new things.  As in any set of experiments, some will fail.  Over time, the best idea will rise to the top.   The big difference, though, is that when a charter school fails, it is closed.  When a public school fails, it remains open, failing year after year after year.

OT: Charter success with poor students

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/opinion/06herbert.html

A charter school in Gaston County succeeding where public high schools fail. Yet, for some reason, our general assembly wants to limit the number of such schools.

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About the blogger

T. Keung Hui covers Wake schools.
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