How much are you willing to "suspend disbelief" about the kind of world class education that should be provided in Wake County's schools.
"Suspending Disbelief" is the title of a new report that will be officially released next week by the Wake Education Partnership on what it would take for the Wake school system to offer a "world class education."
Ann Denlinger, president of the Wake Education Partnership, gave a sneak peek of the report at the WakeUP Wake County forum earlier this month.
Denlinger opened by giving several reasons as to why a world class education issue is needed. She pointed to figures showing how India and China both have more honors students than the number of honors and non-honors students in North America.
To meet this need, she said the Wake Ed Partnership began working in February 2008 on how to define a world class education. She said one of the first things they decided on was to forget about what's now taught and instead prepare "kids for a world we don't understand."
But she quickly added that it would be built on a system in Wake that she believes is already strong.
"There aren’t many school systems in this country who we believe have the capacity to do what the Wake County Public School System has the capacity to do," Denlinger said.
She said the new competencies needed will be using all forms of technology, being culturally aware, effectively communicating across culture, being up to date on global events and working together in multicultural teams
While all the multicultural talk might make some grumble, Denlinger noted how in the future a larger percentage of Americans will be foreign born and that worldwide population growth will shift toward Asia and Africa.
Denlinger said the new curriculum must go into fewer topics in greater depth, develop academic standards tied to international tests and have more of a global perspective.
Denlinger took the current state curriculum to task for only requiring "a shallow understanding of life beyond the U.S." After noting how the state calls for two years of teaching North Carolina history but only one year of world history, she asked the audience, "does that sound rational?”
She said every child should have a second language in K-12, along with learning about the culture of that language.
She stressed teaching science, technology, engineering and math skills.
She said the curriculum must challenge top students to a higher level while offering high standards for students who plan to go to work right after graduation.
She acknowledged that it will require changing the state's program. It would also require the state changing its curriculum because Wake won't deviate on its own that much from the standard course of study.
Denlinger said this ambitious new system is "all achievable if we come together to work for our students."
Whether this is a pie in the sky idea or something that the school system seriously engages in remains to be seen.
Comments
nika
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This is a joke, right?
Thu, 05/28/2009 - 09:39 — kmisegadesOne has to suspend belief when reading anything coming from the WCPSS lobby, aka WEP. Besides, there are already world-class schools in Wake County, for instance the Franklin and Thales Academies. These cost less than half the dollars to operate and a third to build relative to WCPSS and the children are scoring in the 90th percentile nationally on Iowa tests. Denlinger wants two things - a blank check from taxpayers and absolute control over childrens' futures. Just say no by rejecting government schools. There are plenty of alternatives, and if there aren't, do something about it and start your own Thales Academy.
Nice full-page WEP ad in
Thu, 05/28/2009 - 07:52 — CaryCurmudgeonNice full-page WEP ad in today's edition. I wonder how much money they are sitting on to be able to afford something like that (assuming they paid full rates).
What's Up, Ann?
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 19:49 — designmanThe Durham school system does not exactly present a model for world class schools -- far from it -- yet Ann Denlinger was the chief administrator there from 1997-2006. Why did she wait until she retired and got involved in Wake County education to decide she had the expertise to guide us toward world class schools? Did she have a revelation? It seems she is more politician than visionary.
FYI
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 20:02 — Sideburnshttp://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/gap/reseg/story/237406.html
Interesting to note that both Ann Denlinger (then Durham Super.) and Tim Simmons (then N&O staff writer) are both running the show at WEP now.
Educators' Poll Shows North
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 13:45 — AngelaWEducators' Poll Shows North Carolinians Favor More Taxes Over Education Cuts
A poll released Tuesday by the N.C. Association of Educators shows a majority of North Carolinians surveyed favor higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco and increased income taxes for the wealthy over of cutting funding for public education.
Interviews were conducted with 604 people statewide by a Washington, D.C.-based research firm during the week of May 7. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said they had children in K-12 public schools, while 72 percent said they did not have school-age children.
According to the poll results, improving public education (46%) ranked second only to jobs and the economy (53%) as a priority for the governor and state legislators.
"We're certainly not surprised that North Carolinians understand how important public schools are to the future of our state and that -- even as we face a budget shortfall -- elected leaders should look elsewhere to reduce spending and raise revenue," said Sheri Strickland, NCAE president. "Our citizens know that money spent on education is an investment in our children, not just an expenditure on a balance sheet."
When asked about 10 specific options to help balance the state budget, respondents selected the following as their top three choices:
*Seventy-six percent support higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco
*Seventy-five percent support closing corporate tax loopholes on out-of-state corporations
*Sixty-three percent support raising personal income taxes on households making over $150,000 per year
Among the lowest ranking choices:
*Fourteen percent supported cutting the number of teachers in public schools and raising class sizes
*Twenty-five percent supported cutting pre-kindergarten programs
*Thirty percent favored raising the state sales tax
Seventy-three percent of respondents also said that schools need more money to do a good job.
The poll comes on the heels of a recommendation by the House Appropriations Sub-Committee on Education to cut education funding dramatically in the 2009-2010 school year. The recommendation presented Thursday, May 21, called for increased class sizes with the potential elimination of more than 6,000 classroom teacher positions and 4,663 teacher assistant jobs.
While the sub-committee's report did not make recommendations on revenue solutions, legislators have been considering targeted taxes as a way to improve the budget outlook for the coming year. The NCAE poll indicated that North Carolinians do not favor some targeted taxes. Only 17 percent of respondents said they favor raising taxes on services like auto repair.
Too late now. Before FYR
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 10:19 — Big_PictureToo late now. Before FYR you may have had support. Attack the family unit, destroy communities, and your poorly researched experiment will have long term negative consequences for years to come.
More taxes? I don't think so!
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 20:23 — g88ky07This system, and its leaders past and present, DO NOT deserve even the right to mention increasing taxes!
This system has been allowed to get to the point it is currently at, failing on just about every level, and I'll be FYR'd if the public is going to support a tax hike until MAJOR, I mean MAJOR, changes are implemented to maximize the most with what we currently have! Starting with the wasting of millions on FYR schools! Starting with the MILLIONS wasted every year to bus kids non-stop!
72% of 604 people might say sure, jack our taxes, but I bet 10's of 1,000's more of us say AIN't GOING TO HAPPEN!
Try again!
It looks like you are
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 07:09 — user1234It looks like you are relegating your kids to years of substandard education in over crowded classrooms with revolving teachers. The rest of us don’t care about your obsession with YR. If you had any balls you would have put your kids in private school or homeschool by now instead of whining constantly about YR. It is painful to see you wallow around in self pity as you bemoan your life. I don’t know how WCPSS hurt you but your selfish “slash and burn” mentality will cripple public support for the schools for year after your kids leave.
What do we have for him
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 14:48 — g88ky07What do we have for him Johnny!?
Now is the time we should
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 18:10 — CaryCurmudgeonNow is the time we should be dusting off those old campaign flyers we got last Fall.... the ones that our county commissioners and state legislators sent out with their promises to improve education for all North Carolinians.
I think the survey is biased (ie. how many people are going to vote not to close corporate tax loopholes for out of state corporations?). I have no doubt that there are areas other than education to save money, but I don't know whether they would yield enough to at least preserve the quality of education that we have today.... And I don't see any legislator with the power and accountability to go find all those savings.
If in fact tax increases are required to close part of the deficit and save our teachers jobs, the unfortunate truth is that our legislators probably would not have the guts to enact them. They can blame the loss of teachers on hard times without killing their chances for reelection, but if they raise taxes then they are exposed. Personally, I think a politician's job is to serve the people, not get reelected. But power corrupts.
With all the political grass
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 19:45 — user1234With all the political grass roots energy going into fighting reassignments actually fighting to fund our schools was not a priority such that after the next election, you will have your people, packed classes, few teachers and no resources. Won the battle but lost the war.
The reason we're in this
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 10:30 — SDR256The reason we're in this mess is because of the years of focus on priorities OTHER than education. If less money were spent on administrators with political agendas and less money spent on political models which promote schools over individual children who need help, there would be more money to actually TEACH.
gotta start somewhere....
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 20:28 — loriacgotta start somewhere.... and there is lots of money to be saved by not perpetuating the reassignment fiasco.
if we come together to work for our students
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 12:40 — fiestamomWhat does she mean when she says this? "achievable if we come together to work for our students." The suspicious side of me thinks this is code for "everyone accept forced bussing... or else".
I am continually surprised that the school board has been able to get away with the quality of education provided here in the Triangle. Consider how many parents have advanced degrees in science/technology etc. The school system is losing a lot of the kids of these folks because the world class education just isn't there.
The school board seems to be happy to have an adversarial relationship with these parents by the constant reassignments, characterizing opponents of the bussing as racists. Why not work with the parents they are alienating, and come up with a solution?
WEP and WCPSS are not
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 10:36 — SDR256WEP and WCPSS are not focused on students. This is another example of their convenient doublespeak. If it weren't so scary it would be hilarious. That's the big smoke screen. They are focused on schools. They can create superficially healthy looking schools by shufflling at-risk children around from school to school like an Enron-accounting system. Hide the problem, don't deal with it until it explodes. The CHILDREN need focus and attention. Wake County's Big Secret: schools getting the focus sells real estate, and gains kudos and funds for the administration while at-risk children fall farther faster. Its really diabolical what they're doing. Why the neighborhoods where F&R children are shipped out like sheep aren't up in arms about this is beyond me. They are still happy begging for crumbs from the table I guess instead of being comfortable demanding something that really works.
A couple of thoughts
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 12:21 — user1234A couple of thoughts …
Wake’s investment per student is one of the lowest in NC and possibly in the US from what I have seen so I don’t see a lot of local support for schools financially. People seem to value low taxes and a “good enough” school system. Education zealots either homeschool or go to private school.
Second, countries like India and China have a testing program that filters down the number of kids who move on compared to the US where we try to give everyone an education. I thought India has more kids without any schooling than the US has of all children so they have a long way to go if they are going to provide education to all kids. Also, we spend 3X the amount on Special Ed kids ($24k/kid) compared to $8k on everyone. Doing the math for Wake would mean that we only spend $5k on non-Special Ed kids. Given that India and China can not even educate all their kids I doubt they put many resources into Special Ed like we do here.
Personally, I am ok with above average education for all and special schools like NC School of M&S, Enloe, and SE for the top math and science kids. Also, I don’t know why we spend so much effort providing college bound classes when so few go on. High Schools in the end of the road for most kids.
This is not India or China,
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 13:46 — shearertwThis is not India or China, the is the United States of America. We can do better, far better if we'd just stop making excuses.
There are many many examples of schools systems across THIS country that DO compete well on a world stage at reasonable cost/student. WCPSS should look to those systems for examples instead of pretending to be an example themselves.
Like Bob, I'm ok with increasing school funding, and therefore taxes IF there are leaders on the BOE that understand and put the focus where it needs to be. Until then, I like many other upper income, middle class parents will pinch pennies and consider private school. Long-term, that is a disaster for WCPSS as the school systems NEEDS parents like me and many of my neighbors on board to be successful. Unfortunately, I think the current lot is too arrogant to realize they CAN'T do it alone.
India
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 13:08 — Bob_SconceI think the idea is that US workers are now competing with Indian workers for top-tier jobs, and that we need to be preparing tomorrow's workers for that competition. If, as you say, "High School is the end of the road for most kids" (which, I don't think is true) then the US is headed for third-world status.
A big problem with increasing funding is that the district does a fantastic job of alienating those who should be its core supporters -- affluent middle-class parents. I would gladly pay more in taxes to improve Wake education if I believed that the school board would spend the money wisely. But, given past history, I can see that the current board isn't up to the task.
Another problem is the insane division between the school board and the commissioners. Because the commissioners get no credit for good schools, but take the blame when taxes go up, they have an incentive to underfund the schools. Giving taxing authority to the school board (conditioned on going through a re-election) would solve this problem.
Adding additional charter schools would improve quality as well, with very little cost. The best high school in the county is Raleigh Charter High School. Why not let dozens more of these be created?
“I think the idea is that
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 13:48 — user1234“I think the idea is that US workers are now competing with Indian workers for top-tier jobs, and that we need to be preparing tomorrow's workers for that competition. “
Just a thought … While those top tier jobs are high paying and similar to many on this blog, I don’t know about their importance and competition. I personally think that a democracy of many smart “shopkeepers, accountants, etc, “makes for a strong democracy compared to a few ultra educated elites. So, I would argue it might be better to have a broad range of above average graduates than a few ultra educated kids.
“If, as you say, "High School is the end of the road for most kids" (which, I don't think is true) then theUS
I based that on 47% of the adults in this area have a BA or higher and only 26% in the State and nation have a BA or higher. I guess it is possible that >80% of the kids today are going into college and will push the 26% overall population figure up eventually but it does not seem likely. This shows the importance of vocational training and community colleges.
“A big problem with increasing funding is that the district does a fantastic job of alienating those who should be its core supporters -- affluent middle-class parents.”
Could be ….
“Another problem is the insane division between the school board and the commissioners. Because the commissioners get no credit for good schools, but take the blame when taxes go up, they have an incentive to underfund the schools. Giving taxing authority to the school board (conditioned on going through a re-election) would solve this problem. “
I see education as another county service like trash collection and public safety. I like having only one government entity collect and be responsible for my tax bill. I would like the BOE to just concentrate on education. They do poorly at forecasting and construction and would prefer to keep them out of tax collection and only focused on education.
“Adding additional charter schools would improve quality as well, with very little cost. The best high school in the county isRaleigh Charter High School
Good question … I don’t know I ever understood the answer though I think it is in the hands of the state not county to authorize more.
Hmmm
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 15:47 — Bob_SconceI don’t know about their importance and competition. I
personally think that a democracy of many smart “shopkeepers,
accountants, etc, “makes for a strong democracy compared to a few ultra
educated elites. So, I would argue it might be better to have a broad range of above average graduates than a few ultra educated kids.
Well, I suppose it all depends on the shape of the curve and where the center is -- to me, it ought to be somewhere around 4-5 years of college education.
Highly-educated people create jobs for less-educated people. For every law firm of 10 lawyers, there are 10 more paralegals, secretaries and receptionists. Each hospital with (say) 100 admitting physicians employs countless nurses, orderlies, food services people, etc. Because Google employs a bunch of very smart and well-educated engineers, it also employs a bunch of janitors.
So Bob, I could argue using
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 16:34 — user1234So Bob, I could argue using your example there is a 1 to 100 ratio of smart person to workers. So, we only need to train 1 genius and 100 above average workers with that model. Note, it may be easier to import the 1 genius from India than the 100 above average workers. So that is why I was saying it might be a better investing in above average education for many than sinking a lot of resources into a few high end people.
Pfft...
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 21:05 — Bob_SconceThat would be a strawman. First of all, I'm not talking about sinking a lot of resources into a "few high end people." I'm saying that Wake needs to be doing a much better job of preparing people for college. Not just "a few high end people," most people. Sure, some of them will be "high end." That's just the nature of the bell-curve.
Ok Bob ... let's explore
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 21:13 — user1234Ok Bob ... let's explore this ... if only 26% of Adult American have a BA or higher, why would we work toward preparing a higher % in high school. Ok, I'll give you prepare 50% with a 50% fall out. I get the feeling schools try to prepare maybe 80% of the kids for college? They may as well be preparing them to be professonal football players or astronauts ... it just not going to happen for 75%.
Well...
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:42 — Bob_SconceIf you look at that 26% by age, you'll find that people in their 70's are around 20%, and people in their early 30's are around 35%. It's because 50 years ago, a college education wasn't as needed as it is now. That trend will only continue.
There is some portion of high school students who just don't have the ability to hack college, and whose problems cannot be solved by any reasonable k12 education. I think that portion is probably around 10%, not 50%. But, in either case, it seems clear that it's less than 75%.
Good points ... it has just
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:08 — user1234Good points ... it has just always irked me when I see kids employed at the mall, Burger King, gym, state and local government with a college education when all they do is menial administration and simple bookkeeping which they had the skills for $60k earlier when they graduated from high school. I think flooding the market with college graduates and under employing them is criminal.
Huh?
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:26 — Bob_SconceAre you talking generally or just right now in the middle of the worst economic catastrophe in the last 30 years? I know some kids who work at local fast-food places and I haven't heard about the rush of college grads to take those jobs.
In any case, you can't measure the value of the education by the first job -- you have to look a few years out. There are lots of people who take temporary positions while they find a permanent job.
"Good question … I
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 14:37 — shearertw"Good question … I don’t know I ever understood the answer though I think it is in the hands of the state not county to authorize more. "
Yes, but the Wake Delegation has a large influence over this process and are, in general, opposed to lifting the Charter School cap. Did you notice that Wake got 0 charter school applications approved this year?
Why sure; world class
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 12:11 — Big_PictureWhy sure; world class education sounds most excellent. I would love to see it too, but it ain't gonna happen with the attitudes of current leadership in the system. The problem arrives if you plan to rely on the status-quo WCPSS leadership to make it happen. They do not care about honest work toward a goal. Realistic positive results mean nothing to current WCPSS leadership but they will use this opportunity to pretend as though they care. They can't educate students to compete in the US so the world is too far out of their grasp.
Why not start by forging positive relationships with parents instead of continually alienating them? Get that going, create a partnership, and the road will be much smoother.
I think there's some good
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 11:53 — CaryCurmudgeonI think there's some good material in the presentation. But unfortunately WEP's track record and focus on "perfuming the pig" that is wcpss means they have NO credibility, even when their ideas are sound.
And given the current state of Wake County schools, the proposal is akin to putting a turbocharger on a Yugo. Before we start building plans to compete with the rest of the world, I'd love to see one which lets us compete with the rest of our own country.
A World Class Education?
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 10:54 — RMC10How can Wake County even consider A World Class Education merit achievement, with test scores now on an annual decline (or a retest basis score to alter results), with so many students still dropping out after 6 years of push, with so many students still not reading at an acceptable level - after years of pushing that program, and when many people in the county rightly complain about the last six weeks of school spent on review- day after day- for the EOG tests only, not focused on learning new skills to move on. Does that mean Wake County finally realizes after 6 years (at least since I've lived here), their current curriculum is not working, in spite of all the money thrown at it. (Hooray for that long coming reveal).
How can the County expect to roll out a World Class Education curriculum, when they can't even manage (successfully) the student population assignments. World Class Education to me means stability for students, excelling in basics in Reading, Math and Science (teach theory not rote learning), studying more geographic/global world history, instead of focusing so much on one state for so many years (North Carolina), teaching civics (not social studies), so students understand how world governments work, and bring back English grammar, literature, and proper writing skills. Students in the Philippines can spell and write English better than some Wake County Students.
I think it's a little aggressive to think they can switch from a Ho Hum curriculum that just needs to shift some focal points, to a World Class curriculum. I don't think we need exactly world class (sounds expensive). How about just change up the current standards so that all students are challenged academically, not dumbed down from the top down, so the bottom up group can show diversity successes.
Again sounds good to read about on paper, but this State and County is so not ready to begin a quest for World Class Achievement.
"Denlinger took the current
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 10:36 — Eric_B"Denlinger took the current state curriculum to task for only requiring "a shallow understanding of life beyond the U.S." After noting how the state calls for two years of teaching North Carolina history but only one year of world history, she asked the audience, "does that sound rational?”"
I moved to Wake County partway through high school. In my previous high school I was in Academic Bowl, my school district's version of Quiz Bowl in Wake or Brain Game. It was basically a trivia team for 4 people.
When I moved to Wake, I found that all of the questions in Quiz Bowl were about North Carolina history. I was unable to participate in the Quiz Bowl. I guess now I know. While I'd taken U.S. and World history in my previous district, it seems all the time here is spent on NC history. I can see the importance of some NC history, but we live in a larger world, folks. Seems crazy to spend 2 years on NC history...
I Agree
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 11:41 — CaryMomof4I moved from NC to VA the summer between 11th and 12th grades. Since I had taken all of the NC history here, I had to go to summer school there to take VA history in order to graduate, since NC history was not considered a substitute for VA history. I think local history is important, but were a much more global society now and people just don't grow up here and stay here for the rest of their lives like they used to.
Language...
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 09:55 — JSBinNC"She said every child should have a second language in K-12, along with learning about the culture of that language."
I thought that every school - base school's included - was funded for foreign language THIS year??
Mr. Hui can you confirm? Didn't the board or someone pass a motion last year to fund foreign language... BUT - it was principal discretion on how the funds were used??
(There is no foreign language this year at our base MYR school, but I have no idea what the funds are in fact being used for. I know some schools were using them to supplement AG services...)
Funding in Wake for foreign
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 10:23 — KeungHui (author)Funding in Wake for foreign language is included in the same pot that also includes money for "specials." Schools use as they see fit. While they fund things like pe, art and music, foreign language often is not offered.
we are raising future grass cutters
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 18:00 — mrcrosbySpanih is still offered in middle school, not french or german. I guess we are educating the children of NC to be landscapers or car washers since I can not find any other use for spanish
Maybe one day we can exploit
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 19:40 — user1234Maybe one day we can exploit Latin America if we don't let the Chinese get there first.
or computer classes.....
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 10:02 — SouthEastWakeMomor computer classes.....
Well...
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 09:47 — Bob_SconceIt sounds like WEP is at least coming to grips with the fact that WCPSS doesn't offer a world-class education today. And, Denlinger has identified a number of significant areas where both WCPSS and North Carolina fall short.
Unfortunately, Wake County only has a strong education system only when compared with (1) most other North Carolina districts and (2) the top 20 largest districts in the country. But, neither one of those is a high standard. A strong education system the size of Wake County would have 95%+ of its students passing end-of-grade tests and would annually send several dozen graduates to the Ivy League. There may be a few pockets in Wake County where this is true (Enloe comes to mind), but it's far from universal.
The only concern I have with her view is that multicultural stuff often ends up taking on a life of its own. It's absolutely clear that the world has shrunk and that US citizens need to have a broader understanding of the world around them. But, multiculturalism often spends too much time on fluff. For example, I'd rather have kids learn about Chinese history than learn how to cook Chinese food or practice Buddhism (technically not limited to China, but you get the point). Unfortunately, the trend to multiculturalism tends to focus more on the latter than the former.
Circling the wagons... Never
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 09:45 — shearertwCircling the wagons...
Never mind that man behind the curtain....
Yes, we've been in charge for a decade now but we're still the one's who have the brilliant minds and ideas to fix this disaster. Trust us....
And the propaganda campaign
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 09:10 — SouthEastWakeMomAnd the propaganda campaign continues in the lead-up to the election......Isn't Ms. Denlinger the one who always insists that the WCPSS already provides a world-class education.........