Volume 76 No. 6
Grimsley High School
S07 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
New superintendent
saddles up for the job
By Emma Burgin
Reporter
Starting May 1, Guilford County
Schools will have a new
superintendent. Dr. Terry Grier is not
only an experienced man, but he also
enjoys country music and can’t resist
a good James Patterson murder
mystery.
The Guilford County School board
ended their search for a new
superintendent Thursday, February 17
after a four-hour closed-door meeting.
The vote was 6-5—^in favor of Dr. Grier.
Dr. Grier was one of two candidates
in the mnning. The other was Gene
Denisar, a Florida school
superintendent. Mr. Denisar was
recently stripped of his duties in Florida,
five months before his contract expired.
Board members looked more closely
at Grier because he is the ‘ ‘clear favorite
of the community,” says the Board of
Education Chairwoman, Susan
Mendenhall.
The board wanted someone who
could manage a large school
construction program, narrow an
achievement gap between majorities
and minorities and improve
relationships with parents, county,
government, and the community.
When Dr. Grier heard this he said, “Hey,
this is me! This is what we’ve done for
the past four years.”
“The 6-5 vote was an expression of
the desires of the board,” says Vice
Chairman Calvin Boykin, “I wanted
someone who was truly superior to
the situation we have currently,”
referring to Lillie Jones, the interim
superintendent. Boykin says, “I didn’t
feel [Grier’s record] was clearly
superior.” Many wanted Ms. Jones
to be appointed to the position, but
she was not named as one of the six
semi-finalists.
Five board members voted against
Dr. Grier because of the board’s
decision not to inter\'iew Ms. Jones,
the lack of community interest in either
finalist, and the fear of an outsider
coming in and upsetting the sy.stem’s
newly settled foundation (Guilford
County Schools was created out of a
merger between three separate school
systems in 1993).
Dr. Grier will take control of 96
schools, 62,(XX) students, over 600
running buses, and an annual budget
of$451 million. Currently, in Franklin,
Tennessee, he is superintendent of
Williamson County, which has 19,000
students. In Guilford County he will
be paid $155,000per year—a 59 percent
pay raise from his current $97,000 per
year.
The superintendent must meet with
the board annually to set his goals for
the coming school year. The board
will provide Dr. Grier with a cellular
telephone and pay up to $50 per month
for basic fees. He will receive $750 per
month for travel expenses, and he will
get 25 days of vacation each year.
“I’m looking forward to the job,”
says Dr. Grier. “I’m going to work for
the majority of the board, and I know
and hope that we share the goal of
improving Guilford County Schools,
r m looking at this place to make a long
term commitment, a place you could
come and live and be happy. This feels
"I'm going to work for
the majority of the board,
and I know and hope
that we share the goal of
improving Guilford
County Schools."
- Dr. Terry Grier
right. This feels good.”
Dr. Grier has hit some rough spots
in his past 15 years of
superintendence. In Williamson
County Dr. Grier discontinued a
program called prefirst, a longstanding
program in the community that served
as a stepping stone for kids not quite
ready for the challenges that first grade
provides. He thought that he could
find a better use for the resources being
consumed by the program.
His cancellation of tlie program paid
off four years later. School test scores
rose due to the cancellation of prefirst.
Scores on the state’s required exams
in reading, writing, mathematics, and
other subjects have risen well above
national averages. The number of
Advanced Placement courses has
nearly doubled, and the number of
dropouts has decreased significantly.
Continued on page 3
Sullivan sweeps debate tournaments
By Emma Burgin
Reporter
She is a sensation among the
Grimsley student body. A junior,
she has won over 15 awards in
debate competitions and has
received the Degree of
Excellence from the National
Forensics League—she’s
Meghan Sullivan.
Sullivan just returned from
her first national tournament, the
Berkley Forum at Emory
University in Atlanta, Georgia.
There she took fifth place, which
she says is the highest honor
she has won. She has attended
about 18 additional debate
tournaments throughout North
Carolina in two years and has
received about ten first place
trophies. She has also received
six lower awards. The National
Forensics League, a national
organization that sponsors
tournaments and debate
programs, has recently
recognized Sullivan.
Sullivan competes in Student
Congress, which is a mock
version of the United States
Congress. They follow all the
procedures and rules for the
real Congress and are graded
on the speeches they give and
how well they debate bills and
resolutions. The bills and
resolutions are based on
realistic situations such as
whether or not the U.S. should
provide AIDs relief funds to
Africa or whether or not the
federal income tax should be
replaced with a retail sales tax.
Sullivan has also performed in
•
9 mmm
Bass photo
Junior Meghan Sullivan gives one of her many speeches during a meet
ing of Grimsley's debate club. According to Sullivan, the club has
helped her become the accomplished debater she is today.
Original Oratory, which involves
a prepared, 10-minute speech,
but Sullivan prefers mock
Congress. “I’ve done better in
Congress than in Original
Oratory. In both events you get
ranked on quality of speeches
and speaking ability,” says
Sullivan.
Sullivan is very interested in
pursuing a career in law and
politics. “I want to take debate
Continued on page 3
New schedule makes for early morning
really great ideas. Unfortunately, it is
easier to add the five minutes to each
class. It just tends to work out
efficiently. This way it doesn't mess
up Weaver classes.”
Though students have differing
views on the new schedule, it seems
that there is a consensus among the
student body. Most people are glad to
have spring break back. “I think it’s
good because we get to have spring
break. If we didn ’ t have that time in the
spring the year would be so
Continued on page 2
By Lauren Marker
and Regina Sechter
Reporter and Staff Writer
Rise and shine. After more than two
full weeks out of school, students are
now setting their alarnis even earlier
to prepare for the 15 minutes added
on to their mornings and an agonizing
15 minutes added to their afternoons.
After all the snow days, the fear of
losing spring break loomed large in the
minds of most students. That’s when
the idea of adding a full half-hour on
to each day bloomed. Now students
taking a zero period begin their day at
7:15 and for the rest of the students,
school assembles at 8:20.
“We’ve lost days of instruction.
We’re meeting the letter of the law by
giving our students 1,000 hours in
class,” says Mrs. Teague. Tire new
schedule wasn’t the only idea for
making up the state requirements of
time. There was large debate over no
spring break, adding 30 minutes to
one class per day on a rotated
schedule, and even going to school
on Saturdays. Mrs. Teague said, “I had
a lot of kids and parents with some
Featured
Inside
Course Cancelled
Students question the de-
eision to omit phy sieal sei-
ence from the curriculum.
page 7
Unique student Batter-up
With the help of his This year's baseball team
transliterator and friends, has practiced hard in
a deaf student copes with preparation for a very
student life at Grimsley.
page 13
promising season.
page 14
News 1
Editorial 5
Features 8
Sports 14