Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / June 27, 1991, edition 1 / Page 12
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How Brunswick CAT Scores Compare To State, Region GRADE 3 Reading Language Math Total 1222 1221 1222 1221 1222 Wl 1222 1221 County 54 50 65 58 59 53 58 53 State 57 56 65 65 71 69 65 64 Region 56 55 65 63 68 67 63 62 GRADE 6 Reading Language Math Toul 1222 1221 1222 1221 12212 1221 1222 1221 County 50 45 54 52 59 51 53 49 State 53 52 60 60 64 64 58 58 Region 52 50 59 57 60 59 56 55 GRADE 8 Reading Language Math Total 1990 1221 1222 1221 122Q 1221 1222 1221 County 50 55 49 58 50 55 49 56 State 54 54 57 57 58 59 56 56 Region 53 53 56 56 54 54 54 54 ?All scores are reported in percentiles. CAT Results Vary By School GRADE 3 Reading Language Math Total 1990 1991 1990 1991 1990 1991 1990 1991 Bolivia 65 57 85 75 90 80 84 69 Lincoln 43 52 55 57 47 52 47 51 Southport 59 53 70 52 61 52 63 52 Union 54 47 64 61 58 51 58 57 Waccamaw 49 28 53 36 51 38 53 29 GRADE 6 Reading Language Math Total 1222 1221 1222 1221 1222 1221 1222 1221 Leland 44 41 46 52 42 49 44 46 Shallotte 49 52 53 53 68 54 55 53 South 54 46 60 51 67 52 60 49 Waccamaw 63 46 68 52 71 47 67 45 GRADE 8 Reading Language Math Total 1222 1221 122Q 1221 1222 1221 1222 1221 Leland 45 51 42 53 43 53 43 52 Shallotte 52 54 50 58 52 53 50 54 South 54 61 53 59 52 58 52 60 Waccamaw 50 62 52 66 59 67 55 63 SCHOOL RESULTS 'ZIGZAG' County Scores On CAT Fall BY SUSAN USHER Brunswick County scores on the California Achievement Test (CAT) "zigzagged" across most categories this year, with a drop in scores over all as seen statewide. William Harrison reviewed CAT scores with members of the Bruns wick County Board of Education Monday night as one of his last du ties as assistant superintendent. He will begin work next month as su perintendent of the Hoke County Schools. Administered nation-wide to third, sixth and eighth grade stu dents, the CAT measures how well students perform in reading, lan guage skills and math against na tional and state norms. National norms, however, are not adjusted each year, which limits the useful ness of the test The norms are mea sured in percentiles. Scoring in the 51st percentile, for instance, means a student has done better than SI percent of his peers. At its own expense, Brunswick County also administers the CAT in fourth, fifth and seventh grades, to help monitor student performance and improvement. While scores naturally fluctuate each year with changing student groups and other factors, county school officials still expressed con cern Monday with the downturn in scores. The scores are generally below the standards set in relation to stale performance-based funding of schools. "We'll be discussing that further with principals in relation to the results we have here," said Superintendent P.R. Hankins. 1988 CHEVROLET I CAVALIER ONLY $4,495 or 1 42.62*et rro 4 dr.. auto, tilt, cruise, cas sette. Stk#1003A. I 'based on $900 cowl 13 95?; APR 30 rronths pi js tax & tags with aoorovoc crecit Ocean City Chevrolet Geo Hwy. 17, Bolivia ? 253-5221 A kJ "We will follow up on these scores," he said. "We realize that it is a major concern." However, Hankins said that it is "general knowledge that the CAT is not a good instrument for the south eastern part of the country." Also, he said, it does relate well to the curriculum being taught in lo cal and state schools. The state plans to eventually eliminate use of the CAT, instead putting in place tests of its own making that relate more closely to the standardized curriculum being implemented statewide. Meanwhile, board members want ed to know what could be done to improve local students' performance in comparison to other students. 'Those teachers whose students improved, what are they doing? Maybe we can learn from them," suggested board member Polly Russ. Ups And Downs Brunswick County eighth grade students reported the most gains in comparison with their peers a year ago. Their scores were up five per centile points in reading and math and nine points in language county wide. The students scored above na tional, state and regional norms in reading and below all three norms in language. In math, their scores were above the national and region al norms, but below the state norm. Overall, third grade students tested at or above the state average but below the state and regional av erages. They scored at the national norm in reading, 8 percentile points above it in language and 6 per centile points below in math. However, their relative performance in all three areas had dropped com pared to that of their peers a year ago, by five percentile points. Sixth grade students' scores dropped from a year ago in all three areas, and were generally below the national, state and regional norms. They exceeded the national norm by two percentile points in language and one percentile point in math, falling below it by five points in reading. 1! 1 N G 0 Thursday Nights ? Doors Open 6:15 pm at Calabash VFW Post 7288 Carter Rd., Trader's Village, Calabash, 579-3577 OPEN TO THE PUBLIC *? Games begin at 7:30 PM ?' Minimum "Buy In" $5.00 Minimum Pay Out $600.00 Snacks Available ? No Children under 12 We will not play BINGO Thursday July 4th || STATE FIGURES WILL NEED REVISING Schools Adopt $43 Million Budget HY SUSAN USIIKK The Brunswick Couniy Board of Education adopted a 1991-92 budget in excess of S43 mil lion Monday, knowing at least one portion will need revision before the school term begins. Rudi Fallon, director of finance, told the board that attempts to project state funding for the school system accurately were "an exercise in fu tility." Instead she "plugged" this year's state alloca tion figures into next year's budget, alongside projections of local and federal funds. The budget will be amended once the state budget is adopted and the school system receives more accurate figures with which to work. It has only been seven months since the school board adopted its budget for the 1990-91 fiscal year. From July 1 uniil a series of audits were completed and an accurate fund balance deter mined, the board operated under a continuing budget resolution. For instructional programs, support services and community services, the operating budget for the coming year includes $8.69 million in local funds, S23.92 in state public school funds and SI. 66 million in federal funds. Included arc two percent increases for locally paid employees, with the idea of matching raises given to state employees. Also budgeted arc funds to bring supplements for teachers and su pervisors up to their scheduled 1992 levels after falling behind one year. The supplements range from S406 for a probationary teacher and S1.612 for a supervisor to S3, 105 for a high school prin cipal. Non-ccrtified employees receive either one percent of their annual salary or S50, whichever is greater. Another S6.59 million in state and local funds is budgeted for construction of Supply Elementary School and other capital outlay items, while nearly equal sums of local and fed eral funds support a child nutrition program bud get of S2. 31 million. In addition to the new school, the long list of capital outlay projects includes S300.000 to fur nish the new school; S90.000 for instructional equipment at all schools; S80.000 for stadium bleachers at North Brunswick High School and S30.000 to replace greenhouses at South Brunswick and West Brunswick High schools; and S6.000 to begin high school soccer pro grams; SI 12,500 for motor vehicles ranging from grass mowers to a 60-passenger activity bus. Other Business In other business, the board approved a new contract with its attorney, R. Glen Peterson of Prcvattc, Prevatte, Peterson & Campbell. The first formal contract of record between the board and firm since 1979, the contract calls for Peterson to attend regular and spccial meetings as requested by the board chairman. He is to be available by appointment for consultation, to ren der legal opinions as requested on matters com ing before the board, to handle property sales as requested and to represent the board in courts in all litigation. The firm is to provide its own lia bility insurance. All legal matters of the board arc to be referred to the attorney. In turn, Peterson is to be paid a monthly retainer of $300, which includes infor mation telephone or office consultation with the chairman; $75 per hour for meeting attendance, formal consultations and legal research; $90 per hour for court appearances in district and superi or courts; and a fee to be negotiated for other matters at a rate no less than $75 per hour; plus expenses. The board also agreed for Superintendent P.R. Hankins to carry over annual leave accumulated this year into the fiscal year that begins July 1. The board's next meeting is July 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the conference room in Southport. WEST WILL FOCUS ON END RESULTS Pilot Project To Give 9th Graders More Chances For Academic Success BY SUSAN USHER Ninth graders will assume more responsibility for what they lcam with less chance of Tailing under a pilot project that begins this fall at West Brunswick High School in Shallottc. Principal Ed Lemon said the Outcome Based Education Project" will promote success by "grading in pcncil" and giving students more chances to demonstrate what they learn. ? "It's based on common sense principles," he said. "I don't know why we haven't been using them." Lemon's proposal won unani mous approval of the Brunswick County Board of Education Mon day night. "1 think it's wonderful," said Polly Russ of Shallotte, a board member who has a child who will participate in the new program. "I think it's encouraging to sec teach ers go on record saying they realize that what they're doing isn't work ing and let's do something else." The project will initially involve approximately 12 teachers and 3()0 students. It has three major elements: a minimum grade requirement that has students repeat work until it meets the minimum standard rather than receive a failing score; an aca demic assistance program for stu dents who aren't making satisfacto ry progress that stresses parent in volvement; and a program that re wards regular student attendance rather than penalizing those who do not attend classes. It will take the focus away from a "Grades *R' Us" mentality in which students try to do only enough to make a grade and teachers expect too liule of their students, suggested Lemon. li clearly defines what the school and its faculty expect of students in terms of classroom participation and academic performance. "If a student comes into class and puts his head down on the desk, that's unacceptable," Lemon said, ad dressing parents. "If your child turns "If your child turns in a piece of work that's unacceptable , we give it back for him to do over. And we call you in to help get it done. We do not accept failure." ? Ed Lemon, Principal On pilot program in a piccc of work that's unaccept able, we give it back for him to do over. And we call you in to help get it done. We do not accept failure." Teachers in the core curricu lum ? science, math, English and social studies, as well as physical education department will no longer accept work that is less than "satis factory". "We're talking about A,B and C work," said Lemon. 'That's all we're accepting." Anything less will be rcjcctcd and the student ex pected to do it over and do it right. In turn. West Brunswick will pro vide after-school help for students who need it. Lemon expects to phase in the program over the next four years, starting with this year's freshman class. "We're developing a mode of thinking, a change of philosophy that you can't do overnight," he said. The program recognizes that not all students learn at the same pace or in the same way. Students will be allowed to demonstrate what they're learning in ways other than written exercises. They will also be allowed to work off "incompletes" from one grading period to the next. For this ninth-grade project, the school will be allowed to bypass ex isting attendance policies and re ward high attendance. "We feel our attendance policy is a negative policy," said Lemon. "We're not making any gains. In fact our failures and drop-outs have increased. We have to do some thing to keep them in school." Last year 55 students dropped out at West Brunswick, the highest number at any school in the county, said Lemon. Of those, 26 were ninth graders who turned 16. Presently students who miss more than 20 days of school fail re gardless of the quality of their school work. Under the proposed reward sys tem, a student can get points added to his six-weeks grade for atten dance: three points if he misses no classes; two points if he misses one and one point if he misses two. To bccome familiar with the new education project, parents of all ninth grade students will be expect ed to attend one of several orienta tion sessions planned during teacher workdays before the start of school in August. As proposed, their involvement won't end there. Teachers will com municate more often with parents. Parents will be encouraged to moni tor their child's academic progress more closely and to help motivate students to improve their perfor mance. Students who need assistance will be assigned to an after school "eighth period" tutorial class that meets until 4 p.m. under leadership of a teacher. They will continue reporting for eighth period until they achieve sat isfactory progress in their regular classroom. They won't be able to report for extracurricular activities until 4 p.m. When a student doesn't meet minimum standards, parents are called in for a mandatory confer ence. They must give their consent before the student can participate in the academic assistance program and must provide or arrange his transportation home. While offering assistance as re quired to students who need it, said Lemon, "we will respect the right of the parents to determine failure for their child, if they so desire." Weather Service To Locate Radar Antenna At Shallotte BY DOUG R UTTER The National Weather Service plans to locate a new radar system antenna near Shallouc as part of a modernization of the Wilmington field office. The technology will allow the of fice to develop local forecasts and issue storm warnings, said Steve Hamed, manager for National Wea ther Service operations in North Carolina. The radar system antenna to be located off N.C. 130 west of Shal lotte will gather information for southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina and transmit it to the Wilmington field office by microwave. Microwave is an elcctromagnciic wavelength be tween the wavelengths of infrared and shortwave. Among other things, Harned said the system will tell meteorologists where it is raining or snowing and help them track thunderstorms and hurricanes within 200 miles of the coast. The S2 million radar system, which is scheduled to be installed in 1994, will have a radius of about 125 miles. The antenna outside Shallottc will look similar to a wa ter tower with a large ball on top. Hamed said the existing radar system is about 30 years old and cannot provide meteorologists with the type of information they need to accurately predict weather or track storms. Presently, tornado warnings and watches for Brunswick County come from a weather service office in Kansas City. Daily forecasts for the area come from the Raleigh of fice. With the new technology, all weather forecasts and storm warn ings for the region will be generated at the Wilmington office. Improvements at the regional fa cility arc part of a multi-year plan to eliminate more than half of the weather service's 249 field offices around the country and modernize others with state-of-the-art equip ment. Harned said the Wilmington field office is one of the offices that will be expanded and asked to take on more responsibilities under the plan. Besides the new radar system, the weather service plans to expand its staff in Wilmington from 12 to 25 people by the mid 1990s. Several meteorologists will be added to the staff. Improvements also are planned at weather service field offices at Cape Hatteras and Charleston, S.C. r Grissett Named Union Principal Zclphia Grissett of Supply will serve as principal of Union Primary School, effective July 1. School board members approved the appointment on unanimous vote Monday, along with other personnel actions. Mrs. Grissett, formerly assistant principal at Union, had served as in terim principal since the retirement of Clara Carter almost a year ago. Before joining the staff at Union, she taught social studies at West Brunswick High School. She has a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, principal's certification and 18 years of experience. In other routine personnel action, the board: ?Accepted resignations from Wil liam Harrison, assistant superinten dent; Karen Gregory, South Bruns wick Middle math teacher; Valerie Wagner, Soulhport Elementary spe cial education teacher; Jacquclinc Thompson, part-time Leland Mid dle French teacher; Scerita Brown, Waccamaw Elementary cafeteria worker, and William Clemmons, Soulhport Elementary custodian. ?Accepted the retirement of Dosher Miller, second grade teacher at Bolivia Elementary; Helen Best, secretary at Leland Middle; and Willie Lofton, part-time custodian at North Brunswick High. Recycle This Newspaper. AT SUNSET HARBOR BRING HOME THEtBEACON REUSE THE NEWS. On Sale At SUNSET GROCERY ?Shipping Supplies ?Small Office Supplies ?Gifts ?Local Crafts ?Video Games Thomasboro Rd. *579-1 460 (across from The Village at Calabash) Auto Accidents Disability Job Injuries ARE YOU A HARD WORKER NOW INJURED OR DISABLED? CALL: 1-800-336-0155 Kathleen Shannon Glancy Attorney at Law 114 S. Front St., Wilmington, NC LET ME WORK HARD FOR YOU TO OBTAIN FAIR AND REASONABLE COMPENSATION FOR YOUR INJURIES TT'S Auto Air Conditioning and Radiator Service Subsidiary of Shallotte Radiator Mon-Fri 8 to 5, Sat by Appointment Located on Hwy. 17 S., Just south of Grissettown intersection^ 579-6902 ? 754-4550
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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June 27, 1991, edition 1
12
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