POPE CALLS FOR RESIGNATIONS
' Report Card ' Shows Gains In 19 Of 28 Standards Marked
?
BY SUSAN USHKR
Armed with chart and a pointer.
Assistant Superintendent Mosc
Lewis reviewed the Brunswick
County Schools 1991 "report card"
with school board members Monday
night, on the heels of a call from one
audience member for the entire
board's resignation.
Lewis, who is assistant superin
tendent for instruction, told the
board that the overall summaries in
cluded on the report arc three-year
averages, which means that any
progress made during the previous
year results in a gain for the three
year period, however slight.
Brunswick County showed "some
positive movement" in 19 of the 28
standards evaluated on the State
Department of Public Instruction re
port card, said Lewis.
Brunswick County exceeded the
75 percent level required for accred
itation, but was categorized as hav
ing below average achievement and
as below par when compared to the
state averages and to systems con
sidered as "similar" across the state.
"Par" was based on "advantage
ment" factors that include percent
age of students on free and reduced
lunches and levels of parental edu
cation.
The school system did not end up
on 2 lis! of 23 sr^wy>l units in danger
of takeover by the state. Lewis said
he doesn't know how close the sys
tem might have come to being in
that group.
The system did fail to meet the
state standard at some level in two
areas. Algebra I and attendance, and
was warned that it must show im
provement on its 1992 report card in
three other areas or lose credit in
those areas toward accreditation.
The algebra scores most likely
dropped because the school system
has begun channeling a larger per
centage of students into Algebra I.
which becomes a required course for
"Attendance we may or may not be able
to handle , but the ones dealing with
academic performance ? we can handle
that." ? Mose Lewis
Assistant Superintendent
graduation starting with the Class of
'95.
"You do that and the numbers
drop; we have to live with that," said
Lewis.
Scores for Algebra II went up,
most likely because students "self
select" themselves out of more ad
vanced classcs.
In attendance the system missed
the state's 94 percent mark by a
half-percent.
"Attendance we may or may not
be able to handle, but the ones deal
ing with academic performance
? we can handle that," said Lewis,
in predicting the system's efforts to
bring up its performance.
As part of his presentation he re
viewed the system's ycar-by-ycar
goals under the Senate Bill 2 five
year school improvement plan, to
which the report card is tied. The
school system met its goals for the
year in H areas, he said.
As for its approach for achieving
greater results, Lewis said, the ad
ministration is giving schools flexi
bility along with accountability.
"We're recommending more nur
turing at all levels. We're teliing
principals we do not care how you
mix or match your people or how
they leach," he said. "Teach the way
you arc comfortable with what
you're doing ? there's no one way."
Call For Resignations
At the start of the. meeting,
Thomasboro area resident Janet
Pope called on the entire board to
resign and allow another board to be
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seated that would "take its responsi
bilities more seriously".
She said teachers, students and
[Kirenl.s were not to blame for what
she called an "F* on the report card,
but the school board and its adminis
tration for allowing the schools to
serve as "guinea pigs". She ques
tioned whether the community is
willing to accept an "F\
According to her calculations, the
county school system "must be dead
last in the whole country".
The board recessed Monday's
meeting until 6:30 p.m. Monday,
Feb. 10, at the central office at
South port
Meanwhile it had two other meet
ings scheduled. Members met
Tuesday night at Bolivia with coun
ty commissioners to present the sys
tem's five-year construction plan
and to discuss budget preparations.
A policy workshop with principals
is scheduled al 9 a m Saturday, also
at the central office.
More "Nurturing"
School board members agreed to
a request fiom West Brunswick
High School to establish a "nurtur
ing" class for certain ninth graders
as part of its Outcome Based
Education (OBE) project.
A small number of students do
not comc for alter school help and
need more assistance, said Principal
Ed Lemon. 'There is always that
group of kids who drop out, don't
attend and have discipline problems.
We want to put together one class
and find out what will work with
them."
Lemon said the OBE program fo
cuses not on "basics," but on the
higher order skills such as thinking,
problem-solving and creativity, that
students will need to know as adults
in order to copc with society's rapid
changes.
Hands-On Training
Lcland Sanitary District is cutting
a deal with North Brunswick High
School business students of teacher
Carlie Luck in a joint use/transfer of
property agreement approved by the
board Monday.
The district office has bought a
new computer to replace its Tandy
3000. Once the business students
run "hard copies" of the 1 ,300-plus
account histories stored on the com
puter, it will become the school's.
That deal includes keyboard, moni
tor, printer and a palm-held meter
reading computer suitable for inven
tory control. The equipment has
been designated for that particular
school, said Sanitary District
Chairman Jean Speight, bccausc it
was paid for by local residents' wa
ter bills.
"I'm sure they would like their
children and grandchildren to get the
benefit of using it," she added.
Mrs. Speight said she wishes
more businesses and government
agencies wouid find similar ways to
work with local schools to provide
equip and out-of-school training op
portunities.
Other Business
In other business the board:
?Recognized William "Bunny"
Babson, maintenance supervisor,
and staff for installing the new
wastewater treatment system at West
Brunswick High School themselves
at a cost of about $48,000 and sav
ings estimated by the state at
S75.000.
?Amended the budget to reflect an
increase of $27,950 in fines and for
feitures received as a result of a
change in plea bargain agreement
procedure by the District Attorney's
office, and approved several other
changes related the system's bank
ing, including doubling the limit
from $5,000 to $10,(XM) on the credit
card used to buy airline tickets and
hold room reservations for staff trav
el, as recommended by Finance
Officer Rudi Fallon.
?Approved the consent agenda,
which included nine student trips
and three student tranfers.
?Heard of a county team's selection
to participate in a "Strategy for
Change" elementary school science
conference, with all expenses paid
by the conference sponsors.
?Heard from Bill Turner, assistant
superintendent, that security and Tire
alarms in the schools arc being up
graded as needed following a survey
of all facilities.
?Appointed Roycc Brown and
Wayne White to the Leland Middle
School Advisory Council.
?Received copies of the school sys
tem's Senate Bill 2 five-vear plan
for school improvement and ac
countability, which includes the sys
tem's goals for improving student
performance in key areas.
? Heard from representatives of
American Family Life Assurance
Company on a proposed "cafeteria
plan" of benefits and supplemental
insurance available in conjunction
with the plan.
?Heard from Turner that Union
Primary School should be connected
to county water by mid-summer and
that Supply Elementary School will
be connected
?({card from member Polly Russ,
who wanted to clarify to audience
members that other schools, such as
Shallottc Middle and Union
Primary, arc not being "slighted" as
the units works to ready the new
school and will sec organizational
changcs and improvements as well.
?Heard from Gloria Yount, staff de
velopment coordinator, that the
county level School Improvement
Team was to have completed ses
sions at all 11 schools by today
(Thursday), with a work session for
all teams scheduled.
?Met behind closed doors to discuss
personnel and attorney/client mat
ters.
?Received a proposal, via Mrs.
Russ, from the YWCA of
Wilmington for providing after
school day care at selected
Brunswick County Schools starting
with the fall term, for consideration
at the March meeting.
?Authorized advertising for sale a
Burroughs computing system that
was replaced by an IBM system pro
vided by the state.
?Received an invitation, via Union
Primary School Assistant Principal
Tom Simmons, to visit a year-round
elementary school. Park View, in the
Mooresvillc Graded School District.
?Heard from Turner that the first
round of drug testing has begun for
tiie 252 employees whose jobs in
clude driving system vehicles ? bus
drivers, coaches, the superintendent
and some other administrative per
sonnel, including Turner. He said 19
of the first 20 persons whose names
were drawn at random have been
tested, with the results "all nega
tive".
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