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Parents want full-time strings teacher

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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

(Updated 5:30 am)

By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Most of the dozen students enrolled in the Weaver Academy strings program and their parents attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Guilford County Board of Education to say they want their teacher back full time.

Parents and students learned two weeks ago that James DeFiglia, the school’s strings teacher, and an English teacher were eliminated from the 2009-10 budget. Principals across the school system cut 118 teaching positions because of budget cuts.

Last week, under pressure from parents and students, Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green allocated nearly $14,000 to hire a part-time teacher so the strings program at the school could continue. The English teacher position was not reinstated.

Weaver principal Pete Kashubara said without the English teacher position, as many as 100 students enrolled in the career and technical education program likely will be turned away. That program includes advance automotive and mechanical education.

On the music front, parents and students told the school board how DeFiglia had changed their lives and how much they loved the program.

“I and the dozen or so other musicians in the strings program came to Weaver to practice our art,” said Naomi Bate, a Weaver graduate.

Bate and other current and former students held a protest in front of the district’s central office before the meeting. They held signs and played their instruments. A similar protest was held last week.

Parents told the board that employing a strings teacher only one quarter of the time would mean more responsibility for other music teachers and fewer electives for students. They also spoke about how Weaver is a safe haven for their children.

Richard Tuttle, a father of five children, spoke emotionally, his voice cracking several times, as he told the board how his son was harassed at Ragsdale High School. His daughter has been saved that experience, he said, by attending Weaver. She now wants to become a doctor.

“To cut a program that is working in Guilford County is unbelievable,” Tuttle said. “We can’t cut programs, we can’t cut from schools that are working.”

Green said his staff continues to review all teaching cuts to see how programs at every school might be affected.

In other business Tuesday, the board approved the renewal of 135 contracts for interim employees. The school system employed more than 570 such employees last year.

They are hired on a year-to-year contract. Most are teaching positions; many are lateral-entry teachers.

Last month, Green told the board it was likely the system might not be able to rehire as many as 145 of those workers.

Shirley Morrison, interim director of human resources, said she hopes to bring more of those interim positions to the board within the next two weeks.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Margaret Baxter (News & Record)

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igliigli

July 8, 2009 - 7:38 am EDT

The schools should keep the advance automotive and mechanical education and get rid of the entertainment positions like the strings program.

marjorie

July 8, 2009 - 8:09 am EDT

the preforming arts programs are the core of what weaver is all about! some students want to become mechanics when they grow up and others want to become musicians. who are you to judge what careers students want to choose? How about cutting high paid pencil pushers who don't step in a class room to teach! How about cutting money from sports programs? How about stop building over budget schools that are already in disrepair! so don't insult children who are trying to choose their career paths!

Panacea

July 8, 2009 - 9:04 am EDT

What a dull world you want to live in, igliigli. The arts have played an important role in the development of humanity from tribal hunters into a civilization.

Like rock and roll? Roots in classical music. Same for rap, blues, jazz, country and every other musical form.

Artists produce concept art for construction and technical innovation. The produce visual media for advertising, local and national. Building plans. All sorts of practical applications besides the aesthetic beauty of paintings, sculpture, and jewelry.

I agree with majorie: cut the administrative waste first if you're going to cut anything.

Since the sports programs are so riddled with corruption, and even their supporters admit it's not likely to change, then suspend athletics until parents and coaches get the message that cheating will not be tolerated. That'll save money until the economy recovers and we can afford it again.

angie123

July 8, 2009 - 10:14 am EDT

Panacea,

If sports were only for the coaches, I might agree, but athletics are to some students as the arts are to others. It provides motivation for them to stay in school and it provides a way for them to learn valuable team work and strengthen their talents.

We should not be looking at cutting any valuable program and it's not a sports or arts argument.

What about transportation costs?

What about the costs of transporting students from one quadrant of the county to another so they can attend a magnet school? If parents want their children to enroll in these magnet schools, they need to provide transportation, just as the parents of musicians and athletes have to do.

Look at other counties in NC and you'll see that GCS is quite generous in their transportation policies - much too generous.

Also, let's go back to neighborhood schools - how many teachers would that save?

TheCasualReader

July 8, 2009 - 10:31 am EDT

Igliigli

Clearly, some students benefit from the school automotive programs. In the US Army, I was a company commander of a 185 person automotive maintenance company with over a hundred mechanics, and as a result I am very familiar with the benefits of the high school automotive programs. But the automotive program and the strings program serve different types of students. I am making a wild guess that you participated in neither the automotive nor the strings programs in school. But I did, so here is some of my opinion.

The strings program (or the school arts programs in general) are much less vocational programs than they are group participation and learning, as are the sports programs. Strings programs teach self discipline and group dynamics at a time when the students most benefit from it. Any student who is interested in a string instrument career, is going to need private instruction beyond the school string program, and maybe even university training. The school string program gives a student a chance to experience playing in a focused group, and to have fun doing it. Most participants in the music programs are usually good students in their classes, and go on to a career in some other area or discipline. These students often retain music as a hobby throughout their lifetime. There is a demonstrated relationship between musical ability and school math achievement test scores, for example.

Greensboro has a highly enlightened arts community, and the benefits of the city government's support for the arts show up in the type of participation and sense of community of the citizens here. For example, when they did the fireworks last Saturday evening, the city also did a city-sponsored symphony (with strings) program. The stands were full of people, and the mayor and the congressman were there. You may hear it stated for example as, "Greensboro is a great place to live and to work." People like it here. The arts are not the only reason, but it is one reason of many.

DaveW

July 8, 2009 - 11:16 am EDT

As I've stated many times on here. The arts and athletics are what people have extreme passions about. I agree that they are not the main purpose of schools. They do enhance the academics and should not be cut. As for cheaters in athletics, when exposed, they should suffer the consequences and an example should be made of them. I have compared the cheating athletic programs to traffic law violators. We do not shut down highways due to the minority of drivers that drive illegally nor should we shut down athletics because an even smaller minority of coaches violate eligibility rules. Anyone that does not see this correlation just cannot be reached with analogies.
Good luck to Weaver and I hope their full time strings music instructor is reinstated.I know those kids work hard and deserve the best.

marjorie

July 8, 2009 - 11:40 am EDT

Thanks for the support Dave ! Schools that have achieved the excellence that Weaver has need to be used as an example not a chopping block ! Weaver has been rated in the 100 best high schools in the country (81st proudly)! This is an achievement on academics, that proves arts and scholastics do go hand in hand.My son has worked his tail off to be the best student and musician. His acceptance at Weaver is a dream come true!

dcolin

July 8, 2009 - 11:33 am EDT

Absolutely Right on.

However the facts are there aint (sic ) no money.

The question is what do we cut.
I say administration but I'm no expert.

In the end English,math, science, history, etc at the K-12 system level has not changed that much over the the last 50 or so years.

What do all these administrators do? Enlighten me.
Director of "Talent Development"

Oh, Many coaches teach ISS.

Come on

marjorie

July 8, 2009 - 11:48 am EDT

When the Rhino printed the salary's of school system employees, the first two pages were nothing but highly paid,fancy named positions held by people that do not even step into class rooms and do any teaching! I am not hearing any of those positions being cut. The wages for one of the Talent Development personnel can keep two or three teachers!

DaveW

July 8, 2009 - 3:30 pm EDT

dcolon--Do you want to cut ISS? OK then cut it. We'll just suspend all of the kids that cut class instead of sending them to ISS.That way the punishment(suspended from school) means they won't go to class and the offense (cutting class) means they are not in class.The offense and the punishment would be the same thing.
Wait a minute. Is it your problem that a coach would be in charge of ISS?
ISS is a teaching position just like Art, Biology, PE, History, Math, Business etc. At our school we have coaches that also teach all of those subjects. This coming year we may even have a coach doing ISS although last year we did not.What difference does it make what a coach teaches? As long as he/she does his/her job it is irrelevant.

dcolin

July 8, 2009 - 7:48 pm EDT

Yes However
I give you Manny Bloom.

Basketball Coach.
ISS/Behavioral Teacher ( High School ).
K-6 license.

Something sucks?

DaveW

July 9, 2009 - 4:54 pm EDT

OK dcolin. I am not at Manny's school nor do I even know him since I do not coach basketball.It seems like whomever hired him should take the rap for a k-6 certified teacher working at a high school.I know this doesn't sell papers but the vast majority of coaches in this system do things right.At my high school we have zero coaches that are dishonest.Yet we have wackos on this site crying to curtail high school athletics due to a small number of dishonest coaches. Teaching and coaching are becoming such that those involved in it must start out perfect and also continue to improve!