Guilford County Schools rise in rankings, study finds : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

GREENSBORO — Guilford County Schools is rising in the ranks of urban school systems across the country, according to a national research group.

But leaders here have work to do before Guilford can be considered one of the best at improving student performance and narrowing achievement gaps.

RMC Research Corp., a Denver-based education consulting group, based the report on the same indictors used to select winners for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education. Local school officials learned last week that the district’s policies and practices met or were close to meeting expectations in all but two categories.

Nora Carr, the district’s chief of staff, said the report affirmed the district’s vision, and staff will use it to update the strategic plan next year.

“I don’t know that there were any surprises,” she said. “It was really helpful to have such a thorough review and have outside folks who are measuring (us) against really strong people.”

The district paid for the evaluation with a $19,300 grant from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and private matching funds. Each year, the Los Angeles-based foundation awards $1 million in student scholarships to urban districts that lead in teaching, leadership and operations. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools won the prize this year.

Researchers conducted a three-day visit to Guilford County Schools in November, reviewed numerous documents and achievement data, and interviewed more than 280 people.

Lead researcher Shelley Billig described the system in a news release as a “rising district nationally.”

“The district is headed in the right direction and has a solid foundation in place,” she said. “We are suggesting some tweaks to the system, not a complete overhaul.”

Researchers found that the district excels in governance, strategic planning and finances, but struggles in the areas of teaching and learning.

For example, teachers reported that they promote students to the next grade even if they have not mastered the material, and high school graduates often need remedial courses in college.

However, Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green is widely lauded for his expertise, communication skills and ability to solve problems, according to the report.

Green said the audit confirmed what he knew about the district’s strengths and weaknesses.

“Certainly, given the fact that they have a rigorous standard, it was good to hear what we need to work on,” he said.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078, or morgan.josey@news-record.com

mamaboilermaker

December 26, 2011 - 8:55 am EST

"...the district excels in governance, strategic planning and finances, but struggles in the areas of teaching and learning. "

Excuse me, but isn't teaching and learning the whole point? If I'm an engineer is it acceptable for me to excel at submitting my expense report but struggle in the area of engineering? If I'm a doctor is it acceptable to excel at strategic planning while my patients die?

So what if we excel at the less important stuff, yet miss the whole point?

rooster8786

December 26, 2011 - 9:26 am EST

"Teaching and learning" are no longer important. What is important is improved test scores, winning grants, and advancing administrators careers. Children got left behind many many policies ago...

Paul Daniels

December 26, 2011 - 3:25 pm EST

mama:

You are absolutely right! If we aren't getting the teaching and learning done, we are failing. All the rest is fluff!

Best regards,

Paul Daniels
GCBOE District 5

destinys mother in law

December 26, 2011 - 9:11 am EST

Being an educator now must be the hardest job in the country. What with students smearing feces on the walls, gang activity, and so many children coming to school hungry, how so many students excel in the first place is quite remarkable. I am always grateful for my teachers, for the teachers of my children, and the teachers of my community. I continue to respect and advocate for them.

Panacea

December 26, 2011 - 10:50 am EST

I advocate for them, too, dmil: but fact is our school system is in fact missing the point, and kids are not learning.

December 26, 2011 - 10:58 am EST

Seems to me, based on these results, we need fewer "strategic administrators" and more boots-on-the-ground teachers. Fewer administrators means teachers have fewer people making their lives more complicated through their "governance" and "strategic planning."
Maybe some of those administrators could spend some time actually teaching some kids to do something--it could be an experience far more enlightening than their "governance" activities.

chickenlittle02

December 26, 2011 - 1:15 pm EST

I'm still waiting for those "World-Class Schools" that were promised by Warren Corrigan and the Greensboro Development Corp when they forced merger on us nearly 20 years ago....where are they all now?

JustMe

December 26, 2011 - 2:50 pm EST

Sadly I have found out first hand this year just how far behind the "teaching" is in the GCS system. My daughter graduated last year. She took all Honors and AP courses in the 9th-12th grades and was a solid A-B student. We thought she was fine. She also had great SAT scores and got in one of the best colleges in NC and in her first semester she has struggled very hard. She said she was stunned because her HS "education" in Guilford County, even though she did all the right things, had not prepared her for college. Her best friend who also went to the same HS and is at the same college and was a solid Straight A student had two (2) D's in college this semester and was torn all to pieces about it. These girls did not party, and did study they just weren't ready for college as they and we all thought they were. GCS is "teaching" to appease the powers that be and "teaching" the the test scores only and not teaching the course matter to prepare college bound students as they should be. GCS is more concerned with getting the "students" who will never attend any higher level college out of the system with a passing grade so that the overall graduation rate looks good, instead of failing them as they should and teaching to the students who want to learn. Thank goodness we are done with the GCS!

December 26, 2011 - 3:30 pm EST

Just:

You make a very important point. We are graduating students who are not prepared for the rigors of college. Students who graduate with high grade point averages have to remediate when they get to college to learn the things (math, language arts) they were supposed to learn in high school. The problem, in my opinion, is that there is very much a herd mentality among administrators and central office folks. For all our talk of "diversity" there is little diversity of thought about public education. We keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect to get different results. Time to rethink how we do education and stop listening to those who have brought us to this point.

December 26, 2011 - 4:30 pm EST

Paul, twice your comments have acknowledged the obvious. What are you the GCBOE District 5 person DOING? I mean other than paying lip service to parents and constituents...

December 27, 2011 - 1:21 pm EST

Rooster:

Since before I came on to the board I have been a proponent of very significant change. The bottom line is we have a system that is failing many of our students despite the fact that we spend more than $600 million a year. I thought, coming on to the board, that people in education would, if shown, see the errors of their ways and to begin to make the changes we need, starting with discipline in the classroom and parental involvement at home. It has proven more difficult than I thought to bring about the changes. However, I can point to some changes that I like to think I have helped to bring about since I joined the board. First, there was the discipline problem at Eastern Guilford (you may have read about this). I and others brought this issue to the superintendent on many occasions, made impromtu visits to the school to see for ourselves what was really going on and even called the media in to document a meeting with a regional superintendent and Mo's chief of staff. While this made me very unpopular with some, it did lead to the appointment of a "dean of students" at EGHS. I understand from a very involved parent with a student at EG that discipline is much better now. This certainly is a step in the right direction.

As I mentioned, I have advocated for parental involvement. By that I mean that parents/guardians need to be involved - make sure homework is done, make sure that kids get to bed on time and that they understand that they are to work hard at school - stuff that used to be called "good parenting." When I first came on the board, I don't recall hearing many members talking about parental involvement as a way to improve education. Now other members are talking about the importance of what happens at home. The superintendent established a Parent Academy to help parents learn how they can better assist their students and another member is putting together a program to reunite fathers who are not in the home with their students, with the underlying recognition that fathers are important to sucess both financially and as mentors and role models for their children. I don't claim responsibility for either of these programs, but I did move for adoption by the board of the superintendent's Strategic Plan shortly after it was unveiled and will be as helpful as I can be in bringing fathers back into the lives of their children. In sum, I like to think that I have helped to create an environment where people understand that we can't fix what is wrong with our schools without changing what goes on at home.

I am sometimes frustrated that we aren't getting the results everyone should expect given our huge investment of tax dollars every year. I do think, however, that I have made some headway in changing the way we think about how we do education. Being outspoken about things that are sensitive and not very popular (diversity, race, failure to educate) is not easy, but I have learned that being an advocate for new ideas (or paying lip service as you put it) is how we begin to change minds and hearts.

If you have ideas about how we move the ball, please let me know as I am always looking for new, innovative ways of delivering education.

December 26, 2011 - 6:17 pm EST

Mr. Daniels,

First thank you for your service. Next I am glad that you acknowledge the problem pretty much as I see it. We are simply herding kids through the system and it totally wrong and I suspect the reason for that is the grad rate makes the Central Office "look good" and helps them get kudos and grants. Sadly we are actually hurting the children in the system by doing this. I personally couldn't care less about the Central Office and really am sick of hearing about them. The taxpayers and the children deserve a quality education regardless of how the Central Office looks. I'd be willing to bet that the kids coming out of the Wake County system with A-B grades aren't having the same issues we are here. Also I am not blaming the teachers at all, they are doing what they are told and I know for a fact meaning are just "holding on" and going through the motions so that they don't lose their jobs and don;t dare go against the "office". You are very correct in that we cannot do the same things we always have and expect different results. Being that you recognize this and are in a position of authority to help do something about it, hopefully you can.

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December 26, 2011 - 9:39 pm EST

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