Superintendent Heath Morrison and other Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders plan to start knocking on doors of potential dropouts this week, a move modeled on the "door to door for student achievement" campaign Morrison launched in Reno, Nev.
"The community came together for this great initiative and literally walked door to door in local neighborhoods to get our at-risk youth back in the classroom," Morrison wrote in a final letter to families in Washoe County before leaving for Charlotte.
The goal is to get families of students who didn't return to school to make appointments to talk about ways they can return to CMS and get diplomas. In Reno, Morrison had school board members and community leaders join him, in hopes of calling attention to the dropout problem and helping leaders see the individual stories behind the numbers.
CMS spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte said Monday that details of the Charlotte program, including how many homes will be visited and who will make the visits, are still being worked out. An announcement is expected Wednesday, when the door-to-door campaign launches. Thanks to the commenter who got wind of this -- y'all do seem to stay a step ahead of the game!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Knock, knock. Heath who?
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43 comments:
Blogger BolynMcClung said...
EDUCATION EVANGELIST. PRODIGAL SONS, REDEMPTION, BUDGET BUSTER.
Years ago The Billy Graham Crusade came to Charlotte; I believe in the first years the Panther Stadium was open. His team spent months preparing to receive all the newly saved that were expected. Which brings to mind, what will CMS do with all the lost souls they reclaim in this house-to-house search?
You might expect a fete’ of sorts -- like that fatted calf thing for the Prodigal Son. But CMS doesn’t have a fatted calf to slay. Nor do the children who stayed in school have much of an inheritance to expect on graduation.
What bothers me from a financial point is this should have been accomplished before the 20day report. Maybe a reverse Passover during the summer.
Will these “recovering” students even be funded by the county and State? Or will it be another siphoning of suburban student funding.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
Be careful no one is "disrespected".
And don't go out after dark.
Or we might be looking for a new supe...
Let's see....
25% of CMS students don't graduate yet Morrison is going to spend time (waste time depending on how you might see it) going door to door to encourage the 4% who have dropped out to return?
The goal is to get families of students who didn't return to school to make appointments to talk about ways they can return to CMS and get diplomas.
Shouldn't that energy be put towards getting the graduation rate up for those who are still in school?
Is this not a job for Ms. Watts and SUPER LIFT? Heath I dont reccomend you do business in Charlotte the same way you "did" in Reno. I would be real careful as some of these drop outs are Drug Dealing Thugs and will not deal with you. They may actually not be interested in what your peddling. My thought is for you to take care of the kids in your school today you can reach that your about to lose. Say the ones leaving , because the school start time is 9:15? Keep the ones interested let the thugs have the streets/jail.
WC,
One of the lingering positives from the War of Northern Aggression is that honorable rebel yell, "Surrender, *Hell* no!"
CMS has a responsibility for these "kid" up to the age of 21. It is a war. A little of that Ol' South refusal to accept defeat must already be rubbing-off on the Superintendent.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
E E-S must go.
Bolyn,
Going door to door is a feel good PR move, nothing more, nothing less.
Not a soul out there that doesn't want every child currently not in school to come back and graduate, but it's time to fish or cut bait. That means focus on those currently in school and coming into the system and let the others go. They are smart enough to "get it" and if they want it bad enough, they will come back.
It isn't surrendering, it's reality.
You would also do well to realize that in that war of Northern Aggression, 2% of the population died and Lee still surrendered.
Bolyn , Is Heath Morrison running for public office? His PR campaign of which this is will not be handled well. This is chest pounding at best "look at me" I can knock on a door. It will bring nobody back to a CMS school. It wont help SAT scores and it may drive more parents away from public education. They want him driving the kids that are in the schools actually wanting to learn.Keith W. Hurley
Okay folks let's be sure you know that CMS has had very aggressive campaigns in the past to reach out to these dropouts. The most productive one was with the CMS office at the transit center.
Going door to door has that feel good stuff for the PR folks. It makes the Charlotte Observer and politicians boast with the usual empty fluff. Teachers, assistant principals, principals, PTA officers, etc. have been doing this campaign for several years now especially in these LIFT schools.
Bolyn, CMS only has this responsibility till the student is age 16. Get over yourself. These kids' best bet is to enroll at CPCC and get their diploma that way. Their shenanigans will not be tolerated by the more mature and older students and staff at CPCC.
Lastly, going door to door may get some of the family unit but the student will not likely be found there. They are hanging out "in the hood".
It's about time someone with a PhD started knocking on cell doors at the Mecklenburg-County jail.
I'm envisioning a Heath Morrison halloween mask - to bust families with kids in the wrong school assignment zone which is what CMS did the last time it went "door to door". BEWARE!
Wonder if the traveling Gestapo (CMS Law Enforcement)
will accompany Heath with Mr. Cesena Glock at the ready? Worked nicely for Pete.
9:08, actually CMS jail system has a very strong education program all inmates are required to participate in if they do not have a high school diploma. There was an article in the CO about it last year.
Sorry I meant Mecklenburg County jail system. BAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Notice to CMS leaders. My dog bites.
Can't CMS leaders just "friend" drop-outs on Facebook?
9:20
Yes, I believe the Gormanator (upon arrival from California) implemented the first series of CMS "door to door" encounters.
Round up the usual suspects.
www.change.org/petitions/change-cms-bell-schedule
NO MORE 9:15
If this has anything to do with Project Lift, watch it will be placed squarely on the backs of the teachers “Administrators knocking on doors”. HaHaHaHa
Bill,
You're wrong about when a school district has the responsibility for a child’s education.
CMS has an obligation (G.S. 115C-366) to every child between 5 and 21. Just because a child wants to legally leave school doesn't remove the district's responsibility to force an education on him.
Where you got off track is confusing the age a student may avoid going to school with the State's desire and reasons to give every child up to his 21st birthday a free public education.
I would argue that a school district that doesn't attempt to exercise that responsibility, right up to 20yrs 364days, is deficient in the exercise of its moral obligations. I do not want superintendents who are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospects of losing difficult students because of the kids’ inability or desire to make clear decisions.
Of course you’re correct and I’m dead wrong, if you believe that most 16 yr old children have the wisdom to make these kinds of decisions. And I’m absolutely wrong and you’re absolutely right if a 16yr old dropping out results in a better and stronger community.
Maybe there are those 16year-ol children that dropout and that a school district is glad will never grace the steps of a school again. It’s human nature to feel so. But the struggle for community is to try to put that aside.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
Percentages, percentages, percentages.
It would be nice to have dropout numbers instead of percentages. 3.75% dropout rate so what is the total number each year?
It would be nice to have the number of students who did not graduate instead of percentages.
8,130 students did graduate in 2012 or 75%. So was the total potential number of graduates 10,840 with 2,710 not graduating?
Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?
So, Heath? How many dropouts do you plan to contact?
How many currently in school are graduation fragile for 2013, 2014, 2015?
Hard numbers man, hard numbers.
Heath, My advice to you for your door to door campaign. Just give one figure to the kids your trying to reach. A number was recently released that a High School educated graduate earns $1,000,000- more than a drop out in a life time. Thats a solid career nember to qoute a child may get them thinking education is a priority? Keith W. Hurley
9:28, the number most will hear is how many hours/days/weeks they have to give up "hanging with my bros" for this unlikely future lifetime of earnings when the government check will just keep on coming. They get to sleep in late in the morning after hanging out till 5 AM.
Boyln, as Wiley points out, what are the numbers Heath will be dealing with? Even if you succeed with getting a few back in school, the numbers for the principal will suffer. The graduation numbers are based on actual graduates versus the 9th grade incoming numbers. Now the BOE has changed the rules a little with this incoming class to reduce the number of credits neeed to graduate. The assumption was these kids had given up when there was no chance of them graduating with the ones they entered high school with. We saw the same mindset with the reduced participation rate of the state tests this last year. Students had pretty much given up on passing the course.
Remember the purge at West Charlotte 2 years ago. Students who had been there for 3 years but lacked the credits to be classified as sophomores were "encouraged" to move to an alternative school. How did that work? Principal after principal at West Charlotte has complained they can never get back to even with the students because of all the incoming students simply were not ready for high school.
Also, while legally CMS does have to support students till their 22nd birthday, practically, the better place for them is CPCC. Maybe we need to better inspect and analyze where our tax dollars are spent. Give the taxpayer some voice in this discussion. They understand the need for an educated public. But when these students self select their way out, alternatives must be weighed.
9:33 p.m., you sure about Gorman doing this? I agree that individual schools have had strong outreach programs, and that may have been mandated/encouraged by Gorman. But I don't remember Gorman doing a door-to-door campaign with his top crew, and that would have been something the O would have covered.
According to the CMS website, the dropout rate in 2007/2008 was 5.91%, which was down from the previous year of 6.39%.
“The number’s going in the right direction,” said Dr. Peter C. Gorman, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “But it’s also important to remember that 5.91 percent is 2,355 students – and that’s 2,355 students who have hit a dead end. That’s too many students to lose. We can’t afford that as a district or as a community.”
At that time, the number of droputs was 2,355 or 5.91% number.
Today the dropout rate is 4.15% so what is the actual number?
My point is, between 2,700 who didn't graduate and somewhere upwards of 2,500 (could be less at 4.15%) who dropped out, we're talking about 5,200 students or 3.7% of the total student population of 139,000.
From the same CMS article: CMS has improved the way it collects data on at-risk students, and has also improved how quickly school staff members can intervene to help those students. At-risk students are identified early in the school year, so that district and school staff can try to help the students meet whatever challenges they face and stay in school.
We could say these Gorman programs have worked? The dropout rate has gone from 6.39% on 2006/2007, to 5.91% in 2007/2008 and down to 4.15% in 2009/2010 (state average rate was 3.75%).
Again, the door to door salesman routine is only a public relations move.
Yeah, Ann
The CMS Gestapo (right after Gorman's arrival) was knocking on doors and rounding up families who were cheating school assignments zones after the CO caught a South Meck. football student from South Carolina shacking up with his grandmother in North Carolina.
9:33
Ann.
The CO DID cover the CMS Gestapo going door to door! They just went door to door in South Charlotte and the Myers Park area. CMS even had an aynnonomous"bust your neighbor" hotline!
HELLO.
The first CMS Gestapo round-up was executed in an effort to teach global understanding and multiculturalism. You know, like the Vel'd Hiv in France. Round up as many suburbanites as you can who want their kids in good schools and send them to the gas chamber.
I repeat:
Note to CMS officials and the CMS Gestapo who might be thinking about knocking on my door. My very large pit-bull bites!
What about families who are in the United States illegally?
Will the CMS Gestapo be setting up an anonymous hotline to bust folks named Jaun and Perez? Or, are they simply going after Xavier and Tamika?
OK, I do remember the checks for athletic eligibility (though I'm pretty sure it was Bud Cesena's crew, not the superintendent, who did those "visits"). This latest push isn't about busting anybody; the idea is to say "Hey, come on back and get your diploma."
Ready Fire Aim
Please please Tahearya
Tell us when someone has all the details. Another fine taxpayer supported program. Door to door Heath? You would do better selling Amway products.
Amway sales to fund CMS? As good as any other idea.
Maybe just give taxing authority to CMS BOE. They can really do some redistribution.
OK. So we'll keep 40+ students per class in some relatively high-performing schools and spend money that could be used to pay teachers paying people to hunt down folks who don't want to be in school?
I hope "Teeth" Morrison is packing heat when he heads to the West Side.
Ann,
Sure. Whatever floats your happy-go-lucky boat. Knocking door-to-door is ALL about CMS good will. It has absolutely nothing to do with "busting" law abiding white suburbanite U.S. citizens with false addresses who want nothing more than to send their children to successful CMS schools. Illegal immigrants - who are NOT U.S. citizens - are allowed to send their children to ANY CMS school complete with special education services, interpreters, accommodations, and additional resources to meet their English-As-a-Second-Language (ESL) or English-Language-Learner (ELL) needs. If you're an illegal alien, you are free too send your child to ANY CMS school without question or interrogation. If your child was born in the U.S. with two U.S parents, the CMS Gestapo is free to come knocking on your door in the middle of the night to determine if your kid is attending the right politically correct tax-payer supported school according to CMS BOE policy,
12:36 AM
Well, gosh, darn, dang.
Why bother pointing out the obvious double-standards of legal U.S. citizens vs. those who are hiding in plain sight illegally with all sorts of educational accommodations and special diversity check-boxes provided to their children.
12:36 AM
Amen.
12:36
Amen, Hallelujah, and Amen.
12:36
Alba El Senor!
Gracias a Dios!
Right on, dude!
Keith Partridge heads to the hood.
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