Teacher merit raises: $500 or $5,000?

I'm getting a lot of questions about a story in this morning's paper about the plan to offer four-year contracts to a limited number of teachers as tenure is phased out.

In the past, I've referred to it as a $500-a-year raise, which is the language in the budget bill.  T. Keung Hui,  my counterpart at the News & Observer and the lead writer on today's story,  called it a $5,000 raise.  People are understandably confused.

Hui used the four-year cumulative raise provided by $500 annual bumps.  The first year, a teacher who takes the four-year package will make $500 more than counterparts who don't get the raise.  The second year that teacher gets another $500 bump, so now she's $1,000 ahead of peers.  The third year she's up by $1,500 and the fourth by $2,000. If you add up the extra for those four years,  it comes to a total of $5,000.   The key is that the $500 specified in the law is a pay raise, not just a series of annual bonuses.

Enrollment reports are stalled statewide

By now,  we'd normally know how many students Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and other districts have.  N.C. public schools take their official enrollment count on the 20th day of school,  which was Sept. 23.

But as of Thursday,  the 38th day of school,  nothing had been reported.  The principals' monthly report for September,  the formal document that contains the 20th day numbers, has been held up statewide because of problems with PowerSchool,  the data system for all public schools in North Carolina.

Superintendent Heath Morrison says CMS knows how many students it has and feels confident in the numbers.  On Monday,  staff said they could give me the unofficial enrollment count,  but that hasn't happened yet. Update:  Friday afternoon CMS released its total enrollment: 144,140 in K-12, an increase of about 3,000 over last year and about 300 more than projected. The district has not yet released demographics or school-by-school numbers.

Vanessa Jeter,  spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction,  said the state anticipates having the problem fixed this week,  which by now means today. But we've heard that from local officials for at least the last three weeks,  so I'm not holding my breath. Update: CMS now says they're expecting the PowerSchool problem to be resolved  "within the next two weeks."

Jeter says the delay in official reporting isn't holding up state money for schools. But Morrison said this week that it does create some snarls.  For instance,  he said,  until the state releases enrollment for charter schools,  CMS has to pass along county money based on the numbers in their applications.  In some cases that's off quite a bit.  Invest Collegiate,  for instance,  applied to open with 558 students,  hoping to lease the former Professional Development Center from CMS.  When that didn't happen,  the charter resorted to modular classrooms that could only hold about 100 students.

So stay tuned.  Surely we'll get the numbers sometime soon.

And if anyone missed Thursday's online chat about CMS and CPCC bonds,  you can read the questions and answers here.

Home-school inspectors intruding? Well, no ...

This week brought a confusing flap over inspection of home schools in North Carolina.

On Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest sent a strongly worded press release headlined "Random Homeschool Searches Need to Stop."  It said the N.C. Division of Non-Public Education plans to "resume the 1980s-era practice of randomly inspecting homeschools" and raised questions about the constitutionality of such visits.

Forest

“This policy is intrusive, unnecessary, and has the potential to infringe on the constitutionally-protected privacy rights of tens of thousands of North Carolina homeschool families,”  Forest said in the release.  It says that Forest,  a Republican,  plans to work with state senators to  "clarify when, where, and how the Department of Non-Public Education may inspect homeschool records under the law without doing so in people’s homes."

Erica Parsons

It certainly seemed possible that the state might revive inspections of home schools.  The question of oversight arose this summer,  when officials learned that Erica Parsons,  who was allegedly being home-schooled by her adoptive parents,  has been missing for two years.  "Parsons Christian School"  never filed progress reports or test results,  and adoptive mother Casey Parsons never met with state officials during regional home-school meetings,  the Observer learned.  Erica has not been found,  and police suspect foul play.

But when I called the DNPE to ask about inspections, spokesman Chris Mears sent me a two-paragraph release that was labeled a joint statement of his division and the lieutenant governor's office  (it's not posted on Forest's web site).

"The Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) and the Lt. Governor’s Office have conferred with regard to site visits of North Carolina home schools, and agree that it is the joint mission of DNPE and the Lt. Governor’s office to support NC’s home school families,"  that statement says.

"As DNPE communicated to North Carolinians for Home Education, no site visits have been conducted and none are planned. DNPE’s review of home schools includes requesting home schools to voluntarily submit records via email or attend a meeting, typically held in a location such as a church basement, for records reviews. At that time, DNPE asks for review of test results, immunization records, and attendance records showing that schools have operated for nine months. DNPE is mandated to annually inspect records according to State law."

Mears said he couldn't comment further.  I tried several times Wednesday to reach Kami Mueller,  the name on Forest's news release,  and got no response.  I got Forest's chief of staff,  Hal Weatherman,  who referred me back to Mueller.  Update:  I got a voice mail from Mueller on Thursday citing the two news releases.  "We're kind of leaving it at that,"  she said.  "It explains everything anyone would ever need to know."

So what's going on?  The best clue I found came from an interview DNPE Director David Mills gave to Andrew Branch, a freelancer for the Asheville-based Christian magazine World.  Mills is quoted as saying he wanted to revive home visits,  which had fallen by the wayside as the number of home schools increased.  Last year North Carolina had 53,347 registered home schools serving almost 88,000 children,  including 6,573 in Mecklenburg County,  according to a state tally.

Mills told World he considers home visits a way to  "open up a rapport,"  but said some families  "expressed distrust"  over the prospect.  He said he had scrapped plans to inspect homes even before Forest's statement.

Academic growth charts offer parent guidance

The recent  "Education Nation"  summit brought a new digital toolkit for parents,  including academic "growth charts"  that spell out what kids should be learning at each grade level.

The toolkit,  which also offers guidance for parent-teacher conferences,  is also available as a mobile app.  Still to come are grade-level guidelines on social development and health and wellness.

The site,  created by NBC and Pearson,  seems useful to me,  putting the new national academic  "Common Core"  standards into plain English. But my days of monitoring homework and attending conferences are over.  I'm interested in hearing what parents and teachers think.

Bond chat and youth profiles: Get ready for voting

The Observer is hosting a live online chat with key players in the Nov. 5 bond referendum at noon Thursday.

Chamberlain

We'll have Associate Superintendent Guy Chamberlain from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,  Public Information Officer Jeff Lowrance from Central Piedmont Community College and Assistant County Manager Dena Diorio from Mecklenburg County available to answer questions about the CMS and CPCC bonds and how the county will pay for the projects.  You can log on to CharlotteObserver.com from noon to 1 p.m. to post questions or follow the chat.  If you've got a question that might take some research,  post it here and I'll forward it to the right people so they can come prepared.

We have stories,  maps and other resources related to the bond votes available at the Observer's voter guide page as well.

Students with GenerationNation,  a youth civics and leadership group, have also posted responses to questionnaires for school board and municipal candidates.  There are other candidate surveys out there,  including the Observer's,  but the young people asked some interesting questions.  For instance,  they asked all candidates about how CMS,  local and state governments should work together.  They got a lot of predictable  "collaboration is important"  answers,  but Republican mayoral candidate Edwin Peacock suggested holding Charlotte City Council meetings in schools around the city.

Peacock

"Start a tradition  where at least 7  City Council meetings each year are being held away from the government center and at a CMS school in one of our 7 Council districts,"  Peacock suggested.  "Each district representative would recognize excellent teachers and students and begin to build that relationship between the city and her schools.  Schools belong to

everyone!"

Instead of asking for political party,  GenerationNation asked for  "political viewpoint,"  intentionally inviting responses that don't fit the obvious labels.  Most gave the party labels anyway,  but they got a few interesting answers,  such as "fiscally and socially responsible which would categorize my views as moderate"  from Democratic mayoral candidate Patrick Cannon,  "speaking for all people"  from unopposed school board candidate Joyce Waddell and "Unitarian"  from school board candidate Queen Elizabeth Thompson.

Naturally,  I was especially interested in another question:  Favorite news source.  It probably does tell you something that school board member Tom Tate cites NPR while Paul Bailey,  a candidate in a different district board race,  cites Fox News.  The Observer got a few mentions,  and quite a few cited  "the internet."

CMS bus and bell report: How independent?

A consultant's report giving Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools mostly positive reviews on its recent decisions about busing and bell schedules is bound to revive questions about the source.

Some commenters have suggested all along that CMS is paying the Council of the Great City Schools up to $18,000 to get a foregone conclusion. Skeptics note that the council is a membership organization made up of about 65 large school districts,  including CMS,  and that Superintendent Heath Morrison is a member of the board's executive committee.  They say that hardly constitutes the independent review that Morrison and school board Chair Mary McCray touted when they announced the study this summer.

Casserly

During Monday's video conference with reporters,  Executive Director Michael Casserly was quick to note that the council is known for being tough on member districts that seek advice.  The council has done more than 250 reviews on various subjects,  he said,  and  "the vast majority of them have been extremely hard-hitting and critical."

One of those reports,  Morrison added,  was the organizational review of CMS he commissioned when he started this job in 2012.  That report cited several weak points,  including "illogical and inappropriate"  organizational structures,  "a lack of confidence or trust"  among citizens and employees,  and hiring processes that  "appear to be inadequate or ignored,  labor-intensive,  slow and cumbersome,  and subject to high error rates."

"That was a hard-hitting audit.  People were really shocked that I released that publicly,  but I had made a commitment to do that,"  Morrison said Monday.  "The quality of their work is second to none. You don't go to the Council of the Great City Schools asking them to lift you up and make you feel warm and happy about yourself."

Susan Plaza,  the parent who has been leading the push for change in bell schedules,  said Monday she's optimistic that Morrison is sincere about working with her group to come up with real solutions.  He's gearing up another task force to study school hours,  which will include members of Plaza's group and will meet publicly.

Interestingly,  Morrison's own two children experience opposite ends of the bell-schedule spectrum.  One attends South Meck High, with the traditional 7:15 to 2:15 high school schedule that some say is too early for teens to be fully alert for morning classes.  The other attends Northwest School of the Arts,  which is on the 9:15 to 4:15 late schedule,  which other families say squeezes out evening time for homework,  family and after-school activities.

When asked about his thoughts as a dad,  Morrison noted that he and CMS lawyer George Battle both have kids in late-bell schools.  "Both of us have said we actually like the late bell,"  Morrison said. But he said that doesn't mean he's dismissing concerns.  Instead,  he said,  he's aware that there are legitimate differences of opinion on all the bell questions,  and that's a big reason he wants to hold plenty of public discussions before making changes.

How do you test the tykes?

Remember the math, reading, science and social studies tests CMS created for grades K-2?  They required one-on-one work with an adult,  brought protests from parents and teachers who considered them a waste of time and were quickly dropped.

So we know how tough it is to design good tests for the youngest kids.  But N.C. education officials say it's a vital task to make sure students develop the skills they need before they fall behind.  The K-3 N.C. Assessment Think Tank,  a group of teachers,  parents and education experts convened by the state legislature and state Superintendent June Atkinson,  has released its first report on designing assessments that help young children learn.

"Now, more than ever, a major focus of education must turn to the early years of elementary school (kindergarten through grade 3) when children are poised to begin a trajectory toward success in school and life,"  the report says.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools exams were given at year end and were intended to generate ratings of teacher effectiveness.  These assessments will be given during the year,  with the goal of figuring out what kids need  (formative assessments, in eduspeak).  They'll include observations,  work samples and other measures,  in addition to any pencil-and-paper testing.

The first report outlines the type of skills that should be measured,  ranging from language to health and emotional development.  Another group will be convened to design the assessments.  The goal is to have kindergarten pilot exams in place in about half the state's districts in 2014 and a full program up by 2015-16,  according to the Public School Forum of North Carolina.