Gorman trashing CMS? Not really

Updated 6:30 p.m. -- first of all, here's a link to the transcript that's easier to scan than hours of video.

A report on WBT radio about former Superintendent Peter Gorman's comments at an education conference got some buzz over the weekend,  as people circulated the audio clip with their own commentary.  By the time it was filtered through County Commissioner Bill James,  Gorman was calling board members crazy and describing Bright Beginnings prekindergarten as  "the worst."

Neither is true.  Jeff Sonier,  the reporter who did the WBT report,  was kind enough to forward me the full video links to a Sept.  27 Hamilton Project conference on  "Promoting K-12 Education to Advance Student Achievement,"  which featured Gorman as a panelist.  What I saw was hardly Gorman Gone Wild.  Instead,  it was a long,  nuanced discussion of education reform,  most of which will sound familiar to anyone who heard Gorman speak during his five-year stint in Charlotte.

There is one surprise,  which Sonier correctly reported:  Gorman tells the panel that CMS research found that  "the worst after-school program you could be involved with in Charlotte was the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools after-school program;  the quality was just so poor."  (It's at about the one-hour mark in the video of the first session,  on "The Power and Pitfalls of Incentives in Education.")

That was news to me. On June 28, shortly after Gorman resigned, the staff gave a routine update on the after-school enrichment program to the board; the PowerPoint gives no hint of quality problems. I know where to look for some research reports that don't get much public airing,  but I found nothing evaluating after-school.  CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry said this morning that officials have been looking for such a report since WBT asked last week:  "We have been unable to locate any research that suggests that."  I emailed a public-relations staffer at News Corp.,  Gorman's new employer,  asking that Gorman point me to the research and/or clarify his comments.  I got nothing but a prompt  "no comment."

New: At day's end, spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte says CMS officials believe Gorman was talking about a report on after-school tutoring, not the after-school program. But she said Gorman himself has not made that clear to CMS, and neither the report nor anyone who can talk about it will be available until tomorrow. Here's a story on the after-school question.

The after-school program serves school-age students.  Gorman did not discuss the quality of Bright Beginnings,  which provides full-day education to 4-year-olds whose skills put them at risk of falling behind in kindergarten.  The cost of that program has been controversial,  and James has been critical of spending county money on pre-K.

As for school board "craziness,"  it's no secret to CMS-watchers that Gorman had his clashes and frustrations with board members.  But the video doesn't show him  "poking fun at his former bosses,"  as Sonier's WBT clip indicates.  Gorman introduces the after-school comment by praising the board for being willing to spend money on research and evaluation,  even during a budget crunch.  During the second session,  on start times, grade configurations and teacher assignments,  Gorman does make the quoted remark that "there's a huge disconnect with what goes on at a school board meeting and what goes on in a school,"  and that  "I often viewed my job ... as to protect our staff from the craziness that goes on at a board meeting"  (all this is at about the 35-minute mark).  But he prefaces that comment by saying  "I enjoyed the board I worked for,"  and follows up by talking about the unlimited number of public comments that open many meetings.  "You might as well say,  'Why don't we try to get as many people to come and try to take us off target as possible,' "  he says.

In a third panel on "New Assessments for Improved Accountability,"  Gorman talks about how the current teacher evaluation system overstates the number who are successful  --  a theme he sounded for at least a couple of years in CMS, as he pushed to change the way teachers are evaluated and paid.

Sonier and WBT are right about one big point:  Gorman has refused to speak to local media about CMS since the June day he handed in his resignation,  and that does lead people to wonder what was on his mind when he left.  For those with time,   the Hamilton Project discussion provides some intriguing insights on what he thinks about incentives for students and teachers,  starting schools later and making performance pay work.  But it's hardly throwing CMS under the bus, as the Pundit House blog labeled it.

With the exception of the after-school comment  (I'll report more on that if and when I can find the research he's talking about), Gorman struck me as positive about CMS.  If anything,  he erred on the side of optimism.  For instance,  he talks about closing  "large, low-performing middle schools"  and sending the students to K-8 schools.  "We didn't then put the children in low-performing elementary schools,"  he says.  I suppose that depends on how you define "low-performing,"  but some of the elementaries that added grades 6-8 logged among the district's lowest scores in reading, math and science in 2011.  When I asked Gorman about that issue before he left,  he said was pinning his hopes on principals' plans to reverse that kind of performance.

Grading schools and teachers

The N.C. school report cards for 2011 are out.  They're always a good source of data on districts,  traditional public schools and charters.  I haven't had time to geek out and run comparisons yet,  but I figured I'd give my data-savvy readers a heads up in case you've got a slow weekend.  If you're new to these, remember to click the tabs for student performance,  safety and teachers.

And if you've got even more time, remember the WTVI interviews with school board candidates will air from 4-6 p.m. Sunday (or you can watch them online at your leisure).

And on Tuesday, WFAE will hold a live panel discussion on "How Should We Grade Our Teachers?" It's at Northwest School of the Arts, 1415 Beatties Ford Road, from 7-8:30 p.m., and will feature CMS teachers, the human resources chief and the director of the Charlotte Teachers Institute. Make reservations if you plan to go, or follow on Twitter at #WFAEPubCon.

CMS election: Who cares?

Here's my latest theory about the school board election:  Most people don't care,  but those who do are putting a lot of energy into it.

I wish the first part weren't true,  but history shows about four out of five Mecklenburg voters won't bother to cast a ballot.  As I've noted before,  this year's roster of candidates is long and relatively little-known,  which makes it a lot of work to get informed.

What's impressive is how many people are doing that work,  and how engaged they are.  Last week's interactive debate got a live audience of 175,  with another 78 watching live online.

I'm also hearing from people like Christine Mast,  a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools parent who lives in Huntersville.  Even after reading and watching candidates' responses to various groups  (she was in the online audience last week),  she didn't think she was getting good enough answers.  So she sent them her own six-question survey and posted the answers on her CMS-related Facebook page (you have to scroll down to Oct. 17; Facebook is not the ideal forum for a long Q&A). 

Randy Forsythe,  an Irwin Elementary parent,  polled the candidates on their thoughts about the extended school day, to prepare for a PTA meeting.  I suspect Forsythe and Mast are just a sampling of the people who are peppering the candidates with questions about the issues they care about. 


I'm also impressed by how hard the candidates are working to answer the barrage of queries.  The eventual winners are just beginning a stretch of hard work and public criticism,  and everyone who's still campaigning seems determined to show they're up for it. 

Now we're in the final stretch of the campaign,  so we'll soon see what combination of position statements,  forums,  ads,  tweets,  yard signs,  poll workers and other campaign strategies it takes to propel three of 14 to the top.


And for those who are wondering,  the Observer's school board endorsements are slated for publication Sunday.  I'm not part of that process,  which is conducted by the editorial board.

90/90/90 schools and Broad

Does Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have its first  "90/90/90"  school?

Many readers are probably familiar with the label,  coined by professor/author Douglas Reeves for schools where 90 percent of students are poor,  minority and performing on grade level.  It's an ambitious goal that signifies a school has broken the link between poverty,  race and academic failure that frustrates educators across the country.

This summer,  Devonshire Elementary was ready to celebrate.  With a 93.7 percent pass rate in math  (and the accompanying high levels of poverty and nonwhite students),  it meets the standards laid out by Reeves of having 90 percent on grade level in one key academic area.  But Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark told the school board Tuesday night that she wants 90 percent proficient in both reading and math before anyone claims the label,  because both skills are essential to continued academic success.

Devonshire Principal Suzanne Gimenez was one of three principals of high-poverty schools who talked to the board about trying to break the poverty/failure links.  She's also one of the original seven principals former Superintendent Peter Gorman recruited to start his strategic staffing project,  which strives to turn around schools with teams of high-performing administrators and educators.  Of those seven,  she's among only three who are still in those schools for a fourth year  (Gorman asked for a three-year commitment).

Clark said she hopes to see Gimenez claim the  "90/90/90/90"  label at the end of this year,  with nine out of 10 students earning grade-level scores on reading as well as math.

***

Speaking of bragging rights, some of you have probably noticed the CMS web site is sporting a dual logo these days,  with the "Broad Prize for Urban Education" logo alongside the district's.  CMS has also asked all employees to attach the logo to their CMS emails,  sparking some groans among those who are leery of the Broad Foundation's approach to education reform.

Board member Kaye McGarry raised the issue Tuesday night, saying people have been asking  "Since when did Broad purchase naming rights to CMS?"

Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh said CMS' selection as the 2011 Broad Prize winner was  "an honor and a privilege"  that validates the hard work of employees and students,  and the district plans to proudly claim the label this school year.  "If anything,"  he said,  "it's a positive thing for this community and this district."

Help for rookie teachers

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board will vote on a plan for supporting beginning teachers at its meeting tomorrow.

It's not clear to me how much is new and different in this plan  --  teachers, feel free to weigh in  --  and how much is just putting things in writing to meet state requirements.  The plan calls for volunteer mentors.  From what I've heard, such mentoring programs can range from wildly successful to perfunctory,  depending on the skill and enthusiasm of the mentor,  the chemistry between the mentor and beginner,  the support from school administration and the time available for mentors to observe and coach.  (Update 10/25:  Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh clarified that it's the latter.  There's nothing new here,  but the state now requires the school board to approve the plan for beginning teachers.)

There's a widespread sense that this is a time for CMS to rebuild confidence and morale among its teaching force,  which has been battered by layoffs,  pay freezes,  new testing requirements and a rocky start to district performance pay effort.  New teacher work groups started meeting last week to chart the next phase of the effort, which has been dubbed the Talent Effectiveness Project.

As always,  I'll be eager to hear the view from the front lines.

Real-life civics ramping up

I enjoy seeing teens step up and take part in this year's school board campaign.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students introduced the candidates at an Oct.  3 forum that drew about 150 people to the Stratford-Richardson YMCA.

Students from Youth Voice,  a program of Kids Voting Mecklenburg,  will take part in Wednesday's interactive debate,  sponsored by MeckEd and WFAE,  and helped interview candidates for the WTVI program that will air from 4-6 p.m. Oct.  30.

Of course,  this year's election is a breeze compared to the political hurricane headed for Charlotte in September 2012.  The Youth Voice crew is also taking part in Charlotte Teachers Institute panel tonight on "Exploding Canons: The Changing Landscape of Political Conventions."

I'm sure a lot of teachers,  college professors and youth-group advisors are cooking up ways to tap into the energy the Democratic National Convention will bring  --  not just the president and the country's leading Dems,  but protestors, media and pundits.  If you've got any good real-life civics projects in the works,  please keep me posted.  It's going to be a fascinating year for people across the political spectrum.

Click and compare CMS schools

How much does Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spend at your child's school?  How do academic achievement and student-teacher ratios stack up?  Find out on the new interactive maps produced by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and MeckEd.

I haven't had time to wade into this data,  but my first-blush reaction is that this will be a great resource to parents,  taxpayers and people considering a move to Mecklenburg County.

Ironically,  even as CMS has embraced "data-driven" as a mantra,   it has become harder for people to find basic data about their schools. I 've always found the district's "Data Dashboard" hard to use,  and as the communications staff has shrunk,  updates can be slow in posting.  I created what I considered a user-friendly school guide for our web site, then abandoned it when our own cutbacks made it difficult to keep up.  N.C. school report cards are good,  but this time of year they're out of date.

So let me know what you think of the new resource.  (Full disclosure:  Former Observer columnist and blogger Mary Newsom,  who's now with the Urban Institute,  helped create this.)