CMS projecting to have about 750 more students

It's T-minus 12 days until the start of school, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders proclaimed at the school board meeting last night that they are ready.

They also presented a grab-bag of numbers and statistics regarding what they're expecting for the first day, and I thought I'd share them here.

More students coming. CMS is expecting to have 754 more students this year than it had at the 20th day of school last year. The vast majority is coming from high school students, which Deputy Superintendent Ann Clark attributed to keeping more students from dropping out and promoting more from 9th to 10th grade. Interestingly, they're projecting a decrease in enrollment in elementary school (albeit only by one student). They didn't address why this is, but my guess is it's because most charter schools target early grades.

More buses, too. CMS is projecting to add 27 buses to its fleet this year, bringing the total 1,020, even as the number of students they expect to ride them will fall a bit. The district says this is because of new academic programs at schools around the county.

Less out-of-school suspension. The district has made changes to the code of student conduct, and one emphasis is on keeping students in the school even when they're being disciplined.

Still looking for teachers. CMS has 421 teacher vacancies, though 266 of those already have a recommendation. Superintendent Heath Morrison said that having 155 teacher openings without recommendations is ahead of where the district was at this point last year. The largest number of vacancies, 59, are in elementary school.

PowerSchool should be ready. The portal parents use for updates should be functional this year after many malfunctions last year as CMS shifted to a new system.

Tweet wars and teacher pay

Meghan Brinkley,  a fifth-grade teacher,  wants everyone to know how it felt to be part of the group that showed up at Wednesday's Mecklenburg County commission meeting to speak for higher teacher pay.

James

"Teachers in the district often feel as though they don't matter,"  she wrote shortly after the meeting ended.  "Tonight, that was evident.  While concerns were expressed,  Commissioners were on iPads,  phones,  and even falling asleep.  Listening to concerns was not part of tonight's agenda.  Commissioner Bill James,  district 6,  took to Twitter throughout the meeting.  He even tweeted on his Twitter handle @meckcommish that teachers 'Attempt to hijack #meckbocc #meckcounty meeting. It makes me want to give them LESS Money.'  He continued with these sort of tweets that made it feel as though teachers, and those who care about education, had no reason attending these meetings."

Fuller

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Heath Morrison has proposed seeking almost $27 million from the county for 3 percent raises,  part of a budget plan that's almost certain to win the school board's approval next week and be passed along to commissioners.  But as David Perlmutt reported,   the budget wasn't on Wednesday's agenda.  

Commissioners' Chairman Trevor Fuller insisted that no one speak about the budget until June 11,  when there's a public hearing scheduled.  So instead,  the people who had turned out for teachers talked about the importance of teachers without specifically addressing the budget.  According to Brinkley,  the speakers were respectful of commissioners' time limits and procedures,  but that respect was not reciprocated.

She wasn't exaggerating the nature of James' tweets.  Here's a sampling of more than a dozen comments he sent out during the meeting (#meckbocc is the board of county commissioners,  #cmsbd is the school board or CMS in general,  and #ncga is the General Assembly):

CMS teachers who are supposed to know the rules and follow the rules aren't really doing either.

Is the teacher that dragged down students at the wrong time at fault for not knowing the rules or for flaunting them?

Too bad #cmsbd didn't spend that time to address the #ncga since it is the legislature that has to provide raises not #meckbocc

Do it for 'the children' - that phrase has covered a lot of public school sins.

I can see why #cmsbd has such a bully problem. Mob rule. Gang of teachers attack #MeckBOCC #meckcounty over budget. Should be at #ncga

Bentley

And yes, James made the comment Brinkley quoted,  apparently in response to a tweet from fellow commissioner Karen Bentley,  whose Twitter account is  "protected"  so only followers can see her comments.  Bentley's attitude toward speakers also came under fire in tweets chiding James (identified as @meckcommish)  and others.

Cedar Posts ‏@CedarPosts  6h

Utter contempt - distain shown by #meckbocc @BentleyCommish @meckcommish towards the group of teachers in attendance last night was epic

Elyse Dashew ‏@elysedashew  9h

This rhetoric reflects poorly on all #meckbocc.

Chris Miller ‏@ChrisMillerWBT  7h

Perhaps the #meckbocc should adopt @WCooksey's policy of not tweeting while the public is speaking to you at meetings

As a reporter who covers public meetings on deadline,  I understand commissioners'  frustration with a long parade of speakers who aren't focused on the task at hand.  For those of us who are  "regulars,"  the public comment period can become just another time-eating item in an already long night.

But here's what I try to remember:  Coming to speak to elected representatives is a big deal.  Most people hate public speaking;  they're standing before the mikes only because they care so much.

And without people who care about the business our government does,  none of us  --  officials or the journalists who cover those bodies  --  would have a job.

So I'll give the last word to this tweet from another Charlotte teacher:

Megan Mehta ‏@megan_mehta  22h

A friendly reminder to our #meckbocc: we are a big voting base. If you don't value us, we'll elect people who do.

Talking with and about teachers

With the 2014 legislative session less than three months away,  State Rep. Tricia Cotham is launching a series of forums to talk with teachers about supporting schools and shaping state policy.  The first will be at 2 p.m. Saturday,   Feb. 22,  at the Plaza-Midwood library branch,  1623 Central Ave.

Cotham

She'll hold another session for teachers at 6:30 p.m. March 11 at the Matthews library,  230 Matthews Station St.,  and a third for students and teachers on March 16 at the Independence library,  6000 Conference Drive.  That session starts at 1:30 p.m. for students and 2:30 for teachers,  according to Cotham's web site.

Cotham,  a Mecklenburg Democrat,  was a teacher and administrator in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools before joining the General Assembly in 2007.  She notes that the sessions are not limited to CMS employees;  all teachers are welcome.

Jeter

At 8 a.m. March 6,  MeckEd will host a community conversation on  "Valuing N.C. Teachers,"  with Cotham,  state Rep. Charlie Jeter,  a Huntersville Republican,  and Eric Davis,  an unaffiliated Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member.  Click here for details and to RSVP.

And while you've got your calendars out,  here are a couple more education-related events coming up.  You can be one of the first to catch the CMS 2014-15 budget overview from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at West Charlotte High,  2219 Senior Drive.  More sessions around the county will be held through April;  click here for the schedule.  You can also take the CMS online budget survey through Friday.

And for those with an interest in services for students with disabilities,  the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will hold a public hearing on proposed changes to state policies from 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 19 in Davidson.  Click here for details.

McCrory's 3Rs: Results, rewards, respect

Gov. Pat McCrory said Thursday he'll soon unveil a strategic plan for education that focuses on three Rs:  Results for students,  rewards for the best teachers and respect for  "families, educators and local communities."  And of course he brought up a fourth big R earlier in the week: Raises.

McCrory at Charlotte school choice rally

The governor didn't offer details,  and that's where the challenge lies.  Efforts so far to reward teachers have met with more controversy than celebration,  whether it's the legislature's plan to give small raises and four-year contracts to 25 percent of qualified teachers or McCrory's earlier talk of offering $10,000 stipends to 1,000 master teachers  --  about 1 percent of the 97,000 teachers working in the state.

McCrory said he'll roll out his plan  "in coming weeks."  And the legislature's advisory panel on teacher pay and effectiveness is finally ready to schedule its first meeting,  now that the senate has appointed members.

Meanwhile,  on the respect theme,  organizers of Wednesday's Education Summit urged the 400-plus participants to show support for educators by tweeting messages of support to @CMS_schools using the hashtag #CMSappreciation, emailing appreciation@cms.k12.nc.us or posting pictures and videos to the CMS Facebook page.

I'm curious about what teachers think of such mass appreciation efforts,  including an earlier push funded by state Board of Education member John Tate and other local backers that got a long list of tributes posted to http://thankstoateacher.com/.  Do these kinds of messages boost morale?

I'm inclined to favor personal contact.  It doesn't even have to be the big  "you changed my life"  letter, though I'm sure those are welcome.  I bet parents can provide a much-needed boost to teachers just by shooting them an email when the kids come home excited about a lesson or proud of mastering a skill they've struggled with.

Who's behind "thank a teacher" campaign?

You may have seen the full-page ad in today's Observer directing people to thankstoateacher.com.  "It's a tough time to be a teacher,"  the copy says.  "With virtually no raise for five years,  looming larger class sizes,  the loss of many teaching assistants,  the end of salary increases for advanced degrees,  and the continual charge to do more with less,  it's more important than ever to express appreciation for those who labor in our classrooms.

The web page asks people to write and post short tributes to teachers who changed their lives. Neither the ad nor the web site says anything about who's behind it,  other than to credit The Creative Stack for designing the web page.  But Heather Johnson at Creative Stack gave me the answer.

Turns out John Tate,  a longtime Charlotte education advocate who's a member of the N.C. Board of Education,  started talking to people this summer about  "ways to say thanks because we couldn't give them money."  He says about 130 people wrote checks for the campaign to let teachers know how much of a difference they make.  Jennifer Appleby,  president of Wray Ward advertising agency,  created today's ad and another that's slated to run Sunday,  which Tate says is "poignant."

Tate

Tate wanted to highlight the challenging conditions that are emerging in our state, but he says there's a reason he didn't make his name prominent.  "I worked hard to depoliticize this ad.  It is not a backhand swipe at anybody,"  Tate said.  "It's designed very simply just to say thanks and let the teaching ranks know there are a lot of people who support them."

Tate declined to say how much the campaign is costing.  And he said he won't know for a few days how many views and testimonials the site is generating.

CMS teachers get tablets and training

Some people have asked about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' plans to give teachers tablets and expand the district's  "bring your own technology"  program.  Here's the update Superintendent Heath Morrison sent the school board Friday:

"During the past year, Technology Services has completed upfitting CMS technology infrastructure, installing wireless connectivity in all CMS bricks-and-mortar classrooms, and increasing Internet bandwidth. We are now able to support Bring Your Own Technology in all schools."

"This year, the technology focus is on providing technology tools for teaching and improving classroom technology by increasing the number of mobile devices available for students and teachers. Additional classroom sets of iPads have been delivered to K-5 and K-8 schools. Mobile carts of Chromebooks have been delivered to middle schools. All K-5 classroom teachers have been assigned an iPad."  

HP Revolve tablet

"Beginning next week, we are giving an HP Revolve touch-screen Windows 8 tablet to each teacher in grades six through 12 to support technology integration. The teachers will also receive training and have individual questions answered to continue integrating technology into their teaching. School leaders may opt to give out the devices and train teachers at a regularly scheduled staff meeting or in small groups during planning periods." 

"This is the first time that CMS has provided such technology to every K-12 teacher. We will also provide professional development throughout the year to help teachers achieve the next level of technology integration -- and prepare our students for college, careers and life-long learning. This work is being coordinated and executed through the collaboration of instructional technology, professional development and learning and teaching services."