AM Announcements - May 22

AM Announcements
May 22, 2009

1. Today is Day 166.

2. It is the mission of Speas Elementary School to provide its students with the tools necessary to successfully meet the challenges they will face in a diverse world.

3. Calendar items for this week:

Friday: May 22
EOG - Make-up sessions
NCCLAS on-line completed
FORE Book Distribution - 9:00-10:00 - Dan Arial - Polo Park Recreation Center
Dollar Dress Down Day

4. At the end of each day, please do the following:
a. CLOSE ALL BLINDS
b. TURN OFF ALL MONITORS and COMPUTERS (CPU's)

Don't forget. This is a holiday weekend and we will be inspected.

5. Classified staff are reminder to leave at 2:30 today.

6. We continue with EOG make-up testing today and into next week for some students.

7. Upcoming dates for your calendar:
a. May 25 - No School - Memorial Day Holiday
b. May 26 - Interim Reports go home
c. May 26-29 - EOG Remediation Sessions
d. May 27-29 - Student Council Elections

8. Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday. Keep in mind the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. They are the ones who safeguard our freedom.

9. Don't forget to have your class complete the clean-up for your section of campus for Winston-Salem Clean and Green.

10. As you may know. Mr. Cokley came back to work yesterday. His father is doing much better.
11. Tutors working with remediation should have all materials to be copied for Tuesday morning to Ms. Rhodes by 3:30 today. Anything that comes in after that time will not be ready for use on Tuesday. This will hold true each day. If the material to be copied has not been turned in by 3:30 the day before it is to be used, it will not be copied.

12. Yesterday the House Appropriations subcommittee Education Budget was released. It contained the following reductions:

• Reduction of the length of the school year for students by five days in fiscal year 2009-10 and five more days (total of 10) in fiscal year 2010-11. This would reduce instructional days to 175 in 2009-10 and to 170 in 2010-11 (rather than the current 180).

• 6,005 fewer Classroom Teachers (increase class size teacher allotment by two per grade)

• 4,663 fewer Teacher Assistants (base formula on K-2 ADM rather than K-3)

• 354 fewer Instructional Support personnel (counselors, media specialists, social workers)

• 187 fewer Assistant Principals (increase allotment to 1:890 rather than 1:799)

• A 5 percent reduction to Non-instructional Support (clerical and custodians)

• Low Wealth Supplemental Funding – Fund counties at 90 percent and below. This adjustment would eliminate funding 13 school districts from Low Wealth funding. (Craven, Cumberland, Davie, Gaston, Lincoln, Madison, Mitchell, Onslow, Pender, Perquimans, Union, Warren, Yancey)

• A reduction of $4.5 million to Small County Supplemental Funding

• A 10 percent reduction to More at Four

• Elimination of Learn and Earn Online

• Elimination of application fee payment for teachers seeking certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

• Elimination of Literacy Coaches

• A non-recurring reduction of $38 million to Textbooks

• Non-recurring reduction to staff development (no funding for two years)

• A 5.38 percent reduction or $6.5 million to Central Office

• An 11 percent reduction in FY 2009-10 and an additional 4 percent (total of 15 percent) reduction in FY 2010-11 to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This would eliminate 52 positions in 2009-10 and 19 more (71 total) in 2010-11.

Obviously these are difficult economic times. If the house passes this budget, then it will be up to a conference committee to reconcile the three conflicting budget proposals (Senate, House and Governors). At that point anything can happen because all three will need to agree. Some items that are not any any of the three budgets may be added and cuts not proposed in any of the three may be enacted. Please stay informed and make your voices heard when and where it is appropriate.

13. Ms. Marston is downtown this morning picking up our testing results. We will disseminate the information as quickly as we can can so that groups can be set for tutoring beginning on Tuesday.

14. God help those who do not help themselves.
Wilson Mizner (1876 - 1933)

To err is human; to forgive, infrequent.
Franklin P. Adams (1881 - 1960)

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
Rita Rudner

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.
Neil Gaiman, Sandman