If you’ve arrived here at MecklenburgACTS, you’re probably interested in children and education, perhaps in Mecklenburg County, perhaps in North Carolina, perhaps across the U.S. or the globe. These days, however, what you’ll find here is history – a record of past activities. Some of our original members have passed on; others have shifted their […]
Contributed by CMS teacher Justin Parmenter With new education leadership in Washington and Raleigh, it was only a matter of time before the old “Why aren’t we running schools more like businesses?” argument resurfaced. BestNC is an organization that lobbies for pro-business education reform. On Monday its President Brenda Berg published a piece on EdNC […]
The CMS Board of Education is currently considering a student reassignment plan. While most of the proposals would make little difference in school demographics, several have the potential to promote greater racial and economic integration in center-city schools that include Billingsville, Bruns, Cotswold, Dilworth and Sedgefield. In this Charlotte Observer opinion piece, MecklenburgACTS.org chair Pamela […]
North Carolina’s new State Superintendent, Mark Johnson, came to Charlotte today on his “listening tour” of the state. In his end-of-the-day press conference, he spoke highly of school bus drivers, and of Project LIFT. It was good to hear him voice support for traditional public schools and what they could do for children. He […]
“The way we measure students’ academic progress sends powerful messages about what kinds of learning we value.” For decades, FairTest has been the go-to organization for people seeking better, saner ways to assess student work and school performance. They have just issued a comprehensive report, Assessment Matters, that looks at alternatives to the test-and-punish tactics […]
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has moved into the regulation stage. Regulation-writing is a crucial part of legislation, because regulations turn the often-general language of a statute into specific required actions. Unfortunately, the Department of Education has proposed draft regulations that would continue the test-and-punish approach to school assessment that ESSA sought to […]
Significantly reducing the number of state-mandated standardized tests here in North Carolina will require action by the General Assembly, North Carolina State Superintendent June Atkinson told parents at last week’s MecklenburgACTS parent meeting. The parents who attended the meeting focused their remarks less on the tests themselves than on the large amount of time that […]
By Parents Across America Across our nation, children of all ages are showing a jump in test anxiety. As high-stakes standardized tests have multiplied, growing percentages of students have begun to report test-related stress. More are seeking test-stress counseling. Media reports of psychological and physiological symptoms tied to testing have increased. Some students are able […]
We’re pleased to announce a meeting with State Superintendent June Atkinson on March 23, 6:30 p.m., here in Charlotte. The meeting will cover the standardized testing situation in North Carolina public schools. It’s specifically for parents or guardians of current public school students (traditional or charter) to discuss their experiences with testing at their children’s […]
By Pamela Grundy http://www.thecharlottepost.com/clientuploads/CPPDFs/cp022516A.pdf In recent weeks, as the CMS school board wrestled with a superintendent search, a clear split emerged. White board members supported extending the contract of current superintendent and longtime CMS employee Ann Clark. Black members favored an immediate search for a replacement. Behind-the-scenes efforts to fashion a compromise did not succeed. […]