Category Archives: EDUCATION

Wake School Board Reassignment and New Device Program

Posted on November 28, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Two blips for the radar for parents and taxpayers in Wake County this week.

1. The Wake County School Board has rejected any changes to their controversial reassignment plan, despite very vocal opposition from residents and parents. More at News and Observer Ed section. Money quote:
“I’m having problems forcing this change,” said school board member Susan Evans.

Yeah, sure she is. Flashback to September, 2014:

KEEP READING – HIT THE TIP JAR! Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, Wake County School Board | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Wake School Board Reassignment and New Device Program

NC Senate Bill 880 And The NC Superintendent Position

Posted on November 27, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

In June of 2014, Senator Jerry Tillman filed Senate Bill 880 titled the Education Simplification Amendment. It passed the first reading and was sent to the Education/Higher Education committee. See the bill’s history here.
According to the SB 880’s opening text, the NC Superintendent of schools position would be changed significantly from and elected superintendent to a Governor appointed ‘secretary of education’ through a state Constitutional amendment:

KEEP READING…. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC DPI, NCGA, Pat McCrory | Tagged | 2 Comments

Education Group Survey Appears On Wake School Sites

Posted on November 26, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

An education group called ‘Project Tomorrow’ is promoting a survey on a Wake County elementary website. The school is Cary Elementary.

2014 SpeakUp Survey

WCPSS is a leader among school districts in instructional technology, but there is always more that can be done. One important component of giving our students the best we can offer academically is to listen to them, along with their parents, the broader community and, of course, our teachers.

WCPSS is partnering with Project Tomorrow SpeakUp, an online survey for teachers, parents, students and community supporters to provide input around learning, and specifically the use of technology in our school.

WCPSS encourages everyone who cares about their school to take the survey. You can do so by clicking on the link below and following the directions to select your category (parent, teacher, student, etc.), and then to select your school for the survey.

We want to hear from you so we can provide our students with the best instruction possible. Please take a few moments and click on the Project Tomorrow SpeakUp button to complete the survey.

We will be working with the students during their computer lab time to complete the survey.

I also noted this survey on other Wake County elementary sites.

KEEP READING…. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION | Comments Off on Education Group Survey Appears On Wake School Sites

NC #APUSH Update: State Board of Ed Calls Special Meeting

Posted on November 26, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

At the October meeting of the State School Board, it was promised that APUSH would be getting a debate. This appears to be happening with this special meeting being for Monday, December 1st.

I am glad to see Larry Krieger presenting as suggested by Ms. Oxendine. NC teacher Ted Dickerson was involved in the new and controversial APUSH framework and was originally mentioned to debate Krieger by Mr. Ford. It would appear the College Board is sending in one of their big guns instead – Executive Director, John Williamson.

It is worth noting that on Tuesday, December 2nd, the North Carolina General Assembly’s Education Oversight committee will be hearing APUSH testimony as well.

Text of the special meeting announcement email:

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, NC Board Of Education, NCGA | Tagged | 1 Comment

NCDPI Making Changes To Common Core Documents

Posted on November 26, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Last month, NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) gave a presentation to the Common Core Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) on the English language arts portion of the standards.

This month, in the DPI newsletter, it appears updates have been made:

Unpacking Standards For English Language Arts Updated

KEEP READING … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Standards Review Commission, Common Core, NC DPI | Tagged | 1 Comment

Here Comes The Common Core Curriculum

Posted on November 24, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

“It’s just a set of standards…”

Yeah, right.
The tests are aligned. Now it’s time to align the curriculum…for ‘free’, of course.

So who is going to align the curriculum?

Meet The K-12 Open Educational Resources Collaborative (K-12 OER).

From the K-12 OER Collaborative site:

“The K-12 OER Collaborative is creating comprehensive, high-quality, open educational resources (OER) supporting Mathematics and English Language Arts aligned with state standards.”

“This project is a state-led collaborative, with support provided by many of the leading non-profits in OER and education.”

“Members include eleven state education agencies, CCSSO, Achieve, Creative Commons, The Learning Accelerator, Lumen Learning, SETDA, and more. See the full list of participants.”

Open Education 2014
The K-12 OER recently held an event called Open Education 2014.

KEEP READING… THERE IS A LOT MORE, LIKE THIS QUOTE:

“This project is not creating a national curriculum and steps are being taken to ensure it will not be perceived in this way.”

Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged | 3 Comments