2016 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey Results

Posted on June 28, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

pollsurveyThe results of the 2015-16 NC teacher working conditions survey are in.

Of the 119,177 teachers in the state, 101,846 took the survey. This represents 85.46% of the teachers in the state. Of those taking the survey 88% were classroom teachers.

The other 12% were principals, assistant principals and other school staff such as counselors and school psychologists.

The majority of those responding had between 11 and 20+ years of teaching experience. Only 6 districts had a 100% response rate and they were smaller districts ranging from 71 teachers to 676.  Cherokee Central schools were the worst, with only 36.84% responding.

The questions and the response percentages are compiled in a report which yielded some interesting results. The responses are broken down into categories such as use of time, facilities and resources, community support, teacher leadership, school leadership, professional development and student discipline.

One result was that only 61.9% said that class sizes were appropriate in order for the teacher to meet the needs of students.

Of note was the section on “Instructional practices and support”. Only 65.5% of the respondents said that “State assessment data are available in time to impact instructional practices”.

The most damning set of responses dealt with the assessments themselves. When asked if “State assessments accurately gauge students’ understanding of standards”, only 43% agreed.  North Carolina’s assessments are aligned with the Common Core standards.

Comparing Results Between 2016 and 2014

The number of respondents in 2014 was higher, at 88.63% according to the comparison report.

One area where responses dropped in all the related questions was “Managing Student Conduct”. When asked about “Students at this school follow rules of conduct”, in 2014 71.9% agreed. That number dropped to 69.7% in 2016.

Most of the other areas all saw small increases, except for assessments. Under the question, “State assessments accurately gauge students’ understanding of standards”, in  2014, 44.5% agreed, and as previously mentioned, in 2016 only 43% agreed.

Around 75% of teachers said they access to appropriate teaching materials. 81% said they have access to “office equipment and supplies such as copy machines, paper, pens, etc.”. The survey did not appear to include classroom materials.

Closer Look At A Few Districts

I took a look at a few of the larger districts, Wake and Charlotte.  I also included Durham since the NCAE’s social justice caucus, Organize 2020, seems to be largely based in that district.

Visit the reports by district here. Once at that link, one can click on the district name to see a list of individual school results.

Wake County (WCPSS)
WCPSS is the 16th largest district in the county and has the most educators in the state out of any district.  In 2014, the response rate was 89.08%. In 2016, it dropped to 86.05%. Of the 11,633 educators, 10,010 responded which is 86.05%.

Wake county school’s results were a bit of a mixed bag. View the Wake county 2014 and 2016 comparison report.

The section on managing student conduct saw decreases across the board. These results may speak to the instances of crime, fighting and drug related activities I’ve previously questioned within Wake schools.

Charlotte Mecklenburg schools (CMS)
CMS results were arguably worse than Wake’s. Only 64.84% responded this year as opposed to 69.12% in 2014. Of the 10,632 teachers in CMS, only 6,894 responded, which is 64.84%.

Class size and use of time were issues in the CMS report.  Only 67.6% felt that parents were “influential decision makers in this school”.

Managing student conduct numbers rose for CMS from 2014 to 2016, but even so, only 62.4% believe students follow the rules.

Under instructional practices and support, only 46.7% think that “State assessments accurately gauge students’ understanding of standards”. That is around a 3% increase from the prior year.

Given the tensions with former Superintendent Heath Morrison and that of current Superintendent Ann Clark, I took a look at the section on school leadership.

In the 2016 results, only 69.8% believe there is “an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in this school.” That’s up from 63.7% 2014 under Morrison.

Durham public schools (DPS)
Of the 2,853 educators in DPS, 2,661 responded which is 93.27%.

DPS also panned the category on ‘time’, with responses rising slightly from the 2014 survey.The category on ‘use of time’ had the lowest percentages.  Under the instructional practices and support category, the responses to assessments were similar to that previously mentioned, but had increases in agreement.

The report for DPS also noted that only 67.7% of respondents felt that  “Parents/guardians are influential decision makers in this school”. This is a drop from 68.8% in 2014.  Nearly every category under managing student conduct dropped between 2014 and 2016.

DPS respondents followed the same trend on the question, “State assessments accurately gauge students’ understanding of standards”. In 2014, 50.2% agreed, in 2016 that number dropped to 45.4%.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, NC Board Of Education, NC DPI, Organize2020 | Comments Off on 2016 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey Results

Fascist Lefty Group Attacks Fascist Righty Group Peacefully Assembling In Sacramento

Posted on June 27, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

In case you missed it,  there was a scheduled and permitted event at the Sacramento where several people were stabbed and many were assaulted with long wood poles or bats.

Media reported that this was either a KKK event or Neo-nazi event. Some outlets reported both. The group who filed for the permit was the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP).  The group who showed up to ‘counter protest’ the TWP is called BAMN, which stands for ‘By Any Means Necessary’.

To me it looks like one fascist group attacking another fascist group. I’m not defending either side here, but the media is.  Google for news stories on the attacks and one can see the media has taken the side of BAMN.

One outlet cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) when describing who and what the Traditionalist Workers Party was. This is sadly hilarious, as SPLC helps fund the UEAA, from which BAMN gets their money. Shockingly, the UEAA also gets money from Unions, but apparently not a lot according to UEAA’s 990 filings. Fun fact: When I called SPLC out yesterday on Twitter, they blocked me.

BAMN appears to be a far left, fascist style group who follows the rules of Saul Alinsky. From looking at their website, BAMN seems to believe that illegal immigrant sanctuary cities are not enough, whole states should be converted. Discover the Networks has some interesting history on BAMN.

It’s had to be 100% sure who stabbed who or who beat who, one video captured by an ABC affiliate reporter in the area is clear about the aggressors. Masked BAMN activists can be seen beating rally goers with sticks. One BAMN member appears to be conducting batting practice using the head of an injured person who attempted to sit up:

BAMN members also attacked journalists trying to cover the event.

BAMN leader, Yvette Felarca thinks she and her group have the right to silence any speech they deem offensive. Velarca said they silence groups they disagree with through ‘direct militant action’ — which is apparently silence through violence.

Velarca said the end goal is to ‘stop more violence‘, yet it is her group that appears to have started the violence.

In one video, Felarca can be seen kicking a man alongside other BAMN members before police rush in to aid him. Felarca stated that BAMN believes in using “militant” direct action”. What does that mean?

It means deciding who gets to have free speech according to your own set of rules. It also apparently means bringing sticks and similar weapons to a peaceful rally to beat the attendees.

 

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), CRIME, Media Bias, THE LEFT | Tagged | 3 Comments

Durham Councilwoman’s Comments On Guns Not That Shocking – #ncpol

Posted on June 23, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

Many outlets, including The Blaze, are running a story about remarks made on Facebook by Durham Councilwoman Jillian Johnson.  Here’s is a screenshot:

Image courtesy of WTVD-TV

Image courtesy of WTVD-TV

Johnson’s comments about guns are not that shocking if you have a clue who she is and what she stands for.  Does no one Google anymore?

Johnson is no stranger to protests and arrests. She’s an activist first and foremost.

I’ve written about her twice so far and barely scraped her apparent Far Left surface. I once wrote about her regarding her co-leadership of an SEIU backed protest group called “Triangle Jobs With Justice“.

Another article I wrote about her role in the Black Lives Matter protests in Durham.

Johnson was an organizer of Occupy Durham as well.

Jillian Johnson’s Facebook profile says she is the Director of Southern Vision Alliance. She is also the registering agent for that group at the NC Secretary of State.   Southern Vision Alliance is tied to the Youth Organizing Institute, which has been conducting ‘school to prison pipeline‘ protests in the Triangle area.

There are 8 Web domains associated with email “JillyLovesDurham@gmail.com” which has appeared on paperwork filed by Johnson in the past for non-profits.  One of those domains includes NCJWJ and there are two with names that could be potential immigration push sites.

Johnson was arrested at at Moral Monday protest in Raleigh in 2013. Johnson tweeted about that arrest as recently as March of 2016.

Johnson is apparently involved with the “Durham Solidarity Center”. Johnson co-signed a letter earlier this year  to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Transit Authority and used her official Durham Council position title to do so.

Johnson Twitter 062316 - CopyThe letter demanded that ‘trans’ people be treated with “dignity and respect” after a ‘trans-woman’ was flagged for a pat down — just like millions of citizens are each year. Finding her signature was not surprising  given her ties to every single organization who signed the letter. According to her Twitter account, Johnson is a “queer mother of black sons”.

Johnson also appears to be involved with or be supporting the activities of Organize 2020. Organize 2020  is the ‘Social Justice Caucus’ of the NC Association of Educators. The group is made of up of teachers and it’s only purpose thus far has been to stage protests.

The most recent Organize 2020 event was marching from Durham to Raleigh over the course of two days, refusing two meetings offered to them with the Governor’s staff, then showing up when the building was closed and dramatically demanding entry.

The event culminated with just over a dozen Organize 2020 members being arrested. Johnson supported these arrests using her Jillian4Council twitter account:

Johnson’s tweet left out the key detail: These “teachers” voluntarily sat in the middle of rush hour traffic in downtown Raleigh with the express purpose of being arrested, likely to gain media attention.

 

Related:
Re: Teach for America’s Professional Agitators
Laura Leslie of WRAL – A History of Bias

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), BlackLivesMatter, EDUCATION, LGBTQ Issues, Moral Monday, Occupy, Organize2020, Social Justice | Tagged , | 4 Comments

#WCPSS Gives Yet Another Answer on Transgender Bathroom Access

Posted on June 22, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

Wake County Schools keeps giving vague and shifting answers on their facilities access with regards to students identifying as ‘transgender’. Here’s the history.

I first wrote about the Transgender facilities access in schools in November 2015: 

I posed the following question: Does Wake have a plan to incorporate transgenderism into the district policies and intend on including it in sexual education classes? I also asked if Wake County would be allowing transgender students to use locker rooms and restrooms of their choice, as well as any future plans to create such spaces for youth who allegedly identify as transgender.

The answer I received from the Wake County Schools Communication department was brief:

Hello Miss Dillon,

Hope you are well. Educators in the school system work with issues involving transgender students on a case-by-case basis and will continue to do so. Like you, we are also following the national discussion.

The Wake County School Board did not respond to my request for comment.

I wrote again about Wake County Schools policies in January 2016:

Last week, according to WRAL, a petition was brought to the Wake Board of Education demanding a policy change that would allow transgender students to use facilities designated for the opposite sex.

What’s interesting is that, according to the WRAL article, the Wake board has already quietly made changes to district policies:

Director of Counseling at Wake County Schools Crystal Reardon said federal privacy laws do not allow her to discuss individual student cases. This past summer, the district strengthened existing policies “to include a prohibition of any kind of discrimination based on gender identity,” she said.

Reardon said that the district is taking [student C.J.] Lewis’ petition seriously and that school workers consider any student requests, but there is much more they also have to consider.

[…]

When I reached out to WCPSS for comment on the petition and the idea that these requests were being made and fulfilled, board Chairman Tom Benton responded with a single sentence, “There [have] been no board level discussions regarding this issue.”

I also asked the district’s communications department for comment. Lisa Luten, Director of Communications, said, “We do not keep district records of these requests.”

Now in June, we have Lisa Luten of Wake County Schools cited in the Charlotte Observer in an article outlining how Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are violating HB 2 in favor of the Department of Education’s “guidelines”.

Here’s the pertinent section, emphasis added:

In Wake County schools, a spokeswoman said only the district attorney could determine whether the district is complying with federal guidelines but the procedures she described for transgender bathroom use appear to at least partially meet the requirements.

The district works to make accommodations on a case-by-case basis, said spokeswoman Lisa Luten.

Sometimes, Luten said, transgender students are able to access multi-stall restrooms based on their gender identity. In other cases, she said, students are directed to use single-user facilities.

The reasons why some students have different arrangements vary and can’t be traced back to just one qualifier, she said. For example, Luten said, not all transgender students want to use multi-stall facilities and some non-transgender students ask for more privacy or need single-stall bathrooms for other reasons.

So which is it? Are they keeping track? Are they not keeping track? What schools are involved here? Are parents at these schools being informed?

Also, where is the legislature? Are these districts violating HB 2? Arguably yes.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, LGBTQ Issues, NCGA, Wake County School Board | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Unpacking Common Core Standards Document Utilizes Questionable Sources

Posted on June 21, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

apple booksLast year I was approached by a set of parents who had students in a 6th grade Wake county school.  These parents were unable to obtain detailed documentation on a particular lesson given in their child’s classroom. The lesson was on Islam.

I emailed the teacher and the principal at the school in question. I was told by the principal that I had to direct my request to Wake County Schools communications department. I then put in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Wake County Schools (WCPSS).

I asked for the following items in both the request to the school and WCPSS:

1. I would like to request a copy of the “flip book” on the 5 Pillars of Islam as outlined in the email newsletter sent to parents.
2. I would like to request the syllabus or course outline for this section of study on Islam.
3. I would also like copies of the corresponding units on Christianity and Judaism and any additional materials, such as a ‘flip book’, that may accompany them.

The request was slow-walked; sitting for nearly a year after multiple promptings for the requested information.

When I say ‘slow-walked’, one can see the delay as I lay out the timeline.

The initial email to the school itself went out February 13th, 2015.
By the 19th of February, I had submitted my FOIA to WCPSS. I received nothing back as of September 2015. I waited through the holidays. Still nothing.

I had to engage legal counsel to resolve the delay and a letter was sent by counsel on January 12, 2016. On February 2nd a response was received from WCPSS’s legal counsel. The response I received wasn’t what I had asked for.

Instead of providing the information requested, I was told that taxpayer funded materials were not public record.

I was told that “There is no other “syllabus,” “course outline,” or similar document for this course content.” No template for these flip-books? Are we to assume the students just made them up?

When I pressed for a template that was used or source of the lesson materials, I was given the generic examples that the NC Department of Public Instruction puts out accompanied by links to ‘Unpacking the Common Core Standards’.  I will address that second item shortly.

Here is the response sent by the WCPSS legal counsel:

I have followed up with staff and can respond as follows to your client’s public records request to the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS).  For convenience, I have attached your letter and enclosures on this matter.  I hope you will forgive the informality of an email response, but this format allows me to embed hyperlinks to certain responsive documents.

REQUEST # 1:  “I would like to request a copy of the ‘flip book’ on the 5 Pillars of Islam as outlined in the email newsletter sent to parents.”

RESPONSE:  The “flip book” referenced in the parent newsletter from a West Lake Middle School teacher was an in-class student assignment, not a public record.  Students make their own “flip books” by folding blank 8 1Ž2 by 11” sheets of paper and adding content.  All student flip books on the 5 Pillars of Islam were collected and returned to students and are no longer in the possession of West Lake Middle School staff.  When they were in the possession of school staff, the flip books were protected as confidential student records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and its implementing regulations.

REQUEST #2:  “I would like to request the syllabus or course outline for this section of study on Islam.” 

RESPONSE:  The teacher followed the Department of Public Instruction (“DPI”) standard curriculum for 6th grade social studies in presenting the content in question.  Click these links to access the 6th Grade Social Studies Standards unpacked and the 6th Grade Social Studies Standards and do a control+F search for “Islam.”  There is no other “syllabus,” “course outline,” or similar document for this course content. 

REQUEST #3:  “I would also like copies of the corresponding units on Christianity and Judaism and any additional materials, such as a ‘flip book,’ that may accompany them.”

RESPONSE:  Curriculum standards addressing Christianity and Judaism are also available via the DPI links above (do a control+F search for “Christianity” or “Judaism”).  In addition, 6th grade social studies content on Christianity and Judaism can be found in the textbook Eastern World, published by Holt McDougal in 2010.  This book is copyrighted.  A copy is available for inspection, by appointment, at the Wake County Public School System’s Communications Department.

Our apologies to your client for the delay in processing this request.  Please feel free to call me if there is anything else you would like to discuss.

Best Regards,

Neal Ramee

Tharrington Smith, LLP
150 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1800
P.O. Box 1151
Raleigh, North  Carolina 27602
Main Telephone: (919) 821-4711, ext. 260
Fax: (919) 829-1583
Email: nramee@tharringtonsmith.com

In response to my second question, I was directed to the 6th Grade Social Studies Standards unpacked and the 6th Grade Social Studies Standards. For the uninitiated, these documents support the Common Core Standards and were allegedly created by WCPSS.

Upon inspecting them, I found that the main source for these lessons was coming from a website called “ReligionFacts.com”, which has a section on Islam.

What I found disturbing about this website is it is registered anonymously and the author refuses to identify themselves or their credentials.  Read the “About” page to see what I am referring to.

Even more disturbing on the “About” page was a series of disclaimers about the content. In part, these disclaimers claim a “major source” was Wikipedia, which is notorious for being incomplete, inaccurate and has the ability to be edited by anyone with internet access.

There’s also this line found in the “About” page’s section on citing ReligionFacts.com as a source:

“So I do not claim ReligionFacts has inherent authority and you shouldn’t treat it like it does.”

ReligionFacts.com is not an authority, yet it is the most prevalent source listed in the Unpacking Documents.

ReligionFacts.com’s “About” page asserts that the sources used to create their summaries are based on multiple other sources which are verifiable.

Did anyone at WCPSS actually verify them? One would hope, but if so, why not use the original sources of information instead of a second-hand, anonymously run and registered website?

Upon searching the State Board of Education’s website, I could locate no policies dealing with the vetting of resources such as this one. Parents, this means it is totally up to you do vet what your child is being given in the classroom. That means not giving up on materials you requested when the school throws the Heisman pose at you.

Posted in EDUCATION | Tagged | 1 Comment

ICYMI – Dozens of Hispanic Pastors Stood Behind #HB2 Last Week [Video]

Posted on June 20, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

Last week, dozens of Hispanic pastors came together to express their support for HB 2. They also spoke about the terror attack in Orlando and condemned it.

“This is Islamic terrorism.”

“We need to wake up.”

Some media actually reported on this press conference. Hateful and disturbing comments were made in the comments sections of several outlets. The worst were arguably found at the News and Observer.

Thank you to Major Dave NC for this video.

Video Description:

Dozens of Hispanic Pastors from across NC gathered at the General Assembly on June 14th, 2016 to hold a Press Conference expressing both their sadness over the recent shooting in Orlando and their continued support for HB2.

They opened with NC Rep. Dan Bishop (R-104 Charlotte/Mecklenburg County)) who was the Chief sponsor of HB2. He introduces Pastor Dan Rodriguez, Chaplain of Calvary Jail Ministries of Winston-Salem, NC to offer a brief opening prayer (1:20 mark).

Pastor Maudia Melendez of Jesus Ministries International offers her own prayer and comments at the 2:03 mark. Pastor Rodrigues then returns to offer his comments in support of HB2 and explains why they all gathered today in a voice of unison (5:40 mark).

Pastor Luis Colon of Winston-Salem follows at the 7:45 mark. The only portion in Spanish is by Pastor Daniel Busquetts at the 10:30 mark of the clip and it is translated simultaneously by Pastor Rodriguez. He is followed at the 13:30 mark by Rev. Jacquline Tavires of the NC Chaplains Asssociation, and wraps up with Pastor Armando Perdomo of World Mission Go of Charlotte at the15:10 mark expressing his own support for HB2 and offering his own benedictory prayer.

Rep. Bishop then closes by expressing his appreciation for their ongoing support and prayers.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EXCLUSIVE, LGBTQ Issues, Video | Tagged | Comments Off on ICYMI – Dozens of Hispanic Pastors Stood Behind #HB2 Last Week [Video]