Photo Credit: News of Orange[/caption]By: Max Norwood
On February 16, Rosa Williams of the Orange County Schools Board of Education (BOE) passed away after a courageous battle with illness, according to a statement released by Orange County Schools. Williams was honored and remembered at a BOE meeting Monday, February 23 where members reflected on their experiences with her.
She joined the school board only last year, but that short time was still enough to leave a positive impression. Members of the board spoke highly of her and her dedication to the schools. “Even at that moment, she was still concerned about the schools more so than her own self,” Lawrence Sanders said about visiting her when she was ill.
Superintendent Del Burns said, “We all were so sad with her passing. We’ll keep her and her family in our thoughts and our prayers.”
Vice Chair Tony McKnight and the others on the BOE had many kind words for Williams. McKnight led the meeting as board chair Stephen Halkiotis was out due to surgery.
Before joining the Board of Education last July, Williams worked for over 30 years in the business sector, where she said she obtained her leadership experience. She was also an active participant in the Psi Gamma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
The BOE wants Williams to be remembered as a devoted mother, a voice for the community, and someone who was a voice for students.
“You have to look at the whole child,” Williams said at a candidate forum run by the News of Orange. ‘“That’s what I think is important, the whole student—the home life, the community.”
Williams is survived by her two daughters and grandsons.
Former superintendent Gerri Martin. Photo Credit: Orange County Schools[/caption]The public has until Monday to weigh in on the search for a new Orange County Schools superintendent.
The Board of Education took comments on desired qualities of the superintendent at its Nov. 10 and Nov. 24 meetings. Two community members spoke at the Nov. 10 meeting.
Eric Davis said he wanted a leader who could “embrace leadership” and “galvanize people and get them together.” The superintendent should not be “weak to where they listen to the loudest voice, because loud doesn’t always mean they’re correct.” He added that an ideal superintendent would be someone who cares for all OCS students and listens to the needs of the whole county. He or she should also know the limitations of the office and how to foster communication between the school system and public.
A Hillsborough Elementary School parent, Elvira Mebane, also spoke. She said the board should ask candidates what they can contribute to the district and why they would like to become the superintendent. She suggested that a good superintendent has “integrity and honesty, good communication skills, a willingness to engage the community, (and is) well rounded.” Most important, she said, the candidate must make sure that every student gets a diverse, quality education.
“The community's input is being sought and will be taken into account during this process,” OCS spokesman Seth Stephens said. The board emailed out a survey, and a link to the survey is available on the OCS website at bit.ly/1riQyDt. Residents can also contact board members with their suggestions.
According to the job listing, the next superintendent should be able to “build and retain the trust of the board and the local education community; lead by example to inspire others and instill confidence; develop a local leadership program to recruit, grow, and retain high-quality leaders; effectively discharge the day-to-day business affairs of the school system; demonstrate good judgment, time management, and prioritization skills; understand budget planning and school law; communicate effectively within the school system and also externally throughout the region and state; and use his or her position to promote and advocate for the interests of the school system.”
Stephens could not say how many candidates have applied for the job, but he said the search is “going well.”
The next superintendent will replace Gerri Martin, who resigned in May after less than eight months on the job. She was making $151,337.88 a year.
According to Martin's resignation letter, her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in December.
Martin, the former superintendent of McDowell County Schools, succeeded Patrick Rhodes, who retired in June 2013.
Del Burns is serving as interim superintendent for the second time; he also served between Rhodes and Martin. Burns was the superintendent of Wake County schools from 2006-10.
Orange County Schools has about 7,600 students in 13 schools and an operating budget of $65 million.
Photo Credit: Orange County Schools[/caption]Orange County Schools superintendent Gerri Martin resigned on May 12, 2014, after submitting her resignation letter to the school board. Dr. Del Burns has taken over as the interim superintendent until a new superintendent can be found. According to the letter, Martin’s mother has stage 4 cancer so she resigned to care for her.
Martin was contracted to work through June 2017. The board will pay her $100,000, an amount decided upon in the resignation agreement. It gave Pam Jones the position of acting superintendent. When Burns is unable to attend meetings, Jones will temporarily be superintendent.
Donna Coffey, the board’s chair, had “no comment” on whether or not Martin had been a successful superintendent, according to a News & Observer article. In a statement released about the decision, the board said, “It is the unanimous opinion of the Orange County Board of Education that it is in the best interest of the students, parents, staff and community to conclude Dr. Martin’s employment as the superintendent of our great school system here in Orange County.” It called Burns’ hiring “a new bright day here in Orange County.”
In Martin’s letter, she wrote, “I have matters to address regarding a serious family medical situation that has to be a priority for me. Thank you for selecting me to serve as your superintendent and for affording me the opportunity to serve. I will be happy to assist in facilitating transfer of my responsibilities.”
Martin was the OCS superintendent for almost eight months before she resigned. She was previously the superintendent for the McDowell County school system.
Photo Credit: Maddie Norwood[/caption]The Orange County Board of Education decided March 10 during a meeting to forgive three of the school days students missed due to inclement weather because schools will have their required number of hours without making up the days. School will still be in session March 28 and April 21, two previously-announced make-up days.
The Board decided to forgive the days after considering multiple other options, including making school days longer and having school on Saturdays. In a press release, Superintendent Gerri Martin stated, “Having school on Saturday and extending the school day were on the table, but with possible disruption to community events and to the staff who have other jobs, the board had to discuss all of the ramifications.” Staff members, however, will be required to make the days up. Martin believes “the teachers will work diligently, as they always do, to complete the missed time.”
North Carolina policies require schools to have either 1,025 hours of school or 185 days, and the current Orange County school schedule gives schools 1,025 hours without making the missed days up.
Martin stated that the board’s decision “was not taken lightly” because not making up a day “is one less day of instruction for a student.” Donna Coffey, the chair of the board, called the choice “rare.” She assured the public that “the decision was made after careful consideration and in order to preserve the best interests of parents, students, staff, and the community.”
OHS students supported the school board’s decision. Junior Damien Thomas said that “three days typically won’t make a difference unless a class is on a really strict schedule… so it’s not that big of a deal.” Robert Russell, a junior, said that he agrees with the decision because the school’s other option “for make ups would be to take away teacher workdays, or have kids come in on a Saturday or over spring or summer break, which many kids wouldn’t come to.” He believes, if there are additional snow days, they should be made up because students “can’t miss too much school.” Kayla Phillips, also a junior, said, “I think it’s a good idea since most teachers have already caught up with their teaching plans, and it is not at all the students’ fault for being absent.”
Updated 11/12/2013: Students can now use PowerSchool. To sign in, they should go to https://ocs.powerschool.com/public/ and log in with their email and provided ID number. They are required to change this password the first time they log in.
Updated 10/15/2013: PowerSchool is now ready for parent use. Parents can pick up letters in the front office until October 18 that will provide more information about how they can create their PowerSchool Portal accounts.
The North Carolina school system is now using PowerSchool, an online student information application that will let teachers take attendance and allow parents to view their children’s grades, instead of NC WISE. PowerSchool accesses the Home Base system. The state switched to this program because support for NC WISE was ending in the summer of 2013.
According to Ryan Miller, the Orange County Schools instructional technology coordinator, students and parents will be able to access the PowerSchool Portal soon. “The district is nearly ready to start the rollout of parent and student access to the PowerSchool Portal. We expect that all secondary students and parents will have access to the program in the next four to six weeks, but it will be a school decision of when it will be completed.” Each district has a unique PowerSchool URL.
Home Base stores information about students’ attendance, grades, and assignments. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents will all be able to access this information. Miller said, “Teachers will be able to use Home Base to access student data... Students will be able to access their assignments, grades and learning activities. [Home Base] will also give parents the ability to view their child's attendance and progress. Administrators will be able to monitor data on students, teachers and schools in real time.”
Teachers started learning about how to use PowerTeacher, a program that lets teachers see information in the Home Base system, on teacher workdays before the school year began.
In 2012, there has been a several disturbances that has had a major impact on the nation, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting where Adam Lanza roamed the school with guns, shooting anyone or anything around him. The death toll rose to 26 people, including himself, 20 of whom were first-graders. Those children went to school expecting another fun-filled day with recess and lunch time with their friends, but their day consisted of gun fire and fear.
The shooting of an Oregon shopping mall also put fear into many people's eyes. Two people were killed when a man ran into the mall, shooting in every direction, and then proceeded to kill himself. Families ran in fear, hiding in stores. It took hours to get everyone out safely.
With all these events taking place, police and officials have become aware of how low security is today. These events have led to a major increase in security in schools and local places. More officers have been placed at schools for children's protection. It's sad that these events had to happen to open the worlds eyes to how much we are in danger, and whats at risk when we leave our homes.
Many students at OHS have seen a Golden Labrador in a vest walking around the campus. His name is Charlie and he is here to stay.
Charlie is the first service dog to ever work in Orange County schools. He has been trained for this job his entire life. He is a certified Americans with Disabilities (ADA) dog trained specifically to meet his owner’s needs. Charlie specializes in deep pressure touch, meaning that, by using his own body, he is able to calm down his owner if needed. He is also able to calm down his owner in cases of meltdowns, running away, etc.
Since he was 8 weeks old, Charlie was trained in Harmony, NC, about an hour and 45 minutes away from Orange County. He first was trained to socialize well with humans, then underwent basic training, and finally completed intensive training.
In order for Charlie to come to OHS, administrative measures had to be taken in order for the legal aspect to be cleared. According to Laura Holmes, one of the Self Contained Teachers, “A policy had to be created and passed through the [school board].”
As with any service animal, OHS students should know to maintain proper etiquette with Charlie while he is working. When his vest is on, he is on the job and Charlie’s trainers want students and staff to give him space and not pet him while working.
As part of the One to One Initiative Program, each Orange County School system student in 6th through 12th grade will be able to rent a laptop for the year for an annual fee of $25. According to the Orange County School website, “the laptops will be distributed to all students in grades 6-12 in a staggered roll out during the first month of school.”
OHS students in tech-support and online classes received their laptops on Friday, August 31 while students currently in math courses starting receiving laptops on Tuesday, September 4. According to Assistant Principal Will Okun, English courses will be next in order of distribution followed by science courses. The tentative goal to have laptops in the hands of all OHS students is Friday, September 14, according to Okun.
The One-to-One Initiative Program is the official title for the laptop movement, which grants both students and teachers laptops for the year. The program has been in planning for at least a few months, with upgrades to the wireless system to support the increasing traffic occurring in February.
Teachers received their laptops during July and have been experimenting with ways to incorporate the new technology into their lessons.
“Working with the new computers is the next logical step for students!” Sarah Hill, an OHS English 1 and 2 teacher, said. “Teaching and learning with computers is going to help our students as they further their education and their careers. Computers in the classroom will also help them adapt to the expectations of the 21st century.”
The laptop, a Lenovo Z131E, comes with protective sleeve or with the limited option of a backpack with an attached laptop pouch. All Orange County laptops are engraved with the official seal of the school system, making it easily distinguishable from non-school machines.
Several informative meetings in the OHS auditorium targeting parents were held during the week of August 20 to ensure smooth transitioning for the parents as well as the students. At the meeting, the purpose of the laptops was stated clearly: the laptops provide the opportunity for more individualized learning as well as promotes an attitude of initiative amongst the students. The wireless aspect is also advantageous as students and teachers can communicate from any point with such capability.
The meeting emphasized that safety guidelines for Internet and computer use would be strictly enforced. Such safety precautions include the restriction of Facebook and Twitter. They also emphasized that, although the county owns the it, it is each student’s responsibility to take care of his or her own laptop.
It is strongly recommended that each student purchase his own headphones with an attached microphone and a 2 to 4 gigabyte flash drive to back up important information to make the most out of their laptop experience. Battery conditioning will also be important as the laptops have a 9 hour battery life and students only be able to recharge their laptops in the cafeteria and media center; failure to bring a fully-charged laptop to school is akin to failure to bring in homework. In case of a technical problem, each school will have a Help Desk in the media center where students can go to fix the laptops during school hours and a Lenovo hotline number to call after school hours.