We Love Durham NC

Crayons2Calculators for Teachers

If you run into any good sales this weekend, consider donating extras to the Crayons2Calculators (The Durham Teachers Warehouse) program. Here’s a list of suggested items:

Art & Craft Supplies
Pencils
Pencil Sharpeners (electric and manual)
Spiral Bound Notebooks
Paper of Any Kind
Staplers and Staples
Calculators
Erasers
Fabric and Carpet Samples
Wallpaper Books
Scissors
Containers
Office Supplies
Glue
Construction Paper
Crayons
Tape
Tape Dispensers
Colored Markers
Tissues/Wet Wipes
Soap
Rulers
Games and Toys
Maps
Science Supplies
Index Cards
Books
Gift/Incentive Items

Durham Public Schools Supply Lists, Open Houses, Bus Schedules, Lunch Prices

You can find supply lists, bus schedules, new breakfast and lunch prices, open house dates, calendars, and more at the new Durham Public Schools SmoothStart page.

Highlights:

The price of lunch has increased to $2.10.

According to the dress code, you cannot wear fuzzy feet slippers to school.

DPS is serving only 100% juice and other healthy choices through the Eat Smart program.

There will be 9 early release days (2 hours early) throughout the year.

The Code of Student Conduct bans biting other students.

Durham Gifted Group

The Durham PAGE (Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education) group has been revived, with an emphasis on support, enrichment, and advocacy.

School Supply Lists

We’ve received our school supply list for next year. It includes things like scissors, crayons, colored pencils, markers, spiral bound books, pencils, glue sticks, tissues, construction paper, writing paper, erasers, folders, ziplocs. It will probably set us back 40 bucks or so, depending on sales. We’ll also time it for the 2008 sales tax-free holiday on August 1-3.

I don’t mind buying the supplies, although I know it’s a subject of controversy. The school system spends a lot on salaries and transportation. We heard of a friend in California who will be paying $750/semester for her son to ride the school bus. That’s something we don’t have to worry about in the Durham Public Schools; bus transportation is provided to your child no matter what school you go to–magnet, year-round, or neighborhood.

A lot of the schools have school supply lists online already. Click here to pick your school.

Long Summer

Today I’m posting about something we didn’t do today. The Boy didn’t return to his year-round charter this year, so he didn’t go back to school. Long summer!

When I went to register him at his new school (in the Durham Public Schools System), they said Thank you for enrolling your child. Thank you! Out of the 20-odd school registrations I’ve been a party to, I’ve never heard that.

No, no, I insist. Thank YOU!

Young People Talk to the Durham School Board Candidates

The DPS Student Advisory Council and Kids Voting Durham are inviting students from across Durham to come and tell school board candidates what they think about schools and education and ask the candidates how they would handle issues that are important to our community’s young people.

For more info or to let us know that you want to attend, contact Carolyn Kreuger — carolyn@kidsvotingdurham.org or 560-7321.

Let the Summer Begin!

No more pencils, no more books. No more teachers’ dirty looks. :p
Last day of school today. Let the (long, hot) summer begin!

School Board Run-off Elections

The reappearance of Leigh Bordley’s campaign signs, this time with a sticker announcing the runoff dates, reminds me that we will vote again for Durham School Board on June 24th (the other candidate is Jonathan R. Alston). There are also absentee ballot and one-stop voting dates listed at the Board of Elections site.

EOG Testing Week

Good luck to all the little ones taking EOGs this week! Get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, and relax. (Don’t forget to breathe.)

School Choices in DurhamÂ

Homeschool Activities in Durham

Searching for used Bob Books, I stumbled onto a listing of local homeschooler group activities, classes, playdates. Check these out:

Swim club at Edison Johnson

Swim team Durham Dolphins

Custom Durham Parks & Recs programsÂ

More homeschool activities in NC

Durham Gifted

As I mentioned, Durham Public Schools is holding open houses in each school throughout the month. I visited one this week. Many things are new in DPS since the last time we did the rounds. Here’s just one. This is by no means definitive–just some things I’ve noticed were emphasized.

In case you did not recently grow up in NC, here they call gifted AIG–that is, academically or intellectually gifted. In other places, this is called GT, AG, or just plain gifted. In Durham Public Schools we have an open-enrollment gifted magnet school that nurtures each student’s gift. Students that score high on achievement or IQ tests (and other factors*) are designated as AIG.

In 2006, an office of Advanced Academics was formed, with the purpose of providing better services for AIG students and increasing the number of students receiving those services–both widening the number overall and increasing under-served populations. Starting with the 2007 school year, a new 3-year plan for AIG students [warning, that link is a 62-page PDF, but it's chock-full of info] was put into place.

The changes are not coming slowly. Incoming 2007 kindergartners were sweep-screened for the AIG program (that means they were all tested with the KBIT). A new middle-school IB program was added. The district is offering teachers AIG licensure, which translates to better skills with AIG students, but also higher pay. More students are taking AP exams.

Schools implement AIG plans independently–although each school has an AIG program, the particulars vary by school. The school we toured has in-class services for K-1, reading pull-out for 2nd, and 3 hours daily of accelerated instruction in language arts and math (self-contained for those subjects) for 3rd-5th. Each student is expected to make a year of progress (via testing) for a year of school. Differentiation is a standard element. There is an AIG coordinator for the school, and 1-3 teachers per grade level are dedicated to AIG services.

A telling brochure–this is from the district–contains a graph titled “What do we do when students do not learn or have already learned the curriculum?” Some programs implemented–focusing on literacy–include Riverdeep, small groups (little book discussion groups), and the William & Mary curriculum.

For students who seem on the cusp of services, a nurturing program is implemented. These might be students who have learning disabilities resulting in low test scores, masking their AIG status.

Advanced Academics program is not an elite program, but instead is targeted to a large group of advanced learners. 15% of DPS students participate; 25% at the school I toured.

Based on the ways they answered questions from the group, the staff and administrators do not seem to be just “talking the talk” but rather carrying out these plans thoughtfully, and with long-term commitment. I wonder how this will affect both the reputation of DPS and enrollment in the public schools in Durham.

~~~

*A total of 90 points in either math or language arts is required on the Evaluation for AIG Services form (90 points for math services, 90 points for language arts services), distributed as follows. The tests are given at no cost by the system once a student is nominated (by a teacher, parent, self, or other student). ~source: p. 23+ of the 3-year plan PDF linked above

For math:
IQ test (like the WISC or OLSAT) = up to 50 points
math achievement (like the Woodcock Johnson) = up to 50 points
math performance = up to 10 points
motivation and other characteristics (Renzulli Hartman Scale) = up to 8 points

For language:
IQ test = up to 50 points
verbal achievement = up to 50 points
language arts performance = up to 10 points
motivation and other characteristics (Renzulli Hartman Scale) = up to 8 points

Durham Public Schools Open Houses

This month you can tour the public schools and see what great things are happening… dates throughout February. Here’s a calendar.

Magnet School Fair Tomorrow

The Durham Choice, or Magnet, School Fair is tomorrow at Hillside High School. It is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the programs. Principals and teachers are there to tell you about their programs, which include exhibits by their students.

NCCU Students Serve Durham

Here’s something else I learned about NCCU. Students are required to record a number of community service hours each semester… not just the incoming students over the summer, not just the freshmen, but all students. Go Eagles!

SAT Scores in Durham Increase

“…students in Durham’s three largest ethnic groups scored higher this year than last on the SAT…” (Herald-Sun, today). Go junior Durhamites!