Thread: Chapel Hill Schools feel effect of Illegal Immigration

Just saw a notice that Carrboro elementary hispanics failed ABC testing. Now they have access to all the special programs to improve test scores. Including the ability to transfer to other schools in the district, special bilingual education, afterschool programs, rtc. No word yet on how much it will cost. The school district is already cutting other programs to meet their budget. The Chapel Hill district used to be one of the best in the state. Now the influx of illegals has changed that. Remember, Carrboro is where the alderman Herrera said illegals should be able to vote.

Chapel Hill .....tell me it isn't so!
I'd appreciate a link to this if you can find one.

No word yet on how much it will cost.

At least one of those afterschool tutoring programs includes a new Dell computer free so users can take online classes. Many of the tutoring programs are downright junk and no teachers in my state get any input as to what is offered to students.

http://www.heraldsun.com//orange/10-753780.html

Of course its watered down. I have to dig thru the district website again to get info on the special projects they now have to offer for the "sub-group" that failed.


Carrboro Elementary fails AYP standard

BY CAROLYN NORTON : The Herald-Sun
cnorton@heraldsun.com
Jul 18, 2006 : 6:59 pm ET

CARRBORO -- Carrboro Elementary has missed a testing benchmark set by the federal government for the second year in a row, meaning parents will be allowed to transfer their children to another school in the city district.

Students in Carrboro will be offered the chance to switch to Estes Hills or Ephesus elementary schools as a sanction for the school failing to meet a benchmark set by the No Child Left Behind law.

"It would be my hope that parents would stay here at Carrboro," said Principal Emily Bivins. "It's not because we don't have good reading instruction.

"There's some kind of perception out there that because we are an older school, we have fewer teachers, or that we don't have as many resources," she said Tuesday.

Under the law, every "subgroup" of students in a school must reach a state-set standard called "Adequate Yearly Progress," or AYP. The standard requires schools to measure the performance of nine student groups: Native American, Asian, black, Latino, multiracial, white, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficiency and exceptional education.

In the past three years that North Carolina districts have been subject to the law, schools across the state have missed the mark. Last year, about a quarter of the schools in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Orange and Chatham counties did not meet standards.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools didn't release this year's actual test scores Tuesday that verify Carrboro missed the target. Originally, schools across the state had planned to post their test score and AYP status Monday. However, last week, the Department of Public Instruction postponed the release to 2 p.m. Tuesday.

But Tuesday afternoon, officials from the Chatham County, Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools said they weren't done verifying the numbers, and would release them today.

To meet AYP, 76.7 percent of 3-8 graders must be proficient in reading, and 81 percent must be proficient in math.

Schools with a higher percentage of lower-income students, such as Carrboro, are subject to the law's sanctions if they miss AYP two years in a row.

Carrboro, where Hispanic students didn't make the goal in reading, is the first school in Chapel Hill-Carrboro or Orange County to have to offer transfers.

No lower-income -- or Title I -- schools in Orange County failed to meet AYP last year.

A handful of schools across North Carolina were postponing posting their numbers, said Vanessa Jeter, a spokeswoman from the instruction department. She said the state was late getting to school districts material they needed to calculate their scores.

"Some districts just needed some more time to verify," Jeter said. "That's not unusual. Every year we have some that need more time."

Carrboro's scores were based on reading tests. Although students also take math tests each year, those scores won't be posted until fall because a new version was given.

Bivins said as soon as the results become official, teachers and staff will begin working on a strategy for raising the scores. She said many of the school's Hispanic students are either in the process of learning English, or have learned within the past several years.

"That makes a difference on the reading comprehension, with nuances," Bivins said. "There are lots of issues associated with that group of students."

---

Parent information

As a sanction for not meeting federal testing standards, Carrboro Elementary must allow parents to transfer their children to another school.

District officials will allow students to transfer to either Estes Hills or Ephesus elementary schools.

For more information, Carrboro Elementary will be holding a parent meeting Tuesday night in the media center. The meeting will be held in Spanish at 6 p.m., and English at 7 p.m.

Also, the school will be mailing a letter to parents.

Parents who wish to transfer their students from Carrboro Elementary must do so by July 31, either by returning a stamped postcard they'll receive with the letter, by e-mailing schoolchoice06@chccs.k12.nc.us or calling Steve Scroggs at 967-8211, ext. 228.

Parents who wish their children to remain at Carrboro don't need to do anything.

Now, which students are they allowing to transfer, the ones bringing down the scores, or those not wanting to be dragged down???

The ones bringing down the scores obviously. This allowing them access to every school in the city brings them all down. Maybe they should just put them all in one school and focus on that instead of making all students all over the city suffer because these students are failing.

The low performing "sub-group" (hispanics) get first chance. Then the rest get in line after if there arent enough "sub-group" takers. They have a short time to send in their postcards. Then all the special programs kick in.

Here is a copy of the letter. I put a copy of the new programs up front. No word yet on how much they will cost. The whole letter is included at the end.

Carrboro Elementary School has
identified the following key strategies for instructional improvement:
• Expansion of the dual language program to grade 4,
• Focus on non-fiction/informational text for reading and writing instruction for English
language or low language learners,
• Targeted home-school partnerships to assist teachers, parents and students in working
together to support student learning,
• Specialized clubs/projects for targeted students (science club, book club, etc.),
• In-school tutorials that pre-teach or remediate within 2 weeks of a student not
demonstrating proficiency on an objective for learning,
• Before/after school programs for targeted students.
District administrators have been supportive in offering Carrboro Elementary School timely and
accurate student achievement data and opportunities for staff training and planning.

July 18, 2006
Dear Carrboro Elementary School Parent or Guardian,
The purpose of this letter is to share important parent information related to the federal No Child
Left Behind (NCLB) law and your option for public school choice. Carrboro Elementary School
operates a Title I program, a federally-funded program providing assistance to schools serving
students from high-poverty backgrounds. NCLB requires that all schools make Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) in improving student achievement. There are special consequences for Title I
schools not making AYP.
Carrboro Elementary School did not make AYP in reading for the second year in a row based on
2005-06 test results, and has been placed in Title I School Improvement status for the 2006-07
school year. Carrboro Elementary School has an overall proficiency rate of 89 percent compared
to 93 percent for the other elementary schools in the district.
Our school failed to meet one of our eleven AYP target goals for this year. The Latino students
failed to meet AYP in reading with a proficiency rate of 62 percent. The AYP standard in reading
for 2005-06 was 77 percent proficient. Last year, the subgroup that failed to meet the federal
standard in reading was students on free or reduced lunch.
Under NCLB, parents of children who attend Carrboro Elementary School have the option to:
1. Have their children remain at Carrboro Elementary School and participate in the school
improvement process; or
2. request a transfer.
If you select the second option you may request a transfer for your child to one of the following
schools: (1) Ephesus Elementary, or (2) Estes Hills Elementary. North Carolina school report
cards for Ephesus, Estes Hills, as well as Carrboro are available on the Web at:
http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/. More information on public school choice is on the Web at:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/.
Under federal law, we must give transfer priority to the lowest-achieving, low-income students.
Transportation will be provided until Carrboro Elementary School has made AYP for two years
in a row and is no longer designated as a Title I School Improvement school. Your child may
remain at the new school until the fifth grade.
Please be aware that the staff at Carrboro Elementary School has developed a relationship with
your child and wants to continue serving your child. Parents who wish their students to remain at
Carrboro Elementary School are guaranteed a place at the school and do not need to fill out a
transfer form.
Enclosed you will find a post card to request school transfer; you may also go online to
http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us and complete a request, or call Steve Scroggs, Assistant
Superintendent of Support Services, at (919) 967-8211, ext 228. The district is accepting transfer
requests for the 2006-07 school year from July 19th to 5:00 p.m. July 31st. Please complete a
request for each child. If you send in a complete transfer request by the deadline, the district will
reply by the 1st of August to notify you of the school to which your child(ren) may transfer. You
must reply to that communication no later than August 11th to confirm your desire to transfer your
child. If that confirmation is not received, your child will remain at Carrboro for the 2006-2007
school year.
Carrboro Elementary School will hold an informational sessions about AYP and school choice on
July 25 at 6 pm for Spanish speaking families and at 7 pm for English speaking families. An
overview of student programs and student performance data will be provided as well as the
school’s plan for better addressing the needs of Latino students. Carrboro Elementary School has
identified the following key strategies for instructional improvement:
• Expansion of the dual language program to grade 4,
• Focus on non-fiction/informational text for reading and writing instruction for English
language or low language learners,
• Targeted home-school partnerships to assist teachers, parents and students in working
together to support student learning,
• Specialized clubs/projects for targeted students (science club, book club, etc.),
• In-school tutorials that pre-teach or remediate within 2 weeks of a student not
demonstrating proficiency on an objective for learning,
• Before/after school programs for targeted students.
District administrators have been supportive in offering Carrboro Elementary School timely and
accurate student achievement data and opportunities for staff training and planning. District and
State officials are also working to ensure Carrboro Elementary School has access to the best
research-based methods to teach reading and math to all student populations.
Parent support is essential to Carrboro Elementary School. Parents can become involved in
addressing the school’s academic issues by providing input on the School Improvement Plan,
Parent Involvement Policy and School-Parent-Compact. Communicating with your child’s
teachers, making sure your child attends school regularly, helping your child with homework,
monitoring your child’s television time, volunteering in the classroom, and participating in school
decision-making are important.
If you have questions about this information, please feel free to call the school principal, Emily
Bivins, at (919) 968-3652 or email us at schoolchoice06@chccs.k12.nc.us. We are looking
forward to a year of educational success and continuous improvement for all students at all of our
schools. Thank you for your support of our students and our school community.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Principal Title I Director
Neil Pedersen Emily Bivins Karyn Gloden

There are at least 6-8 elementary schools in this school district. Why wasn't Frank Porter Graham or some of the others offered as options.

Any guesses

They supposedly picked schools that werent at capacity. I suppose if the parents pushed hard enough they could go to any school they want. At the Chapel Hill Carrboro board meeting last night they approved a budget. It did not include a discussion of the cost of the new programs. Get the sense that they dont think many families in this sub-group will take advantage of any of the new benefits. Maybe even an ignorance of the scope of the problem.

Just a welcoming of the reality of illegal immigration to our area. These people dont have a clue. It will be more interesting next year when the illegal population grows more and the test scores dont improve...

Any ideas for how to wake them up would be greatly appreciated? The school districts reputation is pretty precious to the residents here. Its obviously being tainted by the influx of illegals.