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Welcome

 

As the traditional school year begins and school
buses hit
the road, I encourage everyone to drive safely. If you are driving on a
two-lane roadway (with or without a center turning lane) or a four-lane
roadway
(without a median separation) and a school bus stops, all traffic
from both
directions must stop.

 

Bulletin Board

  • The
    E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders is now accepting
    applications for
    the 2010-2011 class. Applicants must be between the ages of 25 and 40,
    reside
    in North Carolina, and commit to a yearlong program of activities
    designed to
    examine, develop, and enhance their leadership skills. There is no cost
    to
    individuals accepted into the program. For additional information,
    please visit
    the E.A. Morris website    .

 

  • The
    John
    W. Pope Civitas Institute will hold its monthly poll luncheon 11:45
    a.m.
    Wednesday, August 25, at the Clarion Hotel in downtown Raleigh. To
    register, go
    to http://www.nccivitas.org/events.

 

  • The
    Capitol
    Monitor is a great resource for all things political in North Carolina.Visit the Capitol
    Monitor     and check out my
    favorite feature, the Hall of Shame.

 

Are you kidding me?



The Institute for Justice, an organization that
champions
school choice, recently posted a revealing video on YouTube. In a news
report,
a father commented that his daughter learned the alphabet, and only the
alphabet, during her entire first-grade year in a local public school.
To make
matters worse, the teacher did not get all the way through the alphabet.

 

To watch the video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ene7IFKzXYo.

 

To learn more about the Institute for Justice, go
to http://www.ij.org.

 

For IJ’s excellent report on the constitutionality
of school
choice in North Carolina, see "School
Choice and the North Carolina
Constitution," which is available for download.



Facts and Stats



Gaston College Preparatory is a
public charter school located in Northampton County. Two-thirds of the
students
are categorized as economically disadvantaged, and 81 percent of the
students
are black. Nevertheless, their 2009-2010 state EOG and EOC test scores
show
that demographics aren’t destiny.

 

  • Reading (Grades 3-8): 76.4% of
    economically disadvantaged students are proficient vs. 56.7% state
    average.

 

  • Math (Grades 3-8): 86.7% of
    economically disadvantaged students are proficient vs. 72.8% state
    average.

 

  • Reading (Grade 10): 84.1% of
    economically disadvantaged students are proficient vs. 50.0% state
    average.

 

  • Math (Grade 10): 88.6% of
    economically disadvantaged students are proficient vs. 67.0% state
    average.

 

  • Four-year Graduation Rate,
    2009-2010: 89.5% vs. 74.2% state average.



Mailbag

 

I would like to invite all readers to submit
announcements,
as well as their personal insights, anecdotes, concerns, and
observations about
the state of education in North Carolina. I will publish selected
submissions
in future editions of the newsletter. Anonymity will be honored. For
additional
information or to send a submission, e-mail Terry at [email protected].

 

Education Acronym of the Week

 

ACRE: Accountability and Curriculum Revision Effort

 

Real Estate Acronym of the Week

 

ACRE: Association of Commercial Real Estate

 

Quote of the Week

 

"For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a
weak excess of sensibility, there are three who need to be awakened from
the
slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut
down
jungles but to irrigate deserts. The right defence against false
sentiments is
to inculcate just sentiments. By starving the sensibility of our pupils
we only
make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes. For famished
nature
will be avenged and a hard heart is no infallible protection against a
soft
head."

— C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
(1943)