Deputy Superintendent Larry Upchurch told the Moore County Board of Education during its meeting Monday night that the school system will apply for a planning grant that could enable the schools to secure a program grant for up to $250,000.
Also Monday night, the board approved calendars for traditional and year-round schools for next year that take into account a new state law affecting the opening and closing dates for traditional schedules.
“When Bill and Melinda Gates get involved with an initiative, they put dollars behind it,” said Superintendent Susan Purser.
The funds are available as part of the Gates Foundation’s “New Schools Project” that aims at developing new approaches to high schools.
Much of the project’s focus is on areas such as smaller schools, schools within schools, developing curriculums that are specifically tied to real life needs and issues, equity, and developing better interaction between students and teachers through smaller class sizes.
If the planning grant is awarded, the school system would investigate the possibility of developing a Golf and Hospitality School.
The planning grant would cover the cost of a year of planning activities designed to assess the feasibility of the Golf and Hospitality School, which would borrow heavily from ideas already in place with the Communities in Schools (CIS) Golf, Hospitality and Leadership Academy.
Upchurch said the school system and CIS have been looking at the possibility of establishing a Golf and Hospitality School for about two years.
“We are ready to inform you now that we have a grant application to submit,” Upchurch said. “It would provide for a year of study to look at the possibility of putting together a Golf and Hospitality school for Moore County.”
Upchurch said the goal would be to identify ways to mesh golf and hospitality courses with traditional high school curriculums.
The planning grant would be $30,000 to $40,000. Sally Ward, director of accountability, said the school system should know whether it would receive the grant by May.
“That would open up the possibility of internship positions for some of our teachers in local golf and hospitality areas,” Ward said, adding that such internships would provide valuable information about how potential high school courses should be designed.
Upchurch said that’s exactly what the planning grant would be used for.
“It would help put together the details of what this school might look like,” he said. “To be quite honest, it would help us find out if it’s right for Moore County. Tonight I can’t tell you that. We’re excited to think it is, but right now it’s time to explore and find out what exactly it would look like, how much it would cost us and the impact it might have on Moore County’s economy.”
Superintendent Susan Purser said a Golf and Hospitality School could help provide opportunities for graduates to stay in Moore County to begin their careers.
School Calendars OK’d
The board unanimously approved the traditional and year-round calendars for the 2005-2006 school year.
The traditional calendar is in line with a new state law that requires traditional schools to start each year no earlier than Aug. 25 and end each year no later than June 10.
The first day of class for traditional schools will be Aug. 25, while the final day of classes will be June 9. The first day for year-round students will be July 18 and the last day will be June 9.
Tim Lussier, director of public information, said efforts were made to meld the two calendars. School system officials met with several advisory council groups and employees at the schools to come up with the calendars. Both calendars were chosen after votes were tallied.
“It’s been a lengthy process,” Lussier said. “If you put the two calendars side by side you’ll notice there are a lot of similarities, especially with the holidays. The school year ends on exactly the same day, so it’s worked out beautifully.”
Moore County students began this school year Aug. 11, a full two weeks earlier than next year’s planned starting date.
Student Records System
Ward said the school system is in the process of transitioning to the new state student records system, the North Carolina Window of Information on Student Education (NC WISE). It’s replacing the Student Information Management System (SIMS).
Ward said NC WISE will enable the school system to have an electronic central database of student information. Under SIMS, the central database was compiled manually. The elimination of SIMS will also allow the school system to eliminate programs that are 20 years old and the old computers that ran SIMS using MS DOS.
By the end of the year, about a third of the state’s school systems will be online with NC WISE. The Moore County school system hopes to be fully operational with the system by the start of the 2005-2006 school year.
Statewide, all school systems are required to have NC WISE in place by the Spring of 2007.
Policy Changes
The board unanimously approved three policy changes, including changes to Policy 6401 and the code of student conduct regarding bullying.
“These revisions were needed for us to become compliant with state board policy,” board member Dale Frye said. “I hasten to add that bullying is not an issue in Moore County Schools, but we want to be compliant with state board policy in this matter.”
Policy 2902 relates to the use of named brand alternates subject to the approval of the board. The school system would be allowed to use suitable name brand alternates as a cost-cutting measure, Frye said.
Minor changes were also made to policy 5530 regarding the promotion and retention of students.
“We’ve recommended that the number of permitted absences be changed to 20 instead of 30,” Frye said.
The policy committee also recommended changes that would allow for students with disabilities to take an alternate N.C. Competency test if they cannot pass the standard test on their first two attempts.
Board member Joe Vaughn, who chairs the ad hoc Legal Services Committee, said the committee met last week to discuss the need for a contract with the board’s legal counsel, the Raleigh-based law firm of Schwartz and Shaw.
“About two or three weeks ago, I learned that the board does not have a contract with any legal firm at this time,” Vaughn said. “I know that Schwartz and Shaw have been providing services for about three years without any contract.”
Vaughn said the committee would be diligent about ensuring that the board gets good legal counsel.
“We’re trying to focus on what the board wants from a legal firm,” Vaughn said.
The committee will hold another public meeting on March 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Other Business
In other business:
n Anita Alpenfels, director of human resources, told the board that 53 applicants had registered for the Moore County Schools’ Certified Employee Job Fair. Alpenfels said the schools have confirmed that there will be 24 licensed position vacancies, but she expects the number to grow by the end of the school year.
The schools have averaged 155 vacancies per year over the last five years. The fair is scheduled for March 19 at the Pinehurst Resort.
n The board recognized Hank Moss of Southern Pines Elementary as volunteer of the month for September; Ellis Hardison of Robbins Elementary School and Pam Frye of North Moore High School as volunteers of the month for November; Mamie Alley of Southern Pines Primary School as volunteer of the month for December; and Jim Phillips of Carthage Elementary School as volunteer of the month for January.
n Purser presented to the board National Merit Scholarship finalists Janet Collins of Union Pines High School, Ryan Dixon and Caleb Miles of Pinecrest High School and Teegan Dykeman, a Moore County resident who attends the N.C. School for Science and Mathematics.
n Upchurch told the board that Aberdeen Elementary School was recently recognized as one of 40 Triple S Super Safe Schools in the state. It’s the second such recognition for a Moore County school. West End Elementary was commended in 2002.
