State Board Backs Local Control of School Calendars

Since the 2005-06 school year, state law has limited the authority of local school boards to set school calendars but in July the State Board of Education signaled its desire for a change.

Board members unanimously approved a resolution to support local school boards’ authority to establish school calendars as they see fit to meet local educational needs. This position affirms that of local school boards, superintendents and education advocacy groups.

In adopting the resolution, members noted that research has linked extended school hours with increases in student achievement and learning. Research also has demonstrated that long summer breaks can result in the permanent loss of academic ground for many students.

More Schools to Pilot New Student Assessment Plan

During the 2015-16 school year, a sample of elementary schools and students tried a new way of organizing student assessments with the goal of providing feedback to teachers and students throughout the school year. This Proof of Concept Study was extended into the 2016-17 school year by State Board of Education members in July.

Under the Proof of Concept Study, three interim assessments are administered throughout the school year with a stand-alone summative assessment at the end of the academic year. Teachers use the results from the interim assessments to adjust instruction throughout the year.

During the initial pilot year, the interim assessments were given to a sample of 3,906 fifth-grade mathematics students in 45 schools and a sample of 3,920 sixth-grade English language arts (ELA)/reading students in 33 schools. Performance among the Proof of Concept Study participants was slightly better for these two groups that for students who took the modified EOG assessment but who did not participate in the study itself.

With the expansion of the Proof of Concept Study, the number of participating schools will increase from 5 percent of schools at each grade/content to approximately 15 percent and some of the participants will include low-performing schools. There also will be the opportunity for schools to voluntarily participate. It is possible that all schools serving grades 3-8 could be included by the 2018-19 school year.

Charter Schools Open to Students in August

Eleven charter schools have been cleared by the State Board of Education to open in August, bringing the total number of charters in North Carolina to 167.

These schools are currently completing their yearlong planning period, also called “Ready to Open" (RTO). Although representatives from seven of the schools had to appear before the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board in May because their RTO Progress Report was deemed insufficient, CSAB members felt confident they would meet all requirements stipulated in the RTO to open and so recommended to the State Board that the following schools be approved:

*  Central Wake Charter High School (Wake County);


*  FernLeaf Community Charter School (Henderson County);


*  Gate City Charter Academy (Guilford County);


*  Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (New Hanover County);


*  Ignite Innovation Academy (Pitt County);


*  Iredell Charter Academy (Iredell County);


*  Kannapolis Charter Academy (Cabarrus County);


*  Mallard Creek STEM Academy (Mecklenburg County);


*  Matthews Charter Academy (Mecklenburg County);


*  Union Day School (Union County); and

*  Union Preparatory Academy at Indian Trail (Union County).