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Neil G. Pedersen <br />Superintendent <br />Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools <br />Lincoln Center, Merritt Mill Road <br />Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516 <br />Telephone: (919) 967 -8211 <br />Ann Hart, Assistant Superintendent <br />for Instructional Services <br />Chester Preyar, Assistant Superintendent <br />for Support Services <br />TO: Neil G. Pedersen, Superintendent <br />FROM: Carol Harrison <br />Principal of the elementary school at Southern Village <br />RE: Model School for the 21st Century <br />DATE: September 17, 1998 <br />At the April 15th Board meeting, Dr. Pedersen presented the Edison/Model Schools <br />Committee Report, Study of Edison Prgject and Other Best Practices. In this report five reasons <br />for considering an educational model that was significantly different from other programs in our <br />schools were presented: <br />1. Our'system of education is not working well for & students. <br />2. The opening of a new school provides us with the opportunity to explore alternative <br />practices that research tells us leads to greater student achievement. <br />3. Past efforts to design and implement our own educational programs show that areas of <br />support for these new programs were missing. <br />4. Parents want more educational choices for their children. <br />5. The discussion of the Edison model would'encourage schools to examine their current <br />practices in order to learn from the new school and each other. <br />Dr. Pedersen proposed a public hearing and the preparation of a more detailed report to be <br />presented to the Board on May 21st. <br />The Superintendent's recommendation at the May 21st meeting was that the Board approve <br />"in concept" the Proposed Model Elementary School with a more detailed report being prepared by <br />the principal for the second Board meeting in September. After my July 2nd appointment as <br />principal, I requested an internal support group to assist me in the planning process until the <br />planning team was developed. During one of the first weekly meetings with the Superintendent's <br />Cabinet, each component of the model school was discussed. Elaboration on each area is <br />embedded in this report. The components of this proposal have been estimated and the costs are <br />consistent with the per pupil budget for elementary schools. <br />Format and Method of Reporting <br />Major portions of this document were extracted from the Proposed Model School Report so <br />that changes and elaborations would be in a familiar format and within the context of a document <br />that had been reviewed previously. Each section was discussed extensively with the <br />Superintendent's Cabinet on a weekly basis. Other areas were developed with the assistance of <br />