Minutes 09-29-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Orange County Schools Dr. Wirt said the OCS memo is also in the agenda packets. He said the State did fund step increases but restructured the steps in the past. He said this left the school district having to cover some teachers that fell on the top end of those tiers and are moving up in a step increase. He said it is important to note that 59 percent of OCS teachers received no pay increase of any kind this year. 5. Discussion of School Related Topics Chair McKee said Commissioner Dorosin suggested discussing the following items: • Collaborative Opportunities between Districts • Expanding Innovations (e.g. Magnet Schools, Year Round Schools) • Programs/Plans to Address Achievement Gap Commissioner Dorosin asked if student reassignment is being considered to address the concentration of low-well students at certain schools. He said the achievement gap is still too wide in both districts. Commissioner Dorosin said the issue of segregation in schools is still a real problem. He asked if the schools have ever examined the enrollment of students in Advanced Placement, or gifted classes, by race or socio-economic level. He said this is a significant issue that Wake County has attempted to address. He would like to see the schools in Orange County follow suit. Commissioner Dorosin said there is only one year round school in Orange County, and asked if this is something that may be increased in the future. Commissioner Dorosin said CHCCS has two dual-language schools, which are a strategy for achieving more diversity. He asked if there are plans to explore and expand these schools. Tom Forcella said the CHCCS long-range plan to address achievement gaps is one of the district's priorities, and he elaborated on some of the CHCCS programs. He said year round schooling makes a lot of sense to him, as long as it is not done simply for facility reasons. Tom Forcella said the two districts are working to find more areas of collaboration. Chair McKee suggested that any detailed information could be forwarded to the Board at a later date. Commissioner Dorosin said County Commissioners need to be better appraised as to what is going on with the districts, and he is just reflecting back questions he has been asked from the community. Tom Forcella said the schools could come and share with the Board of County Commissioners at future work sessions or regular meetings to keep the Board informed and updated. Commissioner Dorosin said he would welcome this. Dr. Wirt said the issue of achievement gap in OCS is being addressed in an ongoing manner. He said an equity audit was conducted looking at classes offered, how talent is nurtured at early ages, and how gifted students are identified. He said OCS is seeking to offer professional development in these areas. He said he is very new to the district, but OCS is looking internally at policies, procedures and practices around choice within the district. He said options for choice are supported. He said it might be unfair to look at a high performing year- round school and solely attribute its success to the fact that it is year-round. He said he is open to year-round schools, but wants to make sure they are a good answer. He said choice programs are being considered where there are open seats in the schools. He said programming that will improve performance for all students is important, and not just