Gene Galin for School Board

Here are the answers to the Chatham Coalition questionnaire that went out to all Chatham Board of Education candidates.

2008 School Board Candidate Questionnaire

1. What do you see as the most pressing needs for the Chatham County Schools and what steps would you recommend to address these needs?

§ Hiring and retaining good teachers. My vision is a school system that is among the best to work for. A system that can hire and retain quality teachers. A system that looks for staff input and acts upon it. A system that recognizes and rewards quality teachers. We need a school infrastructure that includes training, resources, tools, and recognition for real achievement in family and community involvement. See response to question # 4

§ Building new schools to relieve overcrowding while planning for additional schools. The Board of Commissioners has approved and committed to funding a new middle school and high school in the Northeast. I advocate putting up an online project management status sheet for each project, which would be updated weekly. This would allow all to know where we are in the building process. We must utilize long term planning, land banking and working with the Board of Commissioners, planning board, economic development committee to ensure we can project and meet future facility needs. See response to question # 3 and #7

§ Improving our children’s reading skills and test scores. Studies show potential drop outs can be identified as early as elementary school and generally are economically disadvantaged. We need to intervene much earlier than we do now, as early as the third grade, with the assignment of a reading teacher in every elementary school. Studies show that children who cannot read by the beginning of the fourth grade will struggle throughout their school years. We need to get back to basics on this issue and listen to the people in the trenches. They know what works. We need to concentrate our dollars and resources in the classroom where these children need one on one attention. See response to question #9 and #10

§ Improving communications. As moderator of the Chatham Chatlist, I have learned to appreciate the importance of good communications. It is important to make folks aware of what Chatham County Schools are doing to meet these needs and get buy-in from parents, teachers and the community at large. This is done by improving communications and using an assortment of information sharing venues to let folks know what is going on in their local schools and their public school system. Others may talk about improving communications, while I have been doing it for years.

2. What mechanisms for incorporating parents’ and teachers’ input into school decision-making would you support? Please be specific.

My vision includes better communications where two-way information in many forms flows regularly between school staff, parents and the community about students’ academic achievements and individual needs. Good two-way communications is one of the keys to improving the level of teacher and parent input.

A good example of getting teacher and parent input was the recent process of selecting new principals for North Chatham School and Northwood High School. Teachers and parents were involved in developing hiring criteria and participating in candidate interviews. School superintendent, Robert Logan, promises to follow a similar process in hiring a new Moncure principal.

Teacher input is a key component. They need a liaison to the Board of Education (BOE) where they feel comfortable airing complaints and situations. We need to listen to the recommendations from the school improvement teams and teacher of the year group that meets with superintendent.

I would suggest a BOE Liaison board that consists of two people from each school comprised of parents, staff, or teachers. They would be the representatives for their school.

Should there be concerns at a particular school; folks could come to them, much like site base works. That way when there is a “problem”, we don’t have to “gather the masses” and converge on the BOE. It would also give more merit to such complaints.

The representatives should be willing and able to attend all PTSA meetings at their school. A BOE Liaison member shouldn’t have to be a PTSA officer.

Liaison board members from across the county could get together a couple of times a year. They could compare notes between schools, so that all could see just who needs what and what’s working and what’s not at any particular school. We could group them into K-8 and high school subcommittees.

Using surveys and questionnaires is also good way to gather information. Posting the information online and making it available for public viewing prompts discussion.

The teacher/staff survey about what they wanted in a new school superintendent was an example of a good idea that did not go all the way. The survey provided plenty of good information, but there appeared to be a hesitation on the part of some to make the information public. This type of information should not be withheld from the public.
A discussion thread on the Chatham Online Bulletin Board asked “What do you think “are the biggest issues facing the school board (2008-2012)”

After a couple of days worth of responses here’s the summary of what folks thought are the biggest issues facing the school board in the next four years -

· Focus on turning out well educated young people who can lead us in the future.
· Directing scarce resources and funding into the most effective expenditures to achieve the desired goals.
· Implementing good curriculum.
· Helping students see the importance of what they are learning.
· Retaining quality teachers.
· Hiring quality teachers.
· Supporting first year and lateral entry teachers.
· Getting rid of bad staff members (people who don’t do their job).
· Improving communication.
· Listening more; making people believe what they say is important.
· Understanding the needs of different areas of the county.
· Redistricting.
· Building schools on schedule to meet growing needs.
· Developing and implementing a long-term building plan.
· Developing a better maintenance and upgrade program for existing schools.
· Stop moving kids along if they haven’t learned
· Finding bus drivers so Teacher Assistants aren’t required to drive a bus
· Having leaders who know what they are doing
· Helping some of our schools transition from serving a rural population to a suburban one.
· Increasing the teacher supplements
This is information that the school board, teachers, parents and the community might find useful.

3. Chatham is faced with aging schools that need to be updated and renovated. Additionally, new schools must be built to accommodate unprecedented growth in eastern Chatham. How will you determine funding priorities, given that the Board of Commissioners has limited available funding?

The first priority should continue to be resolving health and safety issues. Problems that put the health and safety of our children at risk must be fixed first.

My vision for Chatham schools includes a system where schools are planned and built as needed. Trailers should be temporary and not permanent solutions. My goal is to build the new middle school and high school on schedule WHILE planning for the next round of schools that we need.

The Board of Commissioners has approved and committed to funding a new middle school and high school in the Northeast. The current Boards of Commissioners and Schools have already decided on the locations for these two new schools. These locations are where the North Carolina State Operations Lab said they should go because of population and I support that position.

The most efficient use of dollars is to place schools in areas where the growth and the children are located. It is important to have the community as part of the three legged approach to education. These three legs include parents/family, community, & schools. Without one of the legs, the stool falls. Having schools in or near communities builds that collaboration, (plus saves fuel and resources).

My long term plans are to rely on the optimum sites as identified by the professionals in the North Carolina State lab or another well qualified lab. There already are indications another elementary school might be required in the Northeast.

If those developments are built and the lab says a school should be built there you will find me a strong proponent for that cause.

We should continue to use organizations like the North Carolina State University laboratory to identify optimum locations for new schools. This will help us in planning for new schools that will be able to meet the needs of our growing population. In an era of high fuel costs this is especially important.

We MUST take also care of our aging schools throughout the county. It doesn’t make financial sense not to make this one of our priorities. We’re playing catch up. There has to be long range planning that includes the updating and renovation of older schools. Sticking to good maintenance schedules and procedures reduce overall costs in the long run.

When new schools are brought on line we need to redistrict and fill schools with students within reasonable geographical areas. Redistricting is necessary to balance the student population in each school. Where to draw the lines is a matter for consideration by the NC State lab as the current board did when Virginia Cross Elementary came on line.

However, wherever those lines are drawn there will have to have buy-in by the stakeholders - parents, PTSA representatives, school officials. This should be done in consonance with the lab’s recommendations on where children are located.

There is a need to balance resources, and more importantly, a need to provide a high quality, balanced, education no matter where your student goes to schools. My vision is that the quality of education is exceptional, no matter where your child goes to school in Chatham.

4. Teacher retention continues to be a problem for the Chatham County Schools. Not only does turnover hurt our children, but also it increases costs through the need to hire and train new teachers. If elected to the BOE, what steps will you take to attract and retain talented teachers?

My vision includes a school system that is among the best to work for. A system that can hire and retain quality teachers. A system that looks for staff input and acts upon it. A system that recognizes and rewards quality teachers. We need a school infrastructure that includes training, resources, tools, and recognition for real achievement in family and community involvement.

Set up a program that help new teachers move here: pay deposits for rent, get electricity and phone established, pay moving expenses, etc. Provide teachers with more classroom support in their early years. Award long term teachers for mentoring them well.

We must make Chatham County Schools a good place in which to work. We must strive to make Chatham County schools one of the best places to work in North Carolina!

Many think the only way to do that is with money - more supplements, higher basic pay, more benefits, and so forth. Study after study show most people work where they feel they are contributing and are adequately recognized for those contributions. Early indications are that our new superintendent has those qualifications that should go a long way toward the personal recognition desired.

As a school board member you will see me in classrooms and PTSA meetings, as well as school functions and athletic events where teachers and staff feel comfortable in approaching me about concerns. I will work on solving those concerns and will use my talents to overcome the negative aspects of those superintendent quality questionnaires. Once the teachers feel comfortable in their jobs, turnover should subside.

We should conduct formal exit interviews to draw information as to why teachers are leaving. We need to learn what the other schools districts offer that makes them attractive enough for someone to leave our system.

An equitable compensation program should be in place. Teachers and staff should know that they are being treated fairly when it comes to compensation matters. We should strive to make our local supplements competitive with surrounding school systems.

5. What steps will you take to continue to improve diversity in administrative and instructional positions?

Focusing on quality teachers is the way to attract folks of all backgrounds.

I think that the fact that the last two administrators have been a woman and an African-American man speaks to the fact that Chatham County is turning a corner in concerns to diversity.

A recent report, “Assessment of Diversity in America’s Teaching Force”, says increasing the percentage of teachers of color in our classrooms will help improve the academic performance of diverse students.

Increasing the percentage of diverse teachers not only impacts the social development of diverse students, it also is directly connected to closing the achievement gap of these students. Research shows that a number of significant school achievement markers are positively affected when diverse students are taught by diverse teachers, including attendance, disciplinary referrals, dropout rates, overall satisfaction with school, self-concept, cultural competence, and the students’ sense of the relevance of school.

Chatham County schools will need to augment traditional teacher recruitment methods. Some of these approaches include:

* Alternative programs in which teacher candidates are placed in classrooms after six months of training. The teachers tend to complete their preparation program while employed as teachers.
* Early outreach/precollegiate programs, which expose middle and high school students to teaching as a profession.
* Community outreach programs, which steer teacher candidates toward completion of an associate’s and then a bachelor’s degree.
* Paraeducator outreach programs. Paraeducators provide instructional support which includes, (1) one-on-one tutoring, (2) assist with classroom management, (3) provide instructional assistance in a computer laboratory, (4) conduct parental involvement activities, (5) provide instructional support in a library or media center, (6) act as a translator, or (7) provide instructional support services under the direct supervision of a highly qualified teacher or professional practitioner.
* Scholarships, grants, and fellowships.
* Loans and loan forgiveness programs.

A harmonious, diversified and well trained staff is essential for improving the learning experience for all of our school children.

6. In recent years there has been much turmoil and turnover in the Superintendent’s Office. What would you do to reduce the turmoil?

For decades we had NO turnover in the administration and central office. It was a tight knit good old boy operation.

Dr. Ann Hart shook that up. Was that a smart hire? Possibly not. But it did make folks take notice that their central office jobs were not a given. Dr. Hart appears to have created a problem of turmoil and turnover by hiring her “friends”.

We can solve this problem fairly easily if our new superintendent, Robert Logan, hires well qualified and skilled people to fill positions in the Superintendent’s office.

The Board of Education should retain the right to accept or reject personnel matters as needed.

The school board and superintendent should have regular interactions with all employees in the system including central office staff. Communicate with them during functions such as “coffee chats”, “brown bag lunch sessions”, etc.

7. Chatham has experienced dramatic population growth with most growth in the North East of the County. The latest census data shows that Chatham population has grown from 49,000 in 2000 to 61,000 in the 2008 Census Department estimate. What challenges does this bring to the county regarding the school board and school districts? What criteria would you use to address these challenges?

The most efficient use of dollars is to place schools in areas where the growth and the children are located. It is important to have the community as part of the three legged approach to education. These three legs include parents/family, community, & schools. Without one of the legs, the stool falls. Having schools in or near communities builds that collaboration, (plus saves fuel and resources).

The current Boards of Commissioners and Schools have already decided on a location for a new middle school and high school in the Northeast. That is where the North Carolina State Operations Lab said they should go because of population and I support that position.

It is also important to work on eliminating the perception Chatham County has two school systems, one in the eastern half of the county and the other in the west.

My long term plans are to rely on the optimum sites as identified by the professional consultants like the NC State lab. We should have an annual review of current and projected student population. There already are indications another elementary school might be required in the Northeast.

If those developments are built and the lab says a school should be built there you will find me a champion for that cause.

As the county continues to grow we probably need to look at redistricting BOE seats. The most opportune time would be when the 2010 census is produced.

8. Do you favor the Board of Education electing board members by the present system of at large voting or would you like to move to a district only voting system? Please explain why you support or do not support this proposal.

This job of a Board of education member is a county wide job. I do not support a district only system.

However a 4+3 system might be worth considering. There would be four districts slots with district only voting and three at large slots. If the people of Chatham think this would be better I would support it. I assume they might feel they had greater ties to at least one member of the BOE as they would be elected by just their community. We still must remember that decisions are based upon our entire school system and not just one area.

9. What are new technologies and new ways that technology can be used to improve education in the schools?

All the technology in the world will not replace a good teacher. Technology can be an important education tool in teaching our children the basic skills or the three R’s of “Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic”

We should be using technology to support instruction. Many of the new technologies (i.e. Web 2.0) support collaborative student-centered learning. Online thinking tools provide active learning places where students engage in robust discussions, pursue investigations, analyze complex information, and solve problems. The classroom expands beyond it’s physical boundaries (i.e. Second Life) to allow students to interact and collaborate with people from around the world.

Our children are already using tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, presentation programs, image editors, and web editors. They are familiar with online tools such as E-mail, listservs, electronic publications, and various resource based web sites. We will see them increase the use of blogs, wikis, audio and video podcasts, virtual worlds and social networks in classrooms assignments.

My experience as a communications specialist at Duke convinces me that it is as important as ever that our students need basic skills as well as knowledge of technology to succeed in a work environment. All of the technology in the world is no substitute for the ability to express oneself verbally and in written word.

It is equally as important that teachers be provided with the technical training and support to be able to successfully incorporate technology use in the teaching process.

The decreasing cost of new technologies will also aid in making our parents aware of what is going on in their child’s classroom. It would not surprise me if we see “smartphone” and wi-fi technologies incorporated into more standard type cell phones in the next four to eight years. An example of a possible benefit would be parents being able to pull up information off a schools’ wireless network onto their phones while they are waiting to pick up or drop off their children. The wi-fi technology incorporated into their cell phone would allow this to occur without using cellular minutes and without the need for an expensive laptop.

I will support our county commissioners’ efforts to bring county-wide high-speed internet access to Chatham County.

10. Chatham County has been criticized for not providing the resources necessary for the at-risk students or students with special needs. How would you ensure that Chatham implements the state mandate to develop Personal Education Plans for at-risk students? What will you do to ensure that these students receive the education, resources, and attention necessary for their success?

Studies show potential dropouts can be identified as early as elementary school and generally are economically disadvantaged. We need to intervene much earlier than we do now, as early as the third grade, with the assignment of a reading teacher in every elementary school. Studies show that children who cannot read by the beginning of the fourth grade will struggle throughout their school years.

We need to get back to basics on this issue and listen to the people in the trenches. They know what works. We need to concentrate our dollars and resources in the classroom where these children need one on one attention.

Special needs children with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) must be taught by teachers with demonstrated competence in every subject they teach. These teachers have competencies and challenges not required of others. They must be fairly compensated for those extra requirements.

We should continue to expand AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) to every high school grade.

The Academically/Intellectually Gifted (AIG) program must provide a challenging and rigorous educational opportunity and experience for those children identified as gifted. What I see and hear needs improvement are the communication aspects of what this program is and how children are selected. Once we improve that through testing, teacher evaluations and parental involvement, we need to improve delivery methods. I am in favor of in-class, flexible grouping of AIG identified students, groupings by subjects in the middle schools, enrichment clusters in the middle schools too, accelerated course and grade advancement, High School Honors and Advanced Placement classes and courses, appropriate independent projects and study and a mentoring program where AIG students can follow appropriate field instructors such as a math student working closely with a math instructor. I feel our screening process could better identify potential AIG students and I would work to expand the opportunities.

We need to work more closely with communities to get kids to read earlier in life. It’s the fundamental building block of learning.

11. While we are faced with some schools that are overcrowded, other schools have not reached capacity. Do you support re-drawing the school district lines so that school facilities are better utilized? What should the BOE consider in redrawing the school boundaries? How does the high cost of fuel enter into your decision-making?

Redistricting will be required to balance school capacities with the populations. We should start the redistricting process in anticipation of the new Briar Chapel middle school and Jack Bennett Road high schools coming online in 2010 and 2011.

Things to consider include:

§ Minimizing transportation times of students involved

§ Retaining community based schools

§ Ability of the transferred students to assimilate the change

§ Ability of all schools involved to maintain a healthy student balance

§ Cost of fuel used for transportation of students

§ Effect on the diversity of both the transferring and receiving schools

§ Potential effect on the state ABC rankings of each school involved since teacher pay is directly involved

§ The core capacities of all school involved

§ Renovation costs

12. Describe the process that you would use for designing and locating (e.g. land banking) new county schools?

There must be a long range commitment to building schools on time. This commitment needs to involve the Board of Education, Board of Commissioners, the Planning Board and local real estate developers. Builders and developers should be required to assist in providing school infrastructure to accommodate the anticipated population in their developments

We now have a land banking committee made up of a member of each board and the recreation department seeking land. I know that Kathie Russell of the BOE is working closely with George Lucier of the BOC and Tracy Burnette of the Parks and Recreation department with the land banking process. This type of inter-board collaboration needs to continue and grow. It will actually lead to providing better resources to the school and community at a cheaper cost to the taxpayer by building parks next to or very near new schools. Shared facilities will benefit everyone.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or green building concepts should be incorporated into all new school buildings. These features will help reduce environmental impacts and help reduce utility costs in the long run. For more information: usgbc.org

All school building projects should be awarded based on competitive bids. This includes selecting architects and engineers.

We should develop a “standard” building package for similarly sized schools, instead of completely designing new schools from scratch.

Utilize excavation contractors, soil survey and environmental firms to evaluate site suitability.

13. Do you think the public schools should teach intelligent design?

The term “intelligent design” came into use after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1987 case of Edwards v. Aguillard that to require the teaching of “creation science” alongside evolution was a violation of the Establishment Clause, which prohibits state aid to religion.

In 2005, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones ruled against the Dover Area School Board, saying its first-in-the-nation decision in October 2004 to insert intelligent design into the science curriculum violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

My oath of office requires me to follow the Constitution and legal interpretations.

14. Should sex education in the schools go beyond abstinence only?

Abstinence is a good place to start. Going beyond that point and discussing birth control options could be done with parent approval.

15. Do you support tax-funded vouchers to pay tuition of Chatham students in private schools of their choice?

No. I feel that taxpayer funds should be used for public schools

16. Should the School Board and County Recreation Department work together to design school facilities so that they get dual use as part of a county park system?

When it comes to mixed use of facilities and shared resources we need to think outside of the box in the use of our county and school facilities

As a parent of three children who have actively participated in sports since they were five or six years old, I support and encourage collaboration between Chatham County Schools and the Chatham County Parks and Recreation Department. Sports and recreation can be an integral part of the learning and growing process.

Proactively designing dual-use sports facilities that would improve the physical well-being of all of our children is a good idea. These facilities should include sites that are on school campuses and off campus. Budgetary inputs from all parties involved should be considered when designing dual use facilities.

The process saves money and provides both groups with more!

17. If the Chatham Coalition endorses you and citizens challenge you about this endorsement, how will you publicly respond to this challenge?

I’m not sure why this would be an issue. I have publicly said from the very beginning of my campaign that I planned to work with all members of our community irrespective of their organizational affiliations, religious backgrounds or ethnicity to make education a #1 priority in our County. I plan to post my responses to these questions on my campaign web site (http://www.galinforschoolboard.com ) for all to see so that they can make up their own minds.