List Price:$72.95 Buy New:$57.95 You Save: $15.00 (21%) Buy New/Used from $57.95
Avg. Customer Rating:(based on 1 reviews) Sales Rank: 1931019 Category: Book
Publisher:Corwin Press Studio:Corwin Press Manufacturer:Corwin Press Label:Corwin Press Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published) Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 208 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3 Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.8
"A remarkable tool for educators and communities. We are fortunate that a very effective former superintendent and successful business person are willing to share their quest for ensuring that all students are well prepared for their futures." -June St. Clair Atkinson, State Superintendent North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
"Blends business principles with excellent leadership in one of America?s largest school districts to create a model for achieving excellence in school districts everywhere. This is a well-written, practical illustration of how a leader makes things happen." -Larry Price, Superintendent Wilson County Schools, NC
Learn how school districts can go from average to outstanding!
The challenge of preparing children and youth for success in the 21st century requires improvement in the business of education. This unique resource provides an inside account of how Wake County Public Schools, one of the nation's largest school districts, made significant gains in student achievement and school performance over a ten-year period to become a shining example of success.
Award-winning superintendent Bill McNeal and successful businessman/school board member Tom Oxholm show readers how they established a partnership to help students meet grade-level expectations and support schools in closing achievement gaps. Through the authors' experience and tips, readers will discover how to facilitate:
Improved educational outcomes, especially among minority populations
Progressive instructional leadership
Fiscal responsibility and efficient allocation of resources
Stronger school-community relationships
Rich in examples, case studies, and data, A School District's Journey to Excellence is a much-needed map to excellence in public education.
(20071205)
Customer Reviews:
Far from excellent August 7, 2008 4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I purchased the paperback version of this book as the title alone fascinated me - being completely opposite from my experiences living in the authors' school district where my three children attended their purportedly excellent schools. In this book, Mr. McNeal and Mr. Oxholm have continued the smokescreen for which Mr. McNeal has gained national recognition, making his former Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) the laughingstock of the nation. One sees this already in the table on page xi. Free and reduced-price lunches are provided to nearly 30% of all students but a recent investigation here has shown that nearly 2/3rds of these families are defrauding the system with the knowledge, and - according to anecdotal statements from parents - with the encouragement of school authorities, but nothing is done to stop them. Further down in this table the growth in the number of "teachers" is shown, but no mention is made of the fact that some 40% of all WCPSS employees are not in the classroom. The current tax expenditure per child in Wake County is now about $9,500, some 50% higher than the $6,613 figure given by the authors for 2002-2003. When the service on the school bond debt is included, some estimates put the annual expenditure at $14,000. Teacher pay has risen dramatically despite sliding performance results, placing teacher compensation (when adjusted for local cost-of-living) at 9th in the nation, not a good value to taxpayers considering bottom-of-the-barrel school performance. The authors cleverly chose 2002-2003 for a comparison of SAT and EOG test results; they have slipped steadily since then. The number of schools failing NCLB has increased dramatically in the past years. Our simple state ABCs tests (no, we don't use Iowa tests in North Carolina - they were considered too hard by the authors) mean nothing in the global market for young minds, and place NC near the bottom in testing standards according to the U.S. Department of Education. The most flagrant distortion in this table however is the reporting of a dropout rate of 1.8 percent in 2002-03, which implies that 98.2% of students graduated from high school on time. Mr. McNeal has already been publicly admonished for reporting this number in the past, but he just can't seem to admit the truth that the actual (cohort) graduation rate has hovered below 80% in Wake County for years. For minorities, it remains below 60%. In fact, last year the overall high school graduation rate reached a 10-year low, ironically one decade after Mr. McNeal and co. instituted an income-based school assignment scheme based on the percentage of free and reduced-lunch enrollments that we now know are inflated by over 200%. The achievement gap that McNeal and Oxholm claim has decreased has actually increased since 2002-2003, and one suspects a shell game being used to dilute the reality of abysmal performance and graduation rates of minorities in Wake County. The "2006 State Report Card" from the Schott Foundation for Public Education reported that Wake County "...disproportionately classify Black students as Mentally Retarded by well over twice their representations in enrollments." Test scores from such students are typically excluded from overall school achievement and NCLB measures. The Preface also mentions Mr. McNeal's highly-touted "Goal 2003" achievement objectives but not his complete failure at achieving them. Elsewhere in the book "Goal 2008" is mentioned (it too will not be met, admit our county authorities), but nowhere does "Goal 2005" appear, which was essentially Goal 2003 shifted two years into the future. When it was clear that these objectives would not be met, all talk of "Goal 2005" ceased and was removed from the WCPSS web sites. So, one sees that with Mr. McNeal and his friends, only intentions really count, not outcomes and facts. This is repeated throughout the book, whenever one manages to find a few hard numbers amongst all the fluff and self-serving accolades. I have already found several grammatical errors in the first few chapters of this book, which is little more than a "puff-piece", surely written to counter growing discontent amongst parents and taxpayers in Wake County, where some 18% of all children (twice the national average) now attend non-public schools and the home school community is the largest in the state and growing. Why would so many parents reject the authors' vaunted school system if it was, as the book claims, excellent? I do agree however with Mr. McNeal that the story of the Wizard of Oz is relevant to his work in Wake County schools. He is akin to the Wizard, creating a false spectacle to divert our attention from the sobering reality of a failed school system. He has been aided in this effort by former Governor Hunt and his colleagues in the political leadership of North Carolina, who have done their best to create an image of Wake County as a Land of Oz, a Camelot, a Lake Wobegon, "...where all the children are above average." (Quoting Garrison Keeiler) The giant education/real estate industry that backs WCPSS and other major systems in NC is largely to blame for this, and Mr. McNeal has served them well as a willing accomplice. Bleating claims of racism hurled at anyone who criticizes WCPSS ring hollow when one visits our schools, where in some cases children from upwards of 20 different nations are in attendance. I challenge any of the reviewers to actually read the book from cover to cover and refute me. I'd also recommend they seriously reconsider their endorsement of this book.
All rights reserved. Amazon.com is a trademark of Amazon.com Information about prices, products, services and merchants is provided by third parties and is for informational purposes only. Caribbean Travel Books does not represent or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information, and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.
