Holidays and Giving

Its holiday time again—where did the time go? It seems like yesterday we were taking down the decorations, thinking about the year to come. I love the holiday season. I see so much kindness happen during this time of year that I wish, like many of us do, that it could last year round. And its not just Christmas, but Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa and other faiths and beliefs celebrate this time of year. I believe these holidays and celebrations show us that, at the end of the day, we have more in common with each other than we think- or maybe even want to admit. This time of year teaches us, more than any other, that we are all in this together, and our planet isn’t really so big after all.

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is attend the great arts concerts that our students and teachers present. I encourage each of you to see at least one concert this season; the list of all performances is on our website. These are truly some of the most moving and entertaining performances you will see anywhere.
We tend to think about gifts and giving this time of year; of course there are catalogs and Ebay and shopping malls, but often the gift we overlook is the gift that costs nothing at all. We like to think of this time as a magical one for children. We like to think that when the last song is played and the last bell rings, that each child goes home to a place that is full of holiday spirit, and Christmas morning is a joyous time full of laughter and toys. Unfortunately this is not true for all children- and we know that the economic situation has placed financial and emotional strains on all families. This Holiday season, regardless of your faith or beliefs, if each person was to find a less fortunate child in the neighborhood, or in the church, and make it a point to bring holiday cheer into their lives, that would truly be a gift worth giving. It doesn’t have to be a material item—it can just be your time. And it doesn’t have to be Christmas; it can be anytime of year. Let’s not forget the true meaning of Christmas—hope, peace and love. Let your present this year be giving of yourself to a child that needs all three – and continue to give all year long.
Forty years ago on Christmas Eve, 1968 the astronauts of Apollo 8 became the first men to orbit the moon. I remember watching this in amazement as overnight the world shrank. What many of us came to realize as the cameras pointed back to the earth, seeing that tiny blue marble floating against a black backdrop, was that we are all part of a larger picture. Our differences, be them personal or ideological, are really insignificant, and when we come together to help the less fortunate, we truly are blessed in return.
As the astronauts finished their Christmas Eve broadcast, they sent a Christmas wish that rings true today and it is my wish for all of you: “Good Luck, Merry Christmas and God bless all of us, all of us on the good Earth”.

Happy Holidays!

American Education Week

Last week, November 16-22, was American Education Week and it serves as a time for all of us to stop and ponder the meaning of education in all of our lives. This month also included National Parental Involvement Day (Nov. 20th) and of course National Family Week, which involves the Thanksgiving Holidays. Family tends to be first on many people’s minds around this time of year; I think that any conversation about education has to include family.

If you take a close look at education, and what has to take place for real learning to occur, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate family from learning. In the 21st century, the big change is that these “families” take on many shapes: a mother, father, grandfather, neighbor, pastor, friend, peer, or coach can all be part of the family unit and play a role in education of the individual child. In an ideal world, parents wouldn’t have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet—but the reality is parents can’t always spend as much time with their children as they would like, so that is when the larger “educational family” steps in—those adults that actively help that individual child succeed in and out of school.
What continues to amaze me is the very positive influence our teachers, administrators and support staff have on our children daily. The psychologist Abraham Maslow argued that until a child felt safe and accepted, learning could not take place. Everyday, our teachers have students that walk into their rooms with needs that need to be meet before learning can occur, and I am constantly awe-struck with the dedication and concern that our teachers do this—from the Kindergarten teacher dealing with a scraped knee to the high school teacher dealing with the broken heart. We can’t ignore that these children’s feeling exist, but rather we must help the student deal with them so that life, and learning can happen. This type of concern happens on the football field, and in the tutoring room, and in the congregation hall, and in the employment office and many other places both in and outside of school. This care is what educators, and families do. I am so very thankful for the teachers that we have, but I am also thankful for the close-knit communities that help make up the families and educational support systems that our students so desperately need. Without this family of caring, concerned individuals, many, many of our students would fall through the cracks.

This American Education Week, I’d like to take time to thank those that make a difference not just by working with our students in school, but to those that help make up our larger educational family in all walks of life.

Global Education

One of the terms that we hear a lot is “global education”- one of those phrases that everyone seems to have an idea about what it is, or what it should be. I too have a strong opinion in this area, and would like to pass along some thoughts to you.

If you have never visited Google Earth on the web, I encourage you to go there. Type in your street address and what pops up may amaze you- or maybe even frighten you. You can see a view from space of your neighborhood or maybe even your house. When the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik in October of 1957, many people feared that the Soviets would use this technology to spy on the US – which was impossible using the technology of the time. Fast forward fifty years and what once was science fiction is now science fact—and not just fact, but accessible to everyone.

I bring this up not to suggest that Google Earth is anything sinister, but rather to point out how technology is shrinking our world. Recently, one of our teachers, art instructor Larry Hewett from West Columbus High, traveled to Turkey, and gave podcasts uploaded from his cell phone over the internet. Visitors to our website had almost instantaneous access to something that was recorded half way around the world. When Orson Wells broadcast his controversial “War of the Worlds” broadcast nationwide in 1938, the broadcast went out over phone lines to affiliate radio stations—a distribution method that was very costly- and very inefficient involving thousands of miles of wire. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, it was carried live across the world via satellite- and no wires. When events of the 90s happened, cell phone video technology was used by reporters. Mass media has become instant. Emerging technologies have changed the landscape. Not only does a student need to know where a country is, but students must understand how one culture interacts with another culture, how markets overseas affect ours here, and what impact the “price of tea in China” really has on the people of our area- and the world. As these technologies create a global marketplace, our students will need to understand the cultures of far away lands – because the chances are that ANY job will require a knowledge and sensitivity of other places, and other people. If technology literally shrank the world in 50 years, what might technology do in the next 25 or 30 years? Many jobs may involve “virtual offices” where workers from all over the world meet to collaborate. These exist even today.

Our teachers, administrators and students must find ways to move beyond just the front door, and connect with those in other cultures. We have had teachers go to Senegal, Turkey, Japan, China and many other places. The experiences they bring back are invaluable to not only themselves and their students, but also to other teachers. West Columbus High School, in partnership with the North Carolina Center for International Understanding, will enter into a partnership with a high school in Denmark, where teacher, students and administrators will travel between the two countries and experience the differences that exist between the two cultures. Of course not all teachers can travel to far off lands. But the ones that do bring the experience home to everyone.



Gone are the days when global awareness meant knowing where countries are located and naming the four oceans. In today’s education, global awareness means learning about how other people live, learning about what drives markets throughout the world, and learning about cultures so that there can be understanding among people. This is nice thought because after all, we do want the world to be a peaceful place for our children. But the reality is our students need to know about the world, because of the speed at which that same world is shrinking. Global Education must become ingrained in what we do in every subject, not just a few times a year.
Our mission statement for Columbus County Schools emphasizes the words “Global Society”. The future of jobs in the United States may very well depend on our ability to understand and compete in a society that is ever shrinking, technical, and global.

Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us and I invite your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com. We also invite you to listen to our podcasts from Denmark on our website.

21st Century Drop Outs

21st Century Drop Outs


Governor Mike Easley has proclaimed September 7th-13th Graduation Awareness Week. In the spirit of this official proclamation, my hope is to make all of us aware of a few issues surrounding graduation.

In my travels throughout the county and state, I have heard parents, grandparents and students make statements about graduation and college. I’d like to share some of these with you, and see exactly where we stand in relationship to those issues in 2008.

Statement: My child doesn’t need a high school diploma, and definitely doesn’t need a college degree- I didn’t.

Just like the cost of food and other items go up, so has the experience necessary to hold even the simplest jobs. This is sometimes referred to as “inflationary education”. Roughly translated, jobs that required no high school diploma twenty years ago now do, those that required no post-secondary training now do, those that once required associate’s degrees now require bachelor’s degree’s etc. A worker with an associate’s degree makes on average $8000 more than one with a high school diploma. This is often the difference between living in poverty and not. I don’t know of a single parent who wishes poverty on their child, yet when we fail to encourage our children or allow them to fall short of their potential, we are setting them up for a very difficult life. The 21st century requires skills that can only be learned through additional education.

Statement: College is too expensive.

This use to be a formidable barrier. Even with the excellent support of our guidance counselors and financial aid officers, getting the money it took to go to college was often unrealistic. If a student was able to get loans or financial aid, after graduation they were left with thousands of dollars of debt. Thanks to the North Carolina Learn and Earn program (http://www.nclearnandearn.gov), students can enroll in college courses and receive up to two years credit while still enrolled in high school- free. NC Learn and Earn also has a grant program which would allow eligible students to finish their final two years free, allowing the student to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and no debt. On average those graduates with a college degree make $22,000 dollars more than students with high school diplomas.

Statement: My child has had some challenges in the traditional school setting. Why should I encourage them to take college classes now?

We are finding that some students participating in online courses actually perform better because it fits their style of learning. Of course we have students that also struggle, but—and this is important—students are much more likely to seek assistance in the high school environment where they have a built in support system and teachers to assist. Many students fail in the college setting because they lack the type of support that they received in high school- they are in many places “on their own”. NC Learn and Earn provides college-level courses in a safe, familiar atmosphere.



Statement: I am a graduating senior and want to stay in Columbus County. Why should I go “above and beyond” just to get my high school diploma. Why not just take a job where I don’t need any additional training?

This is a question I hear often. Many companies will give a higher starting salary with additional studies beyond high school, even if it’s just an hourly wage. The fact that a student takes the initiative to study beyond high school can also set them above the other 1500 recent graduates in the eyes of a prospective employer. Also, one of the obstacles to getting additional companies to locate in Columbus County is our lack of highly skilled workers. If all of our students looked at their education as not stopping until SOME courses were taken post-high school, our local economy would be much better for it.

You’ll note that I have not talked about drop out prevention, or just getting students to graduate. Columbus County Schools has numerous “safety nets” in place from NovaNet credit recovery, to highly trained, caring guidance counselors. We have lowered the drop out rate and are dedicated to doing so in the future. In a way, though, these are hollow victories, because we know that just getting a student through high school has still left the child missing vital skills that could improve the quality of their life.

I want to hold our school system to a higher standard. We need to focus on the “21st Century Drop Out” -the number of students that, despite all the opportunities, fail to receive any training after high school. Their future is as bleak as the traditional drop out’s future was twenty years ago. Join me in reinforcing the importance of advanced education to every child—from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade.

Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us and I invite your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com.

The Starfish

There is a story that is near and dear to me; I have heard it and told it myself many times- as a matter of fact, I used it at our recent convocation. Many of you know it too. No matter how many times I hear it, this story serves as a lesson to us all about children and education.

There was a man walking along the water at sunset when he came upon a vast stretch of beach where thousands of starfish had washed up during a recent storm. In the distance, the man could see a tiny figure making quick, purposeful movements. As he walked closer he could tell that the person on the beach was a little boy who was picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the water. When the man finally reached the little boy, he asked “What are you doing”. The little boy replied “ I am throwing back these starfish so they can live”. The man replied “Look at all these starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The little boy smiled quietly and threw one of the larger creatures well out over the breaking waves. “It sure made a difference to that one,” he said.

The lesson that this story teaches us is NOT that only some can be saved, but rather if we all work together, we can make a difference in EVERY child’s life- even if it is just one at a time. After the hard work of 2007-2008, we were thrilled to see that our school system has one of the highest percentages of schools making growth under the state’s ABC model in southeastern North Carolina- including Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties. I can assure you that a lot of starfish throwing made this happen. Our staff made the commitment to reach every child in a meaningful and engaging way, and the effort paid off handsomely.

Even though we made great strides, our work is not over. It is simply not enough to stop with just some of our students succeeding. This year we have put forth new initiatives that will build upon our past successes.

First, we will put a focus on Instructional Technology. One of the mistakes of the past (and present for that matter) is assuming that sticking technology in the hands of teachers (or students) without any purposeful direction is a recipe for disaster. We will give teachers the training they need to take students “beyond the powerpoint” , allowing students to create content with technology through podcasts, videos and blogs. We don’t want our students to be passive users of technology, but rather active creators using technological tools.

Second, all of our staff will utilize “High Yield Strategies” . These are scientifically proven tactics that are shown to raise achievement, like cooperative learning and consistent reinforcement. The goal is to utilize these strategies in such a way as to facilitate all learning styles.

Third is the development of Professional Learning Communities. Simply put, this is the process of bringing educators together in groups to assist in developing learning strategies for each student. More than just meetings, PLC’s will focus entirely on instruction and will allow all teachers to have input on the most effective ways to reach our students.

Finally, we hope to increase our parent involvement. We have discovered that the most important resource we have as educators is our parents. We need assistance at home and at school- but we strive to give all stakeholders a voice in how our children are educated. We hope to do this not just through PTA meetings and athletic events, but also through community roundtables and honest, one-on-one discussions.

Thank you for your support during the very successful year we had in 2007-2008. This year brings with it a new set up challenges, commitments, hopes and dreams. Our goal is a productive and bright future for all of the starfish that come ashore.

Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us and I invite your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com.

School Version 2.0 - To the Graduates

I have been speaking to everyone this year about the many changes that have taken place over the years in the field of education. While I have been speaking to everyone young and old, in school or out school, many of my remarks have been directed towards parents and other stakeholders. Today, I would like to direct my remarks directly to our MOST important stakeholders—our students—specifically the graduates of the class of 2008.

The changes that have occurred since the day you were born are overwhelming. When you were born the Soviet Union and East Germany still existed.. Cell phones were carried in bags, and the first web page was still months away. The average price of gas was $1.10 and a personal computer, which had a tenth the power of a modern cell phone, no hard drive and only one megabyte of ram sold for around 1200 dollars. Your generation has been in many ways the first generation to be truly “high tech”. The information being gained by society multiplies literally by the minute. So what does this mean to you as you head out into the oft-mentioned “real-world”? To fully understand what your future holds for you, I’d like to take you back to English class for one more lesson.

Poet Robert Frost wrote in his 1920 poem “The Road Not Taken”:

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

We have taken you on a thirteen-year journey, but the traveling has just started. Our goal is to get you to the fork in the road where you now stand, and now the rest is up to you. The decisions you make over the next few months and years will determine where your journey leads. It would be easy to take the road that seems shortest; this will be the path that many will take- but we all know that shortcuts can leave us lost. I want to challenge you to take the road less traveled by continuing your education in a field that has true meaning and enjoyment for you. We have taught you all these years in the hopes that when you leave us, you will be inspired to continue learning your entire life. In today’s world of technology and progress, it will be those that continue to learn and keep pace with the world that will be successful.

To all the graduates of 2008, I would like to say thank you for your hard work to get to this point. As you stand here where the road diverges, I encourage you to take that road which leads you to a place of personal and spiritual enlightenment through life-long learning. It may not be the shortest road, but I assure you it will be the road that makes all the difference.

School Version 2.0- Maintenance

This week, we will have our annual custodian banquet honoring the men and women that work so hard to keep our schools looking attractive, clean and functioning in an efficient manner.

In previous generations, maintaining a building was a fairly simple proposition. There were a few floors to sweep, and perhaps a pipe to repair, but no major considerations. Fast forward to today, and all buildings have heating and air (controlled by computer nonetheless), miles of electrical wiring, miles of computer wiring, hundreds of yards of plumbing, large paved parking lots and what amounts to a small city arriving and leaving from each facility each day.

Our custodians and plant operations personnel have a daunting job. The average age of our facilities is around fifty years. The maintenance involved in keeping all of our schools open and safe for our children is a daily, almost hourly proposition, and our folks are more than equal to the task. As I travel to each school, I am amazed at how well our facilities look and function, even though some buildings are 70 years old. We realize that the appeal a school has when parents, teachers, stakeholders and students enter a campus can have a real impact on the education and attitudes that take place inside. In order to create this positive environment, it takes custodians who have great pride in their work and are very thorough, and plant operations workers that are capable and creative, finding solutions to problems that are sometimes difficult, seemingly impossible to solve.
I have also observed custodians helping teachers in many different capacities. In our schools the custodians are often the “go to” person whenever a teacher has a special project or has a special need. Our plant operations workers not only maintain very complicated electrical, plumbing, heating and air and computer systems, but are also a general resource for helping schools complete a wide variety of projects including performances, graduation ceremonies and athletic events. My personal experience is that these men and women are not only exceptional at what they do, but exceptional people themselves, caring not only for the buildings in their charge, but for the children inside those buildings as well. In short the men and women who make up our maintenance staff are an invaluable resource that makes daily life at our schools not only possible, but enjoyable. I hope we all, whether we are teachers, administrators, parents or community members take time to realize this and thank them for the very important work they do. They are a vital part of our educational process, and without them our school doors would never open and our school bells would never ring.

Child Nutrition Week

This week, May 5^th-9^th is Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week. We have talked often about the changing times, especially in education.. School lunches have not been immune to the times, having changed tremendously over the past few decades. Today, there are very stringent guidelines outlining what can and cannot be served and how it can or cannot be prepared. There is a mountain of paperwork and record keeping, not to mention recent developments like computerized tracking of student meals. Oh yes—and thousands of people to feed!

One thing that hasn’t changed is the dedication of the men and women who make it happen everyday. In our county there are over 10,000 meals served on a daily basis. These meals nourish the bodies of our children so that their minds can grow. Without this nourishment, a student’s attentiveness drastically lessens. The reality is that some our students receive their most nutritious meal of the day at school, and all of our children are healthier because of the care, concern, and planning that goes into each meal. Our child nutrition employees also serve very important roles as mentors and counselors as well. Some of the best role models our students have are the men and women they see everyday at lunchtime.

When I eat lunch with students at each school, without fail I leave with a full stomach and a little awe that these managers and workers can pull off the daily feat of feeding so many so well. I think most of us take for granted the intense planning and preparation that goes into running an effective school cafeteria, and I would like to take a moment to thank all of our child nutrition workers for the “ordinary miracles” they create everyday – giving not only nutrition- but themselves to our children.. They are the lifeblood of our schools, and without them education would be impossible.

We welcome your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com. Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us.

Eighth Grade Continuation

One thing I have discovered over my years in education is: change is hard. I think a lot of times change is much harder on us adults than it is on our children. I want to talk to you about a change that we have made, and why we have made it.

At the end of last year, we made a decision as a school system to change the way we handle the 8th grade continuation exercises. We looked at surrounding schools and school systems and what they were doing, weighed the pros and cons, and decided to no longer hold “continuation” exercises (essentially a graduation ceremony) at the 8^th grade level.

Our principals informed parents at the beginning of the school year and again in the middle of the year, and now as we start to enter the final stages of this school year some have expressed concern, which I completely understand. I know many of our parents have looked forward to the day when their child can walk in these continuation exercises, proud that they have made it through the 8th grade. We want our students to feel proud of their accomplishments. We also want to recognize them for outstanding achievement in all areas. I have asked for all schools to create an awards ceremony or dinner to do just that. Now instead of students being recognized just for passing 8^th grade, students will be recognized for achieving high grades, good attendance and behavior, as well as other accomplishments. Also, high-performing students will continue to be recognized as “marshals” or “ambassadors” in seventh grade—and will serve an important role in their schools. We will continue to recognize achievement in the middle grades as we always have. But- we want to stress to the parents and the students that the journey is just beginning, and that much hard work lies ahead in high school. The truth is that graduating from 8th grade is no more or less important than graduating from 5th grade or 10^th grade. I do not want students to look at reaching the end of 8th grade as a goal; this implies that the journey is over. In this day and age, we must keep all students looking forward to graduating from high school with real skills and abilities to take them to the places they want to go: college, technical school, the workforce. A child who drops out before that walk across the stage is at a tremendous disadvantage, and we must do everything in our power from Kindergarten on, to keep our students focused on the goal of graduating from 12^th grade. The proud feeling of watching a child walk in a graduation ceremony should be reserved for graduation from high school, for then it is an accomplishment of a thirteen year journey that has true life-changing significance.

School version 2.0 - End of the School Year—Yesterday and Today.

Thirty years ago, late April and early May was a much different time in schools. As the days got longer and warmer, recess would last just a little bit longer, class would “wrap-up” a little bit sooner, and basically everyone connected with the schools were more or less passing the time before the arrival of summer. The serious work of school was over, and the time was filled with year-end parties, movies etc. This is not to say that teaching and learning didn’t take place, but the pressure lessened with each passing day.

Fast-forward to today’s schools, and we see the reverse is true. The days may be warmer and longer, but this time of year has become the most important in students’ lives, because it is in these last few weeks of school that the students learn and review for End of Grade and End of Course tests. The pressure grows each and every day. The scores that a student receives on these tests has a tremendous impact on his or her academic future. If a student fails to pass an EOG (Grades 3-8), they will have two more times to take the test, but those opportunities happen very close together. A year’s worth of material cannot be learned in this time, so it is essential that parents stay in contact with their teachers to understand areas of weakness that need to be improved upon BEFORE taking an EOG. After three tries, the child stands a high probability of being retained. EOC’s in High School count 25% of the overall grade. A student can be passing a course but fail because of a low EOC score. Here again, it is essential that parents monitor their child’s progress closely, and encourage them to spend some time each week reviewing material from earlier in the year. Finally, students should do everything possible to be in class these final few weeks, and parents should encourage good attendance. The reality of the situation is a child can fall behind in only a couple of days, and at this point in the school year it can be very difficult to catch up.

With all the pressure that students face today, it is also important to remember that the many events that are taking place: athletic events, spring musicals, concerts etc. are very valuable to our students. These activities give our students an outlet and help prevent them from burning out on the pressures applied by testing and the end of the school year.

Thirty years ago, this was a relaxing time for educators and students alike. Those days are gone, and while the pressures have increased, so have the levels of achievement. We realize across our system that the final weeks of school are more important than the first ones, because it is in these final days that the concepts that have been learned are taken to higher levels of thinking, which of course, is what we are all about.

We welcome your comments on my blog at http://www.drstrickland.blogspot.com/ and be sure to check out our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us.

Awards – Yesterday and Today

I think most schools have some old, dusty trophies sitting around somewhere. Some are long-forgotten accomplishments and some are more recent activities. If you look at the older awards you see that the metal is tarnished or bleached from constant sun. Even last year’s awards don’t look quite as “nice” as they once did.

Recently, I attended several award ceremonies where our school system was recognized for outstanding achievement.

At the North Carolina Association of School Administrators Awards Ceremony, Hallsboro/Artesia Elementary School was recognized as the Eastern Region Elementary School Trailblazer Award Winner for their after school program that partners with a local church. Tabor City Middle School was the Eastern Region Middle Schools Trailblazer Award Winner with their Academic Intramurals, a program designed to inspire and encourage academic achievement. Our entire School District was recognized as the only recipient of the Trailblazer Award for School Districts.

The American School Board Journal also awarded our school system a national honorable mention for our Beginning Teacher Support Program, which aims to retain and support new teachers, and finally The American School Board Journal awarded Southeastern Early College, our partnership with Whiteville City Schools and Southeastern Community College, a national award for Early College’s program to provide college access to high school students.

I can’t begin to describe how thrilling it was to see our schools recognized on the state and national level. I honestly feel each award was earned, as there were many hundreds of other eligible schools and systems. Who deserves credit for these accomplishments? Our support staff does. The principals do. The teachers do. Our parents, community and business partners do- but most importantly – our students deserve the credit. They have accomplished the really hard work of making tough decisions and sacrifices so that their future may be brighter.


So what happens to these awards now? Well, they’ll be displayed and admired for a little while. They’ll serve as a reminder of the benefits of hard work. But awards and plaques fade. They go on the shelf and are soon forgotten. The true awards for us as educators are the living, breathing ones that walk through our doors each morning. I am very proud of our school system, and our accomplishments. But the reason that I am proud is that I know that these accomplishments represent improving education for our students.

The awards may tarnish and fade, but once a fire has been lit in the eyes of a child, it never goes out. We must now work doubly hard to make sure that fire burns deeper and brighter with each passing year.
Thanks for listening. We welcome your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com. Also, information about our school system can be found at http://www.columbus.k12.nc.us.

The Importance of Arts Education

We have talked often this year about the changes taking place in education due to the changing global society that we live in. I would like to speak today about one topic that is never very far from my mind and of many of the educators I know: arts education.

On Sunday, March 16^th from 1pm-5pm at West Columbus High School, Columbus County Schools, Whiteville City Schools, and the Columbus County Arts Council presented our annual “Celebrate the Arts” weekend. It was one of the proudest moments that I have had as an educator. I am very proud of the size of the festival: 1000 students, all arts education teachers and around 2000 attendees make this the largest student arts festival in the state. But what I am most proud of is the individual student that has had a life-changing experience, or the 10 year-old who see their work displayed for the first time and becomes motivated in all areas of school, or the teacher that becomes rejuvenated and resolved from seeing the excellence that this program encourages.

Celebrate the Arts is one of many fantastic projects happening in our arts education programs. From 6^th grade until graduation, our students have the opportunity to take arts education classes EVERYDAY. Columbus County Schools is one of only 7 school districts in the state requiring an arts credit to graduate- a fact of which I am most proud. Grants this past year from the North Carolina Arts Council and Columbus County Arts Council have greatly enriched our students and community’s lives. Through the NC Arts Council’s SPARC program, West Columbus High School selected a sculptor that is in the process of creating a permanent artwork for the grounds of West Columbus. Also through the NC Arts Council, students at South Columbus High School worked with a professional filmmaker to create clay animations. In April, a dance company will spend a week at Guideway Elementary School, culminating in a public performance. Through the Columbus County Arts Council, our students have been exposed to world-class ballet and storytelling experiences. We are truly fortunate that we have such rich opportunities available to our students. As exceptional as those experiences are, they pale in consideration to the daily “ordinary miracles” of our arts classrooms. Everyday, students go into arts classrooms all over the county and leave transformed. We are truly fortunate to be able to offer such an important component of education.

The past decade has been a difficult one for arts education nationally. Many school systems have decided to curtail or simply do away with arts education. The added pressures of testing make many stand up and say: how are the arts helping? We have been fortunate in our area because those statements have been rare- there is a unique appreciation of the arts in our area that is hard to find elsewhere. It is a fair question though—in the 21^st century global society wouldn’t our students be better off focusing solely on academics so that they will be better prepared for the workforce? The answer is a resounding NO. In fact, arts education directly prepares students for the world of work. I know of few jobs that require sitting at a desk bubbling answers. With the growth of information so explosive, we could never teach our children everything they need to know—so we must teach them how to seek out information and process it. The jobs of the 21^st century involve interaction with coworkers, brainstorming multiple solutions, picking a course of action, modifying that course midway and reflective thinking on the outcome. There is little emphasis on what an individual knows and more emphasis placed on what an individual can do with the information given. This happens in our arts education classes everyday: whether creating a piece of artwork or singing a song or dancing or acting in a play. The students in these courses are learning perhaps the most important 21^st century skill of all: how to think. The arts also reach those students that may have different learning styles and have a profound grounding effect of teenagers by giving them a means for expression at a time when there is a true identity crisis. The arts affirm and solidify values. When a student reflects on life and themselves in a deep and meaningful way as happens through the arts, they begin to learn on a deeper and more meaningful level. This is important because we don’t want our students just to know the price of things, but most importantly their value.

I invite you to make comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com. You can always find out great information about our school system at http://www.columbus.k12.nc.us.

Edducational Technology

We’ve been talking all school year about how things have changed from the way they use to be. We have yet to talk, though, about the greatest change that has occurred in our lifetime. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969, they owed the success of their journey to a revolutionary 70 pound box called a computer. The capacity of this computer was around 2,000 words (less than a newspaper article!) with a cpu speed of around 1Mhz (modern cell phones are 400-500 times more powerful). It was truly a “modern” device and a triumph of technology.
Since then, the geometric growth of computer technology in everyday life is something that even the most forward-minded thinkers have been unable to predict. We are discovering new ways to use new technology, and one of those new uses has been and continues to be education. Technology is crucial to today’s education; the internet, software and advancing technologies have opened up new worlds to our students. But we as educators (and adults) need to step back and truly understand the implications of the explosive growth of technology.
There has been a tendency across the country in education to equate technology with computers. More computers=more technology= more learning. While it is true that computer technology does open up many possibilities, sitting a child down in front of a computer to “research” isn’t any different than throwing down an encyclopedia. Yes, there may be more information, and it may be more visually appealing, but is it engaging to the student and does it require higher order thinking skills? We may use PowerPoint presentations in our classroom- but is that fundamentally different from the chalkboard? Research on the internet and PowerPoint presentations can be very worthwhile activities, but technology can be and needs to be much more. Ten years ago, we focused on the access to content that technology provided. Today that content is everywhere. Our students, through cell phones, blogs and social networking sites have become not just consumers of content but CREATORS. While all of our English teachers are trying to figure out how to get their students to write in class, many of them are going home and writing voluntarily on a blog or website. In fact, many of our students only use paper at school. The writing is on the wall; in order to engage our students and prepare them for the future, we can’t only teach them how to access content, but rather we must teach them to filter content and use their own creativity to create new content within the context of technology. How is our school system meeting these challenges? Staff development has helped bring about a general understanding of the importance of effective use of technology. We know that access is the first step, so we have begun the purchase of mobile labs, a collection of wireless laptops that can be used in any classroom- or anywhere on the school grounds. Teachers are beginning to become content creators themselves through webpages and blogs. Ipods and PDAs are being used to enhance classroom learning and teacher education. Sophisticated software for learning is being implemented. This spring we plan a major revision to our technology plan, which will place a primary focus on instructional technology and its effective use. We also plan to implement more initiatives to provide students with content-creating opportunities, utilizing media and web 2.0 applications.
Above all, because technology is changing so fast, access is not equivalent to success ; a computer in and of itself is not the answer. Using technology to awaken young minds and create real connections in a familiar language is what we strive to be about. The 20th century was about providing access to information through technology. The 21st century will likely be about what individuals create with that knowledge. In order to prepare our students to be successful in the technological world, we must prepare them not only to click, but also to create.

School Version 2.0- Bibles in Schools

There has been a lot of mis-information about the distribution of Bibles in our schools, and I would like to set the record straight. I am sure that everyone knows of the excellent and important work that the Gideons do in our community. I personally feel that putting the word of God into people’s hand can and does have life-changing effects. We have always invited them into our schools and they have given out Bibles to thousands of children over the years.

The Constitution and other laws are clear about what is allowed and what is not when it comes to religion and school. As a person who is heavily involved in both, I would like to tell you how I personally feel. I am a Christian. In my day-to-day life I use my faith not only as a means of support, but as a means of guidance. My faith is not separate from my job; they are forever joined. I would hope that every student, teacher and administrator would find the same comfort in faith that I have found.

As superintendent of Columbus County Schools, I am bound to uphold the laws and constitution of the state and of the country. One of those laws states that to allow Bibles to be distributed in grades K-8 is unconstitutional. Could we fight this? We could. We have received, in writing, a letter that says that if we do distribute Bibles in those grades, we WILL be sued. Estimates are hard to gather, but even if we won a lawsuit, excess legal fees could run many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our school system or county government would have to pay for this- we could not use state or federal funds. We have also been told by our liability insurance carrier that no coverage would be provided for such a lawsuit.. That money needs to stay in our schools and in our community, where it can help give our students the tools they need to be successful. We will continue to review requests for distribution of materials in school on a case-by-case basis. However, under laws of Equal Access, if we provide one group access to distribute materials, we must provide EVERY group access. This could mean that we may be forced to provide access to groups that are controversial in nature.

Do these changes mean that religion is leaving our schools? Far from it. Students of all grades, as well as staff, may bring Bibles to school to read during non-instructional time. Several of our school facilities have Bible study groups that meet after school, and many of the students in our schools participate in clubs that are faith-based. Many of our students participate in “Rally Round the Flag”, a student-led before-school prayer. Every classroom in our system has in it the national motto of the United States, “In God We Trust”.

I know that many of you will be upset that we are following the law. As a leader and a role model, I must follow the law if I am to ask our staff and our students to do the same. But beyond following the law, I will follow my heart. I will continue to be a role model to our young men and women, and I would encourage all of you out there to truly consider what is the right thing to do in this situation. Is it really the right thing to spend time and energy fighting for a cause, or is it the right thing to spend the same time and energy fighting for our young people, getting them to go to church, and helping them become their best when they are there?

Our school system desperately needs the help of faith-based organizations. Our District Strategic Plan requires that every one of our schools partners with two faith-based organizations. Our school system and the Columbus County Economic Development Commission have started an initiative that would give every church in the county an opportunity to mentor a handful of students. We have identified almost 150 churches. If each church takes a few children under its collective wing, helps them, both spiritually and academically, think of the positive impact that would have. We all know that when a child knows someone cares, they are much more likely to strive to their full potential; in many cases our churches may be the only hope for a child to find someone who cares. While we cannot give Bibles to students in schools, we can invite them into our churches and show them the Bible in practice. I hope that we, as members of the faith community, will funnel our energies in this positive direction, and help bring Christian principals off the page and into practice. In order for our children to fully understand the Bible, they must see us adults put it in action, not just in words. Now is the chance for all people of faith in Columbus County to do just that.

School-Version 2.0 - Athletics

We’ve been talking lately about the changes taking place in education. We have talked a great deal about what goes on inside the classroom. Today I want to discuss the great work that goes on outside of the classroom through our athletics programs.

As most of you know, the South Columbus High School football team was recently crowned the North Carolina Eastern 2A Champions. It was a personal thrill to watch the team play in the finals at Carter-Finley stadium in Raleigh, and while they didn’t win, I think I speak for everyone in Columbus County when I say how very proud we are of Coach Price and his staff, as well as the administration, faculty and staff, and of course the players. Recently, baseball teams and basketball teams from West Columbus have played in state championships and have represented our county extremely well.

I personally feel that athletics play a vital role in our schools. Each year hundreds of students make vital connections between what takes place on the field or court, what takes place in the classroom, and what takes place in life. Involving a student in athletics is perhaps the most effective strategy we have to keep students in schools and to minimize discipline problems. Our coaches also provide our students with very important role models and allow students that struggle in the classroom an opportunity to experience success. We all know that when a child experiences success in SOMETHING, he/she is much more likely to me successful in EVERYTHING. The coaches in our county work tirelessly and selflessly, not just to win, but to help young men and women reach their full potential. I frequently hear from parents or fellow teachers about coaches going that extra mile. One parent told me about a coach that personally paid for basketball equipment for players whose parents couldn’t afford it. Every coach in our system makes great personal sacrifices for little or no pay, because they believe in the power of what they are doing. Our athletic teams, even those that don’t have many wins on the field or court, help to create many winners in life.

We are currently striving to expand our athletic programs. Soccer and volleyball have been added to middle school athletics. We continue to expand and enhance our high school athletic programs. We also realize the role that physical activity should play in the every day lives of our students. The Healthy Active Children Policy adopted by the State Board of Education requires all students in grades K-8 to engage in 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day. Our curriculum coordinators have implemented across all areas “energizers”- short integrated activities that help add physical movement to academic classes. We also require that all classes have some built in physical activity, especially on the high school level.

Fifty years ago, athletics and physical activity were often treated as extras, separating student’s minds and bodies. We realize today, in order to educate the WHOLE child we must educate the minds AND the bodies of our students in an integrated and meaningful way.