Education Process Help

Nearly 14,000 Wake County households participated in a trial run of a proposed student assignment plan expected to go before the local school board for approval this fall, a school system spokesman said Tuesday.

The 12-day test drive of the Community-Based Choice plan, also referred to as the blue plan, allowed parents from 13,805 households to see how the Wake County Public School System could potentially place students in schools under a new student assignment policy that was adopted last year.

The blue plan allows parents to choose from four to six elementary schools, each linked with a middle and high school. Students get priority based on where they live and whether they have a sibling at the school. The plan also takes into account achievement balance and capacity at each school.

The plan is one of two that Superintendent Tony Tata introduced last month.

The other plan, the Base Schools Achievement plan, or green plan, is more similar to the current assignment model.

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From The Indianapolis Star: The Indiana State Teachers Association has sued the state to block a new school voucher law. The suit contends that school vouchers, which redirect a portion of state aid from public districts to private schools for some low- and middle-income parents, violate the state constitution.

The UNC system said goodbye to two longtime leaders last week: John Bardo, chancellor of Western Carolina University for 16 years, and Rosemary DePaolo, chancellor of UNC Wilmington for eight years. Both retired Thursday after overseeing growth and change at their universities.

At WCU, Bardo increased student population from 6,500 to 9,400 and oversaw 14 new or renovated buildings, the acquisition of 344 acres for a public-private initiative and a substantial rise in the academic profile of incoming students. Under Bardo, WCU was an early adopter of technology and one of the first campuses in the country to require every student to have a computer.

At UNCW, DePaolo is credited with changing the atmosphere of the campus, which went from 25 percent of students living on campus to 40 percent. UNCW has climbed in an assortment of “best of” college rankings, and this year there were more than 11,400 applicants for 1,950 spots in the freshman class.

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Schools Superintendent Edward Kliszus, who will retire from his city job today, has been hired to lead a school district in New York state.

Kliszus will begin his new position at Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District Friday, and will earn $217,150 in annual salary during the three-year contract, according to a letter on the school district’s website. Kliszus opted to not participate in the health insurance plan or other benefit plans offered by the New York district, according to the letter.

The superintendent submitted his retirement notice to the Hackensack school board in February, and said at the time that his decision was spurred by the state’s proposed salary and pension reforms for public workers. In

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