Glenwood Claims Battle of the Books Title

Battle of the Books is a reading competition that takes students on a reading adventure with award-winning books. The goal is to make reading fun and exciting! 

On April 4, six elementary schools, including Carrboro Elementary, Estes Hills, Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe, Glenwood, Scroggs, and Seawell, participated in the district competition. The books were selected by the librarians in the participating schools. 

This year, we congratulate the All-Stars of Glenwood Elementary School for winning the 2018 Battle of the Books competition. Way to go, Glenwood Gators and all of the participating students and schools for their hard work, dedication to reading, and participation in this annual reading program.

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Glenwood Hosts African-American Read-In

History Month by hosting a Read-In with guest readers, who all shared storybooks, poems and biographies of and by African-Americans. Glenwood’s event took place February 8th and 9th in classrooms and the media center. Nearly every student, K-5th, experienced the gifts offered by more than two dozen readers who included Superintendent Dr. Pam Baldwin, CHCCS district staff members, School Board members, UNC athletes and a variety of Orange County commissioners and others.

"I always enjoy my time reading with our students," said Board Member James Barrett. "Their natural curiosity and passion for learning is inspiring." Board Vice-Chair Margaret Samuels and Board Member Amy Fowler also took their turns in the reader’s seat.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners was also well represented in the slate of readers. Chair Mark Dorosin shared a quote that really inspired the 5th graders: "The struggle is the victory." That simple statement prompted much circle discussion among the 5th grade students. They shared their own struggles and talked about how working through struggles is a victory in itself.

Commissioner Renee Price first spoke about her educational background, as well as her professional journey. She mentioned that, as a graduate student, she had spent most of a weekend accompanying Rosa Parks to events. Students were fascinated by that revelation, and they had plenty of questions for Price. She then read a number of Langston Hughes poems to 4th grade students, and she sought their responses and interpretations.

“The readers inspired students to learn more about African-American history, leaders, and authors, as well as inspiring them to continue working hard in their educational paths,” said Katherine Whittington, Glenwood, Principal Intern and co-organizer of the read-in.

A small group of 5th grade female students enjoyed a Lunch-and-Listen when their guest readers appeared in the classroom. JoJo Jones, a UNC freshman basketball player, and Ru Mucherera, a soccer player, took turns reading, asking the girls questions and sharing their own thoughts about education, stories, and sports. 

Jones read Despite the Height, a book by former UNC star point guard, Ivory Latta; the picture book captures the WNBA player’s experience learning to play basketball against her older, bigger brothers. Both women encouraged the girls to remember how important it is to focus on academics, even when sports are a primary passion. “Do the best you can in school,” Jones said. “Just because you play the sport well doesn’t mean you automatically get to go to any school you want.” She went on to say that she’d like to play professional ball, but not for long; she hopes to return to law school and become a sports lawyer. Jones provided an off-the-cuff, brief overview of Title IX, and she urged them to think about why it matters in so many areas of women’s lives.

“Discussions about the books, authors, and lives of those that they read about continued to be discussed throughout the week,” Whittington said. “We loved seeing our young scholars interact with community volunteers who inspire them and challenge them.”

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Special Board Meeting - Wednesday, October 11

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education has called a special meeting to take place at Glenwood Elementary (2 Prestwick Road - Chapel Hill) on Wednesday, October 11 at 6:30 p.m.

The purpose of this meeting is for staff to present options for the reduction of enrollment levels at Glenwood Elementary, and to collect feedback from the Board regarding the criteria for evaluating the options. The Board will also entertain public comments.

Glenwood Elementary's enrollment currently exceeds capacity by 68 students. Each of the school’s 20 classrooms and five mobile classrooms are now in use. The school's enrollment is projected to increase again next year. This increase is anticipated due to the expansion of the Mandarin Immersion program along with growth from within Glenwood’s attendance zones. As a result of the Mandarin expansion, the projected number of classrooms for traditional students will decrease in 2018-19.

For more information, see the agenda abstract for this Board item.

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Social Workers and UNC

Pictured left to right: Marne Meredith (Ephesus Elementary),
Wendy Johnston (Glenwood Elementary) and Melissa Breaden
(Pre-K)

The Field Education Program of the UNC School of Social Work recently extended its appreciation to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for long standing service and commitment to the field of social work and to the community by serving as a training site for Master-level social work interns.  

Congratulations, CHCCS school social work field instructors!

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Glenwood Gators Win NC Chinese Speech and Writing Contest

More than 200 students competed in this year's North Carolina Chinese Speech and Writing Contest hosted by the Confucius Institute at North Carolina State University. Glenwood Elementary Dual Language students brought home the hardware. Below is the award list.

Speech Contest

1st Place: Angela Seaman (4th grade)
Stage Charisma: Ava Ramsey (5th grade)
Award of Participation: Chase Copeland, William Dennis and Rory Huseman (all 3rd grade)

Writing Contest

Heritage Group
1st Place: Vivian Zhu (5th grade)
2nd Place: Christopher Liang (3rd grade)
Honorable mention: Julia Jang, Luca Jiang and Duan Wang (all 3rd grade)

Non-Heritage Group
1st Place: Angela Seaman (4th grade)

Glenwood also won the "Excellent Organization of Writing Contest."

Congratulations to all our Glenwood Gators!

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Glenwood Elementary Ribbon Cutting

Glenwood Elementary celebrated the opening of a new administrative addition on Friday. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place at 1:30 p.m. and was attended by parents, staff, elected officials and nearly 500 Glenwood Gators.

Construction began last summer and provided a new office and conference space, along with a secure school entrance. It also provided staff bathrooms and corrected water infiltration conditions. The project was paid for from the district’s fund balance, and final costs came in slightly under the $1.256 million budgeted.

Speakers at the ceremony included Principal Katie Caggia, Students Arabela Doyle and Michael Fowler, Board Chair James Barrett, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Todd LoFrese and Architect Steve Nally from Moseley Architects.

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Katie Caggia Named Glenwood Elementary Principal

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, at its meeting on October 6, approved Katie Caggia as the new principal at Glenwood Elementary.  She replaces Dr. Darlene Ryan, who is now serving as the district's Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

Caggia is currently at Estes Hills Elementary, where she serves as the school's assistant principal.  She is also the district's reigning Assistant Principal of the Year.

"Katie Caggia is an excellent choice to lead Glenwood Elementary," said Senior Executive Director of Human Resources Arasi Adkins.  "She has enjoyed a tremendously successful career as an educator.  Her understanding of quality instruction is only matched by her passion for student success.  She demonstrates superior leadership skills, and is an expert at building relationships with students, staff and parents."

Prior to her arrival at Estes Hills Elementary in 2013, Caggia was a principal intern at Green Hope Elementary in Cary.  She also served as a teacher for 15 years at Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex.

Caggia received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Katie Caggia speaking at the 2016 CHCCS Convocation as the district's Assistant Principal of the Year

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Candace Crothers of Glenwood Elementary Named Finalist for NC Presidential Award

Congratulations to Candace Crothers of Glenwood Elementary. She was recently selected as one of three elementary mathematics finalists for the 2016 North Carolina Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

The PAEMST Awards are the highest honor bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science teaching. The program, administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, recognizes outstanding K-12 science and mathematics teachers from across the country for their contributions to the teaching and learning of mathematics and science.

A panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators will now select one mathematics teacher and one science teacher from North Carolina to receive the award. Each will receive a $10,000 award and a trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the National Awards Recognition Program.

Congratulations, Candace!

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Dr. Darlene Ryan Named Executive Director for Curriculum and Instruction

Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools is pleased to announce Dr. Darlene Ryan has been named Executive Director for Curriculum and Instruction.

Dr. Ryan is well-known in the school district and throughout the community. She served as the principal of Glenwood Elementary School since 2010. She spent 2004-10 as a math/science coordinator at the district level and held various teaching positions in both Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Chatham County Schools from 1986-2004.

Ryan earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“We are very pleased to have someone of Dr. Ryan’s experience and passion helping to lead the district’s instructional efforts,” said Interim Superintendent Jim Causby. “She knows the challenges we face, and has a proven track record of great results. She is highly skilled at leading teachers and administrators to creative and viable solutions.”

Ryan will fill theposition vacated by Dr. Steven Weber, who recently accepted a position out of state. She will begin in her new role on September 15.

Christopher Liles, currently the assistant principal at Glenwood Elementary, will serve as the interim principal of that school until a permanent replacement is named.

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Glenwood Elementary Sister School

Walt Disney was right...It is indeed a small world after all.

Our own Glenwood Elementary Gators have been working on creating a sister school relationship with a school in Beijing - the Second Elementary School of the Beijing Chaoyang Foreign Language School (Chao Wei Er Bu for short). 

This school recently merged with a nearby middle school, high school, and another elementary school to be one big school. The school has aspirations to be a leader in foreign languages, but for now it offers the same English program as the other public schools in Beijing. 

Glenwood students sent letters that were received warmly by principal. In fact, she immediately distributed them to her teachers and asked for responses. Glenwood now has a complete set of delightfully illustrated Chao Wei letters. English letters are answered in English, and Chinese letters in Chinese. There was also a ceremony to formally receive the gifts from Glenwood and, in turn, to present a variety of gifts destined for Glenwood.

The pictures below show Chao Wei kids displaying their Glenwood wrist bands, and greeting Glenwood with a gator chomp!

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Ryan Named CHCCS Principal of the Year

Darlene Ryan, principal at Glenwood Elementary, was named the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' Principal of the Year at a surprise announcement this morning at her school.

"Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools is very fortunate to have such an outstanding leader working with teachers and students at Glenwood Elementary School," said Superintendent Thomas A. Forcella.

Ryan has been the principal at Glenwood since 2010, having served as its assistant principal for the previous two years.

Ryan first joined CHCCS in 1986 for three years as an elementary physical education teacher before returning in 2004 as its math and science coordinator and served in that position for four years.

Ryan began her career in education as a health/PE teacher in Chatham County Schools, but throughout the years, she has taught elementary, middle and high school students.  She has also taught middle school science and social studies before becoming a science curriculum resource teacher in Chatham.

She has served as the President of the North Carolina Science Leadership Association and as the Director of District 5 for the North Carolina Science Teacher Association (NCSLA).

In 1996, Ryan was named North Chatham Elementary School Teacher of the Year and in 1999, she was named Technology and Learning North Carolina Teacher of the Year.  She earned the Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching from UNC-CH in 2002.  Ryan also received the NCSLA Herman Gatling Award for Outstanding Science Education Leadership in 2009.

Ryan holds a bachelor of arts in education, a master of education and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ryan will represent the district for the Wells Fargo Principal of the Year program. 

An emotional Darlene Ryan after the announcement

Glenwood Staff and CHCCS Administrators applaud Principal Ryan

Dr. Darlene Ryan, principal, Glenwood Elementary

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District Teachers Earn National Board Certification

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools had 12 teachers from seven district schools achieve their National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification in their fields during the 2011-12 certification cycle.  The recipients were announced last week.

The teachers for the 2012 Class are: Nicole Bolden, Mathematics/Early Adolescence McDougle MS; Karen Eisner, Exceptional Needs Specialist, District; Tijuana Goodwin, Mathematics/Early Adolescence, McDougle MS; Katherine Gulledge, Social Studies-History/Early Adolescence, McDougle MS; Mary Catherine Hunt, English-Language Arts/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Carrboro HS; Kimberly Manning, Science, Adolescence and Young Adulthood, East Chapel Hill HS; Abigail Martin, Early Childhood Generalist, FPG Elementary; Mary Grace Miller, Early Childhood Generalist, Morris Grove Elementary; Sandra Scheuermann, Exceptional Needs Specialist, Scroggs Elementary; Danae Shipp, Science/Early Adolescence, McDougle MS; Larisa Smith-Cortes, Middle Childhood Generalist, FPG Elementary; and Candace White, Middle Childhood Generalist, Glenwood Elementary.

In North Carolina, NBPTS certified teachers receive a 12 percent salary increase.  The state of North Carolina loans eligible teachers the $2,500 assessment fee and provides three days of paid release time and renewal credit for completing the portfolio portion of the process.  The loan is to be repaid over three years.  CHCCS teachers can also apply for $1,000 scholarships from the Public School Foundation for the fee.

The district offers a support group each year for teachers who embark on the national certification process.

Since the state process began in 1996, the district teachers has 277 teachers who hold national certification.

North Carolina leads the country with 18 percent of the teachers being certified, due in large part to the support provided by the General Assembly.  There were 636 who achieved their National Boards across the state in 2012.  There are now more than 100,000 National Board certified teachers across the nation since starting 24 years ago.  For more information, visit www.nbpts.org.


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Construction project updates from across CHCCS

The CHCCS Maintenance Department has been busy working on multiple construction projects at many district schools over the summer, getting ready for students and staff to return in August.

Work continues on Elementary #11, which is being built to LEED Gold Specifications and will open in August 2013.

At Carrboro HS, construction of the physical education and athletic field's bathroom building is underway.  The building will accomodate restroom facilities, as well as be used during PE classes.

A new mobile unit has been added to Estes Hills Elementary to accomodate its new PreK class.  New HVAC units are also being installed in all of the school's lower nine classrooms to improve energy efficiency, control humidity and improve air quality.

The field lighting at Chapel Hill HS is being replaced at the school's stadium and soccer fields.  The old wood pole fixtures have been removed and new underground electrical service is being installed.  Lights are also being added to the softball field.

Roofs have been replaced at Glenwood Elementary, McDougle MS and Phillips MS.  Paving and parking lot repairs are being made at Seawell Elementary, Phillips MS and Chapel Hill HS.

Carrboro High's new bathroom building

Estes Hills Elementary being prepared for delivery of the mobile unit

Paving work at Phillips Middle School parking lot

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