State schools superintendent urges use of technology and kindness

TRENTON - June Atkinson challenged Jones County educators Thursday to make a difference in every student's life, use technology and kindness to increase the number of students who graduate and give the state a reason to talk about the system for years to come.

Atkinson, the state superintendent of public education, addressed the system's staff at its convocation at Jones Senior High to prepare for the beginning of classes Monday.

Principal Pascal Mubenga called Jones Senior High a new school, because more than a dozen new people have joined the staff. The system's new staff members and Craig Sparrow, the art teacher at Jones Middle and the county's teacher of the year, were recognized.

Mike Bracy, the superintendent of Jones County schools, introduced Atkinson. Bracy previously worked with Atkinson at the state system office.

"The start of school is my favorite time of the year, because we are bursting with optimism about the coming year," Atkinson said.

She welcomed new teachers to the system and said No Child Left Behind provisions should be changed because they damage morale at schools that make progress but do not meet all of the requirements.

"I must be candid," she said. "As state superintendent, I have grown very weary of No Child Left Behind's all or nothing strategy. You can tell my generation, but it's like asking Michael Jordan to score 100 percent when he gets the basketball."

Atkinson noted the state's recently released 69.9 percent graduation rate for last year. She told cafeteria workers, bus drivers and principals to encourage students to stay in school. She said investments in early childhood education and technology will be the keys to raising graduation rates. She said students will struggle their entire lives in our economy if they do not get an education.

After a cell phone rang in the middle of Atkinson's speech, she said the devices can be powerful tools for learning. She mentioned schools in northeastern North Carolina where students received laptops with e-books, reading assignments and videos. She cited schools in Onslow County, Durham and Winston-Salem that used smart phones last year to help eighth-grade students struggling with algebra.

"Lessons were loaded on the phones, and they could text message professionals for help," she said. "Isn't that a switch for us in public education?

"But I think it's a wave of the future, because that cell phone is a favorite tool of theirs. We need to look for ways to make the phone an instructional tool, not an instructional distraction. One day, when you come to Jones County to teach, you'll be issued the keys to your room and a gizmo with every instructional thing you need."

Atkinson said good teachers are more important than technology. She said she still remembers her first day of school in rural Bedford County, Va. She said her first grade teacher, Miss Forgie, people at her first North Carolina teaching job in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools and a fourth-grade teacher have given her reason to look fondly on public education.

"Everyone in this room has the power to help students reach their dreams," she said. "My challenge for you this year is for you to give your students something to talk about 10 years, 50 years from now. Give North Carolina a reason to talk about Jones County."