Business Leaders
Applaud Gains in Education
North
Carolinas business community will continue to be one of the driving
forces behind the First in America by 2010 education initiative,
according to NCCBI President Phil Kirk and Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
The ambitious goal of raising student performance
levels to the top of national rankings was set forth by Hunt during
his 1999 State of the State address to the General Assembly. Since
then, the governor has asked NCCBIs executive committee to serve as
the business advisors to the initiative, and the committee members
unanimously agreed.
Photo caption: NCCBI
Chairman Mac Everett presents a plaque to Gov. Jim to thank him for
his leadership in improving the public schools.
Working for better public schools in North
Carolina continues to be the top priority for NCCBI, said Kirk, who
also is chairman of the State Board of Education. Our business
community has rallied behind our schools, but at the same time there
must be quantifiable accountability measures in place to demonstrate
how our schools are doing.
Kirk, Hunt and other state education leaders
gathered at a press conference Dec. 6 to release the first report card
monitoring the states progress toward the goal of being first in
America. It included letter grades for each of five goals established
by Hunt and the states Education Cabinet.
North Carolina received a C for the goal of
high student performance; a B- for the goal of having every
child ready to learn; a C+ for the goal of safe, orderly and
caring schools; a B- for the goal of quality teachers and
administrators; and a B- for the goal of strong family, business
and community support.
Were not where we want to be, but look how
far weve come, said Hunt, noting that North Carolina students
made the highest overall gains during the 1990s of any state on the
National Assessment on Educational Progress (NAEP) tests for reading
and math. Student
proficiency on the states end-of-grade tests skyrocketed 32 percent
in the last seven years. SAT scores have improved by 40 points over
the last decade.
In addition to Kirk, the governors Education
Cabinet includes state Superintendent Mike Ward, UNC President Molly
Broad, N.C. Community College System President Martin Lancaster and
N.C. Independent College and Universities President Hope Williams. All
of the educational leaders spoke at the press conference in support of
the First in America initiative. Sen. Howard Lee (D-Orange), co-chair
of the Senate Education Committee, said the House and Senate have
collaborated across party lines to make education a top priority in
the state.
Strategies already have been identified to improve
grades across the board, including eliminating the minority
achievement gap. New gateways for grades 3, 5 and 8 have been
put into place by the State Board of Education to ensure that students
are working at grade level in reading, writing and math before being
promoted to the next grade.
We cant be content until all children are
receiving a quality education in North Carolina, Kirk said. We
not only need to maintain our momentum, we need to speed it up.
Membership
Campaign: Although final numbers have yet to be tallied,
its apparent that the First Citizens Bank folks produced the
best-ever membership campaign in NCCBIs 58-year history. At last
count, the bank had brought in 383 new members.
Added to other, ongoing membership recruitment
efforts, including those by members of the NCCBI Board of Directors,
470 new members have joined since April 1. That raises total
membership in NCCBI to more than 2,200.
The enthusiasm of the First Citizens team is a
major reason for the success of the campaign. Another reason is the
extra effort thats been put into promoting NCCBI to business people
throughout the state during informal receptions.
Since April 1, First Citizens Bank leaders, NCCBI
board members and NCCBI staff have staged membership recruitment
events in Cullowhee, Hender- sonville, Greensboro, Reidsville,
Sanford, Asheboro, Skyland, High Point and Fayetteville.
Two major membership recruitment events are coming
up soon. One is planned for Jan. 25 in Winston-Salem at the N.C.
School of the Arts. The evening reception will be sponsored by NCCBI
board members in Winston-Salem. The second will be Feb. 15 at White
Oaks in Charlotte. NCCBI Chairman Mac Everett of Charlotte, the First
Union Bank executive, will be the main host for that event.
NCCBIs recent success in membership recruitment
has even attracted some national attention. The Association of
Membership and Marketing Executives recently honored NCCBI and the
California state chamber by presenting its top award for Highest
Market Share Growth.
Legislative
Conference: Because of the many changes
in state government brought about by the November elections, a larger
than usual crowd is expected to attend NCCBIs annual Legislative
Conference on Thursday, Feb. 22. The half-day event will again be held
at the McKimmon Center on the campus of N.C. State University. A
highlight of the conference will be the unveiling of NCCBIs
legislative agenda for the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
The chairs of the associations seven policy committees will brief
attendees on the positions that NCCBI will be pursuing in the
legislature.
The conference will begin with registration and a
continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude with a luncheon
address by Lt. Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, the first woman elected to
such a high office in state history.
The conference will be preceded by the
highly-popular Legislative Reception the prior evening, Feb. 21, from
5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Capital City Club in downtown Raleigh. The event
returns to the club, where it has been held for many years, after
being held last year at the new Raleigh Entertainment and Sports
Arena.
NCCBI members should watch their mail for a
brochure containing complete information about the event. The brochure
contains a registration card members can use to reserve their spot at
the conference.
Membership
News: New members from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 include: Archerd
& Cuthbertson, PLLC, Asheville; Rep.
Joanne W. Bowie, Greensboro; Craft
Homes USA, Monroe; Durham
Public Schools, Durham; Forsyth
County Public Library, Winston-Salem; Henry
Dockworks Inc., Rocky Mount; High
Country Bank, Boone; Hudson
Brothers Construction Co., Greenville; Hyde
County Schools, Swan Quarter; Johnston,
Allison & Hord, PA, Charlotte; Mail
Boxes Etc., Huntersville; Hon.
John Martin, Raleigh; MicroMass
Communications Inc., Raleigh; Rep.
Mia Morris, Fayetteville; NC
Network, Raleigh; Pearsons
Oil Co., Candler; Phillips
Interests, High Point; Linda
Staunch & Associates, New Bern; WTXY
Radio, Whiteville; Yancey
Insurance Agency Inc., Raleigh; York
Oil Co., White Plains.
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