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The top state school rating is "excellent," but downtown Burke High is celebrating "average."
Breaking down Burke's report card rating
High schools' report card ratings are based on five criteria: longitudinal exit exam pass rate (20 percent); first-attempt exit exam pass rate (20 percent); percentage of passing scores on end-of-course tests (20 percent); on-time graduation rate (30 percent); and five-year graduation rate (10 percent). Each school receives a certain amount of points depending on its performance, and those are weighted to determine a school's index score, which is translated into a rating.
Here's a look at how Burke High did in each of those categories in 2013 compared with the previous year.
2012 2013
Longitudinal exit exam 71.7 percent 87.1 percent
First-attempt exit exam 60.4 percent 58.2 percent
Passing end-of-course tests 57.4 percent 54.5 percent
Graduation rate 54.3 percent 70.3 percent
Five-year graduation rate 61.4 percent 60.6 percent
Absolute index score 2 2.7
A school's index score determines its rating.
At-risk schools are 2.31 or lower.
Below average schools are 2.32 to 2.64.
Average schools are 2.65 to 3.17.
Good schools are 3.18 to 3.39.
Excellent schools are 3.4 and above.
Source: S.C. Education Oversight Committee
The persistently failing school posted its best-ever rating on its recent state report card, and that was cause for a schoolwide pep rally.
"Our kids need that," Principal Maurice Cannon said. "They need to hear, 'Hey, I'm proud of you.' "
But the latest improvement is too little too late for some who have watched the school languish as one of the lowest-performing in South Carolina.
At least one of its well-known alumni is calling for Burke High to be shut down and restarted, and the issue soon could go to the District 20 Constituent School Board for a vote. The downtown board doesn't have the authority to close the school, but an affirmative vote would make a political statement.
All of this is coming at a time when Charleston County School District leaders are moving ahead with a new effort to invigorate the school. They have dedicated a full-time employee to developing the University Center, which is a partnership between Burke High and downtown higher education institutions and medical centers.
"Are we committed to revitalizing Burke High and changing the perception? Yes," said Superintendent Nancy McGinley. "I think there will be ample renewed momentum, and I think there is a way to change both the perception and accelerate the outcomes without (closing the school)."
It's hard to say what will happen next, but it's clear the school again has become the center of attention.
Past to present
Burke High is one of the district's most high-profile, politicized schools. That can be attributed in large part to its location, racial makeup, poverty and academic failures.
For many black residents, the peninsula's lone neighborhood school is a tradition-rich, community institution that has given their children a good foundation for a promising future.
"Too often, people get rid of things that make a difference and continue to inspire the community to be better and to work together, and Burke is symbolic of that," said Barbara Dilligard, a parent of two Burke High graduates and president of the Burke High School Foundation.
For many white and middle-class residents, the school has become synonymous with failure. Last school year, nearly half of the downtown children who could enroll in Burke High chose to go elsewhere.
"The stigma is there," said Todd Garrett, a county school board member and downtown resident. "No one wants to go there, and no one wants their kids to go there."
The school has gone before the S.C. Board of Education twice in the past seven years for its academic shortcomings, and local leaders have promised twice to do better.
It has had improvement plan after improvement plan, and progress has been incremental, at best. The high school saw a blip of progress on its report card ratings in 2008 and 2009 when it rated "below average," but its middle school always has been "at risk."
That's why the middle school's "below average" rating, coupled with the high school's "average" rating, has been big news this year. The high school's rating gains come from a 16 percentage point jump in its graduation and exit exam rates, for a total of 70.3 percent and 87.1 percent, respectively.
The school had eight more students graduate last school year than the previous year, and it did a better job of tracking students who transferred or moved. In the past, those students would have counted against its graduation rate.
The school also dropped its traditional schedule and did a two-week, intensive exit-exam workshop with students to ensure that they were ready. Students must pass the exit exam to earn a South Carolina diploma.
"This became the top priority," Cannon said. "They were more focused during that time."
But not all of the high school's results were positive. Its end-of-course pass rate, its first-time exit-exam pass rate and its five-year graduation rate all worsened this year, and that is a concern for Cannon.
"We can't afford to slip in any area," he said.
Closing the school
Arthur Lawrence, a well-known Burke High alumnus and co-founder of Friends of Burke, is among those who are saying it's time to close the school.
He's an ardent supporter of the school, but he said it needs a fresh start. The district has poured money into the school — it spent $15,195 per pupil in 2010-11 compared with the district average of $9,233, according to 2013 state report cards — and students have the same problems, he said.
"Everyone they put in there is not working," Lawrence said. "The thing is, that school needs to be integrated, and it needs to be revamped from top to bottom. It doesn't seem like the district wants to do that and make the school reflect the community."
He wants to see a change in the faculty and staff and see it restarted with the same Burke name.
"The name doesn't educate the kids; it's what you have in the facility," he said.
Fran Clasby, a downtown resident and member of the downtown constituent school board, said Lawrence's take on what needs to happen at Burke High is one of the reasons he plans to propose to the constituent board that the school be closed.
Clasby said the board routinely expels its students or considers requests for students who want to transfer, and they need a school with more resources than Burke can offer. He questioned the validity of its "average" rating.
He suggested that the school reopen as a temporary high school for Mount Pleasant until its building is constructed.
"(Mount Pleasant) is busting at the seams," he said. "It still would serve downtown, but it would come with a whole new staff and administration."
Those who want to close Burke High will face resistance. Two of Felicia Williams' sons have graduated from the school, and the third will walk across the commencement stage in May. She said the school's problem hasn't been its staff or principal; the problems are students who don't show up for class and parents that haven't been involved.
Her youngest son, Kendric Williams, has been at Burke High since seventh grade, and he initially didn't plan to go to college. That changed after some school-sponsored visits to college campuses, and he is the first in his class to receive a college acceptance letter.
He also doesn't think the school should close.
"Our school is not bad," he said.
Cannon said shutting down the school wouldn't solve any problems or guarantee better outcomes.
"I can't imagine this community wanting another change," he said.
The school's culture has been for students who don't like certain teachers to retaliate by not paying attention or doing their work. He and the school's faculty have worked hard to build positive relationships with students, and a new faculty would mean restarting that trust-building process.
"It takes time," he said. "(Relationships) make a difference with our students."
The University Center
McGinley is committed to the University Center concept, and she tapped Corel Lenhardt, a former associate principal at St. John's High on Johns Island, to work on the project and develop its specifics.
Lenhardt has been in the position a few weeks, and she has spent that time meeting with the school's stakeholders to find out what they want. She plans to take the input and report back to McGinley, who will decide on the next steps.
Lenhardt said it's too early to say what the program will involve. University Center has been described as a partnership between Burke High and at least four colleges — MUSC, The Citadel, the College of Charleston and Trident Technical College — and they would develop courses for high school students to earn high school and college credit. The goal would be to better prepare Burke High graduates for college or career, as well as attract more downtown students to the school.
Although the University Center is in its initial stages of development, it already is facing criticism.
Garrett said the feedback he's heard from the community hasn't been positive. Parents want a good, academically rigorous high school, and they see University Center as another rendition of programs that have been tried in the past, he said. They don't think it's a good idea, he said.
Dilligard said the University Center appears to be limited in its scope, and its exclusivity is objectionable. She wants to see the school attract more students, but she also wants the program to offer courses that help bridge students to careers that might not offer degrees.
She hasn't seen that in the plans, and she worries that it could be a repeat of when Academic Magnet High was housed on the school's campus.
Lawrence said he's willing to give the University Center a shot, but "this should be the last straw, and it should have taken place yesterday."
"You can't wait five years to get this off the ground," he said.
Going forward
Cannon is proud of the gains his school has made, and he sees it as a big part of his job to be in front of students and encouraging them to have the best mindset.
He's invested time and resources into finding ways to motivate students to do what is right, and it's important to let students know they can succeed.
He said the school is on the right track, and he's determined to continue its progress. Moving backward isn't an option.
"That's what keeps me up at night," he said.
Reach Diette Courrégé Casey at @Diette on Twitter or 843-937-5546.


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Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Members of the Goose Creek International Triathlon Club are training to compete in the 2013 Ironman Florida Triathlon on Nov. 2.
An Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run.
Ironman Florida will be held at Panama City Beach.
The athletes have been training since early spring with two goals. The first goal is to complete the event and earn the coveted title "Ironman."
The second goal is to beat one of their friends in one or more of the events.
In training, they cycle up to 120 miles on a Saturday as well as shorter distances several days during the week. They run as much as 12 to 18 miles in one day and then run at least three other days per week. They swim one to two miles per week (4,000 yards).
The Goose Creek City pool at Crowfield County Club is open to the group Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 a.m.
The Goose Creek International Triathlon Club consists of about 20 dedicated tri-athletes that train together and compete in local triathlons in the Charleston Area.
GCITC Membership is informal, free and fun.
\They consider the Club "international" because Great Britain native and Stratford High School teacher Jon Edwards trained with the club all summer.
Steve Sabback, Chris Louden, Gary Vance, Don Oswalt and Karen Creighton will be attempting their first Ironman distance triathlon.
For more information about these athletes, triathlons in general or the Goose Creek International Triathlon Club, contact Doug Tedford at firstname.lastname@example.com
The Goose Creek International Triathlon Club is sponsored in part by Clearview Auto Glass and The Steinberg Law Firm, LLP.
© 2016 The Gazette an Evening Post Industries company. All Rights Reserved.
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subset: commoncrawl


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p&p Claims based Identity & Access Control Guide – Early drafts available
- Posted: Oct 05, 2009 at 7:56PM
Right click "Save as…"
A team led by Eugenio Pace at p&p has been busy working on the Claims based Identity and Access Control guide. We are thrilled to announce the availability of early drafts. Check out the CodePlex project site at
In this video, Eugenio Pace gives an overview of this project and the scenarios that are covered in this guide. This guide will introduce you to "claims-based" identity, a set of ideas and tools that may make it easier for you to build features like autorization, authentication and personalization into your apps in a more flexible way. In this guide, we'll introduce some concepts that may sound new: claims, federated identity, and much more.
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Doctor Who: 'The Almost People' Now Available on iTunes and Amazon
Wait no further, you can now get (buy and/or rent) Doctor Who: The Almost People on iTunes and Amazon. Unlike 'The Rebel Flesh' there is no delay this time. See the links below:


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Rock your own interactive locker
POSTED: 07:24 PM MDT Jul 23, 2011 UPDATED: 08:20 AM MDT Sep 19, 2013
Show off your sense of style and creativity by decorating your own locker.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.blog comments powered by Disqus


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Top Definition
flailing about in the middle of the mosh pit with no hand eye cordination, running into people and stomping your boots. Hardcore kids usually make fun of the metal head or bro who is preforming this idiotic deed.
Watch out!!! bro moshhhh!!!
بواسطة KevINDESTRUCTIBLE أغسطس/آب 28, 2006
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Names & Faces: What's your memory IQ?
Do you remember names and faces? Some people are better at this than others, and some claim that they never forget a face.
This is a valuable talent in the family history field, as some of us can immediately recognize people in photographs or remember the names of relatives at reunions or large family weddings.
A new study - and online test - developed by researchers at Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) will help you learn how good your memory is in relation to others. They are inviting the world to participate in the online experiment.
The 10-minute test can be taken from a computer, smartphone, iPad and other mobile device. It's part of a "crowd-sourcing" science trend, using the Internet to gather research data while allowing participants to learn something about themselves.
I just took it and my rough-estimate score result was 108, meaning that I correctly identified 86% of the name-face pairs.


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Culinary DelightsBündner specialties such as Capuns, Pizokel (Home-baked spinach dumpling) as well as Cheese and Meat Fondues. Fresh, home-baked fruit covered torte and cakes. Various specialty coffees.
SpecialitiesIn the evening, horse-drawn carriage rides. Your choice of cheese or meat Fondue. Return by hotel bus. Snow aperitif: for groups "Apero" at the snow bar, Torchlight illumination.
Height: 1861 m a.s.l.
Local place name: Sertig
Winter Hiking Trail
Cross-country Ski Trail
Bus/Postal bus
Horse-drawn sledge/carriage
Winter Hiking:
from Clavadel 1h00


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Top Definition
Newest fad hitting gay bars everywhere. The Robodyke...usually a lesbian dressed in a AE poleshirt, AE mesh trucker hat, messy L word 'I wanna looks just like Shane' haircut...fashionable hoody, usually with cute lil' designs and probably from W49 or another skateshop..Sometimes the Robodyke mixes it up with a 59 fifty fitted cap or lip ring, just to stand out from the rest.
She's a Robodyke, look at her clothing
作者 Catherine Gauge 2009年2月01日
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Fair ~
High: 68°F ~ Low: 44°F
Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2016
Helping Heroes KidsPosted Thursday, September 13, 2012, at 2:30 PM
From their website:www.helpingheroeskids.org
"HHK is dedicated to helping the children of our Nation's heroes. The freedoms and safety we enjoy is paid for by the actions of our heroes. We need your support to show those who serve our country that we acknowledge them for the sacrifices they give. HHK is your voice in directly showing our Military Heroes, Law Enforcement Heroes, and Firefighting Heroes that they have not been forgotten. When loss or injury occur, HHK steps in!"
"The goal of Helping Heroes Kids is to send children to camp and or to assist with their college tuition. We are a non-profit, veteran run organization."
"Selflessly our heroes perform their duties. In the event of loss we provide the children of our heroes up to $15,000.00 for tuition used in higher education. Should severe injury resulting in the inability to return to duty occur, we provided up to $3,000.00 per child to attend a camp program."
I was searching for a goal, a reason why I get up nearly every morning at 5A to either lift kettlebells or to run. I don't want to be a bodybuilder and I'm not training to be a champion in anything. This run and others like it, give me a goal outside of myself. Something to focus on, something to strive towards, some way to give back to those who have given so much. I run on Saturday for my brother, SFC Brent M. Juelfs, and his family and those like him.
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My name is Leah Cauthron. I was born and raised on a farm near Cushing, Iowa. My parents still live there. I am a conservative Catholic. I have been married to Randy for 22 years and we have six children. I received my degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Wyoming College and as a mother of six and a daycare mom, I have used probable cause, reasonable doubt, search and seizure, Miranda rights, submission, arrest and interrogation technique as a part of my daily life. I can also shoot a .357 magnum with deadly accuracy. I have lots of opinions on lots of things. I am not an expert on anything but I read a lot and will gladly share that information if I find it accurate. I have a sarcastic nature and for the most part I have pretty thick skin and most things don't bother me for long. I don't like mudslinging or name calling so keep negativity of the personal nature to yourself. Enjoy and welcome to my opinion.
Hot topicsTake from the Soliders....again.
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President Obama's speech at the Lincoln Memorial this afternoon (see the text HERE) fell short of the stirring eloquence of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech of� 50 years ago today.
But neither should Obama's effort have been expected to come anywhere close to King's historic address. Nobody now living is capable of that.
The characteristics that most distinguished King's speeches were the rhythms and cadences they borrowed from the traditions of what he himself called the old Negro spirituals. They were sermons as much as speeches, religious as much as (or more than) political.
In all ...
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