Principal’s Report
March 20, 2014
Safety at the Curb
After some potentially hazardous incidents at the curb during drop off, I sent a
letter to the community outlining our driving rules and also revised the procedures for
our cross walk monitors. I invited Deputy Smith (our School Resource Officer) to
observe and make recommendations on how to increase both safety and efficiency at
the curb.
DOS AND DON’TS OF DRIVING AT WOODS
Obviously, our primary concern related to driving at Woods is safety. We
also have an interest in making the carpool line move with efficiency, and
knowing that safety and efficiency are not always friends, we are issuing
the following guidelines.
Please do . . .
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drive slowly and cautiously at all times on our campus.
pull all the way forward along the drop-off line curb.
make sure your passengers are ready to exit your vehicle quickly.
park your vehicle if you need to switch with a student driver or if
your passengers require extra assistance in gathering their
belongings.
obey the crosswalk monitors and respect that they have a difficult
task.
Please do NOT . . .
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use your cell phone while operating a vehicle on our campus.
get out of your vehicle at the drop-off line if you are the driver.
ever allow a passenger to exit your vehicle on the driver’s side.
allow passengers to exit your vehicle while you’re in the passing
lane.
stop to unload your passengers in the crosswalk.
reverse in the drop-off line.
engage in conversations with the crosswalk monitors.
Tornado Drill
On March 5th we held a school-wide tornado drill, and it proceeded very smoothly.
Winter Weather
We still have managed to come through a difficult winter with only three makeup days, and we’ve now completed two of the three.
Our make-up days:
 Monday, February 17th
 Saturday, March 15th
 Friday, April 18th
And fortunately school will not be affected by the snow showers forecasted for
next Tuesday (while we’re away on spring break)!
I sent a letter out to families on March 4th reiterating some key factors that go into
“making the call” on school closings and delays. That letter included these bullet
points:
 The only thing that really matters in making the weather call is safety. The work we’re
doing at school is vitally important, but it’s not so important that families should feel at
risk in traveling to and from campus. So, safety is always uppermost in my mind in
making weather decisions, and please note, if local conditions ever prevent your safe
travel, I urge you to exercise your own good judgment and stay put.
 Public schools in North Carolina must be in session for 185 days or for 1,025 hours. (Up
until two years ago, this requirement was 180 days or 1,000 hours.) The calendar that we
submit to NC Department of Public Instruction fulfills the 185-day requirement. Many of
our surrounding districts have a longer school day and are held to the 1,025-hour
requirement. Our school administration and board have considered building in extra
days, but, to date, we have not done that, so any day we miss must be made up.
 When we are in school for a half day, it counts as a whole day in terms of fulfilling our
185-day requirement.
 The Woods community is geographically dispersed. We have families in Durham, south
of Pittsboro, east of Raleigh, and west of Snow Camp. Conditions can often vary greatly
over the big area our little community covers.
 We have buses that must be able to operate safely on back roads and in business parking
lots (where we pick up students).
 Andrews Store Road is shaded and typically has not been treated as a priority by road
crews. Note: we have asked the Department of Transportation to elevate the priority of
Andrews Store Road now that 1,100 students have their school home on this road.
Today, Andrews Store was wonderfully clear, but often it is the final factor that keeps us
out of school.
 We know that delays and closings can be extremely difficult on families, and we try
mightily to lessen the inconvenience we’re causing you! We aim to inform the
community before 9 p.m. the night before, or by 7 a.m. the morning of, when we have to
delay or close.
Personnel, Contracts, Hiring
I issued all full- and part-time contracts on Monday, March 10th. Faculty have
two weeks to return them, though almost all are in now. At this point we know of four
openings that we will have for next year, two in high school math, two in elementary.
I’ve told the admin team that finding amazing people to fill these positions is our
number one priority for April and May.
I attended two teacher recruitment fairs this week: UNC-Greensboro yesterday
and Elon University today. As per our usual practice, faculty will play an active role in
reviewing, interviewing, and providing feedback on candidates. We hope to bring
finalists to campus around the 3rd and 4th weeks of April.
Diversity and Inclusion
We reconvened the Diversity and Inclusion Committee on March 11th with fifteen
parents, teachers, and students in attendance. One special guest for this meeting was
Jason Franklin, the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Cary Academy. For this first
meeting the group discussed the following prompt:
In the realm of diversity and inclusion what would a healthy Woods look like? What are the
signs of health?
And here are the group’s whiteboard notes:
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Tolerance and acceptance of all differences
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Recognition of differences, heterogeneity
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A wide, broad view of diversity
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Comfortableness, acceptance
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“I will listen to you”
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Celebrating differences!
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Feeling valued, inclusive climate
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Ownership by whole community, not just by individuals or groups
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Representation
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Student body
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Faculty
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Within the Curriculum
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And celebrate what we have now
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Make climate relevant and validating
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D & I strategic plan enfolded into school strategic plan
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Being comfortable with who I am
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Diversity is mostly about representation
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Students
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Faculty
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Visiting Faculty
Inclusion is mostly about celebrating, validating, and learning from the diversity we have. It’s
about people feeling respected and validated for who they really are.
The group subsequently renamed itself the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force because
1) “task force” sounds more active than committee, and 2) attendees felt like they were
already on enough committees. Next meeting: April 8th in The Glade.
Council House Proposal
Jim Malone and I have met with 1) Lee Bowman, project manager for Briar
Chapel, 2) Chatham County Building Permit Office, and 3) Taylor Hobbs, school
parent and architect to discuss the possibility of building two outdoor classrooms. The
structures we’re envisioning (modeled off the outdoor classrooms at Tremont Institute
in the Smokies) are simple structures, but the process of getting a permit will be tedious
and lengthy . . . AND we’re committed to doing it if the Board takes it on as a capital
project for next year. More research is necessary before we can present this project for
consideration to the board.
Traverse Wall Planting
Periodically Chatham Community Church completes service projects for the school
(e.g., the stairs to the buses, the Harrell Rentz Azalea Garden, the fenced in storage area
on the back patio, etc.) and on April 5th this group plans to plant a mix of native vines
and shrubs on the back side of the new traverse wall.