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State education leader visits area, praises schools
By Carey King
The chairman of the state board of education knew he'd be paying Western Carolina University a visit last week, but his trip to Fairview Elementary School came as a surprise.
"I didn't know I was coming to Fairview, but I'm absolutely delighted with what I've seen," said Howard Lee as he toured the school March 17.
Lee, appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to the board in May 2003 and then unanimously elected chairman by its members, is the first African-American to hold the post. He is a former state senator and past mayor of Chapel Hill.
Howard Lee, chairman of the N.C. Board of Education, left, and Nathan Frizzell, Fairview Elementary School's assistant principal, look on as 10-year-old Matthew Mills participates in a reading group at the school. The College of Education and Allied Professions at Western Carolina University organized Lee's visit to Jackson County, during which he met with university trustees, area school superintendents, and faculty and students from the college. - Herald photo by Carey KingP
The Fairview tour came as part of a two-day visit to Western during which Lee met with the university's trustees, area school superintendents, and students and faculty from Western's College of Education and Allied Professions.
To illustrate discussion on ways universities can better support public schools, college faculty took Lee on a field trip to the elementary school to observe WCU education students conducting literature circles with Fairview students. Twice each week, students from a Western course on reading methods fill the school's classrooms to discuss books with small groups of children.
"Western Carolina University has an enviable record in its education program," Lee said, calling the education college's Dean Michael Dougherty a "poster school dean" for the school's strong emphasis on teacher training.
"In North Carolina, we're really under the gun to retain teachers," Lee said. High-level training, mentoring and professional development are essential to that task, Lee said, and Western is meeting the challenge.
Lee also had praise for Fairview, saying the school's educators bring standards for teaching and learning "to a different level."
Links between the learning going on in classrooms and the educational theories taught in colleges is key, Lee said, to produce teachers at the top of their game.
"We at the Board of Education are trying to determine what we can do to forge stronger relationships with community colleges, public schools and universities," he said.
Those connections are necessary to meet statewide public school challenges, including a high dropout rate, increased use of suspension for disruptive students, high teacher turnover, and a flood of new students coming into the system, Lee said.
Lee first gained a reputation as an education advocate during his time in the Senate, during which he led efforts to improve school safety and teacher quality. He helped push legislation through the General Assembly that established the state's accountability program, now known as the ABCs of Public Education.
Also a friend to higher education, Lee helped champion the 2000 statewide bond referendum that is now bringing nearly $100 million in construction and renovation to the WCU campus.
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