City-County Joint Community Conversations--Affordable Housing, Transportation and Health Care on Tuesday, January 30 at 7pm

Come out Tuesday night, January 30, at 7:00 to talk about Affordable Housing, Transportation, and Health Care in Durham. Your voice matters and our elected officials from both the city and county will be there to listen.  Next week, Education, including public schools, and Jobs will be talked about on Tuesday, February 6.  

Take advantage of this first time ever series that includes all 3 of Durham's elected bodies--County Commissioners, City Council, and School Board.

DPS Magnet School and CTE Pathway Lottery Deadline--Friday, February 2nd at 5:00PM

Durham Public Schools' (DPS) lottery period is drawing to a close--Friday, February 2nd at 5:00PM is the deadline.  After the recent weather and school closures, DPS added two days to the application period.  You cannot apply late and you must apply online.  Go to the DPS website or straight to the DPS application site to apply for magnet schools for elementary, middle, and high school as well as CTE (Career & Technical Education) high school options. You must have an email address to apply.

Application:
https://dpsncapplication.com/apply/

The application site also has detailed information about your school options. Click on About and scroll down on the right to Browse Programs.

If you are still looking for help in making a decision, feel free to give the Parent Advocacy Program at Durham County Cooperative Extension a call.  Contact Donna Rewalt, Outreach Coordinator at 919-560-0538 or drewalt@dconc.gov.  

Here's a few lottery reminders:

1) Remember, you are always eligible to go to your base school based on the address where you live.

2) If you are confused about your base school, any priority zones, or the year-round options you can apply for, enter your address on the DPS school locator tool, http://gisweb2.durhamnc.gov/durhammaps/DPS/viewer/index.html .  Contact student assignment at 919-560-2059 with any questions.

3) First choices are assigned first in the lottery, so the order of your choices matters.  If you are interested in a popular school option, you will want to keep that in mind.  You may pick up to three choices.

4) On March 1, results will be available.  You can log back into the application site and see the results.  If you are on a waitlist, the lottery dashboard will give you your number on the waitlist.

5) Due to the recent class size reduction legislation for grades K-3 that is affecting schools across NC, there will be fewer spaces available overall for Kindergarten in this year's lottery.

DPS Hosts Town Hall Meetings with the New Superintendent, Dr. Mubenga, this week--Monday and Tuesday 1/22 & 1/23

Durham Public Schools TOWN HALL MEETINGS WITH DR. MUBENGA

Superintendent Pascal Mubenga is hosting public town hall meetings to 
share his vision of academic excellence for DPS students, presenting his 
“Four Guiding Principles.” He will ask attendees to provide input on how 
these principles can be applied to improve DPS and will use it to help create 
a new strategic plan that will guide Durham Public Schools into the future.  

Please join Dr. Mubenga this week at 7:00 p.m:


Monday, January 22   Jordan High School
6806 Garrett Rd.
Durham, NC 27707

Tuesday, January 23   Northern High School
117 Tom Wilkinson Rd.
Durham, NC 27712

No RSVP is necessary.
https://www.dpsnc.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=450&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=7837&PageID=1 

Join City & County Officials for Community Conversations in January and February--Education to be discussed on February 6th.

Durham Sets Community Conversations with Local Elected Officials

Durham residents invited to three community meetings to share input with elected officials on public safety, affordable housing, human services, education & economic development: http://bit.ly/2CYva6k

During these discussions, residents will be able to address issues and provide feedback directly with Durham City Council Members and Durham County Board of Commissioners on topics ranging from public safety, affordable housing, human services, education, and economic development.

These community conversations will each have a different theme allowing residents to choose the issues they are most passionate about, and to make sure residents feel heard by elected officials as well as staff members from the City, County, and Durham Public Schools. Residents are invited to attend any or all of the meetings.

The meetings are set for:

* Public Safety: Saturday, January 27 at 10 a.m. at the Durham Convention Center, 301 W. Morgan St.

* Affordable Housing, Transportation, and Human Services: Tuesday, January 30 at 7 p.m. at the Durham County Human Services Complex, 400 East Main St.

* Education and Economic Development: Tuesday, February 6 at 7 p.m. at Brogden Middle School, 1001 Leon St.

Representatives from the Durham City Council and Durham County Board of Commissioners will introduce the sessions, followed by presentations from City and County budget staffs on how tax revenues support services throughout the entire community. After the presentations, attendees will go through an interactive session to provide input, generate ideas, and identify priorities in each topic area. Feedback from all sessions will be compiled, analyzed, and shared with the public on both the City and County government websites.

For more information on these upcoming community conversations, visit the City's Budget and Management Services Department webpage<http://durhamnc.gov/199/Budget-Management-Services> or call (919) 560-4111, or visit the County's Budget and Management Services Department webpage<http://www.dconc.gov/government/departments-a-e/budget-management-services> or call (919) 560-0004.

School Choice Workshop January 9 or 10 / TALLER SOBRE OPCIONES ESCOLARES

Join Us for a School Choice Workshop January 9 or 10

Are you…

Overwhelmed by all the school options for Elementary, Middle, or High School?

Wondering if there is a “best” school for your child?

Interested in a better understanding of the DPS Magnet School lottery application process (January 8—January 31, 2018)?

The School Choice Workshop is for any parent or guardian with a child who wants to explore K-12 public school options, including charter schools. Come learn how to select a school for your child as we discuss:

·        The many school options available

·        What to consider when choosing a school for your child

·        Important information about the DPS magnet school lottery

Attend a workshop on one of the following 2018 dates*:

Tuesday, January 9           6:30-8:00PM (English) childcare available

Tuesday, January 9           6:30-8:00PM (Spanish) childcare available

Wednesday, January 10  12:00-1:30PM (English)

Wednesday, January 10  12:00-1:30PM (Spanish)

All Workshops take place at

Durham County Cooperative Extension

721 Foster Street, Durham NC 27701

*Registration requested

REGISTER at https://goo.gl/forms/pcio7fFFCiOoTL5G2

For more information, Contact Donna Rewalt drewalt@dconc.gov / (919) 560-0538

In Spanish, Contact Angelina Schiavone (919) 578-2818

____________________________ 

TALLER SOBRE OPCIONES ESCOLARES

¿Quisiera usted saber…

Sobre las opciones que existen para sus hijos en cuanto a las escuelas Primarias, Intermedias y Secundarias?

Si existe una “mejor” escuela para su hijo?

Que son las escuelas Especializadas de las Escuelas Públicas de Durham (DPS) (conocidas como escuelas “Magnet”) y como es el proceso de solicitud para estas escuelas?  (Las solicitudes serán del 8 al 31 de enero 2018)

El taller sobre opciones escolares es para cualquier padre o tutor con un niño que quiera explorar las opciones de escuelas públicas para kínder a 12º grado, incluyendo las escuelas públicas alternativas (chárter). Venga y aprenda como elegir una escuela para su hijo. En el taller hablaremos de:

·        Las diferentes escuelas disponibles

·        Que tener en cuenta al seleccionar una escuela para su hijo.

·        Información importante sobre la lotería para ingresar a las escuelas especializadas de DPS

Asista a uno de los talleres en las siguientes fechas del 2018*:

Martes 9 de enero 6:30 a 8:00PM (En inglés y en español con cuidado de niños.)

Miércoles 10 de enero   12:00 a 1:30PM (Disponible en inglés y en español)

Los talleres serán en las oficinas de:

Extensión Cooperativa del Condado de Durham

721 Foster Street

*Por favor regístrese por internet https://goo.gl/forms/L2h97s9crUS2seuE2 o llamando a Angie Schiavone al 919-578-2818.

Para información en ingles comuníquese con: Donna Rewalt drewalt@dconc.gov / (919) 560-0538.