CMS Superintendent , Ann Clark
Girls on the Run is so much fun ! Girls on the Run and spring season dates :
CMS Superintendent , Ann Clark
It was my privilege on Dec . 7 to provide the annual State of Our Schools address for Charlotte- Mecklenburg Schools . In this column , I will share some of the highlights of our progress that I presented in State of Our Schools . I am proud to say that the state of our schools is good and it ’ s rapidly moving to great . Charlotte- Mecklenburg Schools continues to be a state and national leader in public education .
Our students are attractive to the country ’ s best colleges and universities , to employers and the military .
Our educators are in demand as presenters and speakers at conferences and events across the nation , serving on committees , boards and task forces .
Our district ’ s policies and protocols -- the decisions we are making on the difficult areas such as student assignment , school choice and protecting diversity – are offering blueprints and inspiration to others all over the U . S . Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is leading the way and making history .
We are also preparing the next generation of leaders , not only in education but in many other fields as well . Our students are learning more and achieving more than ever before .
Success in school requires a concerted and coordinated effort by all of us – by students , by educators , by the community . Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has long been a pioneer in leveraging our community ’ s considerable resources to enrich and enhance our children ’ s academic experiences . Today , we enjoy more community and business support than at any time in our district ’ s almost 60 years of existence – and our students are achieving and succeeding at record levels . Some examples of district and individual achievements :
Our district ’ s cohort graduation rate is now 89.6 percent . That ’ s higher than the state average of 85.8 . Higher than Wake County ’ s 87.1 percent . Higher than Guilford ( 89.4 ), Forsythe ( 85.7 ) and Durham ( 82.1 ).
Since 2010 , our graduation rate has increased by almost 20 percentage points – seven years of steady increases .
The state measures growth in terms of what a student should learn in one year ’ s time . If a student learns what is expected in a year ’ s time , the growth expectation has been met . If a student learns more , the growth expectation has been exceeded .
Last year , 86 percent of CMS schools met or exceeded growth expectations – more than 10 percentage points above the overall state rate of 73.6 percent . One hundred and forty of our 163 schools with growth data met or exceeded expectations . More than half – 52 percent – exceeded expectations . That ’ s more than the statewide rate of 27.5 percent . More than the 26 percent in Wake , the 38.5 percent in Guilford , the 27 percent in Durham and 11 percent in Forsyth .
EVAAS growth , which is a complex and proprietary model the state uses to measure academic progress and the role of teachers in it , is another area in which our district is excelling . Three of our schools were among the top 10 for EVAAS growth in the state , and five were in the top 25 .
We also did well districtwide . We exceeded expected growth in 12 of 16 tested areas , and met growth expectations in three of the four remaining areas . We have exceeded growth expectations for three consecutive years in fifth-grade science , biology , Math I and English II . These are solid , valid indicators that our students are learning more and learning it faster .
Our school performance grades – each school receives a letter grade annually from the state – also show significant improvement . Fourteen of our schools received an A-plus grade last year , compared to eight the year before . The number of A schools stayed constant at 11 . Together , that ’ s 15 percent of our schools receiving a grade of A or higher . Forty-two schools ,
or 25 percent of our schools , were given a B grade , down from 50 schools a year earlier – the A ’ s had to come from somewhere , right ? Sixty-one schools , or 37 percent , earned a grade of C , down from 44 percent a year earlier . We also saw fewer schools earning grades of D or F : Thirty-two schools were given a D grade , down from 37 a year earlier . We cut the number of F schools in half , to five last year from 10 a year earlier .
I want to also note that we are doing better than most of the other districts in the state , as well as the state average , in school grades . Only three percent of our schools were given an F , compared to 3.9 percent statewide . Durham had 18.5 percent of its schools receive an F ; Forsyth had 12.5 percent receive an F ; Guilford had 8.7 percent . Only one other large district – Wake – had fewer schools receive an F – six-tenths of a percent of its schools .
It ’ s even clearer when you look at numbers instead of percentages : One of Wake ’ s 171 schools received a grade of F . Five of our 165 schools did . Eleven of Guilford ’ s 126 schools , 10 of Forsyth ’ s 80 schools and 10 of Durham ’ s 54 schools received a grade of F from the state .
Our district is making great progress and I expect that to continue . We are fortunate to have many partners in the work of educating our community ’ s children – business partners , faith partners , nonprofits , our own CMS Foundation and a lot of individual volunteers , too . Last year , we had nearly 38,000 active volunteers who gave more than 565,000 hours – more than half a million hours ! -- of time to our students and our schools .
All of our partners share one thing with everyone in our district : We believe in our students , and so do our partners . All of us believe that educating children is essential to a strong future .
We believe that every child deserves a great education and the opportunity to build a strong future . We believe that diversity is one of our greatest strengths . We believe that every student – regardless of race , socioeconomic status or family circumstances – can succeed . We have made great progress in moving students to success , and we will continue to reach our goal of educating every student every day .
Girls on the Run is so much fun ! Girls on the Run and spring season dates :
Online registration : January 16-26 Spring season begins : February 13 South 5K : April 29 North 5K : May 6 Financial aid available .
Learn more and sign up to coach : www . gotrcharlotte . org
2 • January / February 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine