CMS Superintendent , Dr . Clayton Wilcox
CMS Superintendent , Dr . Clayton Wilcox
When grades don ’ t tell the real story
We are living in momentous times ! Our community is at a critical turning point and I believe that CMS has a crucial role to play in helping us build a brighter future for everyone in the community – a future that offers equal opportunity to all .
In February , CMS released its first equity report in eight years . Called Breaking the Link , the report looked at whether our public schools offer every student equal access to opportunity . The report analyzed data from the 2016- 2017 school year and found that demographics – a child ’ s race and socioeconomic status – are a predictive link to academic performance : If you ’ re poor and black or Hispanic , you ’ re not getting the same access to academic opportunity as your wealthier , white peers and you ’ re considerably less likely to succeed in school .
Breaking the Link spells out in specific detail a shameful lack of diversity in our high-poverty schools , where nine out of 10 students are black or Hispanic .
This means that not all of the 147,000-plus kids we are privileged to serve are getting the education that they need . They ’ re not getting the education that will help them succeed later in life . And we need to be clear about this : Breaking the Link isn ’ t about the failure of children . It ’ s about the failure of adults to help kids . Behind the data in Breaking the Link are real kids with hopes and dreams and talents .
We have to do better – and as a district , we are ready to change . Breaking the Link is an essential first step . In it , we ’ re acknowledging some hard truths : Not everything that we ’ re doing in our schools and our classrooms is effective . But we ’ re willing to do the work needed to better serve our students .
Breaking the Link is also an essential first step because it identifies three key levers for change – levers that we as a district can control . We can ’ t do the work alone ; we need the support of the whole community to succeed . But we can change three things to improve outcomes for kids : time in school , highly effective teachers and access to rigor . Some of our students have all three now . Many of them don ’ t .
Breaking the Link gives us clear direction on where we need to focus . It will help us make the operational and policy decisions needed to make our schools more equitable . One big example : our 2024 strategic plan . We ’ re developing it now and the findings of Breaking the Link will help us focus our efforts and our energies on the three key levers of time in school , highly effective teachers and access to rigor .
This isn ’ t easy work . Poverty and race have been linked to achievement gaps for decades , and
that link is visible in every urban district in America . But I believe CMS can break the link if we work on it a comprehensive way , putting our students first and determining where we are serving them well and where we are not .
We need your help to succeed . We need adequate funding . We need more highly effective teachers and the money to keep them . We need strong , effective community structures to help students who face challenging circumstances at home , such as hunger and poverty . We need the support and engagement of our parents .
I am excited and optimistic about this work . I believe that Mecklenburg County wants strong public schools . Moreover , the signs are everywhere that our community is willing to do the work that change requires . The economic-mobility report that ranked Charlotte 50th out of 50 cities , the Opportunity Task Force and the strong support for our $ 922 million school bond request all indicate a community-wide commitment to helping our kids learn and grow . In my first nine months here , I have been hearing a growing consensus that we must work together as a community to achieve these goals .
As superintendent of CMS , I am committed to strengthening our schools and helping our kids . I urge everyone in the community to support our work in making schools equitable . All of us – educators , citizens , public officials , parents – owe that to our kids .
Every kid deserves the opportunity to succeed . We can make that happen . We can break the link if we act together -- and act now .
Dr . Clayton Wilcox is the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools .
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2 • March / April 2018 • Parent Teacher Magazine