MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education is responsible for deciding how millions of dollars are spent on children’s education. At a special called meeting on Thursday night, the board started the groundwork to decide where to prioritize funds for the 2022-23 school year.
Academic goals for CMS students
The meeting focused on how additional resources could help schools within CMS reach goals the district has for students by 2024. Data shows CMS students have fallen behind academically on multiple fronts.
One strategic goal includes achieving a 34% increase in the number of Black and Hispanic third-graders who are on track to be ready for college and careers.
CMS wants 50% of these students to have a combined score of at least a 4 or 5 at the College and Career Ready level in English Language Arts.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CMS is focusing on Black and Hispanic students falling behind in reading
Staff would like to hire more academic interventionists to achieve this.
“If we go forward with the current model as envisioned, they would be someone who would be certified in a teaching area expertise and having either English language arts or Mathematics or Generalist Elementary specialty," Frank Barnes, CMS Chief Accountability Officer, said.
Staff also want to hire additional teachers trained to support schools within the district as a multi-tiered system of support.
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“We need a strong core instruction provided by great teachers, well trained, well provisioned, and with all of the wraparound supports, this is extra help more and different," Barnes said.
Staff believes additional support would help increase the percentage of high school students who are career- and college-ready by more than 20%.
This is measured by the percentage of high school students who score at the College and Career level, a 4 or 5, in Math 1, in grades 9-12.
CMS data shows that currently, 4.5% of students meet these criteria. The district wants to increase that to 25% by October 2024.
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The district also needs to increase the percentage of graduates taking and passing at least one college-level course from 58% to 75%.
Staff wants to hire college and career coaches.
“When they walk into the high school is when we begin to have those conversations about what is your four-year plan," the co-leader of the CMS Advance Coursework Team said. "Hence the plan that's going to be able to take you to your goals past high school.”
The board must decide if the resources staff identified as critical to learning will be prioritized in the upcoming budget.
Thursday's meeting was the first of many stakeholder meetings the board of education will hold prior to the superintendent unveiling an initial budget.
How community organizations are impacting college and career readiness
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are working on how to get students back on track to be career- and college-ready after the pandemic. The district is investing millions of dollars to get outside agencies and organizations to help.
But many Charlotte-area nonprofits have already been putting in the work to help Charlotte students succeed.
In the next two years, CMS has set a goal to have a 34% increase in the amount of Black and Hispanic 3rd graders who are on track to be ready for college and careers. As for those in high school, that goal calls for a 20% increase.
The district is also working with a finite amount of money and resources and local nonprofits have long helped to fill in the gaps.
Many students who walk into Carolina Youth Coalition, a Charlotte-based nonprofit, are the first in their families on a path to attend college.
Others, like Fitsum Worku, have a sibling who has gone on to higher education.
“It was almost like we haven't been through it because my siblings went through it individually," Worku, a High School Senior, said. "I know nothing about their college process."
That’s where CYC comes in. The organization helps students prepare for college academically, socially, and financially.
“If you think about the value of a college degree, and what that means for our students, being able to really pull themselves out of generational cycles of poverty," Aaron Randolph, the CYC Executive Director, said.
Their students have been offered more than $30 million in grants and scholarships.
"I know college costs a lot of money, and as far as books and classes, and even like acceptances," Xavion Boileau, a high school freshman, said.
Preparing for college is more than just putting pen to paper or typing up the best college entrance essay. For CYC it's about offering the whole package.
“We have our consciousness program, which is a social justice-based dialogue that helps students really wrestle with a lot of questions about, 'Who am I as a person? What do I want to accomplish?'" Randolph said.
Students can always find fresh food, mentorship, and a family at CYC.
“Whether it's the leaders here or it's the students it's like you always feel comfortable it's never nervous -- you feel almost at home," Boileau said. "It's very comfortable. You'll never feel judged and left out or anything because we're like we're all another family.”
A family with a clear path to success and a college diploma.
CYC is looking for volunteers and mentors. You can sign up here.
Their application for new high school students opens on April 1st and high schoolers can sign up here.
The organization's inaugural Signing Day 5K fundraiser is on April 30th at McAlpine Creek Park and sign-ups are live here.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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