CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Leaders in Charlotte's Black community are sounding the alarm on the ongoing disparities in education outcomes for students of color at CMS, saying the impacts will be felt community-wide.
"We have to change these outcomes," Stephanie Sneed, chairwoman of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, said. "It affects cities. It affects the growth of cities. It affects income gaps. These have a lifetime, generational effects."
In September, the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg hosted an online forum with CMS leaders to discuss ways to correct the educational gap between Black and white students, a gap made worse by COVID-19.
Specifically, the district wants to focus on its 42 low-performing schools where a recent report shows more than 70% of Black third-graders are not proficient in reading compared to nearly 30% of white students. In high school, less than 5% of Black students are college or career-ready.
Sneed wants more details for closing the achievement gap.
"We have an outline for that, but we don't have a specific plan for how we're going to get there," Sneed said.
CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston has said it will take several years to overcome the setbacks suffered during the pandemic.
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