CMS is in the process of figuring out how to re-draw boundary lines for schools. Superintendent Ann Clark said that isn’t just the district’s job, but the community’s.
Clark told a couple hundred educators and community leaders Thursday that student assignment is one of the most important discussions this county can have. It was part of the annual state of the schools speech.
“We are at an incredible moment where we must wrestle with words like ‘equity’ and ‘diversity’ and where kids go to school," said Clark.
Reducing concentrations of poverty at schools is one of the goals of re-drawing boundaries that CMS board members have discussed.
Clark gave her speech at West Charlotte High School. During the days of court-ordered desegregation the school was held up as a success. Now, it’s one of the schools that struggles most in the district.
Clark said the community is poised to declare what its values are around student assignment.
“This is our moment. We get to decide,” said Clark.
She said the community also has a role in recruiting and retaining teachers. For example, companies might chip in for housing benefits or churches set aside daycare slots for teachers’ children.