Superintendent Earnest Winston said this week that decisions to keep Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools remote for most of last year have contributed to children’s ongoing reading struggles.
During the past school year, while many districts surrounding Mecklenburg County brought students back in person, CMS continued with online lessons. In November WFAE reported that 2021 test scores showed CMS students lost more ground academically than those with more in-person time.
At the time Winston said he saw little value in second-guessing the previous year’s decisions: "Would that help improve student outcomes? I don’t think so. And so we want to be forward-focused."
At Wednesday’s board meeting Winston and the board focused on the future, looking at preliminary reading tests that predict how students will score at year’s end. And they concluded the past continues to hobble students.
"When I think about and we talk about meeting the needs of every child, in order to do that it’s important that students are in school," Winston said.
Can't escape consequences
Interim testing shows most of this year’s third-graders are falling short of the reading skills they’ll need for academic success. For Black and Hispanic third-graders, fewer than 10% are on track.
Winston's comments came as board member Sean Strain, who pushed for an earlier return to in-person classes, pressed for details about Winston's reading strategies and asked what kept him from putting them in place sooner.
Winston talked about the disruption those students experienced in first and second grade. He said the district opted to extend virtual learning in hopes of preventing students, staff and family members from catching a deadly virus.
"And I think we have to acknowledge, you know, that those intentional decisions that we made in an effort to protect public health and our families, they have had an academic consequence," he told the board. "And we cannot get away from that."
"I appreciate you taking ownership and responsibility for those decisions and the recommendations you made," Strain said.
'Normal' remains elusive
Since August, all CMS students have had the chance to attend in-person classes. But Winston said that has not brought a return to normal. Too many students continue to miss school, he said.
The report he presented said 43% of the students who aren't on track for reading success have been chronically absent at some point during the past 18 months — last school year, first semester of this year or both.
Meanwhile, some who came to school were taught by substitutes, as the omicron surge drove up teacher absences and schools across the state struggled to fill vacancies.
"Now we’re not necessarily dealing so much with the impact of public health. We’re dealing with issues in the labor market," he said.
Winston has called on community groups to help CMS connect with families and drive home the message that attendance matters. And he’s seeking county money to raise teacher pay in hope of filling the gaps.
