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From Tim Belk and David Darnell:
As business leaders, and the current and incoming board chairs for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, we have prioritized a strong local workforce as critical to growing our economy. The stakes have never been higher for us to dramatically expand economic development for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.
We want to resoundingly support a bold plan we think directly supports this key priority. On Thursday, Dr. Peter Gorman, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, unveiled a new strategic plan for CMS. The plan for 2014 will likely be dramatic in the improvement of our schools. It applies sound business principles, where appropriate, to public education.
While our local school district seems about as good as any in North Carolina, Dr. Gorman acknowledges we need to improve student achievement at a faster rate. Scores have been rising during his time here, but not fast enough. The graduation rate at CMS is two out of three, also the national rate. That means for every 100 students entering 9th grade, only 66 will graduate, fewer will attend 4-year colleges, and fewer still will become college graduates. This is not acceptable for our area and certainly not internationally competitive. Some courageous change is needed.
Dr. Gorman is proposing that all district employees, including teachers, be held to performance standards with compensation and retention linked to those goals. Business people understand that setting and meeting performance standards is basic to driving a successful enterprise. Businesses reward their most productive employees and prune the less effective. But this sensible practice has never been part of public education. For public school teachers and some other employees, graduate degrees and length of service are universally recognized to be the basis of reward and retention. That precedent is why the new CMS strategic plan is a bold and necessary change that we endorse and encourage all business leaders and parents to support.
CMS would apply performance measures to teachers, leaders and all district employees, and make hiring and retention strategies based on performance. We think that's a good idea. Dr. Gorman notes this will help all students, not just academically weak ones. He thinks high performance standards will help every child get a great teacher. We can have a great teacher in every classroom and make every school a great school.
The public schools are everyone's business. We want Charlotte-Mecklenburg to be the best place to live and to work. And, we want Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to be recognized nationally for excellence and high student achievement. The Strategic Plan for 2014 is a far-reaching, ambitious, perhaps even controversial plan. We applaud the boldness of this plan to expect and set high standards for our teachers and our students. Dr. Gorman believes that CMS has the will and community backing to make this work - we believe it too.
