DURHAM -- Changing mindsets, engaging parents and giving students the time to grasp material are all ways Triangle public school leaders say they're trying to close a persistent achievement gap.
Five superintendents discussed issues facing black students at a Thursday panel hosted by the African American Leadership Initiative of the United Way of the Greater Triangle and the African American Alliance, an employee resource group of GlaxoSmithKline.
Early childhood education programs are instrumental in bringing all students to the same level before entering grade school, agreed the panelists: Eric Becoats of Durham Public Schools, Ed Croom of Johnston County Schools, Thomas Forcella of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Patrick Rhodes of Orange County Public Schools and Tony Tata of the Wake County school system.
"I believe the single biggest factor (in the achievement gap) is poverty," Rhodes said. The home life and background of children affect what they know when they enter the system and when they return to school after breaks, he said.
Gap statistics
The gap shows up in different ways across districts.
In Chapel Hill-Carrboro in 2010, 95.2 percent of white high school students were proficient in math, compared to 52.3 percent of black students and 70.3 percent of Latino students.
In Durham in 2009, 83.6 percent of white students in grades three to eight met state testing standards, while 45.3 percent of black students did. In reading, 89 percent of white students met testing standards, while 59 percent of black students did.
In Wake County, research shows the achievement gap widens as students move through school, especially from third to sixth grade, Tata said. Wake County has created a task force to gather information about the issues facing economically disadvantaged students, he said.
Orange has a literacy coach and reading teacher at each elementary and middle school, Durham has partnered with IBM and GlaxoSmithKline on an early education reading program, and Wake rewards teachers who try creative ways to teach reading, Tata said.
Changing teachers' mindsets about children's ability to learn, regardless of their background and skin color, is critical, Croom said. "What we had done for several years was label children," he said. "We feel like we've taken the label off and treat them as children that need to learn."
But learning takes time, and Forcella said he doesn't think educators always give students enough of it. If "we believe any child can learn the skills, then we have to provide the time to make it happen," he said.
The group did not discuss charter schools extensively, but Becoats responded to a parent's question about school choice. Becoats said he would encourage parents considering a charter school to visit Durham Public Schools, learn what they have to offer and talk to teachers and principals.
"I don't believe you can always ... go by what you hear," he said.
