Hearing to focus on schools: Martin will talk to state judge about plans to improve achievement

Superintendent Don Martin will appear before a state judge in Raleigh next Tuesday to talk about what the school system is doing to improve achievement at low-performing elementary and middle schools.

Martin said he welcomes the opportunity to make a presentation to Judge Howard Manning of Superior Court, who presides over the Leandro court case, a state public-education lawsuit that established that all children in the state have the right to a quality education.

"He does have a tendency sometimes to be critical," Martin said. "Going provides an opportunity to address some of his generalizations."

School officials from Guilford and Durham county schools also will be present at the hearing.

In the past, much of Manning's focus was on low-performing high schools. Recently, he shifted his focus to how well students are prepared when they enter high school.

John Dornan, the president/executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina said that shift is interesting.

"The thing I find fascinating is that he had been so fixated on high schools and their graduation rates,'' Dornan said. "Now he's realized that problems begin long before that."

With that in mind, Manning has put his attention on urban school systems that have a high number of elementary and middle schools in which the 2008-09 proficiency scores in end-of-grade reading tests in grade 3 through 8 were 50 percent or less.

In looking at 2008-09 end of grade tests, Manning determined that 13 out of 43 (30 percent) regular elementary schools and four out of 15 (27 percent) of the regular middle schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system fell into that category. According to his calculations, that translates to 1,742 elementary students and 817 middle-school students who are not proficient readers.

The March 26 order that set up the hearing states that its purpose is to determine "exactly what immediate steps they are going to implement to ensure there is quality classroom instruction, competent leadership and resources in each and every one of these schools … so that those children who are not proficient in reading and other subjects will have the equal opportunity to obtain a sound basic education as required by the North Carolina Constitution and Leandro."

Martin said that the school system is already taking appropriate steps.

"Absolutely we are addressing these issues," he said. "We are protecting Equity Plus schools in our budget. We are doing a lot of things. … I think it's an opportunity to share that information."

Equity Plus is a local designation for schools that have a high percentage of students who get free or reduced-price lunches; the school system provides extra resources for those schools.

Martin pointed out that Manning does not have direct authority over the school system.

"I think he puts this in the context of monitoring the Leandro decisions," he said. "It's fact-finding."

The team going with Martin to Raleigh will include Meg Sheehan, the assistant superintendent for instructional services; Kenneth Simington, the assistant superintendent for student services; and Drew Davis, the school system's attorney.

Leandro began when parents, school boards and students from five counties said that the state did not provide enough money for low-wealth counties to provide a quality education. Six urban counties joined the lawsuit, saying that the state did not provide enough money for at-risk students and students that did not speak English as their first language.

kunderwood@wsjournal.com


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Journal reporter Scott Sexton contributed to this story, and material from The Associated Press was used.

Schools and achievement

Judge Howard Manning listed 13 elementary and four middle schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system as low-reading-proficient.

• elementary schools: Ashley, Cook, Forest Park, Hall-Woodward, Ibraham, Kimberley Park, Konnoak, Diggs, Easton, Middle Fork, North Hills, Petree, Gibson.

• middle schools: Hill, Lowrance, Mineral Springs, Philo.

Source: Order issues by Superior Court Judge Howard Manning