The Schools Report

Go to any town or city in America and you’ll likely find people complaining about at least one thing: their public school system. It could very well be that most school systems across the country aren’t doing a very good job. Or it could be that people are so used to complaining about it that they will do so no matter what.

 

Is Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools so bad? Do you perceive the school system to be subpar because of student’s SAT scores, even though they are higher than the state and national average? Is it because of the number of criminal offenses committed by students each year, despite that number being lower than neighboring districts with fewer students? Then again, CMS shouldn’t get a pass simply because in some areas the system is doing better than the underachievers.

 

Go ahead. Judge CMS by its numbers. The system is charged with educating our children, and it spends our tax money to do so. But before (or after) you make up your mind, read the following pages. They offer an inside look at what our educators are facing. Classrooms are overcrowded, student poverty rates are high, teachers are leaving. You’ll hear from the man in charge, who now has a year under his belt. You’ll get an explanation of the many changes happening or planned within the district from the decision makers themselves. Principals talk about what they need. Teachers speak of what it’s like in the classroom.

 

With CMS’s nearly 130,000 students, 17,000 employees, and a billion-dollar operating budget, who said school would be easy?