Ask Pete
	CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman answers Charlotte Weekly readers

FOCUS is an acronym for Finding Opportunity; Creating Unparalleled Success. It is the designation we use for schools where a large number of the students are in poverty. We measure that by the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The number of FOCUS schools varies each year, but for 2006-07, more than a third – 62 of 161 – of our schools were designated FOCUS schools.

The four high schools in the Challenge group are West Charlotte, West Mecklenburg, Garinger and E.E. Waddell. The first three were targeted by Judge Howard Manning because so many students were failing. The fourth, Waddell, was added to the list by me because fewer than half of its students are passing state tests.

That’s the simple part of your question. Why these high schools are struggling is not a one-answer question – or a one- solution problem. We know from experience that poverty and learning English as a second language can hinder student achievement, and that is a factor at many of our struggling schools.

One of the most effective ways for us to help each school is to look very closely at the test scores broken down by subgroup – a requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind law. That breakdown into subgroups such as race, ethnicity and family financial circumstance allows us to see who is struggling, and then we can begin to offer remediation and extra help to the students who need it.

Since you asked about West Charlotte specifically, I’ll talk about that school in particular. But please keep in mind that many of the challenges at West Charlotte can be found in our other schools too, in varying degrees. Schools don’t create social inequity – conditions of poverty, homelessness, language barriers or other hurdles – but we must still deal with the effect these things have on education; and in some cases, that effect is profound.

At West Charlotte, we know that much of the difficulty begins elsewhere. John Modest, the principal, says that West Charlotte annually enrolls in its rising freshman class a significant number of students who have not scored a Level 3 or 4 in reading and math on the End-of-Grade test at the end of eighth grade. These students have not demonstrated proficiency in these two basic areas of study and that means they’re going to struggle with reading and math – and everything else, too. Put simply, since they didn’t master eighth-grade skills, these students are likely to struggle through ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grades.

“To help any ninth-grader who might not be ready for high school, we will open our Eight-PLUS academy at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. It targets struggling eighth-graders and offers intensive tutoring and remediation.

Modest points out, correctly, that student achievement is rising at West Charlotte – its End-of-Course composite test scores have risen by 10 points over the past two years.

Please also keep in mind that not all students at West Charlotte are struggling. The school offers a wide array of options for its high fliers, including two magnet programs. A fully certified International Baccalaureate Program and eight new career-focused learning communities will be launched in the next three years. In addition, West Charlotte has award-winning JROTC, band and choral programs.

The most important thing you can do as a parent, at West Charlotte or any other school, is be involved in your children’s education. Your involvement in your child’s progress is critical to high achievement – parents are a child’s first and best teachers.

Improving West Charlotte, and our other struggling schools, is not impossible. But it is a task that requires all of us to take part – parents, students, teachers, administrators and the community. At CMS, we’re doing our part – and we are counting on you to help us by getting involved.