Board of Education approves new policy for increasing student achievement
DURHAM—The Durham Public Schools Board of Education unanimously voted into policy a Theory of Action framework for increasing student achievement through greater community involvement and empowerment of teachers, during its regular board meeting this evening.
Deemed “MEET (Manage, Empower, Energize, Transform) the Challenge,” the new policy is based on the Board’s mission, vision and core beliefs and commitments. It comprises five key assumptions about the students and families that Durham Public Schools serves. They include, in part:
- Our schools are fortunate to operate in a dynamic, diverse community characterized by prosperous businesses, major universities, an expanding tax base and broad support for public education;
- Our schools operate in an urban environment characterized by high poverty rates and high student mobility, and our theory of action needs to account for this reality.
- It is a right of every child in DPS to receive an education that will enable him or her to achieve the minimum goals established by the state of North Carolina—and it is the right of every child to be offered an enriched education that goes far beyond these minimum goals as well.
- Durham Public Schools has the key role to play in the education of our students and the achievement of our educational goals. Working alone, we can go a long way towards educating every student to his full potential and we can significantly diminish the achievement gaps. However, for every child to succeed and to fully extinguish the achievement gap will take a full community effort that must include individuals and institutions beyond the schools.
- The people on the front line in DPS are our teachers. Their role is the crucial role. While we believe we need consistency and equality of curriculum across all of our schools, we also believe that our teachers need to be empowered in order to do their best teaching.
The new policy stems from the Board’s ongoing participation in the Reform Governance in Action program. This program provides school boards with several key tools to develop their local theories of action, improve their operating processes and strengthen their relationships and cohesiveness as a unit. The Board was selected to participate in the program last year by the Center for Reform for School Systems (CRSS).
“The adoption of the Theory of Action is a bold and monumental move on behalf of Durham Public Schools students, teachers, employees and families,” said Board Chair Minnie Forte-Brown. “With this new policy, we are directly addressing the needs of those we serve and committing our resources to provide the support that teachers need to do the most effective job possible. We will not stop until each and every student in DPS has been given every opportunity possible to succeed!”
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