Durham Public Schools honored with the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) Excellence in Equity Award
Contact: Karen Archia, (800) 662-7924, ext. 214 karen.archia@ncae.org
Raleigh, NC – In a surprise presentation to MLK banquet keynote speaker Dr. Terri Mozingo, the North Carolina Association of Educators presented its 2010 NCAE Excellence in Equity Award to the Durham Public Schools on January 15.
Each year, NCAE honors one or more individuals or groups for their long-term dedication, commitment and energy toward the goal of making North Carolina a more equitable community.
“The Durham Public Schools, through its community-wide efforts to address the needs of all students, and particularly African-American males, has demonstrated its intent to make every student successful,” said NCAE President Sheri Strickland. “With exemplary efforts to involve parents and community members in the DPS, through events such as ‘kitchen table’ discussions that bring educators, parents, students and community members together to discuss how to makes DPS an effective school system, the DPS has demonstrated its role in making North Carolina a more equitable community.”
Facts about the Durham Public School System’s recent efforts:
- DPS keeps more students in school: The number of students dropping out of school decreased dramatically during the 2007-08 academic year, the system’s largest decrease in seven years. DPS now has one of the top five positive three-year changes in dropout counts among North Carolina’s 115 school systems.
- DPS meets the needs of all students: Six small high school options offer students real-world experiences and the chance to get a jump-start on college credit. These include the Early College High School and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics High School, and New Tech High School, which are geared toward encouraging increased minority participation and achievement.
- DPS is closing the Achievement Gap: The overall achievement gap in Durham Public Schools has decreased by approximately one-third over the last decade, due to a dedicated effort on the part of the community. This includes the work of the Closing the Achievement Gap Task Force, led by Dr. Mozingo
- DPS is helping minority students reach higher levels of academic success: There has been an overall gain in the number of minority students taking advanced academic courses and AP exams over the last five years in Durham Public Schools, along with an overall increase in proficiency. This is largely due to a commitment among teachers and administrators to identify a greater number of students who qualify for academically and/or intellectually gifted courses.
- DPS engages the community: Two community “kitchen table” conversations have been held to bring together students, staff, parents and community members regarding helping all students succeed.
“The Durham Public School system is truly a 21st century school system,” said Kristy Moore, president of the nearly 1,500-member Durham Association of Educators, NCAE’s local affiliate in Durham, NC. “I’ve seen as an educator, a parent, and an advocate for public school employees that DPS encourages teacher-leaders, parental involvement and meeting the needs of all students. This award recognizes all of the system’s efforts, and I believe is well-deserved. I look forward to working with DPS to continue to improve educational opportunities and success for all students.”
The Excellence in Equity Award was presented to Dr. Mozingo by NCAE President Sheri Strickland at the annual NCAE Martin Luther King Jr. banquet held January 15, 2010, at the NCAE Center in Raleigh.
NCAE is the state’s largest education association, representing nearly 60,000 active, retired and student members in North Carolina.
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