‘We need to do something’ Report finds racial disparity in county, city school scores
On February 7
By Charles Perez
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BUNCOMBE COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — On Tuesday night, Buncombe County commissioners received the results of a report on the status of students in county and Asheville City Schools. The report showed a significant disparity in student achievement according to race.
The report, which did not include private, charter or home schools, concluded that white students scored 55% stronger in math than Black students and 62% stronger in reading. For some, like Buncombe County Commissioner Al Whitesides, the numbers are a call to action.
“We need to do something,” says Whitesides. “We can’t bury our heads in the sand.”
According to both Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools, though the report is accurate, it doesn’t look at the complete picture. Both systems have seen increases in graduation rates that put them among the top systems state-wide. Additionally, both school systems have seen significant year-to-year growth in student performance.
Dr. Shane Cassida is the director of Student Services for Buncombe County Schools. He cites the year-to-year student growth as a significant measure of student performance.
“We have students that are coming to us a year to two years behind when they come in on the first day of kindergarten,” he says. “We’re starting from behind with about 20-30 percent of our students to begin with.”
While proficiency is a benchmark of where the student should be at a specific grade level, according to the state, it does not measure the movement the student has made in that direction.
Asheville City Schools also pointed to significant year-to-year student growth toward proficiency as a measure of improvement in both Black and white students.
“We’ve got really good growth,” says Dr. Jim Causby, interim superintendent of Asheville City Schools. “It was the highest year ever for growth in Asheville City Schools. We’ve got to grow them more a year, every year, to get them to proficiency.”
Both systems acknowledged that any solution would take more than schools, and would likely demand a partnership between schools, parents and local organizations.
“They need to have everybody involved and stop with this,” Whitesides says. “It’s obvious, as long as they have those numbers, they’re not doing what they can.”
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