CMS leaders outline goals for student success, place emphasis on English, math

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders are mapping out goals to get students ready for a career or college.

A week ago, CMS released its official test scores from the 2022-23 school year. The results showed more students are college and career ready when it comes to math and reading, but many are still struggling in science.

New data also revealed that the district added eight more schools to the state’s low-performing list, bringing the total to 58.

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, leaders looked at re-evaluating goals to close learning gaps.

Leaders made it clear they have high expectations for CMS students and staff, then laid out a first draft of its goals.

The district wants third through eighth-grade students to bring up their math and English test scores by 20 percent by June 2029. In order to achieve that, leaders said students must have the resources they need at school, they must be in a safe learning environment, and teachers must be able to deliver high-quality education.

Some board members expressed concerns, wondering if some of their goals were too high, given some of the district’s obstacles such as teacher recruitment and retention.

“My first instinct is to say we need to push higher, we need to do more,” one board member said. “Then you have to realize there are things outside of our control. We can’t control teacher pay, we can’t control the teacher pipeline. But those are things we have to deal with and we have to make compromises in order to do that.”

Tuesday’s goals are only the district’s first draft, and now board members and consultants will go back and fine-tune their priorities.

The board will vote on a final version of its goals in the coming weeks.

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