School Board Speech by Eric Broyles
6/28/2011
Members of the School Board, Superintendant Novey, and citizens of Carteret County. The greatest gift, other than life, we can give a child is a quality education. I have come tonight to talk on that subject. An education prepares a child for life endeavors and the future, whatever their course may be. Before starting, I would like to recognize Principals and Teachers at Harkers Island Elementary, Tiller School, White Oak Elementary, Broad Creek Middle, and Croatan High that contributed to making these schools top in their scholastic field by delivering a quality education to our children. In 2010, all of these school finished scholastically in the top 10 percentile within their respective school categories statewide. Special recognition goes to the Tiller School, one of our charter schools, which finished scholastically within the top 2 percentile in the state. These are our schools of scholastic excellence within the county. I await the reporting of our schools scholastic results for 2011.
Even though some of our schools achieved scholastic excellence in 2010, I am deeply concerned about the quality of education some of our children are receiving within Carteret County Schools. In 2010, we have 7 schools (e.g. – Atlantic Elementary, Beaufort Elementary, Smyrna Elementary, Beaufort Middle, Newport Middle, East Carteret High, and West Carteret High) performing in the 25% to 50% percentile scholastic performance range in their respective school categories. Atlantic Elementary is ranked 387, Beaufort Elementary is ranked 551, and Smyrna is ranked 427 out of 1350 North Carolina Elementary schools. Beaufort Middle is ranked 217 and Newport Middle is ranked 180 out of 617 North Carolina Middle schools. West Carteret High is ranked 153 and East Carteret High is ranked 260 out of 563 North Carolina High Schools. From 2005 to 2010, based on the ABC End-of-Grade Tests reported by N.C. Report Cards, Atlantic Elementary saw a 11% decline in overall student Reading test scores; Beaufort Elementary a 11.4% decline in Reading test scores; Smyrna Elementary a 9.5% decline in Reading test scores and a 6.8% decline in Math Scores; Beaufort Middle a 6.6% decline in Reading test scores; Newport Middle a 12.9% decline in Reading and a 1.9% decline in Math scores; East Carteret High saw a 1.9% decline in English 1 scores, a 9.7% decline in Algebra 1 scores, and a 7.4% decline in Physical Science scores; and West Carteret High saw a 1.5% decline in English 1 scores, and a 9.7% decline in Algebra 1 scores. During the same time period, Carteret County School District saw a 9% decline in overall Reading scores but a 16.3% increase in Math scores for both elementary and middle schools. The area of scholastic achievement that should concern us all is the gradual decline of Reading test scores being seen across the board in most schools. If our children cannot read or write then how will they be able to perform and compete in a highly competitive and technological society? In the near future, I will be asking our County Board of Commissioners to establish an independent board of non-school employed citizens whose sole purpose is to conduction independent literacy testing every 4 years at the 4th and 8th grade level to make sure the students within our county are receiving adequate training in reading and writing skills. We do not want a reoccurrence of what happened in Detroit where 44% of the tested citizens were found to be functionally illiterate.
Presently, 8,578 students attend Carteret County Schools. The student to teacher ratio for Carteret County Schools is 12.08 to 1, which happens to be one of the higher school system students to teacher ratios within the state and nation. This ratio is based on 710 full time teachers, which is an increase over the previous year . This ratio does not factor in the 178 assistant teachers that are available to support the full time teachers. If it did, the ratio would be closer to 9.6 to 1. Currently, Carteret County ranks number 12 out of 115 school districts in the amount it expends for each student’s education. In other words, Carteret County taxpayers are paying approximately $700 more per student versus the average amount spend by other counties in North Carolina to make sure its students receive a high quality education. This would lead one to naturally draw a conclusion that the majority of our schools and school district should be performing in the top 10 to 15 percentile in the state, considering the financial resources and teacher manpower the taxpayers have committed to the education of our children. Even though some schools are performing at a high level of excellence as stated above, almost half the school district is not. It is unacceptable to the taxpayers and the parents of the students attending these seven schools, which are performing in the 25% to 50% percentile range. This leads one to believe that it is not the number of teachers employed by a school system that leads to scholastic achievement and excellence, but the quality of its teachers and the training dispensed by them. Maybe it is time to hirer and pay more for Quality teachers and be less concerned with the number of teachers we employ.
During the last school board hearing, I asked that the overall ABC End-of-Course scores and student to teacher ratio be posted by teacher on the School System Website. Each teacher and school principal performance should be accountable to the taxpayers and parents of school children. Furthermore, based on the need for an increase in scholastic performance within the seven schools mentioned above, I respectfully request that the Superintendant and School Board conduct a full performance review and audit of those 7 schools and make the necessary personnel adjustments and etc. to assure these schools and their students can also achieve the same level of scholastic excellence like the Tiller School, Whiteoak Elementary, Broad Creek Middle, and Croatan High. It is time to raise the bar! The taxpayers and parents of school children demand more, and our students deserve much more than some of them have received. It is time to give all of our children a quality education! GOD bless our children, our educators, and all citizens from wherever they hail from!