Area Schools Hold Forum on Growth

The school system is creating the plan so it can respond to an influx in local growth. The plan is designed to dictate the expansion and goals of the school system through 2008.

David Hartzell, task force co-chairman and a UNC business professor, presented the proposed development plan for the school system to about 35 residents.

"When we started in October, we set ourselves three questions to answer: What should the ideal school system look like, how do we get our system there and what major challenges will we have to overcome," Hartzell said.

Another defining characteristic of the strategic plan that was discussed is the concept of what an ideal graduating student of the school system should look like.

Ada Pisano, a mother of four students in the school system, emphasized the importance of decreasing the achievement disparity between white and minority students.

"Reducing the minority achievement gap is the key to our development," Pisano said. "To do this successfully, we need to set specific outcome expectations for our program."

Because of an exponential increase of Hispanic residents in recent years, minority issues are being brought to the forefront in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.

Ashley Osment, the mother of a rising kindergartner, had concerns about the students' exposure to other cultures. "There have been studies done that prove that kids who begin bilingual education early do better in all subjects," Osment said.

Osment detailed the example the school system should take from Carrboro and Glenwood elementary schools. "I hope the district will expand the pilot program of dual-language kindergarten education at these two schools," Osment said.

In that program, students learn in English for half of the day and spend the other half learning in another language. The Carrboro program offers Spanish, and Glenwood teaches its students Chinese.

Speakers at the forum touted this system as the best way to fight the achievement disparity.

Local resident Maria Palmer said in order to reduce the achievement gap, schools should offer dual-language classes.

"If we are to have the best school system possible, we must have dual-language kindergarten," Palmer said. "It is essential for Spanish-speaking families to have their children learn in their native language."

Palmer said these courses will help the students keep up with their studies while pacing their language skill development.

Palmer also promoted the development of partnerships and alliances between the school system and local higher education institutions to help graduating students.

"We need to develop ties with places like Durham Tech to enhance the education of our children," Palmer said. "That's something the minority kids would really benefit from."

The task force will meet again Feb. 5 to develop and revise proposals. The group will present the plan to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education at the end of February.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.