Failing Grade for CCS on Implementation
Letter from Carle Falk

My name is Carle Falk and I am a parent of two boys in lower grades at CCS. I write expressing profound sadness and disappointment that yet again the School Board is making decisions based on budget rather than benefit. The evidence to date shows these decisions will negatively impact students at CCS.

I have watched in dismay as children who entered CCS as Kindergartners in September 2005 (class of 2015) have been victims of repeatedly poor decisions regarding class size and configuration. When this group entered 1st grade, parents were told that the school was implementing a 'loop' system whereby students would have the same teacher (in a single grade classroom) for 2 years. Open minded to the concept, I watched in horror as my son was assigned to a classroom with 11 boys (5 of whom were known to have behavioral issues) and 5 girls. When I challenged the administration about this class mix, they indicated that the other classrooms were heavy with boys as well -- true but by one or two boys per room. Only one classroom had more than 200% boys versus girls. It was our worst year at CCS; while we had many parent-teacher-guidance counselor meetings to address the situation, ultimately no action was taken.

That said, in the middle of the same year, the decision was made to eliminate teachers in the 1-2 and 3-4 loop (in defiance of published research indicating that small class sizes are MOST important in the lower grades). To justify the decision, parents were told that a multi-grade program was best and at the end of 2007 classrooms were reconfigured and enlarged to accommodate the multi-grade mix in one classroom per loop. As luck would have it, we benefited, because it allowed for our son to be reassigned. In Grade 2, we found the model workable, because teachers worked cooperatively to determine curriculum and ensured that the students mixed appropriately so that social connections were maintained and teaching remained consistent.

Then, my son entered the 3-4 loop and has been assigned to the mixed grade classroom. The teacher is marvelous. That said, being in that classroom has socially (and academically) isolated my son (and other 4th graders in the classroom) because the other teachers in that loop refuse to engage in any cooperative education. They maintain separate curriculum and separate field trip schedules (from even each other), and are downright obstructionist when asked to accommodate any combined education of the 4th graders. Parents are repeatedly told by administration that recess and lunch are sufficient for the children to mix. No matter that the children will enter 5th grade with entirely different levels of preparation; that seems to be of no concern to Administration or the Board. Yet they wonder why parents fight so dearly for their child to get a particular teacher...the cause is obvious. They have no faith that teaching is consistent classroom to classroom, so they push to get their child into the classroom (and with the teacher) they believe will provide the best fit.

Why do I share this story? Both are evidence that CCS is unable to execute effectively against any of these concepts. They blew it with the traditional loop model by making classrooms so imbalanced. They have now blown it with the multi-grade model by deferring to the whims of arrogant teachers and refusing to force them to make the model work. Now you ask that I, as a parent, have "faith" that CCS will get this right when you eliminate a classroom instructor and middle level literacy teacher in the 5-6 loop? Put simply, I have none. We have an interim principal and assistant principal who depart this year and have no authority to ensure the decision is implemented appropriately. The prior administration failed miserably at such implementation. The evidence speaks for itself.

I beg you to maintain all teaching positions in the 2010-2011 school budget. Charlotte is an affluent community and we should be proud of our elementary school. Yet CCS has become an embarrassment – with non potable water for long periods, poor heating systems and a facility in disrepair, unpredictable and inconsistent teaching, few gifted and talented programs, temporary administrative leadership, and a School Board more often than not putting financial wellbeing ahead of academic excellence.

Please give the class of 2015 (and those that follow) a fighting chance!!!

Carle Falk