STOCK PHOTO

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is pushing for more diversity of opinion across the district during its search for a new superintendent.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools want to hear more diverse opinions in its search for a new superintendent.

Since September, the school board has been working closely with Charlotte-based consulting firm Civility Localized to conduct the community engagement part of the process. Through interviews, focus groups, surveys and more, the board wants to gather public input on what they value in a superintendent. The board is encouraging participation from parents, current and former students and employees, and invested public school stakeholders.

Community engagement will end on Dec. 13.

CMS has done community engagement in the past, but this time around, it’s being conducted with a more diversity-focused approach. For a school system made up of predominantly Black and brown students, according to US News, Civility Localized is helping increase diverse participation and input into the board’s decision on a well-suited leader.

“It’s a little bit different this time,” CMS Board Chair Elyse Dashew said. “A lot of times you have the actual search firm do the community engagement, and often those are firms from out of town or out of state. So, this time, we’re going with a local firm that really specializes in inclusive engagement.”

Civility Localized works with governments and nonprofit organizations to increase community engagement and awareness about public projects in mostly minority neighborhoods. Christine Edwards, founder of Civility Localized, knows Charlotte very well. She is a CMS graduate of Harding University High School and earned her MPA at UNC Charlotte. On top of that, her work with the consulting firm has led her to collaborate with the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County numerous times.

Edwards said the “squeaky wheel gets the oil” in Charlotte, referring to how those who know how to be heard are the ones being listened to.

“A lot of times, that comes down to these really organized neighborhoods, organized PTA folks, people who are highly organized and have done this before. I feel like sometimes, those are white led organizations,” Edwards said. 

Although it’s still early in the process, Edwards said white participants made up over 60% of the survey responses. She feels the firm can be more intentional about the communities it reaches out to, and the outreach, alongside the difference of voices heard, could be influencing the participation disparity.

Preliminary reports of where survey responses are coming from show higher response numbers in Center City and southeast Charlotte, including Myers Park and Ballantyne. So far, there hasn’t been as much interaction in north and east Charlotte, both of which, according to the American Community Survey, have significant Black populations.

“I think we’re off to a great start, but there’s a lot of work to do between now and the end of the community engagement process to really make sure that the word gets out to the entire community, including people who are not accustomed to being asked,” Dashew said. “I think it will be a better process when we include all voices.”

Outside of race, the CMS board and Civility Localized are diversifying opinions by including district staff in the process.

“We’re talking to teachers, and teachers are saying, ‘we want somebody who has been in our shoes before. ‘We want somebody who knows what I’m going through when it comes to being a teacher,’” Edwards said. “When it comes to this particular role with the superintendent, they just want somebody that is able to see them and understand what they’re going through, and be comfortable in front of diverse families, being in front of diverse students and treating everybody equally.”

Parents, on the other hand, have been asking for transparency in the early survey responses, especially when it comes to retaining and recruiting a high achieving superintendent.

“One person says, ‘transparency of expectations on all sides between the county, the school board and the applicant.’ They want to know what’s the expectation, creating transparency with stakeholders, making sure that they’re hitting certain goals, and actually following up on plans from the past,” Edwards said.

Community engagement will continue with two virtual listening sessions this month. The virtual session will be held Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. via Zoom, and the in-person session will be held at Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library on Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.

Comments