CHAPEL HILL – The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools System is one of the top-achieving districts in North Carolina, yet closing the achievement gap is a urgent issue that has proven hard to solve.

The four candidates competing for three open spots on the CHCCS Board of Education spoke to this problem during WCHL’s Candidate Forum Monday.

Michelle Brownstein and James Barrett are the two incumbent candidates in the race, and the challengers are Ignacio Tzoumas and Andrew Davidson.

**Hear WCHL’s full CHCCS Board Candidate Forum below**

 

Brownstein, who was elected in 2009 and currently serves as Chair of the Board, said she believes that illiteracy is the one of the main factors contributing to the achievement gap.

“Interventions that we are providing for students also have to be evidence-based and be consistent. We have to look at our instructional time and how we are using those minutes,” Brownstein said. “There are children that need catch-up growth, and those children are the ones who are a part of this achievement gap. We have to follow them vertically as they go through the curriculum K-12.”

Barrett, who was elected to the Board in 2011, said the District needs to focus on improving the quality of instruction.

“We have pockets of really good instruction going on, but I think Dr. Forcella is clearly focused that every teacher, every classroom, has great instruction every day,” Barrett said. “And then the other thing that she [Michelle Brownstein] touched on is growth. Every student should be growing a year, and those that are behind should be growing a year.”

Tzoumas said if he were elected to the Board, he would work toward implementing sound policies as soon as possible.

“I think we’ve gotten to the point where it is rhetoric versus reality,” Tzoumas said. “We want to close that gap and start executing on the ideas as opposed to constantly bringing up the problem that is at hand.”

Davidson said one of the biggest challenges that disadvantaged students face is the “summer gap” in their education.

“Wealthier students show better academic progress during the summer than poorer students do, and that is one of the ways that the district has fallen short,” Davidson said. “And through no fault of their own, I think it is an innovation that we have to take on to focus on summer learning. We need to make that change so that when they get to the third grade, they make the change from learning to read to reading to learn.”

Early voting for the Nov. 5 municipal and Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board elections is underway now.

Related Stories
‹
Full List of 2013 Election Candidates
Here’s the full list of filings in the 2013 municipal and school board elections: (* denotes incumbent) Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, three seats open: *James Barrett, 43, 100 Morgan Bluff Ln, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, 919-593-0592 *Michelle (Shell) Brownstein, age withheld, 105 Glenhaven Dr, Chapel Hill NC 27516 919-932-3695/ 919-966-4131 Andrew Davidson, 39, 110 […]
CHCCS Board of Education Hears Implementation Update on Upcoming Aligned High School Class Schedules
For Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, a new class schedule will soon go into effect for all of its high schools.
CHCCS Narrows Focus for Bond Plan; Estes Hills, Carrboro, and FPG Elementary Schools Prioritized
The CHCCS school board narrowed its focus to a facilities plan for three new elementary schools, if the $300 million bond referendum passes.
Campaign for Southern Equality Files Federal Complaint Over NC's LGBTQ Instruction Law
A North Carolina-based advocacy group filed a federal complaint on Tuesday, claiming the "Parents' Bill of Rights" law violates Title IX.
Top Stories of 2023: Orange County Has New Leadership After Local Elections
To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2023. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region. Local elections and politics in Orange County are rarely boring, and the 2023 cycle encapsulated that. Accusations and claims […]
CHCCS Board of Ed Cites Discrimination, Rejects Language in New NC 'Parents' Bill of Rights' Policy
The CHCCS Board of Education recently took its first reading of policy changes to comply with Senate Bill 49 – and criticized the law.
Dasi, Fedders, Ballew and Fornville Win 2023 CHCCS School Board Race
Rani Dasi, Barbara Fedders, Meredith Ballew and Vickie Feaster Fornville were the top vote-earners in the CHCCS Board of Education race.
2023 Candidate Introductions: CHCCS Board of Education
The 2023 race for four seats on the CHCCS Board of Education has one of the deepest fields in recent memory. Listen to each candidate here.
Triangle Blog Blog Announces Announces Endorsements Endorsements
The progressive website Triangle Blog Blog has endorsed Jess Anderson for Chapel Hill Mayor and aligned mostly with NEXT for Town Council.
Local Government Meetings: October 2-6
This series of posts will be made weekly on Chapelboro to help inform our community about local government meetings. All meeting days, locations and times may be subject to change. Check town, county, and school district websites for additional information. Here’s a rundown of local government meetings this week in Orange and Chatham Counties: The Chatham […]
›