Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte-Mecklenburg School March/April 2019 | Page 4

CMS Superintendent, Dr. Clayton Wilcox
Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent at CMS
School safety is a shared responsibility
Our kids are what matters
most and we are committed to
keeping them safe at school. It’s
our top priority and we take it
very seriously. That’s the reason
that, after the tragic shooting at
Butler High School last fall, we
began looking for more effective
ways to keep weapons out of our
schools.
I’ll be honest about this – I
don’t like having to do it. I’m
a school superintendent, not a
police chief. But I recognize the
importance of the responsibility
and I’m committed to providing
a safe, welcoming environment
for every student at every
school.
We are taking a broad,
comprehensive approach to
school safety, looking at physical
and technology actions and crisis planning, as well as preventive steps such
as increasing the social and emotional support we provide to our students.
To develop a stronger safety network in CMS, we met with a wide range
of folks to get their input: law enforcement (our own police chief, as well as
law enforcement in the city and county), parents, teachers, faith and civic
leaders. We also met with our students because their perspective is valuable.
Starting in the second semester of this year, we began conducting
random safety screenings to help keep weapons out of schools. We worked
to establish screening tools, procedures and training for staff that would
respect the privacy of students as much as possible, and also minimize
disruption to instructional time. In February, we conducted random classroom
searches at eight high schools, also randomly chosen. We asked members
of the faith community to be present at these searches so that independent
observers could see what we are doing. Going forward, we will continue these
classroom searches using metal detectors, bag searches and a dog trained
to detect gunpowder. We will also conduct screening of entire high schools,
using wands and metal detectors.
But we are working in other ways to keep schools safe as well. We are
expanding our video surveillance to improve monitoring and response times.
Cameras and monitors are being upgraded, with a priority on elementary
schools first and enhancing surveillance of playgrounds and mobiles. We’ve
completed this process at about two dozen schools and we’ll continue the
work through June to include all schools.
We are piloting a new crisis-alert system to enable any staff member to
instantly call for help. We’re enhancing locks and digital screening to better
control who enters our schools. We’re training school staff and other key
staff groups in active survival. We’re hiring a crisis-response director and
strengthening ways to communicate with families and the community quickly
in times of trouble. And we’re working to improve fencing and gates to
control access to our campuses.
Those are all physical things we can do, and they’re certainly important.
But I believe that it’s equally important to work on prevention as well as
response. To that end, we are increasing our support for student mental
health. We’ve added 60 counselors to our staff and we’ll continue to increase
their numbers. Student social and emotional health is important for a lot of
reasons, including school safety.
This is critical work. But we can’t do it alone. Violence doesn’t start
in schools. It comes from outside, from troubled neighborhoods, troubled
families and troubled kids. Children who are abused or bullied at home can
bring those behaviors to school, just as they can bring weapons from home
or the neighborhood to school.
We need your help to address the social and emotional challenges that, if
unchecked, can lead to violence in schools.
We will be holding a series of town hall meetings through the spring
and early summer to address issues of safety in our schools and in our
communities. I encourage you to participate in one or more of these
meetings, because making communities safer will make our schools safer
too. We owe that to our kids. They need us and we must work together to
answer the call.
‘The most meaningful professional development’

Educators celebrated for National Board certification
In 2008, Sara Perkins wanted to become a better teacher. So she
decided to get her certification from the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards. Ten years later, she was one of 111 CMS educators
who renewed their certification. There were 105 educators who received
their certification for the first time. They were all honored at a reception on
Jan. 17.
Perkins, a Spanish teacher at Vance High, said she wanted the
opportunity to increase her skills and learn from others. “I wanted to be
able to add more strategies to my toolbox,” she said. “I wanted to do
research-based teaching and the National Board process allowed me to do
that.”
National Board certification is a rigorous voluntary certification for
teachers, media specialists and school counselors. The process is based on
Five Core Propositions that closely parallel the North Carolina Professional
Teaching Standards. Candidates demonstrate how they use data to
personalize learning for their students. They may complete the certification
process in one to three consecutive years. The process includes online
testing, analysis of student work and videos of their instruction. Certified
teachers receive a 12 percent salary differential and certified teachers
receive a full cycle of renewal credit on their North Carolina teaching
license.
“Many participants say that the process is the most meaningful
2 • March/April 2019 • Parent Teacher Magazine
professional development in which they have ever participated,” said Linda
Yarbrough, professional development specialist. “The process encourages
them to become more reflective practitioners.”
To renew her certification, Perkins focused on four Professional
Growth Experiences, examples of how she’s improved since earning her
certification. One of her examples was how she’s integrated technology into
the classroom.
“Ten years ago, technology was nothing like it is now,” said Perkins.
“Over the last few years, I’ve started using Google Docs for students
to turn things in electronically and I use it to grade. This is much more
efficient for me and my students.”
Perkins said earning her certification also gave her newfound
confidence. “Leadership roles have opened up for me. I was chosen to go
on a trip to Guatemala to train teachers in middle schools. I am now a
department chair.”
Interested potential candidates may contact Linda Yarbrough for more
information. The registration deadline for 2018-2019 initial, retake and
renewal candidates was Feb. 28.
“I would encourage anyone that’s interested to go for it,” said Perkins.
“Take advantage of the CMS workshops and support system. I couldn’t
have done it without them.”