Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools November 2013 | Page 11

Board of Education recognized for excellence
Council of Urban Board of Education chooses CMS for annual award
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education has won the Council of Urban
Boards of Education (CUBE) Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence,
the first time a North Carolina district has been so honored. The award was
announced at the CUBE Annual conference Oct. 5 in San Antonio, Texas.
Given by the National School Boards Association, the award is based on
four criteria: excellence in school board governance; building civic capacity;
closing the achievement gap/equity in education, and demonstrated success
of academic excellence.
“We are very honored to receive this award on behalf of CharlotteMecklenburg Schools,” said Mary T. McCray, Board chairperson. “All of us
on the Board are dedicated to improving the education and the lives of our
students. This award recognizes the hard work we’ve done as a Board, and as
a district, to achieve that mission and we are grateful to the Council of Urban
Boards of Education for this recognition.”
CUBE cited the success of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in raising student
test scores and the graduation rate. The association also noted that the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education has raised its standing with the public
through a purposeful effort to engage the community in strategic decisions.
CUBE noted that, since 2008, student test scores in CharlotteMecklenburg Schools have risen on most measures, with scores for thirdthrough eighth-graders on state end-of-grade exams rising by 15 percentage
points or more in English and math. In science, proficiency rates are up by 34
points for the five-year period.
“We are proud of the Board of Education and the great work it has done
in support of academic achievement across our district,” said Dr. Heath E.
Morrison, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “It is a pleasure
to work with such a collaborative team of education advocates.”
Some of the biggest gains have been among minority and economically
disadvantaged students. CUBE praised CMS for its innovative and aggressive

efforts toward closing the racial and economic achievement gap. Another sign
of district progress is that the high school graduation rate just hit 81 percent,
a 15-point gain over the past five years.
CUBE also noted the district’s use of weighted-student staffing and
funding, which allocates resources based on individual students’ needs. This
allows a school serving a sizable population of economically disadvantaged
children to receive more resources and more teachers to help these students
be successful. CMS has also begun using a K-8 configuration of grades in
several low-performing schools, so that older students are educated in a
smaller, more supportive learning environment than is found in traditional
middle or junior high schools.
“It is extremely important to this board to operate transparently and
in ways that increase the community’s trust in our school district,” said
Ericka Ellis-Stewart, CUBE steering committee member, CMS board member
and former board chair. “Starting with our superintendent search, we
have focused on opportunities for community members to offer input and
participate in the process in meaningful ways.”
This is the 10th year that CUBE has given the Annual Award for Urban
School Board Excellence. Last year’s winner was Washoe County School
District. Other winners has included Mesquite (Texas) Independent School
District (Texas), Baltimore City Schools, Atlanta Public Schools, Brownsville
(Texas) Independent School District, Houston Independent School District
and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (co-winners in a single year), Norfolk
(Virginia) Public Schools, School District of Hillsborough County (Florida) and
Boston Public Schools.
CUBE represents nearly 100 urban school districts in 35 states and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. The districts that comprise CUBE educate nearly 7.5
million students in more than 12,000 schools, with a collective budget of
approximately $99 billion. CUBE helps urban school boards find solutions to
challenges at the local level and helps them to strengthen their policymaking
effectiveness. For more information on the award and CUBE, please visit
www.nsba.org/cube.
Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a
not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards
and more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. NSBA
advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board
leadership. For more information, please visit www.nsba.org.

The award is based on four criteria:
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excellence in school board governance
building civic capacity
closing the achievement gap/equity in education
demonstrated success of academic excellence.
Parent Teacher Magazine •November/December 2013• 9