So What Is This Renewal I’m Hearing So Much About?
It’s a Beginning…
There are many questions about Rowan-Salisbury Schools becoming the
first and only district in the state to be designated as a Renewal School
System and how this will make our schools better. Folks are hearing that it
is a good thing, but not sure what that implies. So, while this is exciting, it
is understandable that this ‘unknown’ creates an atmosphere of questioning
and uncertainty.
More Local Control
Simply put, Renewal gives us more local control on how we operate our
schools.
For years, all traditional public schools in the state have been bound to
legislative laws on how districts must spend money, hire teachers, test
students, and when to start and end the school year. We will now have
the freedom to make these decisions that best serve our children and our
communities right here in Rowan County. These flexibilities are already given
to charter schools.
Teachers are the Expert Leaders
Public schools have fallen under the one-size fits all laws that seem to have
steered away from empowering teachers in the classroom to provide the
instruction that best grows our children. Teachers are the experts, and they
will guide the decisions on how Renewal will unfold in Rowan-Salisbury
Schools. Teachers will be the leaders, designers, and creators of instruction.
Each school in the district has a Teacher-Led Design team. All the teams
gathered together on August 16th to learn and train on the Renewal School
System framework so they can begin the work at their individual schools.
Hiring
We will be able to hire teachers outside of the state classification of
being highly qualified - with a 4-year teaching degree. First, understand
that this means we are increasing