CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Leaders in Charlotte’s black community are sounding the alarm bells over persistent disparities in the educational outcomes of students of color at CMS, saying the impacts will be felt at the community level.

“We have to change these results,” said Stephanie Sneed, chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus. “It affects cities. It affects the growth of cities. It affects income gaps. These have lifelong generational effects.”

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In September, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus hosted an online forum with CMS leaders to discuss ways to correct the educational gap between black and white students, a gap made worse by COVID-19.

Specifically, the district wants to focus on its 42 underperforming schools where a recent report shows more than 70% of black third-graders are not proficient in reading, compared to nearly 30% of white students. In high school, less than 5% of black students are ready for college or a career.

Sneed wants more details to close the success gap.

“We have a preview for this, but we don’t have a specific plan on how we’re going to get there,” Sneed said.

CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston said it would take several years to overcome the setbacks suffered during the pandemic.

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