Community reacts to DPS strategic plan

It takes a village to raise a child, as the proverb goes, and Durham is no exception.

Superintendent Eric Becoats’ ambitious strategic plan announced last month aims to revitalize the Durham Public Schools system by redirecting funding, broadening inter-school partnerships and developing systems of accountability enforcement. The plan, touted as the culmination of Becoats’ four-month long “listening and learning” tour, has prompted increased discussion and scrutiny of Durham public schools and how best to improve them. Many Durhamites attribute the system’s shortcomings—namely an increasing dropout rate, student apathy and low classroom performance—to broader problems that affect the community as a whole, like homelessness, drugs and crime.

“I’m optimistic about the plan, and the whole thing looks good on paper because he did what a good leader does­—he took a hot minute to sit down and absorb directly from the hearts and minds of people to see what they need,” said Pierce Freelon, an adjunct professor of political science at North Carolina Central University who runs a spoken-word program for at-risk high school students in Durham. “The superintendent can do this, but if drugs and unemployment are rampant then the plan will fail because the kids won’t have tools to succeed or improve.”

Fresh start facing hurdles

Becoats, who declined to be interviewed for this story, took on his duties as Durham’s superintendant last July and began speaking with parents, students and teachers about the changes they hope to see within DPS. The results of the tour formed the basis for his strategic plan, which outlines in 36 pages six areas for improvement: academic acceleration, communications and partnerships, equitable standards, effective operations, talent development and wellness and safety. The plan has received positive feedback and public encouragement from the community, said DPS Chief Communications Officer Tahira Stalberte.

City officials have also backed the strategic plan, with Mayor Bill Bell and others rallying behind it and several city council members calling it a “fresh start.”

“I am very supportive of DPS and the new plan, and appreciate Superintendent Becoats’ leadership on this,” City Council member Diane Catotti said. “Parent involvement is key.”

Fighting the dropout rate

Pilar Tipane, the literacy program specialist for Duke’s America Reads America Counts, added that another key problem she sees in Durham schools is keeping students in the classroom.

“Our drop-out rate is huge in this country, and I think making school interesting from a young age will help kids want to stay in and complete school,” Tipane said.

Some DPS students expressed impatience with the mundane activities in their classes.

“We do the same exercises all the time and usually nobody isn’t paying any attention,” said Jamal Wright, a 9-year-old third grade student.

Becoats’ plan attempts to make class more interesting through “talent development”—the process of identifying each child’s unique interests and using a lens of focus to make the curriculum seem more intriguing while enhancing their pre-existing strengths, DPS Chief Communications Officer Tahira Stalberte said.

But Freelon, who has worked with students firsthand, noted that Becoats’ education plan can only go so far to reduce the dropout rate.

“It is not just the responsibility of the schools. A community is something that can only be nurtured by the people within those communities,” said Freelon, who teaches writing techniques to at-risk teenagers in an after school course called Poetic Justice. “There are a lot of pretty bad neighborhoods, drugs and crime.”

For its work, Poetic Justice received a $10,000 grant from Durham’s Juvenile Justice and Crime Prevention Council that defined the criteria for at-risk students as including students in foster care, suspended students, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students in the juvenile justice system. Freelon said his program, which he runs with slam poet Kane Smego, is one way to address such prevalent community problems.

“I think there a lot of kids teetering on the edge and could go one way or the other. As of now, dropping out is a more likely option,” Freelon said. “Juvie is for kids too far down the road and we do this to prevent more kids from getting there. They get into trouble without an after-school program because they are sucked into a bad lifestyle with nothing else to do.”

One problem Freelon has witnessed among the students he works with is homelessness. He said students who do not have a stable home do not have the resources or incentive to try and achieve in class.

Although Freelon said he is disappointed Poetic Justice can only accept 10 to 12 students, he explained he does not have the funding to expand the course to accept more students in need. He said he urges other organizations to participate in “grassroots community work” to enhance the city.

“Police forces, church groups and universities like Duke need to reach out and do more,” he said. “They shouldn’t be insulated institutions for an exclusive group higher in the social hierarchy. The people that really need are within walking distance of the people who have the power to help them.”