April 10, 2018

CMS Supt. Clayton Wilcox addressed the Forum this morning. CMS accountability officer Dr. Frank Barnes walked the participants through a short presentation on academic disparities highlighted in a recent report.

The presentation used material taken from February’s “Breaking the Link” document from CMS staff that Dr. Wilcox called for shortly after his arrival last year. The report offers data confirming the wide achievement gaps that linger, by race and socioeconomic status, within CMS schools.

They linger, not because the staff was not aware of them, or because a dozen superintendents have not focused on removing them. They linger because there is insufficient public will to end them. And there did not appear to be a single member of the CMS school board present at this morning’s meeting to address the issues raised by the report from that perspective.

The full report is available in English and Spanish.

In the video below, Dr. Wilcox’s presentation begins at minute 20:01. The Q&A begins at minute 40:54.