Since his tenure as Superintendent of Greene County Schools, Dr. James H. Carter, Sr. has focused on creating a culture of caring and commitment which results in academic and career achievement and readiness for all students. Although the Alabama State Department of Education has recently listed two of Greene County’s schools on the failing schools list, this was not the driving force for Dr. Carter’s plan of initiating different and more intense approaches for reaching student achievement goals.
According to Superintendent Carter, “ Noting the need to advance academically and remove Robert Brown Middle School and Greene County High from the failing schools list, each school has created an instructional plan of action that provides solutions necessary to enhance progress on the summative assessments provided by the Alabama State Department of Education.
“The implementation of these plans of action will be monitored and assessed periodically for the purpose of improving student achievement. Now, the expectation is that teachers will formulate professional learning communities and incorporate strategies that engage all students.
Further, students should receive more open-ended questions that encourage critical thinking, exposure to various types of reading passages, more math problem-solving questions, experiments in STEM and science, and hands-on learning experiences in all subject areas,” he stated.
Superintendent explained that new initiatives often take time to grow the commitment and buy-in of all the components, “ Every school has its own narrative. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as stakeholders, students and teachers’ engagement, academic data, the trends and issues impacting the school and the kinds of programs and services that each school implements to support student learning. These variables indicated embody the school’s culture, but also exemplify how well the professional learning community works together,” he said.
Dr. Carter explained that his role is to assist with enhancing the school system’s overall academic culture. “I am aware that this mission cannot be an individual stance. I am continuously promoting professional development and collaboration among parents, students, leaders and educators. Even now, I am organizing safe parameters to merge communities and organizations, collect data, formulate action steps, enhance trust, and stimulate conversations,” he said.