Confronting a racial achievement gap.

Confronting a racial achievement gap. BY THE TIME JAMES G. MERRILL became superintendent of VirginiaBeach (Va.) City Public Schools (VBCPS) in 2006, there wasn't muchto improve statistically, The district ranked first in readingproficiency among the neighboring seven cities and first on the combinedSAT; all schools had earned full Standards of Learning (SOL)accreditation from the Virginia Department of Education; and even therelationship between its elected school board, the community andadministrators was harmonious. "It's always been my nature to praise success but lookfor ways to improve," admits Merrill. Amid the district'sstellar overall performance was an elephant in the room that Merrillsoon learned needed to be addressed: a large racial achievement gapbetween Caucasian and African-American students. The district'sdisaggregated assessme nt data--including graduation rates, participationin advanced coursework, and state and national assessments--revealedthat black males in particular were performing well below their whitemale counterparts. "Racial achievement gaps weren't new concepts in2006," says Merrill, whose district is 55.8 percent Caucasian, 27.3percent African-American, 6 percent Hispanic, and 5.7 percent Asian."Everyone across the nation had finally started talking about themfront and center." Developing A Strategic Plan Merrill and his board developed "Compass to 2015: A StrategicPlan for Student Success" to encourage the community to addressraising student achievement, with the achievement gap between Caucasianand African-American male students as the third of five pointshighlighted. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The watershed moment in Dr. Merrill's tenure was thecreation and preliminary execution of Compass to 2015," says DanEdwards, VBCPS school board chairman since 1998. Merrill says that whatb egan as a straightforward program to create a strategic plan morphedinto a two-year districtwide research campaign involving parents,students, teachers and the business community. "I learned thatthere were shortcomings in the community by listening to groups that hadfelt disenfranchised," he says. "When you listened to whatkids experienced, it was a lack of a personal relationship withteachers. They were saying, 'By second semester, some teachersstill don't know my name.'" Creating a New Office To liaise between internal and external stakeholders on issues ofequity, Merrill developed the Office of Equity Affairs and hired EstherMonclova-Johnson as director, who previously served in similar positionsfor District of Columbia Public Schools. "The director has played amajor role in shaping the strategic plan, and serves as a co-chair forStrategic Objective 3, which addresses the necessity of closing academicachievement gaps," says Merrill. During her tenure thus far, Monclova -Johnson has established thedistrict's Equity Council; worked with the human resourcesdepartment on recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce;facilitated community outreach and mentoring programs such as Daywatch,which partners with a "Men of Faith" group to help elementaryAfrican-American male students suspended for bad behavior; and held"Candid Conversations about Race" (CCR) with staff to examinehow race relationships affect student achievement. Although achievement gaps remain, over the past three years thedistrict has eliminated the double-digit gap between African-Americanmales and their Caucasian peers in reading at both the eighth-grade andhigh-school levels, based on statewide testing, and reduced the gap inmath in certain grades. In addition, both the overall graduation rateand the percentage of African-American males successfully completing anadvanced course continue to increase, thanks to the efforts of Merrilland his administration to address racial equi ty issues. James G. Merrill Superintendent, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, since 2006 Age: 58 Salary: $213,151 Tenure: 3.5 years Students: 69,565 Faculty and staff: 16,788 Schools and learning centers: 85 Per-pupil expenditure: $10,796 Web site: www.vbschools.com Jennifer E. Chase is a contributing writer for DISTRICTADMINISTRATION.