Robeson County School Recommended for Innovative School District | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Lindsay Marchello, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    The Innovative School District plans to recommend Southside Ashpole Elementary in Rowland as the first school to take part in the program, beginning with the 2018-19 school year.

    Southside Ashpole Elementary was part of an original list of 48 low-performing schools in North Carolina eligible as an ISD. The program aims to give charter school or education management operators the opportunity to turn around struggling schools with wider flexibility not typically afforded traditional local school districts.

    Board members will get the chance to hear the recommendation during the November meeting of State Board of Education and will vote on whether to approve the school in December.

    Originally, the ISD planned to recommend two schools for the program, but ISD Superintendent Eric Hall has decided to go with recommendations during the October SBE meeting to start with one school.

    "Our goal is to work collaboratively with the Public Schools of Robeson County, parents, teachers and community leaders to develop innovative strategies in schools that promote improved student outcomes," Hall said in a press release.

    SBE plans to choose a total of five schools for the ISD program in the coming years, but for now Southside Ashpole Elementary stands alone.

    "For those schools under consideration for the ISD not yet recommended for selection at this time, this is an opportunity for them to focus attention and energy at the local level on improving student outcomes based on district plans," Hall said. "I believe that working together we can establish a national model for how state and local partnerships are created with a single goal for promoting equity and excellence in supporting students and communities."