Charlotte-Mecklenburg School superintendent Crystal Hill wants the district to change its approach to student discipline.
As the guest speaker at the Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum, Hill reintroduced herself to community members and discussed some of the issues the district faces, including student disciplinary actions.
Hill said she believes more efforts need to be made to fix the problem instead of just providing punishment.
“We let a lot of our expectations for staff and students slip when schools reopened after the pandemic,” she said.
“When students misbehave, we punish them. We need to reframe our thinking in terms of discipline because discipline is really about teaching expectations, and sometimes that ends with consequences.”
During a Q&A session at the forum, Hill answered a number of questions from attendees about the direction the district is headed.
Questions came from various forum attendees. Hill’s answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Will there be some type of program to address the district behavior disciplinary issues?
We let a lot of our expectations for staff and students slip when schools reopened after the pandemic. We must elevate our expectations of ourselves, our staff and our students. That starts with how we interact with others.
We have an initiative called Capturing Kids’ Hearts. The premise is that you can’t capture a student’s mind until you capture their heart. The goal is that we teach the students the expectations they have students and be very clear about the consequences.
When students misbehave, we punish them. We need to reframe our thinking in terms of discipline because discipline is really about teaching expectations, and sometimes that ends with consequences.
What management system do schools use today?
The school is responsible for setting each goal. It’s my job to help manage those goals. Based on the goals and guardrail, we’ve set up projects and plans to accomplish these goals. We have set up metrics for each division and department throughout the district.
What is the plan to get those top teachers in Title 1 schools?
I’ve made a lot of changes with it comes to principals. Once the leadership is set, we focus on teachers. The goal is to have teachers that are showing growth with students. We’ve also set incentive goals to push teachers to reach certain expectations.
How do plan to have qualified and effective teachers in every classroom across the district?
Finding teachers is a struggle right now. The number of teachers coming to our traditional pipeline is declining. Over half of our new teachers, last year were alternative pathway teachers.
One thing we need to make sure we are doing is to make sure education is safe. Who wants to be a teacher when they are beaten down emotionally, not making enough money, etc? We have had to look at other avenues, such as international teachers and Teach for America. We’ve had to be extremely creative. The key is attracting and retaining excellent teachers.
As superintendent, how do you interact with students and get their feedback?
We have to recognize that students are people too. I always say that the parents are our customers, but we have to listen to our students too.
We have a very active student leadership group in Charlotte. They are extremely vocal and they have no problem sharing their thoughts about what they think is right. I believe that if we take the time to listen to what they have to say, students would probably be more engaged each and every day.
There is an element of safety that needs to be addressed at each school with the increase in school shootings. What are your plans to address that?
My predecessor implemented scanners at each school. We just invested in more.
The number of weapons drastically decreased this year, so we can tell that we are making progress. We have also added cameras on campus. We have technology that, if there is activity in the area, the schools will automatically lock down.
We have also invested in increasing our school resource officers. We don’t have SROs at all schools, but they are nearby and ensure a fast response time. We want to ensure the safety of our students and staff.
What plan do you have in place to protect staff?
It starts with expectations. We have to be clear on what we expect. I believe that over 80% of the population will do exactly what they know to do if those expectations are put in place. I also know that we have to be clear that we will not tolerate attacks on adults or attacks on student to students. It’s just not necessary.
What do you say to organizations like Moms for Liberty that have tried to challenge schools nationwide?
My job is to meet with everybody. Whether or not I agree with everything they say or believe, I must listen and figure out what we have in common. We must build from there. One thing I will make clear is I refuse to allow our students to be political footballs. I’m hear to ensure that every single student has an outstanding experience and not getting into politics.
