REPORTS

GUIDELINES FOR LOCAL TASK FORCE ON
CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Section 8.28 (d) of HB 1840 requires the State Board of Education to develop guidelines to enable the formation of a local task force in each local school administrative unit. The purpose of the task force is to advise and work with the local board of education and administration on closing the gap in academic achievement and on developing a collaborative plan for achieving that goal.

The following are guidelines for establishing and implementing a local task force:

Setting up a Task Force

1. Establish the task force under the auspices of the Office of the Superintendent.
   
   
2. Identify key stakeholders in the community who should be contacted about serving on the task force. Stakeholders may be chosen from the groups listed below:
   • parents;
   • school personnel (administrators, teachers, instructional support personnel, exceptional children personnel, second language specialists, etc.);
   • local board of education members;
   • Department of Social Services;
   • Department of Mental Health;
   • Health Department;
   • o Juvenile Services;
   • Housing Authority;
   • Employment Security Commission;
   • law enforcement;
   • Communities in Schools (if present in the LEA);
   • Chamber of Commerce;
   • local businesses;
   • community organizations such as Civic Club, Lions' Club, Rotary Club, etc.;
   • communities of faith;
   • media representatives;
   • representatives of higher education (community colleges, colleges/universities in the area).
   • fraternities/sororities/community groups that provide services to children;
   • students; and
   • thers as represented in the community.
     
     
3. Select task force members that are representative of community demographics (race/ethnic, gender, and socio-economic diversity). Consider the following criteria for task force members. Candidates should be willing to:
   • commit to improving the education of all children, especially those who are underachieving.
   • attend all task force meetings and take an active role in discussions and activities.
   • listen to the ideas, suggestions, and comments of other task force members as well as community members.
   • keep other members of the school/community informed of the work of the task force.
   • participate in any training for the task force members such as consensus building, problem-solving, and/or group dynamics.
   • seek actively data-driven solutions to improving the achievement of all students.
     
     
4. Solicit a task force member to serve as chair of the group.
   
   
5. Appoint a secretary for the task force who will be responsible for recording all aspects of the meeting and distributing it to the Local Education Agency (LEA) public information officer for public dissemination.
   
   
6. Convene an organizational meeting of task force members.
   • Define the charge to the task force.
   • Establish operational procedures.
   • Decide on roles and responsibilities of task force members.
   • Decide on training that may be needed for the task force.
   • Determine what information/data the task force will need.
   • Define the communication process and person(s) responsible.

1. Present Task Force with National and State data on gap-related RACG issues to understand the urgency of the task at hand.
   • RACG staff can present this information to your task force; service request form available at www.ncpublicschools.org/racg/
   • Download a sample PowerPoint presentation to use with your task force; Task Force Presentation
     (ppt, 4.15mb).
     
     
2. Establish a policy statement for the LEA on closing the achievement gap.
   
   
3. Establish a marketing strategy to broker community support. Address why closing the achievement gap is important to the entire community.
   
   
4. Gather data from the LEA. Plan and schedule presentations on information/data collected. Ensure that all data are disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Examples may include, but are not limited to the following:
   • state test data
   • discipline statistics
   • Exceptional Children statistics
   • teacher-student ratio
   • attendance data (both students and faculty)
   • faculty composition by race/gender/ethnicity
   • professional preparation of educators
   • other relevant information
     
     

1. Analyze and synthesize data and information. Looking at all factors and using all perspectives, use this data to identify the problem(s) with student achievement.
   
   
2. Prioritize the problem(s) with student achievement and set goals with timelines.
   
   
3. Define critical questions needed to address the priority problems.
   • Where are the gaps in services?
   • What programs/strategies are in place to address student achievement needs? What criteria are used to determine their effectiveness? Are they effective? If not, how can they be revised to be more effective?
   • What information is needed to determine research-based programs/strategies to address the gaps?
   • Which programs/strategies were implemented in other environments with similar needs and demographics?
   • What was/were the key(s) to the effectiveness of these programs/strategies?
   • What are the budgetary requirements of these programs?
   • Which programs/strategies can be implemented to impact student achievement? Prioritize.
   • How will program effectiveness be evaluated?
   
   
   
4. Decide on subcommittees/task teams to research answers to the critical questions, and make assignments (with timelines).
   
   
5. Present findings of each subcommittee to the full task force.
   
   
6. Decide on an implementation plan, benchmarks and periodic monitoring process.
   
   
7. Develop a report to the school and community that includes the implementation plan, benchmarks and the monitoring process. Provide appropriate translations, as needed. Make the report available to the community by:
   • posting on LEA website
   • submitting an article to local newspaper(s)
   • mailings to parents
   • presenting to community groups
   • broadcasting on local access cable and radio stations
   • hosting a community forum/summit
   
   
   
8. Plan for continued operation and activities of the task force by:
   • holding interim discussion groups,
   • monitoring status towards meeting benchmarks,
   • regularly collecting and analyzing new data to determine effectiveness
   • revising implementation plan as needed, and
   • maintaining ongoing communication.