STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE
INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES

INTRODUCTION

North Carolina has embraced a tremendous, but necessary, challenge to close achievement gaps between and among various populations of its public school students across the state. The goal that drives this effort is simply "every student in school and making strong progress." It is important that all North Carolina students upon completion of high school are considered well educated and capable of responding to the challenges that await them either in college/university or in the workforce.

To close the achievement gap, it will take the sincere efforts of many stakeholders across our state and nation. These stakeholders include parents, students, school personnel, legislators, state officials representing many agencies, and a variety of other personnel and officials closely related to the education of our youth and their physical, emotional and intellectual development.

Many challenges confront these stakeholders, but the ultimate rewards are worth the effort. The information shared here reflects only a beginning discussion of key components surrounding the achievement gap that exists between and among students in North Carolina public schools.

The student populations in our public schools are rapidly changing and demonstrate both ethnic and cultural differences. Many of the students within the ranks of our public schools are sadly lagging behind in performance achievement as measured by our stateøs standards of proficiency. Disproportionately, minority and at-risk students consistently perform below expected standards of academic proficiency. This dilemma must be addressed in a systematic, thorough manner.

Key stakeholders can make positive strides toward closing the academic achievement gap among groups of students. If it takes a whole village to raise a child, then in North Carolina there is already "movement in the village."

" We are simply seeking to bring into full realization the American dream—a dream yet unfulfilled." – Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We can whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need in order to do this. Whether we do must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven't so far." – Ron Edmonds