‘Get better everyday'

Opinion

September 2, 2010

W. TERRY SMITH Editor The Daily Southerner Thu Sep 02, 2010, 11:03 AM EDT

TARBORO — Met our new school superintendent, Dr. Wayne Talley, this week.

He does not come across as most PhD. types I have known. In a coat and tie, he's a little rumpled like a newspaperman.

Easy smile. I could see and hear the coach in him, which he was years ago.

He is educated and well spoken with a head full of common sense.

Talley, 59, figures he has "another eight to 10 years" of work in him.

"I feel like I am just getting warmed up," he said. I believe him.

Yes, he is coming here from a predominately white school district, but he has worked in Blakely, Ga., Washington County, N.C., and other places where there are white and black faces in the classroom.

He grew up in North Charlotte in a mixed neighborhood. He has learned to appreciate smaller communities, rural areas.

Talley said, "Great things are going on in Edgecombe County, but there is a disconnect. We have pockets where great things are not going on."

He told me about monitoring students' progress and intervention instead of waiting until a semester has gone by and talking about remediation.

He talked about:

• Professional learning communities (PLCs), " a collegial group of administrators and school staff who are united in their commitment to student learning."

• Common formative assessments. "Checkups instead of autopsies," he said.

I am convinced students must learn how to read if they are to survive in this world.

"It means being able to access information every time a child goes into a classroom, reading, writing, being able to communicate," he said. "The information is out there. We have to make it so they can access it."

I mentioned the test scores. He knew what I was talking about.

"It's concerning," he said.

North Carolina has 16 low-performing schools and Edgecombe has two of them. You should know this was never mentioned at the last school meeting when the Board of Education was briefed on the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and state ABC results.

Talley has a background in curriculum. He says he wants kids taught how to think and "the right things the right way."

Talley said, "Every decision we make should be what is best for the kids. What's best for our children?"

I think it is sinful that students graduate from Edgecombe County Public Schools and have to go to remedial classes at Edgecombe Community College.

Talley agreed and said it was an issue everywhere.

He wants our schools to produce college-ready students and employable students. Students who have character and will be productive citizens.

He spoke about developing a vision. What kind of schools do we want? What does the community want?

His mantra? "Get better every day."

He admitted it would be challenge.

W. Terry Smith is editor of The Daily Southerner.

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