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Community speakers cite rising dropouts, racial disparities in suspensions and urge parent involvement
Summary
During public comments at the March Cumberland County Board of Education meeting two speakers urged stronger parent engagement and presented NCDPI data they said show large increases in high school dropouts and racial disparities in suspensions.
At the public forum of the Cumberland County Board of Education meeting, community speakers urged the board to strengthen parent involvement programs and asked what the district plans to do in response to what they described as alarming dropout and discipline data.
Janice Smith, an educator and pastor with 55 years in Cumberland County, told the board parents are "the ultimate role models for children" and urged renewed investment in parent involvement programs so schools can better retain teachers and volunteers.
"Please support this issue of having a greater parent involvement," Janice Smith said during her public comment.
Carmela McKellar Smith said she reviewed North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) data on student outcomes and discipline and presented figures she described as a cause for alarm. She told the board that over a recent five-year window Cumberland County Schools saw what she characterized as an 81% increase in high-school dropouts and a 42.5% increase in dropouts between the 2022–23 and 2023–24 school years. She said the district recorded 10,321 suspensions in 2023–24 and asserted that 60.8% of those suspensions were of Black students and 88% were BIPOC students.
"What's the plan? Has anyone pulled the alarm? Do these numbers and who they represent matter?" Carmela McKellar Smith asked the board.
Board members thanked speakers for their comments; no formal action or response plan was announced during the meeting. The board moved on to its agenda items after the public forum.
