Durham Superintendent: "We Have Our Work Cut Out for Us"
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A common refrain heard in the community since Dr. Anthony Lewis, superintendent of Durham Public Schools, arrived in town: “Boy, have you got your work cut out for you.”
Lewis asks them to rephrase: “We have our work cut out for us.”
On Tuesday night, Lewis, district administrators, and several Board of Education members joined parents, staff, and other community stakeholders at C.E. Jordan High School in South Durham for the second of seven listening sessions.
What works in Durham Public Schools? What needs improvement? These were among the questions participants were asked to answer. During the coming weeks, Lewis intends to continue collecting input from across the county and he doesn’t want this just to be a checkbox on a to-do list. He wants this to be a foundation upon which to build and improve DPS.
“I want to hear your stories,” he said. “I want to hear the successes and celebrations, and I want to hear the areas we need to critically focus on.”
The listening sessions are part of the new superintendent’s 100-day plan, presented in August to the school board. They’re part of an effort to rebuild faith in the district in the wake of last year’s botched classified worker pay rollout, which led to the departure of the chief financial officer and the former superintendent (not to mention numerous disgruntled classified employees who sought employment elsewhere and left DPS with a lot of jobs to fill).
Remaining sessions include:
- Oct. 8: Minnie Forte-Brown Staff Development Center, 2107 Hillandale Rd. Register at this link.
- Oct. 14: Southern School of Energy and Sustainability, 800 Clayton Rd. Register at this link.
- Oct. 15: Riverside High School, 3218 Rose of Sharon Rd. Register at this link.
- Oct. 22: Hillside High School, 3727 Fayetteville Rd. Register at this link.
- Nov. 12: Northern High School, 4622 N. Roxboro St. Register at this link.
