Local leaders discuss the priorities of Gaston County Schools

Gaston County Board of Education members came together with Gaston legislators Wednesday to discuss priorities for the district.

Gaston County Senators Ted Alexander and Brad Overcash joined North Carolina House Representatives Kelly Hastings and John Torbett to talk about refining the district's education budget, continuing to focus on post-graduation preparation, artificial intelligence tools and more.

Board of Education members Josh Crisp, Lee Dedmon, and A.M. Stephens III joined chairman Jeff K. Ramsey and vice chairman Dot Cherry in sharing the board's priorities, which include college and career readiness, contributing to a qualified workforce, maintaining healthy, safe, and responsible schools, and innovation, according to documents from the board.

An overarching topic of discussion at the meeting was how both the legislators and board members could collaborate to benefit Gaston students. Here is what they brought to the table:

What's working

Both the legislative team and board members agreed in the discussion that a focus on career and technical education classes (CTE), Career and College Promise, and Advanced Placement (AP) classes have benefitted both students and parents in Gaston County.

Ramsey said the Career and College Promise program, which allows high school students to get college credit while completing high school, "is taking off."

Ramsey added that the program saves parents money on their child's college education, and that the students are taking advantage of every opportunity available.

According to Cherry, AP classes are also still a popular choice in the district.

Room for improvement

CTE classes are also a popular choice for Gaston County high school students.

However, according to the board, the district is struggling to keep enough CTE instructors on board to teach those classes.

Ramsey said the board requested an increase in state funding for career and technical education, adding that potential teachers can make significantly more money in their field than they can as part-time teachers in the classroom.

Crisp, who represents the Dallas Township, said it can be difficult to keep CTE instructors on board when they are only working part-time, receiving no benefits, but are still required to personally invest in a nine-class course to obtain a teaching certificate.

Crisp added that charter schools are not required to have CTE instructors obtain a teaching certificate, and proposed the possibility of legislative changes that could help alleviate the issue for public schools.

Another topic of conversation during the meeting involved effective ways to correct behavioral issues in the classroom without sending students home.

Torbett suggested a legislative move to reinstate some alternative schools with the ability to focus on mental health and behavioral issues for students who have a pattern of behavioral problems.

Also on the topic of behavioral issues, Crisp inquired about North Carolina's Raise the Age law, which raised the age at which a student can be legally charged as an adult to 18-years-old.

Crisp said he believes many students have been emboldened by the law and are more likely to act out because they know there will be no long-term consequences. He mentioned bringing the age back down to 16-years-old.

Hastings said there is nothing wrong with looking at it, but that there is more nuance to the issue than meets the eye.

Artificial Intelligence

Three areas of focus Gaston residents can expect to see in schools include reading, math and science.

All parties agreed that third-grade reading will be a focal point in coming years with math and science in all grades also becoming a focus.

Torbett mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that Khan Academy, a popular learning tool for instructors and study tool for students, is now using artificial intelligence that can answer student questions and give in-depth explanations on various topics.

Torbett suggested leaning into Khan Academy, not only as a learning tool for students, but also as a lesson planning tool for teachers.

Teacher pay

Toward the end of the meeting, the group discussed teacher pay and ways to implement increases.

The representatives discussed the most recent 7% increase that was included in a North Carolina state budget.

Torbett suggested the possibility of raises for seasoned teachers who are willing to mentor and train younger teachers, or otherwise take on additional responsibilities.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County legislators discuss priorities for the school district