‘A community problem, not a school problem;’ Study exposes deep education divide in NHCO Schools
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY-TV) – A new study finds a large gap on standardized test results between Black and white students in the New Hanover County School District.
“This is a community problem not a school problem,” said Scott Whisnant, chair of Elevate Every Child.
The education advocacy group met to discuss chronic absenteeism and educational apathy.
“Our goal is to make school relevant to children and that when they are old enough to make their own decisions they want to come they are excited to come, they want to be there,” Whisnant said.
The group’s report states 76% of white New Hanover County students were proficient in 3rd to 12th grade test compared to 30% of Black students. Whisnant said the structure of the school system clumps together students of lower income households many of whom are African American.
“The problem is too many of those children are not able to come to school ready to learn and what we’ve done as a community is we’ve grouped all those children in the same handful of schools which makes the problem worse,” Whisnant said.
Things could become more difficult for students. The school district recently removed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as a pillar for its strategic plan which will run from 2027 to 2031. Board of education member, Tim Merrick voted against the motion.
“As much as we want to treat everyone equally we have to understand that some children need certain types of help more than others,” Merrick said.
WWAY reached out to the New Hanover County NAACP who said it has their own data and stresses the issue spans beyond school and into the home and community.
“Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society,” said LeRon Montgomery, NHCO NAACP president. “It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.”
“If we as a community decided to do this differently we could change this.”
