CCSD'S Mission Critical Action community meetings kick-off in North Charleston

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.(WCBD)- Community members and parents of students in Charleston County met together tonight to discuss struggling schools in North Charleston.

This meeting is the first of three critical meetings that will take place over the next few months to discuss North Charleston schools. The facilitators are community leaders appointed by the Charleston County School District to listen to the concerns of parents. One of the community leaders & facilitators of tonight’s Mission Critical Action Meeting says that several North Charleston Schools are failing.

John Read, CEO of Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative says, “The state identified 8 of the schools here, 8 of the 9 in the district, as failing and so there’s a particular importance to the North Charleston community coming together.”

The parents that attended the meeting were able to look at charts & statistics of Charleston County Schools and then were put into small groups where they were able to share their opinions on North Charleston schools and the steps that they would like to see CCSD take to improve them.

John Read, CEO of Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative says “Under-resourced kids, and as it happens in this region, kids who are Black and Hispanic are underserved by this district and I personally have no doubt that it means more resources for the schools, better pay for the teachers, more teachers earlier in school,and maybe two teachers per classroom.”

The community organizers of tonight’s meeting recorded all the things discussed and say that they will share the feedback from this session, and the following meetings, with the Charleston County School District at a Board of Trustees meeting in June.

At the meeting, a mother of children at an elementary school in North Charleston says that she has some concerns about the current performance of CCSD schools.

Stacy Alberico, parent of students in North Charleston says, “As far as figuring out where I am going to send my children, especially when they reach middle school, that is a concern. I want for my kids and for other kids to be able to have that quality experience.”

Over the next few months, there will be Mission Critical Action Meetings taking place across the Lowcountryin North Charleston, Downtown Charleston, West Ashley, and Johns Island to listen to the parents, teachers, and principals of Charleston County Schools.

Mission Critical Action Meeting Schedule:

North Charleston

● April 9, 2019

● May 7, 2019

● June 4, 2019

Location: North Charleston High School

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

West Ashley

• April 22, 2019

• May 22, 2019

Location: West Ashley High School

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.