State Names Eligible Schools For Controversial Innovative District

Some Forsyth and Guilford County Schools could be part of the state's new Innovative School District. The program is meant to boost student achievement in low-performing schools.

The state legislature passed a law last year to create the ISD program.

Schools are eligible if they score in the lowest 5 percent of student performance. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has identified 48 that meet the criteria.

The list was released on Thursday.

Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools has eight, the most of any district on the list. Guilford County Schools has three.

“We've got to use this as an opportunity to get better,” says Eric Hall, the superintendent of the new Innovative District.

But the program is controversial. Supporters say it will bring cutting edge, flexible teaching models to struggling schools. Critics say it's a risky experiment that hasn't been successful elsewhere. They also say it takes away local control.

The state will select charter-operating companies to run these schools for a five-year period.

Hall says the next step is getting into communities.

“It can't be done at the state level alone. It has to be done locally and it has to be done through a partnership and so that is a commitment that I'm making to this board and to this state - that we will stay focused on that.”

Over the next month, Hall says he will spend time talking with district officials and meeting with parents and families. That information will be used to help narrow the list of 48 schools. Hall plans to take his recommendations to the State Board of Education in October.

Board members will vote on at least two of the schools by December 15th for the 2018-2019 school year.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news