The Wake County School District is asking the community to help them find ways to raise the achievement levels of some minority groups.
Almost 90 percent of white students were proficient last school year, while less than 50 percent of black students made the grade, according to the State Department of Public Instruction.
Wake schools held its first summit Saturday to find ways to fix the problem.
From the start, board members wanted to make one thing clear: Saturday's summit was not about the former diversity policy.
"We get tired and probably you get tired of seeing us in the news talking about assignment and other issues when this is really what it's about," Board Member Keith Sutton said.
Parent Darryl Fulton appreciated that board members were concentrating on achievement.
"This is adapting to what the teachers need to do to make things interesting," Fulton said, encouraging parents to "give input on this."
Education Consultant Marvin Pittman showed parents the numbers from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Pittman pointed out how the graduation rate for Hispanics in Wake County is almost 50 percentage points behind white students.
"The problem is, as a community we weren't looking at the data very well and responding to it," Pittman said.
A panel discussed placing kids in more challenging classes and ways to make teachers more effective, but Pittman said parents are the key.
Parents need to reinforce what is happening in the schools, Pittman said.
"If we say to you 'Your child is acting up.' Don't come to us and say 'My child says he didn't do that,'" Pittman said. "Why would we lie to you? That's called parental support."
Fulton says the lack of parental involvement was his only disappointment in the summit.
"I wish there was a larger showing of parents," he said. "I know it was bad weather today. It was rainy, but i think it would have showed the teaching staff that parents care about their children."
Leaders plan to have another summit for teachers in August.
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