Black Newspaper Takes Gloomy View of CCSD

After interviewing CCSD's Anjene Davis and Michael Miller, the Charleston Chronicle concluded that little change lies ahead for black students in the Charleston County School District.

Davis complained that there is "not enough planning or implementation to move the district toward progress." He pointed towards bias in responding to constituent concerns on the part of administration in regard to closing Garrett Academy. However, Davis did not admit that, unlike "some 200" white constituents who marched on the Taj Mahal, black ones did not appear in such numbers to support Garrett.

Davis also pointed to poor academic results for black students, but he did not suggest either causes or remedies.

Michael Miller agreed, noting that "some 50 percent of Black students don’t read at grade level." By pointing out the disparity in black teachers versus black students, he seemed to imply that if the percentage of black teachers in the district equaled the percentage of black students, reading levels would improve.

Really?

After several key 5-4 votes on the school board with five white members in the majority, Miller hopes that the balance will change at the November elections. As he stated, "in the five years he’s served, new years and new board members have not brought new vision. Change will not be imposed by rhetoric, but by action, he said." He did not specify what that action should entail.