By Liz Moomey
liz.moomey@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Rowan-Salisbury Schools officials on Friday pushed legislators for more funding for the district as it prepares to official launch “renewal.” 

N.C. Sen. Carl Ford, R-33, and N.C. Rep. Larry Pittman, R-83, heard from Superintendent Lynn Moody and two Rowan County principals about the first year of the renewal program, which came to life with the passing of House Bill 986 last year. Moody asked to push for $300,000 in the state budget for evaluation of the “renewal ” and for curriculum and instruction, $312,500 for “lead” teachers and $187,000 for exploratory time for teacher-led design teams.

“We get the privilege of working with people who, because you have empowered them to change things and make decisions, they’ll work 20 more hours a week because they feel empowered,” Moody said.

Ford told Moody that Gov. Roy Cooper’s as well as the House and Senate budgets have money for evaluation, which is promising.

Luke Brown, Salisbury High School principal, and Candace Austin, Overton Elementary principal, spoke about the current school year of implementing the renewal school system.

Brown said a needs assessment concluded mental health of students, outreach of getting families involved and engagement are challenges of Salisbury High School.

Brown spoke about a recent shooting that left one student hospitalized. Brown said he believed 39 Salisbury High School students were present when the student was shot.

“The bigger picture is how I come back Monday with 39 kids that saw that and sit in a math class without addressing this,” Brown said. “That’s what we’ve been doing. We have not been addressing the needs of our students before we are trying to give them the content that they need.”

Because of renewal, Brown said one of the solutions is having two part-time psychologists to address mental health for students and teachers.

For engagement and parental involvement, Brown said Salisbury High will host an exhibition showcasing student work while providing music and food. Brown also said Salisbury High partnering with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College for a parent academy, which would allow parents to get certified in skills like personal finance and Microsoft Office.

When passing Salisbury High School, Ford said he can tell parent involvement is down — away team stands are filled and the home team stands are empty.

At Overton Elementary, Austin said, staff are also concentrating on childhood trauma. Staff are being trained to recognize trauma and de-escalate a situation. They have also conducted 30 home visits to build family relationships.

Brown and Austin both said implementation of the changes should lead to better student attendance, timeliness and engagement.

“We’re just really starting to dive in deep, but you can really see that they’re thinking deeply about who are the children served, what are their needs and how can we do it differently, so you can get a different result,” Moody said. “The bottom line is whether we needed all the flexibilities or not it gave us the opportunity to think about it differently, and quit blaming people in Raleigh.”

Moody spoke about providing tools for students to reach their goals, recalling a student who doesn’t see the importance of going to school because she wants to open up a nail salon. Moody said schools should be providing knowledge that are related to students’ passions such as understanding finances or marketing for a small business.

RSS Chief Strategy Officer Andrew Smith said RSS’ goal is to ensure all students leave enrolled in college, enlisted in the military or employed.

“If her instruction could be tailored around passion of owning a nail salon, she’s more likely to show up for school and be engaged in her classes,” Smith said. “When we have to learn random things that make no sense to us, they’re not in our passion, I think that’s where we lose some of our kids.”

Ford said band was the reason he kept going to school every day.

Moody said she continues to be excited about what the renewal designation will bring for Rowan County and the state. Moody said she wants to continue moving forward with representatives, teachers, principals, students and school officials to be a model for the state.

“You know, we asked for five years,” Moody said. “It’s not done overnight. It’s really going to take five years to get where we want to be and we’re learning that, but we’re still excited about it.”

Contact reporter Liz Moomey at 704-797-4222