Local NAACP says schools need smaller classes, better teachers

By Elizabeth Green
Diversity Institute Fellow

07.28.04

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Members of the local NAACP chapter questioned Tuesday whether leaders of Nashville's public schools can meet their goal of making the district "the top performing" one in the nation without smaller classes and more effective teachers.

Dr. Elisha Richardson, chair of the NAACP education committee, spoke at the Metropolitan Board of Education bimonthly meeting and praised the board's mission to do "whatever it takes (to teach students) the knowledge and skills to become productive responsible citizens."

However, Richardson expressed concern about the student teacher ratio in public schools. He also said that the lack of resources and personnel could hamper efforts to reduce class sizes.

Richardson, who addressed the board while seated at a center table, proposed reducing class ratios from an average of 22 students per teacher to 15 students.

Fellow NAACP member Dr. Levi Jones said in addition to reducing class size, the district needs to improve the effectiveness of teachers. But he voiced concerns the district lacks adequate resources and questioned the process for evaluating teachers who are assigned to implement the board's "End Results for Children" policy, which is aimed at addressing those issues.

Metro board member Pam Binkley Garrett said a strategic five-year plan was in place for the evaluation of teachers as part of this policy.

George H. Thompson III, another board member, said the district is taking extra steps to address teaching standards. But he did not provide details.

The NAACP's Richardson said that additional money for the city's public schools will have to come from taxpayers. If taxpayers are willing to support a facility such as the new proposed home for the Nashville Sounds baseball team, he said, they should be willing to put more resources in public education.

Board member Christina Norris said Davidson County spends less money per student than in other counties because it receives less tax revenue. Norris also said that the district is losing "too many students from middle-class backgrounds of all ethnicities" to private schools.

But Jones of the NAACP told the nine-member board that "the best recruitment is performance by students in the public school system."

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