A Charlotte principal's mission is to make sure all students read at or above grade level. | Adobe Stock
A Charlotte principal's mission is to make sure all students read at or above grade level. | Adobe Stock
The principal of Hidden Valley Elementary in Charlotte is on a mission to make sure all 900 students there are reading at or above their grade level, WBTV reported.
“If that child can’t read, that affects their life forever, so we really have to stay focused on what the end goal is, which is to help every single one of these children become productive adults,” Principal Daniel Gray told WBTV.
Hidden Valley Elementary School averaged a “D” rating from 2014 to 2019, according to WBTV. However, the score doesn't reflect on the work being done in his school, Gray said.
Factors such as low socioeconomic status or language barriers aren't taken into consideration in the scoring and don't fully represent the work that the school is doing, according to the principal.
Teachers are taking part in state-level training courses focused on reading fundamentals and professional development courses. They are also devoting more personalized support for students, with five after-school tutoring programs helping 250 students.
“Targeting students and student groups, pulling kids and giving them small-group instruction is a major focus for us here," Gray told WBTV. "Looking at kids and knowing where they’re at, and not forgetting there are kids that did achieve, and we want to extend those kids.”