Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
87 / 106
82.1%
Base Score
78 / 96
Extra Credit
9 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 9 | 10 | Notes |
Suggestions to Improve the Score
Every item below its maximum, worst gap first, with the reviewer's own notes as the rationale.
Show suggestions (17)
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found showing a formal system for measuring or gathering feedback on the effectiveness of cultural competency/equity trainings.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found indicating cultural competence checks are formally part of the hiring process for CMS staff.
- 1.2 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mentorship programs for culturally diverse staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS partners with Profound Gentlemen, a Charlotte group that supports male educators of color, to provide mentors and coaches for new Black male teachers, but this is a targeted pilot rather than a confirmed district-wide mandatory program for all diverse staff.
- 1.3 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Culturally relevant PD resources in staff learning — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS teachers describe practicing "culturally-responsive teaching" and the district's annual Summer Leadership Conference has featured equity-focused keynotes (e.g., Ibram X. Kendi in 2021), but no confirmation this is a formal, catalogued PD resource library used district-wide.
- 2.3 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Staff training on consistent application — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district's Behavior Support Department offers a Principal/AP/Dean Discipline Portal and "School-Based CPI Training Requests," suggesting some structured training exists, but mandatory consistent-application training for all staff is not clearly confirmed.
- 3.2 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Staff training in restorative practices — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district's Restorative Practices webpage references "Restorative Practices Training" and documentation requests, indicating training exists, but it is not confirmed to be mandatory for all staff district-wide.
- 3.3 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Curriculum integrates conflict-resolution skills — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS's SEL framework explicitly includes competencies like "Relationship Skills" and conflict-related social awareness, integrated into instruction, though a dedicated stand-alone conflict-resolution curriculum is not separately documented.
- 3.4 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Peer mediation program — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Peer mediation exists at multiple CMS schools (e.g., Eastway Middle School) and through partnerships with the Mecklenburg County Dispute Settlement Program and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations' Peer Mediation Program, but it does not appear to be a universal, district-mandated program in every school.
- 4.1 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Implicit bias training for staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS piloted implicit bias training in a high school feeder pattern (2015) and the superintendent cited the "need for anti-racism and implicit bias training" amid 2020 disparity findings, but current mandatory, district-wide implicit bias training for all staff is not clearly confirmed.
- 5.2 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Teacher PD on integrating diverse perspectives — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS teachers and officials describe the district's practice of "culturally-responsive teaching," but a specific, formalized district-wide PD program on integrating diverse perspectives was not independently documented.
- 7.1 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Ongoing anti-bias/equity training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). There is historical evidence of district-funded cultural proficiency/anti-bias training programs, but current confirmation of an ongoing, continuously-refreshed anti-bias training cadence for all staff was not found.
- 7.2 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Workshops on culturally responsive teaching — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS's annual Summer Leadership Conference has included equity-focused keynote speakers and the district promotes "culturally-responsive teaching," but these appear primarily targeted at administrators rather than confirmed as workshops for all teaching staff.
- 7.3 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Equity topics in staff meetings/PD — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS's SEL program involves district and school staff training sessions (e.g., on Panorama data), suggesting equity/wellbeing topics appear in staff PD, though dedicated equity-specific staff meeting content is not separately documented.
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS references whole-child wellbeing initiatives and operates in-school intervention centers as suspension alternatives, but specific documentation of dedicated mindfulness/sensory spaces district-wide was not found.
- 10.3 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Students facilitate restorative processes — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS supports student-run peer mediation in some middle/high schools (via UNC Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Dispute Settlement Program partnerships), which involves students facilitating conflict resolution, though not confirmed as formal restorative-circle facilitation district-wide.
- 12.4 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: PD & reflective practice culture — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CMS has an established Teacher-Leader Pathway and ongoing professional development infrastructure supporting reflective practice, but a specific district-wide "reflective practice culture" initiative tied to equity work was not separately documented.
- EC5 [Extra Credit]: ReCAST-funded "Handle with Care" trauma-notification partnership with law enforcement/community agencies — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Handle with Care initiative, funded through a SAMHSA-backed ReCAST partnership, is an innovative cross-agency approach alerting schools when a student has experienced trauma so staff can respond supportively.