You've heard a lot about the school staffing problems these days. There are just not enough teachers to go around. School districts are trying many different methods to staff classrooms. In Cedar Hill, they've stumbled on a solution that's solved an entirely different problem — fixing student performance.
Patricia Byrd retired years ago, after 35 years as an educator. From the classroom to administrator, even superintendent of a charter school. Finances brought her back to the classroom and all that experience is paying off.
Our kids forgot how to do school, they forgot about timeliness, they forgot about… your posture in the classroom.
Patricia Byrd
Student Jordan Coleman said reading wasn't her thing, until she met Mrs. Byrd.
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"When I first started it was kinda hard and my grades were not that good but my teacher she was helping me a lot," said Colemen.
Ms. Byrd's students were behind significantly. She didn't hide it, she even put their test scores on a bulletin board in the hallway.
"They had gaps even as second-grade scholars and COVID just exasperated those gaps," said Byrd. "The learning frustrated them because of the rigor and performance but we just kept plugging at it."
Carter In The Classroom
Focusing on unique things school districts are doing to help children succeed.
A little discipline, hIgh expectations, and Byrd will tell you, it's a formula.
"There is a science that goes on in this classroom it's not just art," she said.
