Muscogee County School District superintendent speaks about hope for children

Hope was among the reasons Muscogee County School District superintendent David Lewis and his wife, Karen, accepted the school board's offer when he was hired in July 2013 from Polk County, Fla., where he was an associate superintendent.

"The things that drew me here were that sense of community we have, those very famous partnerships that we have," Lewis told a gathering of about 50 folks during Monday's luncheon in St. Thomas Episcopal Church. "That's a sense of hope for a superintendent to know that we have people in the community who really care about children and about public education.

" I also saw a sense of commitment to servant leadership, as evidenced by the people in this room. There are a lot of people that talk about servant leadership, but we in Columbus seem to be truly committed to that idea. The philanthropy here in our community is well documented."

Some of that philanthropy is expressed through the vibrant arts scene in Columbus, which also boosts education, Lewis said, by "fostering that sense of creativity and innovation."

This was the second in this year's three-speaker series, titled "Hope for the World," during Advent at St. Thomas. Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson spoke last week about hope for the community. Next Monday, Dec. 14, Dr. Martin McCann and his wife, the Rev. Sandra McCann, will speak about hope for the developing world. Dr. McCann was chief of pathology at St. Francis Hospital and Sandra was chief of radiology at Hughston Orthopedic Hospital in 1999, when they left those position to be missionaries in Africa.

Lewis' topic was hope for children.

"When I speak with superintendents throughout our state, throughout the country," he said, "frankly, there is a lot of concern about some of the issues we are facing in our general society in terms of our values that are being lessened."

In particular, Lewis said, adults "so intent on giving the children the things we didn't have, we sometimes don't give them the things we did have: love, support, structure. And that's one of the things we can't substitute by giving them phones and toys and more things, more stuff."

During his presentation, the audience interrupted Lewis with applause at two points. The first was an assertion:

"Every child deserves to be known, valued and inspired," he said. "Don't you agree? And if we're going to be the kind of community that I believe we are and the hope that I think we can fulfill, we cannot want for our own children more than we want for other children. We've got to raise them all up. Would you agree? That's the promise. That's our responsibility. If we want a better community, it begins with the hope in the future we see in our children."

The second applause point came when Lewis offered evidence that hope translates into success: Catapult Academy, a dropout recovery program in MCSD, graduated 62 of its 86 students this past summer, he said. Dropping out of school because a parent died and the student had to become the family's wage earner or because the student became pregnant, he said, ""shouldn't be the end of their dreams, shouldn't be the end of their hope and promise."

Lewis mentioned several other initiatives that give MCSD hope, such as:

While the district is trying to make school meals more nutritious, community organizations help fill the gap for students whose only healthy meal is at school. With 73 percent of MCSD's 32,000 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch - and more than 800 of them homeless - many receive backpacks full of food for the weekends and school vacation.

"You're dealing with lower birth weights," Lewis said. "You're dealing with sometimes cognitive brain issues in terms of development. So all those things happen early on with significant implications for the ability of the student to learn going forward."

MCSD is one of three school districts in Georgia to receive a grant called Project Aware, which provides five years of mental health services for students and their families. This is the second year of the program, Lewis said, "and we're very excited about the potential to not only replicate in other communities but build on and continue to foster here in Muscogee County."

An increase in the number of students with autism will be addressed by retrofitting existing space in the district to improve special-education programming as part of the capital projects totaling $192,185,000, funded by the renewed 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which Columbus voters approved March 17.

An early warning system notifies parents and guardians when their child's performance in academics, discipline or attendance is in danger of becoming a bigger problem. "Bad things happen when students become anonymous," Lewis said.

Lewis was "shocked" when he discovered that less than 10 percent of the district's certified gifted students live in south Columbus. "I really believe every child is gifted in a different way," he said. "We have to find out what those gifts are and nurture them."

So he challenged principals and teachers to improve that figure. This past year, "hundreds" of additional students have been identified as potentially gifted, he said.

"Can you imagine how many students we have that, if we don't identify their gifts, we might lose? How many artists are out there that we never gave a chance to see their work? How many doctors are out there that might have the answer some of our most insidious diseases? But it's wasted talent, wasted potential.

"That is the hope, that is the promise, that fuels me, that I think about every night I go to bed and wake up thinking about in the morning. How can we instill, how can we inspire, how can was ensure they have the opportunity to even know they have these gifts?"

All MCSD middle schools now offer orchestra and high-school level courses. "Equity does not mean everyone gets the exact same thing," Lewis said. "Equity means you receive what you need to have equal opportunity. Some schools need more resources because of various challenges they face. Students want to belong to something, and they will. The question is what will that something be. Will it be positive?"

Lewis is the son of a brick mason and a homemaker. Part of his long-range plan includes developing "parent advocacy centers" in storefronts or churches, where retired educators would advise parents and guardians about how to help their children navigate the often intimidating oceans of academic bureaucracy, such as applying for college, scholarships and financial aid.

Lewis concluded his prepared remarks by quoting Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

IF YOU GO

What: "Hope for the World" Advent speaker series.

When: Final session Dec. 14, starting at noon.

Where: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2100 Hilton Ave.

Reservations: For reservations, call 706-324-4262 or email office@stthomascolumbus.org. The soup and sandwich lunch are considered free of charge, but a $5 donation is appreciated.

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Muscogee County School District superintendent speaks about hope for children ."