MCSD's Lewis gets an extension and a challenge

There were few surprises, one way or the other, in the first Georgia Milestones test results made public Monday afternoon. Officials, from the state Department of Education down to local superintendents across Georgia, have been getting the word out for some time now that the numbers from the new and more rigorous academic exams would not be pretty.

They aren't. But they're a more realistic assessment of educational achievement than the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) they replace (and with an infinitely less nerdocratic name).

Georgia's results are sobering, and Muscogee County's are worse -- though hardly the worst. (More on that in a moment.) Statewide, the percentage of students in all tested subjects at the "proficient" or "distinguished" level averaged just 36 percent in elementary schools, 34 in middle schools and 36 in high schools.

Muscogee County schools were below the state average in every subject except ninth grade literature & composition, where the numbers matched.

Among Georgia's second-tier cities, whose demographics and size are comparable, Columbus is at the head of the class, even if it's a remedial class. Muscogee County School District scores at every level were higher than those in the Bibb (Macon), Chatham (Savannah) and Richmond (Augusta) counties. Hardly cause for celebration; rather, a reason to look at what common education challenges these communities face.

With the new Georgia Milestones results fresh in hand, the Muscogee County School Board voted for the second consecutive fall to extend the contract of Superintendent David Lewis by one year, this one until Nov. 30, 2018.

Last year's vote was unanimous; this one passed without an opposing vote, though board members Frank Myers and John Thomas abstained. Thomas noted that he wasn't on the board that hired Lewis and thought the extension "premature." Myers said a "nay" vote might be seen as a vote of no confidence, but like Thomas, "I'm going to give him an incomplete, because I'm still waiting and seeing and very hopeful."

It's noteworthy, and commendable, that although a board majority wanted to give Lewis a 3 percent raise, he declined because other district employees can't be considered for a raise until after three years.

The chronically dismal numbers in some MCSD schools, especially Title I schools, that Lewis is charged with turning around didn't get that way overnight, or in the two-plus years Lewis has been on the job. Realistically, we don't expect them to be eradicated in the three years his new contract now gives him to tackle the problem. What we need to see, and what the school board majority clearly expects to see, is substantial, demonstrable progress.

In the days to come, the Ledger-Enquirer will be breaking down some of these numbers in more detail. What they tell us won't provide all the answers, but we hope they'll raise the right questions.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "MCSD's Lewis gets an extension and a challenge."