Lexington County’s largest school district looks to improve after a curriculum audit, while the search for the district’s next leader has begun, with the current superintendent hinting at a possible departure in the near future.

On Jan. 23, the Lexington County School District 1 Board of Trustees received the results of a Curriculum Effectiveness audit. During that same meeting, Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait indicated she may leave before her five-year contract is up.

Lexington 1 serves more than 27,000 students in and around the town of Lexington. 

District searches for leader-in-waiting

Postlewait made a recommendation Jan. 23 to amend a portion of her contract, changing the empty deputy superintendent position into a superintendent-elect

“I was really blessed by the board with a five-year contract, next year will be the third year of the five-year contract,” Postlewait said. “Looking ahead for succession planning, I think it's in the district's best interest to advertise rather than a deputy position, the superintendent-elect position which would make it clear that the person coming in as superintendent-elect would eventually serve as superintendent when I step down.”

She added that she believes this would be in the district's best interests, providing stability as they lead into the development of a five-year strategic plan.

Postlewait first assumed the superintendent role in an interim capacity beginning in July 2022 before being permanently appointed to the position that October. 

“I would love to be able to stay here for the full five years but to be honest I'm in my sixth decade of working with enforced schools and I would be a little fearful pushing the envelope on how far I could actually go with your next strategic plan but I'd like to go as far as it'll take us but I want the succession planning to be really clear.”

On Jan. 30, the board held a special called meeting in which it took the next steps in seeking the district’s potential leader-in-waiting, voting to enter a contract with Dino Teppara of DT Strategies Inc to aid in the search for a superintendent-elect.

District looks to improve after receiving audit results

On Jan. 23, Brian Ellis, the lead auditor for Curriculum Management Solutions, presented findings from the district’s recent Curriculum Effectiveness audit.

Ellis told the board that throughout the process, the audit observed 518 classrooms, conducted 251 interviews with board members, staff and administrators, collected 1,011 documents for review, received 10,214 survey responses from parents, teachers and students, and evaluated 1,871 student work artifacts.

The auditor stated that the district's strengths included its “drive for improvement, small community feel, respect and support for personnel, student achievement and wealth of resources.”

There are areas where the district can improve, with Ellis’ presentation stating that the audit Looked at five focus areas – district vision and accountability, curriculum, internal access and consistency in programs, feedback, and productivity.

When it comes to the district’s vision, some areas that lacked were the district's policies, with Ellis stating that they did not meet the audit’s expectations as far as providing sufficient and comprehensive control over the curriculum management and related functions. Clear lines of supervision were not provided in the district's table of organization and the responsibilities for curriculum management weren’t prioritized.

Lexington 1’s curriculum was noted as lacking a management plan, meant to guide the design, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum. Ellis also stated that the overall scope and quality of the written curriculum does not support the development of high-quality/consistent instruction.

The access and consistency portion of the audit showed that there was not a system in place to ensure that students across the district have “equal access to programs, resources and learning opportunities,” Ellis said, adding that within the classroom, the audit revealed that it was largely teacher-centered instruction with relatively low-level cognitive tasks.

When it came to student work, the audit was relatively positive, Ellis said, though there were some issues when it came to aligning with state standards.

The feedback portion of the audit found that students were lagging in mathematics, with Ellis adding that there are some disparities between demographic groups within the district. 

He said Lexington 1’s assessment plan doesn’t adequately guide and support continuous improvement of student achievement and the scope of student assessment isn’t providing sufficient feedback to guide curriculum and instructional decisions and planning at the classroom, school and district levels.

According to the presentation, Lexington 1’s current budget development and decision making are not fully aligned with the district’s mission, curriculum goals and strategic priorities. Lexington 1 isn’t operating with any formalized planning documents, which would assist with future building renovations or demographic changes.

“Portable buildings are utilized throughout the district as a stopgap measure, without appropriate upkeep and adequate space for student learning,” Ellis reported.

Based on these findings, the board received recommendations to improve:

1. Provide greater control of the school system and set clear direction by enhancing direction for curriculum management in school board policy, updating personnel management practices, completing the strategic planning process, and aligning improvement efforts with the strategic plan.
2. Develop and implement a comprehensive curriculum management system that coordinates and prioritizes all curriculum management functions and tasks in the district. Develop clear expectations for rigor in student materials and resources.
3. Implement a systematic plan for professional development and monitoring that strengthens teaching and learning and assesses teacher effectiveness.
4. Develop and implement a comprehensive student assessment plan and program evaluation system. Utilize feedback from assessments to establish goals, monitor student achievement, and make informed decisions throughout the school system.
5. Develop and implement a performance-based budget that fully aligns district and building level curricular goals, strategies, and priorities to assure expenditures are producing desired results for student achievement. Engage in long-term facility planning that addresses long-term growth and provides equal access to students in all areas of the district.
6. Develop a system for defining, monitoring, and supporting equal access to college and career readiness opportunities for all students, ensuring that the areas of greatest need are receiving commensurate support and resources.

“This is not short-term work, it becomes very difficult at times to shift the school system to the productive way that you want it to be,” Ellis said. “But as long as you keep that frame that everything is about student learning, every decision, everything that you're doing is the opportunity to make some tune-up to the learning environment for students that helps to frame it in a much more positive way.”