Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood has served in his role for about five months.
Yearwood participated Friday in a virtual meet-and-greet with the Columbia nonprofit Minority Men’s Network. Its education foundation provides scholarships to Black seniors at each of the district’s high schools.
The network wants to ensure “ethnic minorities are entitled to and equitably participate in all aspects of the community.”
Previously: Brian Yearwood takes over as new Columbia Public Schools superintendent
CPS achievements and challenges
Yearwood shared remarks about the district’s achievements and challenges before taking questions from meeting participants.
He considers all district students to be scholars, he said.
“As learning evolves, we must be able to motivate, to continue to capture the minds of our young scholars so that they can point us into the future with their innovations, their kindness, their civic duties and contributions to our society,” he said.
Yearwood came to CPS to put students first, not for politics or anything else, he added.
While he celebrated the academic achievements of district students, he also noted the budgetary constraints the district is facing due to a decision by the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals in Blankenship v. Franklin County Collector.
This court decision changed how the district can apply its tax levy, leading to a net budget deficit of nearly $6.5 million, he said.
Even with the shortfall, bond issues for district infrastructure improvements are not expected to include a tax increase through at least 2028.
Mask mandate and student safety
Questions for Yearwood touched on a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt against CPS’ mask mandate, plans for parental and community interactions, and looking at the lack of diversity in the district’s gifted education program.
More: Reaction divided as Columbia Board of Education renews COVID-19 mask mandate
Yearwood said he was not able to speak on details about the lawsuit, but said his focus will always be on student safety and positive educational outcomes.
“The decisions that we make are not just for adults,” he said. “We must make the best decisions to ensure our (students) are safe and have the best educational experience they can in that safe environment.
“On that I am unwavering. I will not step back on that belief.”
Yearwood wants to open the door to more minority representation among staff and look at ways to maintain the staff that is already in place, he said.
“It is important that all scholars are represented in our faculty. It’s important that they see the principal and leaders that look like themselves. That will be addressed,” he said.
Engaging with parents
How is Yearwood crossing the bridge to get more participation from parents of minority students? asked Keith McIver, network president.
An initial step is reaching out to parents via school organizations, Yearwood said. That will expand into him meeting with student groups to learn what they are experiencing. He is attending faculty meetings at each school in the district to get their input.
Yearwood is open to the idea of a parent advisory council and hopes to reach out to parent organizations at each school in the district.
Universal gifted curriculum?
Meeting attendee S. David Mitchell wanted to know how the district could take its gifted curriculum and make it uniform and universal for all students, an idea that was reinforced through a question from Traci Wilson-Kleekamp.
Questions of program access have to be answered, Yearwood said.
If any student were to express interest in joining the program, they should not be prohibited from doing so, he said.
“We should not be about stifling our scholars, but building them up,” Yearwood said, adding in his previous experience he was accustomed to having all teachers trained in the gifted program and methodology, while recognizing there are a limited number of professional development days available to teachers in which to do such training here.
When Yearwood first became a school administrator as an elementary school principal, he was in charge of a school where the student population was 80% Black, with many below the poverty line and the staff in a revolving door, he said.
“When I got there, expectations changed,” Yearwood said, noting that teachers who did not agree with his “all students are scholars” ethos were let go.
He was at this school for 13 years, and within the last five years of his tenure there, the school grew to an exemplary recognition by the state of Texas, he said.
“I am cut from the cloth that says scholarly work exists among all,” Yearwood said. “We will raise the bar and we will get there with all scholars regardless of whether you are African American, in poverty, it does not matter.
“Scholarly work is possible and will be possible regardless of your ethnicity.
“I lived it and I did it.”
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