mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684
DURHAM -- A chapter in Durham educational history ends today.
This is Carl Harris' last official day serving as superintendent of the Durham Public Schools, a job he has held since July 1, 2006. He will start work Monday as deputy assistant secretary for policy and strategic initiatives at the U.S. Department of Education. His new duties have not been established, he said recently.
Harris declined to be interviewed before leaving office but addressed reporters after his last school board meeting on Dec. 17.
"I've enjoyed my tenure as Durham superintendent," he said. "I felt like I've had really good support from the Durham community."
He hinted at some regret over leaving.
"My transition comes at a time when I feel like I'm enjoying my superintendency the most in Durham," he said. "We've made some tremendous progress in many areas."
Added Harris: "There comes a time when you wish you could be in two places at once."
The former Franklin County superintendent first came to Durham in 2003 as an associate superintendent. On Oct. 27, 2005, months after Harris was passed over for the Savannah, Ga., superintendent job and moments after it was announced that controversial Superintendent Ann Denlinger would retire in mid-2006, a then-frequently-divided Durham school board unanimously tabbed Harris to succeed Denlinger.
In conjunction with a 2006 election that changed the school board's composition, Harris calmed tensions and forged ties with community partners. He also oversaw the opening of six schools, with a seventh to open in mid-2010. And the district reduced its dropout rate from 3.6 percent in 2006 to just under 3 percent, below the state average of 3.4 percent.
Harris was praised by school board members and elected city and county leaders when he announced his departure.
He preached incremental improvement -- just as Rome was not built in a day, preparing all students in the state's eighth-largest district to pass state examinations won't be done in a year.
"I do believe that we've made good academic progress over this time," Harris said. "There's still work to do, and I believe that our staff is fully committed to doing it."
Test scores from 2006 and 2009 show mixed trends. In 2005-06, 11 of 45 Durham schools (24.4 percent) made adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind accountability regimen. This past year, 23 of 52 Durham schools (44.2 percent) made adequate yearly progress. The 2008-09 results were bolstered by the counting, for the first time, of higher scores on student retests.
Elementary and middle math scores rose from 53.1 percent in 2006 to 66.3 percent this spring.
But reading proficiency dropped from 77.2 percent of students in grades 3-8 in 2005-06 to 52.9 percent last year. And both the percentage of local students taking the SAT and their average combined math and reading scores on the test declined under Harris -- from 70.5 percent and 987 to 63.2 percent and 965.
In 2005-06, 39 of 44 Durham schools had performance composites of 50 percent or higher. In 2008-09, 35 of 51 local schools had performance composites of 50 percent or higher.
Harris noted that the reading tests had changed significantly since he took office. "If you're going to look at those, you've got to measure over time and you've got to [look] at apples to apples."
He added: "Higher standards is the way to go. We expect our kids to know more."
Harris will be succeeded on an interim basis by Hank Hurd, the district's chief operating officer. The North Carolina School Boards Association will run a search for a permanent successor to Harris. The Durham school board may choose the new chief in mid-April, shortly before an election determines who wins four of its seven seats.
In June, the board unanimously extended Harris' employment term by one year, leaving him contracted through mid-2013. The superintendent received a positive evaluation but he declined a raise due to the difficult budget climate.
He was the district's highest-paid employee, with a salary of $219,216.36, an annual retirement contribution -- pending employee match -- of $12,237.72 and a $10,200 annual travel allowance.
This summer, Harris was named regional superintendent of the year by his peers. He was honored in 2008 by the University Council for Educational Administration, the state Association for the Gifted and Talented, and Fidelity Investments and in 2006 by the National Association for Gifted Children.
Harris holds a doctorate in education administration from N.C. State, where he has taught. He is an inaugural graduate of and current adviser to the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy.
