Member of the Board of Education for Scotland County Schools hear a plan for the school district to improve performance following the release of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s report cards on school districts.
Board of Education for Scotland County Schools Chair Rick Singletary commended schools that were able to lift their grade level from the previous school year, despite not meeting the state’s growth standards.
LAURINBURG — District cabinet members gave the Board of Education for Scotland County Schools an outlook on the 2022-23 school performance for the school district as well as a plan moving forward.
During a meeting held Monday, Michael Riles assistant superintendent of Accountability, Human Resources and Technology, went over the results of the report, recently released by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Low-performing districts are defined as districts that had greater than 50% of schools identified as low-performing, resulting in the SCS being declared low-performing. The district is among 25 low-performing public school districts in the state of North Carolina for the 2022-23 school year.
Of the nine schools graded, seven schools did not meet growth, according to state performance standards. Those schools include Laurel Hill Elementary, Sycamore Lane Elementary, Wagram Elementary, Carver Middle, Spring Hill Middle, Scotland High School and Shaw Academy. South Johnson Elementary School met growth and Scotland Early College High School exceeded growth.
“Shaw, based on the alternative model … they are in the declining status,” Riles said.
SEARCH was the sole school not designated low-performing, however, the school did drop a letter grade in performance.
Board Chair Rick Singletary commended schools that were able to lift their grade level from the previous school year, despite not meeting the state’s growth standards.
“I just think folks need to understand, it’s not as easy as taking a test and they push you up from a C to a B. It’s major work and our hats are off to the schools for doing that,” Singletary said.
A plan forward
Barbara Adams, assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, presented a data-driven plan to target the weak spots that resulted in the district’s low performance.
“One thing I’ve learned is that data is always an opportunity for improvement. Whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, the way you look at data is how you actually improve outcome,” Adams said.
The district will focus on grades with a proficiency below 30% in Math and Reading. During the last school year, grades seventh and eighth grade fell below this threshold in Math, as well as high school students taking Math I. Grades sixth and seventh each fell below the 30% proficiency in Reading.
“As we looked at these standards and areas, we determined these are the areas that we have to act … we know that we have to start in these areas,” Adams said.
Adams said if you look at the trends, with the grades that fell below proficiency standards, “the data does follow those children and so now what you have is another grade level to comprehend so that means a sense of urgency and what are we going to do about it … We’ve got to make sure we’re intentional about planning and addressing those targeted areas.”
The starting point for tackling the low performance will be to conduct a data analysis by identifying data trends with subjects, teachers, grade levels and standards. The school district will also update the Needs Assessment and revise school improvement plans, Adams said
“We’ve got to revise our goals. Something has to change because the data says we have to change … focus on those low-performing areas, create an action plan and model an adjusted plan and this is going to be done as a team, not in isolation,” Adams said.
Adams’ department will be providing support to each school by conducting classroom observations weekly, holding quarterly walkthroughs throughout the district, participating in monthly data dives, and coaching teachers. They will also be encouraging continuous improvement by implementing strategies and interventions, monitoring student progress, reviewing transcripts monthly and collaborating with after-school programs.
How successful the school district is depends on its ability to implement the plan that has been put forth, Adams said.
“We’ve got to stay the course. Everybody still needs to understand that we’re going to hit some bumps in the road. Everything is not going to be perfect,” Singletary said.
Tomeka Sinclair is the editor of the Laurinburg Exchange. She can be reached at tsinclair@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com or 910-306-3169.