Public Schools of Robeson County is no longer considered a low performing district by the state, the district said on Friday.
Accountability results were released on Wednesday by the North Carolina State Department of Public Instructions for the 2017-18 school year, according to a press release from the district. With the release of these results, the district was “elevated from the status of Low Performing district for the first time scene the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction started utilizing the Accountability Scores Model in the 2013-2014 school year.”
Several schools were removed from the low performing list, the release says. These schools include:
Littlefield Middle School
Long Branch Elementary School
Rex-Rennert Elementary School
Rosenwald Elementary School
Union Chapel Elementary School
Union Elementary School
W.H. Knuckles Elementary School.
All of these schools had been classified as low performing for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years, according to the release.
33 of the district’s 40 schools met or exceeded growth during the 2017-18 school year, which is an increase from the 27 schools in the 2016-17 year, the release states. Several schools exceeded growth for the first time including: W.H. Knuckles Elementary School, Rosenwald Elementary School, Long Branch Elementary School, and Purnell Swett High School.
“As a district, we designed and implemented new, effective strategies in our schools that were supported by our principals, assistant principals, teachers, support staff, central office staff, and school board members,” said Dr. Shanita Wooten, Superintendent of Public Schools of Robeson County. “Everyone took a hands-on approach to ensuring that our students were receiving high quality instruction and the necessary student support services each and every day in our schools.”
The release also says the district decreased the number of schools receiving an “F” grade from eight to two.
The district has drafted a five-year strategic plan running for the years of 2018-2023, according to the release.
“It includes the facility planning that the district has been working diligently on, as well as updates to policies and procedures to better serve the students,” states the release. “In addition to operational improvements, the plan focuses on providing the teachers and students with more support such as instructional coaches in priority schools and constant professional development opportunities for the teachers and staff.”
