Scotland County Schools designated 'low-performing' by state. District has plan for student achievement

Sep. 7—LAURINBURG — The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has released the 2022-23 report cards for school districts throughout the state and Scotland County Schools has again been designated low-performing.

Low-performing districts are defined as districts that had greater than 50% of schools identified as low-performing. For the 2022-23 designations, there are 25 low-performing districts in North Carolina.

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.

SEARCH was the sole school not designated low-performing.

"As you know, school performance grades can never encompass, nor tell, the whole story of the teaching and learning that happens during a school year," said Adell Balwin, who most recently became superintendent in July. "It cannot measure the heart of a teacher, nor does it take into account the challenges that many of our children face."

Baldwin said that school performance grades are a "good benchmark" that reflects scores on a singular test, however, SCS will "rely on a variety of data points to drive instruction this school year."

"We have a plan in place for student achievement which begins by having highly qualified staff in place," the superintendent said. "I'm already inspired by what I'm seeing in our schools and classrooms this school year. Teachers and staff are working hard and that's reflected in how hard our students are working as well.

Reducing distractions in the classrooms due to student discipline and creating a positive learning environment that breeds success is part of the school district's plan to "control the variables that we can control ... However, we cannot do it alone. For our students to be successful, we need parental support and community involvement. It will take all of us working together to ensure ALL of our students have the foundation they need to follow their dreams."

Because of disruptions in teaching and learning caused by the pandemic, the accountability report for the 2022-23 school year is the second since 2018-19 to feature all elements of the state's accountability framework, including the calculation of growth designations and A-F School Performance Grades.

While school closures and remote learning resulted in unprecedented declines in end-of-grade and end-of-course test scores for the 2020-21 school year, results for the 2022-23 year show "strong gains," statewide particularly in math, with pandemic losses in some grades cut by more than two thirds. Reading scores also improved in all grades, with losses from 2020-21 cut by half, or more, in some grades.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said last year's accountability results show that schools remain on track to recover from the significant setbacks caused by COVID-19.

"It's hard to overstate the impact of the pandemic," Truitt said, "but teachers across North Carolina are working harder than ever to help students recover, and more importantly, advance in their learning. We owe them our gratitude for meeting this challenge to improve outcomes for students.

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at tsinclair@laurinburgexchange.com or 910-506-3169.