HAMLET — Richmond County Schools leapt forward in student achievement and overall performance during the 2014-15 school year, according to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s annual growth report.

In the district, 87.5 percent of area schools met or exceeded growth expectations. Eight schools exceeded state growth expectations and six schools met them, but even the two schools that “did not meet” expected growth missed the mark by less than one point on the combined growth scale, according to state and local figures released Wednesday.

Throughout the district, one school received an A, no schools received a B, 10 schools received a C and three schools received a D letter grade.

“School districts do not receive letter grades, but individual schools do,” school system spokeswoman Ashley Thublin said.

According to the Educator Value-Added Assessment System, eight schools in Richmond County exceeded state growth expectations, and six school met them. The two schools that “did not meet” expected growth missed the mark by less than one point on the combined growth scale.

Thublin said that for the 2013-14 school year, Richmond County Schools’ EVAAS growth score was 66.7 percent.

In a Wednesday news release, she outlined the types of data used to determine district performance.

“The N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s annual growth report measures where a student started from and how far they moved by examining historical test data among their peers,” she wrote. “The indicators for elementary and middle school performance grades is the percent proficient on end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. At the high school level, EOC data is looked at in addition to ACT outcomes, WorkKeys results, math course rigor as well as the four-year cohort graduation rate.”

According to Thublin, student achievement and growth are combined to calculate each school’s overall performance. A school’s overall performance grade is made up of 20 percent growth and 80 percent student achievement.

The EVAAS growth status among schools in Richmond County has increased by almost 35 percent since 2013. This trend can be seen across North Carolina.

The new numbers “affirm the hard work of our teachers, students and staff,” said Richmond County Schools Superintendent Dr. Cindy Goodman. “It shows a great sense of teamwork, and we’re excited by the results.”

The district’s overall graduation rate was its highest ever at 80.8 percent.

“I am proud of the fact that the percentage of schools within our district that met the growth standard is above the state average and well above the region average,” Goodman said. “I have been reviewing data from the past several years, and Richmond County Schools is outpacing our benchmark districts in terms of proficiency as well as growth.”

Richmond County Board of Education Chairman Wiley Mabe said that while he is proud of the improvements made, the ultimate goal is for every student to graduate educated and ready for work or college.

“We have been working on key goals that began when Dr. George Norris came on,” Mabe said. “This is continuing under Dr. Goodman. There has been a wider community influence here for so long that certain aspects of education are not important. We’ve got to stem that tide and turn the boat around and get everybody thinking that good grades are important.”

Mabe said this requires ongoing effort and support from all stakeholders.

“It begins at home, and we are encouraging our students to come to school every day,” Mabe said. “One of Dr. Goodman’s focuses is attendance and the reality that if you are not in the classroom, you are not learning. We have parents and guardians who allow their kids to miss a lot of days and be tardy a lot. And that’s system-wide.”

Mabe said that with early college high school, the high school at Ashley Chapel and the district’s partnership with Richmond Community College, it is possible to reach higher goals.

“Employers are looking for people with high energy who are willing to do things,” Mabe said. “You’ve got to grow every day. There is no resting place and you have to keep trying. Once get where you think you want to be, that’s not the time to settle in. There is always something to improve.”

Asked about the uptick in student performance as reported by the Department of Public Instruction, Mabe offered a possible explanation.

“We were not in line with other school systems in the state before,” he said. “They had elementary, middle and high schools and we had elementary, junior high and then high school. Dr. Norris got here and we decided to switch over to the system used by the other districts across the state. We are still pedaling down hard on that.”

Mabe said that the school system has only one thing to offer the world: An educated student.

“A lot of people forget that,” he said. “People think that good grades are not important. Education has always been important to me. If a person can read, and read well, they can look after themselves. They can read a document or article and gain something from it.”

On the importance of writing well, Mabe followed the prevailing logic of the day.

“That’s hand in hand with reading,” he said. “If you read well, you write well. They are the same thing. You can’t do one without the other. If you find someone who is a good writer, that person is also a good reader. It’s the same for a student or a person on the job.”

Mabe said the days when people could get by with a third-grade education, barely literate but able to perform menial tasks and still make a living, are long past.

“It used to be you could leave school without knowing how to read well, get a job working in a mill or sewing,” he said. “That’s gone now. It’s not coming back. The world has changed. We’re teaching coding to third-graders. That’s becoming important and affects everything. Medicine has gone to the electronic age.”

Mabe said that even in the automotive industry, there’s no such thing as a “mechanic” any longer.

“There aren’t mechanics anymore,” he said. “There are technicians. The vehicles won’t run if the computer system on board’s not right.”

The strides made in the school district, backed up by the NCDPI data, show that the the county is moving in a positive direction, according to Mabe. But now is not the time to grow complacent.

“I think that we’ve all looked at the big picture as well as the data,” he said. “We’ve talked about it, and in order to get an educated workforce you’ve got to push, pull or get out of the way in order to reach that goal. We know it’s not going to happen overnight and we are satisfied with this improvement as long as it is continued improvement. We want a 100 percent graduation rate. We want every student ready for employment or college.”

Reach reporter Melonie McLaurin at 910-817-2673 and follow her on Twitter @melonieflomer.

Daily Journal file photo Richmond Senior High School graduates march during the school’s June 12 commencement exercises. Richmond County Schools recorded its highest-ever overall graduation rate at 80.8 percent, according to state figures released this week.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_grad_marchcrowd.jpgDaily Journal file photo Richmond Senior High School graduates march during the school’s June 12 commencement exercises. Richmond County Schools recorded its highest-ever overall graduation rate at 80.8 percent, according to state figures released this week.
County schools make strides in achievement

By Melonie McLaurin

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LETTER GRADES BY SCHOOL

East Rockingham Elementary — C

Cordova School — N/A

Ellerbe Middle — C

Fairview Heights Elementary — C

Hamlet Middle — D

L.J. Bell Elementary — C

Leak Street High — N/A

Mineral Springs Elementary — C

Monroe Avenue Elementary — D

Richmond Senior High — C

Richmond Early College High — A

Richmond Ninth-Grade Academy — C

Rockingham Middle — C

Rohanen Middle — D

West Rockingham Elementary — C

Washington Street Elementary — C