Rita K. Foil

Public Information Officer Rowan-Salisbury Schools 500 North Main Street, Salisbury, NC 28144 Office: 704-630-6103 ~ Cell: 704-213-9406 Email: [email protected]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE GREAT NEWS!

Rowan-Salisbury Schools Is… OFF STATE’S LIST OF LOW PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICTS 96% of K-8 Schools Met or Exceeded Growth in Reading Street Party at 5 pm Today at the Bell Tower! (Salisbury, NC ~ September 1, 2016) Rowan-Salisbury Schools received great news from the State’s 2015-2016 READY Accountability Report released today by the State Board of Education. The big news is that:  Rowan-Salisbury is NO LONGER considered a low performing district This means the majority of district schools received a School Performance Grade (SPG) of A, B, C or exceeded growth.  The district moved from 3% to 23% of schools ‘Exceeding’ Expected Growth The 2014-2015 results indicated that only one Rowan-Salisbury school, Mt Ulla Elementary, exceeded expected growth. We are excited that the 2015-2016 results indicate that:  8 schools Exceeded Expected Growth 1. Bostian Elementary 2. Faith Elementary 3. Hanford Dole Elementary 4. Woodleaf Elementary 5. China Grove Middle 6. Knox Middle 7. North Rowan Middle 8. Jesse Carson High “Seeing the progress of our school system over the past year is both exciting and encouraging,” says Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education Chair Josh Wagner. “I hope that this positive progress will be the catalyst for ultimate future success.” Just a little over two years ago, the district implemented a new 3-year strategic plan that named two focus areas: 1. Reading and Literacy 2. Engaging Work and Instruction Met and Exceeded Growth in Reading With the district’s focus on literacy as defined in the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan:

 96% of the districts K-8 schools Met or Exceeded Growth in Reading During the first implementation year of the strategic plan, “we changed so much that year – we changed our direction,” says Superintendent Dr. Lynn Moody. “Many teachers became first-year teachers all over again with the way instruction was delivered in the classrooms.” Wagner adds, “I believe that this direction has been clearly defined by our administration. I also believe that our teachers and staff have not only understood the direction, but have taken ownership of it. What we see is a direct result of months of hard work and dedication by our staff.” Introduction of Key Partnerships and Transformation The district introduced four key partnerships with the following organizations to support enriching our student learning: 1. Apple 2. Discovery Education 3. Achieve3000 4. Schoology During the first year of implementation, the district also put into place: • A 1:1 Digital Conversion • A new Literacy Framework • Literacy & Reading Coaches at Each School • Technology Facilitators at Each School • New Collaborative Student Learning Spaces These measures ensured that teachers were provided with support to implement change and that students were provided with the most up-to-date resources for engaged learning environments. “Although this was a great deal to digest for teachers, they embraced the change and believed that we were headed in the right direction in providing extraordinary learning environment opportunities for our students,” says Moody. “Although we are not where we want to be, the results of this second year of implementation is what we are celebrating – change is happening!” Improvements Across the District “I realize that we have not yet reached the ultimate goal of seeing all students performing at or above grade level,” says Chairman Wagner. “However, in order to reach that goal, we must show measurable progress each year. These recent results show tangible progress in a positive direction.” Other exciting district-wide improvements indicated in the state report include:  32 of 35 schools increased performance composites (91.4%)  26 of 35 schools increased overall growth index (74.3%)  30 of 34 schools increased overall SPG score (88.2%) Improvements in Science We are proud of our students is reaching higher levels of learning and teachers engaging students in the area of science:  71.4% of schools increased science scores School Performance Grades (SPG) With the states implementation of giving schools a performance grade (SPG) of A-F in the 20142015 school year, we are excited to see growth for Rowan-Salisbury Schools during 2015-2016. Keep in mind that these performance grades are based on 80% of how students performed on tests and 20% of how much growth our students are achieving.

The 2014-2015 SPG indicated only one Rowan-Salisbury school, the Rowan County Early College, achieved a "B" school performance grade. We are excited that the 2015-2016 results indicate that:  3 schools received a SPG of a “B” Grade o Bostian Elementary o Jesse Carson High o Rowan County Early College  23.5% of schools increased in their school performance letter grade “We have placed a focus on making our learning environments more personalized for the individual student,” says Moody. “In our collaborative learning spaces, students work in teams on group projects and they can also work independently. The teacher guides students through this process in a blended learning environment. We are still growing in this concept and teachers can be proud to realize the progress they are making for our students.” Proficiency Results The district experienced overall improvements in the percent of students meeting grade level proficiency. In grades 3-8, students showed an overall:  Increase in Reading  Increase in Math  Increase in Science Graduation and High School Performance The 2015-2016 five-year high school graduation cohort indicated that we had more students graduating from high school. “Even though it may be taking students longer than the traditional four years of high school, we are proud to be keeping students in school and graduating with a diploma,” says Moody. The district’s Graduation Rate for 2015-2016 is 83 percent. Another exciting statistic for Rowan-Salisbury high schools is the increase in the amount of scholarships offered to students that graduated in June 2016.  $18.4 Million in Scholarships – Doubled From Previous Year In comparison to the previous year’s results, the district’s 2015-2016 performance composite for high school students shows an upward swing and compliments the focus on graduating students that are career and college ready for the competitive world.  High schools were UP 17.5 points in performance composite  Increase in the percent of high school students meeting grade level proficiency in all EOCs – Biology, English II and Math I “We know we are not where we want to be at every school and at every grade level,” says Moody. “But we are celebrating the overall indications that we are heading in the right direction.” Chairman Wagner concludes that, “ Furthermore, I hope that this gives resounding proof for why our teachers and staff should be commended daily for their dedication to the nearly twenty thousand students they serve. On behalf of our board, I say thank you to our faculty and staff for doing what many only talk about, impacting the lives of students.” More information and accountability data may be obtained from the NC DPI website at: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/