More than half of WS/FC schools met or exceeded growth last year

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released school performance grades this week. 

Nine Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools moved up a letter grade including Cook Literacy Model School, which used to be classified as one of the lowest-performing schools in the state. 

For the last five years, students at the school have exceeded growth expectations. And now, for the first time ever, Cook earned a performance grade of a ‘C’ from the state. 

At a press conference on Wednesday, Principal Celena Tribby said the accomplishment was a team effort. 

"Our staff is dedicated to our students with high expectations. Our students are some of the most resilient students that I know that I’ve had the opportunity to serve," she said. "They come in every day ready to learn. And if they're not ready, we make sure that we have an environment that gets them ready.”

There were 46 schools in the district that met or exceeded growth last year. As far as letter grades go, there’s a 50/50 split between schools with an A, B or C, and those with a D or an F. 

North Carolina calculates school performance grades with two measures. Eighty percent is based on test scores. Twenty percent is based on student growth. 

It’s a formula that state officials say is flawed, and correlated with levels of poverty within a school.

But Cook, with a student population that is largely socioeconomically disadvantaged, stands to be an example of how other schools in the district can improve.

Superintendent Tricia McManus attributes some of the school’s success to its Opportunity Culture model, which places great teachers in leadership roles. 

“I always say, you know, district support is really important, but the magic happens every day, right within our school buildings," McManus said. "And so when you can develop teacher leaders and staff leaders within your building, it increases ownership, and you get great results.”

Twenty-three schools used the Opportunity Culture model last year, and McManus says the district plans to expand it going forward.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.