School Report Cards Welcome Letter (2022-2023)

Dear Community Stakeholders:

Thank you for your interest in Cumberland County Schools (CCS). As the fifth largest school district in North Carolina, with more than 6,000 dedicated employees serving nearly 50,000 students at 86 schools, we are committed to providing a safe, positive and rigorous learning environment for every student.

The North Carolina School Report Cards website provides a great deal of data related to various measures of achievement. Beyond using test scores and letter grades to measure the success of students and schools, we want to provide every student with equitable access to engaging learning that prepares them to be successful in the classroom and beyond. While we continue our work to ensure the success of every student, we are incredibly proud of the progress we made last year.

With the release of the 2022-2023 State Data Assessment results affirming the district’s efforts to raise student achievement, I know this school year holds great things in store for our students! See some of our 2022-2023 highlights below:

The district’s four-year cohort graduation rate of 86.6% is the highest that it has been in the history of the district since 2006 when the state began tracking graduation rates.

72% of schools in which End-of-Grade and End-of-Course assessments are administered experienced gains in their Academic Performance Composites.

93.8% of the 16 identified 2022-23 Low-Performing Schools increased their Academic Performance Composite.

Increases occurred in 14 of 19 End of Course (EOC) and End of Grade (EOG) assessment areas, while two areas remained the same as the previous year.

Of the 17 schools from which students are eligible to graduate, two of the schools maintained a 100% graduation rate, while 14 of the 15 remaining increased their graduation rates.

84.2% of schools in the district met or exceeded growth for 2022-2023.

Twenty-three schools exceeded growth.

Forty-six schools met growth, indicating students are maintaining and increasing student achievement.

Twenty of our schools have attained achievement levels that are at or above pre-pandemic levels.

Thirteen schools increased their School Performance Grades.

Of the 16 low-performing schools named in 2021-2022, six of them were removed from the low-performing list, while seventeen schools were added. The total of low-performing schools for 2022-2023 is now 27.

Of the 27 low-performing schools, 20 met adequate yearly growth, while 17 increased their academic performance composite and 12 increased the value of their School Performance Grade.

Our district’s data indicates that students are maintaining and increasing student achievement and that is thanks to our collaborative educators, excellent students and committed community. However, we are not finished. The journey continues as we strive to provide equitable access to engaging learning for every student.

CCS is moving forward with The Cumberland Commitment: Strategic Plan 2026 and is making progress toward accomplishing goals set in all four priority areas. In order to continue moving forward as a school system, it will take a concerted effort to help our students thrive in the classroom and in life.

After perusing the information on this site, I encourage you to learn more by talking with your child’s principal or visiting one of our 86 schools as a volunteer. Please visit the Community Engagement Opportunities website at www.ccs.k12.nc.us/ceo to learn more about volunteer opportunities in CCS.

Thank you for your continued support of Cumberland County Schools.

Sincerely,
Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr.
Superintendent