This week, Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) announced significant academic performance gains for the second year in a row. District leaders state that WCPS is a district on the move.
“When I first became superintendent in the summer of 2023, our school district was ranked 91 out of 115 school districts in the state based on academic results,” states Dr. Marc A. Whichard, superintendent. “In my opening days on the job, I laid out very clear non-negotiable expectations to our schools that were designed to help move them and our district forward. The efforts of our staff and students have catapulted our district’s academic ranking to 62 in just two years. It is our goal to keep this pace and be knocking on the doors of a mid 40’s district ranking this time next year.”
The Wayne County Board of Education received its annual school accountability update for the 2024-2025 school year on Monday evening. Locally, there were many positive gains that occurred across the school district, which include but are not limited to:
WCPS grew 3.6 percentage points in overall achievement composite scores of all subjects, which is considered a significant gain over one school year.
WCPS was ranked #2 in the Southeast region for growth in overall achievement for last school year
When comparing the past two consecutive years of growth, WCPS was ranked #1 in the Southeast region.
WCPS experienced growth in many areas. In particular, Math 1 achievement grew by 10 percentage points surpassing overall regional and state achievement scores while Math 3 increased 23 percentage points falling just below regional and state scores.
Eleven schools exceeded growth, 15 met growth, and five did not meet growth.
Of the 11 schools that exceeded growth, two schools were in the top four schools in the state for academic growth. Eastern Wayne Middle and Spring Creek High ranked third and fourth respectively. Spring Creek High had the most growth of all high schools in the entire state.
Seven schools increased one full performance letter grade:
One school went from a grade of B to an A, three schools went from C to a B, two schools went from a grade of D to a C, and one school went from a grade of F to C.
In total, three schools achieved an A performance grade, four schools achieved a B, 14 schools achieved a C, seven schools achieved a D, and two schools achieved an F.
“Many have heard me say that I have not taken a single test or taught a single lesson. These continued strides in academic gains are directly tied to the hard work occurring in our classrooms each and every day,” adds Dr. Whichard. “As superintendent, I sincerely appreciate these efforts, along with all of the work that occurs behind the scenes by our teachers, families, staff, administrators, Board of Education members, and community partners in support of learning.”
Families and community members can look at each school’s achievement data once the North Carolina School Report Card website has been updated with the 2024-2025 school year data.
“While I am pleased that we were able to pause and recognize our 2024-2025 academic performance results this week, there is still much work ahead. My team, our Board of Education, and our schools are committed to continue increasing academic performance in the year ahead and making Wayne County Public Schools the school choice option for families,” states Dr. Whichard.