Friends and Supporters of Wilkes County Schools,

I take great pride in sharing with you the 2024-2025 NC School Report Card for Wilkes County Schools. In a year that saw our system have its highest graduation rate in over a decade, rank 34th out of 115 districts in our state for students attaining grade level proficiency on end of course tests, having our second straight state championship in softball, our first individual state championship golfer, and a state champion track relay team, it should be easy to see why I am so proud. I hope that you, as a stakeholder, take as much pride in these results as I do. Students and staff are accomplishing great things in Wilkes County Schools on a daily basis.

The purpose of this report card is not only to help you see how our school system has performed in comparison to those across our state, but also to help you better understand how your child's school compares statewide in multiple measures. Just as you do with your child's report card, our system utilizes the NC School Report Card to reflect on our strengths, as well as to identify areas for improvement. I hope this report card serves as a resource for you to learn more about our school system as well as your child's school.

Strengths noted from this report card include improved proficiency in 4th-grade reading, 7th-grade reading, and 8th-grade reading, all of which increased by roughly 5% from the previous year, which is a tremendous gain. 8th-grade math proficiency had a 10% increase, while Math I at the 8th-grade level increased by 9.4%. Proficiency in Math 3 showed a 9% increase across the district from the previous school year. As stated earlier, our graduation rate is a tremendous source of pride, as it is more than 5% higher than the state average. Our students performed higher than the state average in terms of proficiency in reading at both the 7th and 8th grade levels, as well as in English II. Our rate of proficiency was also higher than the state average in math for 3rd-grade, 7th-grade, and 8th-grade. Proficiency in Math I and Math III was well above the state average.

Along with identifying strengths, this report card also helps to identify areas needing improvement. District-wide, reading and math at the 5th grade level were areas of concern. Our teachers and students are already working diligently to address areas needing improvement.

While the NC School Report Card reflects numerous areas that we are proud of, our students are excelling in numerous areas that are not listed. Our athletic teams are experiencing success, as well as our clubs and activities. Our arts programs continue to grow and flourish. Overall, students and staff in Wilkes County Schools have created a culture where students have a successful school experience both in and out of the classroom, and our goal is for this to continue for years to come.

In closing, we hope the NC School Report Card is a resource that helps you to better understand your child's school and our district. I hope this NC School Report Card helps you to see why I am so proud to serve as Superintendent of this great school system. We hope that you take great pride in both your child's school and our district and look forward to working closely with you to make both even greater for our students in the near future.

Thank you for your continued support of Wilkes County Schools.