2023-24 WCS Report Card Letter
Friends and Supporters of Wilkes County Schools,
It is with tremendous pride that I share the 2023-2024 NC School Report Card for Wilkes County Schools. In a year that saw our system have its highest graduation rate in a decade, rank 25th out of 115 districts in our state for students attaining grade level proficiency on end of course tests and winning a softball state championship, it is easy to see while I am so proud. My hope is that you as a stakeholder in our school system take as much pride in these results as I do. Data shared through this report card is evidence that teachers and students in Wilkes County Schools are accomplishing great things on a daily basis.
This report card not only reflects how our system has performed in comparison to those across our state, but will also help you to 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 our individual schools.
Strengths for our system that can be found within this report card include improvements in proficiency in both reading and math at the seventh-grade level from our previous school year. Proficiency in Math I and English II were bright spots for our system as well. Areas needing the greatest improvements include 4th grade reading and math, 5th grade reading, math and science, and science and math at the 8th grade level. While middle school results as a whole show room for improvement it is important to note that Wilkes County Schools ranked above the state average in all tested areas with one exception at the middle school level. While our middle school results are not where we want them, we have no doubt that our teachers and students can get us there in the very near future. As I mentioned earlier, our system ranked 25th out of 115 districts statewide on End of Grade test results for 2023-2024 and there is no limit to what our students and staff can accomplish with a more focused approach. I am not only proud of what our students have accomplished, but even more proud of what they will accomplish moving forward. As I referenced earlier, our greatest source of pride reflected on this report card is the fact that our graduation rate is the highest it has been in over a decade! This achievement reflects the hard work of our teachers over the past 13 years, as graduation rate is not a high school measure, but a reflection of how all teachers prepared students for future success. In my opinion, this graduation rate should be a source of pride not only for our school system, but our entire county as a whole.
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.
D. Mark Byrd, Superintendent
Wilkes County Schools