State Report Card Welcome Letter

October 27, 2011

Dear Parents / Guardians,

The faculty and staff members of our school system welcome you to information about the NC State Report Card website www.ncreportcards.org/src/. The material you will find on this site is intended to provide information about our schools. These Report cards are required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, with the expectation that well-informed parents and community will become more involved with children's learning and the schools.

The Report Cards include important information about North Carolina's school accountability program, the ABC's of Public Education, school and student performance, class sizes, attendance, school safety, school facilities, the number of student suspensions and expulsions, instructional resources, and teacher quality. They also include information about how our schools measured against federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets.

Stokes County Schools continues to be ranked among the top school districts in North Carolina based on both federal and state measures! Local schools continue to excel in meeting rising state and federal academic achievement standards. As a system, Stokes County Schools ranks 17th of the 115 school districts in North Carolina in terms of the percentage of schools meeting Annual Yearly Progress for the 2010-2011 school year. Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) measures academic growth as required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.

Several Stokes County schools are recognized for meeting or exceeding expectations as required by the North Carolina ABC's of Public Education program which honors schools based on numbers of students meeting testing proficiency standards. Under state measures of accountability, Stokes County Schools boasts one Honor School of Excellence, nine Schools of Distinction, and four Schools of Progress. Lawsonville Elementary School is named an Honor School of Excellence for 2010-2011. In order to earn this distinction, Lawsonville met High Growth and had overall testing proficiency of 90.7%. Schools of Distinction in Stokes County include Chestnut Grove Middle School, Germanton Elementary School, Mount Olive Elementary School, King Elementary School, Nancy Reynolds Elementary School, North Stokes High School, Piney Grove Middle School, Pinnacle Elementary School, and Southeastern Stokes Middle School. This designation is given when a school meets at least expected growth and has 80-89 % of their student test scores at grade level or above. Another four Stokes County Schools are recognized as Schools of Progress by the State Board of Education for earning at least Expected Growth with at least 60% of their students' scores at or above achievement Level III. Schools of Progress with High Growth include Francisco Elementary School, South Stokes High School, and Walnut Cove Elementary School. West Stokes High School is named a School of Progress with Expected Growth.

We are committed to doing what is right for our students. Stokes County Schools successfully implemented several programs that support student achievement and lead to the overall success of our schools. The success that has taken place in our schools is the result of the collaborative effort and hard work of our staff, faculty, students and parents at each school. The academic and extracurricular opportunities incorporated in our school day have allowed students to work in individual and group settings. Even as standards for student achievement rise as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, our district can proudly say our staff and students continue to rise to meet the challenges set before them. "The attainment of excellence, the unwillingness to accept mediocrity, and the ability to use and provide 21st century skills shall be consistent goals for the Stokes County School System," according to Superintendent Ronnie Mendenhall. "Academic honors listed above by our test scores exemplify our commitment to high expectations," Mendenhall noted. Our district met forty-five out of fifty-four target goals under the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) program, or 83.3%. Ten schools met 100% of their targets under the AYP measures. Additionally, six schools met expected growth status in the North Carolina ABCs of Accountability program and eight schools met high growth status. As a district we are continually looking to improve ways to meet our students' needs.

In the Stokes County School System, we want parents and community members to be informed about our school's progress and involved in our schools on a regular basis. We hope that the NC School Report Card will be a valuable tool for you to learn more about your child's school. Please join us in our efforts to create the best school system in North Carolina. Talk with your child's teacher and principal about ways you can get involved. We welcome and encourage your involvement. Everyone benefits when we all do our best for every child's future. Please feel free to contact the principals directly to discuss this report card or any other interests you have in our schools. You may also contact my office at 336-593-8146. If you would like to access the full state report card for Stokes County Schools or one of our schools, please link to the website at www.ncreportcards.org/src/. Additional information regarding the AYP or ABC designations for Stokes County may be obtained at the website for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction or by visiting http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/.

Sincerely,
Ronnie Mendenhall, Superintendent
Stokes County Schools