Cumberland County Schools celebrate academic gains, including an F-to-C turnaround

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Cumberland County Schools are celebrating a year of academic progress, with several schools making major gains in the latest state report card results.

The district highlighted the results Friday during a school performance briefing with Superintendent Dr. Eric Bracy and several principals.

Among the biggest turnarounds, Douglas Byrd Middle School improved its school performance letter grade from an F to a C in one year.

Pine Forest High School also posted one of the strongest growth results in the state, ranking No. 2 in North Carolina for student growth.

Districtwide, student proficiency increased nearly five percentage points, rising from 50.8% to 55.7%.

The district also recorded a record four-year graduation rate of 88.7%, just slightly below North Carolina’s 88.8% rate.

Schools making big gains

District leaders said the improvement wasn’t limited to a handful of schools.

Thirty-eight CCS schools increased their composite proficiency by at least five percentage points. Nine of those schools improved by 10 points or more.

At Douglas Byrd Middle School, the principal said students played a major role in the turnaround.

Some students even came to school on Saturdays for additional academic support.

“They took advantage of opportunities given to them. They came to school on Saturdays. Their parents brought them to school on Saturdays,” said Dr. Christina Digaudio, principal of Douglas Byrd Middle School.

At Pine Forest High School, Principal Dr. Juelle McDonald said the school focused on identifying struggling students before they fell further behind.

“We made a commitment to find struggling students sooner, before a small gap became a large gap,” McDonald said.

Pine Forest increased its composite proficiency from 62% to 72.3% and earned the maximum converted growth score of 100.

Fewer low-performing schools

CCS also saw a drop in the number of schools identified by the state as low-performing.

That number fell from 27 schools to 20.

District leaders said 11 schools were removed from last year’s low-performing list.

Cumberland County Polytechnic High School also reached 99.3% proficiency, while maintaining an A school performance grade.

A milestone for Bracy

The results come as Bracy marks his first year as superintendent of Cumberland County Schools.

He said the progress represents more than test scores.

“When these doors open for students, the impact extends so far beyond our district. Family becomes stronger. Our workforce becomes stronger. And most importantly, Cumberland County becomes stronger,” Bracy said.

The results also carry a personal meaning for Bracy following the death of former Cumberland County Board of Education Chair Judy Musgrave.

Bracy recalled asking Musgrave how he was doing as superintendent.

Her response? Wait until June because she likes numbers.

“And if the test scores are good, then I will say, ‘You had a good year,’” Bracy recalled her telling him. “I hope Ms. Musgrave thinks we had a good year.”

What’s next?

District leaders said they are celebrating the progress but aren’t treating it as the finish line.

CCS has set a goal of becoming the highest-performing school district in North Carolina.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY NEWS