VCS schools making the grade


Assistant Superintendent William Bowers announced during Vance County Schools’ opening convocation yesterday that several of the system’s schools met or exceeded federal and state requirements.

“We’re one of the highest around,” Bowers said.

Bowers explained to the audience of Vance educators that schools are judged by the federal standard AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) and the state standard of ABC (Accountability, Basics, and local Control).

ABC standards are met when schools meet or exceed a threshold of students passing the End-of-Grade/End-of-Course tests.

“AYP gets very confusing,” Bowers said, referring to how students are separated into subcategories for the purpose of assessing AYP. “If you make AYP, you made a 100%. If you make a 99% on AYP, you fail.”

Subcategories are determined by classifications such as ethnicity, special education, gender, and other socio-economic factors. If one of the subcategories fail to meet ABC standards, the school as a whole is judged failing by federal AYP standards.

Aycock Elementary, Carver Elementary, Dabney Elementary, Pinkston Street Elementary, and Eaton-Johnson Middle School met AYP standards for the 2006-2007 school year.

By ABC standards, district schools making the grade are:

High Growth — School of Distinction

Aycock Elementary

High Growth

Carver Elementary
E.O. Young Elementary

Expected Growth

Clark Street Elementary
Dabney Elementary
Pinkston Street Elementary
Eaton-Johnson Middle School
Northern Vance High School
Southern Vance High School

Information was not available for Vance County schools not listed at time of publication. There are fifteen schools in the Vance County system: ten elementary, two middle, and three high schools.

Bowers also noted that Northern Vance had a graduation rate of 65.9% and Southern Vance had a graduation rate of 65.1%. Western Vance has graduated 177 students since its incarnation as a high school.