Lexington City Schools reports growth, drops in COVID cases
Lexington City Schools administrators, educators and personnel are committed to producing students destined to be leaders, collaborators, problem solvers, critical and innovative thinkers, and global citizens.
LCS students improved their performance on state tests during the 2021-22 school year from the previous year’s COVID steep decline, and schools achieved growth which include:
Increase in overall proficiency from 35.6% to 39.8%
67% of schools meeting or exceeding expected growth
School Highlights Include:
Gains by Charles England (10.7 percentage point increase); Southwest Elementary, (6.7 percentage point increase); and Lexington Middle School (4.4 percentage point increase).
Additionally, Charles England Elementary exceeded growth and Pickett Elementary and Lexington Middle School both met expected growth as measured by the State Accountability Model of EVAAS indicators. School growth in LCS remains in alignment with the state average of schools who met or exceeded growth.
“We are beyond proud of students, families and stakeholders for the promising progress being made here at Lexington City Schools, '' said Dr. Anitra Wells, LCS Superintendent. However special recognition goes to our teachers and administrators who sometimes faced very difficult situations of massive attendance issues and class coverages due to COVID cases and quarantines, while working to close learning loss gaps.”
As projected earlier this year in an analysis by the Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration, many North Carolina students will require months of additional learning time, possibly over several years, because of disruptions forced by the pandemic.
Currently, four of our schools are identified as low performing by the State Board of Education; due to not exceeding expected growth, along with obtaining a school grade of D.
LCS is actively working to develop a district wide plan to ensure all areas are thriving at the highest level; with a special focus on SWD (Students with Disabilities) and ESL (English as a Second Language) subgroups across the district which will include:
Hiring of Bi-lingual Teacher Assistants to offer additional instructional support of ESL students.
Professional Development for schools targeting instructional strategies to use with ESL and SWD students.
PD for EC teachers on providing more services via inclusive learning environments and instructional strategies.
The overall increase in the LCS test scores is a testament to the diligent work and dedication of the entire LCS family during a very difficult time in public education.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said educators, students and their families are to be commended for their focus and hard work during a challenging year.
With the continued cooperation of family, school, and community we are confident that all LCS students will have the opportunity to maximize their individual potential in preparation for college and career readiness in the 21st century.
