One year ago, ABSS faced a turning point. When state performance data was released for the 2024-2025 school year, leaders, educators, and the community confronted a tough reality. Instead of backing down, the district made a collective promise to re-examine practices, invest in classroom support, and focus on student growth.
Today, state performance results confirm that the hard work paid off. Alamance-Burlington School System has officially removed its district-wide “low performing” status, decreasing the number of low performing schools from 20 to 12, marking a turnaround for the district. The district saw increases in proficiency, growth, and graduation rate.
Grade Level Proficiency (GLP) data improved in every grade level. ABSS saw the highest GLP in 15 out of 19 content areas over the last 4 years of data. Additionally, the district saw the highest Career and College Ready (CCR) percentage in 11 out of 19 content areas since 2022. Overall GLP improved by an average of 6.8% across the district, compared to the state average improvement of 4.2%.
Other notable shifts include a reduction in schools earning an “F” grade, dropping from eight schools down to just three, and a rebound in school growth measures, where the number of schools meeting or exceeding state growth targets increased from 9 to 31.
2024-2025 | 2025-2026 | |
|---|---|---|
Number of Schools Not Meeting Growth | 27 | 5 |
Number of Schools Meeting Growth | 6 | 17 |
Number of Schools Exceeding Growth | 3 | 14 |
“This progress didn’t happen by accident, and it didn’t happen overnight,” said Superintendent, Dr. Aaron Fleming. “It is the direct result of our teachers, principals, and support teams putting their heads down and doing the heavy lifting every single day. We set high expectations, backed our educators with the right tools and training, and our students proved what they are capable of achieving.”
Across the district, schools were driven by targeted initiatives. Teachers received coaching and actionable assessment data to tailor instruction to individual student needs. Schools placed emphasis on achievement and individual growth trajectories, so that students were able to make measurable progress.
With local funding from the Board of Commissioners, ABSS placed Instructional Coaches at each of the 8 schools that received an “F”. With these investments, 5 schools improved a letter grade and are no longer designated an “F”, 7 schools improved their School Performance Grade (avg. +9.25), and all 8 schools improved their growth index (avg. +7.25).
At R. Homer Andrews Elementary School, Principal Leslie Benson attributes their growth to a unified approach: clear goal-setting, data-driven decisions, and strong relationships with students and families. By empowering students to track their own academic goals, the school fostered a culture where every child steps up as a leader.
At Turrentine Middle School, which jumped from an “F” to a “C” and increased their school performance score over 14+ points, the change was noticeable from the first week of school.
“Through strong collaboration, high expectations, and a shared belief in the success of every student, our school community has created the foundation for meaningful and sustained academic growth,” said Scott Moore, Principal of Turrentine Middle School. “The academic gains achieved at Turrentine Middle School are a direct reflection of the collective commitment and hard work of our faculty and staff, students, and Turrentine families and community. These accomplishments are a testament to what we can achieve when we work together with purpose and commitment. At Turrentine Middle School, we are here today to learn, so tomorrow we can lead.”
At Graham Middle School, academic turnaround started with a clear commitment: Everyone, everyday, together. Under the leadership of Principal Summer Rogers, the school rallied staff and students around high expectations, rigorous instruction, and an environment built for learning. By leveraging dedicated academic resources, optimizing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and actively eliminating classroom distractions, the team at Graham worked hard to make sure every student received direct access to grade level content every single day.
While district-wide growth often makes headline news, Hawfields Middle School proves that long-term, sustained progress comes down to daily classroom culture. Earning sustained double-digit growth and labeled as an “Exceeding” school since 2015-2016, Hawfields has built a model of consistency that continues to lift student performance year after year. This year, Hawfields is ranked #1 in overall growth out of all North Carolina Public Schools.
7th Grade Math Teacher Brandy Cates and 6th Grade ELA Teacher Tracy Shelton attribute this momentum to two key factors: clear expectations from school leadership and true teacher collaboration across subject areas, including an all-hands approach where every teacher, regardless of content area, teaches reading.
ABSS Principal of the Year, Eric Yarbrough, shared, “thanks to the hard work of our students and staff, Southeast Alamance High School increased our school report card score by 12 points from the 24-25 school year. With this growth, we officially achieved our goal of becoming a "B" school! This accomplishment was driven by our focus on Professional Learning Communities, rigorous instruction, and timely interventions tailored to meet every student's needs.”
While the 2025-2026 school performance grades mark great progress, this achievement is a foundation, not a finish line.
“This is a banner year from ABSS and we celebrate this moment because our staff and students earned it,” Superintendent Fleming added. “Mainly, this data confirms that our strategies work. We now have a roadmap, and we will dig into the data released today to help maintain this momentum until every single school in our district reaches its full potential.”
To review the district and school level data, visit the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website.