Newly released school performance grades and accountability data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) highlight significant academic growth and student achievement milestones across Swain County Schools. District leaders are celebrating major upward momentum, marked by an overall district-wide test proficiency increase of over 5% from the previous year—reaching the highest proficiency rate recorded in the district over the last three years.
The latest state data underscores notable progress at individual school levels, driven by the dedication of students, teachers, and staff:
Swain Middle School (SMS): SMS delivered an exceptional performance, surging in academic growth from 54 to an impressive 85.5. This massive leap propelled the school’s overall school performance grade from a D to a C, rising from a score of 48 to 59.
East Elementary School: East demonstrated stellar momentum, lifting its growth score from 65.9 to 76.4, while its overall school performance score climbed from 45 to 51.
West Elementary School: West Elementary shined in foundational academics, with its 4th-grade math proficiency average coming in nearly 2% higher than the state average.
Swain County High School (SCHS): SCHS maintained its solid standing with a stable overall grade, growing from 63 to 66 to comfortably remain a C.
“Our educators, students, and families have put in an incredible amount of hard work, and seeing these upward trends—especially our district-wide testing proficiency reaching a three-year high—is a testament to that shared commitment,” said Dr. Brandon Sutton, Superintendent.
Focusing Our Efforts Moving Forward
While celebrating these wins, Swain County Schools remains proactive about continuous improvement. District leadership has identified key areas of focus for the ongoing school year to ensure targeted support where it is needed most:
Targeted Math and Literacy Interventions: Building upon the success seen in areas like West Elementary 4th-grade math, the district is scaling specialized instructional strategies and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to address learning gaps and accelerate proficiency across all grade levels.
Combating Chronic Absenteeism: Recognizing that consistent attendance is vital to academic success, Swain County Schools is actively partnering with local community task forces and families to keep students engaged, present, and ready to learn every single day.
Explore the Data
Community members, parents, and researchers are encouraged to dive deeper into the metrics, view historical trends, and explore comprehensive school-level reports. All district and school data can be accessed through the interactive accountability dashboards at accountability-dashboards.net. Additional state-level context and reports can also be found directly on the NCDPI School Report Cards page.