Clinton High looks to improve grade

With one eye focused on student achievement and the other firmly placed on overall academic improvement to its high school, Clinton City Schools administrators, along with staff from Clinton High School, have begun work on plans to move their academic needle forward.

At a recent Board of Education meeting, Clinton High leadership unveiled its school improvement plan which calls for increasing overall school grade performance by over the next 12 to 18 months.

The basis of that improvement began after data from this year’s School Performance Grades showed the high school received a C on an A-F scale for its overall performance. The high school also failed to meet state growth levels.

Concerns over that data, plus mandates from the state, brought about the urgency to remedy the problems, all to ensure the best academic outcomes for students at CHS.

According to the data, the School Performance Grades were based on student achievement (80 percent) and growth (20 percent), with the designations set on a 15-point scale as follows — A (85-100), B (70-84), C (55-69), D (40-54) and F (39 or less).

CHS had an achievement score of 59 (47.2 percent) and a growth score of 56.3 (11.3 percent), bringing their grade to 58.6 percent (58).

“By 2026, Clinton High School will be the premier learning community in the southeast, improving the world one Dark Horse at a time,” attested Lakechisa Phillips, CHS assistant principal, in making her improvement plan presentation to the school board. “To fulfill our mission to educate all students to their highest potential and to work towards becoming the premier learning community in the southeast, our goal is to increase our overall school performance grade from 58 to 63 and to increase the average grade-level proficiency of all EOC (End-of-Course) tested subjects from 38 percent to 45 percent by the end of school year 2024-25.”

The tested subject areas include Math I, Math III, English II and Biology.

To achieve the results of their improvement plan, Phillips said their strategy revolved around three indicators classified under the “Wise Ways” approach.

“Wise Ways is just strategic best practices that we kind of use in statement form to help us know how to reach our goals. So all three of the NCStar Wise Ways that you see are what we’re going to utilize through our strategic practices to make sure that we meet our goals.”

Those three key evidence-based practices and strategies are designed to address, resource allocation, data-driven assessments and tiered instruction.

Strategic Resource Allocation

The Wise Ways approach involved the school aligning resource allocation (money, time, human resources) within each school’s instructional priorities. The major focal points being:

• Purchasing targeted resources, such as instructional materials and digital tools, to support struggling students and close achievement gaps.

• Analyzing demographic and academic data to ensure resources are equitably distributed across all classrooms.

• Training staff to utilize resources effectively, with a focus on engaging and culturally relevant teaching practices.

Assistant Principal Johnny Williams emphasized that this approach was about more than just funding. “We’re not just spending money,” he said. “We’re investing in our students’ futures by providing the tools they need to succeed.”

Frequent Assessments and Data-Driven Collaboration

The second part of the data assessment strives to have all teachers frequently assess student progress using a variety of evaluation methods to make appropriate curriculum adjustments based on the results. To monitor student progress and refine instruction, CHS aims to implement those frequent assessments through analyzed weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Key actions include:

• Using assessment data to identify trends, address gaps and target interventions for struggling students.

• Providing professional development for teachers on using data to inform instruction.

• Sharing weekly instructional focuses, such as “productive struggle,” to ensure consistency in teaching practices across classrooms.

“We want our teachers and students to approach challenges with confidence,” Dr. David Yarasheski, co-chair of the improvement team, said. “Focusing on strategies like critical thinking and resilience helps students grow academically and personally.”

Tiered Instructional System

The third cornerstone of the improvement plan implements a “Multi-Tiered System of Supports” (MTSS) focused on ensuring students receive individualized, evidence-based instruction tailored to their needs. The key elements of this approach include:

• Providing high-quality core instruction for all students.

• Offering Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, such as small-group tutoring and one-on-one support, for students who need additional help.

• Using academic, behavioral and attendance data to create customized support plans for each student.

“This tiered system allows us to meet students where they are and provide exactly what they need, whether it’s additional academic help or social-emotional support” Ashley Slater, EC teacher and team chairwoman, said.

Also of note, while not apart of the Wise Ways plans, it was highlighted that collaborating with Sampson Middle and increasing school community engagement were also addition factors for the school improvement plan.

Those goals aimed at providing seamless transitions for incoming students for Sampson to Clinton High School by collaborating closely with middle school educators and counselors. The hope, that these partnerships will help align placement decisions, identify academic needs early and providing high school tours to ensure incoming ninth-graders are familiar with the environment.

Clinton High Principal John Green was part of the presentation via conference call, and he unveiled some his hopes to carry out those goals.

”We started those inroads, and conversations have been had,” explained Green. “Our first step is to our guidance counselors, and we have a middle school math teacher here with us. This was all strategic also, because a lot of the decisions that we’ll make next year as to where students are placed in math classes and English classes are going to begin through the counselors and the teachers.

“So, starting in spring, when I start going over to meet the middle school students, and they come to the high school and take their tours, the traditional thing,” he continued. “We’re already going to have had those conversations about how students are progressing, not necessarily by achievement levels, but where that student will best be served, because their success is our success, and vice versa.

“We’ve been mentioning it, and the counselors have started the conversation, and it’s just going to keep extending,” he added. “We’re going to start looking at ourselves as one big campus, as opposed to two different schools.”

As for engaging school community, talks centered around motivating stakeholders through introducing creative engagement strategies via friendly competitions between grade levels and classrooms to meet performance goals. A students initiative was also being included in the process, with teachers sharing progress data directly with students and celebrating their achievements.

“When students see how far they’ve come, they feel empowered to keep pushing themselves,” Yarasheski said.

“When everyone feels like they’re part of a shared mission, the energy and motivation are incredible,” Williams agreed. “We’re fostering a sense of community pride, where every victory—no matter how small—belongs to all of us.”

“This is about more than just meeting benchmarks,” Slater stressed. “It’s about creating a culture of excellence where every student feels supported, challenged, and inspired.”