Last
week's release of
statewide testing results
for the 2023-24 academic
year prompted
Superintendent Eric Bracy
to call it "one of the
greatest years in the
history of Johnston County
Public Schools."
To back up that statement,
Dr. Bracy pointed to
several benchmarks during
last Friday's announcement
celebration, including
these highlights:
•
The number of "low
performing" schools, as
defined by the N.C.
Department of Public
Instruction, has dropped
from 16 in 2018 to just
one as a result of 2023-24
testing. The
superintendent said
"that's the lowest number
Johnston County has had
since the new
accountability model" was
put in place by the state
in 2014. South Smithfield
Elementary is one of six
schools removed this year
from that list. East
Clayton Elementary is the
only one left on it.
•
85% of Johnston's schools
either "met" or "exceeded"
the state's expectations
for academic growth this
past year, with 52% of the
county's schools reaching
the "exceeded"
designation. "That's the
highest percentage in the
Triangle," noted Dr.
Bracy, referring to the
region that includes Wake,
Durham, and Orange
counties.
•
23 of Johnston's schools
placed among the top 20%
of more than 2,500 schools
statewide for academic
growth in 2023-24.
Smithfield Middle School
and South Smithfield
Elementary "exceeded"
expectations and are
included in that group.
(West Smithfield
Elementary and Wilson's
Mills Elementary "met"
expected growth while
Smithfield-Selma High's
expectations were "not
met.")
Dr. Bracy pointed out that
56.4% of Johnston County's
public-school students
achieved "grade-level
proficiency" this past
year – up from 54.2% in
2022-23 and above the past
year's statewide
measurement of 54.2%.
The superintendent noted
that Johnston's is one of
just 12 school systems
across the state that have
exceeded their pre-COVID
achievement levels.
Despite
those advances this past
year, Johnston's schools
fell short of Dr. Bracy's
goal of moving all of the
county's schools off the
state's list of those
graded D or F based on
overall academic
performance. Four schools
did lift their grades from
D to C, yet four remained
on the D-grade list –
South Smithfield
Elementary, Smithfield
Middle, Selma Elementary,
and Selma Middle – joined
by East Clayton
Elementary, which dropped
from C to D with the
latest test results.
The only Johnston schools
graded A are the Career
& Technical Academy
and the Early College
Academy, both with
relatively small
enrollments based at
Johnston Community
College. They were also
the only local schools
graded A in 2022-23.
Three of Johnston County's
eight traditional high
schools achieved B grades
for 2023-24: Clayton,
Cleveland, and Corinth
Holders. All the others
were graded C, as was
Neuse Charter School at
Smithfield and Johnston
Charter Academy at
Clayton. American
Leadership Academy
Johnston – the county's
newest charter school,
located between Smithfield
and Clayton – was downgraded
from grade C to D.
SMITHFIELD-AREA
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS |
2023-24
Performance
Grade / Score * |
Grade-Level
Proficiency
2023-24 |
Grade-Level
Proficiency
2022-23 |
| South Smithfield Elementary |
D / 50 |
39.6% |
34.0% |
| West Smithfield Elementary |
C / 55 |
43.1% |
47.4% |
| Wilson's Mills Elementary |
C / 56 |
48.7% |
50.5% |
| Smithfield Middle |
D / 47 |
36.9% |
39.2% |
| Smithfield-Selma High |
C / 62 |
42.7% |
37.5% |
| All Johnston County Public Schools |
n/a |
56.4% |
55.2% |
* Since 2013-14,
student
performance
data have been
used to assign
letter grades
to public
schools as
required by
N.C. General
Statute
115C-83.15.
The grades are
based on each
school’s
achievement
score (weight
of 80%) and
each school’s
student
academic
growth (weight
of 20%). The
total school
performance
score is
converted to a
100-point
scale and then
used to
determine a
school
performance
grade:
A:
85-100; B: 70-84; C: 55-69;
D: 40-54; F:
less than 40.
|
|
Town
Clerk Parrish is
Smithfield's new HR
director
Shannan
Parrish, Smithfield's town
clerk since 2011 and a
town employee since 2005,
has been promoted to the
position of Human
Resources director, in
effect Town Government's
supervisor of employees.
She succeeds Tim Kerigan,
who has moved to Nash
County to work as HR
director there.
Ms. Parrish has earned
numerous professional
credentials over her years
of services, including
North Carolina Certified
Municipal Clerk and Master
Municipal Clerk from the
international clerks'
association, and is the
first clerk in the state
to achieve the honor of
Athenian Dialogue
Facilitator from the
international association,
according to the town's
announcement of her
promotion..
She holds associate
degrees in Accounting and
Business Administration
from Johnston Community
College.
In addition to her new
responsibilities as HR
director, Ms. Parrish will
continue to serve as town
clerk until a new
appointee fills that job.
Among the clerk's duties
is recording official
minutes of Smithfield Town
Council sessions.
Student firefighters show school board how
it's done
Senior
Jeremy Price shows how
firefighters are trained
to "gear up" on a moment's
notice during a
demonstration before the
Johnston County Board of
Education Tuesday. He was
accompanied by classmates
Chris Rogers and Abigail
Kimsey of Smithfield-Selma
High School, which along
with Clayton High offer
classes leading to
firefighter
certifications. This was
Johnston County
Firefighters Week, which
included a 9/11 memorial
service at SSS Wednesday
morning on the anniversary
of the coordinated
terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001. (JCPS
YouTube screenshot)
All
fire departments have
first responders on
duty
From
County of Johnston
Public Information
Office
In a significant and historic step for public
safety, all 23 fire
departments across
Johnston County now
offer first-responder
services, providing
crucial medical
assistance in support of
the Johnston County EMS
System.
The milestone was
officially marked on
September 3 when the
Bentonville Fire
Department began
delivering these vital
emergency services. With
Brogden and Strickland's
Crossroads departments
implementing their
programs in July, all
areas of Johnston now
benefit from local fire
departments’
medical-response
capabilities.
This expansion of
services was made
possible by the recently
established
countywide Fire
Protection Service
District and
the continued support of
the Johnston County
Board of Commissioners.
With additional funding
allocations, fire
departments have
enhanced staffing and
training and acquired
essential equipment to
ensure critical
first-responder support
could be extended to
more communities.
Business
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Armstrong Jr. |
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Armstrong |
L.
Lamar
Armstrong III |
Eason
Armstrong
Keeney |
WHAT'S COMING
UP
Child car-seat assistance at main
fire station Saturday
Safe
Kids Johnston County will
host a free Car Seat Check
Event at the main
Smithfield fire station on
South Fourth Street this
Saturday. Families can
drive up from 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. and receive free
instruction on correctly
installing and using child
car seats.
County
Board to set
tax-revaluation
schedules Monday
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will hold a
public hearing on proposed
"Schedules of Values,
Standards, and Rules" for
the upcoming revaluation
of real estate for county
taxation during Monday's
second-monthly meeting at
6 p.m. at the Courthouse.
(The schedules may be
viewed at the Tax Office
in the Courthouse; they
are not posted online.) VIEW the
complete agenda for
Monday's meeting>
Earlier Monday, the County
Commissioners will conduct
a public hearing on a
proposed incentive grant –
for an unnamed
manufacturing project at
Selma's Eastfield
development – at 3:30 p.m.
in the Selma Civic Center
on Webb Street.
Town
Council to consider Holt
Lake townhouses Tuesday
One
of three land-use hearings
on the agenda for
Tuesday's meeting of the
Smithfield Town Council is
a request for a
special-use permit for
Country Club Townhomes, a
60-unit development
proposed for 8.06 acres on
the north shore of Holt
Lake at the intersection
of Bright Leaf Boulevard
(US 301) and Country Club
Road. A second hearing is
scheduled on conditional
rezoning to allow a
210-lot single-family
residential development on
140 acres on the west side
of Buffalo Road just north
of Buffalo Creek. (A
similar request for that
site was turned down by
the council with a 4-3
vote at its June 18
meeting.) A third hearing
Tuesday will address a
request for Office and
Institutional zoning for
residential property at
606 South Third Street. VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday's meeting>
DAR's annual Constitution
bell-ringing here next
Tuesday
The
local Smith-Bryan Chapter
of Daughters of the
American Revolution is
hosting the event at 4
p.m. Tuesday, September 17
to celebrate the 234th
anniversary of the signing
of the U.S. Constitution
in 1787. The public is
invited to bring bells to
ring for one minute at the
Market Street entrance to
the Johnston County
Courthouse. "Wear
patriotic or colonial
clothing if you would like
to," the DAR chapter
advises.
Countywide
Transportation Plan
public session next week
The
County of Johnston will
host the second phase of
public input for the
Countywide Comprehensive
Transportation Plan (CTP)
next Thursday (September
19) from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
in the Great Hall outside
the auditorium at Johnston
Community College. If you
are unable to attend but
would like to provide
feedback, the CTP survey
is still available at this
link>
Additional information on
County of
Johnston website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Private-school
vouchers rate higher
than teachers?
Yes,
that's the answer from the
N.C. General Assembly as
both branches of our
Legislature this week
adopted an updated state
budget that appropriates
$463 million to clear a
55,000-student backlog of
families waiting for
what's labeled as an
"Opportunity Scholarship"
to help pay for tuition at
unregulated private
schools.
Most of those families on
the wait list would not
have qualified for those
vouchers before income
limits were lifted this
year. Now they'll all get
between $3,360 and $7,468
per child attending a
private school as of
October 1, the amounts of
aid linked to household
incomes.
Meanwhile, the revised
state budget for 2024-25
ignores pleas from
public-school teachers and
administrators for pay
raises above minimal
amounts previously
authorized. There's a
teacher shortage in North
Carolina, and it's a
struggle to fill the
vacant positions without
higher salaries across the
board.
While the state's
political leaders have
turned their backs on
marketplace reality, our
local governments have
stepped up to the plate.
Two recent examples are
Johnston County's raising
of local pay supplements
for teachers and the Town
of Smithfield's raising of
police pay to match what
other cities and towns in
our region now offer.
"School choice" is the
rallying cry behind
private-school vouchers
for all who want them. But
what's fair about that
when a majority of our
state's lawmakers continue
to pursue measures that
undermine rather than
strengthen our public
schools?
P.S. The budget bill
adopted by the General
Assembly this week does
include extra funding to
cover enrollment increases
at North Carolina's public
schools and community
colleges. That includes
charter schools, which are
tuition-free public
schools that are NOT
private schools operating
outside government
purview.
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to this edition: 1,565
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A PREVIOUS EDITION?
You'll find
it in the Weekly
Sun archives>
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
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