BY KARISSA MILLER

The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education on Monday approved administration’s request to seek Restart school status for Statesville High, Third Creek Middle School, Troutman Middle and West Iredell High.

According to I-SS Chief Secondary Academic Officer Kelly Cooper, this designation is designed to assist schools that have been identified as “low performing” by the state.

The Restart designation provides schools with charter-like flexibility. This flexibility can be utilized in the following areas: budget, employment requirements, calendar, standard course of study, assessments, and K-3 Class Size.

For example, NB Mills Elementary, an I-SS school with this designation, has implemented a year-round calendar. NB Mills does not have to reapply due to meeting its growth targets.

Schools are classified as low performing if they receive a school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of “met expected growth” or “not met expected growth.”
Statesville High School received a letter grade of D for the 2023-2024 year as did Troutman Middle School and West Iredell High School. Third Creek Middle School received a letter grade of F for the 2023-2024 year as did N.B. Mills Elementary School.
During Monday’s meeting, board member Anita Kurn asked the I-SS finance team if funds could be set aside to provide additional training for administrators of low performing schools during the summer.

Superintendent Jeff James explained that administrators at low-performing schools are required to attend numerous workshops.

Board member Mike Kubiniec called the district’s low-performing schools a “serious problem.”

“If we are putting five in Restart, why aren’t all 13 low-performing schools Restart schools?” he asked. Why wouldn’t we want all of our schools to be on a year-round schedule?”

James explained that based on the state’s grading formula, “you can be low performing today and come out next year.”

Administrators decided to seek the Restart designation for “the four schools that are persistently low performing,” James said.

Working in these schools presents unique challenges for staff, he said.

“The turnover is twice as anywhere else. You get burnout,” James explained. “When those kids come in with twice the baggage and they come in with being in poverty, you sort of take that on as a teacher like you would a parent. Eventually, it impacts you.

“It’s one of the hardest things you will ever do in your career,” he added.

According to James, principals that work at a low-performing school for three years receive an additional pay incentive from the state.

After three years, if their schools have not shown improvement, principals will carry that track record with them to their next school, which can hurt their career, he added.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other matters, the board approved Lake Norman High School’s trip to Denmark this school year. School board #3320 requires that the board approve international field trips.

Assistant Principal of Lake Norman High School James Cowart and teacher Martin Kirby gave a brief overview of the Denmark Exchange program.

“The Denmark Exchange program was established in 2007. It has brought many wonderful experiences to current and former Lake Norman High School students,” Kirby said.

As part of the program, students host a Denmark student in their homes for a week. While overseas, LNHS students visit Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and the students stay for a week in Bornholm with a Danish family.

LNHS students attend school in Denmark for a week and work on a project with international business implications and market research.

One of the goals is for students to build lifelong friendships with Danish students.