Board ties strategic plan to school improvement, approves plans for low-performing schools

The Buncombe County Board of Education on Jan. 9 received a presentation from Dr. Reed on how the district’s strategic plan is translated into school-level improvement plans and approved school improvement plans for schools designated as low-performing for 2024–25.

Dr. Reed told the board that North Carolina General Statutes 115C-105.27 and 115C-105.35 set the membership and annual goal requirements for school improvement teams. “The makeup of a school improvement team is grounded in general statute,” Dr. Reed said, and added that teams must include principals, instructional staff and parents, and that teams are charged with developing goals “geared and written to improve student performance.”

Why it matters: The board’s strategic plan emphasizes closing achievement gaps and tracking subgroup progress; school improvement plans are the primary tool to align school-level actions with those district goals and with state accountability measures.

Dr. Reed walked the board through how K–8 proficiency measures (reading, math and science) and high-school measures (course pass rates, graduation cohort data, ACT and career credentials) feed into the state’s A–F school performance grade. He…