Clinton City Schools board approves Sunset Avenue and Clinton High improvement plans; hears community‑schools overview and diagnostics pilot

The Clinton City Schools Board of Education approved school improvement plans for Sunset Avenue Elementary and Clinton High during its Dec. 8 meeting after staff from both schools presented goals, data and specific interventions.

Sunset Avenue leaders told the board their priorities include raising reading proficiency districtwide by 3 percentage points by 2026 (the district reported reading EOG proficiency at 46.1% for 2024–25), increasing the multilingual (ML) subgroup’s proficiency (2025 ML subgroup proficiency reported at 48%), and improving math, science and supports for students with disabilities (24–25 proficiency for students with disabilities was reported at 27.9%). The Sunset team described a layered MTSS approach that uses daily “burst” intervention cycles, progress monitoring every 10 days for targeted students, monthly MTSS reviews and stronger parent engagement (including a weeklong parent–teacher conference planned for February).

Clinton High’s school improvement team outlined three primary indicators to raise the school performance composite and content proficiency: frequent formative assessment, a tiered instructional system for evidence‑based instruction, and targeted curriculum adjustments. The high school set a goal to raise its overall performance score from 57 to 60 and to increase the average proficiency across EOC‑tested areas from 41% to 44% by the end of the school year. Principal and staff said the school is rolling out AVID strategies, universal screeners and a plan to refine PLC work focused on lower‑performing students.

As part of the high‑school presentation, school leaders described a six‑month pilot of a universal screener called Edmentum. The district said Edmentum provided 50 free licenses per core area (250 total free licenses) for the spring semester to let staff identify students who would most benefit from adaptive, individualized lessons. “It’s just a really, it’s a game changer for us to really put that on the front end,” Principal Green said of a diagnostic screener; Jamie King, a visiting superintendent from Sampson County Schools, added in his earlier presentation that “teachers need help. Teachers can’t do it alone,” when describing the community‑schools framework.

Board vice chair Carol Worley moved to approve both plans; Jeremy Edgerton seconded. The board approved the plans by voice vote.

Why it matters: The plans commit each school to measurable year‑over‑year proficiency targets and to specific interventions — more frequent formative checks, targeted small‑group instruction, volunteer tutoring partnerships and use of diagnostic tools — that the district says it will use to guide resource allocation for the coming year. The Edmentum pilot and the district’s adoption of a universal screener are intended to give teachers earlier diagnostic data so interventions can start immediately rather than weeks into a new term.

The board paperwork indicates the plans will be posted in BoardDocs and the superintendent’s office will follow up with the community on next steps. The motion to approve the plans passed by voice vote; the meeting record does not include individual roll‑call tallies.