School Improvement Plan

September 16, 2025

Dear Parent/Guardian, 

Legislation (G.S. §115C-83.15) passed during the 2013 long session of the North Carolina General Assembly provides parents with an additional measure of school performance in the form of School Performance Grades. Beginning with the 2013–14 school year, the annual North Carolina School Report Cards display a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F for each school in the state.

School Performance Grades (SPGs) are based on two measures:

• Eighty percent (80%) comes from our school’s achievement score (student proficiency). At Bladen Lakes Primary, this includes how well our students performed on the End-of-Grade Reading, Math, and Science Assessments.
• Twenty percent (20%) comes from the amount of progress or growth students made on standardized tests in a given year.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that Bladen Lakes Primary has been designated as a low performing school by the North Carolina State Board of Education. As defined in G.S. 115C-105.37: “The State Board of Education shall identify low-performing schools on an annual basis. Low performing schools are those that earn an overall school performance grade of “D/F”and "met expected growth" or "did not meet expected growth" as defined by G.S. 115C-83.15.”

Based on the 2024-25 scores, our school  received a School Performance Grade of “D” and a growth designation of “MET expected growth.”  While this designation is an important measure, it does not tell the full story of our students, our teachers, or the many opportunities Bladen Lakes Primary provides for children.

Moving Forward:  Our Improvement Plan

To improve both achievement and growth in the 2025–26 school year, we are setting clear goals and refining our School Improvement Plan. The plan will target strategies where improvement is most needed and will be presented to the Board of Education at the October 13, 2025 meeting at 6:00 p.m. It will also be posted on our school website for families to review.

Our staff will also engage in strong professional development, supported by our central office team, and progress will be monitored throughout the year. As your principal, I am committed to working diligently so that every student in every classroom experiences success.

Our Priorities

Bladen Lakes Primary School has defined several priorities for the 2025-26 school year to help improve our School Performance Grade.  One of our top priorities for 2025–2026 to improve our School Performance Grade is to increase reading achievement schoolwide.  Our school will also focus on several other key strategies and programs to strengthen and improve our school program. Below are a few initiatives that we are excited to share! 

• Every student is a reader!  Reading is the foundation for all other learning. We have adopted and will implement a high-quality, research-based reading curriculum aligned to state standards to improve literacy for all students.  We will focus explicitly on expanding vocabulary and small group instruction to support students that experience reading challenges.  
• Every student is a leader!  We are excited to strengthen our school culture and establish student leadership roles through the Leader in Me Program. We will educate and engage our parent and community partnerships to  reinforce these leadership goals and build literacy at home.  
• Every student can succeed!  Our teachers will monitor student progress during teaching, at the end of each lesson, and provide student support to close learning gaps as they are identified.  We will be examining our students’ data frequently.  As parents/family, you can help by ensuring that homework is completed, reading for 15 minutes each day at home and staying in constant communication with your child’s teacher. Please be a part of your student’s academic journey and let’s work together to keep our students focused and on track for success.  

Working Together

Improving student performance is a team effort. Together, we can ensure that every child at Bladen Lakes Primary is prepared for the next step in their academic journey. Your support and partnership are essential to this work, and we thank you for all you do for our school community..

If you have any questions regarding the School Performance Grade or the school’s plans for improvement, please do not hesitate to contact Joyce Spencer, Principal at Bladen Lakes Primary School.  You may also visit or call the school at 910-247-4608, or contact us by email, jspencer@bladen.k12.nc.us. 

Sincerely,

Jason B. Atkinson, Ed.D.
Superintendent

September 16, 2025

Dear Parent/Guardian,

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation (G.S. §115C-83.15) that introduced School Performance Grades to provide families with additional insights into school performance. Since the 2013–14 school year, North Carolina School Report Cards have assigned letter grades (A, B, C, D, or F) to every school in the state.

Unfortunately, the state of North Carolina has determined that 80% of a school’s performance grade is based on how students perform on a single test (End-of-Grade (EOG) and End-of-Course (EOC) tests), while only 20% of the grade reflects the academic growth made by students throughout the year.  Along with other school districts in North Carolina, we believe this formula is skewed and does not accurately reflect the work and progress of our schools. Our staff and students work hard daily, and our growth measures for each school are indicative of this.

According to G.S. 115C-105.37, a low-performing school is defined as one that earns a grade of D or F and either meets or does not meet academic growth expectations. We are writing to inform you that the following schools have been identified as low-performing:

School	Performance Grade	Growth Status	Percentage of Growth Made
Bladen Lakes Primary	D	Met Expected Growth	78.3%
Bladenboro Primary	D	Met Expected Growth	80.7%
Bladenboro Middle	D	Met Expected Growth	77.0%
Dublin Primary	D	Met Expected Growth	72.1%
East Arcadia Primary	F	Met Expected Growth	81.2%
East Bladen High	D	Did Not Meet Growth	57.3%
Elizabethtown Primary	D	Met Expected Growth	75.3%
Tar Heel School	D	Did Not Meet Growth	59%

Bladen County Schools has been designated as a low-performing district by the North Carolina State Board of Education due to the number of low-performing schools. While we are committed to addressing these challenges, it is important to remember that a single score does not fully represent the rich learning opportunities, leadership development, and growth taking place in our schools.

For the 2025–2026 school year, we are focused on improving student achievement and school performance across the district, guided by our theme Learners to Leaders and our Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). To support this effort, we are implementing the following strategies:

• Instructional Coaches/Interventionists: Each school now has a coach who supports teachers with high-impact instruction and ensures Tier II and Tier III interventions are provided for students in need.
• School & District WIGs: Every school has developed its own WIGs, aligned with districtwide WIGs in academics and culture, to drive measurable improvement.
• Support and Monitoring: The District Improvement Team will provide ongoing monitoring and support, particularly at schools identified as low-performing.
• District Administrator Support Coaches: Each low-performing school will be assigned a district coach who provides on-site support and attends monthly school meetings.
• Research-Based Interventions: Schools will continue implementing interventions and academic support during and beyond the school day.
• Leader in Me Integration: Daily Leader in Me practices will be implemented across all schools to build leadership capacity in students and improve school culture.
• Focused Professional Development: Teachers will engage in targeted training on small group instruction, evidence-based interventions, and leadership practices that support student success.
• Quarterly Data Meetings: Schools will conduct data meetings every quarter to track progress toward WIGs, using student leadership notebooks and digital dashboards.
• Resource Alignment: District and school resources will be strategically aligned to meet the needs of students and support continuous improvement.

 

Through these efforts, we are committed not only to raising scores but also to building a culture where every student develops the skills, habits, and confidence to move from learner to leader.

As a low-performing district, we are required to develop an improvement plan to address how we will improve the school performance grade at these schools. Central office administrators and I will work closely with the schools to monitor progress. The preliminary plan was presented at the Board of Education meeting held on September 15, and the final version will be posted on our district website at http://www.bladen.k12.nc.us.

We encourage you to stay engaged with your student’s academic progress and work closely with their teacher(s) to ensure they remain on track. By working together, we can improve both student performance and the overall success of our schools. The success of our students is our highest priority.

If you have any questions about School Performance Grades or our improvement plans, please contact Director of Accountability and Federal Programs, Brendan McCarthy, at (910) 862-4136 or via email at btmccarthy@bladen.k12.nc.us.

Sincerely,

Jason B. Atkinson, Ed.D.
Superintendent