Dear Parents and Guardians;

Catawba County Schools mission is to teach, learn and lead for the future. To that end, we stress academic growth and success. Our math scores continued their upward trend and are up from last year and exceed both state and regional averages. 2009-10 marked the fourth year of implementation of new reading tests with new, more rigorous standards in grades 3-8. Our reading scores continued to climb, exceeding the state average and the region.

The North Carolina ABCs of Accountability test results show 24 of 27 eligible schools made expected growth or better and 18 of those 24 schools made high growth. In 2011 Catawba County Schools had two Honor Schools of Excellence: Challenger Early College and Sherrills Ford Elementary School; two Schools of Excellence: Bandys High School and Jacobs Fork Middle School; twelve Schools of Distinction; and eight Schools of Progress.

The North Carolina School Report Card is an online initiative created in an effort to keep parents and guardians better informed about mandated measures of progress in their childOctober 27, 2010, will offer parents the opportunity to view statistics on public schools in North Carolina. These statistics will provide comparative information with regards to highly qualified teachers, teacher-to-student ratios and safe schools data. In addition, data will relate test scores and correlate findings with the state and federal accountability programs. New information is included for the first time this year concerning teacher evaluation summary data for each school. The information provided for this year is a sampling of teacher evaluation ratings. The information provided is not for all teachers in the schools. Beginning next year the summary ratings will be for all teachers in the school.

While Catawba County Schools performed very well on the NC ABCs of Accountability, the NCLB system of accountability differs in the way it compares subgroups.Subgroups include those of low income, ethnic groups and others.A school might do very well on the ABCs yet it is still possible for it to face challenges under the federal government(AYP) requirements. Catawba County Schools overcame many of those challenges last year.

The following are the increased proficiency targets for meeting AYP in 2011:

NCLB legislation provides an overall system for improving student achievement as it attempts to close gaps in academic achievement, especially among Limited English Proficient, economically disadvantaged and disabled student populations. Schools are held accountable for ensuring children meet or exceed grade level standards and that there are highly qualified teachers in each classroom. NCLB

We are pleased with the progress our students continue to make. Overall math, reading and science proficiencies in grades 3-8 continue to increase over time. These excellent results prove that Catawba County Schools

We are extremely pleased with the progress the school system continues to make with keeping our students in school until graduation. In 2011 the graduation cohort rate for Catawba County Schools was 86.2%. We are being recognized for being among the top 10% of all school systems in the state. This rate of 86.2% is the eighth best of all school systems in the state and the highest among medium size school districts

It is plain to see that Catawba County Schools have much to celebrate. These scores and the ABCs rankings indicate we are on the right track in terms of curriculum, character education, multi-cultural and ESL programs and technological innovations. We are pleased that the district continues to show steady growth and improvement. We have the most dedicated and capable teachers and principals in the state; they continue to make a positive difference in the lives of our children.

We hope this information keeps you better informed as the guardians and parents of our future to talk with your childteach learn and lead for the future.

Sincerely,

Mr. Glenn Barger, Superintendent