Forsyth County, North Carolina

The Forsyth Promise 2020 Education Report

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Local Education Data

Equity Measures

A better understanding of our educational systems empowers us to advocate for changes that can improve outcomes and equity.

Disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes exist among students based on socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity, geography, and other factors — resulting from a history of systemic inequities.

Children playing

The Forsyth Promise believes that every student should have what they need to reach their full potential. Thus, educational equity is achieved when all students have access to the necessary resources, based on their individual needs, to meet their potential.

We recognize and acknowledge that significant disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes exist among students based on socioeconomic status, gender, race, and special needs — resulting from a history of systemic inequities.

We further recognize that an important step in the pursuit of equity is to better understand systems of inequity. The measures presented here represent a first step in illuminating some of the conditions that are directly connected to pressing aspects of educational equity in WS/FCS. We welcome the community’s input as we identify additional measures that would prove helpful as we assess performance in this area.

Key Findings from the Equity Measures

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Students of color are suspended at higher rates than White students.
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Title I and schools with lower performance grades have fewer experienced and/or highly effective teachers.

Disproportionate Discipline

Time that students spend out of the classroom for disciplinary reasons can disrupt learning. Importantly, students of color are more likely to receive a suspension. The measure used here is the short-term suspension rate or the number of combined in-school and out-of-school suspension incidents per 100 students. All the suspension incidents reported here are for 10 days or fewer. View data notes for this measure.

Data Visualization

Discipline Incident Rate (2016-20)

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Key Takeaways

Disparities were present in discipline rates by race/ethnicity.

The discipline rate for Black students is almost five times greater than White students, while Hispanic/Latino have a discipline rate that is more than double White students.

Disparities were present in discipline rates by gender.

Male students had a discipline rate that was more than double that of female students.

Sylvia Adams

Stories of Lived Experience

“I know it is in the schools, and minorities certainly are treated differently, particularly, our black males.”

MRS. SYLVIA ADAMS, Executive Director, The Salvation Army Ken Carlson Boys & Girls Club
Go to the lived experience interviews

Teacher Effectiveness

Highly effective teachers and teachers who have more experience can have a dramatic impact on student performance and success in school.

The two measures included here are teacher effectiveness and teacher experience. Teacher effectiveness is determined by an evaluation of teachers across five standards: teacher demonstrates leadership, teacher establishes a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, teacher knows the content they teach, teacher facilitates learning for their students, and teacher reflects on their practice. A rating of ‘needs improvement’ signifies a teacher did not meet proficiency on at least one of the five ratings; a rating of ‘effective’ means they were at least proficient on all standards, and highly effective means they met ‘accomplished’ or ‘distinguished’ on all five standards.

Teacher experience defines beginning teachers as teachers who are in their first three years of teaching. View data notes for this measure.

Data Visualization

Teacher Effectiveness and Experience (2018-19 School Year)

Use the dropdown menus below to view data on different measures and groups.

Key Takeaways

There are fewer highly effective teachers at Title I and lower letter grade schools.
There are more beginning teachers at Title I and lower letter grade schools.

Educator and Staff Diversity

A diverse school staff that is representative of the student body is one important way to help equalize opportunities for students of color. View data notes for this measure.

Data Visualization

WS/FCS Staff Diversity

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Key Takeaways

Administrators have the highest levels of diversity and teachers have lower levels of diversity.
Anonymous

Stories of Lived Experience

“With the lack of cultural competency, I think there are challenges and ultimately it affects the child’s academic success.”

ANONYMOUS, Parent of WS/FCS 4th grader
Go to the lived experience interviews

Pathways to Action

We can work together to organize, advocate, and drive positive change.

When we work together, we have the power to change our systems for the better. We hope those who read this report feel encouraged and inspired to get involved. Local groups are working to support and improve our systems and there are many ways for anyone to get involved.

get engaged in the community conversation

Get Engaged in the Community Conversation on Education

Join us for Be The Change: Making Good on Our Promise, a digital convening designed to bring people together and discuss coordinated community-wide action to increase equity and improve outcomes.

Learn more about the initiatives taking action to improve our educational systems

Learn About Work Being Done to Improve Our Educational Systems

Initiative Action Profiles highlight current, collaborative, community work to improve our systems of education.

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Help Improve this Report by Sharing Your Feedback

Each year, The Forsyth Promise publishes a community report on Forsyth County's educational systems. By taking just a moment to share your thoughts on the 2020 report, you can help make future reports better.

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Help Us Build a More Complete Perspective

Help us understand important aspects of our educational systems that this report may have overlooked or suggest new information to improve the report.

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Find a Volunteer Opportunity that's Right for You

Everyone in our community possesses important gifts, skills, and talents they can use to help make Forsyth County a better place to live.

share the story of your lived experience

Share the Story of Your Lived Experience

Forsyth County residents of all ages, lifestyles, and backgrounds can participate in our Lived Experience Lab, through which we capture and share critical community stories about educational experiences.