.
Marble – Principals at four Cherokee County schools that received “D” letter grades or failed to meet growth expectations for the 2024-25 school year released action plans to bring their scores up.
The schools include Andrews Elementary and Middle, and Martins Creek Elementary. Andrews High School, which failed to meet growth standards, also submitted a plan.
Andrews Middle School
“I want to acknowledge our school’s recent performance scores,” Andrews Middle Principal Joslyn Parker-Booth said in
her school’s school improvement plan. “I am not
proud of the results, and I fully understand their weight. While these scores reflect a moment in time, they do not define who we are as a school community. What grieves me most profoundly is the lack of measurable growth, because we believe, with unwavering conviction, that every student is capable of remarkable progress when given proper support.”
Parker-Booth said she takes full responsibility for these outcomes.
“My duty and privilege is to lead our school with integrity and urgency. I am committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure our students receive the high-quality education they deserve.”
Her school’s goals include: meeting or exceeding growth in the current school year; increase educator preparedness; reduce chronic absenteeism by 20%; meet needs of diverse student groups; and improve the school’s achievement score by 20%.
Andrews Elementary School
Andrews Elementary put together an 11-member school improvement leadership team that includes Principal Kim Davis, five teachers, four school staff members and a parent.
It established four goals to be accomplished by the end of the current school year: decrease office referrals by 50%; increase by 12% the percentage of its students with disabilities scoring at proficiency; 65% of its K-2 students will be overall proficient in reading and 55% of its 3rd-5th grades will be overall proficient in reading; and 55% of its K-5 students will be proficient in math.
Andrews High School
Andrews High established a team but did not identify members in its report to the school board. Its goals include: eliminate opportunity gaps by 2027; improve school and district performance by 2027; and increase Educator preparedness to meet the needs of every student by 2027.
Survey feedback at the school “highlights a critical area of growth: increasing rigor and providing students with more opportunities to engage in meaningful, higher-order learning experiences,” according to the school’s plan.
“Andrews High School will prioritize instructional practices that push students beyond basic comprehension toward application, analysis, and creation,” according to the plan.
Martins Creek Elementary School
“Our comprehensive analysis identified critical performance gaps in fourth- and fifth-grade mathematics and fifth-grade science as our primary areas of concern,” the school’s action plan states.
“In response to these findings, we have implemented several strategic interventions to address these academic deficiencies:
“Personnel changes: We have strategically reassigned teaching staff in mathematics and science for grades 4 and 5 to ensure our students receive instruction from educators best equipped to drive improvement in these critical subject areas.
“Structural reforms: A new block scheduling system has been established specifically for our 4th and 5th grade students, providing extended instructional time and more focused learning opportunities in targeted subject areas.
“Targeted support systems: Our Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been redesigned to concentrate resources and interventions on grades 4 and 5, ensuring students receive the individualized support necessary for academic success.
“Strategic scheduling: Through purposeful and intentional scheduling practices, we have allocated optimal time blocks and resources to maximize our capacity to achieve measurable improvements in student outcomes.
“These coordinated efforts represent our commitment to academic excellence and our determination to ensure every student at Martins Creek Elementary achieves their full potential,” according to the plan.
Scores
Cherokee County Schools’ performance grades from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction were a mixed bag of higher and lower grades, with five campuses earning B letter grades compared to just two the previous year.
On the other hand, the number of D letter grades went from one in 2024 to three in 2025.
In North Carolina, school grades are based on each school’s achievement score (including standardized test grades), weighted 80%, and on students’ academic growth, weighted 20%, according to ednc.org.
The grade designations are set on a 15-point scale: A = 85-100, B = 70-84, C = 55-69, D = 40-54, and F = 39 or less.
Top performers in Cherokee County were Tri-County Early College High, Peachtree Elementary, Hiwassee Dam High and Murphy High, which each received B letter grades.
The Oaks Academy received an “Alt_B” letter grade. Its achievement score of 72 was a major improvement over the 39.8 it received in 2024 and a 100% improvement over its score in 2022.
Two campuses saw better grades from the previous year.
Peachtree Elementary earned a C in 2024 and improved to a B in 2025. It met growth both years.
Hiwassee Dam High earned a C in 2024 and improved to a B in 2025.
Tri-County Early College High and Murphy High each earned B letter grades in 2024 and 2025. Murphy High exceeded growth in 2024 and met growth in 2025. The early college met growth both years.
Ranger Elementary School received C letter grades both years but improved its growth rating from not met in 2024 to met in 2025.
Schools that received C letter grades were Andrews High, Hiwassee Dam Middle, Murphy Elementary, Murphy Middle and Ranger Elementary.
Schools that received a D letter grade were Andrews Elementary, Andrews Middle and Martins Creek Elementary.
Academic growth
Another area measured in the report cards is School Academic Growth.
School Academic Growth represents the academic progress of a student compared to the average progress of students across the state in a given grade and/or subject.
When the state has compelling evidence that the students in a school are progressing far above the average, that school is considered exceeding expected growth. When there is evidence that the students in a school are progressing consistent with the average, that school is considered as having met expected growth.
Exceeding growth measures were Hiwassee Dam Middle and Murphy Elementary.
Meeting growth measures were Andrews elementary, Hiwassee Dam High, Murphy High, Murphy Middle, Peachtree Elementary, Ranger elementary and Tri-County Early College High.
Three schools did not meet growth measures: Andrews High, Andrews Middle, and Martins Creek Elementary.
Ups & downs
Three campuses received D grades or didn’t meet growth expectations:
- Andrews Elementary received a D in 2024 and 2025. For academic growth, it exceeded growth in 2024 and met growth in 2025.
- Andrews Middle School went from a C in 2024 to a D in 2025. It exceeded growth in 2024 but did not meet growth measures in 2025.
- Martins Creek Elementary School went from a C in 2024 to a D in 2025, and met growth in 2024 but did not meet growth in 2025.