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.

The School Performance Grades are based 80 percent on the school’s achievement score (student proficiency) and 20 percent on students’ academic growth. At Tar Heel School, the achievement score for the 2024-2025 school year is based on how well the students performed on the End-of-Grade Reading, Math, and Science End-of-Grade Assessments.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that Tar Heel School 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 or F and a school growth score of "met expected growth" or "not met expected growth" as defined by G.S. 115C-83.15.”

Tar Heel School received a School Performance Grade of “D” and a growth designation of “did not meet ” for the 2024–2025 school year. Although we are committed to improving this score, it is important to remember that just as no one single score or grade tells the whole story of a student, neither does it tell you everything about the performance of a school or the opportunities that the school provides. 

A low performing school is required to develop an improvement plan that specifically addresses how the school will improve both the school performance grade and school growth score. The plan will also include how central office administrators and I will work with, and monitor the progress of Tar Heel School. The school is already engaged in the work of refining its plan to present to the Board of Education at the October meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, October 13, 2025. The final plan will be available for review on the school’s website.

One of our top priorities for 2025–2026 is to improve our School Performance Grade.  

Tar Heel School has defined several priorities for the 2025–2026 school year to help improve their School Performance Grade. Below are several key initiatives, programs, and strategies that the school will implement or continue to strengthen.  

• Strengthen Core Instruction- Ensure high-quality, standards-aligned instruction in every classroom

• Accelerate Student Growth in Literacy & Math- Move more students from Level 2 to Level 3+ (proficient) while ensuring growth for all

• Targeted Supports for Subgroups & Equity Gap- In school and after school tutoring opportunities

• Build a Culture of High Expectations & Leadership-Empower staff, students, and families to take ownership of academic success, continue with Leader in Me school-wide

We encourage you to actively engage in your student’s academic journey and invite you to collaborate with their teacher(s) to help ensure they stay on track for success. Working together as a team, we can improve not only how well our students are performing individually, but how the school is performing as a whole. There is nothing more important to us than ensuring students are ready for the next step in their academic careers. We appreciate your partnership and support to make it a successful school year.

If you have any questions regarding the School Performance Grade or the school’s plans for improvement, please do not hesitate to contact Vanessa Ruffin, principal at Tar Heel School, by calling (910) 862-2475 or by email, vlruffin@bladen.k12.nc.us.

Sincerely,

Jason B. Atkinson, Ed.D.
Superintendent

September 16, 2025

Dear Parent or Guardian,

As a parent/guardian of a student at Tar Heel School, I am writing to inform you that Tar Heel School has been designated as a Targeted Support and Improvement Consistently Underperforming (TSI-CU) by the North Carolina State Board of Education. As stated in ESSA Section 1111(d)(2), North Carolina had to identify schools for targeted support and improvement. TSI-CU schools in North Carolina are those that have a subgroup that is under-performing. The intent of this opportunity is to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction. 

As a TSI-CU school, Tar Heel School is required to develop a comprehensive plan that specifically addresses how the school will improve student achievement. The plan will also include how our district will support us and monitor the progress of our school. The comprehensive plan will address the following areas:
 

• Classroom Management
• Standards-aligned Instruction
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
• Instructional Leadership
• Recruitment & Retention of Effective Teachers
• Support for Grade-to-Grade Transitions
• Implementation of a Tiered Instructional System
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Student Support Services
• Family and Community Engagement

Specific goals and strategies have been developed by the school and are a part of the School Improvement Plan. To review the school improvement plan, please visit the link, http://www.indistar.org and enter the following information:

ID: GuestS15615
Password: GuestS15615

Our students need to experience higher achievement levels, but it will require hard work on the part of staff, students and families. Below are some strategies that Tar Heel School will be implementing:

• Tutoring/Intervention: Prioritize identified students for extended learning opportunities, including small-group tutoring.

• Family Engagement: Strengthen school-home connections through workshops, family nights, and regular communication celebrating progress. Provide translated materials and interpreters at key school events to foster inclusion.

• Data Reviews: Conduct quarterly subgroup data reviews in PLCs. Share subgroup progress with the School Improvement Team/MTSS team

• Language Development Integration: Embed vocabulary and language objectives into all content areas

• Progress Monitoring: Track language acquisition growth alongside academic performance using ACCESS data and classroom assessments.

Parent engagement is at the heart of our school improvement efforts. A few ways we can work together:

• Make sure that both you and your student are aware of academic expectations 
• Make sure that your student is prepared and attends school each day
• Monitor your student’s homework
• Monitor the progress your student is making and communicate regularly with your student’s teacher(s)
• Keep track of the school website and school social media sites

Collaboratively, we can work together to ensure that our students are successful in meeting their academic goals. We are excited about this school year and are working to make it successful for your student. Here are some resources available to help you learn more about academic standards and achievement results:

• K-12 standards in academic subjects: www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/
• State student achievement test results: www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/
• NC School Report Cards: https://ncreports.ondemand.sas.com/src/

If you have questions about the content of this letter, please contact Vanessa Ruffin, principal of Tar Heel School at (910) 862-2475 or by email at vlruffin@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