School Board Reviews Improvement Plan Focused On Achievement, Opportunity Gaps

SMITHFIELD – Johnston County Public Schools presented its 2026-2027 School Improvement Plan to the Board of Education on October 13, outlining districtwide academic gains while identifying areas where additional support is still needed.

The plan is built around three primary goals: improving student achievement, eliminating opportunity gaps and increasing teacher efficacy.

District officials reported that 91% of JCPS schools earned an A, B or C school performance grade, while overall performance increased 3.8%.

The presentation also showed that 41 schools improved their performance composites and measurable improvement was recorded across all student subgroups.

Two schools – Micro Elementary and South Johnston High – exited Additional Targeted Support and Improvement, or ATSI, status.

The improvement plan also identifies four schools that will receive additional attention because of their low-performing designation.

Those schools are Selma Middle, Smithfield Middle, South Smithfield Elementary and Wilson’s Mills Elementary. All four received a school performance grade of D.

Smithfield Middle and South Smithfield Elementary met expected academic growth, while Selma Middle and Wilson’s Mills Elementary did not meet growth expectations.

The district’s school improvement process began over the summer with data review, planning guidance, school improvement team work and schoolwide votes on individual plans.

Board members received the school improvement plans and related materials to review. The process includes plans for all schools, along with additional requirements for schools identified for comprehensive support, low performance, targeted support and Restart flexibility.

JCPS also plans to use longer-range goals, generally spanning three to five years, with incremental performance measures to track progress.

Officials said school and district monitoring and support will continue throughout the year.

The school board is scheduled to vote on the 2026-2027 School Improvement Plan at its regular meeting Nov. 10.