Dear Parents and Website Visitors,
 
We are pleased to provide you with the Gaston County Schools Report Card for the 2011-2012 school year.
 
As North Carolina’s ninth largest school district, we have the privilege of delivering first-rate individualized instruction to more than 31,000 public school students in Gaston County. 
 
Our students and teachers continue to make us proud.  The class of 2012 garnered another record-breaking year in scholarships and honors.  They earned more than 45 million dollars in college scholarships, the highest amount ever earned by a graduating class. 
 
The district won state and/or national recognition in academics, moot court, engineering, technology, fine arts, athletics, JROTC, and other areas.  Several GCS sports teams received the N.C. Scholar-Athlete Award for having the highest grade point average in the state.  Gaston County’s Teacher of the Year was name one of the top eight teachers in the state.
 
The district’s graduation rate of 77.8 percent improved over last year’s and its safety record is one of the best in the state and better than the 10 largest school districts in North Carolina.  Since the state released the first graduation rate six years ago, GCS high schools’ average graduation rate has improved 9.7 points.
 
This past year, we had 40 of our schools to make high or expected academic growth under higher, more challenging standards.  Nearly every school in Gaston County either improved proficiency or recorded a year of academic growth and progress.
 
Three schools earned the prestigious School of Excellence recognition.  We also had 14 Schools of Distinction, 21 Schools of Progress, and no low-performing schools.
 
The GCS Report Card contains information about student performance, class size, attendance, school safety, instructional resources, and teacher quality in our 55 schools.  We encourage you to carefully examine the report card data and call your school principal or my office if you have additional questions.
 
Our students and staff members are working extremely hard to close the achievement gap and improve academic performance. Numerous measures are currently being put into practice that will improve academic growth and help our students carry on the successes of the past.  These include a more rigorous curriculum, additional resources and technology for science and reading instruction, and one-on-one guidance for our students.
 
Many challenges lie ahead. Together, with the help of our dedicated teachers, parents and this community, I believe our outstanding successes will continue. Thank you for your continued support of Gaston County Schools.
 

Sincerely yours,