30-04-2025
Action Greensboro releases report on Guilford County Schools
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — What are the strengths and weaknesses of Guilford County Schools?
Action Greensboro crunched the numbers to provide an honest, data-driven look at pre-K to 12th-grade public education.
The report highlights teacher retention rates, student demographics and what the school system has done to make up for COVID-19 funds expiring.
GCS serves over 60,000 students from kindergarten to 12th grade. With that many students, Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley says it's the teachers who make the difference in the classroom.
'No one can do any other job without a teacher. I just think our country has kind of fallen behind in our value of the profession,' Oakley said.
In a report released by Action Greensboro, teacher retention rates are down.
According to the report, 18 percent of teachers left the school district last year. Oakley believes it's partly because GCS has the lowest local salary supplement out of the surrounding counties.
'Last year, North Carolina was the number one state for business and the 38th in teacher pay, and both of those things can't be true. Paying attention to it, calling it out … More importantly, doing something about it,' Oakley said.
The report found that 57 percent of the school systems' funding comes from within the county.
Executive Director of Action Greensboro Cecilia Thompson said this means local advocacy is critical.
'How do we make sure that we, as neighbors, faith leaders, etc., are coming together to have really critical conversations? That it's not just going to our school board and asking them what they can do but really asking ourselves what can our community do?' Thompson said.
On a bright note, the report shows kindergarteners are improving in literacy, comparing the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Across the county, reading proficiency increased 40 points, but Oakley says there's still room to grow.
'So we still have student groups who are not making the progress that they need to when they get to that 3rd grade reading, but the early foundational skills really matter. Our elementary teachers have become experts in early literacy and foundational skills,' Oakley said.
Oakley said that while this is great news, educators are working to maintain those numbers through all grade levels.
One factor that plays into that success is the high-dosage tutoring. Oakley said the program was funded through COVID-19 dollars, and the funding expired in September. The task moving forward is to find money to keep these programs alive.
'We believe tutoring should be a part of what we do all the time, not just when there's a pandemic,' Oakley said.
Oakley attributes these programs to the success of students.
Overall, Guilford County schools have the highest graduation rate compared to other communities.
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