Summary:
Bostic, North Carolina is served by three public schools in the Rutherford County Schools district, including Sunshine Elementary School for grades PK-5, East Rutherford Middle School for grades 6-8, and East Rutherford High School for grades 9-12, with a combined enrollment of 1,373 students. All three schools serve very high poverty populations, with more than 98% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, yet their academic outcomes differ dramatically. The district overall is rated 4 stars and ranks 71st out of 246 North Carolina districts, but Bostic's schools range from a top-performing elementary school to middle and high schools that are struggling to keep pace with state averages.
Sunshine Elementary is the clear standout, earning a 4-star rating in each of the last three years and ranking 210th out of 1,492 elementary schools statewide, placing it in the 86th percentile. Its 4th grade math proficiency of 97% and 4th grade reading proficiency of 84.8% far outpace both the district and the state. East Rutherford High posts an impressive 94.7% graduation rate, but its overall state rank has fallen sharply from the 53rd to the 26th percentile over two years. East Rutherford Middle is the weakest of the three, dropping to the 31st percentile with 8th grade math proficiency of just 29.7% compared to the state's 53.0%.
Chronic absenteeism is a concern at every Bostic school. East Rutherford Middle has the highest rate at 36.4%, followed by East Rutherford High at 34.4% and Sunshine Elementary at 28.0%; all exceed the state's 24.2% rate. Math is a serious weakness in secondary school, particularly at East Rutherford High, where Math I proficiency fell from 41.7% to 21.3% in a single year. Sunshine Elementary proves that high-poverty schools can achieve excellent results, so understanding why that success fades by middle school and addressing chronic absenteeism should be the top priorities for Bostic's secondary schools.
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