Bear Grass Charter School

This report examines a single school, Bear Grass Charter School, a combined middle/high school in Williamston, North Carolina, serving grades 5 through 12 with 445 students. The school acts as its own charter district, so the same Bear Grass Charter School district also appears in district rankings. The student-teacher ratio is 14.3 to 1, and with eight grade levels the average cohort is only about 56 students. That small cohort size means a difference of just a few students can cause large shifts in proficiency percentages from year to year. Free and reduced-price lunch data is not reported, so poverty-level analysis is not possible here.

Academically, Bear Grass Charter School stands out most in mathematics and science. Eighth grade math proficiency is 74.3% versus 53.0% statewide, a 21.3-point advantage, and 8th grade science is 82.4% versus 68.6%, a 13.8-point lead. The school also posts double-digit gains in English II (+13.4 points) and Math I (+12.4 points). Reading, however, is the most uneven subject. Fifth and 8th grade reading are 7.2 and 11.5 points above state averages, but 6th and 7th grade reading dip 1.6 and 1.8 points below. Math III also comes in about 1.2 points below the state rate, suggesting some erosion as students reach advanced coursework.

The school's other indicators are encouraging. Chronic absenteeism is 17.3%, about 7 points below the state average, and the graduation rate is reported at 92.3%, compared with a state figure of 88.8% from a slightly different reporting year. Statewide rankings have been steady at the 61st–63rd percentile with a three-star rating. The most dramatic story, though, is the year-over-year gain in 8th grade: math jumped 25 points and science 22.7 points from roughly state-average levels to well above them. It remains to be seen whether a strong cohort or durable instructional improvements drive these gains. Overall, Bear Grass Charter School offers a solidly above-average education for grades 5 through 12, with clear strengths in math, science, and English II and some room to focus on middle-level reading.