CIS Academy

CIS Academy is a small public middle school in Pembroke, NC, serving 114 students in grades 6–8, and it operates as its own single-school CIS Academy district. The school’s latest state ranking is 525th out of 778 North Carolina middle schools (33rd percentile, 2 stars), and it has sat roughly between the 29th and 46th percentiles over the past decade.

Where CIS Academy truly stands out is next to nearby middle schools. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 24.3% is just about the state average and far healthier than Pembroke Middle’s 54.9%, even though that school is less than a mile away. The poverty picture is also different: 61.4% of CIS Academy students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, while almost every neighboring middle school is at 98–99%. That helps explain why a 33rd-percentile ranking can still look strong locally. On the most recent results, only Littlefield Middle (48th percentile) outranks it in the area; Pembroke Middle (13th) and Red Springs Middle (6th) are well behind. In 8th grade reading, 58.1% of CIS Academy students are proficient—more than double Pembroke Middle’s 25.8%.

Internally, the school’s biggest challenge is 6th grade. Math and reading proficiency there hover near 30%, well under state averages of roughly 55–59%. By 7th and 8th grade, though, scores climb to about or above state averages, suggesting students make real progress once they are in the school. Subgroup ratings also reveal a consistent gender gap: female students rank around or above the school’s overall level, while male students have ranked in the bottom quarter statewide for two straight years. Because each grade has only about 35–40 students, these numbers can be swayed by a handful of learners, so parents should use them as directional signs rather than final judgments. Overall, CIS Academy is a small, relatively healthy school in a struggling region—one that compares favorably with virtually all of its local alternatives.