Ibraham Elementary

Ibraham Elementary is a PK–5 school in Winston Salem, NC, serving 357 students in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools district. The student body is almost entirely low-income — 99.16% qualify for free or reduced lunch — and the school has historically ranked near the bottom of the state. That trend shifted meaningfully in 2025–2026, when Ibraham moved from the 7th percentile to the 18th percentile statewide. Proficiency improved across nearly every grade and subject; 4th grade math, for example, jumped from 12.9% to 47.2%, and 3rd grade reading rose from 27.9% to 48.3%.

The gains are strongest in early grades. Ibraham’s 3rd grade math proficiency (60.3%) sits close to district and state averages, but by 5th grade math proficiency drops to 36.2%, creating a 26-point gap with the state. Subgroup results are uneven as well: African American and English Learner students perform near the statewide median, while male students’ scores are far weaker. Chronic absenteeism remains a serious concern at 37.4%, though that reflects real improvement from the pandemic-era high of 59.6% and is lower than many comparable high-poverty schools.

Compared with neighboring schools in the same district, Ibraham is no longer at the bottom. It outperforms Cook Literacy Model School and Petree Elementary in nearly every grade and subject — for instance, 3rd grade math proficiency of 60.3% versus 13.0% at Cook and 16.9% at Petree — despite both schools spending thousands more per student. The wider lesson comes from Cash Elementary, which serves an identical low-income population yet ranks in the 65th percentile with far lower chronic absenteeism. Ibraham’s recent upward trajectory suggests genuine progress; whether it persists will depend on sustaining early-grade gains into upper elementary, especially in math.