Pender Innovative Learning Academy

Pender Innovative Learning Academy is an alternative public school in Rocky Point, North Carolina, serving grades K-12 with a total enrollment of 99 students. The school is part of the Pender County Schools district, which is ranked 124 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Pender Innovative Learning Academy consistently underperforms the Pender County Schools district and the state of North Carolina in standardized test scores across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2023-2024, the school's 8th-grade proficiency rates were 30.8% in Math, 46.2% in Reading, and 46.2% in Science, compared to the district's 52%, 54.3%, and 74.5%, respectively. The school also has a significantly higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, with 60.61% in the 2022-2023 school year, compared to the district's overall rate.

In comparison, the nearby American Leadership Academy-Coastal, a public charter school, generally outperforms Pender Innovative Learning Academy and the state in academic measures, despite serving a student population that is predominantly White. This comparison highlights the potential impact of school type, leadership, and resource allocation on student outcomes, and suggests that Pender Innovative Learning Academy may face significant challenges in providing a high-quality education to its students.