1

REPORTCARD

LenoirCountySchools

AmericanIndian(.1%)

Asian(.7%) Hispanic(13.5%) Black(47.3%) White(35.6%) Multi-Racial(2.7%)

PacificIslander(.1%)

SchoolDistrictDemographics

2016-17

2017•PRODUCEDBYYOUTHJUSTICEPROJECT

ACADEMICACHIEVEMENT

TotalDistrictPopulation:8,735

RACIALEQUITY

Inthe2016-17schoolyearinthisdistrict,Whitestudentsingrades3-8were2.3timesmorelikelytoscore“CareerandCollegeReady”onend-of-

gradeexamsthanBlackstudentsinthesamegrades.

Studentswhoarebehindorfailingacademicallyaremore likely tobetruant,actout,andultimatelydropoutofschool.Statewide,in2016-17,only29.7%ofBlackstudents in grades3-8 scored “College andCareerReady”on their final exams,compared to 61.7% ofWhite students. While standardized test scores are notnecessarilyanaccuratemeasureof trueability, theyserveas thebasis formanyimportant decisions (e.g. courseplacement, gradepromotion). Thus, low scoresnegativelyimpactastudent’sacademicopportunitiesandoutcomes.

ACADEMICACHIEVEMENT

WhataretheRacialEquityReportCards(RERCs)?TheRERCsusepublicallyavailabledatatoprovideasnapshotofacommunity’sschool-to-prisonpipeline,includinganyracialdisproportionalitiesthatexistinthepipeline.

Whatistheschool-to-prisonpipeline(STPP)?TheSTPPisthesystemofpoliciesandpracticesthatpushstudentsoutofschoolandintothejuvenileandadultcriminalsystems.TheSTPPhasmanyentrypoints.OncestudentsarecaughtintheSTPP,itcanbeverydifficultforthemtoreengageandbesuccessfulatschool.InalmosteveryNCcommunity,studentsofcolorareoverrepresentedateachentrypointtothepipeline.

WhatisthepurposeoftheRERCs?TheRERCsareintendedtobeastartingpointforcommunityeducationanddiscussion.Therearemanycausesofracialdisproportionalityincluding,butnotlimitedto,implicitracialbiasofdecision-makers,institutionalandstructuralracism,andexplicitdiscriminationagainstpeopleofcolor.Together,theseforcesperpetuateracialdisproportionalityinacommunity’sSTPP.TheRERCsarenotmeantasanattackonthecriticallyimportantpublicinstitutionsthatserveouryouth,butrather,asacall-to-actionforstudents,parents,advocates,policymakers,andinstitutionalstakeholderstocollectivelyexaminethecausesofracialinequityintheircommunityanddevelopsolutionsthatwillhelpyoungpeople,especiallyyouthofcolor,avoidandescapetheschool-to-prisonpipeline.

34.7 37.1

52.4 54

35.138.9

20.2 23.8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2015-16SchoolYear 2016-17SchoolYearOverall White Hispanic Black

%ofStudentsGrade3-8"CollegeandCareerReady"onEnd-of-GradeExamsbyRace*

2

Short-TermSuspensions(STS)(1-10schooldays) 2,267

HighSchoolSTSRate(Per100Students) 27.7

Long-TermSuspensions(morethan10days) 1

Expulsions(indefinite) 0

27.7 31.1

44.4 48.4

28.833.8

14.2 16.3

0102030405060

2015-16SchoolYear 2016-17SchoolYear

Overall White Hispanic Black

%ofHighSchoolStudents"CollegeandCareerReady"onEnd-of-CourseExamsbyRace*

19.9

4.5

71

0

20

40

60

80

Short-TermSuspensions Long-TermSuspensionsWhite Hispanic Black

2015-16DISTRICTOVERVIEW

79.4 81.784.9 8770.8 76.276.6 79.2

0

20

40

60

80

100

2015-16SchoolYear 2016-17SchoolYear

Overall White Hispanic Black

%ofStudentsWhoGraduateHighSchoolWithin4YearsofEnteringbyRace*

SCHOOLDISCIPLINE Anytimespentoutoftheclassroomfordisciplinaryreasonsistimeastudent

isnotlearning.Researchshowsthatout-of-schoolsuspensionisineffectiveatcorrectingmisbehavior.Instead,suspensionislinkedtoacademicfailureandcourt involvement, with no measurable positive impact on overall schoolsafety.Statewide, in2015-16,Blackstudentsreceived57%ofall short-termsuspensions,eventhoughtheymakeuponly26%ofthestudentpopulation.

While many school districts have decreased out-of-school suspensions inrecent years, there has been a corresponding increase in other disciplinemeasuresthattakestudentsoutoftheirnormalclassroomorschool,suchasin-schoolsuspensionortransfertoanalternativeschool.Thesemeasuresarealsodisruptivetolearningandareoftenineffectiveunlessindividualizedandresearch-basedsupportisprovidedinthealternativeenvironment.

Inthe2015-16schoolyearinthisdistrict,Blackstudentswere2.7timesmorelikelythanWhitestudentstoreceiveashort-termsuspension.

%ofSuspensionsbyRace(2015-16)†

3

SCHOOLDISCIPLINE

YouthJusticeProjectoftheSouthernCoalitionforSocialJusticeworkstoensureequity,fairness,andjusticeforyouthinhigh-qualityeducation,juvenile,andcriminalsystems.

Formoreinformation,visitusatyouthjusticenc.org.

2016COUNTYOVERVIEW

Total#ofJuvenileCourtComplaints 295

Total#ofJuvenileDetentionAdmissions 19

20.7

3.4

72.2

3.7

0

20

40

60

80

Complaints DetentionAdmissionsWhite Hispanic Black Other

%ofJuvenileCourtComplaintsandDetentionAdmissionsinCountybyRace(CY2016)**

COURTINVOLVEMENT Criminalizationofyouthfulmisbehaviorhasimmediateandlong-termconsequences.

Studies show youth who are court involved are more likely to reoffend and beentangled in the criminal system as adults. Furthermore, court involvement canimpact a youth’s access to public education, employment, public housing, publicbenefits, voting rights, andother sourcesof opportunity and support. In 2016-17,over 40%of juvenile court referrals statewide came from schools. Overhalf of alljuvenile complaintswere filed against Black youth even though theymake up lessthanaquarterofthepopulation.

Thedatainthissectiononlyincludesyouthunder16yearsold.InNorthCarolina,all16and17yearoldsareautomaticallysenttotheadultcriminalsystemregardlessoftheoffense.ThiswillchangeinDecember2019whenallyouthundertheageof18willbesenttothejuvenilesystem,withsomeyouthsenttoadultcourt forseriousoffenses.However,until thischangetakeseffect,dataonarrestsanddetentionforyouthwhoare16andolderisnotavailable.

56% 44%

SchoolBasedComplaintsNon-SchoolBasedComplaints

56% 44%

SchoolBasedComplaintsAgainstBlackStudents

SchoolBasedComplaintsAgainstNon-BlackStudents

%ofJuvenileComplaintsthatwereSchoolBasedJuly2016-June2017

%ofSchoolBasedJuvenileComplaintsagainstBlackStudents**July2016-June2017

DataNotes:*Lackofdatainacategoryindicatesthedistrictdidnothavesufficientdataforreportinginthatcategory.Percentagesgreaterthan95orlessthan5arereportedbythestateas>95and<5respectively.Here,theyaredisplayedas95and5respectively.†Insomeinstances,itisimpossibletoknowtheexactnumberofsuspensionsforaracialgroupbecauseofthewaysuspensiondataispublicallyreported.Ifthereisenoughdatatoapproximatepercentagesbyrace,theRERCsdisplaythoseapproximations.Allapproximationsareequaltoorslightlylowerthantheactualpercentages.

**Racialbreakdownsarenotpublicallyavailableforcategoriesinwhichthecountyhadfewerthan50overalloccurrencesinthatcategory.