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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

2019 • PRODUCED BY YOUTH JUSTICE PROJECT

What are the Racial Equity Report Cards (RERCs)? The RERCs use
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
public data to provide a snapshot of a community’s school-to-prison
pipeline, including any racial disproportionalities that exist.
School District Demographics
2017-18
What is the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP)? The STPP is the
system of policies and practices that push students out of school and
into the juvenile and adult criminal systems. The STPP has many
entry points. Once students are caught in the pipeline, it can be very
difficult for them to reengage and be successful in school. In almost
every NC community, students of color are overrepresented at each
entry point to the pipeline.
What is the purpose of the RERCs? The RERCs are a starting point
for community education, discussion, and advocacy. There are many
causes of racial disproportionality including implicit racial bias of
decision-makers, institutional and structural racism, and explicit
discrimination against people of color. Together, these forces fuel American Indian (.2%)
Asian (2.6%)
racial disproportionality in a community’s STPP. The RERCs are not
Black (28.7%)
intended as an attack on the critically important public institutions
that serve our youth, but rather, as a call-to-action for students, Hispanic (26.2%)
Multi-Racial (4.1%)
parents, advocates, policy makers, and institutional stakeholders to
collectively examine the causes of racial inequity in their community Pacific Islander (.1%)
White (38.1%)
and develop solutions that will help young people, especially youth
of color, avoid and escape the school-to-prison pipeline.
Total District Population:
Want to learn more? To see RERCs for other school districts or the 54,530
state, learn more about the RERCs, and access additional resources,
visit us at www.youthjusticenc.org/racial-equity-report-cards.

• • • • • • • • • IN THIS DISTRICT • • • • • • • • •

2.6X 6.3X 5.5X


White students in grades 3-8 Black youth were 5.5 times
were 2.6 times more likely to Black students were 6.3 times
more likely than White youth
score “Career and College more likely than White
to be referred to juvenile
Ready” on end-of-grade exams students to receive a short-
delinquency court. (2017)
than Black students. (2017-18) term suspension. (2016-17)

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School Year 2017-18
SCHOOL PERSONNEL Students by Race Teachers by Race

A diverse school staff representative of the


student body is one important way to help 33% 21%
29%
equalize opportunities for students of
color. A recent study revealed that low- 5%
income Black students in North Carolina 74%
who had at least one Black teacher in 38%
elementary school were significantly more
likely to graduate high school and consider Principals by Race Asst. Principals by Race
attending college. Despite this, North
Carolina’s teaching force remains 48%
35%
disproportionately White. In 2017-18, 79%
of the state’s teachers were White, even 2%
though only 48% of the state’s student
population was White. 65%
50%

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Students who are behind academically are more likely to have attendance issues, experience behavior struggles, and
drop out of school. Statewide, only 30% of Black students in grades 3-8 scored “College and Career Ready” on their
final exams, compared to 62% of White students in 2017-18. While standardized test scores are not a reliable
measure of true ability for all students, they serve as the basis for many important decisions (e.g. course placement,
grade promotion). Thus, low test scores negatively impact a student’s overall academic opportunities and outcomes.

100 School Year 2017-18


% of Students in 72.8 67.3
Grades 3-8 Scoring
46.8 45.9 43.9
"College and Career 50
25.8 28.6
Ready" on End-of-
Grade Exams*
0
Am. Indian Asian Black Hispanic Multi-Racial White Overall

100
% of Students in 75.9
68.1
Grades 9-12 Scoring
44.4 48.7 46.9
"College and Career 50
31.1
28.7
Ready" on End-of-
Course Exams*
0
Am. Indian Asian Black Hispanic Multi-Racial White Overall

100 91.5 89.3


80.0 84.2 80.5 84.5
75.4
% of Students Who
Graduate High 50
School Within 4
Years of Entering*
0
Am. Indian Asian Black Hispanic Multi-Racial White Overall

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SCHOOL DISCIPLINE
`
Any time a student spends out of the classroom for disciplinary reasons is
time that student is not learning. Research shows that out-of-school 2016-17 DISTRICT OVERVIEW
suspension is ineffective at correcting student misbehavior and, instead,
increases a student’s chances of experiencing negative academic Short-Term
outcomes and future court involvement. Further, the use of suspension Suspensions (STS) 9,111
has no measurable positive impact on overall school safety.
(1-10 school days)
Importantly, some students are more likely to receive a suspension.
Statewide, Black students received 57% of all short-term suspensions, High School STS Rate
even though they made up only 25% of the student population in 2016- 18.37
(Per 100 Students)
17. This disproportionality exists despite the fact that studies show Black
and White students misbehave at similar rates.
Long-Term Suspensions
While many schools have decreased suspensions in recent years, there 18
has been an increase in other discipline measures that take students out (more than 10 days)
of their normal classroom or school, such as in-school suspension or
transfers to alternative schools. Like suspension, these measures disrupt
student learning and are often ineffective unless appropriate support is Expulsions (indefinite) 1
provided in the alternative setting.

% of Short-Term Suspensions by Race †


100 School Year 2016-17 % of Students by Race
2017-18
90
80
70 60.8
60
50
40
30 20.3 American Indian (.2%)
20 13.2
Asian (2.6%)
10 5.0 Black (28.7%)
0.3 0.2
0 Hispanic (26.2%)
Multi-Racial (4.1%)
Pacific Islander (.1%)
White (38.1%)

Short-Term Suspension Rates by Race†


School Year 2016-17
---- MISSING INFORMATION ----
Overall 16.7
Unfortunately, statewide data is not
White 5.6 publicly available for many important
measures such as:
P. Islander 27.3 • Use of in-school suspension at the
school and district level
Multi-Racial 20.5
• Suspensions disaggregated by
Hispanic 13.4 offense, grade, length, etc.
• Assignments to alternative
Black 35.8 programs
• School-based arrests & use of force
Asian 1.6
These are only a few examples of data
Am. Indian that should be collected and reported by
the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

0.0 Number of Short-Term


20.0 Suspensions
40.0 Per 100 60.0
Students 80.0

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COURT INVOLVEMENT
` Criminalization of youthful misbehavior has
2017 COUNTY OVERVIEW immediate and long-term consequences. Studies
show youth who are court involved are more likely to
Total # of Juvenile Court Complaints 1,135 reoffend and experience lifelong entanglement in the
criminal system. Furthermore, court involvement can
Total # of Juvenile Detention Admissions 125 impact a youth’s access to education, employment,
housing, public benefits, voting rights, and other
sources of opportunity and support. Statewide, 42%
% of Juvenile Complaints in County of juvenile court referrals came from schools in
that were School Based 2017-18. Further, 54% of all juvenile complaints were
July 2016-June 2017 filed against Black youth even though they make up
only a quarter of the population.
The data in this section only includes youth under 16
years old. In North Carolina, all 16- and 17-year-olds
are automatically sent to the adult criminal system
44% regardless of the offense. This will change in
56% December 2019 when most youth under age 18 will
instead be sent to the juvenile system, with only the
most serious offenses sent to adult criminal court.
However, until this change takes effect, data on
arrests and detention for youth who are 16 and older
School Based Complaints is not publicly available.
Non-School Based Complaints

% of Juvenile Complaints by Race** % of Juvenile Detention Admissions by Race**


Calendar Year 2017 Calendar Year 2017
100
100 90
90
80
80
70
70 56.0
60 52.0 60
50 50
40 40
28.1 27.2
30 30
20 15.1 20 10.4
4.6 6.4
10 10
0 0

Data Notes:
*Lack of data in a category indicates the district did not have sufficient data Youth Justice Project of the Southern
for reporting in that category. Percentages greater than 95 or less than 5
are reported by the state as >95 and <5 respectively. Here, they are Coalition for Social Justice works to
displayed as 95 and 5 respectively. ensure equity, fairness, and justice for
† In some instances, it is impossible to know the exact number of
suspensions for a racial group because of the way suspension data is
youth in high-quality education,
publicly reported. If there is enough data to approximate percentages or juvenile, and criminal systems.
rates by race, the RERCs display those approximations. All approximations
are equal to or slightly lower than the actual percentages or rates. For more information, visit us at
**Lack of data in a racial subgroup indicates the county reported less than youthjusticenc.org.
5 complaints or detention admissions in that subgroup.

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