NC Schools Get $1.7M to Boost Student Achievement

Three schools in New Hanover County just won a massive opportunity to change thousands of students' lives.

New Hanover County Schools received $1.7 million in federal grants spread over three years to help close achievement gaps at Rachel Freeman Elementary, Forest Hills Elementary, and Williston Middle School. The Comprehensive Support & Improvement grant targets schools serving students from lower-income families who need extra support.

The funding comes at a crucial time. These three schools have struggled with state performance ratings, but now they have real resources to turn things around. Williston Middle will receive $150,590 annually, while Forest Hills gets $80,744 and Rachel Freeman receives $65,140.

The schools aren't wasting a penny. Most of the money is going directly to hiring tutors who can work one-on-one with students who are falling behind. Teachers will also get professional development training to better support exceptional children, multilingual learners, and economically disadvantaged students.

Williston Middle has set ambitious goals: improving test scores and attendance by 5% each year while cutting discipline referrals by 10%. Rachel Freeman aims to get 70-75% of students meeting their growth targets. Forest Hills is tracking progress through state assessments and specialized monitoring tools.

The schools are also investing in teacher planning time. Substitutes will cover classes so tutors and special education teachers can collaborate with general education teachers on strategies that work.

Why This Inspires

Twenty-four total schools in the district are getting support through this grant program. Beyond the three main recipients, another 12 schools received $14,253 each, and 11 more got $5,183 to address specific student subgroups performing below expectations.

What makes this story powerful isn't just the dollar amount. It's the recognition that struggling schools deserve investment, not abandonment. When Forest Hills Elementary moved out of the bottom 5% statewide but couldn't exit the program due to a technicality with their multilingual learner numbers, administrators fought to keep the funding rather than lose the designation.

That choice shows real commitment to kids over optics.

Board member Dr. Tim Merrick emphasized this is bonus funding on top of the regular budget, meaning it goes entirely toward extra support these students desperately need. No one is losing resources so these schools can gain.

Over the next three years, hundreds of students will get individualized tutoring, their teachers will learn cutting-edge classroom management techniques, and schools will track every bit of progress to ensure the investment pays off.

The best part? Success at these schools creates a roadmap for helping students everywhere.