Relentless Focus on Teaching, Learning, Leads North Carolina Schools to Accolades

National Heritage Academies® (NHA®) schools in North Carolina strive to challenge students to reach their highest academic potential, and they are accomplishing this goal. All 16 NHA schools in the state were recently recognized for either meeting or exceeding growth for the 2025-26 school year. They join 73% of the schools in the state by having either met or exceeded growth.

NHA’s directors of school quality who support North Carolina, Lori Hill, Wendy Barajas, and Steve Pond shared their reactions to this accomplishment.

“We are thrilled with all our schools,” Hill said. “This level of growth did not happen by accident. Our leaders maintained a relentless focus on teaching and learning, studied the data, spent time in classrooms, gave honest feedback, and made adjustments when students weren't progressing.”

School accountability growth is calculated by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) using all End of Grade (EOG) and End of Class (EOC) test scores in English and math, using a value-added growth model.

Schools whose academic growth progressed at the expected rate during a single year of instruction, as measured by state standards, earn a status of met growth. When students grow significantly more than expected, the school earns a status of exceeded growth. Schools who fall short of expected growth receive a status of not meeting growth.

Met Growth:

Exceeded Growth (after not meeting growth in 2024-25 school year):

After not meeting growth in the 2024-25 school year, four NHA schools moved to exceeding growth for the 2025-26 year. Hill said the DSQ team is extremely proud of what they were able to accomplish.

“They each faced different challenges throughout the school year, but the leader's mindset to succeed no matter what the barriers were, made the difference,” Hill said. “The leaders and teachers refused to give up on what our students could achieve. They were laser-focused on each student's data, took time to meet one-on-one with each student frequently, set goals, and celebrated success.”

Exceeded Growth (after meeting growth in 2024-25 school year):

DSQ Pond said that schools which exceeded growth after meeting growth the previous year stayed focused on student learning and responded when adjustments needed to be made. One of those adjustments changed how students reviewed lessons they may have missed or didn’t fully grasp.

“Each school made the strategic decision to engage students and reteach missed standards during the last 10 days of school, rather than during summer school. Students re-learning and retaking during the school year allowed a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their progress and success.”

Exceeded Growth (Exceeded growth in previous year):

Three NHA schools in the state remained in the exceeding growth category from the 2024-25 school year. These schools continue to make gains, and DSQ Barajas said this kind of growth begins with stability inside the school.

“One of the biggest goals we have for our schools is stability. We know that stable leadership, a consistent teaching staff, and steady student enrollment are all critical to sustained success. Stability allows a school to build momentum instead of starting over each year.”

She said it’s clear that when leaders and teachers remain committed to a school, they develop a deeper understanding of their students, families, community, and academic needs.

“Strong systems become embedded, expectations remain consistent, and teams can build upon what worked rather than constantly rebuilding.”

Congratulations to all these schools for their commitment to provide exceptional education opportunities to their students!