Dallas County schools raise state report card grade to C from D

Dallas County Schools raised their grade on latest Alabama State Report Card released by the Alabama State Department of Education last week to a C with a score of 75. That’s up from a D grade and a score of 69 last year.

The report card, which was posted to the Alabama State Department of Education website on Dec. 14, gives school systems an overall grade and numerical scores in the areas of academic achievement; student improvement in reading, English and math; career or college readiness; graduation rate; and the percentage of students who miss 18 or more days of school (chronic absenteeism). 

The Dallas County Schools system increased in every category, including a jump from a college and career readiness score of 37.3 in 2022 to 69.1 in 2023. Absenteeism creeped up from 29.7 to 33.8. 

Dallas County Superintendent Anthony Sampson noted in a statement that in addition to the district’s advancement to a C, “the vast majority of schools in the Dallas County School System either maintained or increased individual letter grades.”

Sampson said, “This achievement is a result of the collaborative dedication of our educators, students, parents and community partners. We are proud of the progress we have made, and this success inspires us to continue working toward making Great Things Happen for our Students.”

Sampson told the Selma Sun that the system is working with the Helping Family Initiative to curb chronic absenteeism. “We’re not approaching it from a punitive approach but from a holistic perspective with wrap around services to give a kid a better chance if issue x, y or z is dealt with.”

For a look at other scores for school systems in the Black Belt, go here.