UPDATE: Plans for the new Belmont Middle School
Work will begin soon on the new Belmont Middle School
Gaston County is one step closer to getting another new school.
On October 15, the Board of Education unanimously accepted a bid
from Beam Construction Company of Cherryville to build the new middle
school in Belmont. The campus will replace the current Belmont Middle
School on Central Avenue that is nearly 80 years old.
Beam Construction submitted a bid of $33.54 million to build the
school. Beam is the same company that built the new Pleasant Ridge
Elementary School in Gastonia, which opened in August 2017.
The new Belmont Middle School will be located on 78 acres of land on
South Point Road. It will be similar in concept and design to the new Stanley Middle School, which opened in March 2018. LS3P Associates is the architect
for the new Belmont school; LS3P also designed Stanley Middle.
The new two-story school will feature 155,000 square feet of space and be able to accommodate 1,000 students. The core areas of the school such as
the cafeteria and gymnasium will be built to accommodate 1,200 students to plan for future growth.
With the selection of Beam Construction as the general contractor, activity will begin soon at the site, which is just south of South Point High School.
Crews will begin clearing the land in the months ahead. Construction will take about 24 months with the school opening for the 2021-2022 academic year.
A groundbreaking ceremony is expected to take place in March 2019.
Funding for the new school is included in the $250 million school bond referendum that was approved by voters in the May 2018 primary election. The
county is expected to issue bonds this fall to pay for the new school.
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It is important to note that the four-year graduation rate is not the same
as the dropout rate, which indicates the number of students who drop out of
high school in a given year.
Some students need an extra year of high school to complete graduation
requirements. The district’s five-year cohort graduation rate is 89.3 percent,
which is a bit higher than last year’s five-year rate of 89.2. The five-year
cohort graduation rate reflects the number of students who entered the ninth
grade in 2013-2014 and graduated by June 2018.
“We are encouraged to have some gains in overall academic
achievement, and we congratulate the schools that saw improvements in
student proficiency and academic growth,” stated Superintendent of Schools
W. Jeffrey Booker. “Obviously, we want more substantial increases in student
achievement, and we want to see the district’s overall graduation rate exceed
90 percent – ideally, we want a 100 percent graduation rate. I am confident
that our schools will work diligently to build on their successes from last year
and achieve at an even higher rate this year.”
Booker added, “The testing and accountability data will be used to
determine our strengths and areas for improvement, and we will work
with our schools to ensure that students continue to grow, achieve, and
thrive. Our administrators, teachers, student support personnel, and many
others are committed to doing all that we can to help students excel in
the classroom and provide them with a school environment that is safe,
nurturing, and conducive for quality teaching and learning.”
Below are highlights from the 2017-2018 state test results:
percent. Proficiency is determined by the number of students scoring a Level
III, IV, or V (performing at or above grade level) on the state tests.
n During the 2017-2018 school year, Gaston County Schools had 23
schools to exceed academic growth expectations. In 2016-2017, 22 schools
exceeded growth. In 2015-2016, 20 schools exceeded growth, and 18
schools exceeded growth in 2014-2015.
n Among the elementary schools (grades 3-5), Hawks Nest, Belmont
Central, W.A. Bess, New Hope, Pinewood, Carr, Catawba Heights, Robinson,
and Cherryville had the highest proficiency rates.
n The elementary schools with the most significant increases in
proficiency compared to last year were Pleasant Ridge (+13.0), Catawba
Heights (+10.9), Carr (+10.7), and Hawks Nest (+9.7).
n Cramerton, Belmont, Gaston County Virtual Academy, and Holbrook
had the highest proficiency for middle schools (grades 6-8). York Chester
(+10.0) and Southwest (+5.1) had the most significant increases among
middle schools.
n Highland School of Technology and Gaston Early College had the
highest proficiency among the high schools (grades 9-12). Highland with 99.8
percent and Gaston Early College with 97.9 percent are among the top scores
in the state for student proficiency.
n The high schools with the most significant increases in proficiency were
Ashbrook (+4.7) and South Point (+4.6).
n Under the state testing and accountability program, students in grades
3-8 are tested in reading and math. Fifth and eighth grade students also
are tested in science. High school students take state tests in three subject
areas: Math I, Biology, and English II. n Gaston Early College and Highland received an A school performance
grade. The district has 13 schools that received a B grade: Ashbrook,
Belmont Central, Belmont Middle, W.A. Bess, Carr, Cherryville High, Stuart W.
Cramer, Cramerton, Forestview, Hawks Nest, New Hope, Page Primary, and
South Point.
n Overall student proficiency on the state end-of-grade and end-of-
course tests increased to 56.0 percent. When the state implemented new
testing standards in 2013-2014, the district’s proficiency rate was 50.2 The test scores released are preliminary results. The results will be
verified by the state and official results will be a part of the district and school
report cards, which will be issued this fall.
Parent Teacher Magazine• November/December 2018 • 5