Pinnacle Elementary School

09/07/2026

MYTH BUSTER MONDAY |

Myth:An “A” school is simply a school where lots of students are proficient.

Fact: An “A” reflects more than proficiency alone. While achievement accounts for 80% of a School Performance Grade, student growth accounts for the remaining 20%, and Cliffside Elementary School delivered exceptional results in both.

Last week, the State Board of Education released accountability results for the 2025–2026 school year, and Cliffside became the first traditional public school in Rutherford County to earn a School Performance Grade of A.

But the real story is what happened underneath the letter grade: Students reached even higher levels of achievement while also making even stronger academic growth.

Cliffside’s School Achievement Score rose from 77.4 to 85.0, a gain of 7.6 points. At the same time, its EVAAS Growth classification improved from Meets Expected Growth to Exceeds Expected Growth. Together, those gains increased Cliffside’s School Performance Score from 77 to 86, moving the school from a B to an A.

That distinction matters. Cliffside didn’t simply begin with high-achieving students and maintain their performance. It raised achievement substantially while also accelerating student growth.

The A is worth celebrating. The story behind it is even better.

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

This week’s is especially exciting as we welcome Eva Humphries, our new Strategic Growth and Development Coordinator for the RCS Education Foundation!

This new position was made possible through a Capacity Building Grant from Dogwood Health Trust, an investment designed to help strengthen the Foundation’s capacity to grow partnerships, expand resources, and create even more opportunities for RCS students and educators.

As a proud RCS graduate who chose to return home to Rutherford County, Eva brings a special connection to this work, and a passion for giving back to the schools and community that helped shape her.

We’re excited to see the partnerships, opportunities, and impact ahead!

Welcome home, Eva!

09/02/2026

We’re still looking for a bus driver at Pinnacle Elementary!

If you’re looking for a way to earn a little extra income while making a difference for our students, we’d love to hear from you. We will cover all licensing costs and help you through the process!

Interested or know someone who might be? Contact the school or email [email protected] for more information.

Please share and help us spread the word!

09/01/2026

TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY | When North Carolina releases annual school accountability results, one of the most visible measures is each school’s School Performance Grade. It provides an overall assessment of performance outcomes from the previous school year by combining two measures: student achievement and academic growth.

ACHIEVEMENT represents 80% of the School Performance Score, and GROWTH represents the remaining 20%.

The resulting School Performance Score is converted to a letter grade:

A: 85–100 | B: 70–84 | C: 55–69 | D: 40–54 | F: Below 40

Because achievement accounts for four-fifths of the calculation, the overall grade is influenced much more heavily by how students performed than by whether they met or exceeded expected academic growth. The School Performance Grade provides a useful summary of performance, but it does not tell the whole story.

08/31/2026

MYTH BUSTING MONDAY |

MYTH: School accountability, student achievement, and academic growth are interchangeable terms.

FACT: They describe related, but distinctly different, parts of North Carolina’s school accountability system.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT tells us how students performed against the state’s academic standards. It is based on state assessments and reflects the extent to which students demonstrated grade-level or course-level proficiency.

ACADEMIC GROWTH tells us how much progress students made based on their prior academic performance. A school can have high achievement and not meet expected growth, or lower achievement while exceeding expected growth. Those results aren’t contradictory. They answer different questions.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY brings these and other measures together to evaluate and report school performance across content areas and assessments.

The State Board of Education is expected to release 2025–2026 school accountability results soon. As those results arrive, remember:

Achievement tells us how students performed. Growth tells us how much progress they made. Accountability brings those measures together to describe school performance.

Understanding the results means knowing which question each measure answers.

08/30/2026

Weekly Update:

Check out this US Letter designed by Jennifer Walker.

08/28/2026

Keep track of important dates for the month of September! There are lots of exciting things happening school wide this month! 😊

08/28/2026

Access your Infinite Campus Parent Portal today!