• Category 3

    Selected in 2024

  • Grades: k - 12
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 47,833
    Student Enrollment: 1,192
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 52%
    White/Caucasian: 2%
    Hispanic: 40%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0.1%
    Other: 4%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 17%
    Founded: 1997
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Glenn Reaves
  • CONTACT:
    1004 Herring Ave. E
    Wilson, NC 27893
    404-554-6251
    sfoster@sallieb.net
Sallie B. Howard School
Wilson, NC
"We have a culture of accountability and high expectations that drives our standard of excellence."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Established in 1997, Sallie B. Howard was the first charter school in Wilson County and one of the first in the state. We are a Title I school serving K-12 students primarily from low-income families.

Still, we are in the top 1% in N.C. for academic growth. For the last decade, SBHS has exceeded growth on state exams with most recently 80% of our 3rd-8th graders passing the end-of-grade test and 93% of our high school students passing their end-of-course tests.

52% of our students in the SWD (“Students with Disabilities”) category passed the EOG last year compared to 19% in the state and 21% in Wilson County. Our English Learners are exiting the ESL program at a rate 5 times that of the county.

In 2021, we were the only charter school in N.C. to win a National Blue Ribbon School Award.

We’ve averaged about a 7% increase in enrollment each year for the last 10 years. We opened with 285 students in grades K-6 in 1997. In 2014-2015, we went from 794 students to now 1192.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
The greatest contributing factor to our success is that we believe the students can learn and we have teachers and staff who do the hard work to support that belief. We have a general culture of accountability and high expectations at our school that drives our standard of excellence. That standard was inspired by our namesake Sallie Baldwin Howard, a local legend and native of Wilson County. She was an educator, actress, playwright and world traveler who taught in the NYC public school system for 40 years.

Three years ago, we changed from pulling EC students out of regular instruction classes to keeping them in these classes and “pushing in” EC teachers to support their individual needs. The advantage of this is that the student gets both expert-level instruction and customized support in the same room while learning among their peers. This has made a tremendous difference in our EC students’ academic performance and confidence.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
ESEA funding supports various needs for our school in the EC department. We primarily use these funds to pay salaries for EC teachers and instructional assistants. The funds, when available, also help us hire one-to-one services for students who need individualized attention. We have an ongoing need for qualified instructional expertise and ESEA funding helps us meet that need.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
SBHS utilizes research-based professional development activities to enhance teaching and learning. Key initiatives include targeted training in creating a classroom environment of high expectations, the Nurtured Heart Approach, reading and writing instruction, brain-based teaching strategies, small group instruction, and data analysis to support student success.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) serve as a collaborative platform where teachers create effective and engaging lesson plans, design rigorous and aligned assessments, analyze student data, share best practices, and refine their instructional approaches.

To ensure consistency, we rely on “Teach Like a Champion” as a foundational resource for establishing a unified instructional framework. Additionally, “Get Better Faster” informs our coaching practices, helping us provide focused, actionable feedback to accelerate teacher growth. These professional development efforts are purposeful and have proven effective.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
We’ve always had a distinct culture of character, diversity and high expectations at SBHS. However, as our school has grown over the last 5 years, we have actually elevated our standards. We adopted a promotion and retention policy that emphasizes the importance of students passing both their classes and state exams in order to be promoted. We are the only school in Wilson County with this policy. We also updated our discipline guidelines to make them clear and consistent and to give less tolerance for incidents such as bullying, fights, substance use, etc.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Sallie B. Howard School would not exist without the support of the community. We were created out of a need to support underserved youth in Wilson County.

SBHS began as the Youth Enrichment Program, a summer camp founded in 1989 by Dr. JoAnne Woodard. After 8 successful summers serving 400 children each year thanks to the support of churches, elected officials and community leaders, YEP established a charter school – Sallie B. Howard - in 1997.

We have educated multiple generations of families who have trusted us with their education. This has anchored our enrollment growth.

We hold partnerships with numerous community institutions such as Wilson Community College, Barton College, Fayetteville State University, East Carolina University, Wilson Arts, Girl Scouts, Foundation YMCA, The United Way’s “The SPOT,” Wilson 4H, and Sipnayan Math Center. These organizations allow us to offer programs such as biotechnology, arts, student teaching, afterschool clubs, tutoring, and care.
Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2024

  • Grades: k - 12
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 47,833
    Student Enrollment: 1,192
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 52%
    White/Caucasian: 2%
    Hispanic: 40%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0.1%
    Other: 4%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 17%
    Founded: 1997
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Glenn Reaves
  • CONTACT:
    1004 Herring Ave. E
    Wilson, NC 27893
    404-554-6251
    sfoster@sallieb.net