Lowe’s Grove Middle School is enjoying a period of significant transformation. New leadership has re-energized staff, students, and families alike. And it all starts with ensuring that students know they are welcomed, seen, and supported.

Creating a culture of belonging

“Our big focus area is making sure that our kids do feel a sense of belonging; making sure our kids know they do belong here, and this school is truly about them,” said veteran Durham Public Schools Principal Dr. Letisha Judd, who came to Lowe’s Grove in fall 2024. “It’s really about building relationships and having a systematic way of engaging our students.”

The school moved out of the state’s designated low-performing status and exceeded growth during the 2025-2026 year. The school met its North Carolina School Report Card academic growth goals for the 2024-25 school year. 

“We made awesome gains in 6th- and 7th-grade math in school year 2024-2025,” said Judd, who added that the school’s sharp focus around reducing suspensions and restorative practices has largely contributed to improved student achievement.

In the last two years, Lowe’s Grove’s student suspension rate has plummeted from 27 percent to under 10 percent. That’s no accident. It’s the result of a concerted effort to support families in ensuring their children are not only in school every day, but are also enjoying the experience of being there.

Improving attendance through strengthened communication with families

“What we’ve done differently is learning how to identify barriers to kids coming to school,” said Dr. Judd. “There are a lot of factors outside of school that can impact kids’ coming to school.”

Krystal Brothers is a school counselor at Lowe’s Grove. The key to ensuring better attendance is to meet with students who have noticeable attendance issues, then to reach out to parents to work together to address those issues, she said. This may at times include in-person meetings with families.

“We hold attendance-team meetings where we pull in families, administrators, and counselors,” said Brothers, who added that these efforts often shed light on a number of issues that might be impeding attendance. “It’s just different things, such as the families may have lost their jobs, or there may be transportation issues.”

Once those issues are identified, Lowe’s Grove officials are able to work toward solutions, she said. That’s when effective learning can begin to take place.

Collaboration drives academic growth

Henry Moore teaches sixth-grade math at Lowe’s Grove. Moore believes that instilling confidence in students early on will result in greater academic growth.

“It’s really about setting expectations and understanding where the kids are coming from,” said Moore. “It’s about knowing what kids need to know, seeing what they do know, and what they need to do when they come into the classroom.” Moore added that he provides independent learning practices for his students to assess where they are and where they need to be.  

Moore also meets regularly with other teachers to discuss student progress and how they can work together to address learning gaps.

“The science teacher and I will discuss the content I’m covering in math so we can target those students who need that additional math support,” said Moore. “We talk about which students are doing well, ‘What do you see on your end? Are you seeing the same thing? Maybe we need to contact the parents. Is the child keeping up in your class?’”

Supporting teachers to sustain success

Teacher support and professional development is crucial to classroom success, said Jennifer Jaymes, a teaching and learning coach at Lowe’s Grove. The school has resurrected the Professional Learning Community (PLC) framework. This is where teachers meet regularly to analyze student data, share best practices, and develop effective teaching strategies.

“We really created a safe space to talk about student learning, and what we needed to do,” said Jaymes about PLCs. “We’ve got some ownership and we are building some teacher leaders. Now that we are able to be focused on teaching and not just managing behaviors, we can do those things.”

Lowe’s Grove has created a comprehensive plan, which includes a strong Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for students. Dr. Judd also prioritizes professional development that will help ensure teachers know how to best interpret student achievement data to improve their instructional practices.

Social and emotional learning supports are also critical to Lowe’s Grove transformation. Lowe’s Grove utilizes the “Capturing Kids’ Hearts principles, which is a school culture framework that supports and strengthens relationship building, thus enhancing the school’s commitment to meeting students’ social and emotional learning needs.

“Being a Capturing Kids Heart school supports my vision of students feeling safe, seen, heard, and valued,” said Dr. Judd. 

She added that the supports in place for students, teachers, and families will help continue the upward trend the school is experiencing in both academic and cultural arenas.

“We are always striving for data-driven improvements,” said Dr. Judd. “Building our system around how we collect and respond to data has been really impactful, as we look at access, experiences, and opportunities for students.”