Middle school can often prove to be a particularly challenging time for young people and their families. Brogden Middle School educators know this and have worked collaboratively to ensure that they address the issues their students face head on while ensuring that they continue to progress academically. This was made evident by Brogden’s 2025-26 accountability data recently released by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Brogden Principal Desirae Smith credits a culture where everyone takes responsibility for student success by not only doing the best they can do in their own roles, but also looking out for everyone else as much as they can.
“It’s all about collective responsibility,” said Smith, who took the Brogden Helm at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. “I launched the theme of ‘Our Brogden’ and issued the charge to our stakeholders that we all have the responsibility to support our school, our students, our staff, and the whole community.”
Crystal-clear communications and transparency are key to the school’s impressive increase in student performance over the last year, added Smith.
“We welcome all ideas to the table to make it work for our school,” she said. The implementation of many of those ideas has resulted in a pretty amazing data report. According to 2025-26 accountability data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction:
Brogden Exceeded Growth for the school year, with an 11-point increase in its overall proficiency rate;
Its growth index rate of 4.67 (91.1 percent of students showed growth) placed it in the top 10 percent for growth among all schools in the state of North Carolina;
Brogden’s raw mathematics growth index was 8.86, tied for 14th out of 1,995 North Carolina schools with valid mathematics growth;
The school ranked 17th out of 412 middle schools in the percentage of students exiting English Learner (EL) status, meaning they had become fluent enough to be considered English speakers; and,
Brogden moved from a grade of D to a grade of C due to all of its improvements.
Using data to identify needs and accelerate learning
Assessing how students are learning and where they might need extra help is important in increasing student performance, said Krystle Glover, Brogden Assistant Principal for Seventh Grade.
“We are big on data and on making sure that parents are aware where their students are in their learning,” said Glover. “We share BOY (Beginning of the Year) assessments. We have meetings with specific students about their data and follow up to let parents know, making sure they’re aware of their data and academic goals for the school year.”
Data-driven decision-making is one of four focus areas that serves as a framework for how Brogden staff accomplish their goals. The remaining three are:
High-impact teaching strategies (HITS), a core set of 10 instructional practices including setting goals, structuring lessons, and modeling skills developed by educational expert John Hattie;
Holistic wellness for all, which includes the sense of belonging and community culture mentioned above; and,
Professional development, which includes finding standard practices in a common language for all teachers.
Building a sense of belonging through student voice
Establishing and maintaining a culture where everyone feels safe and comfortable is essential for the focus to remain squarely around learning, said Smith.
“We wanted to hone in on a sense of belonging for everyone at our school,” she said. “We have created a school community and culture where we are intentional about celebrating the success of our students and staff in front of each other.”
Celebrations throughout the year include pep rallies for End-of-Grade (EOG) tests, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Black History Month, among others. Club Days provide students with many opportunities to interact through activities that have been curated based on their own interests, says Roderick Boyles, Assistant Principal for Eighth Grade.
“I think we do a great job of hearing our student’s voices,” said Boyles. “We conduct surveys and we listen to our students and actually follow through with what we can do to address the things they want. It’s not a club that’s just generated by adults; we also listen to what they say and implement some of the activities that they’re interested in and motivate them to become interested.”
Clubs include Knot (a crocheting club), Lego, Mindfulness, Math, Random Acts of Kindness, Dungeons and Dragons, Cookies and Coloring (students are offered milk and cookies while they quietly color, a proven calming activity) Digital Games, Drama, Gardening, and the “Leal” Club, for Hispanic females to be empowered to celebrate themselves and their culture (Leal means “loyal” in English)..
Boyles added that some students requested outdoor activities during lunch break, so a Donors Choose grant provided basketball, baseball, and volleyball equipment.
Principal Smith added that Brogden launched a Community School partnership with Student U, which offers resources to help the school with academics and personal resources such as food and clothing. Lincoln Community Health Center offers free health screenings and physicals for families and students.
Strong relationships help every student thrive
Brogden teachers and administrators make a point of getting to know their students on a personal level and to build trust so they will listen and learn, said Dr. Sharon Griffith, Assistant Principal for Sixth Grade.
“It’s the building of relationships from the minute our students come through the door, understanding their stories and backgrounds that they bring to us,” said Dr. Griffith. “When they know we care about them, they will care about engaging in learning.”
All of this and much more has lifted Brogden to new heights in engaging students and families for improved learning, setting the stage for greater success in years to come.
“We have developed a natural and organic kind of caring for students, so no one gets left behind,” said Dr. Griffith. “We embrace it all - the highs and the lows and everything in between.”