The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on One Academy
ONE Academy is a small alternative school serving grades 6 through 12 in Siler City, Chatham County, with an enrollment of about twenty students. As an alternative program, it serves a different population and purpose than a traditional public school, functioning as an option for students who do not thrive in mainstream settings.
The school's enrollment skews heavily toward economic need, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is racially diverse, with roughly equal representation among White, multiracial, Black, and Hispanic students. Grade distribution shows concentrations in grades 7, 9, and 11, with lighter enrollment in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12, a pattern typical of alternative programs that work with smaller cohorts and variable persistence.
State testing data for grades 3 through 8 shows proficiency in English language arts at roughly the middle range, with solid progress in reading. Math proficiency is substantially lower, sitting well below the state standard. It is important to note that ONE Academy's very small tested cohort in this data makes year-to-year comparison fragile; a parent may want to look into further detail with the school on how individual students are tracked and supported in math specifically, and how the school approaches skill building in both subjects given the alternative setting.
Data on graduation rate, attendance, chronic absenteeism, and special-population identification were not available from the state reporting sources accessed. These measures are often not reported for alternative schools, which frequently serve students on nontraditional pathways and may not generate the same state-level public data as traditional schools. A parent interested in ONE Academy should ask the school directly about persistence to graduation, student goals beyond high school, and the specific support systems the program offers.
Siler City itself is a small Piedmont town undergoing major industrial transformation. Mountaire Farms operates a large poultry plant, and Wolfspeed is building a major silicon carbide manufacturing facility nearby that is expected to bring substantial employment growth and housing demand to the area over the next several years. The town's downtown, centered on Chatham Avenue, has a walkable historic core with local shops, cafes, and the NC Arts Incubator, though much of the town is car-dependent. Public transit connects Siler City to Chapel Hill and Pittsboro via the Chatham Transit Network. Housing values in the zip code are moderately below state average, though growth and industrial investment are beginning to reshape the local real estate market.
Chatham County Schools has invested in instructional change through a district-wide shift to the Science of Reading approach and is planning significant infrastructure expansion driven by growth at Chatham Park and new major employers. The district has raised property taxes twice in recent years to fund school operations and staff compensation, a meaningful change for homeowners. ONE Academy's role as an alternative program within this growing district is to serve students with different needs and pathways than traditional schools offer, though the specifics of how it integrates into the district's broader academic and support structures warrant direct conversation with school leadership.
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