The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Science. The lowest is 48% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hanes Magnet School
Hanes Magnet School is a middle school serving grades six through eight in Winston-Salem, located in a city that rebuilt its economy over the past two decades around healthcare, higher education, and advanced manufacturing while preserving its historic downtown and industrial legacy. The school sits in a zip code where housing values and rents remain moderate compared to national benchmarks, and the immediate enrollment picture reflects the economic composition of its attendance area.
The student body is economically disadvantaged at a very high rate, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic makeup is diverse, with Hispanic students forming the largest group, followed by white and Black students, and a smaller Asian population. The school serves a population typical of urban middle schools in lower-income neighborhoods, which shapes both the support needs and the peer environment a family would be entering.
On state testing, the school's results sit below the midpoint. In English language arts, roughly half of students tested proficient or above. In math, the proficiency rate was lower, under half. Science showed the strongest performance among the three tested subjects, though the science assessment changed in design and cut scores that year, which limits direct comparison to prior years. These outcomes suggest that the school faces real academic challenge, and families should understand that this is an environment where many students are working toward grade-level mastery rather than performing ahead.
The school's profile also carries important gaps in data. Counts for special education enrollment and English learners are not reported, so a parent cannot assess from this record what specialized services or language-support infrastructure exists. Information about disciplinary climate, teacher staffing levels, attendance rates, and course offerings beyond the standard curriculum is unavailable. These are practical questions worth asking the school directly: whether there are advanced pathways in any subject, how behavior and school safety are managed, what intervention and tutoring programs run, and what the actual English learner and special education populations look like.
The magnet designation in the school's name does not correspond to documented magnet programming in the data provided, so clarification with the school about what "magnet" means for enrollment and curriculum would be useful. The school is part of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, a large urban district that recently adopted a modified academic calendar starting earlier in August and ending in late May, a scheduling change families using summer programs or managing childcare should note.
Winston-Salem itself is a growing mid-sized city with a revitalized downtown, walkable Innovation Quarter district built on former tobacco-industry land, and expanding residential and mixed-use development. The local housing market is affordable relative to national norms, and major employers include healthcare systems, Wake Forest University, and manufacturing operations. This context is relevant because school enrollment, peer composition, and family stability often track with local economic opportunity and neighborhood trajectory. The city is in an upswing, but the neighborhoods immediately surrounding this school are economically stretched, which aligns with the high free-lunch rate.
A family considering Hanes Magnet School should approach the choice with eyes open to what the testing data shows: a middle school where academic outcomes are modest, where the peer group is predominantly low-income and non-white, and where detailed information about specialized supports and programming is sparse in the public record. This is not inherently a reason to avoid the school; many strong schools serve exactly this population and build meaningful academic and social outcomes. But the testing results do signal that additional inquiry is warranted. A parent should ask what academic interventions the school uses, whether there are honors or advanced sections, what happens for students significantly below grade level, and what the school's trajectory looks like year to year. The absence of trend data in the public reporting makes that question especially important.
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