The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Gillespie Park Elementary
Gillespie Park Elementary is a small public school serving early childhood through fifth grade in Greensboro. The school serves a substantial and concentrated population of economically disadvantaged students: nearly all qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Black, with a Hispanic minority and very small shares of Asian and White students.
The school's academic performance on state testing is below grade. In the most recent results, across the grades tested, fewer than one third of students met proficiency in English language arts, and the math proficiency rate was lower still. Science proficiency, measured only in limited grades, was particularly low. The state testing framework underwent changes this year in science assessments, so direct year-over-year comparisons for that subject are not straightforward; the data does not provide prior-year results to establish a trend. Without comparable prior data, a parent cannot tell whether the school is improving, holding steady, or declining. The school itself is not positioned among Guilford County's other districts for direct comparison, since the comparison universe applies to districts, not individual schools.
The school sits in Greensboro, a mid-sized Piedmont city with a mixed economy spanning health care, higher education, textiles and manufacturing, and growing logistics. The downtown is compact and anchored by civic institutions, cultural centers, and colleges. Most of the city is auto-oriented, though historic in-town neighborhoods and districts near the universities offer some walkability. Greensboro is in a period of substantial residential growth, with multiple new residential projects underway and the city targeting a significant increase in housing units over the next few years. The housing market is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks and has declined slightly year-over-year, while rental housing has ticked up modestly.
Guilford County Schools as a whole passed a major capital bond in 2022 that will rebuild and renovate a large swath of aging school facilities over many years. This is a significant reshaping effort, and families considering the area should ask the school directly where Gillespie Park sits in the construction and renovation timeline. The district also adopted new math instructional materials in middle schools and aligned several policies with state parental notification and curriculum requirements, changes that affect the learning environment.
A parent weighing Gillespie Park should ask the school about the academic supports in place to move proficiency higher, what the school's trajectory looks like in recent years, and where the school prioritizes intervention. The low proficiency numbers warrant direct conversation with school leadership about how the school is approaching improvement and what role a family might play in supporting their child's learning at home.
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