Danielle Belton, the principal at Paw Creek Elementary, told the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education on Tuesday night that her goal is 100 percent — every one of her kindergartners leaving ready for first grade. She said it in a video presentation that opened the board's Goal 1 literacy monitoring report, and she framed the work behind the number in terms the data slides don't capture: "Being a kindergarten teacher is one of the toughest jobs anyone could ever have, because they're working not only to teach them, but to meet those social and emotional development and being their first teachers."

Then Superintendent Crystal Hill showed the board the math.

Sixty-three percent of K-2 students across Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are scoring at or above benchmark on the DIBELS early literacy assessment at the middle of the year. That is the highest mid-year mark since CMS began using DIBELS during the 2022-23 school year. It is also 16 percentage points short of the district's annual target of 79 percent.

The gap translates to 4,858 students who are not yet at or above benchmark. Of those, 3,385 are on track to get there by the end of the school year based on the most recent data from progress monitoring window number four. The remaining 1,473 need what the district calls "accelerated instruction" — intensified intervention in the final months of the year.

The five-year goal is to move K-2 literacy from 67 percent in June 2023 to 91 percent by June 2029. Last school year ended at 72 percent. The 25-26 target of 79 percent is the third step on that trajectory.

Sixty-Two Percent and Climbing

Sixty-two percent of CMS kindergartners are at or above benchmark at the middle of the year — the highest kindergarten MOY figure since DIBELS was implemented districtwide. The end-of-year target is 85 percent, meaning the district needs a 23-percentage-point gain in the remaining months of the school year.

For context: last year, 77 percent of kindergartners reached the mark by the end of the year. This year started at 44 percent and is now at 62 percent — an 18-point climb in the first half. Whether the second half can add another 23 points will determine whether CMS meets its most visible academic target.

The kindergarten-specific breakdown is sharper than the K-2 aggregate. Of the 2,150 kindergartners not yet at benchmark, 1,839 are on track based on progress monitoring window number four. The remaining 311 need accelerated instruction. Hill told the board that principals "know exactly who these students are and exactly what is needed for them to be able to be at or above benchmark by the end of the year."

Budget Math and Literacy Math in the Same Room

The monitoring report was the third of five updates on Goal 1 during the 25-26 school year. It landed in a meeting dominated by budget concerns — Hill had opened the evening with part two of her FY 2026-27 budget recommendation, a $2.1 billion proposal navigating enrollment decline, a reduction of more than $10 million in state planning allotments, and the fact that North Carolina remains the only state in the country without a passed budget.

Hill drew the connection between the two presentations explicitly. The district's theory of change — moving from a decentralized operational model to one built around Student Outcomes Focused Governance — is what produced the record DIBELS numbers. The budget, she argued, funds the system that produces the results.

"We aren't at the point of doing anything at this year's budget to reduce options for students," Hill told the board. "In fact, we are doubling down on the strong implementation of those options. But we are operating with prudence. We are concerned that without a significant change in funding at the state level, possibilities for students could be compromised."

The Paw Creek video that preceded the data made the investment tangible. One kindergartner, sounding out words on camera, put it in terms no data slide could: "I feel proud when I say the words all together."

What Comes Next

The board is scheduled to vote on the superintendent's recommended FY 2026-27 budget on April 28. The same meeting will include action on program choice recommendations for visual and performing arts, STEM, and world language programs — all presented during Tuesday's meeting as part of a broader review of CMS's program portfolio.

The fourth Goal 1 monitoring update, which will include end-of-year progress data, is expected later in the spring.

The district has closed nine points of the K-2 gap since August. It needs 16 more by June. The principals say they know every student by name. The budget says North Carolina hasn't passed one yet. Both of those things will matter by the time the end-of-year numbers come in.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education meets next on April 28.