State data released Wednesday shows that Latino students and English learners in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools made academic gains last school year despite heightened federal immigration enforcement.
Overall grade-level proficiency among Latino CMS students rose six percentage points, from 42% in 2024-25 to 48% in 2025-26. English learner proficiency rose three points to 30%.
The graduation rate for Latino CMS students also increased by more than five percentage points, from 75.5% in 2024-25 to 80.9% in 2025-26.
The 2025-26 school year included Operation Charlotte’s Web, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation in November that caused fear among many immigrant families in Charlotte.
CMS board member Liz Monterrey said the results are encouraging.
"Despite all of the turmoil in the community, we, this group, this Hispanic demographic, progressed, and I think that’s great," Monterrey said. "I think that the strategies and the tools and the support that we’re providing is working."
Still, Latino students trailed CMS overall in both grade-level proficiency and graduation rate. The districtwide proficiency rate was 61%, while the overall graduation rate was 87.9%.
Monterrey said CMS should examine attendance and school-by-school data to determine whether district-wide averages obscure the experiences of students most affected by immigration enforcement.
