Four students from Purnell Swett High School belted out the chorus of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” their voices melding in harmony.
“If you want to make the world a better place, then look at yourself and then make a change,” the students sang to a crowd of local and state educators at Lumberton High School’s auditorium on Monday evening.
State schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green was at the Robeson County event to talk about Achieving Educational Excellence, a five-year strategic plan that launched in August. The initiative aims to make North Carolina’s schools the best in the nation by improving reading and math scores, increasing graduation rates, enrolling more students in advanced and technical classes, and more.
“Best in nation is a feeling that when folks cross the borders coming into North Carolina, they need to know that they’ve landed in a place where public education is unlike any other, that it indeed is different and better,” Green said.
Green has been visiting school districts across the state, and he stopped in Robeson County before his tour wraps up this week. He said it’s important to understand the unique needs and challenges schools face.
In the Sandhills, which stretches from Montgomery County to Columbus County, 48.6 percent of students were proficient on tests last school year—the lowest rate among eight regions of the state identified by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. Statewide, 55 percent of students were proficient.
Public Schools of Robeson County saw a proficiency rate of 37.5 percent.
Green said it’s challenging to provide a high-quality education in low-income communities. Nearly 29 percent of people in Robeson County lived in poverty in 2023, compared to about 13 percent statewide. Initiatives like the Communities In Schools that focus on integrated services beyond education are crucial, he said.
Ron Hargrave, executive director of the Sandhills Regional Education Consortium, agreed.
“Poverty brings about its own set of challenges,” he said, “but in this region we use that as motivation to make sure that we’re doing everything we’ve been able to do to give our children the best opportunities to experience success.”
Green’s visit came three days after 16-year-old Nehemiah Locklear was killed in a mass shooting in Robeson County. A 49-year-old man was also killed, and 11 others were injured.
Nehemiah was a student at Purnell Swett High School, according to Jessica Sealey, a spokesperson for the school district. Grief counselors were at the school to meet with students on Monday.
Benchmarks
The Achieving Educational Excellence was released after the state Department of Public Instruction hosted eight listening sessions, gathered online feedback and visited schools. Green asked the public a series of questions, including what should be celebrated and what needs to change.
Green said some people wanted to see pay raises for teachers, and some pushed for school upgrades and additional resources for mental health.
The feedback helped shape the plan, which draws from three overarching goals: high academic achievement, character development, and audaciousness.
Among the benchmarks is increasing the state’s four-year high school graduation rate from 88 percent in 2026 to 92 percent by 2030. Another is to increase average fourth-grade reading scores by eight points and math scores by five points.
Local officials said they were up to the challenge.
“It’s very competitive, and we in the Sandhills are not afraid of competition,” Hargrave said.