The state school superintendent joined Macon County commissioners, school board members, school staff and N.C. Sen. Kevin Corbin for a tour of classrooms and campuses in Macon County.
The tour was scheduled while Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green was passing through Western North Carolina to share the department’s new strategic plan with the region. After finishing up his visit in Macon County, Green left to attend a public meeting in Swain County.
The meeting began as different officials, including Stephanie Laseter of the Board of Education, Macon County Schools Superintendent Josh Lynch, Commissioners Danny Antoine and Gary Shields and Corbin — as well as Green and his staff — gathered in the lobby of Franklin High School at 9 a.m. on Oct. 23.
The group was then escorted through the school by Brenna Tallent and Sara Crupi, members of the Franklin High School Student Leadership Team. The guests received smoothies at the foods and nutrition class, visited the nursing lab, observed students making picture frames in the woodshop and sat in on a Sheriff’s Office K9 demonstration with Sheriff Brent Holbrooks. Green attempted and failed to land a plane on one of the aviation class’s flight simulators. The group stopped at the Higdon property where they received an update on the new FHS building construction from Tracy Tallent, director of plant operations.
After leaving Franklin High, Green went on to tour Macon Middle School and Mountain View Intermediate.
DPI’s 2030 plan for public schools is titled “Achieving Educational Excellence” and seeks to make the state’s schools “the best in the United States of America” by 2030. Mark Dessauer, chief communications officer for Superintendent Green, said that goal could very well be possible if the state can improve per-student spending, given how much the state’s teachers are able to do with what they have.
Part of the plan includes efforts to improve post-education pathways for careers or higher education, which mirrors Macon County Schools’ focus on Career and Technical Education. The plan also prioritizes physical safety and mental health to create a positive school climate and seeks to “galvanize champions to fully invest in and support public education.”
DPI hope the plan will help it reach 2030 targets of a 92% graduation rate (up from 86.9%), 30% Advanced Placement participation (up from 21.5%) and 89% public school enrollment (up from 84%).
“Macon County Schools was honored to host Superintendent Green and members of NCDPI for a regional visit at Franklin High School,” said Lynch. “The visit provided an opportunity for Green to share his vision and priorities for North Carolina’s public schools while learning more about the innovative programs and student achievements within our district … We appreciated the opportunity to showcase the great work happening in our schools and value Superintendent Green’s commitment to expanding opportunities for students and educators across the state.”