February 20, 2026

BOARD RECOGNITIONS AT A GLANCE!!

Updates from Dr. White

Save the Dates

Joint Meeting with County Commissioners

May 4th- This is our regular meeting date.

MCS Board Retreat

March 24th - Poyner Spruill

School Visits

I am working with principals now to schedule our next school visits. I have reached out to WPS and EJH to seek date options. We are currently considering Friday, March 13th and Friday March 20th. Please let me know if either of these dates work for you. We would visit both schools between 8:15 and 11:30.

School Crime Rate Inaccuracy

We have submitted all paperwork to DPI to correct the crime data. We are still awaiting their update of the official report (spreadsheet) after which we will contact WITN to update their previous story.

Martin County High School Jr Chef Team

I'm incredibly proud to report that for the second consecutive year our junior chef team was in the top five finishers in the state. I had the pleasure of attending their virtual awards program where our team officially received a 3rd place medal. Our students' dishes focused on locally sourced products including chicken, rice, and vegetables. They represented MCS incredibly well and I could not be more proud of them!

Academic Updates

Data Meetings

Over the past week I've been meeting with each principal and their admin team to discuss their current data and progress. We have followed our MCS ten step data process, calling each child by name and looking at their strengths and weaknesses in order to ensure we are giving each of them the very best. I've been very impressed with the growth of our principals and their ability to use data to make informed instructional decisions for their school.

Writing Professional Development

Elementary teachers from across the district came together during Friday’s Teacher Workday for focused professional development on strengthening writing instruction in our classrooms.

Teachers had the opportunity to learn from Rebecca G. Harper, author of 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, who delivered an engaging and practical training designed to help educators nurture confident, capable writers from the earliest grades.

One participant described the session as “exciting and inspired,” reflecting the energy and enthusiasm felt throughout the day.

Through hands-on activities, meaningful discussion, and shared best practices, teachers explored new strategies for helping students develop strong foundations in storytelling, sentence structure, and self-expression.

MCHS 8th Grade Family Night

On Tuesday Martin County High School invited all 8th grade families to the innovation campus to explore the amazing possibilities for their rising high school student. Clubs, athletics, and course options were on display for students and their families to learn more about and ask questions. Both early college and traditional students were also invited to an information presentation following the floating event. It was a great night!

Odyssey of the Mind

Our regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament is next Saturday February 28th in Jacksonville. We will have four teams competing representing grades 3 through 8. Send them all of your positive vibes and well wishes!

Athletic Updates

Martin County High School Cheerleaders

Congratulations to our Martin County High School cheerleaders for bringing home the conference championship at their final competition this weekend!

Martin County Middle and High School Basketball

Our middle school hosted the conference tournament this weekend and did a fantastic job! While our boys lost in a nail biter by two points our girls took home the win and will play in the championship game on Monday at 4:00 PM at RMS. Our high school girls team lost in their second game of the tournament but will begin the playoffs next week at home. Our boys made it all the way to the final game and in a surprising twist lost in overtime to Northeastern. It was a fantastic game with awesome energy and no issues. Thank you to Elizabeth City State University for hosting the championship game. Our boys will also begin the playoffs this week with a first round home game.

Girls play at home on Tuesday at 6:00 o'clock. Boys have a first round bye but will be home on Thursday time to be announced.

Baseball and Softball

Middle school will hold tryouts this week. Baseball began this weekend with a Jamboree and the season opens officially this week with a home game on Wednesday night at 7. Softball has their first home game on March 5th.

Talk of the Town

On Friday February 27th, the talk of the town radio show will be at Shaw's Barbecue and has invited our school system to have a spot on the show. We will participate and can't wait to share the amazing things happening in MCS! I do not have the specific time yet, but it's normally sometime between 7:45 and 8:45.

Construction Update

We are moving right along with our construction planning. We have been working on the cash flow analysis so that we can draw down money quarterly efficiently and effectively. We've also been working with Mr. Barber and Mr Rasonabe on the kitchen design and layout as well as planning the media center. In addition the curriculum team has been discussing room layout to ensure we maximize space while creating collaborative opportunities. We have a meeting with DPR tomorrow to review the schematic design. All goes well we will move into the design development phase.

The Schematic Design (SD) phase is the initial, conceptual stage of an architectural project (lasting 4-8 weeks) where architects translate program requirements into preliminary sketches, site plans, and floor plans to establish the project's layout, scale, and form.

The Design Development (DD) phase bridges schematic design and construction documents, refining concepts into actionable, detailed plans. Architects and engineers finalize layouts, select materials, and integrate structural, mechanical, and electrical systems. This stage ensures project viability, finalizes specifications, and often results in a revised, more accurate budget.

The next phase will offer more board participation as we move from the broad conceptual design to reality, and will focus more on the actual cost and budgeting. Please let me know who will be the board's representative in committee meetings. We are also planning a formal update for the board in April, and will plan to invite the county commissioner representative to this meeting as well.

Assistant Superintendent

Thank you for the discussion around this topic. I have spoken with Mrs. Lilley, but will not make any changes publically until June. Our focus now in on our budget development, high school construction project, and a strong academic focus for the remainder of the year.

Review from Last Week

RMS School Visit

What an awesome visit on Friday at RMS! You could "feel" the amazing atmosphere and greatness happening in the school! THANK YOU for taking the time to visit and see for yourself.

School Crime Rate Inaccuracy

DPI is allowing us to correct the crime rate inaccuracy. It will be corrected and the story will be updated.

Martin County Board of Education

Board Meeting

February 16, 2026

6:30 pm

Agenda

Call to Order/Meditation: Chair Purvis

Approval of Agenda: Chair Purvis

Consent Agenda:

January 12, 2026 Board Minutes
Field Trip Request
Fundraiser Request

Superintendent Report:

Recognitions:

Character Education Recognitions..….……..…….……..……….…....………………………… Asim McGill
Mentor of the Month ………………………………………………………………… .Kim Lilley & Gwen Hughson
Cheerleading Donation/Marvin Hilliard…………...…………………………………………………….. Sarah Stalls

Information/Action Items:

Board Policies (First Read) ……………………………………………………………………………Andrea Lilley
2026/2027 School Calendar ………………………………………………………………………….. Andrea Lilley
Activity Bus Procurement…..…………………………………………………………………...…Cynthia Mooring
SCES Chiller Replacement Bids ……………………..…………………………..Hank Edwards & Thomas Barber

Closed Session:

The Martin County Board of Education will enter Closed Session, subject to advice from the attorney, pursuant to N.C. General Statute 143-318.11(a)(1), and (a)(6), to prevent the disclosure of confidential personnel information under G.S. 115C-319, and to consider matters relating to initial employment of an individual employee. The Board will also go into Closed Session pursuant to General Statute 143-318.11(a)(3), to consult with the Board’s attorney in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege, to consider confidential student matters, as provided in N.C. General Statute §143.318.11(a)(1) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S. C. 1232g and NC General Statute 115C-402. The Board will also go into Closed Session to establish or instruct staff or agents concerning the terms of a contract or proposed contract for the acquisition of real property, as provided in N.C. General Statue §143-318.11(a)(5).

Action Items:

Personnel
Closed Minutes

Public Comments:

Announcements:

March 2, 2026 Board Meeting
March 16, 2026 Board Work Session

Adjourn

School Updates

MCS School Updates

Updates from District Directors and Coordinators

Department Updates

SAVE THE DATES.....

APPLICATION DEADLINES & IMPORTANT DATES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.....

This Week in MCS at at Glance

Click this link to see the monthly calendar or check specific event details- https://www.martin.k12.nc.us/events?view=cal-month

𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹

THIS WEEK'S MCS HIGHLIGHTS

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗪𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 — 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡!

Congratulations to the Martin County High School Jr. Chef Team and their incredible coach, Ms. April Joyner, on earning THIRD PLACE in the North Carolina Jr. Chef Competition! Our Gators received the good news on Friday morning (2/20).

Congratulations to our Gator Chefs: Quahli Cooper-Howard, Sean Alexander-Funk, Nazir Turner, and Landon Pittman.

This marks just the second year MCHS has entered the competition—and for the second year in a row, under Ms. Joyner’s leadership, our students have placed TOP THREE IN THE ENTIRE STATE.

As the teacher of Foods and Culinary Arts/Hospitality, Ms. Joyner continues to inspire excellence, creativity, and professionalism in every dish and every detail. Her dedication—and our students’ talent and teamwork—are truly paying off.

We are so proud of this outstanding group for representing Martin County with skill, passion, and pride.

We will have more from our award-winning Gators about the experience and the recipe that took them to the top next week!

Way to show the state that Martin Offers More!

BACK-2-BACK CONFERENCE CHAMPS!!

We can’t close the books on this basketball season for our JV Boys Team at Martin County High School, NC, until we congratulate them on another Conference Championship!

That’s right! Our JV Gators are Back-to-Back Conference Champions. They finished the season with a 17-1 overall record.

Congratulations to Coach Battle and his staff, and especially our JV Gator players, who have worked so hard this season. You all make us

COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN ACTION

Martin County High School enjoyed a hands-on, heartwarming lesson in healthy living—thanks to the incredible support of our community partners!

Jean Brownfield, Local Food Educator and Martin County Farmer’s Market Manager, stopped by to talk with students about the importance of eating breakfast and fueling their bodies for success. That conversation turned into a fun (and delicious!) strawberry smoothie taste test —and plenty of smiles all around.

After students picked prizes from Mrs. Jean’s goodie bag, she had one more surprise up her sleeve…

“What’s your favorite thing to put in a salad?” she asked.

From crisp lettuce to juicy tomatoes, students shared their favorites—then learned they’ll soon be growing their own salad ingredients in a raised garden bed right at school!

A huge thank you to our amazing partners:

Martin County Cooperative Extension - Local Foods for donating the raised bed

Martin County Soil and Water for providing the seeds to launch this exciting project

Because of their generosity and commitment, our students are learning firsthand about nutrition, agriculture, and sustainability—right in their own backyard.

And this is just the beginning!

Mrs. Brownfield and friends will be back next month to help students begin planting their first crop.

This is what strong partnerships look like.

This is what “Martin Offers More” means.

Thank you for growing with us!

RMS PEP BAND ROCKED IT!

Pep Band at today’s Basketball game. What a performance!

Even our smallest students are making a big impact!

Shoutout to Sadie, a pre-k student, who collected can tabs at Hardison’s for the Ronald McDonald house.

Those little tabs may seem small, but together they make a big difference for families who need a place to stay while their children receive medical care. Thank you Sadie, Hardison’s BBQ, and everyone who has contributed so far. Can tab collection continues until Feb. 27th.

8TH GRADE NIGHT SUCCESS!

Meet the Army Day was a huge success!

A special thank you to Captain McDade and Sergeant Toy for organizing such an incredible event. Your leadership, dedication, and hard work made the day truly memorable for everyone who attended.

We appreciate all that you do to support and connect our community! JROTC Martin County High School

MCS Weekly School Updates

Mrs. Daniels' students are working together reviewing Order of Operations by completing Task Cards around the room.

Aaron Nelson is the picture of perseverance! We are so proud of him and his dedication to school despite having experienced a set back! #RMSproud

Students are proudly displaying their Black History Month research posters from Mrs. Barsanti’s class! These guys also studied podcasts and made their own “ Black History Beat” podcast which has been shared on the morning announcements. Way to go guys!

Congratulations to Shakur from Mrs. Bryant-Stokes class for being nominated as SCES's Cougar of the Month. He was celebrated along with all the other schools' nominees at tonight's BOE meeting! Way to go Shakur!

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Felicitaciones a Shakur de la clase de la Sra. Bryant-Stokes por haber sido nominado como Cougar del Mes de SCES. ¡Fue celebrado junto con todos los nominados de las demás escuelas en la reunión del BOE de esta noche! ¡Bien hecho, Shakur!

Mrs. Gurganus’ 2nd graders at RES turned math into a hands-on adventure by measuring each other’s height and then practicing doubling their measurements! Students worked together, thought critically, and had so much fun learning in the process. Great math in action!

Rodgers Elementary is so proud of Ava Ore,our CUB of the month, showcasing PERSEVERANCE! Ava was recognized at the Board of Education meeting tonight!

Our Kindergarteners are working hard in math and it shows! From adding with manipulatives and practicing with flashcards to solving problems on whiteboards and creating with geoboards, these young learners are engaged, collaborating, and proud of their work! We love watching our young mathematicians build confidence and shine!

RES 5th graders put their science skills to the test during their study of genetic traits! Students investigated whether they have the “super taster” trait using PTC paper. If they tasted bitterness, they carry the trait, if not, they don’t! After testing, students analyzed and graphed their results to see how many classmates carry this dominant trait. Hands-on science, real data, and lots of curiosity in action!

Kindergarenters in Mrs. Smith's class learned all about the Chinese New Year this week! Then, students used stickers to create festive artwork of their own. So much creativity and learning in action!

we proudly celebrated Bus Driver Appreciation Week and the incredible men and women who safely transport our students to and from EJ Hayes Elementary each day.

Our bus drivers are often the first smiling faces our children see in the morning and the last caring voices they hear in the afternoon. They do so much more than drive a bus: they set the tone for the day, offer words of encouragement, keep a watchful eye on every child, and ensure each student arrives safely and returns home securely.

Rain or shine, early mornings and long afternoons, they show up with patience, dedication, and hearts full of care. Their commitment to safety, kindness, and consistency makes a lasting impact on our school community.

To our EJ Hayes Elementary bus drivers: thank you for your steady hands, your warm smiles, and your unwavering dedication to our students. We appreciate you more than words can say.

We are so proud of Ms. Williams’ and Mrs. Daniels’ homeroom classes for earning 6 Golden Paws for outstanding whole-class positive behavior!

These students have demonstrated teamwork, responsibility, and a commitment to doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Because of their hard work, they earned a special reward… and they made an awesome choice!

Instead of extra recess (with this chilly weather ), they traded it in for an extra PE game on Friday with Coach Hayes! What a fun and active way to celebrate their positive behavior!

Way to go, Tigers! Keep showing us what it means to go for the GOLD together and keep working towards your next reward!

The Battle of the Books Team for EJ Hayes is having some of its final meetings in preparation of the upcoming elementary Battle of the Books Competition being held March 4th, 2026 at the Martin County Innovation Campus. The competition will begin at 9:00 am. Parents and loved will need to start arriving by 8:30 am..

Above from left to right is our team: Layla Harris, Marissa Keel, Nyla Johnson, Morgan Keel, and Yocelin Quintanila.

Mrs. Wynn's 4th grade classes began making their fossils last week. This week they will be slowly working to remove the outer parts of the molding to reveal the fossils they created. Above you can see the created fossils of a shell, an animal and a leaf. All the students enjoyed discovering what their fossil would look like. This is just another example of the "hands-on" being taught in Mrs. Wynn's science classes at E J Hayes Elementary.

We are proud to celebrate Tristan Barnes for representing E. J. Hayes Elementary as our Perseverance Character Award recipient for the month of January! Tristan has demonstrated what it truly means to keep going, even when things are challenging. Through determination, a positive attitude, and a commitment to doing his best, Tristan has shown outstanding strength of character. We are incredibly proud of him and the example he sets for others. Congratulations, Tristan, and thank you for representing the Hayes Team with perseverance and pride!

Helping Out

Students in Ms. Domecq’s and Ms. Gurganus’s ELA 6th grade class enjoyed a Titanic experience. Students read “Into the Lifeboat” a Titanic survivor memoir. Today in class, students became passengers and were given biographies to read and boarding passes to complete in order to determine their fate aboard this historic voyage.

Curious little scientists at work! Mrs. White’s PreK class experimented with mixing colors to see what new shades they could create. From surprised gasps to proud smiles, watching them explore and learn was priceless

Big shoutout to Arianna Hines! She was recognized tonight at the MCS Board Meeting as WPS Character of the Month for perseverance — Arianna shows up, works hard every day, and inspires us all.

Keep shining, Arianna! We’re so proud of you

Joy in every board! Kindergarten students in Mrs. Wilder's class showed off their dictation boards during our Reading Horizons lesson — hands-on practice, big smiles, and real progress!