AND THE CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE...

Updates from Dr. White 

Week of September 11

Brick Samples

The brick samples we received did not have the correct mortar, so we will be visiting again once the new samples are ready. We have been told they should be ready in approximately two weeks.

The good news is that we have plenty of time to make this decision, and this does not put us behind schedule in any way. We will take the time necessary to make sure we get the right combination before making a final selection.

Middle School Gym Floor

The middle school gym floor is almost complete! We are hoping it will be completely finished by Tuesday.

While this project has taken approximately a month longer than the original plan, it is absolutely gorgeous! I am excited for everyone to see the finished product and will share pictures later in the week.

County Commissioners Presentation

The presentation to the County Commissioners went very well this week.

Because we were presenting the grant on the heels of the State's accountability release, I requested 10 minutes to quickly review some of the highlights from our data. It was a great opportunity to showcase the progress happening across Martin County Schools to a different audience.

The Commissioners agreed to sign the grant application with no questions, which was a great outcome.

Board Spirit Wear

We will have some Board spirit wear for you to review tomorrow.

We are ordering one shirt for each of you from the school system, but we will also provide additional samples in case you would like to purchase additional items.

Thank you all for your continued support of Martin County Schools. We have a lot of exciting things happening, and I appreciate being able to share these updates with you.

Week of September 4, 2026

A Week Worth Celebrating!

What a wonderful week of celebrating in our schools! The release of our state accountability data gave us so many reasons to be proud, but I want to highlight something bigger than simply our progress since COVID.

While many districts are highlighting how far they have come since the pandemic, Martin County Schools has made tremendous progress since COVID—but our story is even bigger than that. Across most areas of student achievement, we are reaching the highest levels we have seen in more than a decade. In several measures, we are at our highest levels since 2016, 2017, or 2018.

Martin County Schools is performing better than it has in more than a decade—and, in many ways, better than ever. For only the second time in history... WE ARE NO LONGER A LOW PERFORMING DISTRICT! 

That matters because I want our community to know and believe in the opportunities we are creating for children right here in Martin County. I want families to see Martin County Schools as a viable, competitive, and exciting option for their children. This week's data release was a huge part of telling that story.

Graduation Rate

Our graduation rate is something this district should be incredibly proud of. We do not have a graduation rate recorded this high in our history. From what I have seen so far, this rate is also higher than any surrounding district. I will conduct a formal analysis this week and share exactly where we stand compared with other districts.

This achievement did not happen by accident. A tremendous amount of strategic planning, out-of-the-box thinking, and intentional work went into creating alternative learning environments that produced successful outcomes for our children. We have also worked incredibly hard to change the culture of our high school, and that work is apparent in our graduation rate.

Three B Schools!

And then there are our schools!

For the first time in Martin County history, we have a B school—not just one, not just two, but THREE!

That is remarkable.

Riverside Middle

The progress at Riverside Middle School also deserves to be deeply understood and celebrated. Just a few years ago, Riverside was an F school. For perspective, an F designation is tied to an overall score below 40. Last year, Riverside had an overall score of 45. This year, that score increased to 60.

Even more impressive, the school exceeded growth, placing its growth performance in approximately the top 5–10% of schools in the state. That is a tremendous accomplishment and a testament to the remarkable work, leadership, and commitment of the Riverside team last year.

South Creek Elementary

South Creek Elementary School also reached a 53—the highest achievement score in the school's history! Another remarkable accomplishment and another reason to celebrate the incredible work happening across our district. 

Interventions 

But we are not stopping with celebration. We are using this data to drive what happens next.

Interventions are slated to begin at all of our schools this week. We are using End-of-Grade data, in addition to Beginning-of-Grade data, to sort students into academically relevant groups. This allows us to meet children where they are, provide the support they need, and continue the push to raise achievement across our entire school system.

Our Message

The message I want our Board and our community to hear is simple:

We are moving. We are improving in historic ways. And Martin County Schools is doing things we have not done in more than a decade—and, in many ways, things we have never done before.

We should celebrate this moment, but we should also recognize what it represents: the power of intentional leadership, a strong Board of Education, strategic planning, great teachers and staff, strong school leadership, and a relentless belief in what our children can accomplish.

There is so much more to build, and I am excited about where we are going.

Board Spirit Wear

I am also looking at purchasing shirts for all Board members. I would like to get everyone a jersey-style shirt. These are true jersey material but fit true to size. If you would like to size up so that yours fits larger, please let us know. Otherwise, we will order your true-to-size fit.

These shirts will give us another opportunity to show our school spirit at special events, celebrations, conferences, and throughout the year!

High School Brick Samples 

We will be reviewing brick samples this week for the new high school. We are looking at Thursday morning at 9:00 AM as the tentative date and time.

Please let me know which Board member, or two Board members, would like to attend. I will confirm the date and time once it is finalized with Mr. Barrath.

Again, Thursday at 9:00 AM is tentative at this point. I will send confirmation once everything is finalized.

Additional Construction Updates

Martin County Schools has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for material testing and special inspection services for the new high school project.

This general statutory requirement is the process of acquiring an independent third-party inspection service to test and verify the structural aspects of the building, including, but not limited to:

• Subgrade and soil testing

• Concrete testing – compressive strength

• Grout strength – masonry

• Steel weld inspections

• Truss decking

These highly detailed inspections occur separately from the building inspections conducted by the county.

The RFQ also provides an important layer of independent oversight for the project. By engaging a third-party inspection firm that is accountable directly to Martin County Schools, the district has an independent party responsible for verifying that materials and construction meet the required standards, specifications, and applicable codes. This helps provide the school district with an additional level of assurance, transparency, and accountability throughout construction.

This process is included as part of the overall budgeted $62,000,000 project.

Multi-Classroom Leader Grant

We have applied for the Multi-Classroom Leader (MCL) Grant, which would provide teacher leaders with an additional $7,000–$10,000 per year to coach and lead multiple classrooms. This creates an opportunity for our highest-quality teachers to extend their impact beyond a single classroom and positively influence more students across our schools.

Just as importantly, the MCL model creates a leadership pathway for teachers without requiring them to leave the classroom. Teachers can grow as instructional leaders, support their colleagues, and earn additional compensation while continuing to teach.

We partnered with Opportunity Culture, an organization that specializes in supporting the implementation of Multi-Classroom Leader models across school districts. If awarded, this would be a three-year opportunity for Martin County Schools.

We expect to hear whether we were awarded the grant in October. This is an exciting opportunity to continue building leadership capacity within our schools and ensuring that great teaching has an even greater impact across our district.

Second Needs-Based Consolidated Construction Grant- Let's Build a NEW EJH!!! 

I will present at the September 10 County Commissioner meeting to request the County’s signature and approval for Martin County Schools to apply for the second Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund Grant.

We must have the County’s approval in order to submit the application, and the application window is very limited. It is expected to open in early September and must be submitted by October 2.

We are already well underway with the grant application. I am working closely with Mr. Birath and Ashley Moseley, the same architect I worked with on the first successful grant application. I greatly appreciate Ashley’s willingness to partner with us a second time, especially since our Board ultimately selected a different architecture firm for the project.

We are moving quickly to ensure we are prepared to submit a strong application within the limited application window.

EJ Hayes: Understanding the Challenge and Moving Forward

I also want to speak candidly about EJ Hayes Elementary School. While we have so much to celebrate in this year's data, EJ Hayes is an area where we have significant work to do. The school’s letter grade declined from to a 39.3, resulting in an F designation this year. 

EJ Hayes is beginning this school year with new staff, new leadership, and a new vision for the school. This is important because the school has experienced many years of the same patterns and challenges, and in some ways, staff and the school have been in that environment for a very long time. When a school has struggled for an extended period, it can be difficult to break away from established patterns and create meaningful change.

That is why I see this year as an opportunity for a fresh start. We have an opportunity to establish new expectations, create a new culture around teaching and learning, and give our students and staff a renewed sense of what is possible at EJ Hayes.

This week, we also had the opportunity to meet with representatives from East Carolina University’s Community Schools division. Community Schools is a grant-supported model that provides a full-time community liaison for the school, along with additional resources for parent engagement, innovative strategies, and other supports designed to strengthen the school and its connection with families and the community.

ECU is very interested in Martin County Schools because of the movement they have seen across our district. While their Community Schools model typically requires a year-long planning process, following our meeting and seeing what we already have in place, their team has agreed to go back and discuss whether they could consider implementing the model at EJ Hayes as early as November.

If they agree, this could be a significant step forward for EJ Hayes.

I believe this is exactly the kind of opportunity we need to pursue. Improving EJ Hayes will require a comprehensive approach that goes beyond what happens inside the classroom. We need to strengthen the partnership between the school, families, and community; make academics a clear priority; increase family engagement; provide parents with strategies and support; strengthen behavior expectations and supports; and build a culture where every child is encouraged and expected to succeed.

The data has shown us where we need to focus. We now have new leadership, a new vision, and the potential for new partnerships and resources to help us move forward.

Our goal is not simply to change an F to a different letter. Our goal is to change the trajectory for EJ Hayes students and give the school the support, leadership, resources, and community partnerships necessary to produce lasting academic improvement.

I am very encouraged by the direction we are heading and by ECU’s interest in partnering with us. This is an important potential step forward for EJ Hayes, and I will keep the Board updated as we hear back from their team.

Economic Development Building and Conference Room

I want to make the Board aware of a concern regarding our use of the conference room at the Economic Development end of the building. We have recently been asked to pay to rent the conference room each time we need to use it, which can cost several hundred dollars per use. I have expressed my concerns about this arrangement to Steve Biggs and have also asked that this matter be brought before their Board in September. I want to be very clear that Steve has been a tremendous supporter of Martin County Schools, and I value the relationship we have with him and with Economic Development. I have no desire to do anything that would jeopardize that relationship, however this is a larger issue that they board needs to be aware of. 

Martin County Schools leases the entire end of the building to Economic Development at an exceptionally low rate, while also providing significant additional support. We handle maintenance for the space, including recently replacing a $24,000 air-conditioning unit, provide technology services that cost the district thousands of dollars each month, and have also covered a portion of the electric costs since their operation began. Given the level of support we provide, I believe it is reasonable for us to expect access to a conference space within a building we own, particularly as our Early College has grown significantly and space throughout the campus is increasingly limited. We need this conference room periodically for bus driver training, principals' meetings, and other district needs. I want to be a good partner with Economic Development, and I am not looking to take an unnecessarily adversarial approach. However, we are reaching a point where we need greater access to the space we own and support. I am asking that any Board members who have relationships with or a place at the Economic Development Board share these concerns as appropriate. 

If we are unable to reach a reasonable solution and continue to be asked to pay substantial fees to use space within our own building while providing extensive support to the organization, we may eventually need to consider whether the current lease arrangement remains in the best interest of Martin County Schools and seek legal guidance regarding our options. Our goal is simply to find a fair and reasonable arrangement that allows us to continue being a good community partner while also protecting the resources and space our school system needs to serve students. Please let me know your thoughts. 

School Updates will begin NEXT Week 

Updates from District Directors and Coordinators will begin NEXT Week 

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 

2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR AT A GLANCE

Weekly Initiatives/Weekly Happenings 

IMPORTANT SCHOOL INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!

MCS Organizational Chart- Updated

Board Meeting Schedule