During a meeting held on Monday, officials with the Moore County Board of Education reported mixed progress toward districtwide academic goals within the 2024–2025 Key Outcomes and Strategic Plan. However, the board is already looking forward to the future and the implementation of the 2025–2027 plan, which they feel is setting the county’s schools up for success.

The district set ambitious benchmarks last year to boost academic growth, literacy, math performance, and overall proficiency across its schools.

“Our entire employee team has contributed to another year of continuous improvement—there’s a lot here we can celebrate,” said Dr. Tim Locklair, Superintendent of Moore County Schools. “I’m just extremely proud of the entire team and their efforts. Are there areas that we need to continue to focus on and continue to improve? Absolutely. But we remain committed to that and remain awfully proud of the work that’s happened.”

To support the goals laid out by the plan, the Board of Education has identified 12 priority areas: advocacy, community engagement, construction and facilities, chronic absenteeism, durable skills, early literacy, extracurricular activities, literacy, parent education, recruitment and retention, transportation, and workforce needs.

Briefly summarized, the board’s goals are:

• Advocacy: Promote public education policies and spotlight the success of Moore County Schools.

• Community Engagement: Build strong partnerships and transparent communication to support student success.

• Facilities: Invest in safe, modern school buildings that support learning and value for taxpayers.

• Attendance: Encourage regular attendance to boost academic performance and graduation rates.

• Durable Skills: Integrate essential life and career skills into the curriculum.

• Early Literacy: Expand Pre-K and early reading support to ensure strong foundational skills.

• Extracurriculars: Support athletics, arts, and clubs to enhance engagement and readiness.

• Literacy: Strengthen reading skills across all grades through early and sustained support.

• Parent Education: Equip families with tools to support learning and development.

• Recruitment & Retention: Attract and keep top educators through competitive pay and professional growth.

• Transportation: Ensure safe, reliable bus service for consistent school access.

• Workforce Alignment: Prepare students for high-demand careers through relevant technical education.

Plans for 2025–2027 focus on improving student and facility performance across multiple metrics. These include increasing the number of schools meeting or exceeding growth targets, boosting grade-level proficiency in reading and math, and raising the district’s ranking in the state. The board also aims to remedy schools that received “D” or “F” performance grades.

The board also celebrated several academic achievements, including Moore County’s overall Grade Level Proficiency (GLP) rising to 63.7%, which is up 1.3 percentage points from the year before and 8.7 percentage points above the state average.

Notably, third-grade math scores were the highest, with 75.5% proficiency. English Language Arts scores also showed improvement across all grade levels, reaching their highest levels in five years. Science scores remained strong despite changes in state standards and assessments, with Moore County outperforming the state in all tested grades.

Though it was noted that reading Grade Level Proficiency was previously low, board members were reminded that these statistics include every student who has taken the End of Grade tests, including those with English as a second language. The district is expanding literacy initiatives from Pre-K through high school with a focus on comprehension and sustained reading growth.

One of several slides reviewed by the school board to identify key strengths, student population, and areas for strategic improvement.

In terms of school performance, Moore County now has one “A” school (Pinehurst Elementary), nine “B” schools, and three “D” schools, with no “F” schools. Robbins and Aberdeen Elementary schools markedly improved from their previous ratings.

The board discussed challenges in middle and high school math instruction, citing teacher shortages and the complexity of Math 1 standards as contributing factors.

Finally, the board reviewed student enrollment data, seeing a stable total of 13,017 students. Currently, school enrollment is described by the board as being “kind of all over the place.”

Enrollment was as follows:

• Aberdeen Elementary: down 25 students (large fifth-grade class left, small kindergarten class entered)

• Pinehurst Elementary: up 32 students

• Southern Pines Elementary: down 39 students

• Crain’s Creek Middle: down 33 students

• New Century Middle: up 61 students

• Southern Middle: up 54 students

• West Pine Middle: down 56 students

• North Moore High: down 54 students (large graduating class, small incoming ninth grade)

• Union Pines High: down 11 students

• Pinecrest High: steady with little change

The board acknowledged that more work is needed to improve the graduation rate, which slightly declined to 89.6%, though it remains above the state average.

Via Moore County Schools.

Moving forward, the plan’s core beliefs center on the idea that successful schools are essential for thriving communities. The district affirms that every student can learn and that schools must provide safe, respectful, and caring environments where educators are empowered to meet individual learning needs.

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~ Written by Sandhills Sentinel Assistant Editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021. Photos courtesy Moore County Schools.