School grades: Wayne County schools must improve student performance

North Carolina students recorded slight gains in math and reading proficiency, graduation rates and readiness for college careers during the past school year, the state Department of Public Instruction said late last week.

Wayne County's report card mirrored that of the state.

"Our teachers and staff are working tirelessly to bring out the best in our students and schools," said Wayne Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Dunsmore. "While there are certainly successes across the district that we can tout, we recognize that there is much work ahead of us in order to make Wayne County Public Schools a leader of education, innovation and school reform in North Carolina."

We hope Dunsmore and his staff are able to come up with a plan to accomplish those goals. Having high performing schools in the county is crucial to the county's overall economic strength. Not only do the schools need to prepare students for college and workforce, their proficiency is a key component is recruiting new businesses to Wayne and to maintaining Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's status here.

Published in Editorials on September 3, 2016 11:49 PM