- Duplin County Schools
- Overview
Education Matters
In Duplin County Schools we have wonderful students, teachers, support staff, administrators, parents, and communities for which to be thankful. We are also thankful to have a school board that encourages and supports our efforts to expand opportunities for our students and help shape the future of our county and beyond.
We often hear about reductions in funding that could negatively impact our school system. As a rural district we can sometimes be faced with adversity unlike more urban school districts. In Duplin County Schools we are working harder, thinking outside of the box, and seeking ways to fund growth and innovation.
One very effective strategy we use to harness new funding and opportunities is grant seeking. Our directors and teachers have for many years sought and received local, industry, state, private and national grants to enhance powerful teaching and learning.
Over the last several years, Duplin County Schools has been the recipient of millions of dollars worth of funding from organizations such as the GoldenLEAF Foundation, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Farm Bureau, Vidant Duplin, the Education and Workforce Innovation Fund, Monsanto Fund and more.
Grants have helped enable our school system to gain STEM and Missions Labs, expand STEM across the district, employ additional School Resource Officers and Panic Alarm systems, expand Career and Technical Education, Exceptional Children and regular education offerings and much more.
Additionally, as part of the grant-funded Panasonic and East Carolina University (ECU) Focus on Rural Challenges in Education (FORCE) group, DCS is continuing to build leadership capacity, improve equity, and close student achievement gaps. A Telehealth Pilot partnership with ECU and Goshen Medical beginning in three of our schools is expected to assist students and teachers with on-site medical care, thus reducing absences and increasing learning time.
DCS is one of three rural school systems that will partner with ECU for the iCS4All grant designed to help integrate computational thinking into arts education, and most recently, DCS was the only school district in the state to receive a $25,000 America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Grant awarded by the Monsanto Fund. Teachers across the district continue to apply for and receive from NC Electric Cooperatives and Farm Bureau Bright Ideas and Ag in the Classroom and other grants that have provided thousands of dollars to enhance classroom resources.
I am thankful for a Board of Education who supports innovation and encourages our school system to keep seeking ways to fund opportunities for our students. I am thankful for all partners who provide avenues for funding for Duplin County Schools. I am thankful for all of the farmers whose nominations helped us be awarded Monsanto funds and to all teachers, administrators and others who work tirelessly to look past barriers and seek blessings. It is leadership, partnerships, and dedication to our students that will allow us to continue to grow and help build the future. May the good Lord bless you and I wish each of you a very happy Thanksgiving.