N.C. Education Chief Presents "Achieving Educational Excellence" in Swain County; Local Superintendent Cites 92% Graduation Rate

North Carolina State Superintendent Moe Greene presented the Department of Public Instruction—s strategic plan, Achieving Educational Excellence, at an event in Swain County, outlining three primary goals — high academic achievement, character development and an objective to have "the very best public education system in the entire country by 2030." Greene said the plan will be tracked with a set of state and national metrics and will launch 110 actions over the next 4.5 years.

"It has 3 major goals. Those are high academic achievement, character development, and then this audacious goal that North Carolina will have the very best public education system in the entire country by 2030," Greene said.

Greene summarized statewide baseline data he said informed the plan: roughly 1,500,000 students in public schools, more than 2,600 schools, about 188,000 education professionals (approximately 100,000 licensed), and a funding gap cited in an Education Law Center report that he described as roughly $5,000 per pupil below the national average. Greene also reviewed academic-performance measures the state will track, including four-year cohort graduation rates, ACT composite scores, Advanced Placement participation and performance, dual-enrollment participation and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results for fourth- and eighth-grade reading and mathematics.

Greene highlighted several programmatic commitments within the plan—including a Golden Leaf Foundation grant of $25 million to transform 15 rural middle schools over five years, a North Carolina College Connect guarantee for seniors with at least a 2.8 grade-point average (which Greene said has generated outreach to about 70,000 seniors), an expansion of career and technical education opportunities and a statewide 10,000,000-book reading campaign.

He described other initiatives already in place or launching this school year: a policy to limit wireless devices during instructional time, rollout of a new student information system (Infinite Campus) to give families more access to student data, the formation of an Innovation Leadership Council and early guidance on using artificial intelligence in schools.

At the local level, Swain County Schools Superintendent Mark Sale told the audience the district is already aligning with the plan—citing a 92% graduation rate and local programs intended to increase student supports. "We have already reached the 92 percent graduation rate," Sale said, and he described a targeted support program in which 12 seniors placed in that intervention all graduated.

Sale said Swain County participates in the Golden Leaf initiative and uses Accelerated Reader and other district strategies to raise achievement. He urged the community to partner with the state effort: "Will you give us a hand? Will you help us out? Because it takes a whole village to make North Carolina schools the best in the nation," he said.

Greene said the State Board of Education provided feedback on a draft and approved the plan unanimously before the public rollout. He described the plan as a combination of measurable targets and community expectations and asked attendees to identify as "champions of public education" as part of the campaign to build broader support and lift public schools.

The presentation included student introductions, musical performances by the Swain County Band and local remarks from regional DPI staff and district leaders. No formal votes or binding local actions were taken at the event; the presentation was a public rollout and regional discussion of the Department of Public Instruction—s statewide plan.