Board highlights students’ wins and staff recognitions; local teams advance to state competitions

Superintendent Dr. White and board members used the March meeting to highlight recent student and staff achievements across Martin County Schools, including competitive, artistic and community-service accomplishments.

Dr. White said four Odyssey of the Mind teams traveled to a regional competition in Jacksonville where three teams placed first and one placed second; all four advanced to state finals at Appalachian State University. He announced that Edris Dickerson of Jamesville Elementary received the Renatra Fusca Creativity Award — the district’s first recipient — praising the student’s spontaneous problem-solving that impressed judges.

The board also recognized athletic milestones: the boys’ basketball team won a third-round state playoff game 65-36 over Wake Prep and will play Farmville in the next round; Jordan Mathewson of Martin County Innovative Early College reached 1,000 career points. The Junior Chef team — coached by April Joyner — placed third in the state with a school-lunch-compliant recipe featuring North Carolina products.

Other items included robotics-team progress, kindergarten book distribution at the Innovation Campus sponsored by the Williamston Rotary Club (with a book written and illustrated by district staff), mentor-of-the-month honors for Chanda Beach and Wendy Dixon, and multiple student character recognitions for February (theme: integrity).

The recognitions were presented to emphasize student learning opportunities, community partnerships and extracurricular achievement; several students and staff will be formally recognized at future board events.