BY KARISSA MILLER
Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Jeff James, along with I-SS teachers and principals, are featured prominently in a new episode of PBS Charlotte’s Carolina Impact.
The 30-minute episode, “Equity in Education,” explores the impact COVID-19 had on education in Charlotte and surrounding counties. It highlights Iredell-Statesville Schools’ quick return to in-person learning and the positive impact it had on the system’s standardized test scores, including reading and other subjects.
“I think a lot of times we get all wrapped up in the other issues centered around education when our main focus should be closing the gaps and giving our children the best education possibly in the county,” James said.
I-SS board members watched six minutes of the video at the start of the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday night.
“I had watched that video last week and thought it was very enlightening,” Chairman Todd Carver said. “There were a lot of people questioning whether it was smart to come back. We took a chance. We did the best we could with the data, and it turned out to be the best decision.”
School board member Doug Knight agreed.
“It was the team that we had and how hard they worked and doing it the right way and honestly how much they care about the learning process,” Knight said.
VIDEO
♦ I-SS Segment begins at 8:40 mark
Spotlight on CTE
In other matters, the board heard a presentation on the Career Technical Education Local Application Plan, which is the vehicle for strategic planning, managing performance and assuring accountability for CTE.
CTE Director Tim Woody outlined where the district is going and offered some highlights from this past year.
He mentioned plans for expanding offerings with a pharmacy technician program, drone fundamentals I and II and districtwide focus on academic planning for grades 6-12 for next school year.
Career Academy and Technical School will also be the centralized location for a cosmetic arts center for the entire county. CTE is also working on developing aviation program offerings for the new high school once it’s up and running.
BY THE NUMBERS
• CTE has introduced Virtual Reality Career Exploration to more than 1,600 fifth- and sixth-graders via 3D oculus devices to explore more than 38 career fields.
• CTE went live through ZOOM with six different businesses and reached nearly 10,000 students over the course of the year without them leaving their classrooms.
• In partnership with Mitchell Community College, CTE has established 15 apprenticeship programs and more in the planning process along with internships.
• Ten summer Career Accelerator camps offered through CTE.