NHCS superintendent speaks on district’s goals for 2022-23 school year
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) —New Hanover County Schools is gearing up for the new school year, with the district officially deeming this its first year fully back to normal following the pandemic.
New Hanover County Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Charles Foust says the district has clear goals for the 2022-2023 school year.
“We’re wanting to recapture all of the learning lost, and so we have a plan to actually do that, and so we’re excited about our instructional focus. Just focused literally on student’s achievement, and so that’s where we are, and the community, –we want their support. Letting them know that our job is to make sure that kids are educated and well educated when they leave New Hanover County Schools,” said Dr. Charles Foust, New Hanover County Schools’ Superintendent.
Among them, improving test scores in every grade level. The district hopes to see improved reading skills in its elementary schools, science in middle schools, and Math 1 at the high schools.
“If we give a rigorous academic education to all of our kids, we get out a standardized rigorous, — I mean the kids, if the absorb it they’re going to give it back, and we have to do some benchmarking, and checking to make sure that the level of rigor is where it’s supposed to be, and that we are teaching the standards with fidelity,” said Foust.
Foust says he expects students to have some anxiety surrounding the school year, but staff is prepared to help ease students back into learning.
“If they want to wear a mask, they can wear a mask. If they don’t want to wear a mask, they don’t have to wear a mask,” said Foust. “We are literally wanting to put them back in a place of safety, and making sure that we are there, and they can learn, and so that will help to bring some of that anxiety down, and if they are still anxious, we have people that can talk with them, sit down with them, and if that doesn’t work then we ask that the parents reach out to the principal.”
New Hanover County Schools offers a reminder to parents, that the standards for each grade level are available on the district’s website. This gives parents a chance to look at what their child will be learning during the school year.
