Jackson County Public Schools is finally on track to building its first traditional middle school after securing $52 million in grant funds from the state.

This month the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released performance and growth data for the 2023-24 school year, and for another year in a row, Haywood County dominated regional rankings with the top two high schools in the western region. 

Jackson County Schools is taking a stab at a traditional middle school and applying for a state grant to fund the potential project.  

“It is just the right thing to do for our kids,” said Superintendent Dana Ayers in a presentation to the Jackson County Commission last week. 

The Jackson County Board of Education will look a little different at its next meeting after Chair Elizabeth Cooper departed and incoming board member Gayle Woody was sworn in last month. 

To the Editor:

I am an emeritus faculty member in the College of Education and Allied Professions at Western Carolina University. I am concerned about the possible ending of the cooperative agreement between WCU and the Jackson County Public Schools regarding the Catamount School.

Jackson County Schools will install over 100 new security cameras throughout the school system after it received over a quarter of a million dollars from the Center for Safer Schools’ Safety Grant Program. 

Incumbent Wes Jamison and newcomer Gayle Woody have won the race for Jackson County Board of Education.

This election season, there are four candidates vying for two seats on the Jackson County Board of Education. With Chairman Elizabeth Cooper choosing not to seek reelection, the board will have at least one new member after votes are in.

Jackson County Schools recently approved an agreement to undergo a master planning process that will move the school system one step closer to securing a middle school. 

A group of Smoky Mountain High School seniors could be facing criminal charges for what administrators see as taking a senior prank a step too far.