A version of this story was published in The Sylva Herald Jackson County Public Schools’ new building projects and renovations are nearly twice as much as the county had previously allocated. This was the main topic of the regular joint meeting between the Jackson County Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 22 where no decision was […]
Board of Education meeting discusses test scores, recognizes students
September 29, 2025 by
Jackson County Public Schools’ test scores are on the rise, with several Smoky Mountain High School students receiving College Board awards for academic excellence. At the Sept. 23 Board of Education meeting, JCPS Director of Testing and Accountability Adam Holt presented the 2024-2025 academic year state accountability data release. This data examines end-of-course exams, ACT […]
Jackson County Board of Education details plan of new middle school and renovations to elementary buildings
February 13, 2025 by
A version of this story was originally published in the Sylva Herald Feb. 13 edition The Jackson County boards of Commissioners and Education held a joint meeting Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Southwestern Community College’s Burrell Building. Superintendent Dana Ayers led the discussion over various facelifts that many Jackson County schools will see in the upcoming […]
Jackson County Public Schools receives 10 awards for communications excellence
March 21, 2021 by
This story was originally published for the Sylva Herald Jackson County School District is golden. They won nine Gold and one Silver awards for outstanding communications in 3 categories of digital media engagement, photography, and electronic media. David Proffitt, Jackson County Public School Chief of Communications, is the man who contributed the most to this […]
County schools: crime rate up, dropout rate goes down
February 10, 2017 by
This story was written by Haley Smith, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Jackson County Schools had the eighth-highest rate of reportable crimes in North Carolina for grades 9-13, according to 2015-16 data from the state Department of Public Instruction. Superintendent Mike Murray said it’s because the school system has targeted the problems of drugs and alcohol. […]
Effects of poverty on WNC children’s education
May 31, 2015 by
“Growing up in a family living in poverty or near poverty negatively impacts a child’s health throughout his or her life,” according to NCChild’s 2014 Child Health Report Card. In the same report it also says that “education and health outcomes are also tightly intertwined; success in school and the number of years of schooling impact health […]
