🎉 Happy National Principals Month! 🎉
Today, we celebrate Laura Parish, principal at Newport Elementary School! 💙✨Her dedication, leadership, and passion for student success make a lasting impact every day.
Here’s what Ms. Parish had to say about leading NES:
"NES is the heart of our community. Our staff is truly all-in, doing whatever it takes to support our students, their families, and each other every single day!"
We’d love to hear from you! 💬 Comment below and tell us what you admire about Ms. Parish as a principal! 🙌 #NationalPrincipalsMonth #CCPSProud #LeadershipMatters
Today, we celebrate Ms. Reba Lewis, principal at Smyrna Elementary and Down East Middle School! 💙✨ Her dedication, leadership, and passion for student success make a lasting impact every day.
Here's what Ms. Lewis loves about leading SES and DEMS:
"My community is amazing! We have responsive families, committed staff that are always willing to learn, and hard working students!"
We’d love to hear from you! 💬 Comment below and tell us what you admire about Ms. Lewis. 🙌 #NationalPrincipalsMonth #CCPSEngageEducateEmpower #LeadershipMatters
CCPS is hiring immediately for a Child Nutrition Services position in the Down East area!
Be part of a thriving community and help our students stay healthy, happy, and ready to learn. You’ll work with a great team that makes a daily difference in the lives of children.
✨ Why join us?
✅ Monday–Friday schedule (no nights or weekends!)
✅ Great benefits & competitive pay
✅ Supportive school environment
👉 Apply today at: https://bit.ly/ccpsjobs
Look for the “Child Nutrition Assistant – Applicant Pool” job description. 💙
In the article, she shares how Career & Technical Education (CTE) is transforming student learning and how innovative partnerships across Southeast NC are helping students shine brighter than ever. 💡📚✨
Read the full story here ➡️ https://www.dpi.nc.gov/blog/2025/10/14/celebrating-cte-and-spotlighting-innovation-southeast
💡 Bright Ideas Shine Bright in CCPS Classrooms! 💡
We’re thrilled to celebrate 31 Carteret County Public Schools educators who were surprised by the Prize Patrol this week, thanks to our amazing partners at Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative (CCEC) and the Carteret-Craven Electric Foundation! ⚡🍎
Together, they awarded more than $23,000 in Bright Ideas Education Grants to fund creative, hands-on projects that will inspire and engage over 7,800 students across our district! 🙌
We are so grateful for this incredible community partnership and for CCEC’s continued commitment to “building a brighter future” through support of public education. 💛
📚✨ Congratulations to our 2025 Bright Ideas Grant Winners!
Beaufort Elementary
Emily Webster – Lighting the Way to Calm
Keith Jayne & Karin Ernst – Bridging the Gap: Inclusive Learning with 3D Printing
Bogue Sound Elementary
Tony Lee Dowdy Jr. – Shadow’s Strings
Bridges Alternative School
Cynthia Ackerson Delafuente & Team – Hands-on Aquaponics Barrel and Farming Project
Broad Creek Middle
Mallory Munden – Aquaponics: A Study of Sustainability and Energy Cycling
Rob Condie & Team – Resilience in Music: Soundscapes of Nature
Heather Blackwell – Picture Books for Special Olympians
Carteret Preschool Center
Christie Seiler – STEM Explorers: A Sensory Science Lab for Pre-K
Croatan High School
Wendy Gartner & Roger Whaley – The Croatan Outdoor Learning Environment
Down East Middle School
Charlotte Johnson – Flexible Seating in the Middle School Classroom
East Carteret High
Melissa Perritt – Books & Breezes: A Courtyard Reading Retreat
Harkers Island Elementary
Ashley Surfass – Stepping into the Future
Morehead City Elementary
Christopher Langdon – Keys to Success
Susan Merrell – Growing our Minds by Getting our Hands Dirty
Kelly Riley – The Camp Glenn Caldecott Challenge
Morehead City Primary
Carla Starnes – The Calculus Cruiser, Mobile Math Unit
Claire Ross – Third Grade Thinkers
Amanda Ruffin McCall – Hear It, Read It, Love It!
Stephanie Hartley – Full STEM Ahead
Newport Elementary
Emily Golightly – Bringing Books to Life! Spreading the Joy of Reading Through Read-Aloud Manipulatives
Janelle Bryson – Get it Write!
Newport Middle School
Stacey Stehle – Solar Science in Action – Sun Sensation!
Todd M. Stehle – Seeing is Believing: An Immersive Optical & Auditory Illusion Classroom
Sequoia Sady – Empowering Future Innovators: Enhancing STEM Career Education Through 3D Printing Technology
Mackenzie Staten – Clay Traditions: NC Folk Art & Beyond
Smyrna Elementary
Dawn M. Simpson & Charlotte Johnson – ParkQuest: Real World National Park Engineering Design Challenge
West Carteret High School
Jessica Waugh – West Carteret High School Stormwater Study
Lorena Llano-Herbst – Empowering Heritage Spanish Learners through a Comprehensive Curriculum
Carl Briscoe – Igniting STEM Innovation: Integrating a Bambu Lab 3D Printer for Project-Based Learning
White Oak Elementary
Molly Anttila – Step into Reading: Providing Students with Leveled Texts that Grow with Them
Marie Foxworth – Bright Bots: Boosting Brainpower with Wonder Workshop
🎉👏 Congratulations, educators! Your bright ideas are making a big difference in classrooms across Carteret County.
Thank you again to @CarteretCravenElectric for helping us keep innovation alive and shining bright! ⚡🌟
Melissa is a CTE Health Sciences teacher at West Carteret High School 🏫💉, and she will now go on to represent CCPS at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Beginning Teacher of the Year program, administered by the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). 📚✨
This prestigious award recognizes promising new educators across North Carolina for their potential to shape the future of education. Honorees receive professional development opportunities, connections with other passionate educators, and support designed to help them thrive in their teaching careers. 🌎👏
Please join us in celebrating this outstanding accomplishment!
While we are grateful we've almost made it through the heart of hurricane season for ENC, we continue monitoring current storms in the Atlantic. At this time, while weather will certainly be rainy and windy over the next several days, there are no current severe weather conditions that should impact our school schedule for staff and students. We will continue to collaborate with EMS and Weather Officials to monitor weather conditions, however.✅
It’s also a good time to remind everyone of how we handle severe weather:
📡 We get regular briefings from the National Weather Service & Carteret County Emergency Management Services. (In this case, we have been monitoring updates for several days.)
📞 If forecasts could potentially turn into severe weather, we participate in direct calls & updates. (We have had collaborative calls/communications with officials this weekend and today.)
🚌 We balance safety (buses, drivers, parents, staff) with keeping instructional time and our official school calendar as intact as possible. We keep planning in mind for students, parents and staff, while also understanding that the weather can sometimes change rapidly.
📢 When a change in schedule is necessary, we share updates by email (staff), phone calls (staff/parents), social media, TV & newspaper (community). You can also check our website for the most recent weather updates at https://www.carteretcountyschools.org/
We’re thankful for our weather officials, emergency management departments, and all of our community partners who help us stay safe & prepared in Carteret County.
📍 Crystal Coast Civic Center (203 College Circle, MHC)
🗓️ October 16
⏰ 9:00–11:00 AM
👉 To substitute teach for CCPS, you must have an Effective Teacher Training Certificate and/or a Teaching License (current, expired, or out of state is acceptable).
💻 Email Katherine.Goodwin@carteretk12.org
to register today!
📢 NC State Superintendent Moe Green – Public Forum
All parents, students, educators, school staff, public officials, and community members are invited to attend a public forum on the statewide strategic plan, Achieving Educational Excellence.
📅 Friday, Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m.
📍 Eastern North Carolina Regional Skills Center, 261 NW Corridor Blvd., Jacksonville, NC 28540 (Onslow County Schools)
🔗 Register here: Eventbrite
📄 View the NCDPI strategic plan summary: Download
📈 67.5% Proficiency – an increase over last year and well above the state average of 55%
🎓 87.5% Graduation Rate – up 5.4% from last year
📚 Demonstrated growth in reading, math, and high school performance
⭐ Schools exceeding growth: Croatan High, Morehead Middle, Atlantic Elementary
These results show the dedication of our students, staff, and families — and we’re excited to keep building on this progress! 💙💛
🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/CCPS090325pressrelease
Carteret County Public Schools is looking for dedicated team members to join us in supporting our students and schools.
✅ Bus Drivers
✅ Teacher Assistants
✅ Bus Mechanics
✅ HVAC
✅ …and more!
💲Starting pay: $16+/hr for above positions
📲 Apply today: https://bit.ly/workforccps
📞 Questions? Call us at 252-728-4583
🌐 Learn more: www.carteretcountyschools.org
Come make a difference—because WE NEED YOU! 💙
📦 Saturday, August 16 | 11 AM-2 PM at:
📍 Smyrna Park, 450 NC Hwy 70E, Smyrna
📦 Sunday, August 17 | 4–5 PM at:
📍 Bogue Sound Elementary
📍 Newport Middle
📍 Beaufort Elementary
(Backpack and school supply pickup)
🙏 Huge thanks to our hosts and sponsors: Parkview Baptist Church, Carteret County Public School System, Carteret Education Foundation, Carteret Board of Realtors, Ann Street UMC, Walmart, Staples, Coastal Dentistry, Safrit’s Building Supply, Coastal Press, Wellcare, Davis FWB Church, and many more! Every donation helps support local students with the tools they need to thrive! ✏️📓
💙🍎 From CCPS Students to CCPS Teachers! 🍎💙
As we welcome all staff back for the start of teacher workdays, we wanted to share a pretty special story.
This year, three of our new beginning teachers are also graduates of Carteret County Public Schools—and they’ve come home to teach in the very schools and communities that helped shape them. 📚✨
👩🏫 Madison Clark – WCHS Class of 2021, now teaching Social Studies at West Carteret High.
👨🏫 Aidan Copp – Croatan Class of 2020, now teaching 2nd grade at Bogue Sound Elementary.
👷♂️ Philip Guthrie – East Carteret HS grad, now teaching Carpentry at ECHS.
We love seeing our former students step into the role of educators and role models for the next generation. 💛 Here’s to a great year ahead for all of our teachers—both new and returning!
#WeAreCCPS #F
🗓 Wednesday, August 13th
⏰ 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Parkview Baptist Church, 4738 Arendell St., Morehead City
Parents—bring your K–12 students of schools in Carteret County for:
✅ FREE school supplies & backpacks
✅ FREE shoes 👟
✅ FREE haircuts 💇♂️
(While supplies last)
Special guests & resources include:
Carteret County Health Department 🩺
CCPS School Nutrition 🥗
Title Wave Book Mobile 📖
Carteret County Public School System 🎓
And more! 🎉
🙏 Huge thanks to our hosts and sponsors: Parkview Baptist Church, Carteret County Public School System, Carteret Education Foundation, Carteret Board of Realtors, Ann Street UMC, Walmart, Staples, Coastal Dentistry, Safrit’s Building Supply, Coastal Press, Wellcare, Davis FWB Church, and many more!
📌 Don’t miss this chance to get your students ready for a great school year!
📣Stuff the Bus is THIS WEEKEND!
Let’s come together as a community to make sure Carteret County students head back to school ready to succeed!
📍DROP OFF SCHOOL SUPPLIES at these community collection sites:
🛒 Walmart & Staples Collection Times:
➡️ Friday, August 8 | 9 AM – 6 PM
➡️ Saturday, August 9 | 9 AM – 6 PM
➡️ Sunday, August 10 | 1 PM – 6 PM
Coastal Dentistry and Safrit’s Building Supply
Now through August 8 during business hours
Every donation helps support local students with the tools they need to thrive! ✏️📓🖍️
📅 Supply Distribution Events:
✂️ Wednesday, August 13 | 8–11 AM at Parkview Baptist Church
Includes free school supplies, shoes, and haircuts
📦 Saturday, August 16 | 11 AM-2 PM at:
📍 Smyrna Park, 450 NC Hwy 70E, Smyrna
📦 Sunday, August 17 | 4–5 PM at:
📍 Bogue Sound Elementary
📍 Newport Middle
📍 Beaufort Elementary
(Backpack and school supply pickup)
🙏 Huge thanks to our hosts and sponsors: Parkview Baptist Church, Carteret County Public School System, Carteret Education Foundation, Carteret Board of Realtors, Ann Street UMC, Walmart, Staples, Coastal Dentistry, Safrit’s Building Supply, Coastal Press, Wellcare, Davis FWB Church, and many more!
🎉 Dr. M. Brock Womble (NCCAT Executive Director), Perry Harker (NCCAT Board of Trustees & former CCPS Board member), John Kirkman (NCACTE Executive Director), Croatan High School Principal Chris Davis, and CTE Director Allison Dees joined the board in recognizing Heather Rose as a finalist for the NCCAT 2026 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year Award! 👏🍎
Congratulations, Ms. Rose — your dedication to Career & Technical Education is making a lasting impact!
Effective Thursday, July 24, 2025, we will be switching our student email system from NCEdCloud to Classlink. This change is designed to streamline your access to all the tools you use for learning.
What does this mean for you?
You will need to change the way you log in to access your school email and other online portals. Please follow these new steps carefully:
Go to our school website: Visit carteretcountyschools.org.
Click on "Portal": You will find the "Portal" link in the upper-right corner of the homepage.
Login with your new credentials: When presented with the login screen, please use the following format for your username and password:
Username: Your two-digit graduation year followed by your first initial, middle initial, and the first seven letters of your last name. Do not use any hyphens, dashes, or spaces.
Example (last name 7 letters or less): If you are an 8th-grade student this year, and your name is Mickey James Mouse, your username would be 30mjmouse.
Example (last name 8 or more letters): If you are a 6th-grade student this year, and your name is Peter Parker Spider-Man, your username would be 32ppspiderm. (Note: the hyphen is removed, and it is only the first 7 letters of the last name)
Password: Your full student ID number.
Please make sure to remember these new login details. If you encounter any issues after July 24th, please reach out to your teacher or the school's IT support for assistance.
Let’s come together as a community to make sure Carteret County students head back to school ready to succeed!
📍DROP OFF SCHOOL SUPPLIES at these community collection sites:
🛒 Walmart & Staples Collection Times:
➡️ Friday, August 8 | 9 AM – 6 PM
➡️ Saturday, August 9 | 9 AM – 6 PM
➡️ Sunday, August 10 | 1 PM – 6 PM
Coastal Dentistry and Safrit’s Building Supply
Now through August 8 during business hours
Every donation helps support local students with the tools they need to thrive! ✏️📓🖍️
📅 Supply Distribution Events:
✂️ Wednesday, August 13 | 8–11 AM at Parkview Baptist Church
Includes free school supplies, shoes, and haircuts
📦 Saturday, August 16 | 11 AM-2 PM at:
📍 Smyrna Park, 450 NC Hwy 70E, Smyrna
(Back to School Bash, hosted by Davis FWB Church)
📦 Sunday, August 17 | 4–5 PM at:
📍 Bogue Sound Elementary
📍 Newport Middle
📍 Beaufort Elementary
📍 Smyrna Elementary
(Backpack and school supply pickup)
🙏 Huge thanks to our hosts and sponsors: Parkview Baptist Church, Carteret County Public School System, Carteret Education Foundation, Carteret Board of Realtors, Ann Street UMC, Walmart, Staples, Coastal Dentistry, Safrit’s Building Supply, Coastal Press, Wellcare, Davis FWB Church, and many more!
