Dare County Schools

Dare County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Sue F. Burgess, delivered the keynote address at the Dare Education Foundation (DEF) Third Annual Excellence in Education Celebration on Thursday, October 1, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk.

Following dinner DEF Executive Director Amy Montgomery opened the meeting. "Whether you are a parent of young children like myself or a retiree looking at the Outer Banks as a place to make a home, good schools are a hallmark of a community that cares about its people," asserted Montgomery. "Good schools attract good citizens, young and retired, and that makes Dare County a wonderful place to live.”

Based on a premise from the book Good to Great  by Jim Collins, Burgess acknowledged that producing change in systems perceived as "good" is more difficult than in systems regarded as needing improvement. "Good is the enemy of great," quoted Burgess from Collins' book. 

Nonetheless, since 2001, the district has continued to target areas for improvement with impressive results, noting that Dare County Schools is:

•  in the top 6% of high schools in the nation for Advanced Placement exams;
•  #2 in the state on SAT participation and scores;
•  #2 in the state for low dropout rate; and
•   #1 in the state for on-time graduation rate.

"Judging by these key indicators of high school performance, Dare County Schools is on the way from being good to becoming great," observed Burgess. Key strategies for these remarkable successes include implementing high school reform and recruiting great teachers, training them in best instructional practices, and retaining them in Dare County. The support of the Dare Education Foundation in both of these endeavors has gone a long way toward helping Dare County Schools attain its current successes.

Burgess noted that a trademark of a great organization is the ability to adapt to a changing environment. "To maintain and improve upon our current level of achievement, we will need to keep the programs we already have and to add programs we don’t yet have," said Burgess. "The support of the Dare Education Foundation will be more important than ever, not only in the current form of direct financial support for students, teachers, and programs, but also in helping us to create public awareness that additional funding is necessary for our schools."