Public Schools
The Moore County Public School system offers a comprehensive K-12 curriculum that includes workforce development, and programs for special needs, gifted students, and arts education. All three high schools offer Advanced Placement courses, and Pinecrest High School also offers the International Baccalaureate Program.
MISSION
“Our mission is to provide engaging experiences that result in students learning what is needed to be successful students.”
Source: Moore County Schools, www.ncmcs.org
There are 22 public schools in Moore County, employing 1,002 certified education professionals and 665 classified staff.
List of Schools:
Current Student Enrollment:
| Elementary | 5,590 |
| Middle | 2,873 |
| High | 3,869 |
| Total | 12,332 |
Breakdown by Race:
| African American | 20% |
| Hispanic | 8% |
| White | 67% |
| Other | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
Year-Round Schedule
Moore County includes schools that operate on a year-round schedule for grades K-5.
Academy Heights Elementary School in Taylortown offers the year-round schedule only and enrolls approximately 265 students for the 2009-2010 school year.
Southern Pines Primary and Southern Pines Elementary Schools offer both year-round and traditional-calendar schedules simultaneously during the school year. For 2009-2010, Southern Pines Primary (grades K-2) enrolled 236 students in year-round classes and 209 in traditional-calendar classes. Southern Pines Elementary (grades 3-7) has 236 students in year-round classes.
SAT SCORES
For the 2009 Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), Moore County Schools had an average score of 1045 for the Verbal and Mathematics sections combined, which is 39 points above the North Carolina’s average SAT score, and 29 points above the national average.
Under the new scoring system, which has been in place since 2005, the maximum total score for the test is 2400, which includes Verbal (renamed to Critical Reading), Mathematics, and a new section, Writing. These sections are 800 points each. Moore County’s 2009 score when all 3 sections are considered is 1532, compared to the national average of 1509 and the state average of 1486.
Moore County’s 3 high schools have consistently scored higher than the state and national averages:
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| Moore County | 1042 | 1046 | 1053 | 1039 | 1045 |
| North Carolina | 1010 | 1008 | 1004 | 1007 | 1006 |
| United States | 1028 | 1021 | 1017 | 1017 | 1016 |
Moore County’s score was also higher than that of the surrounding counties:
| County | 2009 Score |
| Chatham | 983 |
| Cumberland | 949 |
| Harnett | 975 |
| Hoke | 864 |
| Lee | 990 |
| Montgomery | 892 |
| Moore | 1045 |
| Randolph | 967 |
| Richmond | 951 |
| Scotland | 900 |
Source: NC Dept. of Public Instruction, 2009 SAT Report
DROPOUT RATE
The dropout rate is reported as the percentage of students in grades 9-12 who were enrolled during the previous school year but were not enrolled on the 20th day of the current school year. This rate does not include students who have transferred to another school or otherwise graduated from high school. During 2008-2009, Moore County Schools’ rate was 2.24%, compared to the state rate of 2.93%.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Moore County Public Schools
Dr. Susan Purser, Superintendent
PO Box 1180
5277 US Highway 15-501 South
Carthage, NC 28327-1180
Phone 910-947-2976
Website: www.ncmcs.org
