Addressing similar abilities but different opportunities: A very high percentage (82 percent) of Polk County graduates go on to either community college or a four-year university. Some students will not go further than high school, and recognizing this, the school system has a range of programs to provide real world tools for our future workforce.

The school farm has had 350 students complete the program with either an emphasis on animal or crop agriculture or bio-fuel. Along with the farm, the school has a certified nursing assistant program; a construction program, including a tools certification; and a foods and nutrition program with a Safe-Serve certification gives students training, experience and certification respected in their field of work.

The school’s business department also offers MicroSoft Academy as well as a web design course and entrepreneurial studies.

How does Polk County’s school system stack up? Happily, we can celebrate. Recently released figures show our school district is ranked among the top school districts in the state in almost every academic measure.

Based on figures from the 2012-2013 academic year, Polk County Schools achieved top-10 rankings in 13 of 18 measures of reading, math and science putting us in the top three in North Carolina in overall performance.

The Public School Forum recently released a publication naming Polk Schools the top district in the state when comparing measures like graduation rate, Algebra I scores and third-grade reading.

Polk County boasts the sixth highest SAT and ACT scores in the state as well as having the highest Algebra I passing rate in NC.

Add to the list one of the state’s lowest dropout rates, one of the highest rates on workplace readiness assessments and the number of awards the district has received, and it becomes easy to see why Polk County Schools is viewed as one of the best school districts in North Carolina.