Dr. Otis L. Smallwood, Superintendent
A Message From the Superintendent
Dear Bertie County Schools Stakeholders
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year for Bertie County Schools (BCS)! I am excited to see what we can accomplish together this year.
It is always so exciting and refreshing to start a new school year! Whether it is seeing the bright, smiling faces of students and staff, seeing the new outfits that the students (and teachers) are wearing, or seeing the hope on children’s faces, starting a new school year is exciting. Education is the one field we, as professionals, get to start over to impact a child's life positively.
Although we are still dealing with learning recovery from the pandemic, BCS accomplished so much during the 2023-24 school year. Let me just list a few of those accomplishments:
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BCS received district-wide accreditation from Cognia with scores above the national average
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We opened a brand new teacher housing apartment complex (Dream Point Apartments). The first of its kind in Bertie County with the goal of recruiting and retaining teachers.
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BCS received a $15 million grant from the state to construct a new Career and Technical Education Center at Bertie High School
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The upgraded football field and new track will be available this school year. Football players will be able to play at home this school year. In addition, we will be able to run and host track meetings at home. This has not been done in nearly 15 years.
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BCS teacher turnover rates have decreased and are now below the state average
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BCS graduation rates are above the state average
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BCS received district accreditation from Cognia
One of the major accomplishments that I am most proud of is that for the second consecutive year, BCS is NOT on the state’s low-performing list. Since 2018-19, BCS is one of only six school districts in the state that has continually decreased its percentage of low-performing schools. In fact, we are #1 out of the 6.
Test scores and other accountability measures are on the rise. There are too many accomplishments to list here but I encourage you to check our social media pages and website for more information on accountability results.
BCS is in a good place—better than it has been for a long while. We, as community stakeholders, should be proud of our students and staff for what they accomplished during the 2023-24 school year. However, we are all about continuous improvement, so there is still much work to be done to get to the next level.
In 2024-25 let’s make bold moves and courageous decisions as we continue to Get In the Way for students. I believe we can achieve our goals if we continue to work together to mitigate our students' challenges. I ask for your support in creating a school system where all children can reach their full potential while with us. We want to ensure they are prepared for life when leaving us.
Thank you for allowing me to serve our students and our community. And as always, thank you for helping me #BuildABetterBertie. I could not do this work without each of you. If you ever need anything from me, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Educationally Yours,
Otis L. Smallwood, Ed.D