to develop registered pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. Goode explains that this work is still early-stage, but it reflects the district’s commitment to building a workforce system in partnership with local employers rather than in isolation. A key step in that process is an upcoming presentation to local businesses, where Goode plans to frame the district’s value in terms that matter most to industry. The goal is not merely to describe what students are taught, but to show what the district can provide: trained, capable employees grown locally, reducing the need for employers to search outside the county for talent. As Sampson County Schools expands workforce alignment, it is also strengthening the technology foundation that supports modern learning. The district accelerated its move toward one-to-one learning during the pandemic and now provides devices throughout grade levels. Middle and high school students, from grade six through 12, have laptops, while elementary students make extensive use of iPads. For Goode, technology integration is not simply about devices, but about access, equity, and the ability to prepare students for a world where digital fluency is no longer optional. A major STEM advancement is the district’s designation as a SparkNC district. SparkNC, supported by the Leon Levine Foundation, is described as a new way to do school, built around hands-on STEM pathways delivered through a structured lab-based model. Sampson County Schools opened its Spark Lab with a ribbon cutting on October 27, making the program still new but already positioned for growth. The Spark Lab introduces students to multiple STEM pathways through a modular structure that includes an introductory experience, a series of pathway modules, and a culminating capstone. Students can explore areas such as cybersecurity, data analysis, robotics, bioengineering, and coding, and the program is structured so that completion satisfies North Carolina’s computer science graduation requirement. 316 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 02
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