The mission statement of Vance County schools is to strive to provide every student with skills needed for a lifelong educations. Vance County schools work to provide students -- through academic programs, extracurricular activities and elective courses -- with quality education for children to succeed after graduation.
In a 2007 report, the Vance County School District spent an average of $8,470 per pupil with 64 percent of it on instruction, 30 percent on support services, and six percent on other elementary and secondary expenditures. Vance County schools have also increased efforts to integrate technology into the administrative system, such as A+ software, to help administrators and teachers track and analyze student performance and progress, as well as to evaluate skill levels and provide remediation of students throughout a school year.
Vance County has 10 elementary schools for students in preschool through grade five, including Aycock and Carver Elementary. Children in these schools learn through hands-on methods with a variety of media including fully accessible libraries and computer labs. Along with basic elementary classes, these schools offer special programs for accelerated readers, gifted children and children who speak English as a second language.
There are two middle schools located within Vance County including Eaton Johnson and Henderson Middle Schools. These schools are committed to establishing middle school programs that meet the individual needs of all students. Aside from the regular middle school curriculum, these schools offer electives such as band, art and dance, and athletics such as football, basketball and wrestling.
There are four high schools located within Vance County: Northern Vance, Southern Vance, Western Vance and Early College High Schools. These schools work to give children the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college or in the work world upon graduation. Extra-curricular activities at the schools include art and drama clubs, gaming clubs, literary magazines, music appreciation clubs, step teams, ultimate Frisbee and yearbook. A variety of athletic opportunities are also offered such as basketball, football, baseball, soccer, tennis, track and swimming. Links to college and career information for students are also available on school websites.
Private schools in Vance County include Kerr-Vance Academy, Victory Baptist Church School, and Crossroads Christian School. These schools enroll students from pre-K through 12th grade, and, as in the case of Crossroads and Victory Baptist Church, provide religious studies for students along with the normal academic studies. Kerr-Vance academy also offers a K2-3 program for children ages two to three years.