The Eagles of North Middle High School had a phenomenal year in 2024-2025. In keeping with our school theme of “Moving in the Right Direction”, the staff and students rose to the challenge of making our school an Excellent school. It is the intentional work of the staff, students, and stakeholders that afforded us the opportunity to grow as a school community.
2024-2025 School Highlights
Academics – Our high school report card moved from Below Average in 2022-2023 to Excellent in 2023-2024. The middle school remained at Average. We held a school-wide party to celebrate our successes. Again, this year, iReady data improved over the previous year, which shows that our students are mastering content as expected. During 2023-2024, we had a passage rate of 91.7% in English II on the EOCEP, with other scores improving as well. Preliminary data for the 2024-2025 EOCEP and SC Ready assessments shows improvements on both assessments. A new CATE Program, introduced last school term at our school, saw 16 students becoming completers in Administrative Services this year. They all passed the OSHA 10 General Industry credential examination. Another student was a completer in Health Science at our career center. All of our eligible seniors graduated with 100% of them either college and/or career ready. Our seniors focused on the 3 E’s – Enrolled, Enlisted, or Employed. Many of them were accepted to 2- and 4-year colleges, 3 are going to the military (1 Army National Guard and 2 Marine Corps), and others will be gainfully employed. These students accrued over 200 hours of dual enrollment at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. Scholarship awards for these students totaled $1,409,400. Two students received their Associates Degree from OC-Tech through the Orangeburg Advanced College. A record number of students were named to the Principal’s List and Honor Roll each grading period. Several teachers earned mini grants to supplement resources for their classes.
Activities – This year, we added two more organizations for students to participate in. The STEM Like a Girl Club aims to ignite a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) among young girls by providing them with the tools, resources, and confidence to explore and excel in these fields. The mission is to inspire and empower girls to envision themselves as future leaders and problem solvers in STEM. The Bowtie Club for boys is a mentoring initiative designed to support the academic, personal, and social development of high school male students. This program is rooted in the Five Wells of Leadership—Well-Read, Well-Spoken, Well-Traveled, Well-Dressed, and Well-Balanced—which guide each monthly session. The club helps to build a sense of brotherhood, community responsibility, and high expectations for all young men involved. This initiative reflects a commitment to equity, empowerment, and preparing students for success beyond the classroom. The Student Council continues to engage students in leadership and fun activities, giving them opportunities to effect change in our school’s processes and procedures. They have continued to assist with monthly parenting meetings, host school socials, and plan events that help promote school spirit. Many other students took on leadership roles at family night programs and school community events.
Arts – Students in the arts program displayed their talents in many ways and were rewarded for their awesome efforts. Visual arts students won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in the Orangeburg County Fair Showcase as well as the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce poster contest. Additionally, art students participated in the Orangeburg County School District Art Showcase and several of their artworks are featured in the district’s Administrative Offices. Art students were a part of a historic, innovative project with a famous muralist where they painted panels for a collaborative community project. Finally, students in the visual arts and vocal arts programs helped to paint a mural "The Walls that Speak" and performed alongside local university students with another famous muralist. They also exhibited their works at a local sorority’s Chocolate Tea which is a celebration of the arts during Black History Month. The band program continues to win awards on the local, regional, state, and even out-of-state levels. Five students represented North Middle High at the 2025 South Carolina Band Director Association's (SCBDA) Region 4 Honor Band Clinic. Other awards presented by the SCBDA include ratings of Excellent for the Honor Band and Concert Band, and a Superior with Distinction rating for the Middle School Honor Band. For the first time for a band program at North Middle High, the band earned the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award, which is the highest award in the state of South Carolina for any band program. The band earned an Excellent rating at Six Flags while the Middle School Band scored a Superior rating at the Carowinds Festival of Music. Band students amassed over $1,786,000 in scholarships. A band student placed 3rd in a local fraternity’s Talent Hunt contest. The band teacher was recognized as “Teacher of the Week” by WLTX News. Because of their visual, vocal, and instrumental artistic talents, many students are a part of the Orangeburg County School District’s Honor Band, Honor Chorus, and Honor Art programs, and they participated in the district’s Fine Arts Summer Academy.
Athletics – The athletic program continues to feature stellar talent on and off the court. For the volleyball program, 2 students made the All-Region Team. The girls’ basketball team had a banner year whereby they competed in the 3rd round of the basketball finals – a feat that has not been done in 20 years. Three girls were placed on the All-Region team, and one player was named the Player of the Year and selected for the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (SCBCA) All-State Team. The coach was named as the Coach of the Year for the region. The boys’ basketball team won the Region Championship for two consecutive years, made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs, while 4 players were named to the All-Region Team. One of the players was named Player of the Year and was selected for the SCBCA All-State team. The coach/athletic director was named back-to-back Region 3 Coach of the Year and Athletic Director of the Year. He also earned his Master Athletic Administrator certification by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). He is the first AD in our district to earn this national distinction. The track team enjoyed huge successes this year. A record 24 students qualified for the Upper State Finals, and 10 students qualified for the State Track and Field Finals. The 4x100 team set a school record. One student was a region winner in 2 athletic areas. Our school entered in The Ambetter AED Challenge and was selected as a recipient of an AED sponsored by Ambetter and the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL). We were recognized during the SCHSL Basketball State Championships in March. Ambetter delivered the AED unit in June and provided AED Training from a certified instructor to staff at our school.
Other – Once again, the school received a Wellness Grant sponsored by MUSC. The funds were used to provide wellness resources. Our school secretary was honored as the SCEA Education Support Professional of the Year. The principal was featured in a National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) blog that focused on increasing test scores as well as advocating for and utilizing effective instructional strategies for school improvement. One of our teachers was selected as one of the Top 10 teachers for the district’s Teacher of the Year, the Coach/AD was named to the Top 10 Support Staff of the Year, and the Principal was chosen as one of the Top 5 Principals of the Year.
Debra W. Norman, Principal
Monique Aguerra, SIC Chair
