ACHIEVING ACADEMIC GOALS
ENHANCING STUDENT PERFORMANCE

Head of Class Project

It all began with one simple question: How could community leaders work together to help Lee County Schools achieve some lofty goals? It ended with one groundbreaking idea that has generated praise from former governors and even a U.S. Secretary of Education: the Head of Class Project.

The Head of Class Project is the first of its kind in North Carolina: a public-private partnership using incentives to enhance achievement in the local schools. It awards $50,000 to $75,000 annually to the faculty and staff of the best performing elementary school in Lee County — and has recently been expanded to recognize the best performing middle school as well.

Each employee of the winning school receives a portion of the cash award. That includes teachers and administrators, but also librarians, teacher assistants and the full range of school staff members.

Awards are provided from an over-$1 million endowment maintained by the Lee County Education Foundation and raised through private contributions of all sizes — from large corporate contributions to smaller, but critical, contributions from local residents. The foundation continues its fundraising all year long to fund the Head of Class Project and other initiatives that enhance educational opportunity for students.

Thanks to the generosity of the The Ruby & Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands Trust, the Head of Class was expanded in 2025 to include an award for our top middle school- the Ruby & Ernest McSwain Middle School Head of Class. We are so pleased to have the capacity to recognize and reward educator excellence at the middle school level.

TO READ THE MOST RECENT HEAD OF CLASS STORIES, see award recipient links.