Lee County Board of Education honors Charlise Wilson and hears Outdoorsman Club appeals

The Lee County Board of Education honored the North Carolina Governor’s School scholarship winner at the April 14 meeting.

This article includes a Teen News Video in hip-hop.

During the superintendent’s report, the board honored the winning applicant out of the 10 students selected for nominations for the North Carolina Governor’s School to focus on academics or performing arts during the summer of 2026.

Director of Secondary Curriculum and Advanced Learning Dillion Crockett reviewed the winning applicant’s achievements.

Katie Brown, the applications coordinator, helped introduce the winning applicant.

Charlise Wilson, in eleventh grade, outperformed all other students and will be the first student since 2019 from Lee County to concentrate on English. Wilson was raised by her mother.

She will attend Meredith College for the summer program.

Wilson has diverse interests, from science to math, and is a member of the National Honor Society and the Random Acts of Kindness Club. She is seeking a medical career.

Teen News Videos engage youth with current events and civic matters. Enjoy the hip-hop!

Public Comments

Andrew Diemer, a social studies teacher at Southern Lee High School, said he had a public relations “slam dunk.” He received a $10k grant to start the Outdoorsman Club, and it has 130 active members. The club is free, and students must be in good standing with their teachers to go on trips, such as horseback riding. “There has been a snag.” Recent policies cut his ability to serve students. He asked for an exemption to a new policy because up to 2/3 of students would not be able to participate under the new no-school missed except for competition restrictive policy. Trailblazers worked with Diemer to create a patch reward competition, but the district had denied his appeals.

The board asked how many times students were removed from the classroom per semester.

Three, and the absences were not continuous. “Even if a student has a B and has not turned in an assignment,” Diemer said.

The policy restricts students who work because they work to maintain families and can be absent from school but not work. The policy says exemptions can be approved when they are participating in a competition.

“After school…2/3 of students work for a living—is tough times everywhere,” Diemer said.

Camden Dew, 17, a Southern Lee High School student, said the Outdoorsman Club helped kids stay off their phones and enjoy the outdoors.

Dew works sometimes from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. and on weekends. “So, that’s why I signed up for the Outdoorsman Club,” Dew said about why he cannot enjoy outdoor activities during school-free hours and why they needed an exemption.

Chairperson Sherry Womack asked about academic requirements.

“I do try my hardest. I have ADHD and some think I have autism,” Dew said.

“When I go on these trips I feel like I can breathe…Me, I have an IEP, and I’m not as fast as everyone else in passing, but I do my best and pass,” Jones said about the core-memory making trips being a motivation to keep up her grades.

The accountability report on academic progress raised questions for school leaders.

Executive Director of Accountability Stefanie Clarke shared data comparing student outcomes from 2024 to the present. It included school performance grades, growth measures and testing results, with charts showing trends.

Review the data here.

Questions for leaders:

What methods and other factors led to schools reaching learning goals?

What contributed to declining scores?

How is the district improving learning gaps?

Will future reports include explanations for changes in learning achievements and improvement plans? Some observers say that without added context, data reports can be difficult for the public to interpret.

Womack explained that the district’s licensed staff used RoundUp weed killer only when students were not on campuses.

Womack said if weeds were not removed ticks would become a prevalent problem, and alternative weed removal options were not viable options.

“There is a federal change to the SNAP. It’s dumping millions of dollars into administrative costs…They’re not sending another single dollar to Lee County,” Womack said about how all citizens will be “hit hard” and so will the free breakfast and lunch programs and that county commissioners will have to make tough decisions. The district has a four-year contract for free nutritious breakfast and lunch programs under a grant, but it will expire.

The fraud highlighted in the national media, such as in Michigan, stems from administrative mistakes that were not in Lee County.

She asked that the board support the initiative to provide free breakfast and lunch.

The board moved to draft a letter for county commissioner support for the school nutrition programs.

“County commissioners have been very busy with data centers, so they haven’t been busy with schools right now,” Member Eric Davidson said about why there were no updates from the commissioners.

The next meeting is May 12 at 5:30 p.m.

April 15, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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