BALDWIN COUNTY, Ga. — Baldwin County School Superintendent Noris Price is going into her 11th year in the role. And at the end of this school year, she will retire after working in education for 40 years.
She said what she will miss the most is the children and showing them the importance of graduating high school.
"What we say is your options are, you can go to the workforce, you can go to the military, you can go to a technical college, or you can go to a four-year college, but going home and sitting on the porch is not an option we're giving you,” she said. “You got to do something with that education."
She is also a first-generation high school graduate.
"I am a first-generation high school graduate, first-generation college student,” Price said. “I know the power of education and I try to instill that in our students. Especially those that will also be first-generation high school graduates to help them understand the power of education and how it can transform your life forever."
According to the district, under Price's leadership for the past 10 years, the county's high school graduation rate grew from 66% to 88%.
"Part of that is really looking at helping students and families understand the importance of graduating from high school,” she said. “When I first came on board, we actually had community members join me, and we would go and knock on doors and get our students that had dropped out of school to get them to come back to finish their education. So, our first initiative was we got to get our kids back in school.”
She knows the power of support because there was a time when she needed it from her school too.
"I am an immigrant,” Price said. “I came to the United States when I was 10 years old. I did not speak any English, and I had great educators who saw the potential in me."
As she gets ready to close this chapter of her career, Price said she is thankful to the Baldwin Board of Education for what she calls the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I am so so thankful for every year that I have spent in this school district,” she said. “The job is challenging, the job is difficult, it is not easy at all. But I love what I do, but I love what I do because I have a strong support system.”
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