NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Wednesday morning at the School of the Arts, the Charleston County superintendent talked about the district’s achievements, their goals, and his future as superintendent.

It was a room full of board members, principals and teachers.

“Thank you for being here today as we reflect on a great year and as we think about the challenges that lie ahead of us,” one district leader said.

It was a morning to look back and also, look ahead.

Superintendent Don Kennedy said the success of the district is only as good as the support from the community, “I believe firmly that in order for our children to reach their dreams, that we as a community need to create what I call a Pre-K to 12 ecosystem.”

Kennedy says academically, students in Charleston County are projected to test well on state exams.

Since 2020 the number of kindergarteners who are ready to successfully jump to 1st grade improved from 42.9% to 53.1%.

“Those indicators are looking really good, especially for reading, which is our primary goal for vision 2027, all kids reading on grade level,” Kennedy said.

However, as well as students are doing, there are also areas to be worked on.

“Everything we want to improve on for our kids are associated with our three board goals. One is reading, one is algebra one in the 8th grade because kids going into high school need to be able to understand algebra to be effective in school, and then college and career readiness,” Kennedy said.

As Kennedy talked about the future of the school district, he also addressed his own, amid the district’s search for a permanent superintendent.

Kennedy said, “The board is still working through that. In my work that I’ve been doing the last year and a half in my presentation today I talked about the community commitment to the wellbeing of children. So, for me it’s irrelevant almost whether I’m in the superintendent seat or just a member of the community.”

The district says they have three finalists for the position but haven’t released names yet.