Selma City Schools has a lot of reasons to be proud.

When James Carter was appointed Selma City Schools superintendent in 1990, he inherited a system plagued with high dropout rates and low test scores.

Fast forward 17 years and the dropout rate – that was around 40 percent – is now at six percent, according to an article published in the Foundation For Excellent Schools (FES) newsletter.

That’s lower than the statewide average of 13 percent.

On average, more than 87 percent of the students who take the Alabama High School Graduation Exam passed the test, cited an accountability report provided by the Alabama State Department of Education.

During his tenure, Carter proposed the Selma College Early High School, which the school board approved.

Now, students who graduate from SECHS earn a high school diploma and a two-year college degree.

Selma schools also fared well in its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) assessments.

In 2006, 10 of 12 Selma schools made 100 percent AYP, which is based on achievement on assessments of the state’s academic content standards. The system earned $56,000 for its AYP status.

Carter submitted his resignation last week at a special-called meeting of the Selma City Schools board.

His last day was Friday, although he will remain as a consultant to the system.

We thank Carter for his service, and for the accomplishments

made during his time as superintendent.

And we wish him well in his future endeavors.