By Amy Cockerham
Public Ed Works

WINTERVILLE (March 11, 2026) – Public school leaders are coming together outside the classroom to improve the lives of Pitt County children and their families.

IMPACT Leadership & Educational Center was founded in 2023, for third- through eighth-grade students. (IMPACT stands for Integrity -Merit – Perseverance – Accountability – Community – Talent.)

Dannie Sue Foster is a board member and worked previously in Pitt County Schools as a principal.

“We started off all of us working in different areas and capacities as educators,” Foster said. “Realizing that we had a similar dream of trying to help students who don’t always have opportunities.”

Pitt County is classified as Tier 1 under the state’s ranking system, or one of 40 most economically distressed counties in North Carolina. 

“We know as educators the school system is doing…as good a job as it can do with the resources and the direction,” Foster said. “However, there are students who need extra or need more, they need that smaller community to help them be successful.”

“Mentoring Monarchs” is the IMPACT program held once a month on Saturdays for students to focus on building leadership skills and good values. Students or “Monarchs” work through team building activities, leadership exercises and field trips.

IMPACT also holds a three-week summer program and an after-school program.

“We know that education is still one of the best ways that students can change the trajectory of not only their lives, but change the trajectory of their families,” Lorenzo Lee, an assistant principal and vice-chair of IMPACT, said.

“It’s not just about reading or it’s not just about math, but it’s about those skills that might help students become employable.”

Pitt County principal and chairman of IMPACT Anthony Perkins said they’ve already seen positive impacts on students. One stands out to him in particular.

“He came to us in the seventh grade,” Perkins said. “Very quiet, very reserved, very, just soft spoken.”

“Now he serves as a youth leader of the Monarchs, where he’s in the planning sessions, where he’s in the development sessions, where he’s just actually become almost a partner with us as we’re developing the leadership skills for everyone that’s under him.”

Perkins said overall, participants’ grades have increased and behavior has improved at school and home.

The new nonprofit also works with East Carolina University student volunteers as well, who help them with programming and mentoring.

“If you ever just listened to our personal stories, we all are able to be successful in what we’re doing because of the education, and that’s one of the things that the Monarchs just know from us,” Perkins said. “We’re going to push education, because we are educators and it’s in the heart of whatever we do.”

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