Growing Harnett County’s Future Early Educators
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
An update from Harnett County Schools Career & Technical Education
This fall, the Harnett County Economic Development Team checked in with Harnett County Schools Career & Technical Education (HCS CTE) Director Lindsey Hardee to see what new courses or initiatives are taking place. HCS offers a wide range of CTE programs in the County’s middle and high schools that give students practical skills in areas like agriculture, business and marketing, health sciences, IT, and trade and industrial education, plus hands-on experience and credentials that get them ready for the workforce.
The news that we heard from HCS CTE did not come as a surprise. In economic development, we often hear about the ongoing challenges with childcare across North Carolina, and right here in Harnett County.
Thanks to career and technical education, data such as labor market trends, student enrollment numbers, student interest, and stakeholder feedback are being used to improve programs, strengthen the local workforce, and align with state priorities.
Below is a timeline showing how HCS CTE is meeting a critical workforce need while creating new pathways for students to enter the field of Early Childhood Education:
Spring 2022
In the spring of 2022, HCS students’ Career Development Plans, which are required for all students and include a career interest assessment, showed that more than 1,000 students matched with education and training as a top career interest.
Sharing this data with Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) led to the creation of the Harnett Teacher Academy (HTA), which gives students a head start on college coursework while preparing them for careers in Early Childhood Education (ECE).
HCS CTE Dual Enrollment Academies are a collaborative effort between Harnett County Schools and Central Carolina Community College.
2023 - 2024 School Year
A Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA), conducted every two years to guide program planning and budgeting for CTE programs receiving Federal Perkins funds, revealed strong student interest in ECE at Overhills High School (OHS) in Western Harnett County, with 386 students selecting Child Development as a top choice for a CTE pathway elective.
The classes currently being taught by Family and Consumer Science (FCS) teacher Cory Morris, M.Ed., exceeded the limited available seats, and ECE I and II were not yet offered.
Cory Morris is a certified birth through kindergarten teacher with a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She has experience as an early childhood educator and center director and has worked with early childhood educators throughout Harnett and Wake Counties to help them practice developmentally appropriate care. Morris also teaches Early Childhood classes at CCCC and Wake Tech Community College.
“My goal for Harnett County Schools’ Early Childhood Education I class is to have students interning all over Harnett County and be dual-enrolled,” said Morris. “I would love to have a lab center for my students that is based on developmentally appropriate practice and the Reggio Emilia approach.”
Hardee said that district leaders acted on the data to address the demand to develop the ECE Program at OHS.
Summer 2024
At the end of the 2023 - 24 school year, HCS posted an additional Family and Consumer Sciences position, budgeted based on CLNA findings that identified the highest-enrolled pathways at OHS.
Beginning teacher JaLeesha Petty was hired, bringing extensive experience in Early Childhood Education. With Petty on board, HCS CTE would now be able to meet the high student interest in Child Development at OHS and allowed Morris to begin recruiting for the Early Childhood Education Program.
Spring 2025
In the spring of this year, coincidentally, the Harnett County Schools System surveyed its teachers and staff to gauge interest in a district child development center for employees’ children. According to Hardee, the HCS ECE Programs were always central to the idea.
“Our Early Childhood programs were always part of the district child development conversation because students would need a place to complete internships and already earn multiple certifications required to work in a childcare facility,” said Hardee. “Because we track labor market trends in CTE, we are typically ahead of the curve when it comes to knowing what is coming down from the state as a priority for funding or labor market.”
Fall 2025
To date, 18 HCS students have joined the Harnett Teacher Academy, dual-enrolling at CCCC in an ECE pathway to begin their associate's degree, with the most recent induction being held in October 2025.
“None of this would be possible without Cory and the support of both HCS and CCCC Leadership,” said Hardee. “In my six years serving at Central Services in HCS CTE, there has never been an idea supported by data that both CCCC and HCS have not supported. It is inspiring to serve where students come first, both now and when they graduate!”
ECE Program Success at Overhills High School
The first year of the Early Childhood Education program at OHS has already produced strong results and valuable partnerships:
- 20 students are enrolled in the inaugural class, with a full roster expected next year
- Three students have already received job offers
- Five childcare centers in Harnett County are currently hosting interns, with two additional centers preparing to join
Hardee shared that while dual enrollment academies are not unique to HCS and CCCC, HCS CTE’s immersive approach, including campus tours, field trips, mentorships, and having an in-house CTE teacher as adjunct faculty at CCCC, makes these academies very strong and popular among HCS students.
Another key factor in the program’s success is something that Harnett County prides itself on: a community that consistently shows up, steps in to help, and supports one another to achieve a common goal.
Community Collaboration in Action
Not only have HCS and CCCC been critical to the success of this program, but Harnett County Government and the Harnett County Partnership for Children, a 501(c)(3) public/private organization providing programs and services for children birth to five and their families in Harnett County, stepped up to ensure students received the training, safety instruction, criminal background checks, fingerprinting, and testing required by the State of North Carolina to work in a childcare center.
Through this program, students will also be registered with the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), meeting state requirements to work in a childcare setting.
Several community partners have stepped up to make this possible:
- The Harnett County Partnership for Children played a critical role, providing SIDS training, playground safety instruction, and literacy lessons that prepared students for hands-on experience in childcare settings.
- Harnett County Schools Health Science educators, Julie Wester, and HOSA advisor Jessica Fordham, BSN, provided CPR/First Aid instruction, ensuring that classroom learning aligns directly with community standards and workforce expectations.
- The Harnett County Sheriff's Office assisted with fingerprinting for state certification.
- The Harnett County Health Department conducted TB testing to meet state requirements.
“Without the Harnett County Partnership for Children’s support through SIDS training, playground safety, and literacy lessons, the Harnett County Health Department’s TB testing, and the Sheriff's Office’s fingerprinting, we would not be able to place our students in their internships this year,” said Hardee. “Our students will be ready for full-time employment when they graduate because of these agencies.”
The Early Childhood Education program at Overhills High School is a powerful example of what can happen when schools and community partners work together. Hardee reiterates that every program decision is driven by data. But what really makes the difference for her is to see education partners working together to put students first.
“It’s inspiring to serve in a district where both HCS and CCCC fully support student-focused ideas,” said Hardee. “Our goal is to put students first, both now and as they graduate.”
For more information on Harnett County Schools Career and Technical Education, visit here.