In a start of the school year that has been defined by a gun-toting mother at a bus stop, a political banner held by cheerleaders, constant consolidation chatter and a three-hour bus tour of Stanfield for a third grader, this week’s school report card scores brought some welcome news to the Stanly County School System.

While the reports are not a slam dunk saying everything is just hunky dory, there are some good things the system can build on in the future.

At Albemarle High, the news was more about what didn’t happen than what happened.

The school was able to hold onto its “C” grade for the overall report card. It’s a positive development for a school that has been alternating between a “C” and a “D” since 2015.

Although Albemarle High did not meet the expected growth, it came closer than the previous year. It seems the school is moving in the right direction. SAT scores scheduled to be released in a few weeks will either validate or cast doubt on that hypothesis.

Things are not so rosy at South Stanly High School. The school did not meet expected growth and fell from a grade of a “B” to a “C,” putting two of the county’s four traditional high schools in the “C” category.

The feel-good story of the school system is in Millingport where the mighty Wildcats jumped from a “D” school to a “B” school in one year. It’s a great accomplishment and a lot of people are going to want to hear about how they made it happen.

With all the distractions that have been in the news so far this year, it’s important to remember where the school scoreboard really is.

The score that matters is in these state academic ratings. Good work is happening in many schools across the county. The key is to keep that improvement moving forward and continue to better these results in the coming years.