Society has long been trained to see deficiencies in other people rather than deficiencies in policy, and that’s the reason why “renewal,” still in its infancy, will be an uphill climb for the Rowan-Salisbury School System.

But the ambitious undertaking offers hope about how a reimagined public education system might better serve all students.

Consider that employers routinely complain about a lack of workers in science, technology, engineering and math. Employers also have more trouble filling jobs that don’t require a four-year degree than those that do.

But our country’s education system has long been one that prizes and prioritizes a college degree. And for good reason. But too many people who attend college have to take on debt to do so. And others leave with student debt and no degree.

An estimated 54% of young adults — those aged 18 to 29 — took on some debt to go to college, according to a Federal Reserve report issued in May. The report, which covers 2018, also shows that 60% of young adults took on some debt to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

And among students who started pursuing a four-year degree at a public college in 2011, just 60% had graduated by 2017, according to U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. The same rate was 66% at private, nonprofit colleges and 21 percent at for-profit schools.

But while the Rowan-Salisbury Schools System must consider its “renewal” status in the context of broader trends and standards it won’t change them alone.

Instead, the school system can balance the number of students pursuing a four-year degree with those enrolling in community college or certification programs — where costs are lower and after which entry-level jobs may pay the same or better than those where four-year degrees are required.

Instead of trying to change the U.S. education system single-handedly, the Rowan-Salisbury School System can open students’ eyes to careers that pay well without a four-year degree, teach skills that will be required by employers after graduation and create an example of what a well-balanced school system looks like in a county with a poverty rate above state and national averages.

Along the way, as Superintendent Lynn Moody has noted, there will be structural challenges. One such example is school performance grades that Moody says will be released this week.

Moody’s statements to the school board on Monday lend credence to the idea that scores won’t change significantly. While she’s subject to an embargo and cannot talk about the scores, she said that it’s unlikely any school district would see significant improvement or decline unless demographics shift, too.

Another challenge: Nearly half of the children in Rowan County have two or more adverse childhood experiences, and those have an effect on academic performance. It’s harder for children to focus in school when they’re subject to emotional, physical or sexual abuse, exposed to domestic violence or live in a household where substance abuse is common.

With this year being the first that “renewal,” is district wide, the hill RSS must climb seems particularly steep.

But whether its bucking longstanding practices, another year of flat test scores, creating engaged students from those who wouldn’t be otherwise or the long list of other challenges, Rowan-Salisbury Schools shouldn’t be dissuaded from allowing local educators to be creative about creating a new image of a public school system.

Along the way, RSS will need to to show results for skeptical school board members and parents. It must simultaneously show policymakers in Raleigh that this is an experiment worth replicating.

The alternative is reverting to a decades-old system, dreaming smaller and relying too heavily on standardized testing. That’s not a path we think is best for students.