The Granville County Public School’s Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday, December 20, 2018, at 5:30 p.m., at the Central Service Building, 101 Delacroix Street, Oxford, NC.
The purpose of the meeting is for the Board to deliberate and discuss the information gathered through study and public hearings on the school district budget shortfall and possible closure of Joe Toler – Oak Hill Elementary School and the consolidation of Mary Potter Middle School and Northern Granville Middle School.
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Granville County Public Schools is celebrating reading and readers during this winter break with Books for Break, a literacy initiative of GCPS. GCPS is committed to growing strong readers and, therefore, allocated funds to purchase a book for every student in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Students will receive a book on the last day before break (Monday, December 17 for students on the year-round calendar, and Thursday, December 20 for students on the traditional calendar) to keep and enjoy at home. At GCPS, we want our students to continue to read and practice the reading skills and strategies they are learning in class. Providing our youngest readers a book is one small way to encourage them to continue reading during winter break.
WHO: Students in Pre-K through 3rd grade
WHAT: Books for Break, a literacy initiative of Granville County Public Schools
WHEN: Monday, December 17 (year round)
Thursday, December 20 (traditional)
WHERE: All Granville County elementary schools
WHY: To encourage students to continue reading during winter break
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The Board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at 5:30 p.m., at Mary Potter Middle School. The purpose of the meeting is for the Board to address calendar adjustments due to recent inclement weather, review highlights of the study of potential consolidation of Mary Potter Middle School and Northern Granville Middle School, and address Board member questions regarding the potential consolidation.
The Board will also meet in a Closed Session for Attorney-Client Privilege in accordance with N.C. General Statute 143.318.11 (a)(6), 143-318.11 (a)(3), 143.318.11 (a)(5) and Section 115C-321 on this evening.
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at Mary Potter Middle School, the Board will hold a public hearing on the possible consolidation of Mary Potter Middle School and Northern Granville Middle School. Members of the public wishing to speak on this topic may sign up beginning at 6:30 p.m. Each speaker who has signed up prior to 7 p.m. will be given the opportunity to address the Board on this topic for up to four minutes.
Dywanda Pettaway
Clerk to Board of Education
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Dr. Rachel M. Desmarais has been chosen as the next president of Vance-Granville Community College. With the final approval of the appointment by the State Board of Community Colleges on Dec. 18, she becomes the seventh president in the 49-year history of the college.
The VGCC Board of Trustees selected Dr. Desmarais on Wednesday, Dec. 5, following presentations by three finalists in a series of public forums from Nov. 30 through Dec. 4.
“The Board of Trustees has concluded Dr. Desmarais possesses the key attributes of an outstanding president that were identified in our search process,” said Danny W. Wright, chair of the board. “We are confident that Dr. Desmarais will provide: the visionary leadership to help our college expand and to promote economic development in our four counties, a powerful commitment to student recruitment and retention, the dedication to improving the lives of the people in our service area, the attention to facility planning and sustainability, and the articulation of our mission and vision to the college’s employees and the communities we serve.”
Dr. Rachel M. Desmarais, chosen as seventh president of Vance-Granville Community College.
The selection comes after a nationwide search that produced 89 applicants. She will begin work early in 2019.
The executive vice president and chief operating officer of Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem since 2015, Dr. Desmarais has been with Forsyth Tech in a variety of roles since becoming a department chair in 2002. Once a student at Forsyth Tech, taking Information Technology and Programming courses in 1994-1995, Dr. Desmarais became an adjunct instructor at the community college from 1996 to 1999 while also working in the private sector. She became the vice president of information services at Forsyth Tech in 2008 and moved to vice president of planning and information services in 2010 before assuming her current position.
She earned her doctorate of philosophy in instructional design and technology from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., in 2015 after getting her masters of science in information technology management from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in 2003. She earned a bachelor of music degree in voice performance from Mars Hill College in 1992.
She was also among fewer than 40 aspiring and emerging community college presidents nationwide who were chosen for the Aspen Institute Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence in 2017-2018.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve and lead Vance-Granville Community College as its seventh president,” said Dr. Desmarais after being given the news on Wednesday night. “VGCC is a special place with students, faculty, staff, and board members who care for and take great pride in the college and community. I look forward to building on the strong value and culture already present in the college to cultivate a new shared vision for VGCC and its communities. Together, we will truly be Vanguards!”
Born in Sumter, S.C., while her father was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, she moved to Alabama when her family returned home after the Vietnam War.
“I got to watch my dad march across the stage at Auburn University as an electrical engineer,” Dr. Demarais said. “My mother was a preschool teacher. I got exposure to education at a young age, and I saw the value of it.”
Her family found a new home in Orangeburg, S.C., for her father’s first job after college and then eventually Rock Hill, S.C., where she attended middle school and completed her secondary education.
Since her move to Mars Hill, N.C., at the age of 18 to attend college, she has remained in North Carolina, noting that her career has taken her from music education to an administrative assistant in manufacturing to information technology and ultimately to community college administration.
She still has a desire to teach and said she now blends that desire with her love of information and technology to help students find success in the classroom.
“I have a real passion for using data from our students to help them learn how to learn,” she said. “Students have jobs. They have their lives to lead while going to college. They have much to juggle. We have a responsibility to make sure that the education we offer them is as efficient and effective in its delivery as it can be.
“I’m really a strong believer in institutional effectiveness,” she added. “The data can be used as a tool to help our students succeed. We need always to use it as a positive tool. An educated society is a happier, more fulfilled society.”
Her work in the private sector includes a period from 1999 to 2002 when she worked with the Womble Carlyle Sandridge Rice law firm and later a subsidiary, FirmLogic, in Winston-Salem as a systems support manager and, later, project manager. She was assistant to the director of manufacturing and a systems analyst for Highland Industries in Kernersville in 1997-1999.
She also has been actively involved in community projects in the Winston-Salem area, including the United Way; Boy Scouts of America; Forsyth Futures, a non-profit community data research organization; WinstonNet Inc., a non-profit community technology initiative; the Center for Design Innovation; and the Board of Cooperative Ministries for the Southern Province of the Moravian Church.
Dr. Desmarais has an adult son, Ian, who is currently a biotechnology major at Forsyth Tech. Her younger son, Conall, who will be completing the eighth grade, is interested in attending an early college high school. Her husband, she said, plans to retain his job in the Winston-Salem area as he is able to do the majority of his work off-site.
The search process for the new president began in September when the Trustees selected the firm of Executive Leadership Associates (ELA) LLP of Emerald Isle to help the board create a profile of the ideal presidential candidate needed for VGCC, to guide the search process and to recruit and screen applicants. Applications and nominations were accepted beginning Oct. 8 with a deadline of Nov. 9.
Serving on the VGCC Trustees’ presidential search committee were Trustees Deborah Brown, chair; Herb Gregory, vice chair; N. Annette P. Myers, Abdul Sm Rasheed, Donald C. Seifert, Sr., and Sara C. Wester.
With the guidance of ELA, a consortium of former North Carolina community college presidents, the list of candidates was narrowed to five by the board’s search committee. On Nov. 19, at the regular bimonthly meeting of the board, the Trustees trimmed the list to three finalists who were invited to the college to meet with staff and faculty, county officials, chamber members and the public to participate in individual forums. Attendees were given the opportunity to provide input on each finalist via a form distributed at the forums or verbally to representatives of ELA in attendance.
The board met on Dec. 4 following the last of the interviews with candidates. A final decision on the selection was made at a continuation of that meeting, on Dec. 5, following the results of a vetting process conducted by the State Board of Community Colleges.
“After this carefully executed selection process, we believe Dr. Desmarais has the background and the experience to move us and our communities forward,” Trustee Wright said. “We do appreciate our two other finalists who showed such a strong interest in helping our college advance, and we owe much to the members of the public sector who also attended the forums and assisted us in this search process as well.”
The two other finalists were Dr. Quentin Johnson of Mooresville, vice president of Student Support Services at Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, and Dr. Melanie Thornton of Albany, Ga., vice president of academic affairs at Columbus Technical College in Columbus, Ga.
The new president succeeds Dr. Stelfanie Williams who left in August to become the vice president for Durham affairs at Duke University. Dr. Gordon Burns, retired president of Wilkes Community College, is serving as interim president for VGCC until Dr. Desmarais takes office.
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-Information courtesy Dr. Stan Winborne, Public Information Officer, Granville County Public Schools
The Granville County Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the possible closure of Joe Toler – Oak Hill Elementary School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. The hearing will be held at the school, located at 8176 Hwy 96 in Oxford.
Public hearing guidelines and procedures include:
Guest speakers must “sign up” to speak (up to 30 minutes prior to the 7 p.m. public hearing start time);
The guest speaker sheet will be pulled to close sign up at 7 p.m.;
Guests will have four minutes to speak;
The hearing is scheduled to last until 8:30 p.m. If there are still guests who signed up waiting to comment at 8:30 p.m, the Board can decide by majority vote whether to extend the hearing or make some other accommodation;
The Board of Education will only listen to guests, as no responses or decisions will be provided that evening;
The Board of Education will take the public input and study information under advisement and will deliberate and make a final decision at a later public meeting.
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Vance-Granville Community College’s Franklin County Campus has launched a new initiative called Vanguard Flex to meet the needs of adult learners who need more options for class scheduling.
The evening and weekend college program begins with Spring Semester for which registration is now underway.
“Vanguard Flex offers flexible, hybrid schedules in the evenings and on weekends on our campus located at 8100 N.C. Highway 56 in Louisburg,” said Bobbie Jo May, dean of the campus. “We want to accommodate the busy schedules of our adult learners. We are offering flexible scheduling for placement testing, advising, the library resource center, and the open computer lab on our campus some evenings and one Saturday per month.”
Spring Semester classes start on all four VGCC campuses on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019, with a registration deadline of Jan. 3. In addition to the traditional 16-week semester session, VGCC is offering a 12-week term, two 8-week terms and two 4-week terms for the Spring. The first of two 8-week sessions will begin on Jan. 7 and run through March 5. The second 8-week session starts March 5 and concludes May 6, with a registration deadline of Feb. 28. A 12-week mini-term begins Feb. 5 and runs through May 6, the registration deadline coming Jan. 31.
The four-week “Spring Forward” online mini-term begins Dec. 17 with a registration deadline of Dec. 13. A second four-week online mini-term, labeled “March Forward,” is scheduled to begin March 5 with registration ending March 1.
Vanguard Flex is offering five complete curriculum programs of study initially: Early Childhood Education, Certificate; Early Childhood Education, Diploma; Medical Office Administrative Assistant I, Certificate; Business Management, Certificate; and Basic Welding, Certificate. All courses taken in the certificate programs can be applied to diplomas and degrees offered through Vance-Granville, Dean May said.
In addition, a variety of classes is being offered in the following areas through the Vanguard Flex initiative at Franklin Campus:
College Transfer: English, Math, Biology, Introduction to Computers and Psychology courses can be used toward many degree and diploma programs offered through the college. Dean May is recommending that students meet with an academic coach or advisor prior to enrolling in the classes.
Career and Technical: Courses in Welding Technology, Paralegal Technology, Medical Office Administration, Business Management, Bioprocessing Technology and Early Childhood Education lead to certificates and diplomas that can be completed entirely through the evening and weekend format.
Continuing Education: VGCC’s Franklin Campus has a robust selection of courses through the Continuing Education division during the day, evenings and weekends, among them, Nursing Assistant, Medication Technician, Phlebotomist, Notary Public, Bioworks, Human Resource Specialist and Healthcare Administration.
Adult Basic Skills: For those in need of a High School Equivalency or Adult High School Diploma, the Franklin Campus offers flexible hybrid schedules with evening classes in the Adult Basic Skills program. Basic Skills classes for Spring will begin Jan. 8 and will be held each Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. Orientation is held each Friday at 10 a.m. Dean May encourages students to contact the instructor at 252-738-3618 with questions about the classes.
Students who are interested in Vanguard Flex should contact the Franklin County Campus at (919) 496-1567 or write to Dean Bobbie Jo May at mayb@vgcc.edu.
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Granville County Public Schools will hold their second District Spelling Bee in the spring of next year for intermediate elementary students. Students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades are presently trying out for their school spelling bees.
The local school spelling competitions are scheduled to take place in January. One winner from each of the eight elementary schools will then vie for the GCPS Trophy on stage at Tar River Elementary on March 14, 2019.
This year’s words for qualifying were selected by the Scripps National Spelling Bee from fiction and non-fiction literature, both contemporary and classic. The 450 words come from books carefully selected by the Bee’s editorial team for their age-appropriate and engaging content, as well as their rich vocabulary. All words on Scripps word lists are entries in Merriam-Webster Unabridged, the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Since there is no regional bee in this part of North Carolina, the school system hopes to send our winner to the National Spelling Bee in May, says Director of Student and Support Services, Dr. Tonya Thomas, if local sponsors can be found. She and Superintendent Dr. Alisa McLean would like to see a student from Granville County have the opportunity to participate in the exciting and life-changing experience and are seeking sponsors.
The winning speller and his/her family would meet families from around the country, sharing their stories as they practice spelling, and enjoying a week of activities planned just for them. Donations from local sponsors will help pay the registration fee, housing, and transportation for the student. In addition, sponsors may join the School System in planning and hosting the Granville County Bee.
Contact Dr. Tonya Thomas at the Granville County Public School office in Oxford at 919-693-4613 if you or your company would like to make attending this grand event possible for one of our terrific students!
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The Board of Education will meet for its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, December 3. The agenda will include a presentation of a study regarding the possible consolidation of Mary Potter Middle School and Northern Granville Middle School.
The Board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 4, at 5:30 p.m., at Joe Toler Oak Hill Elementary School located at 8176 Hwy 96 Oxford, NC 27565. The purpose of the meeting is for the Board to receive additional information compiled by staff regarding the study of the potential closure of Joe Toler Elementary School.
At 7 p.m. on December 4 at Joe Toler Oak Hill Elementary School, located at 8176 Hwy 96 Oxford, NC 27565, the Board will hold a public hearing on the possible closure of Joe Toler Elementary School. Members of the public wishing to speak on this topic may sign up beginning at 6:30 p.m. Each speaker who has signed up prior to 7 p.m. will be given the opportunity to address the Board on this topic for up to four minutes.
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Vance-Granville Community College’s annual Faculty & Staff Drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund raised $16,011 this fall from among employees on the college’s four campuses, according to an announcement by the co-chairs for the drive to the Trustees on Monday, Nov. 19, at the board’s regular bi-monthly meeting on the Main Campus.
The funds were raised to support the mission of the college and award scholarships to deserving students, said Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund.
Heading up the drive this year were Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for the Paralegal Technology curriculum program; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid.
“Our campaign theme was ‘Rise Up!’” Ferguson told the Trustees. “It was based on the fact that every day our students rise up to come to school under a lot of hardships, whether it be academic pressure, family issues, transportation or such. We serve a very diverse community.”
VGCC’s Faculty & Staff Drive for the Endowment Fund was led by volunteers Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for Paralegal Technology; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid. Shown above celebrating the success of the drive at the Board of Trustees meeting are, from left, Brodie; Kay Currin, Endowment Fund specialist; Trustee Danny Wright, chair of the board; Dr. Gordon Burns, interim VGCC president; Foster-Hill; and Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund. Dickens and Lambert were unavailable for the photo. (VGCC Photo)
The faculty and staff, he said, “rose up” with this drive to provide the funds for the students. “We are really proud to raise this money from our employees, most of which will go directly to students in the form of scholarships. Some of the money is directed to projects such as our student emergency fund to help meet other immediate needs,” Ferguson said.
Statewide Budget Priorities
In his report to the trustees, Interim VGCC President Dr. Gordon Burns outlined budget priorities identified by the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) for 2019 through 2021 and urged the trustees to share those priorities with the returning and newly elected members of the N.C. House of Representatives and the N.C. Senate who represent the four counties served by Vance-Granville Community College.
Under the Workforce Development Legislative Agenda, NCCCS is requesting funding to help 700,000 students annually achieve a better life through high-school equivalency, career and technical education, short-term workforce training, and high quality, affordable college transfer programs, Dr. Burns said. The state’s community colleges are essential in closing the skills gap for North Carolina employers, the NCCCS notes, and are a driving force in the economy of the state.
The system office reports that the state’s 58 community colleges continue to suffer from approximately $53 million in budget cuts made during the 2008 recession that have not been restored, which undercuts efforts to prepare the state’s workforce. Dr. Burns noted, too, that community colleges are having difficulty recruiting and retaining faculty and staff because the average annual faculty salary, at $47,362, is 41st in the nation.
Among legislative priorities for 2019-2021, NCCCS is seeking recurring funds of $11.5 million to fully fund short-term workforce training; $15 million to upgrade information technology systems across the state; $2.6 million to fund workforce-focused multi-campuses; and $2.8 million to expand a program that places career coaches in high schools to assist students with determining career goals and identifying community college programs that align with the students’ goals.
Dr. Burns said the legislative priorities also include increasing funding to bring faculty closer to the national annual salary average of $60,422, enacting statutory changes to eliminate barriers to enrollment caused by the state’s relatively new Residency Determination System, and stabilizing budgets for colleges faced with enrollment declines because of Hurricane Florence.
Capital Projects
In his report to the board on capital projects, Trustee Donald Seifert, chair of the Building Committee, said renovations have been completed to the seminar rooms in the Civic Center on Main Campus.
H.G. Reynolds Company began renovation of a 3,200-square-foot portion of Building 10 on Main Campus to create a Practical Simulation Lab for the Basic Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs. The work, which started in October, is scheduled to be completed in January. In addition to the area being renovated, parking lot space is being expanded, Seifert said.
College officials are also working with the county managers in Vance and Granville counties to fund the replacement of a storage building on the Main Campus that was lost in a fire this past summer.
Other Action
In other action:
The trustees voted to approve the closure of two curriculum certificate programs and a diploma program no longer in demand from students. The closure of the Nurse Aide Certificate, Nurse Aide Diploma and the School Age Care Certificate programs, effective this fall, will go to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the North Carolina Community College System for final approvals. The closures came at the request of the Curriculum Committee, chaired by Trustee Barbara Cates Harris.
Trustee Xavier Wortham, chair of the Investment Committee, reported the VGCC Endowment Fund Corporation received a favorable report from May & Place PA, certified public accountants, for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. He also gave the bimonthly update on the college’s investments.
Trustee Sara Wester, chair of the Personnel Committee, reported on new employees, retirements and resignations, and she presented an amended employee calendar for 2018-2019.
Student Government Association President Angel De Leon, the student Trustee, reported to the trustees on a leadership workshop recently attended by students, participation in recent Fall Festivals on the college’s campuses, and a relief drive that is being held to help victims of Hurricane Florence.
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Jan. 28.
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Vance-Granville Community College invites the public to attend three separate forums scheduled for Nov. 30, Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 to meet and provide input on the finalists for the presidency of the college.
The three public forums will be held each day from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Civic Center.
Dr. Quentin J. Johnson of Mooresville, currently vice president of Student Support Services at Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, will be at the college on Friday, Nov. 30.
Dr. Melanie W. Thornton of Albany, Ga., the vice president of academic affairs at Columbus Technical College in Columbus, Ga., will attend the forum on Monday, Dec. 3.
Dr. Rachel M. Desmarais of Clemmons, who is currently executive vice president and chief operating officer at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, will be present on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Invitations to the forums also have been sent to county officials, school officials, area chambers, and VGCC faculty and staff, among other groups.
The three finalists were selected from among nearly 90 applicants on Monday, Nov. 19, at the regular bimonthly meeting of the college’s Board of Trustees on Main Campus. Following North Carolina Community College System protocol, the trustees have presented the finalists to the State Board of Community Colleges for vetting.
The VGCC Board of Trustees plans to have the new president in place early in 2019. The new leader will become the seventh president in the 49-year history of the college, replacing Dr. Stelfanie Williams who resigned in August to take a position at Duke University.
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