E.M. Rollins has a New Principal
Stephanie Alston, an educator for over 17 years and an elementary school principal most recently in Edgecombe County, has been named as the new principal at E.M. Rollins Elementary School.
She replaces Dean Thomas, who has been named as Vance County Schools’ new coordinator of the Transportation Department.
Alston will assume her new duties at E.M. Rollins as soon as possible.
During her career in education, she was a teacher for eight years and an administrator for the past nine years. While she was with Edgecombe County Schools, she was a two-time nominee for Principal of the Year. She participated in the Fulbright Principal Exchange Program in which she hosted four principals from Argentina in her home. They each visited for a three-week period to learn more about teaching and learning practices in the United States. Alston also visited Argentina as a Fulbright Principal for a 10-day learning experience this past fall.
Alston has served as a teacher and assistant principal with Pitt County Schools. She was a Teacher of the Year nominee and a three-time nominee for Assistant Principal of the Year in Pitt County.
She says she considers herself to be a continual learner and is grateful for the opportunity to be able to impact students, teachers, parents and community stakeholders using her platform as a school leader.
“I welcome the new partnerships that I will form to best benefit the stakeholders of E.M. Rollins Elementary,” Alston said.
A native of Martin County, Alston received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from East Carolina University.
(Information provided from VCS in a press release.)
Woods I Apartment Fire
Monday morning shortly before 6:00, Henderson firefighters responded to Woods I Apartments located at 203 South Cooper Drive, according to Fire Chief Steve Cordell.
Cordell said firefighters went to building 5, apartment F, and that no one was injured.
He said eight units were affected and 15 occupants were displaced.
The fire was under control by 6:20 A.M., about 30 minutes after the call was received, and the scene was cleared shortly after noon.
No damage estimates were immediately available and a cause was not provided.
AT&T sponsors new VGCC Summer Bridge program
AT&T North Carolina has made a $10,000 contribution to Vance-Granville Community College to support a new student success initiative. For the first time, the college will offer a “Summer Bridge” program this year for incoming first-year students. With AT&T’s sponsorship, the program will be available at no cost to participating students.
“Thanks to the strong support of AT&T North Carolina, in a few months, our faculty and staff will be able to offer some extra help to students to prepare them to succeed as scholars at the college level,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC.
Robert Doreauk, AT&T’s regional director of external affairs, formally presented the donation in February at a luncheon honoring donors to the college, held at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford.
“We understand that there is no better way to make a lasting difference in a community than by helping support the education of its young people,” Doreauk said. “Through our signature philanthropic initiative, AT&T Aspire, we support opportunities to foster skills that will meet the needs of the future workforce while helping all students make their biggest dreams a reality. We appreciate the opportunity to support the Summer Bridge program and are excited about the impact it will have on students’ lives and futures.”
VGCC Dean of Arts and Sciences Cynthia Young explained that Summer Bridge will be a comprehensive, two-week program with two overarching themes. “The first theme is providing targeted support, supplemental instruction and skill-building to help students accelerate their pathway from developmental education to regular curriculum courses,” Young said.
Most VGCC students take placement tests as part of the admissions process to evaluate their current skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Placement test scores are used for academic advising and correct course placement. Students may be placed in a developmental math course, for example, to build math skills before moving on to more challenging college courses that are required for diploma and degree programs.
“The second theme of the program is college readiness,” Young said. “Students will participate in orientation and meet with faculty from various curriculum programs so that they understand the opportunities that are available to them here at Vance-Granville. In addition, our coaches from the Student Success Center will help students in the program to create academic plans in line with their career goals.” Young said that the program will serve North Carolina residents who are high school or high school equivalency graduates, are entering VGCC for the first time, and have placed into developmental education.
“We are excited about introducing this program,” said Young. “It will give students more tools to be successful.”
The Summer Bridge initiative is being developed as Dr. Williams and other college leaders across the country are increasingly focused on bringing students up to speed quickly, so that they can start their college-level coursework earlier and graduate on schedule. According to a new report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement, 86 percent of students nationwide believe they are academically prepared to succeed in college, but 67 percent test into developmental coursework.
For more information on the Summer Bridge program, contact Cynthia Young at youngc@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3424.
