Grades Up in Vance; Graduation Too

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Data released Wednesday by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction for the 2014-2015 school year is encouraging for the Vance County School System.

Eight Vance County Schools increased performance by one letter grade as determined by the state required School Performance grading system. The four-year cohort graduation rate increased by more than four percentage points from the previous school year.

These results also indicate that Vance County Schools’ third-grade students improved their reading proficiency by nine percentage points in 2014-2015 based on the N.C. Read to Achieve standards.

Schools increasing their School Performance Grade from the previous year were Aycock Elementary School, Dabney Elementary School, New Hope Elementary School, Pinkston Street Elementary School, E.M. Rollins Elementary School, E.O. Young Jr. Elementary School, Zeb Vance Elementary School and the Vance County Early College High School. Aycock and Early College were designated as “B” schools. There were five schools designated as “C” schools and they included Clarke, Dabney, Pinkston Street, Zeb Vance and STEM Early High School. Seven schools were “D” schools and included Carver Elementary, New Hope Elementary, E.M. Rollins Elementary, E.O. Young Jr. Elementary, Northern Vance High and Southern Vance High. Eaton-Johnson Middle and Henderson Middle were designated as “F” schools. Western Vance High School, as an alternative school setting, is evaluated on the state’s Alternative Accountability Model.

The district’s graduation rate improved to 77.5 percent from 73.2 percent for the 2013-2014 school year. Vance County Schools’ four-year cohort graduation rate has now increased by 13.4 percent over the last three school years. The 2014-2015 graduation rate at Southern Vance High increased from 78 to 81 percent. The graduation rate at Northern Vance High improved from 72 to 77 percent and the graduation rate at Early College High rose from 84 to 89 percent. Western Vance High School had a 100-percent graduation rate for the second consecutive year.

The N.C. Read to Achieve grade-level proficiency increased in 2014-2015 from the previous year for third-grade students in seven of the district’s 10 elementary schools. The district’s overall proficiency level went from 71 percent to 80 percent for 2014-2015. New Hope Elementary led the way with 96 percent of their third graders reaching proficiency reading levels for 2014-2015, compared to only 47 percent from the previous school year. Other school results included third-grade reading proficiency increasing for: Zeb Vance to 92 percent from 71 percent; Pinkston Street to 84 percent from 68 percent; Clarke to 80 percent from 68 percent; E.M. Rollins to 79 percent from 68 percent; E.O. Young to 71 percent from 67 percent; and L.B. Yancey to 51 percent from 49 percent. Aycock still had 91 percent of their third graders reading at grade level, but this was a decline from 96 percent the previous year. Carver third graders’ reading proficiency also declined from 83 percent in 2013-2014 to 77 percent in 2014-2015. Dabney’s third-grade reading proficiency remained the same at 74 percent.

Vance County Schools’ officials are encouraged by the academic growth demonstrated by students at all grade levels on state end-of-grade tests in reading and math and end-of-course tests in certain subject areas for the 2014-2015 school year. Students at Clarke Elementary exceeded growth expectations for the second consecutive year and nine schools met growth expectations. The nine schools where students met growth expectations were Aycock, Dabney, New Hope, Pinkston Street, L.B. Yancey, Zeb Vance, Eaton-Johnson, Western Vance and Vance County Early College. This is an improvement over the district’s performance where in 2013-2014 there were 11 schools that did not meet growth, compared to seven in 2014-2015. During the 2013-2014 school year, only four local schools met growth. Local schools showing the most growth in each grade span from one year to the next were New Hope, Eaton-Johnson and Early College.

“We continue to move in the right direction in many areas of performance,” said Dr. Trixie Brooks, assistant superintendent. “Our four-year cohort graduation rate continues to increase each year and we celebrate that fact. We desire every child who enrolls in our school system to graduate and we will give students opportunities to catch up if they are behind and opportunities to keep up to master content in current courses.

“As teachers learn and own the curriculum standards and as students meet the challenges of its rigor, we expect to continue to see increases in student performance,” she continued. “We want our students to persevere through challenging text in all subjects, to work out multi-step complex math problems until they understand the process, to track their own progress until they master standards and to set personal goals.

“We have some areas we will address through our Instructional Framework and strategic planning, but we are proud of our progress,” Brooks said.

Preview: Optimist Bowl

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by Kevin Bullock

It has been a tale of two seasons for Vance County High School football teams. Northern Vance comes into Friday’s game red hot against Southern, and yet the Raiders will look to turn their season around against the crosstown Vikings.

Northern Vance has already picked up a victory this season over 4A East Chapel Hill, and had an impressive victory last week against Warren County.

Southern suffered a tough loss against Ravenscroft in week one, and J.F. Webb was able to pull away from the Raiders late in the fourth quarter in week two.

Players to watch:

Northern goes the way of Kristopher Haywood. The senior Viking quarterback will need the time to find his friends Joel Royster and Elijah Stewart. When he is pressured he as the running ability to take it down the field, but as a result is prone to major hits along the sideline. Haywood needs to say healthy if Northern wants to move the ball. Todd McKoon is the player to watch along the defensive line. You may think we are crazy, but no, this 5’6 145lb defensive lineman makes a great nose tackle.

Southern goes the way of their wide receivers. Mark Baldwin, Zamari Ellis, Laronta Durham, and others must limit their drops this week as compared to their game against J.F. Webb if they hope to stand a chance against Northern. Senior quarterback Jerry Throckmorton has a cannon attached to the right side of his body, which excuses the occasional overthrow. Raider wide receivers had over seven dropped passes last week, and that cannot happen Friday if the Raiders want the win.

The Optimist Bowl this year is at Southern Vance. Attend if you can, but listen to WIZS inside Raider Stadium on the all new WIZS.com or on the free Tune-In radio app. Kickoff is at 7:30p.m.

We hope to see you there.

Drivers Ed in Vance

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While not a direct quote attributable to anyone in particular, it seems that too much is still up in the air on the issue of Drivers Education, especially as it pertains to concrete decisions from State Legislators, and it appears, based on comments anyway, that Vance County officials would like to wait for more solid information before speaking publicly on the matter.

Drivers Education in the North Carolina School System is not dead but has not been fully brought back to life either. North Carolina Legislators are having some second thoughts about dropping the program. The alternative, having parents pay between $500 and $600 or convincing the North Carolina Community College System to take over the program has not gotten much traction.

However, the State Legislators have started talking about taking another look at the program to find a solution, rather than no Drivers Education at all.  Much like the way local education budgets are based on state allocations, Vance County along with other counties, will apparently have no choice but to take the lead of the station on this issue.

Wilson: Vance Teacher of the Year

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Robin Wilson, a third-grade teacher at New Hope Elementary School, is the 2015-2016 Vance County Schools’ Teacher of the Year.

Mrs. Wilson has a total of 41 years of teaching experience, with 30 years of teaching in Virginia. She is in her second year as a faculty member at New Hope after teaching for the previous nine years at E.O. Young Jr. Elementary School.

Mrs. Wilson was selected for the district’s teaching honor by a special selection committee, which interviewed Teachers of the Year from all 17 local public schools on August 27. She was chosen as the top teacher based on her enthusiasm and passion for teaching and because of the positive impact she has on the education for students in her class and overall in her school. Mrs. Wilson also serves as a mentor for several of her colleagues at New Hope and tutors students after school.

Robin Wilson (VCS teach of year)Superintendent Anthony Jackson is shown in the attached photo presenting Mrs. Wilson with balloons September 1, 2015 and sharing the announcement about her VCS Teacher of the Year award with her third-grade students.

Mrs. Wilson wrote the following about her philosophy for education.

“Sell, Sell, Sell!!!!!  I want every child and every support personnel for that child to buy into my product – my product being that of EDUCATION.  Education is power!!!!  Education is the  key to success!!!

“For my students to feel their own worth in this 21st century, I will teach them to the best of my ability exhausting all resources, strategies, learning styles, and methods available, diversifying where necessary for the child’s personal and measured success.

“I want to touch the student’s life in such a way that each child will grow beyond expectations. We, the student, the support personnel, and I, do not settle for less.  The loving guidance we administer will produce independent individuals who will become creditable members of our society.

“Educating a child is not just a job.  It is a way of life!  They all have potential, they all can learn, and they all can achieve greatness!!!”

Mrs. Wilson was chosen from an outstanding field of educators, who also were selected as their school’s Teacher of the Year. They include:

  • Stephanie Black of Aycock Elementary School
  • Sheila Brockers-White of Western Vance High School
  • Randolph Crews of Northern Vance High School
  • Gladys Evans of Southern Vance High School
  • Casey Hall of Early College High School
  • Amanda Hightower of Clarke Elementary School
  • Stephen Jones of STEM Early High School
  • Jessica London of Eaton-Johnson Middle School
  • Regina Miles of Carver Elementary School
  • Tracy Mills of Henderson Middle School
  • Renee Overby of Pinkston Street Elementary School
  • Janice Roswess-Chambers of L.B. Yancey Elementary School
  • Robin Sanders of E.O. Young Jr. Elementary School
  • Joshua Tilghman of Dabney Elementary School
  • Mary Landis of Zeb Vance Elementary School
  • Kathryn Wilson of E.M. Rollins Elementary School

Mrs. Wilson will be honored, along with all of the school Teachers of the Year, at the Vance County Schools’ Recognition Banquet on November 19. Congratulations to all of our schools’ Teachers of the Year!

The district’s Principal of the Year and Assistant Principal of the Year also will be honored at the November banquet. All nominees for these prestigious awards also will be recognized during the event.

2015 Ducky Derby Results

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Smart Start had a good Ducky Derby turnout with about 1,000 people attending the event this past Saturday, August 29. The event started at 10:00 A.M. and concluded after the big Duck Race at 2:00 PM.

Smart Start was a big winner raising about $5,500 for the Smart Start Program.

Other big winners were: 1st place in the Duck Race winning $1000.00, Jackie Cozart of Granville County, with 2nd place of $500.00 going to Terry Southhard of Franklin County, and the 3rd place winner in the Ducky race was Linda Tasadfox who won $250.00.  The winner of the last place Duck to cross the finish line and win $100 was Children’s Arts of Youngsville.

ACC Football Games Will Include Medical Observer

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – When Atlantic Coast Conference teams kick off their football seasons later this week, additional sets of safety-conscious eyes will watch intently from on high.

As announced by Commissioner John Swofford at the ACC Kickoff on July 20, the 2015 season will include assigned medical observers from each team at every game. Each observer will occupy a specified location in the press box to monitor any visual indicators of potential injury to a student-athlete from his or her team.

Medical observers will have communication access to their teams’ medical staffs on the sidelines. Upon a medical observer’s notification of a visual indicator of an injury, that sideline personnel shall act upon that information in accordance with their institution’s athletics medical plan.

“The team-specific medical observer will have the benefit of knowing the medical history of the players,” Swofford noted. “Each game that we play, there will be two people in the booth – one from each school – that will have the sole purpose of observing what’s taking place on the field that somebody on the sidelines might not be able to see.”

The ACC initiative was unanimously approved by the conference’s athletic directors.  In recent years, ACC member schools have taken the lead in concussion research and other player safety points of concern.

“In the areas of health and safety, I can’t say enough about our institutions,” Swofford said. “As a league, and personally as a former player, we are supportive and an advocate for making the game of football as safe as it can possibly be.”

Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson Honored

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August 31, Henderson — Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson retired Monday after 40 years of service. He became chief in 1999. A reception and dinner was held in his honor Monday afternoon from 4:00 PM until 6:30 PM at Central Fire Department on Dabney Drive. There were easily more than 300 people in attendance.

Wilkerson was all smiles at the event. He did not move more than a couple feet the entire two and a half hours as he shook the hand of each person in attendance.

As Wilkerson’s tenure wound down, he stood tall once again for his department as he has for so many years.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Cordell will serve as Interim Fire Chief during the application and selection process.

If you combine Danny’s total service and his father Ranger Wilkerson’s total time together, Henderson has been served by the Wilkerson family for 80 years.

Danny Wilkerson started as a firefighter on July 24, 1975.  On April 1, 1999, Chief Danny Wilkerson became chief as former Chief Ranger Wilkerson retired.  Ranger served 40 total years and 32 years as chief.  All together, their time protecting and serving has spanned 55 consecutive years.

Danny also served under contract as chief to Vance County through October of 2009.

Chief Wilkerson said, “We restructured the department some after he (Ranger) retired, and they may do that again when I leave, but the mission is still the same.”  He agreed that it was to protect and serve.

Wilkerson reflected to a time in 2009 when deadly fires occurred in Henderson almost back to back.  Several young people had perished.  He said, “I felt like we were doing something wrong.  That’s when we started our fire inspection program, and we haven’t had a fire death since then.  We try to get into every home in the city limits and do inspections, get the person a smoke detector and install it.”

It just hit him recently that it was time to retire.  “I’m not going home to just sit down.  I will do something.  Both my kids are out of college,” he said.  “It was just the right time.  It will give someone else a chance to be chief.  The department is in good shape, and the mission will be carried forward.”  Wilkerson spoke of how he was proud to work with the members of his department.

He said he would like to thank his family.  Sandra, his wife, and his children Reece and Abbey “have supported me all the way,” he said.  “Now I’m going to spend some more time with them.  I have missed a lot of my children growing up, and I wish I hadn’t, but that is part of the job.  I’m going to make it up now.”

The thing Wilkerson said he would miss more than anything — “I will miss the people in and around Henderson and the relationships.”

(Commentary:  WIZS Radio would like to thank Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson for helping us on the phone, helping us with the reports, and for being accessible to help us gather news.  He is a friend to this city and community, and he is a friend of local radio.  The Daily Dispatch newspaper wrote in its earlier coverage of his retirement that it was the end of an era.  It is indeed and a good one at that.  The foundation put down by the Wilkerson family in modern-day firefighting is promising for the next era to be bright as well.  Sincerely,  John Charles Rose)

 

New statewide agreement helps VGCC students transfer to private schools

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Vance-Granville Community College students will enjoy clearer pathways to completing a four-year degree, thanks to a new Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (ICAA) between the N.C. Community College System and the N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities.

Approximately 2,000 community college students transfer to one of North Carolina’s 36 independent higher education institutions each year. VGCC’s highly-regarded College Transfer program provides students with the first two years of a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. College Transfer courses are offered at all four VGCC campuses and online.

On Aug. 27, Dr. R. Scott Ralls, the president of North Carolina’s system of 58 community colleges, and Dr. A. Hope Williams, the president of NCICU, signed the revised ICAA at William Peace University, one of the 22 private colleges and universities that have agreed to the standards of the new transfer plan.

The agreement better defines transfer options for students between the two systems, saving North Carolinians money and potentially shortening the time to bachelor’s degree completion.

“This signing, joined with our revised agreement with the UNC system in 2014, brings North Carolina’s higher education alignment to a new level,” said Dr. Ralls. “It means increased access and opportunity for our community college students and clearly defined pathways to success at both public and private higher education institutions in our state. I commend the NC Independent Colleges and Universities for proactively working toward this agreement for the benefit of both systems’ students and their families.”

The ultimate goal of the ICAA is to help a student transfer credits from a community college to an NCICU institution with minimal loss of credit or repetition of work.

The ICAA moves community college students toward their four-year degree goals by clearly defining transfer pathways and how earned credit hours fit into the requirements of signatory institutions. The ICAA:

  • Identifies foundational courses that will transfer to all signatory institutions to meet general education requirements;
  • Improves the success of transferring students through required coursework that ensures students will map their academic pathway to the desired independent institution; and
  • Encourages community college students to complete an Associate in Arts (AA) or an Associate in Science (AS) degree before transferring by guaranteeing entry as juniors with full transfer credit.

In 2014, the State Board of Community Colleges and the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina system signed a similarly revised agreement, updating guidelines that have saved students and families both time and money, and that have stretched taxpayer-funded dollars. The ICAA is consistent with the University of North Carolina system agreement, meaning students will have the same transfer guarantees regardless of the type of senior institution in the state they attend.

In addition to the two comprehensive system-wide agreements, VGCC also has several bilateral articulation agreements with four-year schools (both public and private) that allow students to transfer credits in specific programs.

“This strengthened partnership between North Carolina’s public and private educational institutions is good news for Vance-Granville students, who will be able to achieve professional and personal success by completing a bachelor’s degree, in less time and at a lower cost,” said Dr. Angela Ballentine, VGCC Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs.

The revised ICAA, updated from the previous articulation agreement signed in 2007, is effective for new college transfer students in the fall of 2015 at the signatory colleges and universities.

The institutions that have signed onto the new agreement thus far include: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Bennett College, Brevard College, Campbell University, Chowan University, Guilford College, Lees-McRae College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Livingstone College, Mars Hill University, Meredith College, Methodist University, Montreat College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Pfeiffer University, Salem College, Shaw University, St. Andrews University, University of Mount Olive, William Peace University and Wingate University.

Locals Serving at State Level

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Dr. Michael Putney, principal at Dabney Elementary School, and Dr. Larry Webb, principal at Northern Vance High School serve on the State Superintendent’s Principals’ Advisory Committee. Dr. Putney, seated at far right, and Dr. Webb, standing at far right, are shown with members of the committee during their meeting held in late July. Additional members include, seated from left, Amy Richardson; Steve Lassiter, who is the N.C. Principal of the Year; Robin Hamilton and Christopher Poston. Others shown are, standing from left, Dr. June Atkinson, state superintendent; Catherine Tahaney; Billie Berry; Shane Mace; Robin Calcutt; and Brad Breedlove. Dr. Putney is the president of the NCAE Division of Principals and Administrators and Dr. Webb was the Northeast Region Principal of the Year.State Superintendent Council