STORY TELLING – WRITING – ARITHMETIC

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Whatever happened to Reading?  It used to be Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  It appears that story telling is taking over for Reading as the cornerstone of a new way for young children, especially African-American children, to learn and along the way build confidence and a strong bond between the pre-schooler and the teacher, this according to the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.

The study by the Institute looked at more than 6,000 students across the United States and points out students need to be able to orally express themselves in class in front of other students as this activity helps develop early reading skills.

According to the study, when African-American children are given the opportunity to verbally tell their home and lesson stories to others in the class, good things happen not only to them but to others in the class.  According to the authors, teachers should listen more and talk less and encourage all their students to talk about their studies and surroundings as this encourages them to participate in all classroom activities.

This study was the first to demonstrate a connection between African-American preschoolers’ storytelling skills and further development of their early reading skills.

This article was recently released by North Carolina News Service, a statewide news service for North Carolina.

Vance County Schools On The Air

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Vance County Schools Public Information Officer Terri Hedrick can be heard live on WIZS each Monday afternoon between 4:35pm and 4:55pm.

August 10, 2015 — New Vance County Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson was officially sworn in one week ago.  At the Vance County Board of Education meeting August 10th, Dr. Jackson took part in a ceremonial swearing in and oath of office.  It took place at the VCS Administrative Services building on Graham Avenue.  The meeting started at 7pm.

Vance County Schools will host two “Meet the Superintendent” events for parents, students, school system employees and community residents to meet new Superintendent Anthony Jackson.

The events will be held on Monday, August 17, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Northern Vance High School and on Wednesday, August 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Southern Vance High School. Both events are floating receptions with Dr. Jackson available to meet everyone, talk about the new school year and answer questions. Light refreshments will be provided.

All local residents are invited to attend one or both events.

In other news, there are close to 100 new school teachers in Vance County this year.  August 10th was their first day, and a breakfast was held in the cafeteria of Northern Vance High School.  Superintendent Jackson headlined those welcoming the new teachers.

Orientation sessions continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at Northern Vance for all the new teachers here in Vance County.

Thursday, August 13th, all employees return to work to start the new school year.  All 10, 11 and 12-month employees.  All 1,100-plus Vance County Schools employees will join in a convocation on Thursday at 8:30am at Northern Vance to celebrate the new school year.

Entire Show from August 10, 2015

New School Year Starting

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According to the Vance County Schools website, the new public school year for 2015-2016 will officially start with the beginning of classes for students on Thursday, August 6, at the Vance County Early College High School located on the campus of Vance-Granville Community College near Henderson.

Vance County Schools (NVHS Choir)

Teachers and other 10-month employees begin work for the new school year at the Early College on Monday, August 3.

The Early College High School has students who take college level courses at the community college and their schedule must closely follow the schedule of the college.

All other Vance County Schools begin classes for students on Monday, August 24.

New teachers and other new employees for the school system report to work on Monday, August 10. They will be welcomed to the school system at a breakfast held at 8 a.m. in the cafeteria of Northern Vance High School. New employees will participate in orientation sessions August 10-12. All school system employees will attend a breakfast and convocation on Thursday, August 13, at Northern Vance High School. The breakfast will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the school’s cafeteria and the convocation will follow at 8:30 a.m. in the gymnasium. Friday, August 14, is a mandatory workday for all employees and Monday, August 17, through Thursday, August 20, also are mandatory workdays. Friday, August 21, is a teacher workday.

On Thursday, August 20, open house sessions will be held at all schools, except Early College High School, from 3 to 7 p.m.

New Vance Schools Superintendent Starts Aug 1

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The Vance County Board of Education Tuesday night, July 21, 2015, voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Anthony “Tony” Jackson as the new superintendent of Vance County Schools.

He will begin his duties as superintendent on August 1.

Dr. Jackson’s career in public education spans 27 years in several districts in both North Carolina and Virginia. He began his teaching career in Wake County. He has served as a principal at all three levels in rural, suburban and urban districts. He also has been an associate superintendent and an executive director of curriculum and instruction.Untitled-2

Dr. Jackson became the superintendent of Henry County Public Schools in Virginia before he was chosen as superintendent for Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools, a position he served in for the last four years. He is described by an experienced, long-serving member of his past board as “passionate about his work and wanting to make sure the kids get the best education they can get.” He led the 1:1 digital learning initiative for students in grades 4-12 to facilitate 21st Century learning methods and the development of a comprehensive 10-year capital improvement facility plan. During his tenure in Nash-Rocky Mount, the school system had increases in Algebra I enrollment and in the on-time cohort graduation rate and a decrease in the dropout rate. Dr. Jackson also successfully completed the school system’s first reassignment process in over 20 years.

He was named the Central Carolina Regional Education Service Alliance 2013-2014 Superintendent of the Year. The region encompasses several neighboring counties including Wake, Durham, Nash, Edgecombe, Franklin, Vance, Granville, Johnston, Wilson, Halifax and Northampton. In November of that year, he was one of seven finalists for the North Carolina Superintendent of the Year.

Dr. Jackson has a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from East Carolina University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from N.C. Central University and a doctorate degree in education from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He serves on the boards of the local Boys and Girls Clubs, the United Way, the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce, the Nashville Arts Council and the Braswell Library Board of Trustees. He also holds membership in the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

He has two adult children and his hobbies include singing and playing the piano.

The Vance County Board of Education wanted the next superintendent to be a person who: makes the tough decisions in the education of children in Vance County Schools; is active in the community; is self-motivated; is an advocate for resources; genuinely likes children; and wants the best for children. During the search process, the board carefully reviewed applications and supporting documentation from a field of 23 candidates from six states. The board is confident that Dr. Jackson meets the needs of Vance County Schools and that he will work with the board to lead the school system to even higher achievements.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Jackson as the new superintendent of Vance County Schools and as a new member of our community. We hope that you will be as pleased as we are to have him as our next superintendent. We also hope the community at large will welcome him here as he moves Vance County Schools to the next level.

Vance County Schools – Donations from Staples

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The management and employees of the Staples Fulfillment Center on Poplar Creek Road in Vance County have donated approximately $12,000 worth of school supplies to Vance County Schools.

Representatives of the school system and Staples are shown in the accompanying photo with the four pallets of items donated after they were delivered to the Vance County Staples DonationsSchools’ Purchasing and Distribution Center. Shown in the photo are, from left, E.T. Newby, lead warehouseman for the school system; Kerri Williams, inventory control supervisor for Staples; Silka Boone, purchasing coordinator for the school system; and David Person, Staples Fulfillment Center manager. The donations of school supplies are part of the Staples center’s annual Donation Program, led by a team of employees.

Williams said that three key Staples employees, Gary Johnson, Tigkin Richardson and Sandra Murray, all Vance County residents, were instrumental in getting the donations for use by students in Vance County Schools.

The donated supplies include a wide range of notebook paper, file folders, project folders, composition books, three-ring binders, pens, pencils and more.

“Our school system is so appreciative of the wonderful generosity of Staples in supporting our students,” said Terri Hedrick, public information officer for Vance County Schools. “Staples has been a great partner for our school system over the years. All of the school supplies will be put to great use by our students in all 17 of our schools for the new school year.”

Vance County PAGE Scholarships

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The Vance County Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education (PAGE) has announced three graduating seniors from Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools have been awarded scholarships for the 2014-2015 school year. The scholarship recipients are shown in the accompanying photo holding the plaques that bear their names and will hang in their respectivPAGE Scholarshipse schools. The students include, from left, Chris Pendergrass, who won the Jerold P. Murdock Memorial Scholarship; Moriah Davis, who won the Top Graduate from Southern Vance High School Scholarship; and Ray Cheever, who won the Top Graduate from Northern Vance High School Scholarship. Pendergrass received the Murdock scholarship, worth $500, as the top graduate from all high schoolsin Vance County. Davis and Cheever represent the best in their respective graduating classes. Their scholarships are valued at $250 each. All three scholarship winners were honored at a reception hosted by Vance County PAGE on June 9, in the Vance County Schools’ Administrative Services Center.

Vance County Teacher Executive Institute

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A total of 17 educators in Vance County Schools completed their participation in the Vance County Teacher Executive Institute (TEI) program for 2014-2015 on March 19.

They were honored at a dinner and ceremony held at the Henderson Country Club after completing four all-day sessions in the leadership program.

TEI 2014-2015

The participants are shown in the photo and include, seated from left, Deris Mora of Henderson Middle; Lauren Murvine of E.M. Rollins Elementary; Tonia Davis of Clarke Elementary; Deborah Bullock-Harris of Dabney Elementary; Aarika Sandlin of Eaton-Johnson Middle; and Cynthia Traynham of Southern Vance High. Standing from left, are Erika Barnett of Aycock Elementary; Ana-Maria Topliceanu of Northern Vance High; Joshua Patterson of STEM Early High; Cheryl Jones of Pinkston Street Elementary; Carrie Hoffler of New Hope Elementary; Joy Darden of E.O. Young Jr. Elementary; Analiza Maghanoy of L.B. Yancey Elementary; Sophia Miller-Ford of Early College High; Alison Tiangson of Western Vance High; Mary Frances Wiggins of Carver Elementary; and Bonnie Stallings of Zeb Vance Elementary.

TEI is a leadership program for local public school educators. It is presented each year by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce and the Vance County Public School Foundation.

Dr. Rebecca Garland, deputy state superintendent of North Carolina, was the featured speaker for the TEI dinner and closing ceremony. The evening was sponsored by Walmart Distribution Center #6091 of Henderson.