Tag Archive for: #granvillecountypublicschools

Area Schools Participate In National Program Focused On Reducing Social Isolation

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School cafeterias usually are abuzz with activity at lunch time – there’s usually a lot of chatter as students take a few minutes to decompress from the rigors of the classroom. But cafeterias also can be a place where students can experience social isolation. Conjure up an image of a student eating alone in a cafeteria and you get the picture.

In an effort to raise awareness about the negative effect social isolation can have on young people’s mental health – and academic performance – WellCare of North Carolina is bringing No One Eats Alone Day to a couple of area schools.

Clarke Elementary in Henderson was scheduled to participate today (Friday, Mar. 4) and G.C. Hawley Middle School in Creedmoor is slated to participate on Mar. 10, according to information from WellCare. Henderson YMCA will be the third site in the area to participate, scheduled for Mar. 24.

Billed as “a positive prevention initiative designed to promote inclusion and a culture of belonging in middle schools,” No One Eats Alone Day was created by the nonprofit Beyond Differences.

According to a press statement, students “will learn about social isolation and the negative impact it can have on mental health and academic performance, while also being encouraged to create new friendships. Mental health is especially important now as students experience the growing stressors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its social isolation effects.”

The area schools and the YMCA join thousands of schools across the country that will celebrate No One Eats Alone Day. The initiative will reach more than a million students in all 50 U.S. states. No One Eats Alone Day is sponsored by the Centene Charitable Foundation.

WellCare of North Carolina provides government-sponsored managed care services to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex needs primarily through Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans across the state. WellCare of North Carolina is one of the state’s Medicaid Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs). Visit www.wellcare.com/nc to learn more.

Granville School Board Hears Pitch About A Dual Language Program At West Oxford Elementary

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The Granville County Board of Education heard a presentation on Monday from a group of educators who proposed that West Oxford Elementary become the site of a dual language program.

As the old saying goes, “All it takes is time and money.” In this case, it’s time, money and bilingual native Spanish-speaking teachers.

West Oxford Assistant Principal Jacquel Green, along with staff members Regina Harris, Sonia Hernández and Rita Jackson, spoke to the board about the positive impact a dual language program could have at their school and they provided details for implementation. Principal Bethany Bonnemere appeared via video to explain the importance of creating bilingual and biliterate students.

Board members asked questions and provided positive feedback to the West Oxford team. Board Chair David Richardson ultimately made a motion, which was seconded and approved, for the idea to be considered at the Feb. 25 meeting of the Finance Committee. The committee will meet virtually at 11 a.m.

West Oxford has a Global Leadership theme, which the dual language program would complement nicely, but the big question is: How would it be funded?

Green shared with the board that no area charter schools currently offer a dual language program; Person and Warren counties each have one school that offers dual language and Durham County has three schools with dual language programs.

More than 25 families with students currently in pre-school completed a survey from the school expressing interest.

Harris, a 3rd grade lead teacher, explained that the initial kindergarten cohort would have two native Spanish-speaking teachers who would co-teach 24 students. The majority of instruction would be in Spanish, with 30 minutes of daily instruction in English.

Each year, a new native Spanish-speaking teacher would be added and a new cohort of kindergarten students would join the program. In some cases, teachers would “loop up” and move grade levels with the class.

As students approach the 3rd grade, they would receive more instruction in English in preparation for end-of-grade tests, but most math instruction would be given in Spanish.

The team asked the board for a 10-year commitment to the program – an investment of time and money. Allowing the kindergarten cohort to get to high school, Hernández said, would show the kinds of gains they can make in becoming bilingual and biliterate.

The vendor that partners with the school now to implement its global leadership theme also provides support for dual language programs, Green said, and can help identify qualified teachers.

A program coordinator is needed, and this person would have a number of responsibilities, including being a substitute when teachers are absent to ensuring the program is implemented appropriately.

Board member Leonard Peace said it sounded like a wonderful program to have. “I certainly hope we can afford to do it,” Peace said. “I would like to make sure we can afford to do it before we make the decision.”

Dr. Gregory McKnight agreed, and said the program would be “an investment that would pay good dividends for our students and our system.”

Granville School Board Approves More Staff Changes

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The Granville County Board of Education announced several changes in leadership roles across the district at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 7.

Beth Day, who has been assistant superintendent of finance for GCPS for 14 years, will leave her post at the end of February. Day has accepted the position of chief financial officer for “Voices Together,” a non-profit that provides music therapy for children with special needs.

Vickie Hines, the district’s finance and early childhood coordinator, will fill in as interim finance direction, beginning Mar. 1, until a new finance director is named. Hines has served previously as assistant finance officer.

The board announced that Shelby Hunt will be the new senior director of federal programs. Hunt, who has worked in the district for 23 years. She has had numerous roles, including classroom teacher and principal. Most recently, she was grants and special projects manager, which included managing Title I funds for the district.

The board also accepted the resignation of Mt. Energy Elementary Principal Billy Moore.

Assistant Principal Kimberly McNeill will serve as interim principal until a new principal is named.

In a written statement from GCPS, Day said that she will miss her colleagues. “You are all so much more than coworkers and I know you will continue to do great things for the children of Granville County.”

She continued by saying, “As many of you know, my son, Will, had special needs during his short life and music was a window to his soul.  I am passionate about both honoring Will’s memory and helping others that are going through similar challenges as we have faced.  I am excited about the opportunity to meet those life goals through this new role at Voices Together.”

Granville Board Of Education To Meet Monday, Feb. 7

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The Granville County Board of Education will meet for a regular board meeting on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 at 6 p.m. at the Mary Potter Center of Education, 200 Taylor Street, Oxford, NC 27565. Members of the public are invited to view via livestream. Join the livestream meeting here: https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=MDhkZj.

The board will also meet in closed session for attorney/client privilege.

Public comments for this meeting can be made in person at the board meeting, or in writing by using the following link: https://tinyurl.com/y37evl6z. Comments made using the link must be submitted between the hours of 12 noon and 4 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2022.  A copy will be distributed to the board of education members.  A maximum of 30 minutes in total will be allotted for public comment.

All those in attendance at the meeting are required to wear mask in accordance with COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Seven GCPS Educators Successfully Complete National Board Certification

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Seven educators in Granville County Public Schools have been recognized by the school board for successful completion of their national board certification, a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that ensures that board-certified teachers have proven skills to advance student achievement.

The following teachers have most recently completed their board certification:

  • Megan Belshaw – Mt. Energy Elementary School
  • Michael Carroll – J.F. Webb High School
  • Bridget Craddock – Creedmoor Elementary School of the Arts
  • Jennifer Crisman-Kleczek – South Granville High School
  • Carole Griffin – J.F. Webb High School
  • Chris Leas – Stovall-Shaw Elementary School
  • Stacy Splees – based at Butner-Stem Elementary School

National board certification is an advanced teaching credential and a standards-based assessment. These teachers’ scores reflect the degree to which assessors were able to locate clear, consistent and convincing evidence of meeting the national board standards specific to their certificate field, according to Dr. Stan Winborne, district public information officer and associate superintendent.

 

Michael Fuga Named Principal At J.F. Webb High

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The Granville Board of Education named Dr. Michael T. Fuga as the new principal of J.F. Webb High School at its January meeting.

Fuga most recently was principal of Neal Middle School in Durham and has almost 20 years of experience in education. During his six years as principal at Neal, Fuga received Principal of the Year honors for the district. He has been an assistant principal, social studies teacher and athletic coach at the high school level, according to a press release from Dr. Stan Winborne, district associate superintendent and public information officer.

Superintendent Dr. Alisa McLean said she is pleased to welcome Fuga to the district. “He comes highly recommended with a proven track record of improving outcomes for students,” McLean stated.

Under Fuga’s leadership, Neal went from a low-performing status to post some of the highest achievement results in its history. The school also “dramatically lowered both short- and long-term suspensions,” the press statement reported.

Fuga joins a leadership team that includes assistant principals Blondina Small, who served as interim principal, and Anthony Dickens.

Amy Rice, who had been principal at the high school, was named testing and accountability coordinator for the district.

Fuga holds an undergraduate degree from Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, and a masters and doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Granville Elementary Schools Remain K-5, At Least For One More Year

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The elementary schools in Granville County will keep their K-5 designations, at least for another year, according to Dr. Stan Winborne, associate superintendent and public information officer.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, the Granville Board of Education amended an earlier decision to put sixth grades at the elementary schools next year as part of the consolidation and reconfiguration efforts.

The board voted 6-1 to push that back to the 2023-24 school year. Board member Leonard Peace voted against the motion. In December, the board voted to change all elementary schools to K-6.

“Citing a need for more time to prepare, and to discuss additional possible impacts and scenarios, the board chose to move the date to reconfigure grades out to the 2023-2024 school year,” Winborne said in a press release. The board also cited challenges created by the ongoing pandemic as a reason to delay the decision.

Next steps include a review of a draft study of the closing of G.C. Hawley Middle School in the coming months, Winborne noted. A public forum must be held in advance of any decision regarding the fate of the middle school, but Winborne said a date has not yet been set.

West Oxford Students Bumped To Remote Learning Jan. 7, 10

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The spike in COVID-19 has prompted West Oxford Elementary School to cancel in-person learning for tomorrow (Friday) and Monday, Jan. 10. Instead, both days will be full virtual learning days, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

But the Granville County Unit of the Boys & Girls Club that operates at West Oxford will be open to serve its registered club members on both days. The club will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Parents should send devices and bookbags with their students to the club, according to a post on the school’s social media site from BGC Chief Operating Officer Jacqueline Robinson.

School leaders posted on social media Thursday evening about the change, and offered several opportunities for parents and students for school assignments and for lunch pickup.

Students in Granville County Public Schools returned to school on Wednesday after the winter break.

The Facebook post stated, in part, that “nearly half of all of our teachers at our school are unable to report to work, mostly due to the pandemic.”

The lack of substitutes available further exacerbated the situation.

West Oxford students with an internet connection and a device are supposed to login to their Google classroom to get lessons and assignments at 9 a.m. Parents of students without a device or an internet connection can come to school after 11 a.m. to pick up an instructional packet. Parents who come after 3:30 p.m. will find packets in the self-serve stations.

The school plans to run regular bus routes about midday to deliver both instructional packets and meals. “These routes will run approximately five hours later than their normal pick-up time in the morning,” the post stated.

Parents also may stop by the school between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to pick up a lunch free of charge for any student.

West Oxford serves Pre-K through grade 5 and is located at 412 Ivey Day Rd, Oxford.

South Granville High School To Remain Open Following School Board Reversal

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The Granville County Board of Education has reversed its previous decision to consolidate southern-end high schools and voted unanimously at a Thursday work session to keep all three high schools in operation.

The school board also voted to cancel its previous plans for district consolidation and reorganization and instead will make all elementary schools K-6 next year. School attendance zones will not change; elementary-school students will spend an extra year at their current school before moving to a middle school, which will become Grades 7-8 schools.

By keeping South Granville High School at its Creedmoor campus, G.C. Hawley Middle School students will attend Butner-Stem Middle School, where school leaders say there is sufficient space to merge the two student groups, according to information from Dr. Stan Winborne, associate superintendent and public information officer.

Board member Amanda LaBrecque shared a presentation that laid out plans the board ultimately supported, which called for adding sixth graders to all elementary campuses.

The presentation, titled “A Temporary Solution,” is a three-pronged approach to consolidation while addressing short-term and long-term needs.

Part 1 – K-6:  Move all sixth-grade classrooms into the elementary schools, district-wide and include an district intramural sports league for sixth graders.

Part 2 – 7 & 8: As a result of this move, Butner-Stem Middle School can accommodate seventh and eighth graders from both G.C. Hawley and Butner-Stem, with room for growth

Part 3 – 9-12:  Enrichment hub: Granville Central High School will act as an enrichment hub for students district-wide to attend advanced courses and additional electives – foreign language courses, for example. The plan proposes that buses shuttle students to minimize the need for student driving. Career Technical Education classes will not be part of the enrichment hub.

The proposed plan also looks at the short-term (3-5 years), 5-year, and 10-year intervals with various possible scenarios, depending on future growth in the county and student enrollment in the school district, Winborne explained.

Following LaBrecque’s presentation, Winborne stated “the board engaged in a thorough discussion regarding various aspects of (the) presentation, shared ideas and posed a variety of questions.” Following the discussion, two motions were approved, one for the reorganized schools and grade levels and a second to take a closer look at options for the closure of the Hawley Middle School campus.

The first motion passed 7-0 which basically restated the information detailed in the presentation regarding the school changes for the 2021-22 school year.

The board also agreed with the concept of making an “enhancement hub” at Granville Central High School for specialized courses offered in the school district. Winborne stated that this may allow students to cross-enroll in advanced placement and other specialized courses using innovation and creative instruction models.

View the full presentation HERE.

The second motion, which also passed unanimously, calls for creation of a formal study of the closure of Hawley Middle School and the merging of Hawley students to Butner-Stem Middle School.

“This motion does not result in any immediate actions that impact students or families,” Winborne stated. “Rather, it begins the process to direct staff to gather and develop information to create a formal study of the closure of G.C. Hawley, which may then be presented to the board, possibly in February of 2022.  A public hearing must be held prior to any decision to close G.C. Hawley Middle School.”

Live streaming, video recordings, agendas and exhibits of all oard meetings, including full copies of all school closure studies may be found on BoardDocs HERE.

Granville Ed Foundation Awards More Than $50,000 In Grants To Local Teachers

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The Granville Education Foundation (GEF) has distributed awards totaling more than $50,000 to schools across the county during its recent “Prize Patrol” celebration.

The foundation funded 40 grants in 16 different schools, according to GEF Executive Director Jennifer Cufalo Carpenter.

A total of 82 applications were reviewed and scored by GEF grant committee members. Names and schools were not included on the applications during the evaluation process. A GEF team presented the awards to happy recipients on Nov. 19 and on Nov. 22.

“This day was filled with surprises, excitement, and tears of joy for many deserving teachers and students.  We secretly notified the school principals we would be awarding the grants, but the teachers were unaware.  Balloons, checks, and grant acceptance letters were delivered to the schools during the celebrations.  It was delightful to witness these very happy Granville County School teachers receive their grants!” Carpenter said in a press release.

GEF board president Dr. Linda Frederickson was among the team that visited schools to celebrate with the recipients. “Our grant funding goes directly into the classrooms for these teachers’ innovative projects, which is exciting not only for the teachers receiving the grants, but for their schools, their students, and for our GEF board of directors,” Frederickson stated. “We are excited about these projects and look forward to hearing how these grants impact our Granville County Students.”

GEF will remain in contact with the grant recipients throughout the 2021-2022 school year to stay updated on the projects made possible with the grant funding.

There are four types of grants available – “success through technology” grants for a maximum of $5,000; “experience” grants for a maximum of $1,000; “performing & visual arts” grants for a maximum of $1,500; and the Lela Eaton Creative Teaching grants for a maximum of $1,000.

visit www.GranvilleEdFoundation.org to learn more.

Below is a list of winners in each category:

2021-2022 Success Through Technology Grants

  • Oxford Preparatory School – Cindy Clark
  • Wilton Elementary School – Tasha Blalock
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Ashley Barnette
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Wendy Short
  • J.F. Webb High School – Carole Griffin
  • Granville Central High School – Joshua Carter

2021-2022 Experience Grants   

  • Stovall-Shaw Elementary School – Maureen Bellissimo
  • Creedmoor Elementary School – Andrea Auclair
  • Butner Stem Elementary School – Carolyn Vickers
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Jade Currin
  • C.G. Credle Elementary School – Brenda Williamson
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Angela Satterwhite
  • Tar River Elementary School – Zane Hill
  • Creedmoor Elementary School – Niekietta Grillo
  • Tar River Elementary School – Amber Shaw
  • C.G. Credle Elementary School – Brenda Williamson

2021-2022 Performing & Visual Arts Grants   

  • Oxford Preparatory School – Cindy Clark
  • Granville Central High School – Joshua Carter

2021-2022 Lela Eaton Creative Teaching Grants   

  • Granville County Public Schools OT – Scharla Keeton, Leslie Currin, Michelle Collier
  • J.F. Webb High School – Leslie Magnanti
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Jade Currin
  • Tar River Elementary School – Karen Floyd
  • Stovall-Shaw Elementary School – Tammy Hughes
  • Granville Central High School – Joshua Carter
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Riley Olsen
  • West Oxford Elementary School – Bethany Bonnemere
  • Falls Lake Academy – Kelly Good
  • Tar River Elementary School – Madison Parker
  • Northern Granville Middle School – Mary Newton
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Heather Williams
  • Granville County Public Schools ESL – Ivelisse Rosario de Marín
  • Tar River Elementary School – Sherry Thompson
  • West Oxford Elementary School – Regina Harris
  • Stovall-Shaw Elementary School – Lisa Carver
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Katrina Bria
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Allison Satterfield
  • Oxford Preparatory School – Heather Daniel
  • Tar River Elementary School – Madison Parker
  • South Granville High School – Michele Sherer
  • Falls Lake Academy – Mary Tunstall