Tag Archive for: #VANCECoProud

$400K from Golden Leaf Foundation to VCS for Technology

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— Vance County Schools press release

Mark Sorrells, senior vice president of the Golden Leaf Foundation, presented Darlynn Oxendine, chairwoman of the Vance County Board of Education, and Superintendent Anthony Jackson with a check for $400,000 in grant allocations to fund technological innovations for students at the board’s meeting on April 16.

Jordan McMillen, county manager for Vance County, also participated in the presentation.

The grant funding from the foundation will be used to equip zSpace laboratories in our middle and high schools for the 2018-2019 school year.

The zSpace STEM Learning Initiative represents a new direction for instructional delivery and academic outcomes for the students in Vance County. This initiative will systematically and intentionally embed the technical and essential skills into our instructional programs to ensure student readiness for the local, regional and global workforce.

This funding will support the establishment of 24-30 digital student-learning stations in the middle school and high school, as well as 12-15 digital stations at the STEM Early High School.

Mark Sorrells, senior vice president of the Golden Leaf Foundation, far left, presents a large replica of the $400,000 grant check for Vance County Schools for technological innovations to, from left, Superintendent Anthony Jackson, Board of Education Chairperson Darlynn Oxendine and Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen.

Teachers will be trained on specific skills to utilize virtual reality technology in the delivery of their individual content areas. Wikis, blogs and an e-lesson repository will be constructed to allow teachers to share and collaborate as they train and implement new strategies. Business and industry partners will engage with our Career and Technical Education program teachers to develop a functional profile of the worker needed to support their industry. These skills and attributes will be embedded in the core competencies and outcomes of each learning module. Students will have direct interaction with virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) software to enhance their level of knowledge, understanding and application of science, career and technology course work.

“This partnership with Golden Leaf represents a game-changing opportunity for our schools, our students and most of all our community,” said Superintendent Anthony Jackson. “Implementation of the zSpace technology, along with the high quality professional development and support from our partners at the Friday Institute, will ensure our students are both future ready and workforce prepared. Once this project is fully implemented, Vance County will have the largest and most robust deployment of this cutting-edge technology in the state and potentially the country. We are indeed fortunate. I would like to thank the Golden Leaf Foundation, the Board of Education and especially our County Administrator and Board of County Commissioners for their support of this initiative.”

“Using artificial intelligence and virtual reality is a major part of the world of work today,” said Dr. Cindy Bennett, assistant superintendent for Student Support Services and Strategic Planning. “Students in Vance County Schools deserve the opportunity to experience firsthand the world today and the possibilities of tomorrow.”

Special Date Pre-K and Kindergarten Registration

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— Vance County Schools press release

Special Date Pre-K and Kindergarten Registration

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten registration for 2018-2019 is continuing! Our elementary schools have special registration events planned April 16-19. The events are from 1 to 6 p.m. at each of the schools.

The schedule for the school events includes:

Aycock Elementary – Thursday, April 19
Carver Elementary – Thursday, April 19
Clarke Elementary – Thursday, April 19
Dabney Elementary – Wednesday, April 18
E.M. Rollins Elementary – Tuesday, April 17
E.O. Young, Jr. Elementary – Tuesday, April 17
L.B. Yancey Elementary – Tuesday, April 17
New Hope Elementary – Tuesday, April 17
Pinkston Street Elementary – Monday, April 16
Zeb Vance Elementary – Thursday, April 19

Parents registering their children should bring a document with proof of the child’s age (birth certificate, medical record), their immunization record, Social Security card, proof of residence and proof of income. Pre-kindergarten children must be four years old on or before August 31, 2018, and kindergarten children must be five years old on or before August 31, 2018.

Vance County Schools Updates

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Terri Hedrick, public information officer for Vance County Schools was recently on air to provide updates on the school system and to discuss upcoming events. These include:

End of the 2017-18 School Year:

The last day of the 2017-2018 school year for all traditional schools will be Friday, June 8, 2018. The Early College High School located on Vance-Granville Community College’s Main Campus will end on Thursday, May 24, 2018. E.M. Rollins Elementary School, Vance County’s only year-round school, will finish on Friday, June 22, 2018.

United Way of Vance County Yard Sale:

The United Way of Vance County, a big supporter of Vance County Schools, will have a yard sale in the parking lot of their new office location at 715 S. Garnett St on Saturday, April 14, 2018, from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. The new office is located near the post office in downtown Henderson.

Money raised at the yard sale will support efforts to raise funds for needy families in Vance and Warren counties.

Items for sale include adult’s clothing/shoes, children’s clothing/shoes, children’s toys, office and home furniture, office and school supplies, filing cabinets, storage cabinets and much more.

The United Way will be collecting donated items for the yard sale. Board of Directors members will be at the new United Way Office on S. Garnett St on Friday, April 13, 2018, from 5 p.m. and after to collect donated items.

Vance County Board of Education’s April 2018 Meeting:

The Vance County Board of Education will hold their next monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 16, 2018, in the Board Room of the Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson.

Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent for Vance County Schools, is expected to make recommendations to the Board regarding the recently approved school consolidation plan.

At their March meeting, the Board voted to approve the plan to consolidate the County’s two traditional middle schools and two traditional high schools. As of the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, Eaton-Johnson Middle School and Henderson Middle School will be located in the current Northern Vance High School building. Also happening in August 2018, Northern Vance High School and Southern Vance High School will be located in the current Southern Vance High School building.

This will leave the current Eaton-Johnson Middle School and Henderson Middle School buildings vacant.

The STEM students currently located at Southern Vance High School will remain at that location. This will raise the number of students housed in the Southern Vance building from the current estimate of 900 students to approximately 1,600 students.

Both the consolidated high school and middle school will have a new name, new mascot and new school colors. Students, parents and faculty members will have an input on these decisions, with the Board of Education having the final vote.

Logistics including class changes, cafeteria schedules, traffic patterns, school start and dismissal procedures, the moving of equipment and the protection of previous school archives will all need to be discussed and arranged before the new school year begins.

 

 

 

Vance County Middle and High School Consolidation Update 3-28-18

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By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor for Hire

The Vance County Board of Education’s recent approval of the school system’s proposed consolidation plan will result in the combining of Eaton-Johnson and Henderson middle schools and Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.

The consolidated middle schools will be housed in the current Northern Vance High School building, while the consolidated high schools will be housed in the current Southern Vance High School facility.

In the planning stages of the consolidation proposal, school system administrators initially discussed a completion date of 2018-2019 for the middle school consolidation, with the high school consolidation to follow in 2019-2020.

According to Terri Hedrick, public information officer for Vance County Schools, feedback from the public at the multiple community meetings held over the last three months indicated the majority of participants favored consolidating the schools all at once and as soon as possible.

When the consolidated schools open their doors this August for the new school year, the middle school is expected to have approximately 840 students, while the high school’s population will be close to 1,350.

As for the names of the consolidated schools, Hedrick says the school system will seek student and community input. “With extensive input from students, parents and school staff members, consideration to the names, mascots and school colors of the new middle school and the new high school will be decided over the coming weeks,” said Hedrick. “We especially will seek the opinions of the current middle and high school students.”

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has recently ruled that the consolidated high school will remain in the Northern Carolina 1A/2A Conference and compete at the 2A level for the 2018-2019 school year. The school will be considered for placement in a conference of the classification in which its enrollment applies for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond at the NCHSAA Board of Directors meeting in December. The most likely scenario for the 2019-2020 school year will see the new consolidated high school competing at the 3A level as a member of the Big East 3A.

Future use of the vacated middle school buildings will be discussed by Vance County Board of Education members, with information provided by school system administrative officials. According to Hedrick, by state law, the board of education must first decide if it has any use for the buildings. If the board decides it does not have a use for the property, then the buildings will be offered to Vance County officials. If Vance County officials have no use for the buildings, they will revert back to the board of education, which can then make the decision to sell the property.

One area that is expected to remain fairly unchanged after the consolidation is school bus transportation. “The bus routes should have minimal changes. We anticipate keeping the same number of buses. Our buses already cover each half of the county for the middle and high schools [students share buses]. This isn’t likely to change,” Hedrick said.

The school system also anticipates that very few currently occupied jobs will be eliminated due to the consolidations. “As we reported in our public meetings about the consolidation proposal, we expect that no more than 20 jobs will be eliminated,” said Hedrick. “Many of these are already vacant positions, especially for teaching positions. We have staff turnover each school year and we expect that again this year.”

Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools, will provide a detailed consolidation implementation plan to the board at its April meeting. The consolidation planning process is being led by Dr. Jackson and senior staff administrators for the school system. Current principals and other administrators of the affected middle and high schools are also directly involved in the planning process.

The next Vance County Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson.

African-American Business Seminar at NVHS 3-23-18

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— courtesy Vance County Schools

The African-American Student Union at Northern Vance High School is sponsoring an African-American Business Seminar on Friday, March 23, from 5:45 to 8 p.m. in the media center at the school on Warrenton Road near Henderson.

Anyone may attend the seminar.

There will be four featured speakers for the event. Two speakers are business owners and will discuss their experiences and how entrepreneurship is essential to our community. Two other speakers are motivational speakers and they will focus on how someone can get started on establishing their own business.

Tickets are $3 in advance and $5 at the door on the evening of the event.

For tickets, interested persons may contact Samir Fields at 252-432-0326 or Kwaji Bullock at 252-915-7720.

Vance County Board of Education Approves School Consolidations

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Vance County Board of Education Approves School Consolidations

— The Following is a Press Release from Vance County Schools:

The Vance County Board of Education approved at its March 19 meeting a plan to combine the middle schools and the high schools for the 2018-2019 school year.

With the board’s action, Eaton-Johnson and Henderson middle schools will be combined and serve middle school students in the facility currently housing Northern Vance High School and Northern Vance and Southern Vance high schools will be combined to serve high school students in the facility currently housing Southern Vance High School next school year.

In January, members of the Board of Education directed the superintendent and school system staff members to seek community input on a potential facilities consolidation plan for the current, traditional middle and high schools. Discussion of consolidation became necessary as the result of several years of declining student enrollment across the district and the need to improve the efficiency and financial sustainability of school operations.

Since early January, over 25 meetings have been held with community stakeholders to seek input on the feasibility of combining the schools and their programs. School officials have heard from over 500 people in the local community with their attendance at community conversations, through email responses and an online survey with school system employees.

The feedback received during community meetings has been extremely informative as to what the public expects from its public schools and their services and programs for students. The majority of the feedback from parents, students, school system employees, elected officials, business leaders and local residents has been in favor of combining the schools.

The board is expected to review and approve a detailed implementation plan to accomplish combining the schools at its April meeting.

To address the concerns voiced during the community meetings about school safety, an ad hoc committee from the local community will be established to develop recommendations for board consideration.

“I am pleased with the board’s decision tonight and applaud them for their courage and willingness to do what’s right for students,” Superintendent Anthony D. Jackson said. “We have lots to do. Exciting times and great things are ahead.”

Vance County Schools Closing Early 3-12-18 Due To Weather

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— submitted by Terri Hedrick, Public Information Officer, Vance County Schools

Vance County Schools are closing early today due to inclement weather. Elementary and high schools are dismissing students at 12:30 p.m. and middle schools are dismissing students at 12:45 p.m. today. All after school activities are cancelled for today. The Vance County Board of Education meeting scheduled for tonight has been postponed.

Arts Alive Talent Showcase March 24th

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Vance County Schools
For Immediate Release
March 9, 2018

Vance County Schools is joining the Vance County Public School Foundation again this year in presenting the Arts Alive Talent Showcase on Saturday, March 24, at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center on Breckenridge Street in downtown Henderson.

Arts Alive will feature the display of over 200 pieces of visual art work from students in our schools and about 20 performing groups who are our students in the show.

The student art work can be viewed free of charge beginning at 4 p.m. in the McGregor Hall Gallery on March 24.

The show will begin at 7 p.m. in the McGregor Hall auditorium on March 24.

Tickets for the show are $5 per person. The tickets will go on sale beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, at McGregor Hall.

All proceeds from Arts Alive go to the Vance County Public School Foundation to support programs in our public school system.

STEM Early High School Applications Due 3-12-18

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— submitted by Vance County Schools

Applications for the 2018-2019 school year at STEM Early High School are being accepted through March 12, 2018. Applications are available at the school, located at Southern Vance High School at 925 Garrett Road near Henderson, and on the school’s website. Interested persons should call the school at 738-2260 with any questions regarding the application process.

Early College Application Deadline Extended

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— submitted by Vance County Schools

The application deadline for incoming freshmen to the Vance County Early College High School for the 2018-2019 school year has been extended to Thursday, March 22.

Interested students have until 3 p.m. on March 22, to turn in their completed applications.

All applications should be turned in to the office of the Early College High School, located on the top floor of Building 2 on the campus of Vance-Granville Community College near Henderson. The school’s office is located in room 2314.

The applications can be picked up at the school and are available on the Early College High School website.