All after-school and evening events today for Vance County Schools have been canceled due to the wintry weather in the area. This includes ballgames. — Reported by Terri Hedrick, the Public Information Officer of Vance County Schools.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Emani Foster, a student at the Vance County Early College High School, has been selected to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders to be held June 25-27, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Foster was selected for participation in the prestigious Congress by representatives of the national Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She was chosen for the high recognition based on her outstanding academic record, leadership potential and her desire to become a physician or medical scientist.
The Congress of Future Medical Leaders is an academic honors program with strict requirements, including a minimum 3.5 grade point average.
(Vance County Schools Photo)
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Sally Albrecht, a nationally known music clinician, composer and choreographer who lives in Raleigh, spent time with fifth-grade students in the chorus at E.M. Rollins Elementary School on November 30.
Albrecht, who is a friend and colleague in the Northeast Piedmont Chorale of the students’ music teacher, Cindy Edwards, came to the school to help the students work on their choreography for one of the songs she has written that the students plan to perform.
Albrecht volunteered her time to work with the students on their facial expressions, hand gestures and dance steps. She is well known for her expertise in working with upper elementary and middle school students.
Edwards noted that she and Albrecht have known each other for many years and she has had her students, including those she taught as the choral director at Northern Vance High School, sing and perform many of Albrecht’s songs over the years.
Albrecht is shown with the E.M. Rollins students. She is at the far right in the group photo with the 18 students and Edwards, who is standing at the far left.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Diane Averett, media specialist at Carver Elementary School, has purchased 165 new books for beginning readers with $3,000 in grant funds from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
First-grade students at Carver Elementary School are shown in the photo as they hold some of their new books. They include, from left, Natalie Roberts, Colton Morgan, Anora Hamrick and Lupita Gonzalez.
The grant funding is for the school’s “Carver Readers Soar!” project for youth literacy.
(VCS Photo – Carver Elementary)
The new books will be used for students to read in their classes during the school day and during their sessions with Averett in the media center.
Averett adds the Dollar General grant funding to funds from two other grants she has secured. Those include $500 from Donors Choose to purchase LEGOS and other educational manipulatives and a $750 Walmart Community Foundation Grant for materials for the school’s Maker Space classroom.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Vance County Board of Education members in the photo are, from left, Ruth Hartness, Ed Wilson, Gloria J. White, Darlynn Oxendine, Dorothy Gooche, Superintendent Anthony Jackson, Clementine Hunter and Margaret Ellis.
The Vance County Board of Education was recognized during the N.C. School Boards Association’s (NCSBA) 2017 Annual Conference in Greensboro on November 14, as a Level I Master Board.
It was the only board recognized at the conference for the Level I achievement.
Master Board is a knowledge and skills based training program that provides school boards with the opportunity to develop governance skills as a full board. All board members and the superintendent must commit to the training.
The Master Board Level I distinction requires 20 hours of training. Topics covered in the training include understanding school boards in a democracy, solving problems and making decisions and analyzing ethical challenges.
Dr. Greg Hicks, shown in the photo second from right, was their trainer.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Kedecia Stewart, a teacher at Pinkston Street Elementary School, has been named the North Central Region Teacher of the Year.
The announcement was officially made today at a school-wide assembly at Pinkston Street, where Stewart teaches math to fourth and fifth graders.
Stewart also is the 2017-2018 Vance County Teacher of the Year.
Kedecia Stewart, left, reacts as Superintendent Anthony Jackson talks about her recognition as the 2018 North Central Region Teacher of the Year. (VCS Photo)
Lisa Godwin, the 2017 N.C. Teacher of the Year, attended the assembly to make the announcement.
All of the students and staff at Pinkston Street Elementary School were in attendance and they all stood and cheered when it was announced Stewart had earned the regional honor.
Superintendent Anthony Jackson presented Stewart with a plaque from the school system in recognition of the Regional Teacher of the Year award and a bouquet of pink roses.
Stewart won the regional honor in a field of Teachers of the Year from 14 public school systems in this region of the state including Wake, Durham, Johnston, Franklin, Granville and Warren counties.
She will now go on to represent the North Central Region in competition for the 2018 N.C. Teacher of the Year.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Our Vance County Early College High School is now accepting applications from current eighth-grade students to attend the school for the 2018-2019 school year.
Students who attend Early College have the opportunity to complete their high school education and two years of college coursework at no cost to them.
The Early College is designed for diverse learners who want the opportunity to be enrolled in a relevant, rigorous and innovative course of secondary curriculum and a tuition free college course of study. All students are expected to receive their high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree or Associate of Science degree from Vance-Granville Community College.
Applications for the 2018-2019 school year may be obtained at the school, located on the third floor of Building 2 on the campus of Vance-Granville Community College near Henderson, or on the school’s website.
Applications from rising ninth graders will be accepted until February 16, 2018.
Principal Debbie Hite and her staff also will be leading parent and student informational meetings over the next few weeks. More information on these meetings will be made available soon.
For further information, interested persons may contact the Early College High School by phone at 252-738-3580.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools, received the prestigious Friday Medal during a ceremony at the Friday Institute on the Centennial Campus of N.C. State University in Raleigh on November 15.
Jackson, who has been the superintendent of local schools since the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, was presented the award by Friday Institute officials in recognition of his outstanding leadership in implementing effective use of technology into teaching and learning each day in the classrooms of our 17 public schools.
The Friday Medal honors significant, distinguished and enduring contributions to education and beyond through advocating innovation, advancing education and imparting inspiration. In recognition of the commitment of Bill and Ida Friday to educational excellence, the College of Education’s William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation created The Friday Medal. This award is given annually to those who embody the mission and spirit of the Friday Institute.
In collaboration with the N.C. School Superintendents Association, the 2017 Friday Medal was presented to Jackson and six other superintendents. They each received a medal for their own accomplishments and as representatives of the many other dedicated and innovative rural superintendents who serve the students of North Carolina. All of the superintendents honored included:
Darrin Hartness – Davie County
Anthony Jackson – Vance County
Jeff McDaris – Transylvania County
Janet Mason – Rutherford County
Lynn Moody – Rowan Salisbury
Patrick Miller – Greene County
Robert Taylor – Bladen County
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Nu Chi Omega chapter presented 150 new backpacks filled with school supplies to Superintendent Anthony Jackson for distribution to needy children in Vance County Schools.
The presentation was made on November 6, in the school system’s Administrative Services Center.
The “Backpack Initiative” is one of the initiatives established by the current international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Dr. Dorothy Buchanan Wilson. The sorority pledged to donate one million backpacks to schools in the United States and other countries from 2014-2018. It is set to reach that goal and surpass it.
Presenting the backpacks to Dr. Jackson in the accompanying photo are sorority members, from left, Patricia Williams, Vivian Bullock, Sarah Baskerville, Nakeshia Rolle and Carol Simmons.
— courtesy Vance County Schools
During November 13-17, the nation will observe American Education Week, a time to celebrate public education and the educators who make a difference every day in the lives of children.
