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School news: Principals to shift; Gainey honored; Commencement times listed

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ASHEBORO – The Randolph County School System made a few principal appointments for the next school year.

Dennis Hamilton is going from his role as principal at Randleman to become principal at neighboring Providence Grove. No replacement for the Randleman position has been named.

Corey Culp, an assistant principal at Liberty Elementary and Grays Chapel Elementary School, will be the principal at Liberty Elementary School.

Katie Henderson moves from principal at Coleridge Elementary School to become the principal at Franklinville Elementary School.

All the appointments are effective July 1.

For schools in the Randolph County School System, the last day of classes is June 9 with a two-hour early release.

Gainey honored

RCSS announced that superintendent Stephen Gainey has been named the Superintendent of the Year for the Piedmont Triad Education Consortium.

Gainey has been superintendent for RCSS since the summer of 2013.

Commencement times

Here’s a list of times for high school graduations in Randolph County. All of the remaining ceremonies are scheduled for June 9.

6 p.m.: Eastern Randolph, Trinity.

7 p.m.: Asheboro, Randleman, Southwestern Randolph, Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve (at Journey Church in Asheboro).

8 p.m.: Providence Grove, Wheatmore.

Note: Randolph Early College graduate was held May 19 at Journey Church in Asheboro.

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s commencement was held May 26.

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Asheboro, county schools take precautions from social media threat

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ASHEBORO – Schools throughout Randolph County continued with classes Friday with increased law enforcement presence because of threats stemming from social media.

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office deployed extra deputies to all school campuses, according to the department.

“As in any instance of a threat, precautions are being taken. Additional law enforcement are present on school campuses in Randolph County,” according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

A Snapchat threat was sent throughout the state and to other parts of the country, according to several reports.

Asheboro City Schools continued operations, though advisories were sent to parents.

As part of a memo from the city schools, officials had been “made aware of a social media post with threatening messages towards schools.”

Though the message was sent nationally, it was shared within the Asheboro High School community, according to the school’s notification to parents.

So, the school day began with a secured perimeter with all students reporting directly to their classrooms. No students were permitted outside the main building until that directive was lifted.

Superintendent Steven Gainey of the Randolph County School System delivered a message to parents Friday night via an automated phone service.

“I am calling to make you aware that a national message of potential school violence was posted on social media during the night (Thursday) night,” Gainey’s message said. “Please know that the leadership of the school system is working closely with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department to investigate and monitor this situation. Also, the Sheriff’s Department has placed additional officers on our school campuses throughout the school system as a means of additional support for the safety of our students and staff members. Please know that the safety of our students and staff members is our first priority at all times.”

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RCSS receives electric bus as part of pilot program

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The Randolph County School System is the first public school system in the state to receive an electric school bus as part of a pilot program funded by the North Carolina Volkswagen Settlement program.

Various school officials and representatives of other groups gathered last week to document the development.

In photo, left to right: Phillip Lanier, Randolph County Board of Education member; Michael Trent, Director of Innovative Energy Solutions, Randolph Electric Membership Corp.; Roy Parks, Western Regional Sales Manager, Carolina Thomas; Dr. Stephen Gainey, Superintendent, Randolph County School System; Elizabeth Biser, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality; Shannon Whitaker, Randolph County Board of Education member; Kevin Harrison, Section Chief, Office of District Operations, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

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Randolph Early College senior recognized before board of education for United States Presidential Scholar selection

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ASHEBORO – The Randolph County Board of Education met Monday, Jan. 9 with recognitions and quarterly updates the only items on the agenda.

The board recognized the 2023 United States Presidential Scholar Nominee, Toby Cuna Zamora.

“Toby Cuna Zamora, a senior at Randolph Early College High School, has been selected by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) as one of North Carolina’s nominees to apply for the United States Presidential Scholars Program in the General Education category,”  said Public Information Officer Tim Moody. “Nineteen nominees were selected from a pool of submissions through an extensive committee review process. As a result of his selection, Toby has been invited by the NCDPI Presidential Scholars Nomination Committee to move forward in the next round of the scholars program.”

United States Presidential Scholars candidates will go through the application process at the national level and the Commission on Presidential Scholars will notify the semifinalists in April 2023. Scholar finalists will then be announced in May 2023. 

Those selected will receive the Presidential Scholars Medallion at a ceremony in their honor in Washington, D.C. and scholars selected from North Carolina will be honored by the State Board of Education in early June 2023. 

The board also recognized the county’s 2022-23 Lighthouse School nominee.

“The North Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has a prestigious Lighthouse School award that is presented annually to one or more North Carolina schools that are leading the way in innovative programs and practices,” Moody said. “For the 2022-23 school year, the leadership team of Randolph County School System has nominated Archdale Elementary School for the Lighthouse School award.”

Schools selected for the award will be announced at the NCSCD 2023 annual conference in February in Pinehurst.

In its quarterly budget update, the district reported cash balances of $3,511,363 in current expenses, $1,843,158 in capital outlay, $1,849,711 in AT Tax and $4,362,246 in child nutrition funds.

In its quarterly student assignment update, Randolph County Schools saw a net loss in overall enrollments of 82 students. It is also seeing three schools – Archdale Elementary, Hopewell Elementary, and Randleman High – approaching capacity, all currently having enrollment that is over 90% of total capacity for those schools.

The Randolph County Board of Education will next meet Feb. 20.

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Dig it Pink: Volleyball teams play for a cause

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Fans enjoy the environment for Dig Pink Night at Uwharrie Charter Academy. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Randolph County volleyball teams held Dig Pink Nights in recognition of breast cancer awareness.

Those matches and events associated with them served as fundraisers.

Participants and fans were decked out in pink for the matches.

Eastern Randolph’s Addie Flinchum sets up the ball in a match vs. Uwharrie Charter Academy. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

 

Asheboro’s Sarah Hildreth and Ellen Long go for a block against Central Davidson. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

 

Providence Grove’s Emma Mazzarone spikes the ball against Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
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Randolph County School System employees to receive bonus pay

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ASHEBORO – The Randolph County Board of Education met Monday and was presented with a resolution to provide bonus pay to nearly all of its employees.

The board approved the resolution to provide COVID-19 Premium Pay to Randolph County School System Employees due to pandemic-related disturbances and staff shortages through the ESSER funds.

“We have great staff members, they’re highly qualified, and they are loved and appreciated by our school system’s leadership and the board of education,” said Superintendent Dr. Stephen Gainey. “And so we want to present this tonight as a recommendation to try and keep staff members with us and bring other ones to us.”

For current employees that are employed by September 30, they will receive a one-time payment of $500, and if they stay on by the end of the year, they will receive an additional $500, according to Gainey.

“The beauty of this is that it doesn’t matter what position you’re in,” Gainey said. “There’s a $1,000 bonus for you.”

The bonus pay is also being utilized to recruit new hires. Anybody who is hired by the board of education between October 1 and January 9, will have a recruitment bonus of $500 in their first paycheck, and if they stay till the end of the year, they will also get the additional $500 as well.

Finally, substitutes are going to be able to receive bonus pay as well if they work the equivalent of 20 full-time days from October 1 through January 31. The bonus for substitutes that reach this marker will be a $500 bonus.“This school system, in many ways, survives and has survived many staff shortages because of substitute teachers, but also substitute bus drivers, substitute child nutrition staff members, substitute custodians, substitute clerical staff,” Gainey said. “It’s not just substitute teachers.”

The board was also given an updated local testing report.

“This is a new report that will be coming before the board in the fall of even-numbered years based on some legislation passed by the state of North Carolina in 2019,” said Director of Testing and Accountability Meredith Weipert. “Districts are submitting information about the number of standardized tests and the amount of time that students spend on standardized tests during the school year. Based on Randolph County School Systems numbers over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, we are currently over the state average both in the number of tests and total number of time.”

Based on the general statute, when a district is above the state average, the local board of education must submit a plan to the Department of Public Instruction to eliminate certain local standardized testing in order to ensure neither the number of tests nor the number of hours spent on standardized testing exceeds the state average.

According to Weipert, in response to the results of the report, Randolph County Schools has created a plan that will see a decrease of 39 tests and 23.8 testing hours.

The board then approved facility improvements at Southwestern Randolph Middle School. The improvements include the installation of a concession stand building with restrooms near the baseball/softball field and the football/soccer field, funded by the athletics booster club.

The board also approved the acceptance of a change order from Trinity Middle School to credit back $727,800.90 in unused funds and a grant that was awarded to Southwestern Randolph High School.

“The name of the grant is the Rachael Ray Grow Grant in the amount of $5,000,” said Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Cathy Waddell. “The grant was received on August 25, 2022 and will provide funding for classroom kitchen tools and a Clear Touch Panel.”

The Randolph County Board of Education will next meet October 17.

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Elementary teacher takes pride in RCSS honor

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Sophie Herring was selected as the Teacher of the Year for the Randolph County School System. (Courtesy photo)

ASHEBORO – Once Sophie Herring discovered the joys of teaching, she became hooked.

The elementary school teacher has been rewarded for her efforts in classrooms and among her peers by being named the Teacher of the Year for the Randolph County School System.

“I know I’m young in the career,” she said. “It’s a huge honor. I’ve been overwhelmed with the love I’ve gotten from this.”

She spent the past six school years teaching third grade at Trindale Elementary School.

Her selection as Teacher of the Year was revealed at last week’s banquet at Pinewood Country Club. Other finalists were Sharon Hughes of Trinity Middle School, Joni Moody of Hopewell Elementary School, Angela Mroczkowski of Randolph Early College, and Bryant Voncannon of Seagrove and Southmont elementary schools.

Within RCSS, Herring began her time as an intern from UNC Greensboro.

“And never left,” she said. “The people who were there with me, they saw me grow into a functioning teacher.”

After graduating from Williams High School in Burlington in 2012, she enrolled at UNCG considering becoming a history major. She took a role in college tutoring youngsters in intercity Greensboro. One day she encountered a boy who was so thrilled to be in the learning environment.

“He just lit up he was so excited about it,” Herring said. “I thought, ‘I could do this every single day for my job.’ ”

Other than in the classroom, she took other roles at Trindale. She said there were difficult transitions for students and staff after the height of the COVID-19 impact, but she wanted to help.

Herring became chair of a committee to boost student and teacher morale.

“I was finally able to be a leader at the school,” she said.

This school year, Herring began a new role as a teacher for Academically/Intelligently Gifted students for grades K-12, spending time at both Trindale Elementary School and Archdale Elementary School.

“They get an opportunity to push themselves,” she said. “It has been such a fun thing for me.”

Herring, who stands 5-foot-1, said some of the fifth-graders are taller than her. She said that makes for an interesting dynamic.

Now, she said she hopes her latest recognition brings positive attention to the teaching profession.

“I’m young in this gig,” Herring said. “I still got a lot more left. We all love what we do.”

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Second year means more identity for Trinity Middle School

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ARCHDALE – Year 2 for Trinity Middle School has arrived, and it should feel more like home for students and staff.

“It does,” principal Aaron Barr said. “It’s a continuation of last year.”

A year ago, the opening of the new school was a special occasion, though it also came with normal challenges. There was a merging of students from previous schools that became part of the process.

“Everybody was kind of trying to feel their way,” Barr said. “You’re getting the culture of a new school worked out.”

Classes began this week for the new school year in the Randolph County School System.

Trinity Middle School, with sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, had about 530 students last year, and a similar number is anticipated for this school year.

The creation of Trinity Middle School meant the end of Braxton Craven School and the renaming of Archdale-Trinity Middle School to Wheatmore Middle School. Previously, those two middle schools were feeders to Trinity High School and Wheatmore High School.

Now, Trinity Middle School funnels students to Trinity High School.

So there was a transition period for numerous reasons last year.

“You’re still finishing things up,” Barr said. “There are some finishing touches.”

Instead of some of the generic tone that greeted students last summer, there are more areas displayed with the school colors that incorporate blue, black, and white. It’s probably more apparent that the school mascot is the Bulldogs.

“It’s not a plain wall,” Barr said. “Now we’ve gotten to put their personality on it.”

The school, which is the newest campus in the RCSS, lists three administrators and about 30 teachers among the staff. Barr had been principal at Hopewell Elementary School prior to moving to the position at the new middle school.

Trinity Middle School is holding a clean-up day at the athletics fields in an effort to spruce up those areas. Volunteers are asked to bring weed eaters and tools to assist in the process, which is set to begin at 9 a.m. Sept. 10 at the football and baseball/softball fields. A pizza lunch will be provided to those putting in the work.

Back to School Inflation

Things to know as school year about to begin in Randolph County

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ASHEBORO – The first day of classes is set for Monday at public schools around Randolph County.

Here are a few things to know:

Administrators in place

The Randolph County School System made several new appointments for the school year during its August board of education meeting.

They were: Judi Cagle, principal at Farmer Elementary; Shawn Garrett, assistant principal at Eastern Randolph high school; Jessica Green, assistant principal at Randleman High School; Stephanie Hatcher, assistant principal at Southwestern Randolph Middle School.

Food for thought

Kelly Green, director of school nutrition for RCSS, said there are 30 total positions vacant within her department.

Green described the challenges for workers in the district’s cafeteria. 

“It wouldn’t be as hard if we were fully staffed,” Green said.

RCSS upgraded pay for many positions, though other factors have prevented the positions from being filled.

“We’ll continue to focus on it,” superintendent Stephen Gainey said.

Also, the board of education reviewed several policies at its August meeting. Considerable time was spent on topics that included cell phone use during the school day and concerns about students vaping.

Gainey reviewed district policies in place regarding both topics. He said principals would be reminded about those in advance of classes beginning.

Gainey said he’ll also discuss with principals about concerns regarding food arriving from delivery services during the school days.

Still happening

The construction is ongoing for the major renovation project at Asheboro High School. There will continue to be modifications to the daily routines for students and staff. 

In advance of the school year, an open house for high school students and parents to meet teachers and staff is slated for 2-6 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 25) on Walker Commons. At the same time, other school locations within Asheboro City Schools also will hold open houses.

Asheboro City Schools also has several new administrators in place. 

That list includes: Ryan Moody, principal at the high school; Graham Groseclose, principal at North Asheboro Middle School; Brittany Roberts, assistant principal at the high school; Michelle Harger, assistant principal at Teachey Elementary School; Kelly Patton, assistant principal at McCrary Elementary School; Amber Andrews, assistant principal at Balfour Elementary School.

Administrators transferring within the system include Jonathan Dillon going from assistant principal at North Asheboro Middle School to the high school, and Keisha Dawalt going from Balfour Elementary School to North Asheboro Middle School as assistant principal.

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Back-to-School prayer event set for Sunday in Randolph County

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ASHEBORO — Chuck Powers, founder of the Randolph Christian Men, would like to see a record turnout for Sunday’s Back-to-School Prayer Night.

At 5:30 p.m., gatherings are scheduled to begin at about 40 locations that are part of the Randolph County School System and Asheboro City Schools.

“We’ll have someone who will lead prayer at each of those facilities,” Powers said. “We’re asking the Lord to bless everyone involved in education.”

Turnout for last year’s Back-to-School Prayer Night was more than 500 based on reports Powers, an Asheboro man, received from his group’s members at the school locations.

“I think that’s a good number,” he said. “I really wish we could have more than that.”

Randolph Christian Men took over as organizers and sponsors of the non-denominational event in 2014. The annual prayer session coincides with the beginning of the school year in Randolph County. Classes start Monday at public schools in the county.

“We ask people to go to a local school of their choosing,” Powers said. “It’s a simple, one-night event.”

Attendance for the prayer night varies from school to school. Powers said more than 25 people might descend on some locations, while others might attract three or four.

Powers said the 5:30 p.m. time works better than in some past years when it began at 7 p.m. This way, Back-To-School Prayer Night shouldn’t conflict with Sunday evening church services.

Powers said attendees would generally spend about 20 minutes for the prayer events at the schools.

Even during the COVID pandemic, the Back-to-School Prayer Night was held in Randolph County, Powers said. He said the activity continued because it was outdoors and in small gatherings.

Randolph Christian Men has about 1,000 members in its database. The group meets monthly at a different church. Powers, who formed the organization in 2008, said the pre-COVID turnout was usually about 85 to 100 per month, though that’s down to about 55 in recent months.

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