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.
Jacquline McDaniel of Randleman Middle School launches a shot in the title game against Trinity Middle School’s Madison Hill, right, and overa Brennan Thomas. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The Randolph County Middle School basketball championships were held Saturday at Eastern Randolph.
The winners were the girls’ team from Randleman Middle School, which defeated Trinity Middle School, and the boys’ team from Southwestern Randolph, which topped regular-season champion Southeastern Middle School.
Randleman’s girls ended up with an undefeated record.
Southwestern Randolph Middle School’s Caleb Abernathy takes a shot against Southeastern Randolph in the boys’ championship game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
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.
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.”
Here was the message on graduation night outside Providence Grove High School, where members of the Class of 2022 received diplomas. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
There was one last set of hurdles for members of the Class of 2022 in the Randolph County School System.
That was adjustments for commencement ceremonies Wednesday night. All of those activities were moved indoors as storms battered the area.
Nearly 900 graduates received from the six high schools holding events.
While RCSS officials attended various commencements, superintendent Stephen Gainey naturally was present at Southwestern Randolph. His daughter, Kaitlyn Gainey, was one of the graduates – and he handed his daughter the diploma during the ceremony.
Randleman welcomed 168 graduates, with the gym packed with guests and dozens of others viewing the ceremony on screens set up in the cafeteria and theater.
Gary Goss, a deputy with Randolph County Sherriff’s Department, said this was his first commencement assignment, but he said he could relate to what the graduates were going through. For his 1989 commencement when he graduated from Eastern Randolph, inclement weather forced that ceremony indoors as well.
At Providence Grove, where 143 were expected to receive diplomas, the word was delivered slightly after noon that the 8 p.m. ceremony would move inside.
Still, that didn’t prevent some wet attendees as a storm dumped plenty of rain on school grounds as spectators made their way toward the gym. Parking areas in front of the school were filled, with many choosing to park on grassy areas as well.
Art teacher Stephanie Soper has been at the school since it opened in 2008. She attended the first Providence Grove commencement in June 2009 and has been on hand for every version since then except for the rescheduled 2020 event during the height of the COVID pandemic.
“There has been a lot through the years that have moved indoors,” Soper said. “Sometimes it has been excruciatingly hot (outside for the ceremony).”
Each Providence Grove senior was given five tickets to distribute for the commencement in the gym. Many supporters watched a video stream in the nearby auditorium.
Eastern Randolph had 119 graduates, with the indoor event deemed a success by principal Susan Chappell.
“We set up both for outdoor and indoor,” Chappell said. “I didn’t want to risk anybody’s safety and to have everybody scrambling at the last minute. When we made the decision, everybody pitched in to help.”
The spectator overflow area was in the cafeteria, while others could view the live stream from home. Chappell said the indoor ceremonies offer the benefit of closer viewing and often better acoustics.
“We’re glad that we did make the move because at right about the time of the ceremony it was lightning like crazy,” said Jamie Smith, school secretary at Eastern Randolph. “That was a good decision by administrators.”
Trinity had 132 graduates for its indoor ceremony. Nearby Wheatmore had 155 graduates.
There was particular attention to the awarding of one of the Wheatmore diplomas. It went to the family of Brianna Robinson, who died in April.
“She met all the requirements,” principal Eric Johnson said.
A cap and gown were placed in her chair. Another student brother flowers for the setting.
It was a smaller-than-normal class for Wheatmore. Johnson said usually there are 180-190 graduates, but factors such as the impact from COVID-19 caused some students to not get back into the groove.
The indoor set-up worked well.
“Families seemed to appreciate the dry, cool, non-humid conditions,” Johnson said.
The Southwestern Randolph ceremony was clocked at a brisk 61 minutes. There were 172 graduates, marking a smaller senior class than several of those in recent years.
Here’s all that was left to the staging area at Randleman’s football stadium as commencement ceremonies were going on in the nearby high school gym. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
First sergeant Kenneth Diaz, the instructor for Randleman’s JROTC program, received word shortly before 5 p.m. that the ceremony, which was set to begin at 7 p.m., would be shifted inside. That created a bit of a scramble for his eight students who were overseeing traffic control.
Instead of the festivities taking place in the football stadium, they were held in the high school gym.
“This is as orderly as we could get it,” Diaz said of the parking and traffic. “They made the move and our kids were ready. I’m definitely pleased with the outcome. This definitely could have been a lot worse.”
After a heavy rain, the sun came out for about the hour prior to the Randleman ceremony. Then at just about the time the commencement began, thunder rumbled and that was followed by more downpours, validating the decision to relocate the event.
