Results Indicate a Successful Academic Year

LINCOLN COUNTY - Lincoln County Schools released the 2009-2010 North Carolina ABC results today which included three schools in the district being recognized with the highest distinction as an Honor School of Excellence, 12 schools recognized as a School of Distinction and six schools named as a School of Progress.

This is the 14th year that North Carolina has used ABCs of Public Education to report on the performance of each public school and to identify where the state is successful with teaching and learning. The North Carolina ABC plan was developed by the North Carolina Board of Education to allow public schools to focus more on basic skills, higher accountability and more local control over educational decisions.

Nontenured instructors allow career faculty more freedom to conduct research

By Duke Cheston

RALEIGH — Adam Smith tells us in The Wealth of Nations that specialization of labor is the key to a nation’s economic advance. One man performing all the steps for making nails, for instance, may produce several hundred per day, but a team of specialized laborers can produce many times more nails per person each day.

Smith attributed the modern world’s prosperity to such specialization, and economists largely still agree on this point.

A new trend in higher education seeks to put this principle to use. Universities are hiring nontenure-track teaching specialists, who differ from those on the track toward tenure in that they are not expected to conduct research but to concentrate solely on teaching. This approach can deliver admirable results.

By Jason Saine

LINCOLNTON - Filing for school board candidates ended last week on July 6th with two out of the three seats being contested in November.

Republican Candy Stevens Burgin (pictured above), filed on June 25th, and is poised to win her race as no opponent filed to run against her for the Lincolnton Outside City Limits seat on the Board of Education. This is Burgin's first time seeking office.

Photo by Melany Dawn Crouse.
In the Catawba Springs Township race, Bob Silver and Karen Johnson Bolick both filed in June. Both are Denver Republicans.

DALLAS, NC - Tom Efird, past president of the Gaston College Foundation, Inc. installed new officers at the group’s June 23 meeting and was honored by his peers for his years of service.

Mr. Bob Tull, a Lincolnton resident, was installed as president. He is a long time supporter of the college and established an endowed nursing scholarship several years ago when he retired from the Timken Company after 35 years of service. Mrs. Barbara B. Myers, Foundation vice president, is carrying on her family’s tradition of generosity and service to Gaston College as well as to a variety of civic organizations in Gaston County. Mr. Steve Campbell, a financial advisor for Raymond James, serves as treasurer, bringing a wealth of financial knowledge and experience not only to the Foundation but to the Gaston College Board of Trustees where he serves on the Facilities Committee. Dr. Pat Skinner, president of Gaston College for the past 16 years, was installed as secretary. Mr. Ralph Huddin, Vice President of Finance, Operations & Facilities for the College, will serve as the Foundation’s assistant treasurer.

Photo: Officers of the Gaston College Foundation Board of Directors are, pictured left to right, Tom Efird, past president; Bob Tull, president; Barbara Brownlee Myers, vice president; Pat Skinner, secretary; Ralph Huddin, assistant treasurer. Not pictured is Steve Campbell, treasurer.

LINCOLN COUNTY – Kindergarten teacher Jan Morton, who has been teaching at Pumpkin Center Primary for 13 years, was recently named the Teacher of the Year for the Lincoln County Schools.

Morton, who began her teaching career 26 years ago, was selected from 24 teachers across the school system. In past years, the Teacher of the Year has been given the use of a new car for the year. This year, the Teacher of the Year recipient will receive $5,000 of new technology for her school, according to Lincoln County Schools Superintendent Dr. David Martin. All of the 24 teachers nominated will receive special art in the fall at individual presentations at their schools.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLN COUNTY – High school graduates from the four Lincoln County high schools graduated today from the four high schools in the county which are East Lincoln High School, Lincolnton High School, North Lincoln High School and West Lincoln High School.

LINCOLNTON – Pumpkin Center Intermediate School will have a ribbon cutting for its walking track and a special dedication of its butterfly garden on Thursday, June 3, at 2 p.m.

The butterfly garden is dedicated in memory of Anna Brooks, a fourth grader at the school who died on April 16.

Pumpkin Center Intermediate teacher Donna Belk was award the NC Beautiful’s Windows of Opportunities Grant made possible from Duke Energy Foundation.

LINCOLNTON, NC – Twelve seniors from the Lincoln County Schools are recipients of local scholarships. They were announced at the 2010 Academic Achievement Awards banquet sponsored by the Lincolnton/Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln County Schools.
The scholarship award and the winners for each are as follows:

Lincolnton Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce
East Lincoln High School – Lauren Finklea
Lincolnton High School - Luke Mitchem
North Lincoln High School – Peyton Huneycutt
West Lincoln High School – James Schrum

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On June 3, 2010, Gastonia’s historic synagogue, Temple Emanuel, will present Patricia Skinner, Ph.D., president of Gaston College, the second annual Wisdom of Solomon Award. The ceremony will take place at Rodi’s Restaurant at the Loft in Gastonia at 6:00 pm.

Throughout her 15-year tenure as president of Gaston College, Skinner has overseen enormous growth of the institution from one campus to three. In addition to the two new campuses, under her leadership Gaston College has added 11 new buildings including 330,955 square feet of educational space.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON – Lincolnton High School was named the winning team for the 6th annual High School Knowledge Bowl competition held on April 24. Team members were recognized by the Lincoln County Board of Education at its monthly meeting on Wednesday evening.

Team members include: Luke Mitchem, team captain, Gabby Hovis, Caleb Williams, Lindsey Turner and Amanda Dango. The team is coached by LHS teachers Harriet Dobbins and Clint Spencer.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON, NC – Pumpkin Center Intermediate School and West Lincoln Middle School were recognized as the Battle of the Books winning teams by the Lincoln County Board of Education at the board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday evening.

The school system’s 4th annual Battle of the Books for the elementary school level was held on March 19 and the 8th annual event for the middle school level was held on March 22. The North Carolina School Library Media Association sponsors the program to promote a love of reading and familiarity with the best in literature for young people. Elementary level students are required to read 12 book selections during the school year and middle school students must read 27 book selections. These books and in-depth knowledge of each of them are the basis for the competition.

STAFF REPORTS

VALE, NC – West Lincoln Middle School celebrated on Monday evening the completion of a new wing of the school that will house the 8th grade with 12 classrooms and two science labs.
The new 20,000-square-foot addition to the school was built to alleviate the need for mobile classrooms. Four mobile classrooms were eliminated prior to the start of construction in March 2009 and two more will be removed this summer. West Lincoln Middle School was built in 1974 and the first addition was built in 1998. Matthews Construction was the construction company for this latest addition and construction was completed in early March.

Along with the new building construction, the school also added a new car stacking lane to help remove traffic from Shoal Road, replaced a canopy at the student loading area, installed new controls for the HVAC system, added a new teacher parking area and put in some landscaping around the new building.

The cost for the new construction and these other additions updates totaled $2.2 million.

Photo: The presentation of the key marks the opening of West Lincoln Middle School's new building addition which will house 12 classrooms and two science labs for the 8th grade. Left to right: Jason Rainey of Matthews Construction which built the new addition, WLMS Principal Wanda Lutz and Lincoln County Board of Education Chairman Rusty Beam.

STAFF REPORTS

CHARLOTTE – The Lincolnton Middle School 8th grade band received a Superior Rating at the annual Carowinds Music Festival on April 30.

The band is directed by Amber Hoyle. This is the second major award for the band this school year. Earlier this year, the band received an award for its performance at the Festival at Wingate University.

Photo: Members of the Lincolnton Middle School band at the Carowinds Music Festival on April 30. The band won its second award of the year by achieving a Superior Rating at the Carowinds event.

STAFF REPORTS

DENVER, NC – St. James Elementary School Chorus in Denver held its first Disney Spectacular Music Feast on May 6 at the school.

The sold-out event was the first dinner show for the school’s third through sixth grade chorus group. The group, under the direction of music teacher Rena Summerlin, prepared for the event for four months. Students dressed as their favorite Disney characters, singing for and serving dinner to the audience of more than 175 people.

STAFF REPORTS

DALLAS, NC - Twelve students have successfully completed the Truck Driver Training Certificate Program at Gaston College. A special graduation ceremony for the 2010 class was hosted by the Gaston College Industrial Technologies Division in March at the Lena Sue Beam auditorium, Dallas Campus. Graduates of the program are (Left to right): Wiley Brown, Michael Conway, Grady Hughes, Vincent Langley, Christopher Paige, Joshua Parker, Joshua Powell, Howard Self, Rusty Spikes, Darnell Stevenson, Benjamin Tuft, and Joel Walsh.

The Truck Driver Training program is provided by Gaston College in collaboration with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute as a Satellite program on the Dallas Campus. Gaston College thanks Caldwell Community College and their Technical Institute staff, Rudy Fox, Director; Roger Chester, Lead Instructor, and instructors Keith Foster, Darrell Holsclaw, and Jake Rhodes for their continued dedication to this program.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON, NC – Twenty-three people were honored for their volunteer efforts with the Lincoln County Schools at a special Volunteer of the Year luncheon held Wednesday at First Baptist Church in Lincolnton.

Volunteers in the school system logged thousands of hours during this school year to assist with needs across many areas including classrooms, libraries, lunchrooms and the grounds around the schools. Kirby Oldham, who is principal of G.E. Massey Elementary School, Lincoln County Schools Principal of the Year and the Wachovia Southwest Region’s Principal of the Year for North Carolina, was the keynote speaker of the event. He used one example of volunteer dedication when he described a parent who was unemployed for a time period and chose to volunteer part of every weekday at the school while she looked for another job.

STAFF REPORTS

DENVER, NC - St. James Elementary School held its first-ever Spring Fling Family Dance on April 29 at the school’s gymnasium to raise money to purchase new technology items for the school.

The event drew more than 130 students and family members and raised more than $900 to purchase a quantity of Apple I-Pod Touch devices to be used in the lower grade classes to supplement instruction in all academic areas, according to kindergarten teacher Kasey Tanner who was the event planner.

Photo: Kindergarten student Raven Ross poses with her dad, Randy Ross, at the April 29th St. James Elementary Spring Fling Dance held at the school’s gymnasium.

STAFF REPORTS

VALE, NC – Two state troopers and a local Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy, Robert Milton, came to West Lincoln High School last week to talk to students about the law and the effects of texting while driving. The lesson even included an outdoor demonstration with a golf cart and safety cones in a parking lot to simulate how texting while driving impairs driving ability.

Matt Stover, principal at West Lincoln High School, said the troopers and the deputy spoke to every physical education class during the school day which included about 400 students in grades 9 through 12. From the information that the troopers and the deputy shared, Stover said the students learned that 66% of drivers text while driving and 46% of teens admit to testing while driving.

The parking lot demonstration gave students a chance to understand exactly what can happen when they are texting and driving. Students volunteered to drive the cart and text while other students watched the outcomes.

Photo: Chris Martin, a student at West Lincoln High School, works to keep the golf cart between the safety cones while he drives and texts at the same time.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON – Two students from the Lincoln County Schools have been selected to attend the 2010 session of the North Carolina Governor’s School from June 13 through July 24.

Marni Krehnbrink, a junior at East Lincoln High School, will attend Governor’s School East at Meredith College to study natural science. Caitlyn Bassignani, a junior at West Lincoln High School, will attend Governor’s School West at Salem College to study social science.

School leaders want state to push local boards for money

By Lee Raynor
Carolina Journal

RALEIGH — Charter school administrators say the state is offering little to no assistance in helping receive money owed to them by local school boards.

Ozie Hall, principal at Kinston Charter Academy, says the Lenoir County Board of Education might owe his school more than $800,000. Simon Johnson, at Quality Education Schools in Winston-Salem, and Don McQueen, at Raleigh’s Torchlight Academy, don’t know how much they’re owed. Administrators say they can’t get school boards to tell them how the amounts being paid to them are calculated. And the state appears unwilling “to get in the middle” of the dispute, both McQueen and Johnson said.

STAFF REPORTS

DENVER - The East Lincoln Republican Women’s Club is pleased to announce the establishment of a $500 merit scholarship for a high school senior who is attending college in the fall of 2010 and is currently enrolled at North Lincoln High School, Lincoln Charter School, and East Lincoln High School.

The two main requirements to receive the scholarship are to write a two-page, typed essay on the topic of “Freedom and Responsibility” and obtain a Letter of Recommendation from someone who is in a position to be familiar with the student, such as a teacher or supervisor. Additionally, the club’s scholarship committee will review the following:

STAFF REPORTS

LICOLNTON - Lincoln County Extension and Community Association, Inc. – ECA – is offering a $1,000 scholarship to High School seniors in each of the four local high schools. Forms are available from the Guidance Counselors at each high school or from the NC Cooperative Extension office, 115 West Main St., Lincolnton. The deadline date for applications is April 30, 2010.

Qualifications and criteria include:

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - Lincolnton Middle School students set out to collect 300 pairs of shoes for the Haiti relief effort, but they exceeded the goal in just two weeks and raised 500 pairs. Partnering with Calvary Baptist Church in Lincolnton, together the school and church gathered more than 1,500 pairs of shoes.

The middle school’s staff wanted to help in the relief effort for Haiti right away. Students and staff were shown a picture of a child in Haiti whose homemade shoes were two soda bottles and twine. The shoes that were turned in had to be clean and in good condition and donations were accepted from students, staff and others in the community. Shoes ranged from casual to dress.

“Flip flops were a big demand due to the climate of Haiti, but it was brought to our attention that the folks of Haiti love to dress well for church on Sunday,” Scott Carpenter, Principle at Lincolnton Middle, said. “So, Sunday or dress shoes were an option as well.”

STAFF REPORTS

VALE, NC - Lincoln County Schools held its 8th annual Middle School Battle of the Books competition on Monday, March 22, and West Lincoln Middle School’s team came in first for the fourth consecutive year.

The competition was among the county’s four middle schools, North, East, West and Lincolnton. West Lincoln Middle School’s 10-student team now will advance to the regional competition at Gaston College on April 16. The students include: 8th graders Jordan Hicks, Justin Beam (captain), Cory Cook, Marion Dudley and Michael Shaffer; 7th graders Cole Warlick, Olivia Godfrey, Jacob Moody, Will Avery and Abi Hoyle. The teachers who coordinate the WLMS team are Jenny Dellinger and Susan Peacock, assisted by DeAnna Warlick, Lydia Dunn, Robbie McCall and Sandra Martin.

In running for State Principal of Year

LINCOLNTON – Kirby Oldham, principal at G.E. Massey Elementary School in Lincolnton, has been named the Wachovia Southwest Region Principal of the Year and will be considered for the State Principal of the Year to be announced April 1.

Oldham, who has been in education since 1973 in both New York and Lincolnton, has been the principal at G.E. Massey Elementary for two years. He has been with the Lincoln County Schools since 2002 and served as Union Elementary School’s assistant principal for two years and its principal for five years.

As part of the state Principal of the Year selection process, a team will come to the school on March 2 to spend the day interviewing parents, students and staff. The team, consisting of the state Principal of the Year, the state Teacher of the Year and one representative from the state Department of Public Instruction, will formally interview Oldham at the end of that day.