Awards, updates
and policies wind up Monday meeting
By Scott Nicholson
The Watauga County Board of Education reviewed Internet
and summer-school policies Monday in addition to receiving an
update on the new high school.
Watauga Schools superintendent Marty Hemric gave an update on
snow days, with 17 missed so far this school year.
Watauga High School students
Allie Workman, Amanda Green, Montana Underwood, Amanda
Fields, Matt Presnell, Tony Mendez, Angus Faulkner and
Matt Bynum were recognized by the school board for finishing
third in a statewide culinary and management competition.
Photo by Scott Nicholson
Three of those days have been made up, Hemric said.
Currently, the last day of school is scheduled for June 8, if
no other changes are made. Hemric also reported that student attendance
for the year was 95.2 percent.
Mike Kesterson, construction project manager for Barnhill/Vannoy,
said work on the new high school was largely confined to the interior,
with some primary painting under way. Wiring, alarms, and ceiling
work is also under way, he said.
The project is currently 38 days ahead of schedule, with the weather
slowing some work, with wind, ice and snow creating safety concerns.
He said there had been no injuries reported at the site. The school
is expected to open in August 2010.
The school board reviewed a revision to the policy regarding student
work and information on the Internet. The revision grew out of
the policy that authorized photographing of students in the school,
with the last changes made in 2002.
The changes require parental permission for consent unless the
student is 18 or older, and the publishing of photographs and
personal information now follows the same policy whether on the
Internet or on paper.
The school system cannot release or publish personal information
without the parents’ consent, nor can school Web pages link
to commercial or noneducational sites. The first reading of the
policy was approved.
The board recognized 11 teachers who have achieved National Board
Certification, which takes about 300 hours to complete, who now
join 1,453 other teachers in North Carolina to attain the esteemed
level. The school system now has a total of 80 board-certified
teachers.
The newly certified teachers are Jill Huffman, Scotty Ellerbe,
Amanda Anderson, Edyth Berry, Debbie Glover, Amy Hiatt, Robin
Isaacs, Amber McArthur-Cooper, Gene Moore, Joy Pritchett and Christy
Welch.
The 2009-2010 tuition rates were released, setting the amount
of tuition out-of-county students will have to pay in order to
attend Watauga County schools. The tuition for out-of-state students
is $8,770 regardless of residence. A total of $2,725 will be paid
by out-of-county students who live in North Carolina. The figures
were derived from county and state statistical profiles, based
on the amount of state or local allocation per student. Such students
still must be approved for local attendance by the school board.
The board approved a revision to the summer-school program, requiring
a minimum of three weeks and giving each school the discretion
on whether to spend funding on summer programs or on alternative
summer programs or for additional programs throughout the year
for identified students.
Clarissa Schmaal presented information on the Graduation Project,
which she said was a statewide stepping stone to “a new America.”
Schmaal said the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Appalachian State
University and school officials are included in the dropout prevention
program.
The Watauga High School Culinary and Management Team program was
honored for placing third in a statewide competition, with instructor
Lee Ann Williams recognizing the student participants: Allie Workman,
Amanda Green, Montana Underwood, Amanda Fields, Matt Presnell,
Tony Mendez, Angus Faulkner and Matt Bynum.
Gail Ford and Mitchell Yates were honored on the occasion of their
retirement.
Ford has served the school system for 35 years as a teacher.
Yates served the school system for 26 years as a principal and
administrator.
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