ALBEMARLE — At the Stanly County Board of Education meeting on Nov. 5, the school board held a series of recognitions for members of the school district.
The ceremonial portion of the meeting began as Lydia Hedrick, Stanly County Schools’ assistant superintendent of human resources, named the newest recipients of the school district’s Stanly Stars awards.
According to criteria provided by SCS, the honor is given to “exceptional educators and staff for their dedication to our students and schools.”
Spanish teacher Victor Ubaldo and secretary Donna Carrothers — both from Stanly Early College High School — joined South Stanly Middle School’s seventh-grade teacher LeAnn Thompson and school resource officer Joseph Wagoner as the four latest recipients in the Stanly Stars award program.
SCS Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis recently made a surprise visit to these four employees, who each received a $25 gift card sponsored by the Nehemiah Project.
Next up on the school board’s list of recognitions last week were three volunteers who recently traveled to Buncombe County to assist with school reintegration in the wake of Hurricane Helene: Abagail Broyhill, Beth Pinto, and Traci Swaringen.
“We had a lot of devastation in the western end,” Dennis said. “One of the superintendents — Dr. Rob Jackson of the Buncombe County school system — asked if there were some volunteers that could come up from any districts across the state to help them reintegrate their children and their staff in school. We sent it out, and we did have three who were able to answer the call.”
The school board thanked the trio of volunteers for their time and effort in helping staff members and students in Buncombe County.
“I was very lucky to have the opportunity to be able to go and be with the students and the teachers,” Broyhill said. “If that was our district, I would hope that people would come running to help us. It was very sad, but it was also very sweet and encouraging. The children were so resilient.”
Dennis then relayed an email sent by Jackson that thanked 52 school systems across the state for sending a combined 263 counselors and social workers to assist his students and teachers upon their return to school; 14 additional school counselors and school workers from nine school systems will be assisting the coming weeks.
Next up, the Stanly school board congratulated Central Elementary School for winning the 2023-24 National ESEA Distinguished Schools Award from the North Carolina Association of Federal Education Program Administrators (NCFEPA).
Central Elementary School will receive $12,500 toward attending the National ESEA Conference in March to represent North Carolina.
Based on data for closing the achievement gap between student groups for two or more consecutive years, the National Title I Distinguished Schools program recognizes Title I schools that hold students to high standards in learning based on the approved state curriculum, use of research-based instructional strategies, and opportunities provided for all students to achieve.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment for the students and staff of Central Elementary School,” Dennis said. “I know they’ll represent us well at the national conference.”
The Stanly County Board of Education is scheduled to hold its next regular meeting on Dec. 3 at 6:15 p.m. inside the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons.