Category: Education

Students in the SkillsUSA chapter at Vance-Granville Community College recently completed a sweet service project connected to Valentine’s Day. Members of the organization collected donations of candy and then packaged and delivered the treats to children and to residents of area nursing facilities, a few days before the holiday. Destinations for the candy included Brantwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (Oxford), Masonic Home for Children (Oxford), Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation (Henderson), Kerr Lake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (Henderson), Senior Citizens Home …

The total number of reportable acts of school crime, short-term suspensions, expulsions, and the use of corporal punishment increased in 2014-15 while the number of long-term suspensions decreased slightly according to the Consolidated Data Report today presented to the State Board of Education. The total number of reportable acts of school crime increased 2.1 percent, the first increase in three years, while the number of students in North Carolina public schools was at an all-time high of 1,537,643. State Superintendent …

Teachers, do you have sufficient access to adequate school facilities and resources? Do you have support of parents and the community at your school? Do you have leadership opportunities and are you involved in decision-making at the school level? Starting March 1st, 2016, school-based licensed educators in all 115 North Carolina school districts and charter schools will have an opportunity to answer these and many more questions on the 8th biennial statewide NC Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) Survey. The NC …

Students who captured top honors in the Fifth-Grade Science Fair at Aycock Elementary School have been announced. Those earning top recognition are Sam Boyd, first place for his project on “How Much Energy Does It Take to Bounce a Basketball?”; Jacob Newcomb, second place for his project on “Have You Tried Making Colors With Light?”; and Ahzaiah Williams, third place for his project on “Can You Keep Candy Cool by Using the Power of Evaporation?” The winners are shown, from left to …

The Male Mentoring program at Vance-Granville Community College recently installed students to serve as officers and to represent the group at special events. The new leaders include President Christopher Ford of Manson, a Warren Early College High School/College Transfer student; Vice President Bradley Gooch of Oxford, a student in the Computer Technology Integration – Web Design & Support program; and Recorder/Treasurer Christopher Blue of Henderson, a Vance County Early College High School/College Transfer student. Ford is at the top of …

Vance-Granville Community College students, faculty, staff and members of the community recently felt that they were in the presence of one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, when Bill Barker, in character as President Thomas Jefferson, presented the first in a series of three lectures. Barker has a local connection, as his father was an Oxford native and he has many relatives in Granville County. The college’s Arts and Sciences division is offering a spring lecture series featuring Barker, the critically …

Vance-Granville Community College has announced that 124 students earned President’s List and 156 students earned Dean’s List academic honors for the fall 2015 semester that ended in December. The President’s List recognizes students who achieved a perfect 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) while carrying a “full load” (of at least 12 credit hours) in 100-level or higher curriculum courses. To qualify for the Dean’s List, a student had to earn a GPA that was at least 3.5 but less than 4.0, …

North Carolina ranks 18th in the nation in terms of the percentage of high school graduates who scored a 3 or better on at least one Advanced Placement (AP) test taken during high school, according to the AP Cohort Data Report for the Class of 2015. The College Board released this report today. North Carolina students excel in participation and performance, according to the report. A total of 33,425 or 38.7 percent of North Carolina public and private high school …

Vance-Granville Community College recently held spring semester kick-off events for the Male Mentoring Program at all four of the college’s campuses. The program, which uses the slogan, “Lead by Example,” seeks to help male students stay in school and on track to graduate or transfer to a four-year university. VGCC is one of several North Carolina community colleges that received state funding in 2015 to continue offering the program. The college was awarded a grant worth $17,608 from the N.C. …

Vance-Granville Community College officials, in collaboration with regional partners, have launched an initiative to introduce the “apprenticeship” model to students and employers throughout the area. In December, representatives of local industries, economic developers and school system officials met at the college to learn more about the North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NCTAP). VGCC recently became a partnering educational institution with NCTAP. Then, in January, VGCC officials joined other colleges and manufacturers in attending the first-of-its-kind Apprenticeship Summit in Raleigh. “Historically, …

Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund at Vance-Granville Community College, was recently honored with the President’s Leadership Award from Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of the college. Ferguson’s honor is one of three Glen Raven Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards presented to VGCC employees during each academic year. The others, the Faculty Member of the Year and Staff Member of the Year awards, were presented to Kristi Salmons Ellenberg and Kali Brown, respectively, in the fall of 2015. …

Students, faculty, staff and special guests from the community were featured at a special Black History Month program at Vance-Granville Community College on Feb. 11.  Entitled “Honoring Our Past, Understanding Our Present & Shaping Our Future,” the educational event in the VGCC Civic Center sought to focus on local history. “This focus is important,” said VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams in her welcoming remarks, “because too often, we may be familiar with Black History on a national scale, but overlook …

Vance County Board of Education Committee Meeting Dates:         * Building & Grounds, Thursday, February 25th, 8:30 am         * Curriculum Committee, Thursday, February 25th, 9:30 am           * Finance Committee, Wednesday, March 2nd, 5:30 pm         * Policy Committee, Wednesday, March 2nd, immediately after Finance         * Personnel Committee, Tuesday, March 8th, 8:30 am Note:  All meetings are held in the Superintendent’s Conference Room.         

The state of North Carolina has once again awarded a five-star license — the highest possible rating — to the Child Care Center at Vance-Granville Community College’s Main Campus. State evaluations of child care programs are conducted once every three years, explained Bridget Perry, the manager of the VGCC center. “On a scale of one to 15 points, our program received 13 total points, earning the renewal of our five-star status,” Perry said. “The five-star rating shows our parents and …

Vance County Schools is now accepting applications for rising ninth graders to enroll in the Vance County Early College High School for the 2016-2017 school year. Applications can be picked up from counselors at Eaton-Johnson Middle School, Henderson Middle School and the STEM Early High School, as well as on the Early College website and at the school’s office on the third floor of Building 2 on the campus of Vance-Granville Community College off Poplar Creek Road. The deadline for …

New training courses in computer software and hardware are set to be offered soon at Vance-Granville Community College, and grant funding can help eligible area residents pay for them. All of these courses will be offered in a “hybrid” format, with some coursework online and some on VGCC’s Main Campus during the evening. The “Microsoft Office Specialist” course will be offered March 8-May 13, with the in-class component on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 until 8 p.m., taught by …

Administrators and faculty members at the Vance County Early College High School hosted their annual “Leading the Pack” celebration for outstanding students on February 9, in the Civic Center at Vance-Granville Community College. There were 18 students honored during the celebration as they near the end of their fourth year in the five-year program and are on target to complete their high school education and have two years of college course credits when they graduate in May of 2017. The …

Vance-Granville Community College has announced the cast and crew for “Deathtrap,” a comedy-thriller that will be the college’s fourth annual Dinner Theater event. The dinner theater is scheduled for the evenings of Thursday, April 28, and Friday, April 29, in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. each night. Then, on Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m., there will be a special encore matinee performance of the play, without dinner, at the …

A course that introduces students to the carpentry trade will be offered soon by Vance-Granville Community College. “Carpentry I” is scheduled to be held on Monday through Thursday evenings from 6 until 10 p.m., March 16 through June 28, on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County. Students will learn about proper safety techniques, equipment and building materials, blueprint reading, floor systems, wall systems, ceiling and roof framing, ceiling joists, and envelope systems. The 235-hour course includes both classroom instruction and …

Vance County Schools is proud to announce that Marion Perry, an outstanding volunteer in our school system and particularly for Carver Elementary School, was named the Citizen of the Year for 2015 at the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet on February 4, 2016. Our school system also is proud to announce that Flat Rock United Methodist Church in Vance County has been named the recipient of the school system’s Shining Moment in Education Award for 2015-2016 as the most …