Category: Education

Zeb Vance Elementary School students are shown standing in front of a large bulletin board display for the school’s annual Salvation Army Canned Food Drive. The Food Drive ended on December 8 with students, parents, staff members and community members donating 711 total food items to be given to needy families in the area during the holidays. The large cupcake display on the bulletin board was created by Zeb Vance’s art teacher Kristen Ciannamea, with the help of some of …

An audience of about 150 people gathered in the cafeteria of Northern Vance High School during the evening of December 10 to honor 37 long-time employees who retired by the end of the 2014-2015 school year.      Former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton, who represented Vance County in the U.S. House of Represent-atives, was the featured speaker for the evening. She urged all of the honorees to enjoy their retirement and to continue to contribute to their communities.      “You have …

Donna Blakebrough, an assistant principal at Henderson Middle School, and Jacqueline Crosson, assistant principal at New Hope Elementary School and Pinkston Street Elementary School, have earned doctoral degrees in education.      Both were notified in late October of their success in completing requirements for the degrees. Blakebrough earned her doctorate in school leadership and administration from N.C. State University. Crosson earned her doctorate in educational leadership with a concentration in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix.      Blakebrough …

Vance-Granville Community College’s Student Government Association (SGA) has installed a group of officers to serve during the 2015-2016 year. In September, elections for the top five offices were conducted online, giving all students a chance to participate. The winners of these elections included President Aleria Perry of Henderson, a student in the College Transfer program; Vice President Cassandra Saroza of Louisburg, a College Transfer/Franklin County Early College High School student; Secretary/Treasurer Isabelle Louise Snyder of Butner, a College Transfer/Granville Early …

Elected officials and business leaders in Vance County participated in a “Community to Schools” event on December 9, hosted by Vance County Schools.      Approximately 30 officials and business leaders participated in the half-day event which was designed to show them the everyday operations of our schools and to highlight the many good things happening in local public schools.      The participants included members of the Henderson City Council, Vance County Board of Commissioners, Vance-Granville Community College department directors, Henderson-Vance Chamber …

I. Call to Order II. Moment of Silence * III. Approval of Minutes * IV. Reorganization of Board * V. Approval of Meeting Agenda VI. Recognitions/Announcements A. NCSBA Poster Contest Winners VII. Comments from the Public (Citizens who would like to address the Board may do so by completing Form BDDH-E, Public Participation at Board Meetings. This request must be made by noon one working day preceding the regular Board meeting. The form may be obtained by calling the Administrative …

Vance-Granville Community College recently established a chapter of the national SkillsUSA organization, a partnership of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA chapters help students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations excel. Founded in 1965 as V.I.C.A. (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America), SkillsUSA has served nearly 12 million members in its 50-year history. Today, the organization has more than 360,000 students and instructors as members nationwide. “The VGCC …

Over 5000 pounds was the total amount of food donated by Oxford Preparatory School students to ACIM this year. In the year 2014 a mere 117 students at Oxford Preparatory School collected almost 1800 pounds of food and donated it to ACIM. This year Vici Bradsher, Assistant Director, issued a challenge to the 230 OPS students to double that amount, and double it they did! Under the leadership of the OPS Beta Club, students were asked to form teams and …

Students at E.O. Young Jr. Elementary School were given early Christmas gifts by leaders of Guiding Star United Holy Church when they brought new school supplies to the school.  The church’s pastor Mary Williams leads a team of “People on a Mission” to help school children. Williams was joined by church members Carolyn Bagley and Elizabeth Hendricks in bringing over 332 items to share with students in need. They collected the items through donations from various businesses and were given a $100 gift card from …

The Paralegal Technology program at Vance-Granville Community College can now boast a 100 percent passing rate on the state certification exam, after three of the program’s first graduates recently became North Carolina Certified Paralegals. Kevin Ward Allen of Franklinton, employed with the Law Office of T. Allen Gardner in Louisburg, Kristy Hope Orr of Henderson, employed with the law firm of Perry & Waters in Henderson, and Michelle R. Williams of Raleigh, employed with the law firm of Howard, Stallings, …

HENDERSON, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Department of Criminal Justice and Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC) signed an agreement today (Dec. 2) launching Eagle Voyage, a new program offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice on the VGCC campus. Representatives of the college and the university held a signing ceremony in the Civic Center on the community college’s Main Campus in Vance County, where VGCC will provide classroom space and technology support and NCCU will provide …

Vance County Schools will be hosting school bus driver training sessions Tuesday, January 19, through Thursday, January 21, 2016 at L.B. Yancey Elementary School. Interested persons must attend the training on all three days to receive certification. The training sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at approximately 3 p.m. each day. Those interested in participating in the training sessions must register prior to the sessions with the school system’s Transportation Department, located at 226 Welcome Avenue off Raleigh …

For those who want to learn how the state’s public schools performed in the last school year, the North Carolina School Report Cards offer a one-stop information source that puts a comprehensive collection of data at your fingertips with the click of a mouse. The 2014-15 Report Cards feature state-, district- and school-level information about student performance and attendance, class size, school safety, teacher quality and classroom technology. “This is the 14th year North Carolina has provided a comprehensive resource …

The Vance-Granville Community College Biotech Club recently elected officers for the 2015-2016 year. They include club president Eliza Hernandez of Louisburg, vice president Melissa Messner of Wilton, secretary Andrew Boyle of Franklinton and treasurer Natasha Durham of Manson. All are students in the VGCC Bioprocess Technology degree program. The purpose of the Biotech Club, formerly the Biopharmaceutical Club, is to stimulate interest in, and provide a social forum for, biotechnology throughout the community college. Club members engage in activities that …

The Vance County Schools’ Transportation Department earned a rating of 28.76 on its annual state inspection for school bus safety. The state inspection was held on November 3 and thoroughly examines 10 percent of the school system’s bus fleet, with the focus on getting the lowest score possible. The average rating statewide for this year is projected at about 55, meaning the local inspection results were more than 25 points better than the state average. The Transportation Department also received …

Administrators and guidance counselors from local high schools and middle schools recently met at Vance-Granville Community College to learn more about what the college offers, and to discuss how the educational institutions work in partnership. Representatives of schools in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties were invited to attend the forum, held on Oct. 22 in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus. The day began with opportunities for attendees to engage in roundtable discussions with various members of …

LOUISBURG, N.C.–W.W. Yeargin, Jr., an expert on tobacco culture in North Carolina, will deliver the next Tar River Center Lecture at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2 in Benson Chapel on the Louisburg College campus. His lecture, titled “Leaves of Gold: North Carolina Tobacco Culture,” is free and open to the public, and will include a look at tobacco’s history in the Upper Tar River region. Yeargin has published three books on the prominent role tobacco has played in the culture, …

Vance-Granville Community College and Oxford-based Dill Air Controls Products, LLC, recently signed on to join the North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NCTAP), in an effort to provide new opportunities for local students and to prepare a skilled workforce. NCTAP offers students a unique start to a professional career and develops them into future industry leaders. The program focuses on integrated basic training which develops technical, methodological and social skills. Typically starting in the 11th grade of high school, the four-year …