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The Construction Trades Job Training Collaborative Facility dedication ceremony was held Friday, May 18th. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new facility.

   Lesia Phillips Receives the Lisa Haney Bus Drivers’ Scholarship

On May 9^th, Annette Jones presented Leisa Phillips with the 2006-2007 Lisa Haney Bus Drivers’ Scholarship.  The Yancey County Bus Drivers’ Association awards the $500 scholarship to a senior at Mountain Heritage High School.  Lesia is the daughter of Benny and Geralvina Phillips.  Lesia plans to attend Mayland Community College this fall.

Pictured: Kenny Renfro, Transportation Director, presents Amanda Ledford with the 2007 Bus Driver of the Year award for Yancey County Schools. Pictured with Renfro and Ledford is Sherry Robinson, Principal at Bee Log Elementary School. 

Amanda Ledford Named Bus Driver of the Year

At the annual Yancey County Schools bus drivers’ luncheon on May 9th, Amanda Ledford was recognized as the 2007 Bus Driver of the Year. Ledford has driven a bus for Bee Log Elementary School for the past four years and drives a total of 6,120 miles per year. She was selected for the recognition based on his exceptional qualities including a safe driving record, dependability, and cleanliness of her bus.

“Amanda does a very good job for our school system,” says Kenny Renfro, Yancey County Schools Transportation Director. “Yancey County Schools is very fortunate to have such a competent and reliable driver.”

In addition to driving a bus for Yancey County Schools, Amanda also is a substitute teacher for Yancey County Schools.

American Cancer Society Awards Community Investment Grant to

Yancey County Schools for $7,750

  The South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society recently awarded Targeted Community Investment Grants to local community organizations including Yancey County Schools for $7,750 to implement new Tobacco Free Schools policy and procedures. This type of grant financially supports state, regional and local projects consistent with the Society’s mission. Since 2005, the Division has invested more than $1 million in the fight against cancer through these grants in local communities.

In November 2006, the Yancey County Board of Education voted for Tobacco Free School status beginning in the 2007-2008 school year.  Immediately thereafter Dr. Barbara Tipton, Superintendent of Yancey County Schools, charged Kristin Buchanan, School Social Worker with writing a Targeted Community Investment Grant geared towards obtaining additional funds to aid in the preparation of both students and staff.

Kristin Buchanan along with James Rose Social Studies teacher, Karen Brown School Nurse, and Penny Bailey Health and Wellness Trust Fund Coordinator, wrote the grant to ensure that Yancey County Schools have programs in place for initiating 100% Tobacco Free policies for the upcoming school year.  This grant will aid in providing middle and high school students with motivational assemblies, preventive education, and youth leadership meetings.  Yancey County Schools also wants to be supportive of their staff by providing them with education, resources, and incentives to ensure a smooth transition into the tobacco free process. 

            In the last 10 years youth tobacco use prevention has become a priority issue for the schools, health departments and other agencies in the area.  For this reason, it is the goal for the Yancey County Schools to establish nonsmoking as the norm, to reinforce and support existing prevention efforts, to continue a healthy working and learning environment for students and staff and to contribute to the reduction of smoking rates by employees and the subsequent reduction in health problems and economic costs.

A Volunteer Review Committee made up of various disciplines to ensure objectivity, reviewed the grant applications and made recommendations for funding.

"The Targeted Community Investment Grants financially support local projects consistent with the Society’s priorities for health disparities in individual communities," said Patricia P. Hoge, RN, Ph.D., Chief Mission Officer for the American Cancer Society. "Local organizations know the situations in their communities and often recognize the best way to address the issue, and the Society is here to help complement that work."  The committee gave this grant the highest ranking in the Western North Carolina counties west of Charlotte and was the only grant funded as written receiving the entire $7,750 requested.

This year marks Yancey County’s ninth year for Relay For Life that will surpass the $500,000 mark during the Relay For Life on June 8^th at the Mountain Heritage High School.  Monies raised support the American Cancer Society's mission of working to one day eradicate cancer and include research, education, programs and services as well as including the vital work done by the organizations receiving funds through the Targeted Community Investment Grant program.

Without the dedication of our local communities and the successful fundraising events they perform, the Society could not support local organizations that continue to provide valuable programs and life-saving services in the fight against cancer.  

School Board members Elaine Boone and Iva Nell Buckner.

MOVING INTO THE 21^ST CENTURY  EDUCATION IS CHANGING

 School is one of the most important institutions in our students’ life.  Education is changing and we must make sure that our students have the skills needed for a new century.  Yancey County Board of Education members Elaine Boone, Vice Chair and Dr. Iva Nell Buckner attended the National School Board Conference in San Francisco, California on April 14-18, 2007.  More than 200 educational sessions covered school issues including skills for the 21^st Century, professional development for a new century, new developments in No Child Left Behind Laws, school safety, bullies who disrupt school, standards and assessments, global learning and project learning.  Approximately 14,000 school board members, school lawyers and school administrators crowded into the general sessions to hear keynote speakers including former President Bill Clinton who urged schools to focus on children’s health.  Keynote speaker Fredrick William de Klerk former President of South Africa and Nobel Prize Winner demonstrated how real change requires vision and courage.  National Teacher of the Year, Kimberly Oliver, emphasized that all children can learn and achieve at high levels.  She said no child should fall through the cracks.  Ron Crouch from the University of Louisville talked to the group about the affects of population shifts on the schools.  Other topics included Superintendent Board Relations, Racial Harmony, Cyber Misconduct, and Accountability.  Talented student performances were exciting and relaxing.  They enjoyed all the useful information on display in the Exhibit Hall where you could find everything from new milk bottles, technology, school busses, bleachers, and instructional tools. 

             San Francisco was an exciting place for a conference.  Conference attendees enjoyed going to the Fisherman’s Warf for our evening meals and shopping.  Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge were exciting experiences. 

             Information from the conference will be shared with fellow Board Members.  Having the opportunity to attend this National Conference where new and futuristic information was learned was a great educational experience.  This fulfills the board members 12 hours of required yearly training.  An announcement was made at the conference that North Carolina is one of the two states leading in 21^st Century learning.  Yancey County Schools are happy to be a part of our states plan.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORUS SPRING CONCERT

 The Cane River and East Yancey Middle Schools Chorus will present their 2007 spring concert on Tuesday, May 8^th, at the Mountain Heritage High School auditorium.  The performance will begin at 7:30 pm.  The chorus is directed by Mrs. Roberta Whiteside and will perform a variety of songs such as “Old MacDonald had a Dog,” “The Lamb” and “Pick a Bale of Cotton” to be performed by the sixth graders.  The seventh and eighth  graders  will favor the audience with “Sing with Jubilation,” “The Not So Boring Minuet” and musical selections from Grease.   The community is welcome.  A donation of $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for students (K-12) will be taken at the door.  Please come and support our Yancey County Middle School Chorus.

FUNDRAISER AT EYMS

East Yancey Middle School Beta Club members are participating in the Kids for Wish Kids fundraiser. Students will be selling paper stars for $1 to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Since its inception in 1985, the foundation has granted over 1,700 wishes locally and has never turned down an eligible wish. For more information about the Make-A-Wish foundation, visit www.ncwish.org. Community members who wish to contribute to this fundraiser can contact East Yancey at 682-2281.

Want to Win a Laptop Computer?

 The MHHS Interact Club and Burnsville Rotary Club are sponsoring a fundraiser to support the Clean Water Project in Africa.  All proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to support a community in Africa to drill for well water and provide sanitization for clean water.

Tickets for a “chance to win” are $5 for one or $10 for three.  Drawing will be held May 11^th.  See an Interact Club Member, or Ms. Gavenus, for a ticket.

Interested in becoming an architect, or learning more about architecture?

UNC Charlotte is will have an

 Architecture Summer Program for High School Students

Sunday July 22^nd – Friday July 27^th

Students must be at least 16 y.o. by June 1, 2007 to be eligible.  Enrollment is limited.  Total charge is $500

Completed applications are due by April 30^th, 2007

For more info call

Kathy Phillips at the UNC-C College of Architecture 704-687-4841

Or go to:   www.coa.uncc.edu

 Federal Funding Projects

             The following federally funded projects listed below are presently being amended.

                         Title 1: This program provides in-class or pull out instruction as well as before/during/after school or extended year programs designed to raise the academic achievement level of students.  Contact Dr. Tom Little, Title I Director, if you have any questions at 828-682-6101 or by email at tslittle@yanceync.net. 

                        Scheduled meeting dates are May 8, 2007, 7:30-8:30am and 5:00 to 6:00pm.

                         Title II: Improving Teacher Quality:  Funds from this grant are used to prepare,  train, and recruit high quality teachers and principals capable of ensuring that all children achieve to high standards.   Contact Dr. Cheri Boone, Title II Director,   if you have any questions at 828-682-6101 or by email at clboone@yanceync.net.

                  Title III: Yancey County Schools receives No Child Left Behind, Title III funds to  provide English language acquisition programs and services  to limited English proficiency (LEP) students to meet our challenging North Carolina academic standards.Contact Dr. Cheri Boone, Title III Director, if you have any questions at 828-682-6101 or by email address at clboone@yanceync.net.

                         Title V: Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs:  Funds  from this grant support local education reform efforts including innovative programs designed to improve school, student and teacher performance as wells as programs  to provide library service and instructional media materials.   Contact Dr. Tom Little,  Title V Director at 828-682-6101 or email at tslittle@yanceync.net.  Schedule meeting         dates are May 09, 2007, 8:00-9:00am and 5:00-6:00pm.

                         Title VIB-Individuals with Disabilities Act:  This program provides funding,  as described in North Carolina Procedures for Students with Disabilities,for qualified private schools with appropriate educational services in accordance with a services plan developed by Yancey County Schools for identified students with   disabilities.  Contact Grace Whitson, Director of Exceptional Children’s Program, if you have any questions at 828-682-6101 or email at gcwhitson@yanceync.net.  Scheduled  meetings are May 15, 2007, 2:30-4:00pm; May 17, 2007, 2:30-4:00pm; and May 22, 2007, 2:30-4:00pm.

        Interested persons are encouraged to review amendments to these Projects and make comments concerning the implementation of said funds.  Please call the appropriate director for dates and time.

All comments will be considered prior to submission of the amended Projects to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh, North Carolina.   

Beginning on Monday, April 16, 2007 there will be a new guard at the gatehouse on the Mountain Heritage High School campus.  Mr. Carl Hudgins will stop all traffic entering and exiting the campus from 8:45 am – 2:45 pm.  There will be a portable gate to stop traffic and we ask for cooperation from our students, staff and campus visitors.  Personnel from the central office and other schools will use their identification badges at the gate to enter. Having a guard during these times will help make Mountain Heritage a much safer school.

Iris Rountree and Katelyn Carpenter, 6th grade students at East yancey Middle School, help organize donations for soldiers in Iraq. East Yancey Middle School collected items to send to soldiers stationed in Iraq during the month of March. Donations will be divided and sent to Jason Flynn and Jeff Howell, both of Burnsville.

Yancey County Schools’ Finance Office Receives Multiple Awards

 Since 1989, the State Board of Education has recognized finance officers for outstanding achievements in three selected categories identified below.  Yancey County Schools’ Director of Business Services, Lynne E. Hensley was recently recognized at an awards luncheon in Raleigh for Yancey County Schools being one of only ten school systems in the state to have attained all three awards in the recognition period.

 The State Board of Education Recognition of Achievement in Financial Resource Management award is presented to finance officers whose unit had no audit exceptions for certified personnel paid from state or federal funds, and no positions or months of employment allotment exceptions.

 The Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting is given to finance officers who have voluntarily submitted their school system’s Comprehensive Annual Finance Report (CAFR) for review.  The ASBO Panel of Review presents this award for those CAFR’s that meet or exceed ASBO Standards.  Earning the Certificate of Excellence earns enhanced credibility for financial management of its school system.

 The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is designed to recognize and encourage excellence in financial reporting by state and local governments.  This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

 Congratulations to the entire finance department for their accomplishments.  These achievements are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the Yancey County Schools’ finance team.   

2005-2006 North Carolina School Report Cards Released

 The 2005-2006 North Carolina School Report Cards have been released.  Each school has sent home a summary of the report.  This summary information is very informative, however, there is more data available that you may be interested in.  To access this data you can do one of the following:

1. Access the Yancey County Schools website www.yanceync.net for a link to the report card data.
2. Access the NC School Report Cards website www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src and type Yancey in the search box.
3. Call Dr. Thomas Little, Report Card Coordinator and Associate Superintendent for Yancey County Schools at 682-6101.

Deterring School Suspensions with Positive Behavior Support

 Every child in North Carolina is constitutionally guaranteed an opportunity to a sound, basic education.  Having access to quality education is an essential element for a child to become a productive, contributing adult.  School systems juggle many obligations to provide strong educational opportunities to all students. Just as qualified teachers and administrators are essential to successful schools, so are policies and programs that support students’ progress in school. However, on any given school day in North Carolina, more than 1,500 students are not with their classmates actively learning because of suspensions. Are some school or school district policies and practices keeping students out of the classroom too often, in numbers too large, for too long? In 2005, Action for Children North Carolina released One Out of Ten: The Growing Suspension Crisis in North Carolina, noting that more than 1- out-of-every-10 students in North Carolina are suspended from school, a rate 45 percent higher than the national average. Many school districts have worked diligently to reduce suspensions, with notable declines in suspension rates the result. While the exact methods have varied, school districts have focused on the reasons for and reactions to specific behaviors, and have worked diligently to provide students, teachers and staff with needed support. Examples of successful practices across North Carolina, as described in Short-Term Suspensions; Long-Term Consequences; Real Life Solutions, include: Using data to drive decisions and accountability; Changing class schedules during the school day; Implementing Positive Behavioral Supports throughout the school.  Clearly many school districts are leading the way.

Schools in North Carolina are resorting to suspensions at a rate far higher than the national average. Statewide, schools suspend 1-out-of- 10 students each year.  Many North Carolina school districts have begun work targeted at reducing school suspensions. Their policies and practices serve as models for other districts seeking to ensure that more students stay on track and have access to a sound, basic education.

            One key element to Yancey County School’s success in deterring suspensions is the implementation of the Positive Behavior Support Program.  The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has worked with 296 schools in 66 school districts to implement PBS on a local level. (Most schools receiving this training did not start PBS until academic year 2006 and thus will not be reflected in the data for academic year 2005.)  The PBS initiative is part of the North Carolina State Improvement Program funded through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and administered by the Exceptional Children Department within DPI. PBS is a “whole-school” approach that involves the entire school staff in a team-based system. Discipline approaches are proactive, instructional and outcome-based.  Yancey County Schools contracted with the Department of Public Instruction to hire Julie Weatherman as the Regional PBS Coordinator.  Julie devotes her time to Yancey County Schools and schools in 23 other counties to ensure that the research-based practices of Positive Behavior Support are being spread across our region.  Yancey County Schools are on the forefront of this movement in the state.  “Our schools are being mentioned and noticed along side schools in large districts such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Durham.  This is just so exciting that we are at the head of the race,” says Weatherman. “Statistics and practices that Yancey County Schools are compiling are being shared in conferences all over North Carolina and now Nationwide.”

            DPI data shows that this model is remarkably successful at reducing suspensions. It also results in other positive outcomes for students, teachers and administrators. Most districts with a substantial portion of schools using PBS have seen substantial decreases in short-term suspensions.  Since behavioral problems decrease, students have more time to learn, teachers have more time to teach and administrators have more time to devote to the school. Test scores also improve.   An elementary school in Yancey County decreased its in-school suspensions by 72 percent, increased reading scores by 7 percent and gained four days of administrative time usually given to problem behavior after implementing PBS.  To date, a substantial portion of schools that have implemented PBS are elementary schools. This focus can help establish more young children on a positive path toward school success. However, in the short-run, since most suspensions occur in high school, statewide suspension data may not immediately begin to fully reflect the effects of PBS.  Yancey County Schools now have four schools implementing Positive Behavior Support and two schools that are to be trained next school year.  “Our hope is that all of our schools will be trained in and implementing PBS.  It makes sense for these positive skills to be fostered and developed in the elementary schools.  Then the middle and high schools will only have to support what has been taught and instilled at a young age”, says Weatherman.

            The simple fact is there are many strategies school systems can use to help deter problem behavior and discourage frequent suspensions.  The Positive Behavior Support Program is doing just that, while fostering positive school climates, attitudes, and teaching students skills they will use for a lifetime.

East Yancey Enjoys School To Watch Award

             East Yancey Middle School was named a “NC School to Watch” in 2005.  Since that time, several of the teachers and administrators have had the opportunity to visit other schools in North Carolina to serve on committees and give guidance on becoming a School to Watch.   Last year, East Yancey’s administrators were invited to Arkansas to speak at their statewide administrator’s conference in Little Rock.   Rick Tipton and Kevin Huskins had the opportunity to meet with all middle level administrators in the state to share ideas and discuss the Schools to Watch program.  Recently, visits have been made to Flat Rock Middle School in Hendersonville, Walter Johnson Middle in Morganton and Alexander Graham Middle School in Charlotte. Principal Rick Tipton stated, “Having the opportunity to present at national and state level conventions about the programs at East Yancey, while also visiting area schools has definitely enriched the programs that we can offer at East Yancey.”  Currently, East Yancey is one of nineteen schools in the state to have received this recognition.  

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This page was last updated on Friday, 18 July 2008 09:51 AM