Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis
The Alexander County Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting for April on the 10th. The meeting opened with the pledge led by board member Josh Dagenhart.
Honors and Recognitions
Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis opened the meeting with recognition for the district’s Little Read winners. The six were recognized over the weekend at Lenoir Rhyne for writing or art in connection with the story, La Guitarrista by Lucky Diaz. The Little Read is a partnership with Lenoir Rhyne. All ACS second-graders read and study the same book and then do projects in connection with them.
Writing
MacKenzie Icard-Bethlehem Elementary
Lillian Reidy from Stony Point Elementary
Janessa McCorkle from Ellendale Elementary
Art
De’carri Land from Wittenburg Elementary
Natalie Hallman from Bethlehem Elementary
And Otis McNair from Sugar Loaf Elementary
Also, recognized were the members of the West Alexander Middle School – Battle of the Books Team and their coach, Erin Lewis.
Audrina Arnett
Lane Baumgarner
Sophie Black
Owen Crawford
Bryson Greiner
Ava Locklear
Colter Minton
Aubrey Powell
Madalyn Wingler
These students had to be knowledgeable about 20 books for the contest this year. They won the local battle and finished second at the regional competition against seven other districts.
Also honored, Alexander Central High School students Isaac Bowen and Jackson Rough. The two are headed to Governor’s School where they’ll have four weeks of immersed learning in the natural sciences including chemistry, physics, earth science and more. Governor’s School is one of North Carolina’s proud education traditions, around since 1963. It has a rigorous application and selection process. Jackson is the superintendent’s choice for Governor’s School this year.
Dr. Alisha Cloer, assistant superintendent for Human Resources and Auxiliary Services was honored for completing the Aspiring Superitnendent’s program organized by the North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association. She was joined by 40 school leaders from across the state for professional development in leadership, self-awareness, budgeting, and more. Dr. Cloer has spent 16 years in Alexander County Schools.
Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis, Communications and Testing and Accountability Director for the district was honored at the board meeting. On April 11th, Dr. Dowell-Reavis received two Blue Ribbon Awards from the North Carolina School Public Relations Association. One was for a special project to combat teen vaping, which featured some videos with Alexander Central principal, Jacob Lail. The other award was for a writing series that included a look at cell phone use among teens and former Attorney General Josh Stein’s efforts to combat teen social media addiction.
Budget Update
Finance Officer Sharon Mehaffey asked the board for approval to spend state money for teachers and instructional support for a supplement. The state money will be used for veteran teachers with more than 16 years of experience with a maximum amount of $4,303. The staff will receive the money in the June check.
She also gave a budget update saying ACS has used 72% of the budget at the eighth month mark in the school year, which she says is on target. The overall budget for the year is $65 million dollars. The board receives monthly budget reports during belt-tightening to see that spending and allocations are in line.
Superintendent’s Update
Superintendent Dr. Bill Griffin thanked the board members for their time during the recent tours of school April 7th and 8th. State Senator Eddie Settle and Representative Blair Eddins joined the visits on the first day, along with a few commissioners from Alexander County. The group met for a short time at the Central Office to discuss current issues in education, particularly funding. Griffin said he appreciated the state lawmakers and their listening to some hot topics in public education. Also Griffin, several board members, and the legislators took part in the 100th year anniversary celebration at Bethlehem Elementary School on the 7th.