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December Meeting of the Asheboro City Board of Education

The Asheboro City Board of Education met for their regularly-scheduled meeting on Thursday, December 14. Chairman Kyle Lamb called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Lindley Park Elementary School students Garrett Conley and Logan Domally, the board approved the meeting agenda. 

Special Recognitions

The Asheboro City Board of Education recognized classroom volunteer, Ms. Gisela Aquino, as the December Community Partner Spotlight. Ms. Aquino works in primarily first and second-grade classrooms at Lindley Park Elementary School. She assists teachers with preparing materials for class and works with small student groups several times a week. Lindley Park Elementary School’s principal Ms. Nikki Domally says, “Ms. Aquino is an asset to our school. She shares her bright her smile everyday with our students and staff. She models for our students what good citizenship looks like and she makes positive contributions to our school community.” 

The board spotlight featured Lindley Park Elementary School’s STEAM Challenges. Ms. Domally shared with the board how students at her school have engaged in classroom and school-wide challenges involving science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Several students shared their experiences building a bridge, constructing a catapult, and designing a boat. 

Following the board spotlight, Mr. Omar Alvarez Gonzalez was recognized for designing the 2018 Superintendent’s Holiday Card for Asheboro City Schools. Mr. Gonzalez is a sixth-grade student from South Asheboro Middle School. His design was selected from the top three designs from both middle schools and Asheboro High School. Superintendent Dr. Terry Worrell will send the card statewide as this year’s holiday card from the district.  

Next, Dr. Cayce Favasuli recognized Ms. Laura Dough Roberts, the 2018 Asheboro City Schools Exceptional Children Educator of Excellence. Ms. Roberts is an exemplary speech and language pathologist who is committed to continuously striving to support student progress. She serves students at our five-star Early Childhood Development Center, specializing in speech and language development.

Dr. Worrell then recognized the Asheboro and Mid-State Rotary Clubs for donating dictionaries to all third-grade students in the district as part of Rotary International’s Literacy Initiative. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the Asheboro and Mid-State Rotary Clubs for participating in the Dictionary Project again this year, which provided every third-grade student in Asheboro City Schools with a copy of A Student’s Dictionary. Rotarians distributed dictionaries in person at Balfour, Lindley Park, Loflin, McCrary, and Teachey Elementary Schools as part of Rotary International's Literacy Project. Our local Rotary Clubs are among 10,000 organizations worldwide who participate in the Dictionary Project and have distributed over 29 million dictionaries to students world-wide since it began in 1995,” said Dr. Worrell. 

To conclude the Special Recognitions and Presentations portion of the meeting, several students were recognized for their achievements. Ms. Candace Call, principal at North Asheboro Middle School, introduced Mr. Robert McKee who was selected by competitive audition to play the one and only tuba for the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra. Ms. Melanie Parrish, music teacher from Lindley Park Elementary School introduced Helen Britt and Daniel Barrera, students who were selected by competitive audition to perform with the North Carolina Elementary Honors Chorus. Dr. Penny Crooks, principal of Asheboro High School introduced student Brianna Tillman, whose poem “The Blesser or Oppressor,” was selected as a Topical Winner by the Live Poets Society of New Jersey. 

Information, Reports, and Recommendations

Following special recognitions, the Asheboro City Board of Education approved the Consent Agenda and then moved on to Information, Reports, and Recommendations.

Dr. Drew Maerz, director of Testing and Accountability, shared six board policies for 30-day review. Then Mr. Mike Mize, AHS Project Manager, provided updates on the construction project at Asheboro High School. Information, Reports, and Recommendations concluded with a presentation from Dr. Cayce Favasuli on the Mental Health Continuum of Services offered to students in Asheboro City Schools.

No items were presented for action.

Superintendent’s Report/Calendar of Events

Reports were provided on the district’s upcoming events and Points of Pride. Upcoming special events include: SAMS Winter Band and AHS Winter Chorus Concerts taking place next Monday, December 17; the Advanced Placement Scholar Celebration happening on Wednesday, December 19 at Asheboro High School; the SAMS Chorus Concert on Thursday, December 20; and the district Science Fair that that has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 3.  

Dr. Worrell concluded the meeting by providing information to the board about the 2018-2019         Strategic Plan goals and other updates as follows:   

-          Teacher Leadership Academy’s focus on equity and cultural responsiveness;

-          Work taking place in our schools through CASAs (Collaboration Around Student Achievement);

-          A warm welcome to new Student Support Services Director, D.R. Cash, and new Facilities and Maintenance Director Ed Keller;

-          Special thanks to everyone involved with making inclement weather decisions this past week;

-          Special thanks to our transportation department and bus drivers for ensuring student safety to and from school on Thursday;

-          Congratulatory comments to Vanessa Brooks as the district representative for the Courier-Tribune’s Celebrate Community initiative. 

Board Operations

Following the Superintendent’s Report and Calendar of Events, the Asheboro City Board of Education voted Mrs. Gidget Kidd as the chairperson and Mr. Phillip Cheek as the vice chairperson for the 2019 calendar year. Board members were also recognized for the number of board-training hours:

Mrs. Gidget Kidd – 652 hours

Mr. Kyle Lamb – 523

Phillip Cheek – 299 hours

Beth Knott – 91

Baxter Hammer - 83

Gwen Williams - 37

Chairman Lamb adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:52 p.m.

About Asheboro City Schools
Asheboro City Schools is a medium-sized school district in North Carolina, serving approximately 4,500 students at eight schools and one five-star Early Childhood Development Center. The district’s mission is to graduate responsible citizens who are prepared to succeed in higher education or the career of their choice. For more information, visit the district’s website at http://www.asheboro.k12.nc.us/.