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ASHEBORO – The Asheboro City Board of Education met for their regularly-scheduled meeting on Thursday, February 11. Chairman Michael Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the Board approved the meeting agenda.

Special Recognitions
The Special Recognitions segment began with a report from ACS Public Information Officer, Leigh Anna Marbert, who shared Points of Pride from across the district. In her report, the following highlights were discussed:
•    Black History Month celebrations
•    National School Counseling Week (Feb. 1-5)
•    Career and Technical Education Month
•    Student feature: Cadet Major Luke Hurley is one of 230 Air Force Junior ROTC cadets around the world to receive a scholarship from Headquarters Air Force Junior ROTC, Maxwell Air Force Base, where Hurley will have an opportunity to participate in a private pilot license training program this summer.
•    Alum feature: Tara Hill-Starks, Asheboro High School graduate from the Class of 1992 has written her first children’s book titled, Grandma, I Got This. The book was written in memory of Hill-Starks’ late grandmother, Ms. Mary Ray, who is remembered for always believing in others, showing forgiveness, and giving to those less fortunate.

Following Points of Pride, the Asheboro City Board of Education recognized area child care centers who have partnered with the district to support students and families since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. When schools statewide were closed to in-person learning, many local child care centers expanded programs for school age children in response to the growing need for dependable child care. “In the last year, child care teachers and staff have learned how to operate hot spots, supported classroom teachers in remote learning, and taught themselves how to navigate a number of learning management systems. They have also been the ones who tirelessly cleaned their classrooms every day, welcomed anxious students, provided social and emotional support, fed hungry kids, and worked to accommodate different schedules from schools all across our service area,” said Marbert.


Action Items
Following special recognitions, the Asheboro City Board of Education approved the Consent Agenda and then moved on to Action Items.

Superintendent Aaron Woody presented the 2021 Legislative Platform to be shared at the district’s Legislative Breakfast. The board unanimously approved the agenda as presented. Asheboro City Schools priorities for this year include:
•    Increase funding for school safety
•    Standardized accountability for all publicly-funded schools
•    Increase the weighting of student growth from 20% to 50%  
•    Calendar flexibility
•    Class size (K-3)
•    Adequate funding for NC Pre-K
•    Increase Pay for All North Carolina Educators

Information, Reports, and Recommendations
Dr. Drew Maerz, Director of Testing and Accountability, shared ten board policies for 30-day review.

Ms. Sarah Beth Robbins, Career and Technical Education administrator, shared a presentation about the district’s Career and Technical Education program. She and Career Development Coordinator, Ms. Courtney McGowan, discussed the number of CTE pathways available for students. They also highlighted how intentional career planning begins in the fifth grade with students engaging in career exploration through a tool called the Career Development Continuum. Each year, students build on their understanding of career opportunities so that by the time they graduate high school, they have clear direction of the profession they would like to enter and the schooling required. Through the CTE program in Asheboro City Schools, students have the opportunity to explore careers a variety of fields including Agriculture, Health Sciences, Business/Marketing, Computer Science and Information Technology, Family Consumer Science, and Trade, Technology, Engineering, and Industrial Education.  

The final information piece was the proposed calendar for the 2022-2023 school year, presented by Dr. Maerz. The calendar is available for public comment for 30 days and is located under the Board Policies and Calendars Under Review on the Asheboro City Schools website. Comments may be submitted to [email protected]. The Board will vote on the proposed calendar at the March 2021 meeting.  

Superintendent’s Report
In the Superintendent’s Report, Dr. Woody shared updates on a number of Strategic Planning initiatives including:
•    ACS COVID-19 Dashboard that is updated weekly (Fridays) and available to the public on the Asheboro City Schools website.
•    ACS Equity Plan in which the district has engaged in book studies and a number of professional development opportunities to further understand and address equity as it relates to students and staff throughout the district.
•    Release of the ACS Annual Report for the 2019-2020 school year, featuring student, staff, and district highlights. The report also showcases the district’s “story” as it relates to COVID-19 response.

Board Operations
Following the Superintendent’s Report, Chairman Smith adjourned the meeting at 9:15 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.

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