In a joint meeting earlier this week, both boards discussed the Duplin Early College High School project that may start up this fall, but no decision has been made.
However, Sprunt trustees decided that they would travel today, April 24, to visit one or two early college programs and gather information
Following the trustees action, it was also decided members to meet next Thursday, April 30, 6 p.m., to make a decision regarding the proposed school.
“I just felt the board of trustees needed more information before we could be 100 percent behind this program,” shared trustees chairwoman Zettie Williams.
“We could not take action during the meeting without being fully informed as a board. We have to be able to answer questions when asked regarding this program, and until as many of the trustees as possible have had a chance to visit an early college, we did not feel we could move on this. The concept of the early college high school is good, and I see where it could benefit a number of students. We just needed to be better informed.”
The Early College High School Initiative began with a concept to improve the educational opportunities of young people who are least likely to attend college and for those individuals that society often has seen to have low aspirations for academic achievement. Start-up support for this initiative given by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given rise to almost 160 early college high schools across the United States, including in Sampson. North Carolina leads the nation with early college high school programs with a total of 60; 12 additional schools approved to start up the 2009-10 school year, with Duplin being one of them.
Early college high schools are small high schools where students leave with a high school diploma and a two-year associate of arts degree or sufficient college credits to enter a four-year, liberal arts program as a junior.
Dr. Wiley Doby, Duplin County Schools superintendent, stressed the importance of time in this process in order to get the program off the ground and running this fall.
“This is the last year for the start-up funding, (Gates Foundation), and time is of the essence if we are to get this program operational this fall,” he said.
The Board of Education presented a timeline for the implementation that will include discussions with students and parents, visits to the middle schools for recruitment along with the student interviews and applications for acceptance into the program.
One issue that came from the James Sprunt trustees was the location and construction of the modular unit that will house the early college high school. Several trustees expressed concern regarding the aesthetics of a modular unit on the James Sprunt campus.
Director of Maintenance for Duplin County Schools, Bobby Norwood, assured the trustees that the modular unit placed on the campus would be one that would be pleasing to the eye and could be designed to fit into the school’s overall appearance and not present a visual distraction to the current beauty of the campus.
The trustees also expressed concern for the amount of time the unit would be utilized on the campus before a permanent facility could be built.
Dr. Lawrence Rouse, president of James Sprunt, commented by stating, “With the current economic situation that funding could pose a problem in building a building, but there had been some discussion of building a new public safety building on the campus which could include the early college high school as well as facilities for training EMS, firemen and law enforcement personnel, but funding for that project is dependent on passage of statewide bonds which would mean if the economy were to turn around in the next two years, funding would not likely come about before five years. I did not view Tuesday night’s meeting as negative. But a genuine concern of my board to fully understand the early college high school program.” Currently James Sprunt’s correctional officers program totals about 800 students.
“The county commissioners expressed interest in our including the early college high school into the development of this building. The state has allotted $94,000 for the design plan, and we will be including the early college as we discuss with the building planners to be included in the design. We will sit down with both boards to come up with an agreement regarding the timetable for the removal of the modular unit,” added Rouse.
Trustees had concerns regarding what the curriculum would involve and how it would be implemented. Doby expressed that the curriculum of the Duplin school would draw on the current S.T.E.M. School which includes strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math.
Assistant superintendent Cary Powers stated that the actual curriculum was dependent upon each student’s evaluation and therefore could not be given until after that process was done.
“Students will still be required to meet requirements both for a high school diploma and an associate degree,” shared Powers.
The projected cost for the first year of the program is $610,000 with $280,000 going for facilities; the second year is expected to cost $365,000 with a total over a five-year period of $2.7 million. Funding will be the Duplin County Schools responsibility, as stated by Doby.
The grant from the Gates Foundation will be used for this program, but will not be available if the boards do not take immediate action to get the program up and running due to the expiration of the awarding of grants this year.
Powers, along with Doby and Ben Thigpen, Duplin County High School director, shared their view about the project. “We had hoped for a decision by the board of trustees Tuesday night to go ahead with the project; however, we do want to be sure that they have all the information they need to make a qualified decision. We feel very positive in regards to the meeting and will make every effort to provide answers to all their questions as honestly and concisely as possible. Currently we are making efforts to insure the site visits will take place as requested by the trustees will be on track for Friday.”
Doby assured trustees that the Duplin County Schools will set up the visits and provide transportation for the site visits.
The boards will meet again on Thursday, April 30 at 6 p.m.
To contact Billy Todd, call 910-592-8137 ext. 117 or e-mail sigeneral@myclintonnc.com.
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