482-4418
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Hornthal back coaching after
lung transplant—IB
Citizens express concern over neighborhood crime
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Several years ago Coo
per Meise and her husband
bought what they hoped
would become their retire
ment home in Edenton.
Last Friday, she left town,
her dreams of a future in the
community shattered. The
’'now boarded up windows
of her home stand as a mes
sage to the community that
she left because she no
longer felt safe there. Un
Back-to-School
New things in store for Edenton-Chowan students
REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The Edenton-Chowan
Schools are planning
big improvements
this year in technology, aca
demic rigor, and parent and
community involvement
Behind some of these en
v hancements are the state’s
move to the New Com
mon Core and Essential
Standards and the district’s
implementation of two
Golden LEAF grants.
Students return to class
Aug. 26. The school district
expects an enrollment of
2,238 students.
Superintendent Allah
Smith last week said the
common core and new
essential standards are
much more in-depth than
t< prior standards, “requiring
a much deeper understand
ing by the students.”
Students are required to
do much more application
and evaluation with the
material they learn, Smith
said.
The Edenton-Chowan
Schools have been working
on the new common core
for about a year and a half,
according to Smith.
The school district has
adjusted the curriculum
and is focused not only
on what is being taught
but also on teaching it at
the depth that is required,
Smith said.
Teachers are learning
to teach in ways that are
. more hands-on for students
-7 real-world, project-based
and student-centered are
among the adjectives that
teachers and administra
tors use in talking about
the newer approaches to .
instruction.
There’s a new emphasis
on collaboration and team
work, both among groups
of students and also among
students and teachers,
Smith said.
On the school safety and
security front, the school
i district held a two-day
threat assessment training
in June with the N.C. De
partment of Public Safety
1 that will help staff improve
safety during the coming
school year.
The training included
teachers, principals, as
County spending by domestic visitors increases by 5.5 percent
From staff reports
The N.C. Division ofTbur
ism, Film and Sports De
velopment announced last
week that domestic visitors
to and within Edenton and
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
^ *--* > -» J -► £ J J * £ ,
relenting loud noise, curs
ing, vandalism, open drug
dealing and prostitution,
and threats of violence have
driven her away.
“I now own a home that
my husband will not return
to, where my sons no lon
ger Wish to come, where
our friends will no longer
visit,” Meise said in a letter
that she read aloud during
the public comment portion
of the Aug. 13 town council
meeting.
Meise was one of a group
STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER
Edenton-Chowan Schools Superintendent Allan Smith, shown In his office Friday morning, is excited about the start of a new school year.
sistant principals, mem
bers of the district-wide
administrative staff, school
resource officers, and the
head custodian for each
school.
The training covered
identifying signs of poten
tial intruders and ways
of avoiding or preventing
dangerous occurrences.
The schools this year ,
will be taking a close look
at things like the location
of security cameras as the
school district continues
to seek ways to make all
schools safer and more
secure.
The Edenton-Chowan
Schools this spring received
two Golden LEAF/ grants
totaling slightly nk?re than
$1 million.
One grant is focused
on Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathemat
ics (STEM) education in
grades 6-12.
The grant will fund in
novative, two-week science
and technology modules
Chowan County spent $18.3
million in 2012, an increase
of 5.5 percent from 2011.
“This increase in visitor
spending shows, the value
Of tourism within Chowan
County over the past year
and the importance of our
working together to further
grow this significant indus
try. We look forward to
reaching a wider audience
as we continue to invite visi
tors to experience our rich
heritage assets," said Keith
of local citizens who live
on North Broad and West
Albemarle Street who read
letters expressing their frus
tration that the enforcement
of town ordinances is not
being carried out effectively
enough to put an end to the
situation.
“Overthelasteightweeks,
I have reported my concerns
to several town officials but
sadly, I have documented no
change,” Meise said.
See COMPLAINTS, 2^
for middle grades students,
including topics such as
robotics, rocket science
and fuels of the future.
At the high school level,
the new STEM initiative
will expand course offer
ings in science and technol
ogy areas.
Smith said the e^anded
course offerings will benefit
both the student with an
eye on a technical career
and possibly a two-year
technical program at Col
lege of The Albemarle, and
also the student looking
toward a four-year degree
in science or engineering.
Smith said the school
district also is looking
for ways for students to
prepare for science and
technology careers that are
available in the immediate
area, such as the local pea- •
nut processing industry.
The second grant-funded
program is the 1:1 Learn
ing Initiative. The $827,000
grant will provide an iPad
for every middle school and
Nixon, Chowan County
Tourism Development Au
thority Chairman.
Tourism impact highlights
for 2012:
• The travel and tourism
industry directly employs
more than 140 in Chowan
County.
• Total payroll generated
by the tourism industry in
Chowan County was $2.6
million.
• State tax revenue gen
erated in Chowan County
Officials: Town cares, will act
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
When a group of resi
dents from North Broad
and Albemarle Streets came
before the town council at
its Aug. 13 monthly meet
ing, Mayor Pro Tern Jimmy
Stallings assured them the
concerns they expressed
had not fallen on deaf ears.
“I assure you we are con
high school student in the
county - hopefully by Janu
ary but certainly by the fall
of 2014, Smith said.
“But that is not the point
and I cannot emphasize
this enough,” Smith said,
referring to the iPads. "lire
1:1 Learning Initiative is de
signed to increase instruc
tional rigor and support
the efforts in implementing
the Common Core cur
riculum through real-world
experiences, utilization
of research-based teach
ing strategies, and taking
advantage of existing and
emerging technology.”
It will improve student
engagement in their learn
ing, which is expected to
yield dividends ranging
from improved discipline
to higher graduation rates,
according to Smith.
Training teachers is criti
cal to efforts to make better
use of technology and real
word applications, Smith
said.
The Friday Institute is
totaled $860,000 through
state sales and excise taxes,
and taxes on personal and
corporate income. Approxi
mately $1.12 million in local
taxes were generated from
sales and property tax rev
enue from travel-generated
and travel-supported busi
nesses.
Gov. Pat McCrory an
nounced in May that visitors
to North Carolina spent a re
cord $19.4 billion in 2012, an
increase of 5.4 percent from
K .**■- <*>> > > S \ ,V ,v , V ,-s ,v ,,
MORE ON THIS STORY
■ Police chief promises
‘whatever it takes’-2A
cemed,” Stallings told the
group after he and other
council members listened
to their pleas for help in
restoring peace and quiet
in their neighborhood. “We
have heard you loud and
helping with staff develop
ment at the local schools,
he said. ,
The scnbdl district is
working to overcome
the digital divide among
students, which stems
from the wide diversity of
economic levels in the com
munity, Smith said.
“The project will narrow
the educational gap among
students, in part, by closing
the digital divide,” Smith ,
said. “While the project
does provide every student
with a computing device,
the central theme is the
reorganization of the learn
ing environment to more
effectively meet the needs
of our students.”
For instance, so-called
flipped classes, in which
students watch pre-re
corded lectures at home
and then work on applica
tion and evaluation related
to the material when they
get to the classroom the
next day, will be used by
some teachers. There was a
2011.
These statistics are from
the “2012 Economic Impact
Of Travel On North Caro
lina Counties.” The study
was prepared for the North
Carolina Division of Tour
ism, Film and Sports Devel
opment by the U.S. TVavel
Association.
Statewide highlights in
clude:
• State tax receipts as a
result of visitor spending
neared $1 billion in 2012 and
clear. We will be working
on this.”
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said Fri
day that in response to the
concerns expressed by
citizens, Police Chief Jay
Fortenbery and Capt. Tim
Hickman have developed
a plan of action that will
address illegal activities
See RESPONSE, 3A
pilot program with flipped
classes at John A. Holmes
High School last school
year.
Personal computing
devices help make flipped
classes possible.
The expansion of access
to computers also will
strengthen the existing
program at the high school '
that offers students non
traditional classes through
online instruction. These
course offerings range from
technical and vocational
areas to foreign languages
such as Japanese.
“We have constrained
ourselves in education that
school has to happen from
8-to-3 within the walks of
the school,” Smith said.
But that’s beginning to
change.
“Now time and location
can be a variable rather
than a constant,” Smith
said.
An example of the new
See SCHOOLS, 3A . •
have increased 42 percent in
the last 10 yeans. .
• Visitors spend more
than $53 million per day in
North Carolina and contrib
ute over $4.2 million per
day in state and local tax
revenues as a result of that
speeding (about $2.7 mit
lion in state taxes and $1.6
million in local taxes).
• The travel and tourism
industry directly employee?
nearly 200,000 North Caro
linians.
.. -mm.m . ■,
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