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The Kings Mountain Herald
August 21, 2008
MHS ODORS Freshmen Academy
Schools note new additions for classes starting Monday
. EMILY WEAVER
| eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
The bells! The bells! School
begins for students on Monday,
August 25, 2008, and there are a
lot of new additions this year to
local institutions.
Kings Mountain High School
is opening the doors to its first
ever Freshmen Academy. Ninth
graders will attend academic
core classes in their own build-
ing, away from the hustle and
bustle of 10th-12th graders.
The academy is stationed in
the building, which once
housed math and history class-
es. It has been named “The
Expedition.”
Principal Ronny Funderburke
said that the goal of the acade-
my is to reduce the school’s
drop-out rates and increase
graduation rates by helping
ease students into a more con-
trolled transition.
According to figures from the
NC Department of Public
Instruction, KMHS had a grad-
uation rate of 55% in 2006,
among students attending four
years. :
“Our school is great, but that
is one area, like a lot of schools,
that we definitely need to
improve in,” said Liza
Dellinger, who is in charge of
the new academy.
Funderburke said that studies
have shown ninth grade to be a
pivotal year for students so the
school is taking a new
approach. Shelby High School
started a freshmen academy last
year. This will be the first year
for the academies at Kings
Mountain, Crest and Burns.
Dellinger said that a group of
teachers toured six other
schools last year that had fresh-
men academies. In at least five
out of the six schools they visit-
ed, she said that their dropout
rates had declined and the
academy had proved to be a
positive step.
The ninth graders will stay in
The Expedition for their core
academic classes and for
Health. For PE., in the gym, and
* for all other elective classes stu-
dents will travel to the same
buildings or areas used by other
students at KMHS. There are
also no lockers in The
Expedition building so students
will have to travel inside the
main buildings to retrieve
books and materials. They will
also eat in the same cafeteria as
other students. The freshmen
academy is not designed to iso-
late the students from the
upperclassmen, in this regard.
Some criticism has been
received from parents and stu-
dents about the freshmen being
limited in the courses they are
able to take. But both
Funderburke and Dellinger said
that, that isn’t the case. The
ninth grader’s options of elec-
tives are still open.
“They are still able to take
everything they’ve been able to
take (before). We didn’t want to
limit anybody's options,” she
said.
Another concern is that the
freshmen academy takes more
of a middle school approach to
education, still holding the stu-
dent’s hand when he/she needs
to start becoming more inde-
pendent. But Dellinger said that
they feel like that is what the
ninth grade is for — finding a
common ground between
“holding your hand” and
releasing the students into the
sometimes chaotic atmosphere
of high school.
“As a parent myself, I think I
would be more excited because
I think it's a more nurturing
environment,” she said. “We
still have very high expectations
for them.”
“My focus is to make sure
that the freshmen have a suc-
cessful first year and that they
feel excited about their experi-
ence and that they find some
way to get involved .in the
school, whether it be academic,
athletics or clubs and organiza-
tions,” Dellinger said. “We want
them to know that we care, we
want them to be here and we
want them to be successful.”
To open the door for students
to get involved, she said that
they offered an activities fair at
the academy’s orientation
Tuesday night. The fair, sta-
tioned in the courtyard outside
of the cafeteria, allowed stu-
dents and parents to peruse the
different club and organization
options available to them in
their new school.
To help the Class of 2012
bond, Dellinger said that they
will be offering special activities
just for the freshmen this year.
A freshmen tailgate party is
scheduled before the football
game on Sept. 12 for ninth
graders and their families at the
baseball field. Plans are in the
works to have another event for
the ninth graders in October.
To help even more with the
students’ transition, KMHS is
offering an advisor-advisee pro-
gram to the freshmen. Some of
the targeted students will be
paired with an upperclassman,
who is either an Ambassador
member, a Rennaisance
Leadership class member or a
Teacher Cadet. “I've got about
30 upperclassmen and they'll
have about three students each
that they will work with,”
Dellinger said.
She added that the teachers in
The Expedition will also focus
on building strong relationships
with their students to help them
in their academic careers. The
closer interactions will help
them target other students that
may need more attention.
“We're going to try to improve
our communication,” she said.
Dellinger added that the
freshmen in the academy will
not be in classes with repeat
ninth graders, which may also
help.
“From what I understand this
is going to be a great class and it
should be real easy for them to
form those great relationships
and bonds,” she said, which
should, in turn, improve their
success rates. Although these
helps are in place, the challenge
* to succeed or fail is up to the
Class of 2012.
Other notes for Back to School
Bethware Elementary
115 Bethware Drive
704-734-5623
Principal Valerie Boyd
Principal’s email: vboyd@cleve-
landcountyschools.org
School day: 8:10 a.m.-2:50 p.m.
Estimated enrollment for 2008-
09: 480
New additions this year: The
school plans to implement a
new Positive Behavior Support
Program, known as PBS. Sharon
Thornhill is joining the staff as
the new art teacher and Angela
McKee will be the school’s new
technology facilitator.
East Elementary
600 N. Cleveland Avenue
704-734-5633
Principal Jennifer Wampler
Principal's email:
jswampler@clevelandcoun-
tyschools.org -
School day: 8-2:50 p.m.
Est. enrollment for 2008-09: 230
(K-4) and 270 (Pre-K)
New additions this year: East
has added four new teachers to
their roster this year. Lauren
Sochacki has joined the staff as a
first grade teacher and Robert
Stickney has joined the staff as a
third grade teacher. Jan
Welborn will be the new art
teacher and Jami Bumgarner
will teach music. Jennifer
Wampler, a former Chemistry
teacher and native of Kings
Mountain, joins the staff as the
new principal.
“East was named one of the
Top 12 National Distinguished
Title I schools and will be hon-
ored in October in Greensboro,”
Wampler said in an email. “East
is also in the running for
National Blue Ribbon School
(status) and will find out in
September if we were selected.”
Grover Elementary
206 Carolina Avenue
704-476-8351
Principal Janet Anthony
Principal’s email:
janthony@clevelandcoun-
tyschools.org
School day: 8:10-2:50 p.m.
Est. enrollment for 2008-09: 400
(including Pre-K)
New additions this year:
Grover’s new school theme this
year is “We're Wild About
Learning.” Animals and jungle
scenes decorate the halls to
enforce the theme. Carole
Barnhardt transferred from
Marion Elementary to join the
staff. Other countywide trans-
fers are bringing the following
staff members to Grover: Jenny
Hollifield - Art, Monica Martin -
Music, Elizabeth Vinesett -
Technology Facilitator, Anna
Whitaker - Curriculum
Coordinator, and Summer
Bachman - School Psychologist.
“Our school has had several
renovations,” Anthony said.
“Our first and second grade
building has new lighting and
new doors; our Pre-K building
has been renovated. We will
also be participating in a new
approach to meeting individual
student learning needs this
year. It's called Responsiveness
to Instruction. We're excited
that we will be able to provide
needed interventions for chil-
dren in targeted areas.”
See Back2School Page 7
KingsMo
Herald
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Office: 824-1 East King Street « Kings Mountain, NC 28086
E-mail: heraldnews @kingsmountainherald.com
Bill Parsons - Publisher
(bparsons @kingsmountainherald.com)
Emily Weaver - Editor
(eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com)
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