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Education

  • Home schools see increased enrollment in Brunswick County

    Brunswick County students are back in school but not all of them study in a classroom.

    Brunswick County has 428 home schools and 714 students registered with the N.C. Department of Administration’s Division of Non-Public Education for the 2007-2008 school year. While the amount of schools decreased by 10 schools from the 2006-2007 school year, student enrollment increased 12 students.

    The division is responsible for inspecting and monitoring home schools.

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  • West Brunswick dance team fundraises for Macy's Parade

    SHALLOTTE—This Thanksgiving, some familiar local faces will be seen among those marching in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

    Five West Brunswick High School dance team members will perform a routine at Herald Square during this year’s parade.

    The dance team attended a Universal Dance Association (UDA) camp this past summer at Wake Forest University. The captain of each school team, as well as other members who demonstrate leadership at camp and at school, are invited to participate in the annual parade.

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  • High school SAT scores show improvement across Brunswick County

    Results released Tuesday show a record number of students took the SAT this year, according to The College Board.

    There were more than 1.5 million SAT test takers this year, an 8 percent increase from last year. In Brunswick County, 284 students—43 percent—took the test, and each school improved its average scores.

    North Brunswick High School students scored a 944 average, with 464 in critical reading, 480 in math, and 458 in writing.

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  • Board approves Floyd as West Brunswick's AD

    The Brunswick County Board of Education approved John Floyd as athletic director at West Brunswick High School Tuesday night.

    Confusion began after Floyd’s name was not on the approved personnel list released after the board’s monthly meeting several weeks ago.

    Terry Chestnutt, assistant superintendent of human resources for Brunswick County Schools, said the board did not approve Floyd’s contract that meeting. Floyd had already begun working in the AD position.

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  • Students settle into new school year

    Brunswick County students are back to school. Monday marked the beginning of the new school year. The hallways of Union Elementary School were filled with smiles, laughter, excitement and tears from students and parents before school began.

    Matthew Gable and his wife Kortney took their son Keaton to Tammy Pickard’s kindergarten class. He’s the couple’s first child to start school.

    “It’s tough, I don’t want to leave him here,” Matthew Gable said. “I’ll be thinking of him all day.”

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  • Board evaluates superintendent

    BOLIVIA—The annual evaluation of the superintendent of Brunswick County Schools has been completed, but the public will not see the results.

    Superintendent Katie McGee chose Tuesday night to give a public statement rather than release the evaluation in its entirety.

    The Brunswick Beacon submitted a formal request to McGee in July asking for the entire evaluation be released to the public. At the time McGee said she “had no problem doing so.”

    After the board concluded McGee’s evaluation Tuesday evening, she decided not to release it.

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  • Contestants practice for 'Are You Smarter than a Village Schooler?'

    All 12 contestants in Evelyn Smith Wray Village School’s upcoming event “Are You Smarter Than a Village Schooler?” bring different skills to the playing field.

    When it comes to math and science questions, contestants need to look out for Scott Kucera, executive director of Ocean Isle Museum Inc.

    Kucera has a master’s of science degree in environmental science and engineering from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University, where he majored in physics.

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  • WBHS student newspaper wins four state awards

    The West Wind, West Brunswick High School’s student-produced newspaper won four awards from the annual North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, a statewide contest awarding excellence in school and sports news reporting, advertising and production of student produced publications.

    The newspaper was awarded with the “Newspaper of Honor” award, which was previously called an “achievement” award.

    Chandler Inions, who will serve as this year’s editor, won third place in sports journalism for his sports column “Tobacco Road.”

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  • County adds second DARE officer

    Two new faces will be roaming the halls of Brunswick County middle schools this year—DARE officers Adam Stanley and Bradley Huggins.

    County commissioners on Monday approved the addition of a seventh-grade DARE program at Brunswick County middle schools at the request of the board of education.

    Fifth-graders in Brunswick County have been through the DARE program since 1992, but this the first time seventh-graders will go through the program.

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  • Schools reorganize bus routes to become more fuel efficient

    The cost of gas may greatly affect a family with one or two vehicles, but Brunswick County Schools has 161 buses that use about 1,700 gallons of fuel every day.

    To help offset the cost, the district has reworked a few bus routes and stops, hoping to use the district’s fuel as effectively and as efficiently as possible.

    Steve Miley, executive director of operations, said there were 6,400 rides last year and about 4,000 stops. About 10 percent of the routes were affected in this year’s cleanup.

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