Superintendent’s Report

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

We have administered our strategic plan survey to parents, staff and 9-12 students and we had over 1000 responses. We incorporated that data into our first Strategic Planning Committee meeting, which took place today. I have developed a sign up sheet for our Town Halls to ensure that we have a cross-section of representation at these meetings, but anyone can attend any meeting.

FCS Blueprint 2030: Strategic Plan Development Process

MEETING DATES 2024-25

What?	When?	Where?	Who?
Survey Administered to Stakeholders	October 21st -November 1st	NA	Staff, Parents, Students grades 9-12
Initial SPC Meeting	November 12th 3:30-5:00	PD 2	SPC
Town Halls	Louisburg Town Hall Tuesday January 7th 6:00-8:00 pm	LMHS Media Center	School Community
	Bunn Town Hall Tuesday January 14th 6:00-8:00 pm	BHS Media Center	School Community
	Franklinton Town Hall Tuesday January 21st 6:00-8:00 pm	FHS Media Center	School Community
	Additional Town Hall February 4th 8:30-10:30 am	PD 2	School Community
SPC Meeting	Thursday February 20th	PD 2	SPC Members
SPC Meeting	Thursday March 6th 3:30-5:30 pm	PD 2	SPC Members
SPC Meeting	Thursday April 3rd 3:30-5:30 pm	PD 2	SPC Members
Board of Education Approval of 2024-25 Strategic Plan	Monday April 14th 6:00 pm	FCS Board Meeting	Board of Education

 

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

A Learning Focused half day morning professional development was held at Franklinton High School on the October 18th teacher workday for Cedar Creek Middle School and Terrell Lane Middle School teachers. Training was conducted by a Learning Focused consultant on Effective Questioning. Effective questioning fosters critical thinking. An optional training that focused on lesson planning was offered for all middle school teachers on the afternoon of October 18th. Beginning teachers were encouraged to attend the optional training. Bunn Middle School and Franklinton Middle School are scheduled to receive the same Effective Questioning training on the teacher workday on January 21, 2025.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

Our joint Board of Education/Board of Commissioners school visits are going well. So far we have visited ¾ of our schools. Each visit involves an introduction to the school by the principal, followed by an overview of the short and long term facilities needs and a tour of the school.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

On November 1st, our team participated in the Appalachian State University Virtual Education Career Fair, engaging with prospective educators in elementary, special education, and music. To give December graduates a firsthand look at our schools, we are working to coordinate tours for them of our schools with current vacancies. In addition, we continue to support teacher assistants and other classified staff interested in obtaining degrees in education by helping them identify NCDPI-approved educator preparation programs (EPP) in their licensure area, guiding them in the enrollment process, and processing tuition reimbursements for those who qualify. We are also providing edTPA support to teachers completing that licensure requirement. Through these initiatives, we remain committed to recruiting, supporting, and retaining a high-quality workforce for our district.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

We are making progress with our Strategic Planning process in preparation for approval in Spring 2025 and implementation in Fall 2025. We have a survey that will be administered to our parents, staff, and 9-12 students beginning October 21st. We are gathering information from the survey to help drive the work of our Strategic Planning Committee (SPC). The SPC is scheduled to convene for their first meeting on Tuesday November 12th. Invitations are being sent out next week. We have two Board members- Dr. Elizabeth Keith and Meghan Jordan- who have historically served as representatives on this committee and are willing to serve again. We also have town halls scheduled to engage our larger community in our efforts. Here’s the schedule:

FCS Blueprint 2030: Strategic Plan Development Process

MEETING DATES 2024-25

What?	When?	Where?	Who?
Survey Administered to Stakeholders	October 21st -November 1st	NA	Staff, Parents, Students grades 9-12
Initial SPC Meeting	November 12th 3:30-5:00	PD 2	SPC
Town Halls	Louisburg Town Hall Tuesday January 7th 6:00-8:00 pm	LMHS Media Center	School Community
	Bunn Town Hall Tuesday January 14th 6:00-8:00 pm	BHS Media Center	School Community
	Franklinton Town Hall Tuesday January 21st 6:00-8:00 pm	FHS Media Center	School Community
	Additional Town Hall February 4th 8:30-10:30 am	PD 2	School Community
SPC Meeting	Thursday February 20th	PD 2	SPC Members
SPC Meeting	Thursday March 6th 3:30-5:30 pm	PD 2	SPC Members
SPC Meeting	Thursday April 3rd 3:30-5:30 pm	PD 2	SPC Members
Board of Education Approval of 2024-25 Strategic Plan	Monday April 14th 6:00 pm	FCS Board Meeting	Board of Education

Updated 10/4/2024

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

Franklin County Schools is undergoing district re-accreditation through our accrediting agency, Cognia. This work is intended to be part of a continuous improvement process where the district reflects on our performance against a set of research-based standards. A component of this work is receiving feedback from stakeholders, parents, students, and staff, on a subset of the standards. The goal is to wrap up the re-accreditation work and have it submitted to Cognia by winter break.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

Our Capital Outlay projects are moving along well. We have completed over 50% of our 24/25 projects, including a new retaining wall at the FMS stadium, BMS bleacher renovation and several carpeting projects. HVAC issues continue to plague our schools, but our team has worked hard to stay on top of concerns. Dr. Webb is preparing a Safe Schools Equipment grant application to be submitted later this month. We are hoping to increase access control, camera coverage and the number of metal detectors at our secondary schools. Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff The recruitment job fair season is starting once again. Franklin County Schools had planned to attend the Appalachian State University Educator Job Fair on October 11, 2024; however, the event was canceled due to the damage caused by Hurricane Helene. Despite this, we continue to work diligently to fill any remaining or newly arising vacancies. Additionally, the Human Resources team will soon begin conducting stay interviews with certified staff members at our middle schools. These interviews will offer valuable insights into staff retention strategies and provide principals with a better understanding of employee morale and engagement.

Legislative Alert: Private School Voucher Expansion

The legislature convened last week for a mini-session, and both the Senate and then the House approved legislation that would fully fund private school vouchers with an additional $463 million. This taxpayer-funded initiative has very little accountability for student acceptance, curriculum, assessment, and teacher licensure.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

Four FCS students were selected to be pre-apprentices this summer for The North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NC TAP). One student was selected from Bunn High School and three students were selected from Franklinton High School. After completing the pre-apprenticeship program, three students from Franklinton High School were selected to continue as apprentices and they also participated in a graduation/signing ceremony on August 29th. They will be apprentices for the following companies: Brandy Services, Crossroads Automotive, and Schmaltz. Seven students are participating in an internship this fall. There are students representing each of our four high schools. Internships will be completed at the following companies: Cornerstone Custom Home Builder, Green Hill Nursery & Landscaping, Hardly Farms for Alpacas, Louisburg Family Dentistry, Maria Parham Health, US1 Pools, and Wegmans.

District Accreditation-During the 2024-2025 school year, Franklin County Schools will seek district re-accreditation through Cognia, formerly AdvancEd. This process looks much different than it did during the initial accreditation in 2019 with no onsite visit; all work is submitted electronically through the accreditation platform. Dr. Nichols is working with a Cognia liaison to complete multiple self-reflection activities based on 30 performance standards. We will collect stakeholder feedback through surveys of students, parents, and teachers. The goal is to have the district submission complete by winter break although it is not officially due until February 1. In Spring 2025, we will receive a report from Cognia with commendations and recommendations for areas of improvement.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas 

During the week of September 3, district curriculum and instruction staff met with principals to review data from the 2023-2024 school year and to set goals for 2024-2025. These goals are used for school improvement planning and in the principal’s evaluation with Dr. Schuhler. School improvement teams are meeting throughout the district to review SIP goals from last year, refine as needed, and add new areas of improvement based on student data. School improvement plans will be presented to the Board of Education in November.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

On September 17th, FCS will be hosting our 4th Semi-Annual Parent Summit at Faith Baptist Church. The three previous Summit events have been very successful in building engagement among district and school families and we are seeking to build upon that momentum on the 17th. Our focuses will be in areas of Budget, Strategic District Planning, as well as current Accreditation efforts. As in previous events, we look forward to a meaningful time of collaboration, engagement, and planning among our district leadership, school leadership, DPAC, Parent Organizations, and other parent and family volunteers.

Board/Commissioners School Visits-Our school visits have officially commenced. On September 4, 2024, Board Members, Commissioners, and FCS staff toured Royal Elementary School and Youngsville Elementary School. Dr. Westbrook, Mr. Wiggins, and the staff at both schools were outstanding hosts. Dr. Webb shared long-term plans and current projects for each school. It was a fantastic opportunity for our Commissioners to observe the remarkable progress and efforts being made to ensure a safe, orderly, and nurturing environment. Our next visits are scheduled for September 18, 2024, when we will tour Bunn Elementary School and Bunn Middle School.

Submission of Needs Based Grant- On September 3, 2024, Dr. Webb presented our latest Needs Based Public School Capital Fund Grant to the Board of Commissioners. During the presentation, they detailed the grant’s specifics and requirements. After addressing a few questions from the Commissioners, the Board unanimously approved a local financial match of $10,000,000 for our $42,000,000 grant request. The grant was submitted to DPI on Thursday September 5th. We will keep you posted on progress.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

Franklin County Schools is actively working to ensure that all positions are filled. Staffing adjustments will be made once the 10-day headcount is finalized. Currently, the headcount numbers are consistent with those from the 2023-2024 school year, though the district is experiencing growth in some areas. For example, Youngsville Elementary has seen an increase of 37 students since their 10-day headcount was finalized. As of now, Franklin County Schools has a teacher vacancy rate of 5%, which is subject to change daily.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom On Wednesday, August 21, staff will gather at Franklinton High School for Sizzlin Summer 2024. This required workday for all schools provides teachers and staff with an opportunity to engage in professional development. Sessions held in the morning will cover multiple topics to include CANVAS integration, interactive notebooks, managing classroom behaviors, and many more. Afternoon sessions will be content/grade-level specific to provide teachers and staff with an opportunity to collaborate with others in their same positions and/ or teaching the same content. In advance of Sizzlin’ Summer, Dr. Schuhler will release a video message on the theme this year, “Power of Family.” This theme is two pronged: 1.) the importance of engaging our families in meaningful ways and 2.) the recognition that we are all part of the FCS Family.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas Success Framework

The district’s Leadership Team Retreat, including principals, assistant principals and district leaders, met last week for a day of learning. At the retreat, Dr. Schuhler shared an updated “Success Framework” for use this year. This framework translates the existing strategic plan into practical goal setting and work at the school level. The framework’s focus is in 5 key areas: instructional feedback to improve student outcomes, closing learning gaps and raising student achievement, recruiting and retaining staff, engaging parents and family in our schools, and creating a safe and orderly learning environment for students. There are strategies and expectations in the framework, and our principals base their evaluation goals on these efforts. Although all 5 areas are critical expectations for our work, the priority area of focus for this year will be getting into classrooms and providing regular feedback and support to teachers on instruction. It is Dr. Schuhler’s belief that if we focus on getting into classrooms to provide ongoing feedback and support, the other priority areas will be enhanced and improved.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

Capital Committee

In September 2023, at a joint meeting of the Franklin County Board of Education and Board of Commissioners, the district outlined our comprehensive school facilities needs. These needs had been compiled through a review by Davis-Kane Architects/Kilian Engineering and they were prioritized by the Board of Education through a series of work sessions. In response, this past Spring the Franklin County Board of Commissioners enacted a resolution in support of development of a joint BOC/BOE Capital Committee to address the capital needs. Dr. Schuhler was asked by Ms. Denton, the County Manager, to work with the BOE to identify two BOE representatives to serve on this joint committee with two members of the BOC and pertinent district and County staff, and to develop a schedule for joint BOE/BOC school visits to see these needs first hand. Dr. Schuhler provided a draft schedule in April to the County for consideration. There was not a response so this schedule was reshared with the County Manager and the entire Board of Commissioners on July 24th. Ms. Denton called that day to notify me that she would follow up with me by the middle of the next week, but to date I haven’t heard back from her. This schedule and the plan for school visits was referenced by Chairman Foy at the August 5th Board of Commissioners meeting, and with no further discussion arising from the Commissioners on the proposed schedule, Mr. Foy indicated to Ms. Champion that we are “Good to go.” Capital Committee Schedule With that in mind, the schedule has been shared with school principals and they anticipate visits on the identified dates.You are being provided with a link to this schedule as a reminder of what has been shared. We do need to establish an initial meeting date for the Committee, and I’m prepared to do so through coordination with Ms. Champion and Mr. Piper and communication of a possible date to the County.

UPDATE TO ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED REPORT: Today at 1:45 pm I received an email from Ms. Denton requesting an opportunity to discuss the details of the school visits. I have provided a copy of our schedule and have indicated a willingness to discuss further.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

Our New Teacher Institute and Alternative Licensure Institute are happening this week. New teachers and other certified staff will meet at Franklinton High School. Sessions will focus on curriculum, district resources and expectations, and cultivating a sense of community. Our goal is to support new teachers and other certified staff as they grow in their professional practice.

UPDATE TO ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED REPORT:

Coppedge et al v. Franklin County Board of Education (Desegregation Order)

We received word this afternoon that Franklin County Schools has reached unitary status in our desegregation order, and all court-ordered obligations have been resolved. The case is now dismissed and the clerk has been directed to close the case. This means that Franklin County Schools will no longer be under a desegregation order and we will continue to operate as other districts do across the state- in accordance with existing laws and practices preventing discrimination based on race.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom Royal Dual Language Immersion Program

We are eagerly anticipating the start of the Dual Language/Spanish Immersion program at Royal Elementary. As of July 1,19 kindergarten and 24 first grade students are enrolled in the program. We are seeking additional students for the kindergarten classroom. To increase enrollment, registrations for kindergarten at Royal and across the district are reviewed every two-three weeks. Families of these new registrants are contacted via email and asked to apply if interested. On July 1, the families of all registered kindergarten students (30) at RES were contacted. In the meantime, teachers are hired and curriculum materials are set to be ordered in the next couple of weeks.

Career and College Readiness Summer Camp Opportunities

CTE Career Camps were held during June 17-June 20 and June 24-June 27 from 9 am-2 pm. We hosted 112 rising 6th-8th grade students in nine camps. Students participated in the following camps over two weeks: Bare Bones (Health Science/Nursing), Camp Wooden Woodshop (Carpentry/Woodworking), Cookology (Foods and Nutrition), Summer Sizzle (Culinary Arts), Emergency 911 (Emergency Medical Technology), Turn the Wrench (Automotive), and Young Planters (Agriculture). Teachers and students were observed engaging in meaningful CTE activities during Career Camp. Each student received or made a “take-away” item to remember their experience. We are currently surveying parents and of the 35 responses received so far, 97% said that they would recommend CTE Career Camp to other families, 89% rated their students experience a level 10 which is the highest rating, and 97% said they would send their student back to camp again next year. District C Summer Teamship Camp, located at Louisburg College, runs July 8-July 11 from 9 am-5 pm. We are anticipating 77 rising 8th-12th grade students to attend and our target number was 72 students. Students will work as a team with a District C Teamship Coach to solve real problems for area businesses. The businesses students will be working with are: Dell, Sirchie, Plastic Ingenuity, The Loading Dock, and Blue Collie Coffee.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

Summer Learning Updates

Elementary “Summer 2024” learning activities are successfully off and running. Our annual Read to Achieve Camp will enter its 3rd and final week on July 8th. More than 200 2nd and 3rd grade students have benefitted from this literacy camp opportunity! New in Summer 2024, our rising 5th Grade “Prep Academy” has likewise been a resounding success. We have been adding students each week due to growing interest in this science focused jumpstart of 5th grade standards. Similarly, our K-12 ELNewcomers camp at Terrell Lane successfully hosted over 5 dozen language newcomers for 8 days of language exploration and experiences.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

Summer Feeding Update

Our School Nutrition department is providing meals to multiple sites and programs throughout the summer. Summer learning students are fed each day. BHS, FHS and LMHS students held multiple CTE Camps that were provided with meals. Meals are served at several school based programs (credit recovery, football camp, band camp etc). There are 14 community based feeding sites that have operated or will operate at different times throughout the summer. Summer feeding will continue through August. Summer Work Projects Our projects for the 24-25 school year have begun! Our Auxiliary Services team is working with our staff and with vendors as we address repairs and upgrades to our facilities. With YES opening soon, cleaning and repairing are job one right now. Carpet, painting, roofing, safety items and windows are just a few of the projects we are tackling. We have a busy year ahead of us.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

We are actively working to fill our current vacancies and are committed to strengthening our recruitment efforts. Next week, Franklin County Schools will be hosting a licensure informational session specifically designed for potential candidates. To maximize outreach and engagement, we will begin a social media advertising campaign for this event starting this week.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

Almost 130 rising 5th through rising 8th grade students have registered for CTE and Art Summer Career Camps for this summer. We are offering 10 career camp opportunities between June 17th and June 27th. Students will explore art, foods and nutrition, culinary arts, public safety, agriculture, health science, carpentry, and automotive programs. Students attending CTE camp will leave with a “takeaway” item to remember the experiences they have. We also have about 82 students registered to attend the District C Camp held at Louisburg College between July 8th and July 11th. Students will earn 30 hours of internship credit working as a team to solve real problems from local and national businesses. Looking ahead, we have 16 students who have applied for a CTE internship and meet the requirements to enroll for the 2024-2025 school year. The Career Development Coordinator is working with each student to find a quality internship placement.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

We wrapped up End-of-Grade and End-of-Course testing on Friday, June 7. Students who were not proficient during the first administration are invited back on Monday and Tuesday, June 10 and 11, to participate in remediation/retest. These new scores will be used for proficiency purposes only as growth is based on first test administration. Academic summer camps will launch on Monday, June 17. Some elementary students will be invited to Read to Achieve camp or our new fifth grade camp, Prep Academy. High school students who need to recover credits can participate in our credit recovery labs, Monday through Thursday from 8:00-1:00. Seniors who need credits in order to graduate have until August 1 to earn necessary credits and will count on this year’s graduation cohort.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

Our commitment to create a Safer, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students is well-represented in our 2024-2025 Capital Outlay request. FCS staff has worked diligently to obtain a comprehensive, accurate and thoughtful list of projects. Many projects, such as carpeting, flooring and roof repairs will start as soon after Jul 1, 2024 as possible. Others will be completed during the year. These projects will make a significant difference in the day to day lives of students. One of our biggest investments will be in HVAC maintenance, repair and improvements. Buildings will be cleaned and repaired, equipment will be relocated, numerous projects will be completed and our teams will spend the summer making it happen. Our application for CEP status has been submitted, accepted, reviewed and approved. FCS will have District-Wide CEP status for all of our students at all of our schools for the next four years.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

The annual “Frankies” was held on June 7, 2024, celebrating the end of the school year by honoring employees recognized for their achievements during the 2023-2024 school year. Additionally, the Human Resources department will commence informal licensure and employment sessions for individuals interested in entering the education field. These sessions are scheduled to begin in July and will continue through August.

Local Budget

Each year in preparation for the upcoming school year, we submit a local budget request to the County. As I shared last month, the majority of the local current expenses request is the longevity retention bonus for all employees. For the past three years, we have been able to fund this bonus out of COVID relief funding that expires at the end of this year. The price tag is $2.5 million, and this bonus will need to be supported by the County going forward. We have been communicating this need to the County in preparation for this request for the past three years. This bonus is essential in order for us to remain competitive with neighboring districts that pay higher supplements so that we can be in a position to recruit and retain staff.

The rest of the request for Franklin County Schools- approximately $800,000- is to offset inflationary increases. The total request for Franklin County Schools is $3.36 million and the County’s required match for charters would be $1.85 million, for a total increase of $5.2 million. In addition, we have requested $2.6 million in capital outlay funds to address much needed maintenance of our facilities.

We submitted our local funding request, which was unanimously approved by our school board, to the County on April 16th. We requested the opportunity to sit down with County leadership to review the extensive information that we provided in our request and to answer any questions they may have. We had a joint meeting between the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education last Tuesday night to discuss our local school budget for next year.

I have concerns, based on this meeting, that the County Manager may not recommend full funding of this request. If this request isn’t fully funded, it will mean that we will either have to cut the longevity retention bonus that all staff currently receive and have received for the past three years, or we will have to cut positions, or both. This is very serious for us and it has the potential to dramatically impact the livelihood of our employees and ultimately the success of the students that we serve.

The County Manager is in the process of actively developing the budget recommendation for the May 20th County Commissioners meeting when she will unveil her proposal. If you have thoughts or concerns on this matter, no matter what they are, you are welcome as a citizen to share those concerns in advance of May 20th with the County Manager and Board of Commissioners. You are also welcome to attend the meeting of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners on Monday May 20th at 7:00 pm at the Franklin Plaza Training Room. 

Strategic Plan

We are a month away from the end of the 2023-24 school year, and that is so hard to believe. It’s an exciting time with lots of culminating activities taking place across the district.

The spring Strategic Plan Committee meeting took place last week, and we reviewed the work taking place in all aspects of our work. It always provides a great opportunity to reflect on progress.

Next year we will continue our progression with the current Strategic Plan, and we will simultaneously be working on development of our new Strategic Plan in preparation for implementation in Fall 2025.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

High School Fairs

In March and April, our high school students participated in the Reality of Money Financial Fair hosted by the NC State Employees Credit Union.  The credit union describes this event as an activity where students make financial decisions about paying for housing, transportation and other monthly expenses as they are “transformed” into young adults with jobs and other financial responsibilities to manage. During this experience students learn about making better lifestyle choices, saving money, and how to “live within their means”.  Also, the High School Career Fair will be held on April 16, 2024 from 8:15 am-12:00 pm at Franklinton High School.  This event is for FCS juniors and seniors.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

Parent Summit

On March 26th, the 3rd semi-annual Parent Summit was hosted by FCS at Faith Baptist Church once again. This gathering brought together nearly 70 parent volunteers, all 16 school principals, district leadership, and several members of our School Board. We express our gratitude for the strong support shown by all participants. Our primary objective was to continue advancing levels of parent and family engagement, ensuring that their perspectives are integrated into our school improvement plans, funding decisions, and efforts to cultivate healthy school cultures. Principals had the opportunity to gather insights and suggestions from school teams representing feeder schools, and they also benefited from a panel discussion where school leaders shared their personal successes in engagement. The feedback received following the event has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are already contemplating plans for a fall event to capitalize on the current momentum.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

VOIP

Our VOIP system has been 95% implemented over the last 3 weeks. All phones have been placed and Technology and Ambit are working through a small number of network, extension, and services issues. We are working with Ambit, Brightspeed, and DIT to clean up and switch our analog lines over to VOIP services. All schools had opportunities for in-person training and virtual training by Ambit. Staff have been provided user guides and recordings of training. Phones will call inside the network and staff are having fun learning their new phones. We anticipate 2 more weeks of work to fully implement.

Surplus Vehicles

We are pleased to report that our recent surplus vehicle auction yielded $12,352.50. Many of these vehicles were not running and all had outlived their usefulness to Franklin County Schools.

 

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

Reality of Money

This semester, seniors at all four high schools will take part in an interactive educational event called the Reality of Money. The program was designed by the State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) to provide a glimpse into the financial challenges of adulthood and help young people understand the importance of personal finances. Through this program, students will gain a better understanding of the real-life implications of the choices they make as students and adults. In the Reality of Money program, each student is placed in a scenario where they are 25 years old and employed. However, their path in life has taken them in different directions. Some students will find themselves earning $40,000 per year and are married with children, while others may be single parents making less than $20,000 annually. They will visit twelve stations where they have to make financial decisions on items such as housing, child care, transportation, etc. Last week, 281 seniors from Franklinton High School participated in the Reality of Money program, and the event will be held on March 19th for Louisburg Magnet High School and Early College High School, followed by Bunn High School on April 23rd. The program has garnered significant support from the community, with over 100 members signing up to help with the event. Through the Reality of Money program, students will gain valuable insights into the financial realities of adulthood and learn the necessary skills to make informed decisions about their financial future.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

Dual Language Program at Royal Elementary

Applications for the Dual Language/Spanish Immersion program at Royal Elementary were due by Friday, March 1.  This past week, a lottery was held to select students for the 2024-2025 school year.  We will have a full class of kindergarten and first grade students.  Each class will have 26 students.  Should we have selected students who choose not to participate, we will utilize the waitlist of students to ensure that we have a full classroom. Parents are being notified of acceptance/spot on waitlist by March 15th.  We are very excited about this new program at Royal Elementary

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

GoFan

GoFan is an electronic ticketing program that offers patrons the option to purchase advance tickets. This reduces cash transactions at games and streamlines accounting. Staff members enjoy flexibility in managing events, capacity, and ticket releases. GoFan and its affiliates serve nearly 10,000 high schools nationwide, allowing staff to set ticket prices and retain all revenue. GoFan collects a nominal convenience fee of $1 per ticket, and they cover all credit card fees. Patrons still have a cash option at the door.

Louisburg Magnet High School is piloting GoFan this spring at athletic events. It has been a  smooth implementation. LMHS and our Finance department are pleased with Go Fan, prompting plans for expansion to other high schools in the fall and possibly to our middle schools after that.

Parent Summit

Our  3rd Semi-Annual FCS Parent Summit. We are gearing up and getting excited about this opportunity to build from earlier Summit momentum, as we collaborate with one another to grow meaningful parent and family engagement. With the Fall Summit, we focused specifically on policy, more specifically, the Parents’ Bill of Rights and gathering feedback from the parent lens. This Summit will seek to dig deeper into ways we can incorporate the experience of our families and the valuable contributions they can make toward efforts to support funding priorities, school culture, and curriculum goals.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

TEACH

The “Teachers Educated and Cultivated at Home” (T.E.A.C.H.) program of Franklin County Schools is on course to be fully operational in the 2024-2025 academic year. The initial year is expected to see a commitment from five students, including those currently enrolled in Early College High School and incoming ninth graders. The process of selecting a mentor teacher for the program is underway. Additionally, an event to celebrate the commitment of these students is scheduled. This signing day ceremony will be held on April 25th at 4:00 pm in the Boardroom.

This March, FCS was selected, by the department of public instruction, to facilitate a federal monitoring visit of the consolidated application grant received by FCS each year. Included in this monitoring event is a programmatic review of our Title I, II, III, and IV grant compliance. All initial monitoring steps were satisfied, including the required documentation submitted for DPI review prior to March the 8th. The final monitoring steps include 4 school visits, (DPI selected schools include: EBES, FES, LOMES, and RES) as well as stakeholder group interviews, (This includes, Parents, Teachers, Principals, and Central Office Leadership) both of which are scheduled for Thursday, March 14th. Final reports shared by the Office of Federal Programs will be presented to the Board once received.

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom

All FCS assistant principals recently participated in the second session of Leading Change professional development. Led by Dr. Schuhler, this PD provides assistant principals with the opportunity to think about themselves as school leaders and how their leadership style may impact their ability to lead change in the school environment. All principals and central office leadership are also participating in this opportunity.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas

In February, there are several exciting events and initiatives happening across FCS. Our Spanish Immersion Program launched on Feb. 1st through the opening of the application to families of Franklin County. Early feedback is positive with approximately two dozen applications already received. Also happening in February are two Early Learning engagement efforts to support families. First, we are holding a Kindergarten Readiness session in late February which will focus on the “kindergarten experience”, enrollment, and some guidance on how to use “Kindergarten Readiness Bag” resources. The second begins in mid-February, with our Pre-K team holding its 2nd Annual set of Pre-K Round-Up events. These events are held to introduce the district to prospective families in an effort to ensure all potential Pre-K student needs are understood and addressed prior to children entering Pre-K classrooms in the Fall.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students

Mental Health Services

North Carolina State Board of Education policy requires that districts provide an annual update to the Board of Education on staffing levels for student services support. The information below provides details on the supports available during the 2023-2024 school year.

Student Support Services, 2023-2024

• School Psychologist-2 full-time, 1 part-time (60%)
• School Counselors: 8 Elementary, 4 Middle, 11 High School
• School Nurses: 10
• School Social Workers: 5 full-time, 1 part-time (10 hours per week)

Additional Supports include:

• 12 Contracted Mental Health Therapists to support student mental health needs while at school
• 18 MOAs with Mental Health Providers to support Mental Health Services in school
• FCS received a Safe Schools Grant to help fund the contracted positions

Safer Schools Grant 2023-2024 

We were recently informed of our successful application for a Safer Schools Grant. Despite a higher number of applicants this year, we have been awarded a total of $300,000. Of this, $250,000 is allocated for Services for Students in Crisis, and $50,000 is designated for acquiring new Safety Equipment. Although the granted amount is less than our initial request, we appreciate and are thankful for the valuable resources provided.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff

The Human Resources Department has scheduled recruitment visits to Elizabeth City State University, the University of Virginia, NC State University and Radford University in February. Additionally, the department is focused on fulfilling various Federal reporting obligations, including those related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Blueprint Goal 1: Preparing FCS Students for College, Career and Life Beyond the Classroom On Tuesday January 16th at 6:00 pm, we will host an interest session for the new Dual Language Immersion program at Royal Elementary School. Participation is limited to grades K-1 Franklin County residents and students will be selected for participation through a lottery process. The application window is open from February 1 to March 1. Note that this meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday January 9th, but we are moving it due to the potential for inclement weather.

Blueprint Goal 2: Achieving Student Success in Academic Areas On Thursday January 18th at 9:00 am, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt will visit Long Mill Elementary School to observe literacy instruction in our classrooms. She will wrap up her visit with a panel discussion with several LOMES teachers. Senator Lisa Stone-Barnes and Representative Matthew Winslow have also been invited to attend.

Blueprint Goal 3: Creating a Safe, Orderly and Caring Environment for Students 911 tower installation began over the holidays at both Royal Elementary and Youngsville Elementary. As a reminder, the County presented information regarding these towers at the November meeting of the Board of Education. Since the County owns this land, the Board of Education was not asked to approve these projects. We have asked, and the County has assured us, that the projects would be safely executed and that they would work to minimize disruption of traffic flow during entry and dismissal each school day.

Blueprint Goal 4: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining High Quality Staff The Human Resources team is scheduled to conduct a recruitment trip at Winthrop University this month. As the upcoming recruitment season begins, FCS has February trips planned to visit Elizabeth City State University, University of Virginia, Radford University, and NC State University