For the second time in three months, K-8 and themed schools were brought before the Lenoir County Public Schools board by Superintendent Stephen Mazingo, but it resulted with no formal action being taken.
The meeting began with the board appointing Jon Sargeant as board chairman and Bruce Hill as vice chairman for 2014.
The real meat of the meeting came a bit later, when discussion of the concept of K-8 schools — transforming all elementary and middle schools in Lenoir County to kindergarten through eighth grade — began.
Several parents spoke during the public comment period, with a parent, Donna Vincent, voicing opposition to K-8, citing concerns over financial viability and capacity levels. Another parent, Nicole Tallman, said she supports the concept and encouraged Mazingo to continue his research and keep parents informed.
During the presentation portion of the meeting, Mazingo answered questions raised by board members at the October meeting. Questions were answered in the form of presentations by members of the central office.
Assistant Superintendent Diane Lynch spoke about why K-8 would need to be implemented before high school academies. These academies would focus on helping students become career ready.
“In order for our students to be able to choose the most appropriate academy that best fits their academic interests. They need to be exposed to what those choices are before they enter high school,” she said. “This exposure can best be done in the early years with career awareness and development opportunities.”
Ellen Benton, the school system’s executive director of instruction, spoke about what a theme school is and what it isn’t.
“Instruction in a theme-based school is the same as a traditional school in offering a basic education program, with value-added experiences based on theme. It will have the same instruction that we have now in our schools for general education purpose,” she said.
Benton said foundational reading and math would still be taught, and would still comply with North Carolina standards for a basic course of study.
Brent Williams, the school system’s executive director of operations, addressed issues relating to financial costs, separating students and transportation.
Williams said the end, transportation costs would go down. However, the cost savings would be offset by transporting students in each attendance zone to a common location for athletics.
Board members Merwyn Smith and Jon Sargeant, who both have children currently enrolled in Lenoir County schools, raised questions about older students interacting with younger students on buses.
Williams said one solution for buses would include having assigned seats, with younger students sitting in the front of the bus and older students sitting in the back. He also noted that Lenoir County’s current K-8 school — Contentnea-Savannah — is a model.
Mazingo also outlined seven goals he has for the school system, along with a vision statement. Goals listed included allowing every student to complete two years of college courses while in high school.
In the end, no action was taken on any possibilities involving K-8 or themed schools. However, Mazingo did say he is going to revamp the School System Improvement Task Force.
“I’m going to look at who served on the task force, where some of those gaps are because people I had originally asked and could not serve,” he said. “I will add parents and make sure all areas are represented. I will also invite someone from the media and fire it up again in January.”
He said the task force will also bring regular reports before the board pertaining to ideas on how to improve the school system.
“I do want to know what people are thinking as we go through ideas,” he said.
Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nclark763.