By FULLER ROYAL

For the second consecutive year, the city and county schools will open on the same day – Aug. 25. Thanks to a law passed by the General Assembly in the summer of 2005, all public schools in North Carolina must open no sooner than that date.

In the past, the Whiteville City Schools usually beat the Columbus County Schools to the blackboards by 10 days or so.

Today, The News Reporter contains a special section featuring the homeroom assignments for city and county school students.

Combined, both systems anticipate around 10,000 students from grades pre-kindergarten through 12. They will arrive by car, bus or on foot.

The number of students in the two systems continues to demonstrate a slow decline as the population of Columbus County decreases.

With few major policy changes for students, this school year won’t appear very different from last year’s. The biggest change could be in the Whiteville City Schools, which has beefed up its dress code.

It will be up to the teachers, administrators and, ultimately, the school board to enforce the extensive changes, prompted by the revelations last spring of gang activity in and around the schools, most notably Central Middle School.

Whiteville City Schools Superintendent Danny McPherson welcomed all of his city school employees last Friday during the system’s annual convocation.

He said he is looking forward to a good year.

“We are excited about some new opportunities for the school year,” McPherson said.

Many of those opportunities will avail themselves because of some additional funding the General Assembly approved this year, including full funding for the first time for low wealth counties, of which Columbus is one.

“We are looking at additional supplies and materials for the classrooms,” he said. “And we’re looking forward to having a literacy coach at Central Middle School.”

Science and computer labs are being added at Whiteville Primary School and an additional computer lab has been installed at Edgewood Elementary.

“We still have challenges we have to work toward, including students with disabilities.”

Several schools have new principals. At East Columbus High School, former assistant principal Mark Bridgers is the new principal. He is only the second principal in that school’s history, replacing Reginald Lewis who retired in June.

Tabor City Middle has a new principal, William Dale Norris, who replaced James Doll. Chadbourn Elementary School’s new principal is Harold Bellamy, former assistant principal at West Columbus High School.

Former Chadbourn Elementary Principal Emmett Lay was re-assigned to Evergreen Elementary School. Former Evergreen Principal Lang Kinlaw is teaching math and coaching at Whiteville High School.

Perhaps the most excited students and teachers are at Williams Township Elementary.

Displaced into mobile units for 30 months by a fire that destroyed their school, the folks at Williams Township will walk into the first new school built here in 15 years. It’s the first new elementary school built since Guideway burned in the late 1970s.

Everything in Williams’ new facility is state of the art – the newest, the biggest and the fastest.

Most of the schools are facing the new year with uphill battles in the No Child Left Behind Act.

Both school systems are in Title I Improvement because of repeated failure of too many students to test at levels of proficiency in state reading, math and end-of-grade tests.

No Child Left Behind requires that both systems produce system-wide school improvement plans to turn those test scores around and act on those plans.

Failure to do so could cause the state to step in for massive restructuring of both systems and their schools from the school board on down.

West Columbus High School, which has the lowest test scores in the county or city, will receive the most scrutiny from the Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh.

WCHS is on a list of the state’s 44 poorest performing high schools, bringing it to the attention of Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, who is threatening to close the very worst schools.

In June, Gov. Mike Easley joined the effort to pull the state’s weakest high schools up, promising help from Raleigh.

WCHS will receive help from the state in the form of consultants this year.

This marks the first year in many that there haven’t been any major administrative changes in either system.

This is the second year for Superintendent Dan Strickland and Assistant Superintendent Alan Faulk.

“We’re excited about school opening,” Strickland said. “Our principals and teachers have been working off and on throughout the summer. We have had a lot of staff development, focusing on areas such as writing, reading and mathematics and we’re adding science.”

All levels of administrators are going to spend more time in classrooms this year. Principals and assistant principals at each school will make an effort to visit every classroom at least once each day.

“We’re going to be in the schools as a leadership team,” he said. “We’ll focus on instruction in the classrooms, working with teachers and entire schools.”

The schools are ready with fresh coats of paint and repair work where needed.

Acme-Delco Elementary School, under the leadership of Janet Hedrick, is looking for about 300 students for its 21-member faculty.

Acme-Delco Middle School anticipates 200 students to join Principal Theresa Blanks and her faculty of 18 teachers.

The student numbers would be higher for both schools if nearly 200 students from the eastern end of the county didn’t cross into Brunswick County to attend Charter Day School near Leland.

William Wright remains at Boys and Girls Homes School. About two dozen residents at the school will enroll next week. There are seven teachers there.

Boys and Girls Homes Elementary School is the only public school in the state located on the grounds of a private institution.

David Pless continues his run as principal at Cerro Gordo Elementary School. He and his 28 teachers are looking for more than 300 students.

Chadbourn Elementary, under Harold Bellamy’s direction, will welcome nearly 400 students. There are 28 teachers there.

At Chadbourn Middle, Principal Georgia Spaulding is looking to have her 23 teachers work with 300 students Friday.

More than 600 students will enter the doors of East Columbus High School. Principal Mark Bridgers and his faculty of 46 are ready.

At Evergreen Elementary School, Principal Emmett Lay is looking for 350 students for his 30-member teaching staff.

More than 100 students are expected at Fair Bluff Elementary. This is Dr. Jennifer Smith’s second year at the school’s helm. There are 18 teachers at Fair Bluff. The school bounced back from nearly closing two years ago when it lost scores of its students.

Jonathan Williams, the principal of Guideway Elementary, is looking for 275 students for his 24-member faculty.

Hallsboro-Artesia Elementary School, the only grades K-4 elementary school in the county, will have more than 400 students. The principal is Lynn Spaulding and there are 26 teachers.

Hallsboro Middle School will have more than 350 students enrolled. There are 27 teachers at the school run by principal Mike Mobley. It’s the only grades 5-8 middle school in the county.

Nakina Alternative School will begin with about one dozen students dispersed among its 11 teachers when it opens. Typically, it won’t take long for the other 18 schools in the county to begin sending students there. Jeff Russell is the principal.

Principal Richard Gore begins his second full year at Old Dock Elementary School. About 350 students are anticipated for Friday. Old Dock has 29 teachers.

Longtime South Columbus High School Principal Maudie Davis is looking for 700-plus students on her campus Friday. As part of the SCHS faculty, there are 53 teachers.

Tabor City Elementary Principal Debra Hammond and her teaching staff of 40 anticipate more than 500 students.

At Tabor City Middle, Principal William Dale Norris is looking for 250 students. He has a teaching staff of 22.

At West Columbus High School, Principal Worley Edwards is looking for 600 students. He has the most teachers coming back in years with all but a few of the 47 faculty members returning.

WCHS is also starting its freshman academy this year, centering the freshmen in one area of the school.

Williams Township’s 600-plus students will arrive Friday to find the majority of the school’s 46 teachers in brand new classrooms. Mitch Nance is the principal.

Principal Deanna Shuman of Edgewood Elementary anticipates 600 students for her 38 teachers.

Principal Beverly Boone is looking for 600 students at Central Middle School. There are 44 teachers.

Whiteville High School, the largest school in the city or county, is looking at an enrollment of 750 for its 52 teachers. This will be Principal Kyle Ramey’s last year before he retires.

WHS will also implement its freshmen academy this year. The academy has been planned for more than one year.

At Whiteville Primary School, with more students per grade than any other school, more than 700 students are expected. Principal Hope Kennedy High has a 50-member faculty.

Primary will again enjoy a fruits and vegetables grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For more information from each school system, log on to whiteville.k12.nc.us for the Whiteville City Schools or columbus.k12.nc.us for the Columbus County Schools.