Principal: More students sought for new school

By FULLER ROYAL

Southeastern Early College’s newly hired principal Laura Davis said that she’s ready to tackle what she considers to be the most important educational initiative of the decade.

Davis, hired last week to take the helm of the early college high school, will have to hit the ground running.

Other newly approved early college high schools have had their principals on board since spring. Davis has less than two months to complete a myriad of tasks.

Primary among those tasks is to increase the number of applicants for the school. Fewer than 50 have applied for the available slots in the grade 9-12 school. Only six Whiteville students have applied.

SEC needs at least 50 freshmen to start the year.

Davis said that all interested students, even those from private schools or home schools, should apply.

“We will then do interviews with the students and their parents here at SEC to determine who will be accepted,” Davis said. “We can actually accept up to 75 freshmen this fall.”

Davis said there has been a lot of misunderstanding about the types of students the school will serve.

“Our grant ensures that we will be non-traditional and have small class sizes and an interactive learning environment and that we will represent the racial, socio-economic and geographic diversity of Columbus County,” she said.

The school will not be a think tank for the brightest. It’s not an academically gifted school. It’s not a school for troubled teens.

“It will not be an alternative school for students who have discipline problems,” she said. “In fact, SEC will offer a collegiate atmosphere with many of the responsibilities and freedoms enjoyed by college students.”

She said that one of the advantages that most parents will appreciate is that the students will begin taking college courses immediately and will not have to pay for college tuition, fees or textbooks as long as they are in the program. That includes summer session if the students choose to come.

“Our graduates will finish after five years with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate’s degree,” she said. “That is a huge savings. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average cost for two years of college is almost $34,000.”

The school is designed for students of all backgrounds and abilities who have not quite “connected” with the education process. They aren’t as involved in school life as they could or should be.

Some of these students are in danger of dropping out before they reach 10th, 11th or 12th grade.

Davis said she has very strong beliefs in the potential of the new school and encourages any parent with a rising high school freshman who thinks his or her child might benefit from SEC to call Davis at SCC, (910) 642-7141, extension 281.

This will be Davis’ first shot at a principalship. She grew up in Chadbourn and graduated from West Columbus High School.

She has degrees in math, English and science and has taught all three subjects as well as computer science and journalism.

Davis has taught every grade from fifth through college during her 18-year career, which began at Lake View High School in South Carolina.

She has also taught at Waccamaw Academy and Whiteville High School.

For the past six years she has taught math, English and critical-thinking at SCC and has served as the director of the honors program there.

A published author, she has spoken at the state, regional and local levels at professional development seminars.

She is also a member of a gospel music trio called GLAD and participates in the music ministry at Union Valley Baptist Church.

Davis lives in Whiteville with her husband Charlie and two children.