The face of the shutdown: Local childcare centers teetering as shutdown interrupts funding
All Nicole Smith could do last week was try to keep the doors open.
Either the shutdown of the federal government would end, or North Carolina officials would tell her they don’t have the million of dollars necessary to cover childcare costs for needy infants and toddlers in the state, some of whom spend their days at her small center in Waynesville.
Raising the bar: Tougher curriculum + tougher testing = lower scores ahead
Schools are bracing for a precipitous drop in student test scores coming down the pike next month — the result of a new, more rigorous curriculum and testing standards implemented statewide last year.
Class Notes: The new reality for teachers
By Dawn Gilchrist-Young
I’m writing this because I teach three sections of senior English at Swain High School, where I’ve taught English in grades nine through 12 for almost 15 years. However, I can only say I’ve loved what I do for 14 of those years, and that’s because my first year in public education left me neither time nor energy to ponder the luxury of how I felt about my work. Having no time to reflect is typical for a first-year public school teacher.
Haywood Schools assess benevolent policy toward club sports
A proposal to charge youth sports clubs and outside groups rental fees to use school property is being studied by the Haywood County School Board.
Donated clothes help kids fit in
Sylvia Russell remembers how crucial it was to wear the “right” clothes to school, how the “right” outfit could win the acceptance of peers.
Macon Schools may cut teacher bonuses to save positions
To deal with a gaping budget shortfall, Macon County Schools might raid the local salary bonus it historically awards its teachers.
Drug testing par for the course in WNC high schools
The number of high school students failing random drug tests in Haywood County has remained constant since the school system put a drug testing policy in place seven years ago.
Haywood Schools shuffle the deck ahead of new year
Haywood County Schools has announced a handful of promotions among principals and assistant principals ahead of the upcoming school year.
Macon schools budget could soon face time of reckoning
Macon County Schools may be in store for some noticeable changes come the start of school this fall.
Social workers say student homelessness on the rise
The number of homeless school children in Haywood County has risen by nearly 20 percent this year compared to last.
The county uses the definition of homelessness contained in the McKinney-Vento Act — any individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. That could mean that the children are staying with a relative temporarily, in a hotel, sleeping in a car or at a shelter.
