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Education
Smoky Mountain News
Tuscola ROTC recognized Haywood County Schools recently received an official written report from Headquarters, U.S. Air Force Junior ROTC Director Col. Paul C. Lips stating that Tuscola’s Air Force Junior ROTC instructors and cadets earned an overall unit assessment score of Exceeds Standards — the highest rating attainable — during their evaluation. JROTC has 878 programs worldwide and this inspection rated Tuscola against all of them. In addition to achieving over 1,600 hours of community service; the cadets scored an overall ‘exceeds’ rating, placing Tuscola JROTC in the top 2 percent in the world. Cadet Lt. Col. Jack Leslie poses The official with second-year cadets who report commented performed 30 Step Drill Evaluation. on how both Senior Donated photo Master Sgt. Steven Robertson and Maj. David Clontz have created a dynamic and supportive learning environment, coupled with an excellent community outreach program. In addition, it noted how the instructors have provided outstanding leadership in administering this cadet-centered citizenship program. During the unit inspection, Cadet Major Jonathan Delacruz and Cadet Captain Clay Payne were honored as top performers.
SCC Swain Center to hold open house Southwestern Community College’s Swain Center is extending an invitation to the public for its open house from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, March 28. Booths will be set up, and tours will be offered for any community member who wants to learn more about the Swain Center or other general programs offered at SCC as a whole. Guests of the open house will also be treated to refreshments and door prizes. The Swain Center houses the Outdoor Leadership program at SCC, The Nantahala School for the Arts and Educational Opportunities like College and Career Readiness. For more information on the SCC Swain Center, call 828.366.2000.
Apply for Farm Bureau scholarship Haywood County Farm Bureau awards four scholarships each year — two for $3,500 and two for $1,000. The $3,500 scholarships are given to students attending a four-year college and studying agriculture. The $1,000 scholarships will go to students attending a two-year college. Students must be graduating seniors currently enrolled in a Haywood County school or enrolled in a two or four-year school and be a resident of Haywood County. Students must have a 2.5 or better G.P.A. and must be planning to enroll in an approved post-secondary program. They must also provide clear evidence
of financial need and significant community service. Haywood County Farm Bureau members and their children will be given first consideration. Applications are available at Haywood County Farm Bureau on Asheville Road in Waynesville. Applications must be submitted by April 15.
Champion Credit teaches finance Champion Credit Union recently hosted Mad City Money, a financial simulation designed to give youth a taste of the real world, at Tuscola High School. During this all-day event, sophomore students were provided a persona, complete with an occupation, salary, spouse and child, student loan debt, credit card debt and medical insurance payments, and instructed to determine their monthly expenditures based on these assigned attributes. President and CEO of Champion Credit Union Jake Robinson dealt random expenses, such as car or appliance repairs, as well as random profits, such as lottery winnings, to the students. This experiential learning process provided the students with valuable insight into balancing their financial needs, budgeting and differentiating between wants and needs, that they can take with them into adulthood. “As a former educator and personal finance teacher, I have witnessed the desperate need for financial literacy in our schools,” said Business Development Manager Lori Chappell. “It is essential that we equip our youth with basic tools to help them gain financial wellness.”
WCU leader testifies on N.C. Promise Western Carolina University Interim Chancellor Alison Morrison-Shetlar testified Wednesday, March 13, before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, describing the N.C. Promise tuition program as a “game-changer” that is making a college education more affordable and more accessible to a larger number of students. The N.C. Promise program lowers the cost of tuition for North Carolina residents to $500 per semester at WCU and two other University of North Carolina System institutions — Elizabeth City State University and UNC Pembroke. The cost of tuition for students from other states dropped to $2,500 per semester under N.C. Promise. Total undergraduate enrollment was up at all three N.C. Promise institutions for the 2018 fall semester — 6.6 percent at WCU, 14 percent at UNC Pembroke and 19 percent at ECSU. At WCU, the number of first-time, full-time freshmen increased by 10.5 percent last fall, while the number of transfer students jumped by 40.5 percent.
Summit Charter School hires director Summit Charter School, a tuition-free K-9 public charter school in the Cashiers-Highlands plateau, has appointed Kurt Pusch as its next director, effective July 1. Pusch will succeed Billy Leonard, who has served Summit as interim director since July 2018. Edward Cole, board of trustees chair and search committee co-chair, said, “We consider ourselves very fortunate to have someone of Kurt’s award-winning experience as an administrator and educator. He has spent the past 15 years with KIPP, the nation’s largest and highest regarded network of public charter schools.” Most recently, Pusch served as Chief Schools Officer at KIPP Colorado Schools, overseeing six charter schools serving nearly 2,000 students from early childhood through 12th grade. He will receive his Executive Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in June 2019.
• Haywood County Schools Board of Education will hold a 2019-20 Local Budget Public Hearing at 6 p.m. Monday, April 1, at the Education Center in Clyde. • The Franklin High School Winds and Winterguard Group and the Franklin Indoor Percussion group travelled to Winthrop Coliseum in South Carolina last weekend where over 230 groups competed over two full days in their categories for the CWEA Regional Championships. Panther Sound Winds/Colorguard group got overall fifth place and Franklin Indoor Percussion ranked seventh.
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• The University of North Carolina Board of Governors appointed Kathryn Crisp Greeley of Waynesville and Kenneth Hughes of Asheville to the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees. They will join re-appointed board members J. Bryant Kinney of Denver, who currently serves as vice chair of the WCU board, and Rebecca Schlosser of Greensboro. All four were appointed to serve four-year terms that will begin July 1.
Matthys scholarship created at HCC
• Enrollment is now open for Head Start in Jackson and Haywood counties. Call 828.452.1447 in Haywood and 828.586.2345 in Jackson County if you’re interested in receiving free, high-quality child care for school readiness for children birth to age 5. Centers are located in Waynesville, Clyde, Canton, Sylva and Cullowhee.
Haywood Community College awarded a new scholarship for spring semester 2019. The David and Denise Matthys Scholarship benefits a full or part-time student who is a resident of Haywood County. “As a young farm kid in Texas in 1960, I was awarded a $50 merit scholarship to our local junior college and I truly believe that started me on my way to completing my own college education and resulting career,” David Matthys explains. “We simply wanted to provide some financial help to any person who wants to improve their lives through higher education or through learning a trade that will allow them to make a living in the future.” For more information, call 828.627.4544 or email pahardin@haywood.edu.
• The Swain County High School Maroon Devil contingent of Air Force JROTC recently spent time on a Saturday supporting Swain CLEAN. The entire group removed over 70 bags of trash from Swain County highways and made the county an even better place to live and enjoy. With this event, the cadets have completed over 400 community service hours since August.