Burke County Public Schools highlights teacher awards, CTE wins and explains school transfer closures

Superintendent Dr. Swan summarized recent district highlights Tuesday, announcing Melissa McClure of Drexel Elementary as Burke County Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year, and listing student achievements across science fairs, MathCounts, robotics and a construction rodeo partnership with Western Piedmont Community College.

The superintendent said Drexel Elementary teacher Melissa McClure received a vehicle from Paramount Ford as part of the Teacher of the Year recognition. He described a surprise presentation at the school and said board members attended the celebration.

The update noted elementary science-fair first-place winners from Oak Hill Elementary, second from Eichard and third from Glen Alpine. A middle-school student, Bailey Heat of Table Rock Middle School, took first place at the state science fair, the superintendent said. He also named individual MathCounts performers and two individual winners, Ezekiel M. (Mountain View Elementary) and Elijah P. (Hillcrest Elementary).

Career and technical education (CTE) highlights included the county’s construction rodeo — expanded from a small local event to one including teams from McDowell, Catawba and Caldwell counties — and an Ag Day for fifth-graders run by high-school ag students. The superintendent announced Burke County’s Freedom and East Burke high-school agriculture programs received a $100,000 grant to purchase two vehicles to transport animals and supplies; he said the trucks will receive custom wraps to promote the programs.

The superintendent also described a visit by celebrity chef Jet Tila to East Burke High School’s Foods II classes and noted a Freedom High School senior, Malik Harris, won first place in the North Carolina American Legion Oratorical contest and will compete for a $25,000 national scholarship.

On operations and family-facing items, the district said new playground equipment installations will begin in May and that mulch will be replaced. The district announced upcoming bus-driver training at central office and invited community interest; the superintendent said the district had used incentive pay changes and increased driver pay to recruit drivers. He listed several upcoming events: an Inclusive Talent Show (April 11), an online safety presentation in partnership with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office (Patton High School on March 31 and Heritage Middle School on April 3), North Liberty prom (May 2) and Special Olympics (May 9 at Patton High School). He also reminded the board that next week’s board meeting will be on Tuesday, April 8, and that graduation details will follow from district staff.

The superintendent explained the district’s transfer process and why several schools are currently closed to transfers. He said principals decide transfer requests and consider discipline, attendance and grades. The closed schools listed were Heritage Middle School, Mountain View Elementary, North Liberty, Liberty Middle School (eighth grade), Freedom High School and the district’s self-contained BCPS classrooms. He explained that admitting nonresident students can increase class sizes and require hiring additional teachers funded locally rather than by the state, and that the district is using transfer closures to manage local funding and capacity.

Board members and the superintendent also publicly thanked local law enforcement and emergency responders for a coordinated response to a recent Drexel incident; board members said the coordinated response and notifications helped ensure students and staff were not endangered.

The superintendent closed by thanking board members and staff for their leadership as the district approaches the final instructional weeks of the school year.