Lincoln County Schools board highlights student, teacher and coach achievements

The Lincoln County Schools Board of Education on April 8 recognized students, teachers and coaches across the district and heard routine updates from Superintendent Dr. Allen during its monthly meeting in Lincolnton.

The awards and recognitions covered multiple schools and programs, including a Purple Star designation for Asbury Academy, a national ASCA RAMP designation for Pumpkin Center Primary, state- and regional-level awards for teachers and students, and several athletic honors.

Superintendent Dr. Allen opened the recognitions by noting district outreach and events this week: "This week has been defined as 'Bring Your Legislator to School' week," he said, referencing a visit by state Representative Heather Rhine to the G.E. Massey School of Technology. He also called attention to Assistant Principal Appreciation Week and upcoming district activities, including an art show at the Lincoln Cultural Center that will run April 14 through May and Teacher Appreciation Week recognition the week of May 6.

Among individual recognitions, Asbury Academy received formal notice of becoming a North Carolina Purple Star School, a designation intended to recognize schools that support military-connected students and families. Asbury teacher Cathy Cook and student Logan Robbins were honored for leading the Purple Star application; Robbins completed the final submission while Cook was on medical leave.

Pumpkin Center Primary guidance counselor Emily Costa was recognized as the district’s first staff member to earn the RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) designation, an ASCA framework acknowledgement for data-informed school counseling programs. A student from Pumpkin Center Intermediate, fifth-grader Rachel Britt, was recognized for initiating a campus recycling effort and organizing logistics to keep the program running.

The board also recognized other instructional staff achievements: Lincolnton Middle School teacher Maddie Reed was named the North Carolina Association for Middle Level Education’s beginning teacher to watch at the statewide conference, and Heather Spicola, an ESL teacher, was acknowledged for acceptance into the Fulbright Hays project in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Community and student program recognitions included Sunrise Outreach (Sunrise Resource Center), described at the meeting as serving families in the Sunrise community with early literacy, tutoring and parent supports; district remarks cited current participation numbers reported by Sunrise Outreach (approximately 50 students in second grade and higher, 17 kindergarten/first-grade students, 22 infants and preschoolers, and more than 25 moms enrolled in parenting supports).

Battle of the Books teams and athletic achievements were also highlighted. Union Elementary’s team won the district competition and placed third at regionals. Multiple high-school athletes and teams were honored: Jackson Dollar (North Lincoln) earned All-District First Team honors, Emma Montaneri (East Lincoln) recorded more than 1,000 career points and multiple Division I offers, and Lincolnton High and North Lincoln teams received conference titles. Sophomore guard LJ Smith was singled out after a 960-point single-season total and statewide recruiting recognition.

The board paused for photos and thanked honorees. Dr. Allen and board members encouraged community attendance at upcoming events, including the district art show and other spring activities.

The meeting moved on to business items after the recognition segment.