Elizabeth City‑Pasquotank board unanimously approves four new programs for 2025–26, including districtwide IB and Aviation Academy

The Elizabeth City‑Pasquotank Board of Education voted unanimously on Jan. 27 to approve a slate of new academic programs for the 2025–26 school year, including an expansion of the district’s Spanish dual‑language immersion, a plan to offer middle‑year International Baccalaureate (IB) to all middle‑school students, a microschool for grades 5–6 that will grow to 5–8, and a new Aviation Academy at Northeastern High School.

Superintendent Parker framed the proposals as part of a K–12 pathway designed to give students language, global‑leadership and career readiness skills. “We will be a district as of August 2025 where we will offer IB in the middle school to every single student in the district,” Parker told the board, summarizing the district’s timeline for rolling out the middle‑year IB program.

School staff and outside partners detailed how the programs will operate. Dr. Katina Waples described the dual‑language model, which currently places kindergarten and 1st‑grade immersion classrooms at Central, J.C. Sawyer and Northside and that the district plans to add kindergarten cohorts at P.W. Moore, Sheepparney (Sheep Harney) and Weeksville if sufficient parent interest is received. Freebird McKinney of Participate Learning praised the district’s approach and said the partnership materials “From Classroom to Career: The Global Leaders Advantage” had just been released for the district.

The Aviation Academy presentation said the program will be housed at Northeastern High School, begin with roughly 25 ninth‑grade cohort seats, and partner with Elizabeth City State University and the College of the Albemarle to offer course credits, CTE certification and pathways to FAA‑related credentials and potentially pilot training. Program leaders said course sequences will map from foundational ninth‑grade classes to aerospace technology and internships in the upper grades.

Board member Candi Tilly moved the motion to approve the new programs; Vice Chair Perez seconded. The board recorded a unanimous vote in favor with board member Tommy Old absent. The motion covered the dual‑language expansion, the microschool pilot (lottery admission for about 20 seats in 2025–26), the Aviation Academy at Northeastern and the IB expansion and related middle‑year IB rollouts.

The district said applications for the new programs will open the morning after the board meeting and that family participation will be optional. Officials emphasized the programs are intended to provide a range of post‑secondary and career options — from bilingual graduates to students prepared for immediate entry into technical careers.

Next steps spelled out by staff include launching the application portals, conducting teacher training for IB implementation, finalizing community partner agreements for the microschool and formalizing partnership details with ECSU and COA for the Aviation Academy. The board did not set follow‑up deadlines in the public record beyond the stated application launch and implementation timelines discussed by staff.

The board meeting included a series of recognitions and partner remarks prior to the vote; the meeting adjourned following approval of the programs and several related contract items.