Evacuation at Tuscola: All OK after threatening email sent to high school

fr tuscolaThings are back to normal at Tuscola High School after an emailed threat prompted a complete evacuation of the school April 30.

Wrench in the works: Haywood Schools grapple with enrollment wildcard

fr schoolsupersHaywood School Superintendent Anne Garrett came up with a novel approach for predicting how many students a new charter school will siphon out of the public school system.

The case of Haywood’s missing students: a cause-and-effect story

coverHaywood County Schools have been losing students slowly but steadily over the past decade. Despite high academic performance, the school system has 500 fewer students.

Where did they go? Why? Will the decline continue?

Case #1: The homeschool factor
Case #2: Recession drives working families to leave Haywood
Case #3: Private schools only a minor league player
Case #4: New charter school makes a trial run in Haywood
Haywood Schools grapple with enrollment wildcard

HCC enrollment dips as economy improves

Marlowe Mager isn’t an economist by trade, but a little-known data set at his fingertips puts him on par with the nation’s best forecasters.

Exchanging students, exchanging cultures

fr exchangeWhen Donna Bell invited the first exchange student into her home seven years ago, she had no idea the lasting impact it would have on her family as well as the lives of the students.

SCC plans for Macon campus expansion

fr SCCexpandsDr. Don Tomas likes to be ahead of the curve.

As Southwestern Community College celebrates 50 years, Tomas, who has been SCC’s presidents for three years, continues to look ahead and plan for the future.

WCU to end off-campus busing

Once the spring 2015 semester wraps up at Western Carolina University, off-campus students will no longer have the option of catching the bus to classes. 

While enrollment at the university — and development around it — is increasing, ridership on the off-campus route has been declining. So, WCU has decided to get rid of the off-campus route and funnel those resources instead to the on-campus routes.

Haywood Schools think outside the box to bring pre-K to more kids

More kids will get a critical early start in education thanks to an expansion of the pre kindergarten program offered on-site at public schools in Haywood County.

Until now, the in-house pre kindergarten program run by the school system has been for low-income children only and funded entirely by government subsidies. But despite the proven importance of kindergarten readiness, there’s not enough state and federal funding to serve all the kids who technically qualify for subsidized pre kindergarten, leading to a perpetual shortage of pre-K slots.

Inside immunizations: Parents weigh the risks and benefits

coverLana Quinn of Waynesville has lost friends, been called crazy and was turned away from a pediatrician’s office because of her decision to not vaccinate her three sons.

Waynesville resident Janet Presson’s son was diagnosed with autism at 2 years old, shortly after he received his scheduled vaccines. She isn’t against vaccinations completely but feels like small children are over-immunized at a young age.

Swain schools crack the code

fr students“When will I ever use this in real life?” is often the question students have when faced with difficult subjects in math and science. Swain County educators have tried to answer that question by introducing STEM projects into every classroom.

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