The ABSS Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Dain Butler named Mikiko Simmons as the new Assistant Principal at Hillcrest Elementary. Simmons has worked in public education since 2007 starting as a classroom teacher. Most of her career has been spent working as a school counselor in elementary, middle, and at the high school level. In addition to her Master of Arts in Teaching, she also earned a master’s in counselor education and school administration. Simmons is also a proud graduate of the NC Principal Fellows and Central Carolina Principal Preparation program.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to serve the students, staff, and families at Hillcrest Elementary! I look forward to partnering with the school community to meet the needs of each and every student,” said Simmons.
In other action, the Board approved a plan to move forward with seven traditional high schools for the 2023-24 school year. All of the district’s high schools are at or near capacity. By keeping all of the current high schools open as traditional high school and then opening the new Southeast Alamance High School next year, the Board hopes to ease overcrowding.
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“We will soon need yet another school with the growth we’re experiencing. Things have changed and we have to change with it. Our community has grown exponentially since the bond was passed in 2018. Redistricting is a reality and my goal is to put us in a position for all students to succeed. These conversations are not easy. This is an opportunity for us to work together as a community,” said Sandy Ellington-Graves, Board Chair.
The next step will be to explore the current district lines and some rezoning to populate the new school. Central Services Administration plans to bring back a plan at a future meeting to discuss currently proposed boundary lines using the Alamance County GIS.
Speaking of the new high school, the ABSS Board of Education also approved a plan to move forward with selecting a mascot for the new high school which will open next fall. The process will allow student input on determining the final selections for a school mascot. A final recommendation will be made to the Board at the October 24, 2022 meeting.
The Board also recognized students at Walter Williams High School and Western.
Williams senior Carol Alvarado has been accepted into the 2022 All-National Honor Orchestra. Carol will join the double bass section in Bar Harbor, Maryland in November to rehearse and perform with high school orchestra students from across the country. To qualify, Carol had to be one of the top bassists in the state of North Carolina and submitted a separate audition video for the group. This is the highest honor a high school student can achieve in orchestra.
Western Alamance High School Navy JROTC Cadets Brayden Perfertto and Joseph Versace recently completed the Navy JROTC’s Sailing Academy Course in South Carolina. Cadets Noah Davis, Brayden Perfetto, and Cayden Lyons were selected by the Naval Science Instructors to attend a five-day Navy JROTC Leadership Academy at the Citadel in Charleston South Carolina.
The purpose of the leadership academy is to help prepare selected Cadets for leadership roles in their respective units. They have certainly proven themselves to be student leaders not only in their Navy JROTC program but also in the school and community for which we are proud.