Roanoke Rapids High School will soon have three counselors thanks to a grant from North Carolina Safe Schools. The district was awarded a $66,000 grant to provide additional help for students through the state mental health personnel grant program. The grant allows the district to have three full-time counselors at RRHS and a full-time counselor to serve the Roanoke Rapids Early College High School and assist at ACES (Akers Center for Educational Success).
The board also received an update on construction at Manning Elementary. After more than two years, construction is finally coming to a close. Director of Facilities and Operations, Robert Clements told the board Tuesday night the final parking lot at Manning should be completed by the end of the year. The final phase will involve demolishing two buildings in front of the new school to make room for additional parking.
Superintendent Dain Butler informed the board that the district’s partnership with Halifax Community College may very well have a positive impact on their ability to fill teacher vacancies. Halifax Community College will soon begin using a portion of the Armory located next to Roanoke Rapids High School for adult evening classes. HCC is working with Elizabeth City State University and East Carolina to offer degrees in Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Teacher Education. “This is great news for our teacher assistants who want to further their education and for those in the community. This is exactly what we envisioned when we repurposed that building,” Butler added.