Update Regarding Roanoke Rapids High School Football Incident
Student was injured in locker room accident; Head Coach Chris Lyons reinstated
As reported on September 25, 2026, a student athlete was injured in an incident after football practice on September 24, 2026. Upon completion of a thorough school investigation, Roanoke Rapids High School releases the following update on the incident:
After interviews with all football players - including the injured athlete, the collection and analysis of witness statements, and a review of law enforcement documents, school officials have concluded that the injury to the hand of the football player occurred due to an unfortunate accident. The evidence reflects that the incident occurred when another player accidentally closed the door on the student’s hand; the evidence does not substantiate any intentional act to harm the student with the door nor was the student in the act of being assaulted at the time of the injury.
The student later reported other concerns of potential hazing behavior that had taken place in the weeks leading up to the incident by other players on the football team. Those allegations are being separately investigated. The District is committed to providing a safe and inviting environment for all students and will take appropriate action in accordance with Board policy and appliable law in response to any identified concerns.
The evidence reflects that Coach Lyons was unaware of any misconduct that may have risen to the level of hazing. As a result of this conclusion, Coach Lyons has been reinstated as head football coach at Roanoke Rapids High School effective immediately.
District Statement:
“We will continue to support our injured student-athlete and his family as he recovers. Thank you to the RRHS administration for their hard work investigating this incident from a school perspective and subsequent investigations into any concerns expressed. We will continue to cooperate with the RRPD and the SBI as they conduct their own investigation.”
“The Roanoke Rapids Graded School District will continue to enforce the laws and policies of our district and will investigate any concerns brought to school officials. As a district, we are implementing additional educational and preventative measures as we work to ensure that every student and coach understands our expectations and feels safe reporting concerns.”
Statement from Chris Lyons, Roanoke Rapids High School Head Football Coach:
“I would like to express my appreciation for the thorough investigation that the RRGSD administration completed and releasing its findings as soon as possible. I also want to continue to express my support and assistance to the injured athlete in his recovery.
This has been a difficult and challenging time for our football program, my family, and all families involved. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my family throughout this process. I am grateful that the school investigation has come to a conclusion and I am looking forward to returning my full attention to our players, our coaching staff, and our football program.
I am excited to be back with our student-athletes and to continue doing what I love: coaching and mentoring young men, helping them to grow both on and off the field.”
Statement Regarding Roanoke Rapids High School Football Incident
Regarding information that has been brought forward regarding an incident at Roanoke Rapids High School on the evening of September 24, 2026, the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District statement is as follows:
After practice at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, September 24th, 2026, a call was made to emergency services to respond to a report of a football player with a severe injury to his hand. Coaches, athletic officials, and school administrators were all on scene and accompanied the player to the hospital for treatment. It was then reported that what happened to cause the injury was a potential assault or bullying behavior by one or more individuals. Law enforcement was notified and an investigation began.
Today, school officials have been conducting their own investigation regarding the incident, including identifying individuals who may have been involved or were potential witnesses. Over 20 players and individuals have been interviewed thus far. The investigation has discovered other incidents of misconduct, including bullying or hazing behavior by a few individuals, within the football program which have not been reported until today. Individuals identified as engaging in those actions have been held accountable per school and district guidelines set in the student and athlete code of conducts. The school and district will continue to investigate any claims or concerns of misconduct, harassing, or bullying behaviors.
As the investigation continues into the football program specifically, Head Coach Chris Lyons has been suspended indefinitely pending the outcome of the investigation. Assistant Coach Dre Terry will serve as acting coach of the football program, beginning immediately. The scheduled game for tonight versus Warren County will take place this evening at 7:00 PM. This decision was made to not negatively impact the dozens of players, cheerleaders, band members, and families from both teams who were not involved in the incident on Thursday or any other incidents.
Statement from Dr. Bennett Jones, Superintendent:
“First, our thoughts and prayers are with our athlete who was injured yesterday. We will continue to support him and his family as he recovers.”
“The Roanoke Rapids Graded School District will not tolerate bullying, harassment, hazing, or any other form of violence or intimidation in its schools or programs. We will enforce the laws and policies of our district and will continue to investigate any claims brought to school officials. If students have concerns or are facing harassing behavior, we encourage them to reach out to a trusted adult in the school for help. We also have the “See Something, Say Something” application on our website to report concerns anonymously and parents can always email their concerns to superintendent@rrgsd.org. As a district, we will examine what additional educational and preventative measures may be necessary to ensure that every coach and student understands our expectations and feels safe reporting concerns.”
We have received some communications regarding our Needs-Based Public Schools Capital Fund Grant that was presented and approved by the Halifax County Commissioners earlier this week.
Recognizing that there has been some interest expressed from the community about the Armory, which is the current site of the RREC, we would like to offer a walk-through tour of the building to community members tomorrow, September 24th, at 4:00 PM.
As was noted in the meeting, this is a grant proposal that is a request for state dollars to be sent to RRGSD for capital improvements and new construction at RRHS and the RREC. Upon receipt of the grant, there would be future meetings regarding site planning, scale drawings, permit requests, and other construction formalities to be completed before anything took place. The County Commissioners requested for the opportunity for public feedback which would be forthcoming should the grant be awarded.
In addition, RRGSD has already hosted two community forums discussing a wide variety of district topics, issues, and opportunities and a third is upcoming on October 5th at 6:00 at Belmont Elementary. We hope that community members with thoughts, concerns, and feedback will take the opportunity to speak with leaders regarding all aspects of district operations.
Dr. Williams was honored for his over six decades of service to public education, holding roles as teacher, principal, superintendent, and Board of Trustee member. Dr. Williams also worked for the University of North Carolina System as the Director of Principal Fellows Program and served on various boards including the North Carolina School Boards Association Trust and as a Chairman of the Halifax Community College Board of Trustees. Dr. Williams has received several state accolades over his distinguished career, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest civilian honor.
“I appreciate the proclamation and recognition from the Board, but I am completely surprised and honored to have the Principal of the Year award named after me,” stated Dr. Williams. “I have loved living and serving in Roanoke Rapids and I thank my family for their support during my career,” said Dr. Williams. Superintendent Dr. Bennett Jones added, "It is our honor to name the RRGSD Principal of the Year award after a man who has committed his time and efforts into helping not only students, but helping to mentor and guide hundreds of school administrators and leaders."
Dr. Williams was on hand to make the presentation of the first Dr. Michael F. Williams Principal of the Year award to Lindsey Goble, principal of Belmont Elementary. Goble was recognized as was Belmont Elementary teacher Tamatha Faulcon, the RRGSD Teacher of the Year, and RRHS teacher Emmy Garner as the RRGSD Beginning Teacher of the Year.
At the beginning of the meeting, Troy Cribb was seated as the newest Board of Trustees member, replacing Dr. Williams.
Academic Proficiency, and School Performance Grades in 2025-2026 School Year
Roanoke Rapids Graded School District (RRGSD) is pleased to announce that according to state testing data released today by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), all of its schools saw increases in school achievement and academic proficiency during the 2025-2026 academic year. Further, four of the five schools met or exceeded expected growth. As a result of these efforts, the district is proud to share that all of its schools have achieved a school performance grade of C or better, and thus, has no schools designated as low-performing.
“With increases in academic proficiency at every campus and with all of our schools achieving a “C” or better, we are seeing evidence that the strategies and systems put in place are working,” stated Lauren Hinnant, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountability. Hinnant continued, “The credit for these gains goes to our dedicated teachers, school administrators, and staff, who have worked tirelessly to keep the focus on students.”
The district’s grade level proficiency across all subject areas was 54.4%, up 4.2 points from the previous year and is the highest district proficiency rate in the Roanoke Valley. The district continued positive trends in grades 3-8 reading and math, while science saw gains in all tested areas in grades 5, 8, and high school Biology. One of the specific celebration areas for the entire district is that in all tested areas, the students with disabilities subgroups at each school all met or exceeded expected growth. “The exemplary efforts of supporting students with specific learning needs across all of our schools is to be commended and is a testament to our EC teachers, staff, and leaders,” stated Superintendent Dr. Bennett Jones. “These results highlight the quality and commitment of our teachers, staff, school leaders, and central office support who have worked to ensure alignment of core instructional strategies and content, supplemented with target supports, to best meet the needs of all students to help push them towards academic success,” Jones added.
Some of the school data highlights include:
Belmont Elementary School - Exceeded school growth; increased student proficiency; met or exceeded growth in all subgroup areas; Maintained school performance grade (10 total points gained in school performance grade in last 2 years)
Manning Elementary School - Met school growth; increased student proficiency; increased school performance grade by 2 points (6 total points gained in last 2 years)
Chaloner Middle School - Met school growth; increased student proficiency by 4 points; increased school performance grade by 3 points (8 total points gained in last 2 years)
Roanoke Rapids Early College - Exceeded school growth; Earned school grade of A; increased student proficiency
Roanoke Rapids High School - Increased student proficiency in all subject areas; increased school performance grade to C
“While we take time to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of our students and staff from last year, these data points also serve as catapults into even more improvement opportunities and elevated goals as we start a new school year,” stated Dr. Jones. “Our focus this year is to continue to raise the bar on student achievement and continue our work to improve student outcomes such as college and career readiness and graduation rates. We will support these efforts through continued professional development for our teachers and school leaders, targeted supports for various student subgroups, and a focus on enhanced behavior support systems throughout the district,” Jones concluded.
Academic gains seen in RRGSD have also been reported in statewide data released today by NCDPI. “These academic achievement results are a testament to the incredible work happening across North Carolina’s public schools,” North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green said. “While I am pleased to see these results trending positively, including our highest graduation rate ever, I look forward to continued progress as we aim to achieve educational excellence for all North Carolina public school students and become the best public education system in the nation.”
State, region, district, and school data can be found on the NCDPI Accountability website and dashboard.
As we wrap up the school year, we invite you to take a few minutes to complete our End-of-Year Family Survey. Your feedback helps us celebrate what’s working and identify ways we can improve. The survey takes about 5 minutes and your voice makes a difference in shaping the future of our schools. Thank you for being a valued partner in your child’s education! https://forms.gle/xu1tbp2Qi8428sAh7
Due to the potential for inclement weather tomorrow afternoon, Roanoke Rapids Graded School District will operate on an Early Release schedule on Monday, March 16, 2026.
Clara Hearne Pre-K Center and ACES will be closed.
All after-school activities, including Place to Play, are canceled.
Early dismissal times:
• Chaloner Middle – 11:00 AM
• Belmont Elementary – 11:30 AM
• Manning Elementary – 11:30 AM
• RRHS & RRECHS – 12:00 PM
The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Please stay safe tomorrow afternoon, and thank you for your understanding.
Thank you to our parents and students for a successful day of remote learning today. We appreciate your support and flexibility.
Our staff is excited to welcome students back tomorrow!
RRGSD will operate on our remote instruction plan tomorrow, Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
Students will work from home and follow the remote instruction schedules available at https://www.rrgsd.org/page/remote-learning-plans and posted in your child’s Google Classroom.
Please note that attendance will be taken and assignments will be given. This day will count as an instructional day on our school calendar.
If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.
Thank you!
These hours were built into our school calendar, so this will be a true "snow day" and students will not be expected to participate in remote instruction tomorrow. We will update you if subsequent closures and delays are necessary.
Beginning Tuesday, February 3, IF additional school days are missed due to this winter weather event, the district will transition to remote learning. This plan helps us maintain instructional time and avoid making up missed days during spring break or in June.
For more information, please visit the RRGSD Remote Learning page at https://www.rrgsd.org/page/remote-learning-plans.
Thank you!
With the possibility of additional inclement weather, we want families to be aware of our remote instruction plan. Please review the attached letter or visit https://www.rrgsd.org/page/remote-learning-plans for more information.
Please stay safe, warm, and enjoy your weekend!
Roanoke Rapids Graded Schools will operate on a two-hour delay schedule for Wednesday, January 28th, 2026. For Clara Hearne students, there will be no morning EC half-day class, and the afternoon EC half-day class will be at regular time. Additionally, there will be no morning Place to Play.
Thank you!
These hours were built into our calendar, so this will be a true “snow day,” and students will not be required to participate in remote instruction. We will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates as needed.
RRGSD Weather Alert!
The Roanoke Rapids Graded School District Board of Trustees has hired the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) to help facilitate its search for the next superintendent of Roanoke Rapids Graded School District (RRGSD). To that end, the board is seeking direct input from interested students, parents, other members of the community, and staff to help shape the search process and to assist in defining the characteristics, experience, and skills desired in the next RRGSD superintendent.
Community Survey. The board invites students, parents, and other members of the community to participate in a community survey that can be accessed and completed online by clicking the superintendent search survey link on the RRGSD website: https://www.rrgsd.org/page/superintendent-search. All surveys must be completed by Monday, February 9, 2026, with results to be compiled, summarized, and presented by NCSBA at the RRGSD board’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
Staff Survey. In addition, all RRGSD employees will have an opportunity to complete a separate online staff survey. Details about completing the employee version of the superintendent search survey will be communicated via school system e-mail. All surveys must be completed by Monday, February 9, 2026, with results to be compiled, summarized, and presented by NCSBA at the RRGSD board’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
Statements from Community Groups and Organizations. In addition to input received from the surveys, local groups and organizations may submit written statements regarding the leadership qualities that they consider important in the next superintendent. Such statements should be submitted directly to NCSBA via e-mail at sthorp@ncsba.org and should be received no later than Monday, February 9, 2026.
