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(Jared Putnam • Clay County Progress) Members of the Hayesville Primary School Pre-K team were recognized for earning a 5-star rating during the Clay County Board of Education meeting on Monday in Hayesville.
Clay County Schools’ 2021-22 calendar will have a slightly different look than usual.
The upcoming school year will feature a later start, in addition to semesters of different sizes, after the Clay County Board of Education approved the proposed schedule during its monthly meeting on Monday in Hayesville.
The 2021-22 academic year will consist of 81 days in the fall semester and 97 in the spring semester. The imbalance stems from the school calendar committee’s recommendation that state-mandated testing be completed prior to the holiday break in December.
“I agree with the calendar committee on that, but there’s also an instructional time cost that we’ll have to deal with,” Superintendent Dale Cole said. “That’s the reason why a whole lot of other school districts across the state, their students go home for Christmas break, come back and have two weeks of class and a week of testing after they return. I think this is better, but I did want to point out there is an instructional cost for it.”
The 2021-22 school year will begin on Monday, Aug. 23 — slightly later than in recent years. Clay County had been part of a waiver from the North Carolina state calendar for the past 10 years. Eligibility was based on the number of snow days taken. However, the school system didn’t have enough snow days to be eligible for another calendar waiver and was forced to revert back to the calendar being used by the rest of North Carolina.
Each school had its own calendar committee, which included a parent representative and in the case of the high school, a student representative, as part of the collaboration on the proposal.
“I think it was a great idea having a student on there,” board member Kelly Crawford said. “I really like that.”
Much of Monday’s meeting was dedicated to a variety of recognitions. The session began with the board honoring the Hayesville Primary School Pre-K team for earning another 5-star rating. Pre-K Director Lisa Burch introduced the staff and thanked them for their contributions.
“It’s not an easy task,” Burch said. “There’s lots that goes into maintaining that 5-star license and these ladies work hard every day. They are so dedicated to their job.”
Vice Chairperson Robert Caldwell also praised the 5-star rating as “a huge accomplishment.”
Stacey Overlin, assistant principal of Hayesville High School, later presented a slideshow of 33 students — sophomores, juniors and seniors — who were recently inducted into the school’s Beta Club. Admission to the club is based on a combination of demonstrated character, leadership ability, strong academic achievement and a willingness to serve other people.
“This is a pretty big deal,” Overlin said. “This is a high bar of achievement for these students.”
The board also recognized the Hayesville High basketball team for its achievements this past season. The team went undefeated in the regular season and reached the second round of the state playoffs.
“I want to say that I was blown away by what you did this year,” Cole said. “Everything I would expect to represent this community, I saw on the court every time you guys played.”
According to head coach Mike Cottrell, the Yellow Jackets’ perfect regular season record was only the second time the program has achieved that mark in the past 30 years. Cottrell also applauded his players not only for the success they had on the court, but for the character they showed during the process.
“These guys exemplified something that I think we’re all looking for in our young people,” Cottrell said. “These young men learned how to handle adversity. The biggest part of this group is, I can look at them and know, if they’ll stay around our community, we’ll really have some success there, too.”
Other notes from Monday’s board meeting:
• The board held a first read of the 2021-22 proposed local current expense budget. The school system will be asking Clay County for an award of $283,566 in capital outlay funds. The bulk of the request is connected to replacement of the floor in the Hayesville Middle School gymnasium, as well as paving and grading of the parking areas outside the middle school’s rock gym.
• The board approved Hayesville High’s 2021 graduation time and location of 6 p.m. Friday, June 4 at the football field. A rain date of Saturday, June 5 is in place at the same time and place.