Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1238166
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM APRIL 22-28, 2020 UCW 11 YOUR HOME FOR THE 80'S & MORE ALL DAY LONG 910-867-2364 • 4624 BRAGG BLVD. CONNECT with us! @legendspub910 Doors Closed for NOW We Look Forward to Hosting Good Times When We Re-open. Alice Cooper's "School's Out (for Summer)" was a hit song a genera- tion ago. In a nutshell, it describes the situation today for thousands of North Carolina high schoolers. e North Carolina State Board of Education has approved a recommendation from the state Department of Public Instruc- tion to pass high school seniors if they were passing their classes as of March 13. "We have aligned our local gradu- ation requirements for the 2019-2020 school year with the recommenda- tions issued by the State Board of Education," said Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Marvin Con- nelly Jr. Cumberland County school officials agreed to reduce the number of semester hours required for seniors to graduate. ey will receive grades for fall courses that will count in their final grade point averages. Gov. Roy Cooper ordered that public schools statewide will remain closed for in-person instruction until at least May 15. "I know that these actions cause hardship and heartache for a lot of people, but (they) are necessary to save lives," Cooper said at a news conference. Cooper said he wasn't giving up on the school year, and education of- ficials are working on online instruc- tional assistance. End-of-year exams would normally be held a month from now, with classes ending May 22. Stu- dents will either "pass" or "withdraw" based on their grades March 13, the last day they were in school. School districts are providing online opportunities for students who had failing grades so that they can im- prove their scores. If grades are not improved to "passing" by the end of the school year, students would not be eligible for graduation. e state Board of Education has told districts that they cannot require students to earn any more than a minimum of 22 credits to graduate. Normally, Cumberland County schools require 28 credits for graduation. "We encourage students to continue completing assignments from their teachers," school spokesman Lindsay Whitley said. "Although teachers are facilitat- ing courses remotely, the content is still important and will help students prepare for their postsecondary aspirations. School administrators or teachers will reach out to students and parents to develop a plan for students to improve their grades if they were not passing a course needed for grad- uation as of March 13." Cumberland County Schools comprise North Caro- lina's fifth-largest school system of 115 districts in the state, with roughly 50,000 pupils. High school seniors out for the year by JEFF THOMPSON "We have aligned our local graduation requirements for the 2019-2020 school year with the recommendations issued by the State Board of Education," said Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. NEWS