Insurance companies and the district are far apart on how much coverage they believe applies in the civil case filed by the victims of former teacher and convicted child abuser Michael Earl Kelly. That disagreement has now led to legal action and, when decided by a judge, will have a direct impact on the civil case against the district.
NSHE Regents Elect McAdoo, Carter as Officers - Western Nevada College wnc.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wnc.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New Hanover County Schools Board of Education hears plans to reduce suspension rates, approves Title IX survey
School leaders work on plan to address racial disparity with school suspensions By Elly Cosgrove | May 19, 2021 at 12:00 AM EDT - Updated May 19 at 12:28 AM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The New Hanover County Schools Board of Education heard plans tonight to reduce suspension rates in its schools.
Julie Varnam, the Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services, gave a presentation on the plan for management of student behavior in schools.
“The goal, of course, is to maintain as much face-to-face instructional time with students as possible, so really addressing the root cause of the behavior is the more proactive and positive response as opposed to removing from an instructional opportunity,” Varnam said. “So I think we have a collective combined agreement on doing that with our youngest of learners is going to likely change their trajectory of student su
/ Stephanie Kraybill is the chair of the Title IX Committee and introduced the survey draft to the board.
The New Hanover County School Board last night unanimously approved a Title IX survey for middle and high school students for the upcoming fall.
The board and the district have been working on this
sexual and gender based harassment survey for close to two years, after a series of high-profile cases of teachers sexually abusing students.
Stephanie Kraybill is a board member and chair of the
Title IX Committee. She presented and walked through the 20-question survey with the community.
“We gave them bullet points you can see that explains to them what kinds of behaviors this is because a lot of students really don’t even understand what sexual harassment might be. Some of them are unwelcome advances, deliberate unwelcome touching, suggestions or demands of sexual involvement, all those kinds of things you can read through.”
The New Hanover County school system has faced an uphill battle when it comes to sexual offense cases between students and school staff members.
In 2019, Michael Earl Kelly pleaded guilty to 59 charges of child sexual abuse after he d abused nearly 20 victims during his years as a science teacher at Isaac Bear Early College High School.
Last year, the New Hanover County Board of Education fired Roland-Grise Middle School band director Peter Michael Frank after he was charged with 12 felony sex crimes. He was later indicted on an additional 17 sex crime charges that included sex offenses with a child aged 13-15 between 1998 and 2000.