ASHEBORO – The Randolph County Schools Board of Education addressed the incident at Hopewell Elementary School at its March meeting.
On Feb. 26, a man entered Hopewell Elementary through a broken door during school hours. While the man didn’t seem to have any ill intent nor did he harm anybody in the school, it raised concerns among parents and district staff regarding the safety of the district’s schools.
“That should have never happened, but it did happen and we have to learn from that, get better and take steps so that it never happens again,” board chair Gary Cook said. “I know this school board, we talk about safety a lot, but when something like this happens, you talk about safety even more, which is a good thing.”
Cook said that the central office had begun taking additional steps to ensure another similar incident couldn’t occur.
One of the examples he provided was that all outside doors will be checked before students arrive each morning to make sure they’re locked and that those are going to be checked and signed-off on two to three times during the day and night as well.
“When something happens, you can’t go back,” Cook said. “You have to move forward and you have to do a better job.”
Randolph County Schools only has dedicated school resource officers at its high schools and middle schools.
“One of the things we’d all like to see happen with the times we’re living in, is SROs in every school,” Cook said.
In relation to school safety, the board approved a $125,000 grant from the Center for Safer Schools that will be utilized for the purchase and installation of door access systems, security panel systems and security camera systems.
“We’ll be adding door access to two schools with this money, as well as putting in some additional security camera systems at four to six schools,” said Dale Brinkley, executive director of operations.
As far as the regular meeting went, the board also approved the arts proficiency diploma endorsement for upcoming graduates.
“Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, students may earn the Arts Proficiency Diploma Endorsement upon graduation,” said Shenna Creech, executive director of curriculum. “To qualify, students must complete a minimum of four arts courses, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher in each and then log at least 40 hours of approved arts-related extracurricular activities.”
Approved extracurricular activities include things such as auditions, rehearsals, exhibitions, competitions, performances, mentorship, internships, workshops and volunteering.
Upcoming graduates can use prior approved experiences from the past four years so long as they can provide evidence of their participation.
The board also approved the 2025-26 school schedule for Randolph Early College, which aligns with the Randolph Community College schedule.
The first day of school will be Aug. 7, 2025, with the first semester ending Dec. 19, 2025. The second semester will begin Jan. 5 and the final day of classes will be May 20.
The board then approved a revision to Southeastern Randolph Middle School’s bell schedule, moving the end time from 3:15 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
“This will align Southeastern Randolph Middle School’s bell schedule with the other schools which will help with several different areas from sporting events to after-school activities and etcetera,” Brinkley said.
According to superintendent Stephen Gainey, the schedule was initially changed out of alignment due to the school requesting additional time for an enrichment program.
The Randolph County Schools Board of Education will next meet April 7.
