News

Six hundred seniors matriculated in back-to-back-to-back commencement ceremonies Saturday – 172 at South Lenoir High, 185 at Kinston High and 243 at North Lenoir High – and with graduating seniors from Lenoir County Early College High School and Lenoir County Learning Academy, who received diplomas in earlier ceremonies, the district’s Class of 2024 numbered 665, the most in a least 10 years.

Quiet as a golf cart, one of only two all-electric activity buses in the state has rolled into Lenoir County as LCPS continues to modernize its fleet with an eye toward efficiency and a cleaner environment.

A district administrator who put his head to work to make Lenoir County Public Schools a leader in digital learning and technology and an executive assistant who puts her heart into celebrating and supporting fellow employees have won the top two annual awards presented by LCPS chapter of the N.C. Association of Educational Office Professionals. Charles White, LCPS’s director of media and technology, was named AEOP Administrator of the Year for 2025-2025 and Esther Hines, an officer of the AEOP chapter since 2016, is the 2024-2025 AEOP Professional of the Year.

Vivian Roach, the leader of the Exceptional Children’s Program for Lenoir County Public Schools, is recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Exceptional Children. Celebrated for her experience, depth of knowledge and steady-handed leadership, Roach was honored for her “significant contribution to the positive outcomes of students with disabilities in North Carolina.”

Erin Greene, the third-grade teacher at Northwest Elementary School who was a finalist for the state’s Beginning Teacher of the Year award in 2019, moved higher in the echelon of educators Tuesday night when she was named LCPS Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025. Competition for the district’s top annual award for teachers came to a climax at the LCPS Employee Recognition Banquet with the crowning of Greene, the celebration of fellow Teacher of the Year finalists Alicia Davis of La Grange Elementary and Daree Edmondson of Rochelle Middle and the recognition of all Teacher of the Year winners at their schools.

Science teacher Kayla Lane-Varnell is the 2024 winner of the Center’s Outstanding Educator Award in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education and Rachel Noble, known for her achievements in FFA and the field of agricultural science, is winner of the Student Leadership Award in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education.

Early registration for entering pre-school and kindergarten students in Lenoir County for the 2024-2025 school year will be held March 18-22 at all LCPS elementary schools from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 21, registration will be held from 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thirty-two students representing individual and team projects from nine schools won bids to the state event after top finishes in the Regional Science Fair. At the East Carolina Regional Science Olympiad Tournament, the varsity team from Woodington Middle School finished third overall in the Division B Varsity competition. Teams from Lenoir County Early College High School earned two first-place finishes in the Division C Varsity competition.

Creatively costumed and reasonably rowdy, 28 teams put the f-u-n in “fundraiser” Tuesday evening when the Lenoir County Education Foundation convened its annual Adult Spelling Bee to benefit teachers and students in Lenoir County Public Schools.

John Wiggins, pastor of La Grange First Missionary Baptist Church, will occupy the seat vacated in December by Keith King, who resigned to accept an appointment to the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Wiggins will take his place on the school board at its Feb. 5 meeting, following his swearing in.