Cherokee County Schools
The main office in Murphy N.C.
Address
911 Andrews Road
Murphy
, Cherokee County, North Carolina, 28906
United States
Coordinates35°05′23″N 84°01′48″W / 35.089722°N 84.03°W / 35.089722; -84.03[1]
District information
MottoLocally Grown, Globally Prepared
GradesPre-K - 12
SuperintendentDr. Keevin Woody
Schools13
Budget$ 38,240,000
NCES District ID3700780[2]
Students and staff
Enrollment3,081
Faculty249.87 (FTE)
Other information
Websitewww.cherokee.k12.nc.us

Cherokee County Schools manages the 13 public schools in Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States, with an enrollment of 3,081 students and a 12.7:1 student-to-teacher ratio.[3][4]

The School Superintendent is Dr. Keevn Woody.[5] As of 2023, Cherokee County Schools' graduation rate is 92 percent. The state average is 86.5 percent.[6]

Schools & Facilities

Elementary schools

  • Andrews Elementary serves Pre-K through 4th grade. For 2021-22, the fifth grade will return to Andrews Elementary. The school has an enrollment of 335 students and a capacity of 390 students.[4]
  • Murphy Elementary School serves grades Pre-K-5 and has an enrollment of 521 students and a capacity of 547 students.[7][8][9][4] The school was destroyed by a fire in January 1961 and rebuilt.[10]
  • Peachtree Elementary has an enrollment of 161 students and a capacity of 190 students.[4]

Elementary-middle schools

  • Hiwassee Dam Elementary Middle School is a primary school offering grades K-8 located in Murphy, North Carolina. It has an enrollment of 124 students and a capacity of 199 students.[11][12][4]
  • Martins Creek Elementary School is a primary school with an enrollment of approximately 183 students and a capacity of 287 students.[4] The 61-acre campus includes playgrounds, hiking trails, mountain biking trails and a multi-functional gymnasium. The school has received numerous awards and distinctions including being in the top 25 Schools of Excellence in the North Carolina ABC program,[13] a School of Distinction, a School of Exemplary Growth and was included in PC Magazine's Top 100 Wired Schools in the nation. It is also one of the few schools in the state to be recognized as achieving exemplary growth every year since the ABCs Program began [14][15][16]
  • Ranger Elementary Middle also offers grades K-8 in Murphy, North Carolina. It has an enrollment of 262 students and a capacity of 424 students.[4]

Middle schools

  • Andrews Middle School in Andrews, North Carolina serves grades 6-8 and is one of only four middle schools in the Cherokee School District. It was the newest facility in the school system, being built in 1998 and opening in 1999, until 2023. As of 2023 it had an active enrollment of 194 students and a capacity of 390 students.[4] As of 2007 it had a full-time teaching staff of 24 teachers.[17][18][19]
  • Murphy Middle School is a middle school located in Murphy, North Carolina. It serves grades 6-8, and enrolls approximately 301 students. It has a capacity of 332 students.[20][21][22][4]

High schools

  • Andrews High School has an enrollment of 221 students and a capacity of 530 students.[4] It opened in 1915 and was rebuilt after a fire in 1962.[23]
  • Murphy High School has an enrollment of 431 students and a capacity of 746 students.[4] It is the oldest school building in use in Cherokee County, being built in 1957.
  • Hiwassee Dam High School has an enrollment of 147 students and a capacity of 361 students.[4]

Consolidation effort

In May 2020 the Cherokee County Board of Education voted to build a new high school near Tri-County Community College in Peachtree to consolidate Andrews High, Hiwassee Dam High School, and Murphy High.[24] In September 2022 the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction awarded Cherokee County Schools a $50 million grant to move forward with consolidation.[25] After public outcry, in January 2023 new members of the Cherokee County Board of Education voted to return the money to the state rather than consolidate the schools.[26]

Other schools

Cherokee County Schools of Innovation, the county's newest school.
  • The Oaks Academy is a middle-high alternative school in Murphy, North Carolina. The school was located at the former Marble Elementary School until 2023. The school had an enrollment of 39 students in 2023.[4]
  • Cherokee County Schools of Innovation is the newest school in the county and holds The Oaks Academy, Tri-County Early College, and a new Career Academy.

Former Schools

  • Marble Elementary School located in Marble, North Carolina. Marble's building is the oldest school building in Cherokee County, being built in 1955, though it is no longer oldest in use.
  • Unaka Elementary School located in Murphy, North Carolina.

Other Facilities

Cherokee County Schools Bus Garage (December, 2022)
  • The Cherokee County School Bus Garage located near Murphy Middle maintains all school buses for the school district. Cherokee County has 41 yellow school buses and 13 activity buses, a total of 54. The first bus was purchased in 1926, serving the Andrews community. School activity buses for the district were purchased in 1950 by Andrews City Schools, 1966 by Hiwassee Dam School, and 1969 by Murphy City Schools (the individual districts merged into CCS in the 1980s).
  • Cherokee County Center for Applied Technology

Superintendents

  1. Lloyd Hendrix (1939-1969)
  2. John Jordan (1969-c.1973)
  3. William R Pipes (1983-????)
  4. Gary Steppe (c.1990s)
  5. Dr. Stephen Lane (????-2014)
  6. Dr. Jeana Conley (2014-2022)
  7. Dr. Keevin Woody (2022-present)

References

  1. ↑ "Free US Geocoder". Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Cherokee County Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ "NC Educationbug.org - Cherokee County School District". North-carolina.educationbug.org. June 1, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Foster, Randy (September 6, 2023). "Overcrowded with campuses". Cherokee Scout. Murphy, N.C.: Community Newspapers, Inc. p. 9A.
  5. ↑ "Cherokee County Schools". Cherokee.k12.nc.us. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  6. ↑ Foster, Randy (December 19, 2023). "Schools improve in state grading". Cherokee Scout. Murphy, NC: Community Newspapers, Inc. p. 8A.
  7. ↑ "Official Website". Cherokeecounty.nc.schoolwebpages.com. February 21, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Murphy Elementary on". Psk12.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Murphy Elementary on Greatschools". Greatschools.org. September 7, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Fire destorys high school at Andrews". The Cherokee Scout. Murphy, N.C. February 22, 1962. p. A1.
  11. ↑ "Hiwassee Dam Elementary Middle Homepage". Cherokeecounty.nc.schoolwebpages.com. October 9, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Hdems On". Psk12.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  13. ↑ "North Carolina ABC top 25 Schools" (PDF). Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Martins Creek Elementary Middle School Official Website". Cherokeecounty.nc.schoolwebpages.com. June 19, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Martins Creek Elementary Middle on". Psk12.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Martins Creek Elementary Middle on Greatschools". Greatschools.org. September 7, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Andrews Middle Home Page". Cherokeecounty.nc.schoolwebpages.com. October 4, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Andrews Middle on Greatschools". Greatschools.org. September 7, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Andrews Middle School on". Psk12.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Murphy Middle School Official Website". Greatschools.org. September 7, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Murphy Middle on". Psk12.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Murphy Middle on Greatschools". Greatschools.org. September 7, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Fire destorys high school at Andrews". The Cherokee Scout. Murphy, N.C. February 22, 1962. p. A1.
  24. ↑ Thompson, David (May 29, 2020). "Cherokee County votes to consolidate three high schools". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  25. ↑ https://www.cherokeescout.com/local/county-receives-50-million-grant-consolidated-high-school
  26. ↑ Putnam, Jared (January 10, 2023). "County officially turns down grant". Cherokee Scout. Murphy, N.C.: Community Newspapers, Inc.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.