Cleveland County Schools is a PK– 12 graded

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

serving

Cleveland County, North Carolina Cleveland County is a county located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the western Piedmont, on the southern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,519. Its county seat is Shelb ...

. The system was formed from the merger of Kings Mountain City Schools, Shelby City Schools and the former Cleveland County Schools system in 2004. Its 29 schools serve 16,417 students as of the 2010–2011 school year.

History

Originally, the cities of Kings Mountain and Shelby had their own school districts separate from Cleveland County Schools. In 2000, the school boards and the Cleveland County Commission approved a merger plan to consolidate the three systems into one. The State Board of Education approved the measure, however, the school board of the Kings Mountain School District filed suit to stop the merger. The courts did not accept their positions and the merger officially occurred in 2004.

Student demographics

For the 2010–2011 school year, Cleveland County Schools had a total population of 16,417 students and 1,130.81 teachers on a ( FTE) basis. This produced a student-teacher ratio of 14.52:1. That same year, out of the student total, the gender ratio was 52% male to 48% female. The demographic group makeup was: Black, 26%; White, 64%; Hispanic, 4%; Asian/Pacific Islander, 1%; and American Indian, 0% (two or more races: 5%). For the same school year, 59.84% of the students received free and reduced-cost lunches.

Governance

The primary governing body of Cleveland County Schools follows a council–manager government format with a nine-member

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

appointing a Superintendent to run the day-to-day operations of the system. The school system currently resides in the North Carolina State Board of Education's Sixth District.

Board of Education

The nine members of the Board of Education generally meet on the second Monday of each month. The current members of the board are: Robert Queen (Chair), Joel Shores (Vice Chair), Phillip Glover, Dena Green, Danny Blanton, Coleman Hunt, Rodney Fitch, Ron Humphries, and Greg Taylor.

Superintendent

The current superintendent of the system is Dr. Stephen Fisher. He became superintendent July 1, 2014. He followed Dr. Bruce Boyles who became superintendent in 2007 after spending 26 years in various positions in the

Mooresville Graded School District The Mooresville Graded School District is a public school district located in Mooresville, North Carolina. It was established in 1905. The school district is notable for early adaption of an academically successful digital learning program which p ...

. Boyles replaces Gene Moore who resigned the position to accept a superintendent position in

Lancaster County, South Carolina Lancaster County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,016, Its county seat is Lancaster, which has an urban population of 23,979. The county was created in 1785. Lancaster Coun ...

and the interim superintendent, Steve Borders. Moore was the first superintendent of the newly merged system.

Member schools

Cleveland County Schools has 29 schools ranging from

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

, comprising five

high schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, two alternative schools, four

middle schools A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, two intermediate schools (grades 5 and 6), and sixteen

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

High schools

* Burns High School ( Lawndale) * Crest High School ( Boiling Springs) * Cleveland Early College High School ( Shelby) *

Kings Mountain High School Kings Mountain High School is a public high school in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Cleveland County School System which is overseen by the Cleveland County Board of Education, and it is one of the county's five ...

( Kings Mountain) * Shelby High School (Shelby)

Middle schools

* Burns Middle School (Lawndale) * Crest Middle School (Boiling Springs) * Kings Mountain Middle School; grades 7–8 (Kings Mountain) * Shelby Middle School; grades 7–8 (Shelby)

Elementary schools

Alternative schools

* Turning Point Academy; alternative school, grades 6–12 (Shelby) * North Shelby School; special education, grades PK–12 (Shelby)

Athletics

According to the

North Carolina High School Athletic Association The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is the governing organization of high school athletics in North Carolina, United States. The association maintains the official rule books and governs the officiating standards across ...

, for the 2012–2013 school year: * Shelby High is a 2A school in the South Mountain Athletic Conference. * Burns High is a 3A school in the South Mountain Athletic Conference. * Crest and Kings Mountain high schools are 3A schools in the Big South Conference. * Turning Point Academy and Cleveland Early College do not have athletic teams.

Awards

The Cleveland County Schools system has had three schools listed as

Blue Ribbon Schools The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

: Crest High School (1986–87), Jefferson Elementary School (2008), and East Elementary School (2008). The system was included on the

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

's AP Honor Roll in 2013. One teacher in the school system has been recognized as a North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Teacher of the Year: Frances A. Kiser (1974–75).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Education in Cleveland County, North Carolina School districts in North Carolina School districts established in 2004