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Uwharrie Charter
Academy English teacher
Jason Pruett talks with
incoming freshmen.
Asheboro High
School Zoo School
students test out
their boat made
out of recyclable
materials at
the wetlands
exhibit at the
North Carolina
Zoological Park.
Story by Kathi Keys
Photography by The Courier-Tribune
R
Randolph Early
College High School
Honors Earth and
Environmental
teacher Joshua
Abernethy talks with
his students on the
first day of class.
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andolph County provides a lot of unique educational
opportunities for its residents – from preschool to
master’s degrees.
It has two separate public school systems, Randolph
County and Asheboro City, which together serve nearly 23,000
students in kindergarten through 12th grade at 39 schools.
The newest educational offering is Randolph’s first
public charter high school, Uwharrie Charter Academy,
located in Asheboro.
Students have been able to receive their education the
traditional way, for decades, by attending public high schools.
Local school systems, however, have started to offer
other innovative options for students seeking a break from
normal high school settings.
The Randolph County School System has a non-traditional,
autonomous high school in addition to its six traditional high
schools. Randolph Early College High School (RECHS) provides
county students, over a four- to five-year period starting in
ninth grade, with the opportunity to obtain their high school
diploma and an associate degree. Their first two years of college
courses are completed tuition free at Randolph Community
College’s Asheboro Campus where RECHS is located.
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Asheboro City Schools offer the Asheboro High School
Zoo School, an innovative program for city students, in
grades 10-12, to have a science-themed, small learning
community with the N.C. Zoo as its classroom.
City schools also began a second small learning community,
a Health Sciences Academy on the AHS campus, for the 2013-14
school year. It’s for students planning health-related careers.
Both options allow students to remain part of the city’s one
high school, Asheboro, and participate in all campus activities.
Local students can also attend a Christian academy of
their choice in Randolph County. More than 750 students in
kindergarten through 12th grade enrolled in these schools
for the 2012-13 school year.
Students can be homeschooled. Last school year,
state officials estimate that more than 1,700 students were
homeschooled in Randolph County.
And now parents and local students have another
option for high school – the first public charter school in
Randolph County, Uwharrie. Nearly 50 local students have
been attending charter schools prior to the 2013-14 school
year, taking advantage of ones in nearby Stanly County and
adjacent Chatham and Guilford counties.
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Hallway at Uwharrie
Charter Academy.
Charter schools are tuition free like other public schools and
open to any North Carolina resident, receiving per student allocations
from state, federal and local funding. A charter school is autonomous,
operated by its own board, and operates with more flexibility in areas
like staffing. Enrollment is limited by its charter which is approved by
the State Board of Education.
Uwharrie opened with the enrollment of nearly 200 students in grades
9-10 for the 2013-14 school year and will add another grade for the 2014-15
school year, serving grades 9-11, with a maximum enrollment of 320. It will
eventually expand to grades 9-12 and a maximum enrollment of 500 as a
charter high school for the region.
Local high school juniors and seniors – public, nonpublic and
homeschoolers – also are able to earn free college credits through the Career
& College Promise program at Randolph Community College.
RCC provides a variety of credit and noncredit classes at its main campus in
Asheboro and the Archdale Center and is expanding its offerings in communities
throughout the county. Students are able to obtain associate degrees and the
technical and vocational training needed for today’s occupations.
The community college also offers the University Center of Randolph
County which is a collaborative effort between RCC and several area colleges
and universities. Students are able to complete a bachelor’s degree or a
master’s degree without leaving the county.
Pfeiffer University provides both a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary
Education and Master of Science in Elementary Education; North Carolina
A&T State University, Bachelor of Science in Electronics Technology with
a concentration in Information Technology; Salem College, a Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration; Winston-Salem State University, a
Bachelor of Science in Nursing; and Carolina Graduate School of Divinity, a
Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Ministry.
Educational opportunities abound in Randolph County for all ages.
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Students at the
Asheboro High
School Zoo School
participate in an
online class.
Randolph County offers many
educational opportunities
For further information,
go to these websites:
Asheboro City Schools
asheboro.k12.nc.us
Randolph County Schools
randolph.k12.nc.us
Uwharrie Charter Academy
uwharriecharter.org
Randolph Community College
randolph.edu
N.C. Department of Public
Instruction (public schools)
ncpublicschools.org
N.C. Department of Public
Instruction (charter schools)
ncpublicschools.org/charterschools
Graduation day
for Randolph Early
College High School.
N.C. Department of Administration’s
Division of Non-Public Education
(private schools; homeschools)
ncdnpe.org
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