Wilkes County, NC Schools
Education options in Wilkes County give students leg up
When it comes to the latest in technology, students in Wilkes are prepared, knowledgeable and, of course, connected.
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Wilkes County Schools
The school system has invested heavily in classroom technology, as evidenced by each of the 646 classrooms in Wilkes County Schools being equipped with a SMART Board, a data projector and laptop for the system.
Meanwhile, teachers and 12th-grade students have been given individual laptops. Students in grade six have an e-mini, or smaller laptop, and those in grades four and five have personal digital assistants. All the devices are wireless, as the schools have been adapted for Wi-Fi.
United Teens in Action
With support from the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, the Wilkes County Schools district has completed another year of United Teens in Action (UTA) and given participants the opportunity to give back to their schools, neighborhoods and communities.
UTA, which began in 2008-09, is a civic engagement program designed for youth to increase their leadership experiences and help them become more involved with dynamic change occurring throughout the county.
Read and Ride
Elementary school students in Wilkes County can get both mental and physical exercise when they participate in the program known as Read and Ride. Also known as Code Read in some schools, the program allows students to have reading time while riding a recumbent stationary bike.
Wilkes Community College
Two-year Wilkes Community College primarily serves northwest North Carolina, providing students with basic skills, occupational, technical and pre-baccalaureate programs. Students can earn associate degrees in fields such as accounting, computer information technology, and marketing and retail.
The school’s Automotive Systems Technology curriculum helps prepare students for employment in automotive service industry dealerships and repair shops. It provides an introduction to automotive careers and offers a variety of academic and lab work.
WCC is also actively involved in the SkillsUSA organization, having once again hosted the annual Region 7 SkillsUSA Conference in February 2014. The most recent event was the largest since WCC began hosting, featuring 750 student competitors from high schools within the 15 counties of Region 7. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure the country has a skilled workforce.