Burke CountyPublic Schools

Burke County Public Schools students will be required to follow a new cell phone policy when school starts on Aug. 29. Student cell phones will not be allowed in classrooms during instruction time, unless they are being used for instructional purposes. The new policy gives teachers authority to confiscate cell phones and turn them over to parents at the end of the school day.

The Burke County Board of Education approved the district’s next five-year strategic plan on Monday, June 27. The plan has three main goals and will take effect for the 2022-2023 school year. In his message to the community regarding the plan, Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said, “In 2017, Burke County Public Schools released its first strategic plan in recent memory. For five years, that plan has served us well.

Students at Heritage Middle School are putting their heads and green thumbs together for a special project this summer that they hope will benefit the community. Starting in March, a group of students along with Tim Gallagher, an ELA teacher at HMS, repurposed a bocce court into a greenhouse and raised container garden.

Burke County Public Schools welcomes several new directors, principals and assistant principals to new roles in the district for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said, “A new school year brings many exciting changes for students being prompted to new grade levels and meeting new teachers. It also brings exciting changes for school district staff...

Even in the summer months many of our students are hard at work, especially those in our FFA programs at East Burke and Freedom high schools. Both school programs recently attended the FFA State Convention where they brought home awards in food sciences, agronomy, agriculture mechanics, forestry and more.

Justin Taylor graduated from R.L. Patton High School on June 3 and by the next Monday morning he helped to deliver a set of twins. Throughout his time in high school, Taylor completed his Emergency Medical Technician certification through a partnership between the Career and Technical Education Department within Burke County Public Schools and Western Piedmont Community College.

​​Phillip Shabazz, a poet, author, and teaching artist was a special guest at Patton High School during the last few weeks of school for a poetry slam contest being held in a few English classes. He held poetry workshops in multiple English classes where he taught about different forms of poetry and challenged the students to get out of their comfort zones when writing. Shabazz hopes that students learn how they can empower themselves using their own words and expressions.

Burke County Public Schools hosted a special signing ceremony for students and parents Tuesday in partnership with Continental. Continental has added eight high school seniors to its apprenticeship program, which starts June 14. Five of the apprentices and their families visited BCPS Central Office for the signing ceremony.

Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan is forming a Superintendent’s Safety Council to review and discuss safety procedures in schools. The council plans to hold its first meeting in the coming days and include members of the Burke County Board of Education, as well as key district staff members.

As we try to make sense of yet another mass school shooting that has rocked our nation and taken the lives of innocent children and teachers, we are faced with a myriad of emotions and anxieties. No doubt, before sending your child off to school these past few mornings, you hugged them a little tighter and held onto them a little longer;

When most people think of art, they don't normally mix it together with math and science, but for Freedom High School senior Alisa Cruz-Mendez it was the perfect challenge. Mendez is an intern for The Old School Studio (TOSS) in Morganton, which is directed by Kathryn Ervin. Ervin is invited to create an interactive piece of artwork for the festival every year, but this year the two switched things up.

Burke County Public Schools and Chartwells K12 will offer free lunch to students all summer long. Starting Monday, June 13, summer meals are available Monday through Thursday each week at the Valdese Elementary School cafeteria and the Mountain View Elementary School cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Project Lead the Way Instructor Paul Gantt said, “The original idea to 3D print these trophies for the elementary robotics competition came from Dr. Christie Abernathy, director of Advanced Learning and Innovation. She and I have worked together in the past to 3D print keychains for graduating BMC students. The success with these smaller items led to her asking if I could create something for the competition. This felt like a great opportunity to give students a relevant, real-world 3D printing and design opportunity to test their skills...

The exciting chatter of students and the buzzing of small robots wafted through the gym at Glen Alpine Elementary School on Thursday, April 7 as elementary students from across the county participated in Burke County Public Schools’ elementary robotics competition. The district organized this year’s event and tasked each robotics team to put their math and coding skills to the test to program Birdbrain Technologies Finch 2.0 robots to complete obstacle courses. Judges scored the teams on time, creativity, programming and STEM Skills.

Amy Zittel, an exceptional children’s teacher at Table Rock Middle School, has been named the Burke County Public Schools 2022 Teacher of the Year. Zittel is in her 30th year of teaching and her second year with Burke County Public Schools and Table Rock Middle School. She affectionately calls her students her “littles,” which rhymes with the pronunciation of her last name.

Patton High School students are ready for the growing season as they take the classroom outside to a greenhouse and garden. Chris Collins’ science class and Clay Nelson’s engineering class joined forces to apply for a grant to build a greenhouse in 2020.

Top Burke County Public Schools math students used lots of brain power at the Old Rock School on Wednesday as the district held its annual MathCounts Competition. Students competed in three different rounds: individual, team and face-off. The top-eight students from the individual round advanced to the face-off challenge on stage in front of an audience.

Burke County Public Schools wrapped up its eighth annual Souperintendent’s Souper Bowl Canned-Food Drive on Feb. 14. After taking a year off due to the pandemic last year, the district resumed its annual drive this year for local food pantries. District-wide, schools collected 45,050 pounds of food with five local charities benefiting from the food drive...

The North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) has honored Burke County Public Schools for excellence in communications. Burke County Public Schools earned a total of six Blue Ribbon Awards for outstanding and effective communication. NCSPRA presented the awards during a virtual ceremony on Feb. 11. Burke County Public Schools received three Gold level awards, one in Digital Media Engagement and two in Electronic Media; two Silver level awards, both in Electronic Media; and one Bronze level award for Excellence in Writing.

Burke County Public Schools recently held their annual Elementary School Science Fair awards ceremony at the Old Rock School in Valdese. There were a total of 35 projects coming from each of our elementary schools. The science projects showcased experiments about magnetism, battery power, buoyancy, to paper airplane flight and which brand of popcorn pops the best

Mountain View Elementary School is currently accepting applications for the Global Immersion Academy for the 2022-2023 school year. The academy is available for students entering kindergarten. Students will be selected on a first come, first served basis. Students with siblings currently in the program will be given priority in the selection process. Priority will also be given to students that reside in Burke County.

Open enrollment for the Burke Virtual Academy starts Monday, Feb. 14 and continues through Friday, March 25 for the 2022-2023 academic year. The Burke Virtual Academy is for any student in kindergarten through 12th grade wishing to take a full slate of online classes, or for middle and high school students who would like to enroll in at least one online class while attending face-to-face classes at their base school and/or Western Piedmont Community College.

Drexel Elementary School announced it will close after school today and reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 19. The closure is due to a high number of COVID-19 cases, isolations and quarantines. Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said, “The decision to close a school is not made lightly, but with so many student and staff absences and the difficulty in finding coverage to meet the needs of these students who are present, this is the best option.

Burke County Public Schools’ art programs recently received donations from The Old School Studio (TOSS), which is part of The Industrial Commons. Kathryn Ervin, community organizer for TOSS, hand-delivered checks to art teachers and principals at several of our schools. The money donated will go toward advancing and supporting BCPS art programs.

At Christmas time, we normally are used to seeing a large, jolly man in a red suit. Students at Patton High School have been suiting up in bright green suits, not for holiday activities, but for safety in a brand new class offered to firefighting students. Mike Long, a career and technical education teacher, said “That suit is what we call a Level A suit. It is a totally encapsulated suit that a HAZMAT

The East Burke High School Marching Cavaliers recently participated in the Novant Health’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in uptown Charlotte. Out of numerous bands around the state, EBHS was awarded first place in their performance in the Battle of the Bands competition. Jonathan Berry, East Burke High School’s band director said, “It’s been great to get back to normal, as normal as we can be anyway, and spend some time together doing what we love to do.

Since 2017, North Carolina has awarded schools within the state the Coding & Mobile App Development Grant. This grant extends opportunities for students to engage in computer science through coding. It also offers educators professional development opportunities to better prepare them with implementation of the recently adopted K-12 Computer Science Standards. Obtaining this key skill set of coding is a benefit as almost 2/3 of the workforce will be computer science related careers.

Burke County Public School’s recently held its annual middle and elementary school speech contests at the Old Rock School and awarded several students from around the county for their hard work. The categories for the middle school competition included Interpretative Poetry, Interpretative Prose, Original Oratory, Recited Oratory and Interpretive Duo. The categories for the elementary competition included Interpretative Poetry, Interpretative Prose, Original Composition and Notable Speeches.

The Burke County Public Schools family is grieving today knowing that long-time Board of Education member R.L. Icard has passed. Words fall short of expressing the heartache we are feeling for our own loss. Our hearts are even heavier as we stand by his wife, daughter and church community in their time of grief.

Burke Middle College senior Jackson C. went outside the box to create a service project that combines his love of dirt bikes with a desire to help children who are less fortunate. Jackson spent two Saturdays in late October collecting boxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child shoebox drive. He called his project “Dirt Bikes for Tikes.”

The Burke County Board of Education recognized Jim and Susy Tilley for their work with S.M.A.R.T. (Supplies, Materials and Resources for Teachers) at Monday’s board meeting. After 12 years, the couple retired from being what Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan called, “the heart, soul and sweat behind S.M.A.R.T.” The Tilleys helped start S.M.A.R.T. in April of 2009 as a grassroots effort dedicated to providing school supplies to Burke County Public Schools students and teachers.

Burke County Public Schools and Western Piedmont Community College have partnered to assign students in the new Associate of Arts and Associate in Science Teacher Preparation Programs with mentor teachers in the school system. The Associate of Arts Teacher Prep (AATP) and Associate in Science Teacher Prep (ASTP) are new, specialized college transfer programs preparing students to complete a Bachelor’s degree in education.

As the school day was coming to a close Tuesday afternoon at East Burke Middle School, the trio of Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Karen Auton and Director of Secondary Education Mrs. Felicia Simmons descended on the school to make a special announcement naming East Burke Middle School Principal Keith Recker the 2021-22 Burke County Public Schools Principal of the Year. Swan said, “We are very proud of Mr. Recker. The leadership he has shown through these unprecedented times has been a great support to his school community. It echoes the leadership from all of our principals...

Mountain View Elementary School nurse Tonya Kiser often arrives at work an hour before the school day officially starts, and Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, was no exception. A few early birds were in the car rider line waiting for student drop-off to start and other staff members were making their way in as the building prepared to come to life with 712 students ready for another day of learning. Like her 23 fellow school nurses, Kiser is working on the front lines through unprecedented times.

Burke County Public Schools and Table Rock Middle School were made aware of a threat against the school this morning around 7:45 a.m. We take all threats very seriously and the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. The threat originated on social media. Screenshots of the social media post started to be shared between students and eventually to parents and Table Rock Middle School staff members.

Let's celebrate Grandparents.... In honor of Grandparent's Day, please submit a photo of your BCPS student(s) and their Grandparent(s).

The Burke County Health Department has informed Burke County Public Schools of a cluster of COVID-19 cases at East Burke High School involving a school bus. As a result, all students who rode the bus between Aug. 25 and Aug. 30 have been quarantined. So far there have been 8 positive cases reported and 37 students in quarantine; 9 students are vaccinated and do not have to quarantine.

The Burke County Health Department has informed Burke County Public Schools of a cluster of COVID-19 cases at Table Rock Middle School and Drexel Elementary School. The clusters are thought to be associated with the schools’ open houses on Aug. 19.

Masks are required for everyone indoors during instructional time. The StrongSchools NC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) says we do not have to quarantine students who are properly wearing masks, even if they come in contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19:

The Burke County Board of Education has selected Dr. Karen Auton to serve as assistant superintendent of Burke County Public Schools effective Sept. 1, 2021. Auton’s selection as assistant superintendent makes her the first female assistant superintendent in Burke County Public Schools history. Dr. Auton said, “I am humbled and honored to not only move into the role as assistant superintendent,

When Burke County TSA (Technical Student Associations) students next compete at the state level they will do so under the corporate sponsorship of Continental. Continental has donated $3,900 to support high school engineering students and TSA, which is active at Patton, East Burke and Freedom high schools.

Online payments are being accepted now through Aug. 15 via My School Bucks to pay for your child's school device. To get started, visit burke.k12.nc.us and look for the My School Bucks link under the Parents Tab.

After a special called meeting on Thursday evening, the Burke County Board of Education voted to make face coverings optional for all staff, students, and visitors on BCPS campuses. Due to a current federal mandate, those on yellow school buses and activity buses will still be required to wear a mask.

BCPS and Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge will hold a student vaccination clinic for children ages 12 and up on July 27 at Heritage Middle School and Table Rock Middle School from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Register here:

Burke County Public Schools is excited to partner with the YMCA of Catawba Valley for an after-school program starting in August. The YMCA has provided this FAQ. Stay tuned for more information or visit www.ymcacv.org.

Several students in Burke County Public Schools are participating in academic challenges this summer through a global educational nonprofit called Destination Imagination. The students are from Heritage Middle School and Draughn High School under the leadership of Michael McQuaid, a seventh-grade science teacher at HMS. There are three different teams comprised of students from HMS and DHS including...

The Burke County Board of Education has selected Dr. Mike Swan to serve as Superintendent of Burke County Public Schools beginning July 1, 2021. Dr. Swan was chosen from a competitive field of 13 applicants. Dr. Swan's philosophy of education stems from his desire for students and staff to feel supported and valued in order for success and growth to occur.

Burke County Public Schools and Chartwells K12 will offer free breakfast and lunch this summer with a new style of weekly meal kit bundles. These meal kits will include fresh ingredients for a delicious, healthy lunch to be cooked at home every day. Each week, the meal kit will revolve around one of four themes: American Classics, Taste of Italy and South of the Border Chicken and South of the Border Beef weeks.

Elementary school students across the district read “The Great Kapok Tree” as this year’s One Book, One District selection. The book is about a woodcutter who has a change of heart about trees in a rainforest after being visited by forest critters in his sleep. The book prompted special activities at each school, including drive-through reading nights, arts and crafts and earth friendly projects...

Graduation ceremonies will take place indoors for Burke Middle College, Hallyburton, Patton and Draughn and outdoors for Freedom and East Burke and will follow COVID-19 protocols. Freedom and East Burke have contingency plans to move the ceremonies indoors in the event of bad weather.

Concentration is key for students at East Burke Middle School in and outside of the classroom, especially when shooting an arrow toward a target. The school’s archery team, that is in its second year of existence, recently participated in the Bullseye National Competition and the 3D International Bowhunting Organization Tournament with several students excelling in the sport. These competitions are a part of the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).

Burke County Public Schools and Chartwells K12 support food sustainability with a new program called the Piggy Bank that feeds local pigs food waste from school cafeterias. Marty Browning, a pig farmer in Nebo, picks up leftovers from the cafeteria line each Friday at schools in western Burke County. The food slated for Browning’s pigs cannot be donated to local nonprofits or shelters because the food is not sealed or packaged.

Parent and Guardians are invited to participate in a study to identify resources and opportunities to serve students with disabilities in Catawba, Caldwell, Burke, and Alexander counties!

Wheelchair bound students at North Liberty School were recently given the opportunity to put their green thumbs to use all thanks to a huge community effort. High school students in construction classes at Freedom, East Burke and Patton high schools built and delivered raised garden beds that are wheelchair accessible to North Liberty this past week.

During the week of April 26-30 BCPS celebrated “Every Kid Healthy Week”, which is an annual observance created in 2013 to celebrate school health and wellness achievements. Each day of the week was centered around a different aspect of health that is promoted within Burke County Public Schools.

Ann Morris, reading specialist at Oak Hill Elementary School, has been named the Burke County Public Schools 2021 Teacher of the Year. Morris is in her 28th year of teaching and her eighth year at Oak Hill. Morris serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Burke County Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan and Elementary Education Director Karen Auton surprised Morris with the announcement, balloons and flowers on Wednesday at the school.

Fire trucks pulled into Hildebran Elementary School on Monday not to put out a fire, but to light up support for fourth grade teacher Sno Lewis who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The Pink Heals fire truck, a part of the Pink Heals NC Foothills Inc., is a non-profit organization that raises awareness and funds for families and nonprofit entities that assist women and their families who are fighting not only breast cancer, but all diseases.

The Burke County Board of Education is currently accepting applications for a position on the Western Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees. Applications will be accepted through Tuesday, May 4, 2021 until 5:00 PM.

Burke County Public Schools is pleased to announce that the district’s high schools plan to hold traditional, in-person graduations in May. Graduation ceremonies will take place indoors for Burke Middle College, Hallyburton and Draughn and outdoors for Patton, Freedom and East Burke and will follow COVID-19 protocols. Patton, Freedom and East Burke have contingency plans to move the ceremonies indoors in the event of bad weather.

Several Burke County Public Schools Career and College Promise students participating in the Emergency Medical Technician program were recently able to be a part of history and help to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the community at Freedom High School. The vaccine clinic is organized by Carolinas Healthcare System Blue Ridge in Morganton.

Project: Interior Office Space Renovations at East Burke High School for Burke County Public Schools, North Carolina Bid Opening Time: 1:30 PM on April 20, 2021

Dr. Mike Swan has been named interim superintendent of Burke County Public Schools. The announcement came Thursday at the Burke County Board of Education meeting. Burke County Public Schools Board of Education Chair Buddy Armour said, “Congratulations to Dr. Swan on this opportunity.

The Burke County Public Schools Food Truck has been helping to feed healthcare workers at our local COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Freedom High School over the last several weeks. The food truck is a convenient alternative to help feed the nurses and staff from Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge in Morganton as well as our own school nurses while they are working at the clinic. The food truck is also open to those receiving their vaccinations and to the general public.

Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Putnam announced Monday at the Burke County Board of Education meeting that after nearly 10 years as superintendent he is taking a position as executive vice president of Catawba Valley Community College. Putnam’s first day on his new job is May 1.

The dates for registration of all students who will be enrolled in the 2021-2022 Burke County Public Schools’ kindergarten classes will be March 15 – May 2, 2021. Parents are urged to register children during this enrollment period. All registration should be completed at the elementary school in the district where parents/guardians reside. A child eligible to enroll must be five years of age on or before August 31, 2021.

The Burke Virtual Academy is holding open enrollment for students interested in a virtual education experience for the 2021-2022 academic year. The Burke Virtual Academy is for any student kindergarten through 12th grade wishing to take a full slate of online classes, or for middle and high school students who would like to enroll in at least one online class while attending face-to-face classes at their base school and/or Western Piedmont Community College. The deadline to enroll in Burke Virtual Academy is Friday, April 16, 2021. To enroll,

Burke County Public Schools and our high schools and middle schools are excited about N.C. Governor Roy Cooper’s new executive order that increases crowd attendance in outdoor stadiums to 30 percent capacity starting Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. As the soccer season continues and football, softball, baseball and other outdoor sports prepare for first games and matches, the capacity increase means many more family members and fans will be allowed to watch our student athletes compete.

If you have a child or know of a child who is entering kindergarten in August, Burke County Schools is hosting an information session via Zoom for those interested in enrolling students in the dual language immersion program at Mountain View Elementary School. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. The Global Immersion Academy teaches students English and Spanish starting in kindergarten and continuing through the fifth grade.

Mountain View Elementary School will soon be accepting applications for the Global Immersion Academy for the 2021-2022 school year. The academy is available for students entering kindergarten. Students will be selected on a first come, first served basis.

The North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) has honored Burke County Public Schools for excellence in communications. Burke County Public Schools earned a total of 14 Blue Ribbon Awards for outstanding and effective communication. NCSPRA presented the awards during a virtual ceremony on Feb. 5, 2021.

A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held in the Olive Hill Resource Center, 509 West Concord street, Morganton, NC 28655 on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 10 a.m. for anyone interested in bidding on this contract.

Chairman Buddy Armour and Vice Chairman Dr. R.L. Icard of the Burke County Board of Education have called for an Emergency Meeting of the Board on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 at noon in the Olive Hill Room of the Olive Hill Resource Center located at 509 W. Concord St., Morganton. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss and take action regarding changes made on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, to the Strong Schools NC Public Health Toolkit (K-12).

Burke County Public Schools and our high schools are excited for the opportunity that our outdoor sports programs have to compete this season. Though games will look very different this year as we strictly follow rules, regulations and guidelines set forth by the NC Governor’s Office and the NCHSAA related to COVID-19, we are grateful that our teams will be able to participate.

Design and build an original lamp for a chance to win a cash prize and public showcase at CoMMA

You may see big, yellow Burke County Public Schools buses out on the road during remote learning, not carrying students, but meals to help feed them. When Burke County Public Schools transitioned to remote learning in January, the child nutrition team quickly organized three different ways to help feed students: through the daycare program, by pick-up at specific schools and now by home delivery.

Burke County Public Schools nurses continue to work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March they have been instrumental in educating schools on how to prevent COVID-19 and how to recognize symptoms; in communicating with parents and staff when cases impact schools; and in working with the health department to contact trace and track data. Now that the pandemic is in the vaccination phase, Burke County Public Schools nurses will help the Burke County Health Department give out vaccines.

Burke County Public Schools and our high schools are excited for the opportunity that our basketball programs have to play this season. Though games will look very different this year as we strictly follow rules, regulations and guidelines set forth by the NC Governor’s Office and the NCHSAA related to COVID-19, we are grateful that our teams will be able to take to the court.