ABSS board advances rezoning, teacher pathways, school security upgrades

The Alamance-Burlington School System board met Jan. 14 and moved forward on several initiatives that will shape classroom staffing, building security, and neighborhood school assignments across the county. SchoolCAMP presented the district's rezoning process and timeline, and district leaders confirmed a community survey that ran Jan. 5–15 has now closed as staff compile responses.

Board members heard that SchoolCAMP also gathered data from board members through a BOE priority survey and that two in-person community feedback sessions were planned for January to give residents a chance to weigh in on proposed boundary changes. The rezoning exercise, intended to balance enrollment and facility use, has direct implications for families' commutes, student assignment, and school demographics, and officials emphasized the importance of public input as they refine options.

In a significant boost to teacher career development, Dr. McWherter announced ABSS received an Advanced Teacher Roles grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction totaling $1,416,657 over three years. The district will pilot ATR positions in four schools during the 2026-2027 school year. ATR models create new career pathways for effective teachers to coach peers, lead instruction, and support larger numbers of students without leaving the classroom. District leaders framed the grant as a strategy to build teacher leadership locally and to expand successful practices to more schools after the pilot.

The board approved several student learning experiences and extracurricular trips for spring and early next year, including Southern Alamance High School's baseball trip to Wilmington, NC, April 5–7, 2026; Southern Alamance cheerleaders' travel to UCA Nationals in Orlando, Jan. 29–Feb. 3, 2026; Walter Williams High School Financial Academy's trip to New York City, April 14–17, 2026; and Sylvan Elementary fifth graders' trip to Ripley Aquarium, April 23–24, 2026. Multiple Teacher Cadet program trips and exchange opportunities were also listed for approval.

Student services updates included presentations of grants awarded to participants in the Teacher Leadership Academy through Impact Alamance, as well as other donations and grants to schools, including support from the Mebane Women's Club. In operations, the board reviewed and advanced contracts for security camera installation and keyless door entry systems at Alexander Wilson Elementary School and Altamahaw-Ossipee Elementary School; contract amounts were presented during the meeting.

Policy work continues: proposed revisions to 25 district policies were presented for future review, and the personnel report was approved unanimously. The district provided contact information and its address at the end of the highlights page for residents seeking more detail.

For Alamance County families and staff, the coming weeks will bring compiled rezoning feedback and further board deliberations, the launch of a targeted teacher-leadership pilot in 2026-2027, and planned safety upgrades at two elementary schools. Follow board agendas and the district contact points provided by ABSS to track next steps and to learn how final decisions may affect students and neighborhoods.