News

Six hundred seniors matriculated in back-to-back-to-back commencement ceremonies Saturday – 172 at South Lenoir High, 185 at Kinston High and 243 at North Lenoir High – and with graduating seniors from Lenoir County Early College High School and Lenoir County Learning Academy, who received diplomas in earlier ceremonies, the district’s Class of 2024 numbered 665, the most in a least 10 years.

Quiet as a golf cart, one of only two all-electric activity buses in the state has rolled into Lenoir County as LCPS continues to modernize its fleet with an eye toward efficiency and a cleaner environment.

A district administrator who put his head to work to make Lenoir County Public Schools a leader in digital learning and technology and an executive assistant who puts her heart into celebrating and supporting fellow employees have won the top two annual awards presented by LCPS chapter of the N.C. Association of Educational Office Professionals. Charles White, LCPS’s director of media and technology, was named AEOP Administrator of the Year for 2025-2025 and Esther Hines, an officer of the AEOP chapter since 2016, is the 2024-2025 AEOP Professional of the Year.

Vivian Roach, the leader of the Exceptional Children’s Program for Lenoir County Public Schools, is recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Exceptional Children. Celebrated for her experience, depth of knowledge and steady-handed leadership, Roach was honored for her “significant contribution to the positive outcomes of students with disabilities in North Carolina.”

Erin Greene, the third-grade teacher at Northwest Elementary School who was a finalist for the state’s Beginning Teacher of the Year award in 2019, moved higher in the echelon of educators Tuesday night when she was named LCPS Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025. Competition for the district’s top annual award for teachers came to a climax at the LCPS Employee Recognition Banquet with the crowning of Greene, the celebration of fellow Teacher of the Year finalists Alicia Davis of La Grange Elementary and Daree Edmondson of Rochelle Middle and the recognition of all Teacher of the Year winners at their schools.

Science teacher Kayla Lane-Varnell is the 2024 winner of the Center’s Outstanding Educator Award in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education and Rachel Noble, known for her achievements in FFA and the field of agricultural science, is winner of the Student Leadership Award in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education.

Moss Hill Elementary School three-peated in the annual LCPS Elementary Battle of the Books, earning its third consecutive win and its fourth in five contests in the 2024 competition held Friday at Lenoir Community College. Banks Elementary finished second and Pink Hill Elementary finished third.

Early registration for entering pre-school and kindergarten students in Lenoir County for the 2024-2025 school year will be held March 18-22 at all LCPS elementary schools from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 21, registration will be held from 8 a.m.-7 p.m.