Rocky Mount – striving to enhance educational opportunities for citizens – has found help through N.C. State and other higher education partners.

Rocky Mount – which straddles Edgecombe and Nash counties in northeastern North Carolina – has struggled to keep its youth interested in education, to provide adequate health care for citizens, to retain its public school teachers and to stimulate economic development.

Historically, public schools in Northeastern North Carolina have lacked access to many of the resources that urban school systems take for granted. The absence of strong enrichment opportunities in science and math has far-reaching implications. Not having an educated, healthy workforce has also impacted the economic future of this region.

The Gateway Technology Center (GTC), located in Rocky Mount on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan College, is a unique venue for educational events, programs and courses.

Currently, two specific units administered by the McKimmon Center for Extension & Continuing Education (MCE&CE) are making an impact in this region. The Collaborative, a working partnership between N.C. State University, Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) at N.C. State and East Carolina University (ECU), offers credit and non-credit educational offerings. The N.C. State/ECU Collaborative at the GTC has served more than 20,500 individuals in a variety of credit and non-credit programs since 2006.

On the credit side, The Collaborative now offers three site-based, face-to-face advanced degree programs, including a master’s degree in school administration, a master’s degree in social work and N.C. TEACH, a program that helps students to become licensed teachers for a North Carolina public or charter school. On the non-credit side, The Collaborative offers many educational workshops and provides facility usage for community non-profits with a role in education or community development.

In addition, Fayetteville State University began offering a master’s degree in business administration at the GTC in 2010.

“I am quite pleased with the opportunities presented to our area young people through the summer camps being presented at the Gateway Technology Center in engineering, math, SPACE, 4-H Biotech, and The Veterinary Camp. I am even more pleased by the response of our area youth in their levels of participation. This collaborative effort by N. C. State, East Carolina University and the Gateway Technology Center is unique and an excellent example of what can be accomplished by working together” said Fred Turnage, chairman of the Upper Coastal Plain Learning Council, another MCE&CE unit in the region.

Ryan Phillips, 13, an eighth grader at Nash Central Middle School, agrees, “Engineering camp was a great way to learn about the world through small scale activities.” said Ryan, who plans on studying aerospace engineering in college. “I really like getting to work with other people on problems and collaborating with them to figure them out.”

“This camp experience has made Ryan more eager to go to the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, and then later to N.C. State,” said Angela Phillips, Ryan’s mother. “He is so excited about becoming an engineer. He learned things at camp he does not learn at his regular school.”

Sufiana Conniver is an eighth grade science teacher at George R. Edwards Middle School in Rocky Mount and 10-year teaching veteran, who became involved in many of the K-12 outreach activities of the GTC. “The impact of the K-12 enrichment programs from the GTC on the area is tremendous! The young people in the area get a chance to experience activities that would not usually be offered here. The SPACE and Engineering Camp experiences are usually available to those who live in more urban areas,” Conniver said.

Upper Coastal Plain Learning Council

The second MCE&CE unit is the Upper Coastal Plain Learning Council, a program that serves five northeastern counties – Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, Northampton and Wilson counties – working to stimulate greater educational opportunities. The program’s goals include retaining students in K-12 education and encouraging them to pursue education beyond high school, developing and retaining K-12 teachers, stimulating economic growth and seeking support and funding for in-school health care.

The Council includes representatives from N.C. State University, Barton College, East Carolina University, Edgecombe Community College, Elizabeth City State University, Halifax Community College, Nash Community College, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Wilson Community College, the University of North Carolina General Administration, as well as business, industry and governmental leaders who work to address the area’s needs.

The Council includes representatives from N.C. State University, Barton College, East Carolina University, Edgecombe Community College, Elizabeth City State University, Halifax Community College, Nash Community College, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Wilson Community College, the University of North Carolina General Administration, as well as business, industry and governmental leaders who work to address the area’s needs.

One of the most important areas of outreach for The Collaborative has been in the area of K-12 enrichment programs. The Collaborative has offered a variety of educational enrichment experiences, during the summer and the school year to help bridge the gap between school curricula and advanced learning. These programs now include:

• A Math Enrichment Camp for students, grades 3-5;
  
  
• An Engineering Camp for middle grade students;
  
  
• A 4-H Biotechnology Camp for elementary and middle grade students;
  
  
• A Reading Enrichment Summer Program for K-12 grade students;
  
  
• Saturday Program for Academic and Cultural Education (SPACE), a year-long academic support program for middle grade students;
  
  
• A Veterinary Camp for middle grade students; and
  
  
• The Shelton Challenge, a leadership camp for high school students, scheduled for summer 2011.