[“3 things happening in NC” is Cardinal & Pine’s weekly guide to the people, storylines, and events driving the news this week in North Carolina.]
Below, we’ve got astronaut Christina Koch’s reunion with NC State and big happenings at the NC Transportation Museum, but first:
Having a birthday right around Labor Day weekend was always a bittersweet thing for me growing up. Birthdays are always great, of course, but when they coincide with the resumption of school after a long summer of no worries, that could be a drag.
Nowadays birthdays are more of a relief, marking an escape from the summer, each year having been hotter than the last.
This week, students at four out of five of North Carolina’s largest school districts head back to class. While most kids would tell you they’d rather live in an endless summer, there’s no denying it was an exciting time to hit the hallways on that first day and find out who was in your class during any given period.
So here’s to hoping that each one of them sees a successful year, with a nod to each and every educator and school staff member fighting the good fight in North Carolina schools, even as Republican lawmakers refuse to properly compensate them for the essential work they do.
North Carolina students head back to school
This week, students at four out of five of North Carolina’s largest school districts—Wake County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CMS), Guilford County, and Cumberland County schools—head back to class. The only one missing from the list, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, started its school year on a modified calendar back on Aug. 10.
In Wake County, the headlines involve new security protocols that aim to help ensure a swifter and safer response in the event of an emergency on one of the district’s campuses.
As reported by WRAL, the district is dropping its green, yellow, red system for a Standard Response Protocol. Also color coded, the new system invokes different colors to direct teachers and students on how to respond in an emergency depending on the threat: Hold (purple), Secure (blue), Lockdown (red), Evacuate (green), or Shelter (orange).
CMS sees Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill returning to her duties just as the new school year starts after an investigation by the CMS Board of Education (BOE) led to no repercussions. The board, which called for the investigation in the first place, voted to keep Hill on at the investigation’s conclusion.
Members have been hush-hush about why they launched the investigation into Hill, who was placed on temporary leave for eight weeks until the board’s vote on Aug. 11.
“We believe this [decision] provides the best path forward while maintaining continuity and stability for our students, employees and families,” read a statement from the BOE after the vote.
“The Board did not take this action lightly. When serious concerns involving district operations and oversight are raised, the Board has an obligation to investigate them thoroughly, carefully consider the findings and act in the best long-term interest of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The review identified issues that will require ongoing attention as it relates to leadership and operational practices. We will address these issues directly with Dr. Hill.”
Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch’s NC State homecoming
NC State University will welcome back one of its most decorated alums—a three-time alum at that—for the first time since she became the first woman to leave low Earth orbit and the first woman to travel to and around the moon as part of the Artemis II team of astronauts.
Beginning with a Welcome Home Celebration at The Oval on Centennial Campus on Monday morning, Christina Hammock Koch will spend two days on campus participating in a number of events, some of which will be live-streamed so her fellow alumni and other supporters can be part of the fun.
You can visit this events page at the university’s website to check out what she’ll be up to and when, with links to the livestreams and even a Spotify playlist to help ring in Koch’s long-anticipated homecoming.
“We’re perhaps most excited to celebrate the moments when Koch and her crew brought all of us together — as humans, as Americans, as North Carolinians and as a Wolfpack — as we followed along with their [Artemis II] journey,” reads the university’s release. “Like she said during their space flight, ‘Ultimately, we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other.’ That’s a sentiment that we know our Wolfpack can get behind.”
NC Transportation Museum celebrates America 250 on the tracks
The NC Transportation Museum is billing its America 250 celebration, scheduled for this week in Spencer, as a “once-in-a-generation railroading event” that will feature the first and only gathering of commemorative locomotives from Class I, short line, and passenger railroads, all of which will be specially painted to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial.
Beginning on Thursday, the three-day event will be a rail fan’s dream, offering up countless photo opportunities including night sessions and rotating displays. There will even be an opportunity for properly licensed drone pilots to take a five-minute drone flight around the Bob Julian Roundhouse on Friday and Saturday.
While photography does play a large role among many trainspotters, this event is a great opportunity for any locomotive lover to come check out some engines they may never have a chance to see again.
If you’re looking for the miniature versions, you can drop by the Spencer event then take a trip up 285 to visit the Southbound Model Train Expo in Winston-Salem on Saturday and Sunday.
