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Newcomers interested in Cape Fear education may be divided into two general groups: Those making educational decisions for themselves and those making educational decisions for their children. The former group will typically be of higher education age, and so will be primarily interested in our colleges.

At the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), passionate and engaged teaching, learning and research are evident. It combines “a small-college commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching with a research university’s opportunities for student involvement in significant faculty scholarship.” UNCW is nationally prominent in programs ranging from creative writing and film studies to marine science and biotechnology research.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UNCW as one of the top 10 public master’s universities in the South for 11 straight years. As of this writing, U.S. News ranks UNCW fifth on its list of “up-and-coming” colleges and universities in the South. The university also received the 2009 “Best in the Southeast” ranking from The Princeton Review.

UNCW has more than 12,000 students. A number of new campus buildings are going up or under construction, balancing student housing with classroom, research and recreational facilities. Its academic offerings include 73 undergraduate and 32 graduate programs, with doctoral programs in marine biology and educational leadership.

UNCW contributes community service, regional engagement and research activities addressing poverty, housing, obesity, public education, sustainable fisheries, water quality and a host of other social and environmental issues to its region’s quality of life. Students donate more than 30,000 hours per year as community volunteers.

The interests of adult learners are met through short, non-credit university courses, seminars and other educational opportunities. UNCW’s regional economic impact is estimated at $500 million  and the university supports more than 7,000 jobs. It also provides the community with access to Division I-A athletics, and numerous cultural and educational events, such as concerts, recitals, plays, documentary films, art exhibits and lectures.

Recent examples of UNCW student involvement and achievement include Betsy Cline, who worked during the presidential campaign as an intern at “Meet the Press” and was the only student chosen by NBC to assist with their Election Day coverage, and Ryan Kawamoto, who graduated last year and now works on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.” He was responsible within campus life for developing a marketing deal with Rainbows to bring teal Rainbow sandals to UNCW.

Brunswick Community College’s (BCC) chartered mission is “to provide accessible and affordable programs and services that meet the educational and cultural needs of the community and to provide opportunities for individuals to be successful.”

A pertinent example is the aquaculture program, begun nearly 20 years ago. With its 1,500-seat Odell Williamson Auditorium, BCC brings cultural and entertainment events to its largely rural service region that would otherwise not likely appear in such a setting. Several new buildings are being added to the main campus in addition to new campus centers in Southport and the South Brunswick Islands at the time of this writing.

Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) has campuses in both New Hanover and Pender counties. CFCC’s general mission is world-class workforce development. The course offering ranges from the cultural to the crucial, and with more than 26,000 people attending classes every year, most Wilmington area residents know CFCC graduates or students. In 2007, one in eight local citizens took CFCC classes. Chefs, firefighters, musicians, nurses, engineers, builders, actors and representatives of all fields of endeavor between these can find relevant courses there.

Century-old Miller-Motte (MMC) has grown along with Wilmington and just as dramatically over the past two decades. MMC graduates provide the community professional massage therapy, cosmetology, esthetics technology and microcomputer applications network administration. MMC continually reviews, assesses, and revises curriculum to keep pace with improvements in technology, business, and industry.

Mount Olive College (MOC), Wilmington campus, is recognized as the “choice for working adults.” MOC provides college experience where, when, and how it is needed, at an affordable price. Small classes allowing one-on-one instruction meet one night each week with accelerated formats allowing students to complete majors in three semesters. The strategy is tagged “an excellent choice for students who seek higher education on a first-name basis” by MOC staff.

Four-year MOC programs include Management and Organizational Development, Health Care Management, Criminal Justice and Criminology, and Early Childhood Education. A two-year Heritage Program is also offered. Innovative scheduling makes enrollment figures fluctuate. It can be reported with some confidence that MOC students number under 500. Mount Olive grants associate and bachelors’ degrees. The average student-instructor ratio is approximately 14:1.

Public schools
In the local public school systems, there is variety and innovation as to grade inclusion and course offering, addressing both neighborhood demographics and the needs of students with particular skills, talents and needs. All the counties’ systems, at the very least, come close to state standards and averages for classroom student-teacher ratios. Cape Fear counties adhere to state standards and near 100 percent classroom computer access for students.

Middle and high school students are also offered alternative facilities with non-traditional grade ranges. Private and alternative facilities, from venerable academies to support groups for home schooling, play a huge role in the Cape Fear.

Connected with public school systems, early college schools allow motivated pupils to earn concurrent high school and college credits. Isaac Bear Early College High School (IBEC) opened in 2006 as a partnership between the N.C. New Schools Project, New Hanover County Schools, and UNCW. Students participate in an accelerated program that offers honors courses to prepare students for college. In the first two years of the IBEC Logo program, students complete high school courses to prepare them to take courses at the university. In the final two program years, students take courses at UNCW with the support of IBEC staff. Students graduate from this program with a high school diploma and up to 60 college credits.

Officials explain, “IBEC High School is a New Hanover County High School, and is neither a department nor a division of UNCW. However, New Hanover County Schools and UNCW have signed an agreement and intend to align both talent and resources as appropriate and practicable to promote the Isaac Bear mission.” IBEC is located on UNCW property.

Similarly, in Pender, Pender Early College High School bridges the divide between high school and college, facilitates transition of motivated students to higher education, provides intensive guidance and support from adults through the start of college coursework, and demonstrates new ways of integrating levels of schooling to better serve the intellectual and developmental needs of young people.

Brunswick County, in partnership with Brunswick Community College, inaugurated Brunswick County Early College High School in 2006. BCECHS students graduate with both high school diplomas and a two-year college degree at the end of four or five years. As in neighboring county programs, BCECHS offers seamless transition from high school to college, tuition savings, challenges to exceptional students and higher test score averages for the whole county system.

The region's private and charter schools include Cape Fear Academy, Cape Fear Center for Inquiry, Wilmington Christian Academy, Friends School and Roger Bacon Academy. While numbers are necessary and certainly sought by newcomers looking into the Cape Fear's educational environment, really good education requires passion, and passion is based on human interaction. Our educational institutions abound with warm success stories. The following is a particularly telling anecdote from Cape Fear Academy (CFA).
Though the school does have stringent entrance requirements, accepting less than half of student applicants, not everyone is perfect and, of course, high school is a time of emotional and biological stress. Near the end of his junior year, a young man was having a hard time living within the limits of CFA expectations and within the limits of the law. At school, he was repeatedly late for class, frequently challenged authority, disrupted lessons and was obviously struggling to remain a CFA student. A flurry of activity began, with evaluations of learning style and academic strengths and weaknesses. Many discussions between teachers, counselors and the student’s parents took place.

Parent-teacher efforts continued throughout the summer and the beginning of senior year. Informal discussions between the student and CFA staff identified some particular strengths and encouraged him to bring self-awareness to bear on his frustrations.

Specific mention of the student's achievements would inappropriately breach confidentiality, and so those details cannot be provided here, but he ended up being recognized locally and at the state level for achievements within his broad talents. He’s now at a major university, happy and achieving within an artistic program. “That reflects the hunger adults there have to help kids use their fullest talents,” noted CFA spokesperson Susan Harrell.

Cape Fear Academy’s reputation for college prep and academic excellence has been built over the past four plus decades. A K-12 institution with a student population under 700 and low student-teacher ratios, the school is a source of pride for pupils, parents, staff and alumni. The last-named group makes possible continual improvements to the learning environment. The school’s library, computer facilities, athletic fields and facilities and music spaces are worth newcomer visits. Interaction among parents is fueled by the Foundations Program. The goal of the program is to build a community of strong critical thinkers who value a dynamic approach to teaching and learning.

Wilmington Christian Academy is a designated ministry of Grace Baptist Church. Student population for K3-12 is at 735 for school year 2007-2008. Staff numbers 85 full and part-time persons, giving a student-teacher ratio of 9:1 to the 40-year old academy. WCA Administrator Barren Nobles believes the school makes favorable impressions on visitors and newcomers through friendly atmosphere, well-rounded, comprehensive academic and extracurricular programs, excellent facilities and financial value. The school provides “Christian values and philosophy, long -term stability, full athletic and fine arts programs and four levels of high school instruction(resource, general, college prep and honors).”

Two hundred and seven pupils, from 18 months to eighth grade, attend Friends School in Wilmington. Ann Souder, admissions director, lists the school’s appeals for parents as, “12:1 student-teacher ratio, Quaker values, academic excellence, social curriculum, two lead teachers in first through eighth grades; full time PE, art, music and Spanish teachers; student teacher interaction, teaching the students to be critical thinkers and service learning.” Friends School, now in its 13th year of operation, utilizes a Montessori program, a rigorous, inquiry-based academic program, learning excursions and multi-aged classrooms. Graduates typically go into advanced and honor classes in high school.

Charter schools, “deregulated public schools which typically have more freedom and flexibility than a school can get through magnet status or waivers,” may not charge tuition, and may not discriminate. Cape Fear area charter schools are Roger Bacon Academy and Cape Fear Center for Inquiry.

As one would expect of a school named for one of the most revered intellectuals of medieval times, this school emphasizes classical classroom approaches and content, reason and  motivation within both arts and sciences. The impression it makes on parents is evident in the long waiting list for student admission.
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry (CFCI), in midtown Wilmington, exhibits academic freedom and flexibility in other ways. The K-8 school emphasizes family involvement and a long, long list of field trip explorations of arts, sciences and nature. Parents provide lunches and daily transportation for CFCI students.

The Internet has made home schooling a more viable option for many households, and parents who wish to home school in the Cape Fear enjoy some other support mechanisms. One of these is Christian Home Educators of Wilmington (CHEW). CHEW hosts monthly support nights for families, a co-op for students to enjoy classes with other students, as well as family activities and group field trips. The organization’s guiding principles are religiously based. It works to encourage responsible citizenship, diligence in instruction and excellence in all educational activities in all members while supporting family rights to make curriculum, schedule and instructional style decisions.

Space considerations limit our examination of Cape Fear area preschool facilities. A few factors and practical tips for parental consideration are these: home-workplace proximity, shared philosophy of adult-child relationships and a desire to impart spiritual and ethical beliefs with which the parents are in agreement are most important. In-person visits are strongly urged for parents selecting pre-schools, day care centers, summer and day camps, church-related kindergartens and other neighborhood facilities.
Our region's future is in its educational facilities. These are in good hands.

 

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