chatham county schools

Chatham’s Latino youth struggle with mental health; services growing

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At a meeting of the Siler City Board of Commissioners a few weeks ago, Isa Godinez and Jorge Gutiérrez of the UNC-Chapel Hill Latino Migration Project presented the Building Integrated Communities plan. 

The plan aims to help local government engage with immigrant and refugee populations to improve economic development, livability and community relationships. One of the key areas for improvement cited in the presentation was youth mental health. This piqued our interest, so we decided to dig further. 

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For Latino students in Siler City, where the 2010 Census put the number of Hispanics at nearly 50 percent, even reaching out for mental health care can be a challenge. 

Margaret Grayson, a guidance counselor at Jordan-Matthews High School, where nearly 60 percent of students are Hispanic, said many students fear the response from the parents or guardians when seeking out mental health services. 

“Students will say to me ‘I’m so afraid my parents will be mad about this’ or ‘They’re not going to hear me. They’re not going to validate or understand what I’m going through,’” Grayson said. “That’s a very delicate process, just managing all of that—bringing the student and the family together and helping the family to understand where the student is and what kind of help the students need.”

Grayson said she’s seen an increase in mental-health referrals at the school in recent years.

Curious Chatham

Curious Chatham: As Chatham considers options, hundreds of kids go without a home

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While visiting Northwood High School a few weeks back, a student asked Our Chatham about homeless students, which immediately drew our interest and attention. In a county of such wealth in pockets but despair in others, wasn’t there a shelter or some place these kids could call home? The county is working on options for children without such a basic need, but the quick answer is no – there isn’t, and hundreds of students are in this precarious spot of making do with little to nothing. Adrianne Cleven dug in to explain the matter further. A 17-year-old student at Northwood High School – to protect her, we’ll call her Kate – returns from her days working and attending class to sleep at her friend’s home.

chatham county schools

How will Northwood be affected when the new Seaforth High School opens?

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Thanks to a curious Chatham resident, Our Chatham took a look into something that’s still early in the works: Seaforth High School. The school is scheduled to open in fall 2021, but we have the answers to this reader’s key questions:

How will Northwood High School be affected by the opening of Seaforth High School?Will Northwood kids in the attendance zone for Seaforth immediately be sent there?How are they managing overcrowding at Northwood in the next two years until Seaforth opens? Plans for Seaforth

Last year, Chatham County Schools announced the opening of two new schools: Chatham Grove Elementary, scheduled to open in fall 2020, and Seaforth High School. Because Chatham Grove has an earlier timeline, the county hasn’t made plans for Seaforth’s attendance zone yet. However, Chris Blice, chief operations officer for CCS, shared the districting process for Chatham Grove, which will look similar for Seaforth.

Curious Chatham

How will Chatham County find and pay for resources for new schools?

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Chatham Park officials estimate that the
largest mixed-use development in the state will generate 6,051 additional
students in Chatham County. For context, Chatham County Schools currently
serves 8,840 students. 

More students, naturally, means more teachers. This thought wasn’t lost on William Rosenfeld, a self-described elderly professional who has “been very interested in education quality and funding for many decades.” With that in mind, Rosenfeld asked Our Chatham to report on how CCS will “find (and pay for) teachers?” with the Chatham Park development. Much of the growth is still a while down the
line, with no CCS in Chatham Park actively under construction or even formally
announced. But the need for future schools is undeniable, as long as plans hold
for Chatham Park to generate an additional 60,000 residents for Chatham County
in the next 40 years.

chatham county schools

How will growth impact Chatham County schools?

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In recent years, Chatham County Schools has grown steadily, increasing the number of students it serves each school year from 2009-10 to this year. In that period, the district’s student population has gone from 7,679 to 8,840, a 15.2 percent increase, according to data from the state Department of Public Instruction. However, the current period of growth is minor compared to what’s on the horizon with the building of Chatham Park. 

The largest mixed-use development in the state, Chatham Park is expected to add 60,000-plus new residents by full buildout in 40 years to Pittsboro, which had an estimated population of 4,221 in 2017. 

This sort of transformative growth will certainly impact CCS, which currently has 18 schools. 

“This is a good problem to have,” CCS Chief Operations Officer Chris D. Blice said at a recent Board of Education meeting. “To be in a district that is growing, to be in a district that is building new schools … that is a great problem to have.”

Reader Doreen Messick asked, “How is the expected growth going to impact our schools?” 

Here’s a look at how CCS is preparing for what’s ahead. 

Two new schools opening within the next two years 

The number of district schools will reach 20 in a few years, with the additions of Chatham Grove Elementary and Seaforth High School. 

Chatham Grove, which is being built on a 26-acre parcel of land at the corner Parker Herndon Road and Andrews Store Road, is on track to open by the 2020-21 school year. 

Chatham Grove will have a capacity of 750 students, according to a district document. At a Chatham County Board of Education meeting on Jan.