NC County Weighs Closing High School to Create ‘Newcomer School’ for Migrants

Morgonn McMichael



A North Carolina school district is facing scrutiny after announcing plans to close a public alternative high school, and floating the idea of opening a “newcomer school” for immigrants in its place.

The New Hanover County Schools announced the closure of the Career Readiness Academy at Mosely program, which provides a path for students to succeed in future careers apart from traditional schooling. The school will reportedly still have an operating pre-K program after the high school program is terminated.

In November 2023, the district’s Chief Academic Officer Dr. Patrice Faison told board members that district staff were weighing the possibility of opening a “newcomer school” for immigrants and non-English speakers to repurpose the existing facility.

Faison said that Mosely “would be an ideal facility to utilize for this Newcomers School,” and insisted that it would “eliminate a lot of the costs that we currently would need because the facility is already there.” WECT News 6 reported that the “newcomer school” would be an optional educational facility for those “new to the county and new to the English language.”

“There are different models. The best model, talking to those who have models and looking at the research, is the newcomer school,” Faisan added. “Where you actually have a facility where you house and actually educate these students together, provide parental wrap-around support services. So it’s just not about the students receiving support, you also will be helping the families in this center as well.”

Commissioner Dane Scalise said that the Board of Education should refuse to close the career readiness academy, and criticized the proposed taxpayer-funded initiative for being “more akin to a migrant resettlement of assimilation facility.” It has also been called a “refugee school,” by many who oppose the proposition.

Scalise also cautioned that opening a newcomer school could exacerbate existing community “issues,” including the impact on local “schools, roads, and general infrastructure.” He also noted that there is already a “gap in housing affordability for existing citizens,” and fears that incentivizing more migrants to resettle in the community could negatively impact residents.

New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Foust explained that the initiative would have to be “fully funded [by taxpayers],” and said, “if it’s not fully funded, you can’t have it.”

School Board Member Josie Barnhart similarly said, “There is not money for this currently in place,” before acknowledging the district’s staggering $10 million budget deficit. “There has been no ask from the county commissioners, that will be something that the board sets the priorities, and we make the ask on behalf of the county to do so. So, that is not in place right now. It was just an idea for the facility use.”

https://www.tpusa.com/live/nc-county-weighs-closing-high-school-to-create-newcomer-school-for-migrants