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Kernersville Education

Life Long Learning

In Kernersville, educating the children is everyone’s business. From the annual Chamber of Commerce Education Grant for teachers, to the classroom involvement by the firemen, police, and parks departments, to the countless parents, grandparents, and neighbors that follow the children right into the classroom — Kernersville is second to none for adult support of students.

“The main reason I came back to Kernersville,” said Sherry, “is because people are so involved in the schools. It’s all local people and they care about your kids.”

One reason for the high involvement is that the schools are tucked gently inside the neighborhoods.

“My daughter starts kindergarten this year,” said John, “and her school is only one mile from our home. We’ve already heard great things about her school and we’ll be up there volunteering when she goes.”

The public schools — the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS) — has four elementary schools in Kernersville. It is noteworthy that all four schools earned North Carolina’s “Schools of Distinction” award based on performance in the ABC’s of Public Education testing program.

Kernersville also has three middle schools. One middle school in particular has been in the limelight recently, Southeast Middle School. This school was recently recognized by Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services, and was recognized as a North Carolina’s “School to Watch”. In addition to this, Southeast is a district leader for students pledging to stay free of drugs and alcohol.

Kernersville Middle School also garnered the nation’s attention. In 2004, it placed second in the National Academic League championship.

The middle schools are also progressive and in view of the new global economy, Kernersville Sister City Association is now providing grants to electronically connect our middle schools to schools in one of our sister cities, Furtwagen, Germany.

The WSFCS system is the fifth largest system in North Carolina and the 91st largest in the nation. This affords local students many outstanding opportunities in academic classes, civic clubs, sports, music, and other extracurricular programs. The rich resources of this district allow for “schools of choice”, magnet schools, and six schools to serve students with special needs. The student to teacher ratio is 24:1, while the student to computer ratio is 4:1.

Kernersville has two public high schools and students have the option of enrolling in the Career Center which offers 25 vocational programs and 30 Advanced Placement (college level/college credit) courses. Students at least 16 years old also have the option of Dual Enrollment. These students attend classes at local colleges or universities and simultaneously earn high school and college credits.

Though the high schools have a healthy sense of competition, when tragedy strikes, the town unites. In 2003, when Eric Head, a freshman at Glenn High School, died suddenly from a rare heart virus, his family felt the embrace of the community.

“I wish you could have seen the stacks of cards we got daily for weeks,” said his mother Glenda. “And we used the donations to start an annual scholarship in his honor. This year (2006) we had a golf tournament to keep the scholarship going and both high schools in Kernersville and many of the other schools and businesses supported it. This all really moved me and I know that my kids are getting the best community, the best education and the best opportunities in Kernersville.”

Some parents are looking for a private or independent school for their children.

“We wanted smaller classes and a greater academic environment for our son,” said Keith, “and we chose Bishop McGuinness for our son’s high school. Initially, he didn’t want to go because he wanted to go to school with his friends, but he is excelling and now you couldn’t get him to leave. We are all convinced it was the best decision for our family.”

In 2006, Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School (BMCHS) was named one of the 50 best, out of 1300 Catholic high schools in the nation. It is the largest 9-12 non-public school in the Triad and has an academic program and activities second to none. The campus ministry program aids students of all faiths to develop their spirituality so as to live balanced and accomplished lives.

There are nearly two dozen private/independent schools in Forsyth County. In Kernersville, private schools include BMCHS, Kerwin Baptist Christian, Gospel Light Baptist, Brookside Montessori and First Christian Academy. Oak Ridge Military Academy is in nearby Oak Ridge and Westchester Country Day School is in High Point.

Kernersville is home to two college campuses. Forsyth Technical Community College has a campus at the Grady P. Swisher Center. Enrollment at this campus has grown so significantly that 11,000 square feet is being added to the current structure. Citing just one area of study — Global Logistics Technology — enrollment has increased over tenfold in just three years. Dudley Cosmetology University is located next door.

A few of the many other Triad colleges include, Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Winston-Salem State University, Guilford College, North Carolina School of the Arts, and High Point University.

Parents have a wide variety of daycare options for pre-schoolers that range from academically based programs such as the Montessori school, church based programs, learning centers, and in-home child care. There are also ample before and after school programs for school-aged children.