Alamance Community College has named the Alamance-Burlington Schools System (ABSS) as its 2022 Organization of the Year in recognition of the outstanding support the system has consistently provided to ACC students and graduates.
As one of ACC’s strongest and most significant partners, the Alamance-Burlington Schools System has worked with the College to increase educational opportunities for K-12 students and advance the academic rigor of graduates. These collaborations and joint efforts have provided a pipeline between ABSS and ACC that contributes to the broader economic and educational advancement in Alamance County.
Said ACC President Dr. Algie Gatewood: “We at ACC have long cherished the close and productive partnership with our fellow educators at the Alamance-Burlington Schools System, reaching back many years and including numerous educators and administrators from both ACC and ABSS. The relationship between us is one of joint endeavor in a multitude of initiatives so that students in Alamance County have the very best of academic expectations to better their lives, from high school to post-graduate work. Superintendent Butler is a great partner and I look forward to more fruitful partnerships to benefit our students in the coming years.”
“ABSS is grateful for the continued partnership with Alamance Community College,” said Dr. Dain Butler, ABSS Superintendent. “Hundreds of our high school students are currently taking advantage of the various ACC programs including the Pre-Collegiate Academy, Early College, and Career Technical Pathways. These opportunities position students for success far beyond high school. I applaud ACC for having the mindset to serve students where they are in their lives, removing the often familiar obstacles that may impede a student’s educational goals, and providing them the support services to help them excel beyond just academics.”
Among the partnership highlights exhibited by ABSS are:
• Countless ACC graduates over many years have found employment with ABSS as teachers, office employees, and staff.
• 22 ABSS employees serve on various ACC department advisory boards.
• ABSS hosts ACC classes on five of their high school campuses.
• ABSS generously provides textbooks/access codes to Career and College Promise students that take ACC classes on one of their campuses. Enrollment has risen from 300 students to more than 1,200 over the last few years.
• ABSS consistently promotes ACC programs as options for their students both during high school and after graduation.
• ABSS works with the College to place students enrolled in our Teacher Preparation program in their classrooms for field experience. Students are placed in a classroom and work with a cooperating teacher each week for a semester long experience.
• ABSS Early College makes its home on ACC’s main campus, allowing this state-accredited high school and its approximately 250 students to take classes in university transfer, Career Technical and STEM programs.
• The Alamance Scholars program aims to increase the diversity of prospective teachers in ABSS to better reflect the county’s student population. The 2021 agreement between ACC, ABSS and Elon University established a pathway from high school to community college to a bachelor’s degree in education for students with financial need who desire a career in education in Alamance County.
• Apprenticeships through the Career Accelerator Program (CAP) havebrought together in partnership ACC, ABSS, the Alamance Chamber, and 12 local advanced manufacturing firms that provide high school students opportunities over three years to learn a skilled trade while earning a paycheck and full-time placement in a career.
• Medical Bridge: Minority Males in Medicine is a partnership between ABSS, ACC, UNC-Chapel Hill Medical School, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to sponsor the Medical Bridge Summer Camp for young minority boys on the ACC campus. Each year, Medical Bridge students are exposed to mentors of color, hands-on science activities, and a field trip to the UNC Medical School.
The ACC Foundation facilitates the nomination process for this annual award. The criteria for the award is as follows: Number and quality of volunteers provided to ACC by the business or organization; opportunities provided by the business or organization for current ACC students; number of ACC graduates hired by the business or organization annually; resources provided to Alamance Community College by the business or organization annually.
Previous winners of ACC’s Organization/Business Partner of the Year Award were:
• 2006: LabCorp and ARMC (tie)
• 2007: Duke Energy
• 2008: Kernodle Clinic
• 2009: Chandler Concrete Company, Inc.
• 2010: Honda Power Equipment
• 2011: Twin Lakes Community
• 2012: Glen Raven
• 2013: County of Alamance
• 2014: Pro Feet
• 2015: Color Landscapes, GKN, Sandvik Coromant
• 2016: Carolina Biological Supply
• 2017: Fairystone Fabrics
• 2018: LabCorp
• 2019: IBM
• 2020: Elon University
• 2021: Truist Bank
