Mount Holly
North Carolina
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Rankin Elementary School
Rankin Elementary School had its beginnings in the "little red schoolhouses" that were built after the Civil War in the communities in and around what is now known as Mount Holly , North Carolina .
The Ida A. Rankin Elementary School , located on the site of the original Mount Holly Graded School at 301 West Central Avenue in Mount Holly , North Carolina , opened at the beginning of the 1972-1973 school year. The facility, an open, flexible-spaced physical environment, was constructed at a cost of $935,000.00, and it contains 52,000 square feet of floor space. Wilber, Kendrick, Workman, and Warren served as architects and engineers. Kindergarten through sixth grades are housed in this building and in the annex, which was constructed in 1951. The three original buildings, which housed grades one through six of Mount Holly Elementary School were constructed in 1910, 1917, and 1924. These were demolished in the summer of 1972, upon completion of Rankin Elementary School .
The name, chosen by the Gaston County Board of Education, honors a long time educator, Miss Ida Alexander Rankin. "Miss Ida" was born September 14, 1881, and died February 3, 1969 . She began teaching at the age of eighteen and served in the local schools for fifty-four years: twenty years as a primary supervisor and thirty-four years, primarily as a second grade teacher. Three generations of children were taught by Miss Ida, and it is said that she knew them all by name, even after they became adults.
"To each student she was a special person, with a special appeal, and each received a part of her understanding and her guidance," said the late Mrs. Amy Holland Smith, her former student and a former teacher at Mount Holly Elementary School/Rankin Elementary School.
In 1952, Miss Ida was selected Mount Holly 's Woman of the Year at the annual Community Dinner, an event still being hosted by the area Parent Teacher Associations.
The forerunner of Rankin Elementary School was Mount Holly Elementary School . Until 1959, when the State Department of Public Instruction divided the local school into two separate schools, grades one through twelve were considered an entity under the leadership of the district principal, Laxton Hamrick. Hinton MePhaul, L. Funderburk, T. H. Thompson, George Wilson, Richard Ashe, W. M. Farmer, and Walter Spear had earlier served as elementary assistant principals. Allan F. Craig, the elementary assistant principal in 1959, became the principal of Mount Holly Elementary School/Rankin Elementary School and held that position until his retirement in June of 1990. Ronald L. Foulk became the principal in July, 1990.
Prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, area black students in grades one through eight attended the Mount Holly Colored School located in the Freedom area on Hawthorne Street . Another school for black students located in the Lucia area, the one teacher teaching all grades, was merged with this school.
A. M. Rollins was the first principal of the Mount Holly Colored School, which was organized in the 1930's. Succeeding him were John Foster, Carroll Saunders, and Willie MeDuffie. Mrs. Fannie Cress, Mrs. Laura Rollins, and Mrs. Daisy Adams were some of the first teachers. Some of the later faculty members were Mrs. Georgia Costner, Mrs. Lillian Byrd, Mrs. Frenzola Cousar, Mrs. Ovella Scott, Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Ruth Wilson. Mrs. Helen Foster, Mrs. Jane Reid, Mrs. Madge Conley, Mrs. Priscilla Kornegay, and Mrs. Barbara Grier taught at Rankin.
A teacherage did not exist for the teachers of Rollins Elementary School , so Mrs. Roceda Bailey's home served as a teacherage for those teachers not having transportation to and from school.
Before the school was closed in 1969, there was a name change from Mount Holly Colored School to A. M. Rollins Elementary School in honor of its first principal.
By the fall of 1969, Mount Holly Schools were totally integrated, both students and staff. That year the enrollment of the elementary school was 1,350 with a professional staff of fifty-four. The three original buildings, the old high school vocational building, one room in the auditorium, and ten mobile classrooms were needed to house all the students in grades one through six.
A $20,000,000 bond vote in 1968 resulted in the consolidation of Gaston County Schools , Gastonia City Schools , and Cherryville City Schools . A new elementary school, later named Pinewood Elementary School , was to be built north of Mount Holly to replace Lucia School . Also, Catawba Heights Elementary School was to have an addition, and a new elementary school was planned to replace Mount Holly Elementary School . This brought about many changes in attendance areas and enrollment. Rankin Elementary School attendance lines have not changed since 1972. Through the years Mount Holly Elementary School/Rankin Elementary School has received special funding and has been involved in many pilot projects that have enhanced the instructional program.
The Parent Teacher Association has always been actively supportive in the school's endeavors. This school with assistance from the PTA the first elementary school in the county to install an automated circulation system, and the first school in the county to install a Local Area Network (LAN) supporting a computerized catalog. All inventories are managed through these systems.
Rankin School field tested, for IBM, a new IBM Classroom LAN Administrative System. More than eighty computer programs are being utilized in Computer Assisted Instruction and Computer Managed Instruction. This willingness to experiment, to change as needed, and to seek more effective ways to educate the students, has long been in evidence at Rankin Elementary School.
The Ida A. Rankin Elementary School , located on the site of the original Mount Holly Graded School at 301 West Central Avenue in Mount Holly , North Carolina , opened at the beginning of the 1972-1973 school year. The facility, an open, flexible-spaced physical environment, was constructed at a cost of $935,000.00, and it contains 52,000 square feet of floor space. Wilber, Kendrick, Workman, and Warren served as architects and engineers. Kindergarten through sixth grades are housed in this building and in the annex, which was constructed in 1951. The three original buildings, which housed grades one through six of Mount Holly Elementary School were constructed in 1910, 1917, and 1924. These were demolished in the summer of 1972, upon completion of Rankin Elementary School .
The name, chosen by the Gaston County Board of Education, honors a long time educator, Miss Ida Alexander Rankin. "Miss Ida" was born September 14, 1881, and died February 3, 1969 . She began teaching at the age of eighteen and served in the local schools for fifty-four years: twenty years as a primary supervisor and thirty-four years, primarily as a second grade teacher. Three generations of children were taught by Miss Ida, and it is said that she knew them all by name, even after they became adults.
"To each student she was a special person, with a special appeal, and each received a part of her understanding and her guidance," said the late Mrs. Amy Holland Smith, her former student and a former teacher at Mount Holly Elementary School/Rankin Elementary School.
In 1952, Miss Ida was selected Mount Holly 's Woman of the Year at the annual Community Dinner, an event still being hosted by the area Parent Teacher Associations.
The forerunner of Rankin Elementary School was Mount Holly Elementary School . Until 1959, when the State Department of Public Instruction divided the local school into two separate schools, grades one through twelve were considered an entity under the leadership of the district principal, Laxton Hamrick. Hinton MePhaul, L. Funderburk, T. H. Thompson, George Wilson, Richard Ashe, W. M. Farmer, and Walter Spear had earlier served as elementary assistant principals. Allan F. Craig, the elementary assistant principal in 1959, became the principal of Mount Holly Elementary School/Rankin Elementary School and held that position until his retirement in June of 1990. Ronald L. Foulk became the principal in July, 1990.
Prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, area black students in grades one through eight attended the Mount Holly Colored School located in the Freedom area on Hawthorne Street . Another school for black students located in the Lucia area, the one teacher teaching all grades, was merged with this school.
A. M. Rollins was the first principal of the Mount Holly Colored School, which was organized in the 1930's. Succeeding him were John Foster, Carroll Saunders, and Willie MeDuffie. Mrs. Fannie Cress, Mrs. Laura Rollins, and Mrs. Daisy Adams were some of the first teachers. Some of the later faculty members were Mrs. Georgia Costner, Mrs. Lillian Byrd, Mrs. Frenzola Cousar, Mrs. Ovella Scott, Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Ruth Wilson. Mrs. Helen Foster, Mrs. Jane Reid, Mrs. Madge Conley, Mrs. Priscilla Kornegay, and Mrs. Barbara Grier taught at Rankin.
A teacherage did not exist for the teachers of Rollins Elementary School , so Mrs. Roceda Bailey's home served as a teacherage for those teachers not having transportation to and from school.
Before the school was closed in 1969, there was a name change from Mount Holly Colored School to A. M. Rollins Elementary School in honor of its first principal.
By the fall of 1969, Mount Holly Schools were totally integrated, both students and staff. That year the enrollment of the elementary school was 1,350 with a professional staff of fifty-four. The three original buildings, the old high school vocational building, one room in the auditorium, and ten mobile classrooms were needed to house all the students in grades one through six.
A $20,000,000 bond vote in 1968 resulted in the consolidation of Gaston County Schools , Gastonia City Schools , and Cherryville City Schools . A new elementary school, later named Pinewood Elementary School , was to be built north of Mount Holly to replace Lucia School . Also, Catawba Heights Elementary School was to have an addition, and a new elementary school was planned to replace Mount Holly Elementary School . This brought about many changes in attendance areas and enrollment. Rankin Elementary School attendance lines have not changed since 1972. Through the years Mount Holly Elementary School/Rankin Elementary School has received special funding and has been involved in many pilot projects that have enhanced the instructional program.
The Parent Teacher Association has always been actively supportive in the school's endeavors. This school with assistance from the PTA the first elementary school in the county to install an automated circulation system, and the first school in the county to install a Local Area Network (LAN) supporting a computerized catalog. All inventories are managed through these systems.
Rankin School field tested, for IBM, a new IBM Classroom LAN Administrative System. More than eighty computer programs are being utilized in Computer Assisted Instruction and Computer Managed Instruction. This willingness to experiment, to change as needed, and to seek more effective ways to educate the students, has long been in evidence at Rankin Elementary School.