Applause echoed beneath the covered walkway at W.T. Brown Elementary School on Monday as children streamed between two rows of cheering educators and district leaders.
Colorful backpacks bounced toward the entrance while adults clapped, waved, and reached out for high-fives. The bursts of color continued beyond the schoolhouse doors.
Children walked beneath an arch of red, blue, green, and orange balloons framing a “Welcome Back to School” display before settling into classrooms with bright red tables and freshly filled supply bins.
Some began the morning by circling cartoon faces to show whether they felt happy, sad, nervous, or excited. Others completed interest surveys, filling in their favorite foods, colors, and activities—small introductions to teachers and classmates in a school community where many faces were new.
Signs throughout the building carried messages meant for the moment. Employees wore matching gray shirts bearing the words “We are better together,” a bulletin board repeated the phrase in bright letters, and another display declared, “This year’s story starts here.”
For W.T. Brown, it was more than the start of another school year. It was the first day of a newly combined school community following the closure of Manchester Elementary, leaving W.T. Brown as Spring Lake’s only elementary school.
Across the district, students and educators were beginning other transitions shaped by Cumberland County Schools’ sweeping facilities plan.
E.E. Smith High School entered what is expected to be its final year in its current building before students temporarily relocate during construction of a new campus. Meanwhile, the alternative school formerly known as Ramsey Street High welcomed students into a renovated building under a new name: Pauline Jones High School.
The changes made Monday a first day defined not only by new classes and teachers, but also by school communities learning how to carry their identities into unfamiliar spaces.
‘Manchester Is Just a Memory’
The Cumberland County Board of Education voted 5-3 on May 12 to close Manchester Elementary ahead of the 2026–27 school year.
During the consolidation planning process, the district initially projected that 239 Manchester students would move to W.T. Brown, bringing the school’s enrollment to 706. The district also projected that 60 W.T. Brown students would be reassigned to Ponderosa Elementary.
By the first day of school, those projections had changed.
W.T. Brown Principal Ebony Johnson said the school was expecting 328 former Manchester students and a total enrollment of 798. About 50 students were reassigned from W.T. Brown to Ponderosa.
District officials previously said those students already lived near Ponderosa’s attendance area and were moved to the school closest to their homes, creating space at W.T. Brown for the incoming Manchester students.
The district presented the consolidation as an opportunity to increase federal funding for schools with high numbers of students from low-income families, provide full-time art, music, and physical education teachers, create stronger student-support teams, and give educators more opportunities to collaborate with others teaching the same grade.
Officials also estimated that closing Manchester would save Cumberland County Schools about $500,000 to $600,000 annually.
Johnson, who previously served as Manchester’s principal, moved to W.T. Brown as part of the transition, providing some continuity for students arriving from the closed school.
“I am most excited about growth and bringing everybody together,” Johnson said. “I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for the community. It’s going to be better for our students, too.”
That optimism was visible Monday as students settled into their classrooms and staff members worked to welcome the newly combined school community.
Superintendent Eric Bracy visited W.T. Brown as part of his first-day tour and helped welcome students.
“Everybody coming together and getting started is just like Christmas morning—you don’t sleep well the night before,” Bracy said. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I am just incredibly excited to begin the school year.”
Bracy said he plans to be as visible as possible across the district this year and his familiarity with Cumberland County Schools will help him improve during his second year.
“I was here last year and didn’t know anybody. Nobody knew me,” Bracy said. “Now everybody knows me, so I’ll be better this year than I was last year.”
For one rising first-grader, however, beginning again meant leaving behind the teachers and school he had only recently learned to trust.
Before the first day, his mother, Monica Chadwick, described how her son, who has a speech delay and an individualized education program, struggled to understand that he would not be returning to Manchester.
Chadwick recalled that when her son began asking to see his teachers, she initially thought he meant the staff at his day care. Then, while the family was driving, he began insisting they were going the wrong way.
“He has a good sense of direction,” Chadwick said. “He’s like, ‘No, you’ve got to go this way.’”
Her son was trying to direct the family toward Manchester.
He had grown comfortable with his teachers during his first year of school, Chadwick said. After Manchester closed, he continued asking for them and sometimes cried because he wanted to return.
Her husband eventually contacted one of the child’s former teachers so he could see her again and understand that she was still there, even if he would no longer enter her classroom each morning.
On Monday, he began a new chapter at W.T. Brown alongside other former Manchester students.
Chadwick attended Manchester herself. Her two older children, now 19 and nearly 18, later walked the same hallways. She had hoped her youngest son would continue that family tradition.
“It brings back memories of where we came from,” Chadwick said. “It was kind of good to see him follow the footsteps that I took, as far as walking the hallways of Manchester.”
She said her greatest hope is that he will find the same familiarity and acceptance at W.T. Brown.
“I just want him to experience the same love he experienced at Manchester with those teachers,” Chadwick said. “I just hope that he’s able to be himself and talk to people because he’s a very loving little boy.”
For Chadwick, Manchester’s value could not be captured only through enrollment figures, operating costs or building capacity. It was the school her family shared and a place that connected generations of Spring Lake residents.
“It’s like it takes away some of our history,” she said. “Now we’re going to have to say, ‘I remember when Manchester was right here,’ because they took it. So now Manchester is just a memory.”
E.E. Smith Begins Final Year in Current Building
At E.E. Smith High School, the first day carried a different significance.
Monday marked the beginning of what is expected to be the Golden Bulls’ final school year in their current building before students temporarily relocate to Reid Ross Classical School during construction of a new E.E. Smith campus.
For Principal Larry Parker Jr., the moment felt “surreal.”
Parker is not only the school’s principal but also part of a family whose connection to E.E. Smith stretches across three generations. His grandfather graduated from the school in 1951, his father in 1971, and Parker in 1991.
E.E. Smith first opened in the Orange Street School in 1927 before relocating to Campbell Avenue, Washington Drive and, in 1954, its current Seabrook Road campus.
“Being part of the schools history transitioning is pretty incredible,” Parker said. “We’re looking forward to seeing what it’s going to look like.”
The school board voted in February to request $150 million from the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners to construct a new E.E. Smith on the school’s current campus at 1800 Seabrook Road. In July, commissioners approved up to $160 million for the project.
Under the district’s timeline, E.E. Smith students are expected to move to Reid Ross for the 2027-28 school year while the existing high school is replaced.
Parker said requests for qualifications have been issued as the district searches for firms to provide architectural services, making the long-discussed project feel increasingly real.
“When you start to see the ball moving, as far as looking for architects, it’s really an exciting time for E.E. Smith,” Parker said.
The transition will coincide with a milestone in the school’s history. Parker said the Class of 2028 is expected to be E.E. Smith’s 100th graduating class.
Before then, district leaders must determine how to move a student body of more than 1,000 to Reid Ross without disrupting instruction or separating the school community.
Parker previously served as principal of Reid Ross and said he is familiar with the campus, but questions remain about how the space will accommodate E.E. Smith’s enrollment.
“It’ll be interesting to see how that would work with 1,000 kids,” Parker said. “I’m pretty sure that the county will sit down and take the time to make sure that during the time of construction our students are kept together as best as possible.”
Reid Ross is about 2.7 miles—or a seven-minute drive—from E.E. Smith. Despite the relatively short distance, transportation will require adjustments, particularly for students who currently walk to the Seabrook Road campus but may need to ride buses to Reid Ross.
“I know there’s going to be some changes in busing and transportation,” Parker said. “We do have some walkers who would turn into bus riders because it’s further away from Reid Ross.”
He said the district’s transportation, auxiliary services, curriculum, and instruction departments will need to coordinate the move so students’ education is not interrupted.
“We’re going to touch every student and make sure that transition is seamless,” Parker said.
The need for additional space was already evident as students returned Monday, Parker said. E.E. Smith’s enrollment had surpassed 1,000 students, compared with the roughly 980 students the school typically has at the beginning of the year.
“We are busting at the seams,” Parker said, pointing to enrollment in the school’s STEAM Academy, JROTC, and Fire Science Academy. “It couldn’t come at a better time. We absolutely need space.”
Even with a major transition approaching, Parker said the school’s immediate focus remains on the year ahead.
“In the meantime, we’re going to keep doing what matters—making sure teachers are teaching and scholars are learning,” he said.
‘We’re Making History’: Welcome to Pauline Jones High
At Pauline Jones High School, educators entered the new year with more than new classrooms.
The alternative school formerly known as Ramsey Street High relocated from Quincy Street into the former Pauline Jones school building at 225 B St., taking on a new name, light blue, gold and black colors, and the Gryphons mascot.
The building previously housed Pauline Jones Elementary School and later Pauline Jones Middle School, which closed in 2016. Fayetteville Technical Community College used the campus for adult education programs.
Its return to use as a Cumberland County school followed a series of reversals earlier this year.
The school board initially voted in February to demolish the former Pauline Jones buildings and transfer the property to Cumberland County for $1. On March 10, the board reversed that decision and voted 6-3 to relocate Ramsey Street High to the campus instead.
For Principal Lawrence Smalls II, reviving the building also presented an opportunity to restore the name of the local Black educator for whom it was built.
Smalls said Pauline Jones worked in education in the area and was associated with the educator and diplomat for whom E.E. Smith High School is named.
“She was an educator with Ezekiel E. Smith, from what I can gather,” Smalls said. “After she died, they built a school in this area and named it after her.”
Smalls said preserving that legacy made the move particularly fitting as the district also prepares to construct a new E.E. Smith High School. A building that had once faced demolition was instead renovated for a new generation of students.
“This school was empty, and now it’s revitalized,” Smalls said.
Inside, teachers spent the final days before students arrived on Monday arranging furniture, hanging college banners, and turning once-empty classrooms into spaces meant to motivate students.
One social studies room borrowed its theme from “A Different World,” the television series set at a fictional historically Black college. In another classroom, English teacher Katie Hurt created a wall for artwork, poems, and photographs students have given her over the years.
Fresh gray walls and black doors gave the building a more modern appearance. Crews also updated wiring, internet, and phone systems as the district prepared the former elementary and middle school campus for high school students. The new interior and exterior painting cost $120,300.
Smalls has led the alternative school for four years, including its time as Ramsey Street High. Now, he becomes the first principal to lead a high school from the Pauline Jones building.
He said educators had to look beyond the uncertainty surrounding the move and establish a vision for what the school could become.
“If I didn’t have the vision to tell people what it’s going to be despite what it currently looks like, they’d be overwhelmed by that,” Smalls said.
Teachers described the move as a fresh start.
Hurt, an English teacher entering her third year at the alternative school, compared moving into the building to bringing home a new car.
“It’s not had any lived experiences yet,” Hurt said before students arrived. “Monday is the real test drive. What’s the flow going to look like? How is it going to look when the kids walk in the door?”
For Hurt, preparing her classroom was like adding the accessories that gradually make a new car feel like one’s own.
“We’re kind of decorating the new car, putting it all together and breaking it in,” she said.
Pauline Jones serves students temporarily reassigned from traditional high schools following disciplinary infractions. Enrollment changes throughout the year as students arrive, complete their assignments, and return to their home schools.
Smalls said the school could begin with about 30 to 40 students and grow to nearly 200 at any given time. Students can arrive from almost any of the district’s traditional high schools.
That rolling enrollment makes Pauline Jones different from a traditional high school, where the student body remains comparatively stable. It also makes smaller classes and individual relationships central to the school’s work, educators said.
Hurt said one of her classes may have about 10 students from several schools, compared with the 25 or 30 students who might share a classroom at a traditional high school.
“You work to build your own little community, your own little family, of these kids that are coming from such different experiences,” she said.
Those students often arrive believing teachers have already formed opinions about them because of their placement, Hurt said. Her goal is to give them room to make mistakes, think critically, and begin rebuilding.
“I have no idea why you’re here. I just know you’re here,” Hurt said of her approach. “We’re going to learn, and we’re going to read, and we’re going to have conversations.”
The ultimate goal is to help students return to their home schools.
“We love you, but we want you to go back to your home school so we can love you from afar and see you become successful,” Hurt said. “I need you back in your building, where I can see your progress and you can send me emails and tell me how well you’re doing.”
Smalls said the smaller environment allows educators to reach students who may have felt unseen at home or in larger schools. He acknowledged that not every strategy will work, but said he is willing to adjust rather than become paralyzed by the possibility of failure.
“I have a plan,” Smalls said. “Some plans fail, but I’m not afraid to fail. I’m going to get the next one. You can’t score if you don’t shoot.”
For staff members, the move offers a chance to establish a new school culture while restoring a Cumberland County school community to the building for the first time in a decade.
“We get to put the first high school in here, and we get to run it as we see needs to be done right from the get-go,” Hurt said. “We’re making history.”
