The Guilford County Board of Education will meet on Thursday, May 30 at 6 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administrative Offices, 712 N. Eugene St., Greensboro, NC.

Guilford County Board of Education meetings are broadcast live on GCSTV (Time Warner Cable channel 2 and U-verse) and re-air the day after the meeting at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the Saturday following the meeting at 1 p.m. To watch the meeting online, visit http://media.gcsnc.net/gcstv .

Six thousand, two hundred and ninety five. That's how many miles were left to be run by participants who reached the 24.8 mile marker in the Boston Marathon when it was interrupted by the tragic blasts of April 15.

Chris Terzigni's fourth-grade class at Archer Elementary had a simple idea - to finish the race on behalf of those "almost finishers" who couldn't. Through "Operation: Finish the Race," students are walking 1.4 miles per runner for the 4,496 runners who couldn't cross the finish line that day. With the help of four other schools that are recording and adding their totals, the students are more than 50 percent to their goal, which they hope to reach by June 3.

This service-learning project not only allows the students to demonstrate the GCS character trait of perseverance, but recording and calculating the miles also gives them a lesson in real-world mathematics.

Watch the latest GCSTV Newsbreak about Staff Sergeant Robert Benson, who surprised his children during an assembly at Rankin Elementary after returning from deployment to Afghanistan. Students at Rankin have supported N.C. 514 First Platoon and skyped with the soldiers at Veterans Day.

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Dhara Shah was one of two students from the Middle College at GTCC - High Point to turn her tassel from right to left twice at her graduation ceremony on Monday, May 20. She joined classmate Stefan Miric as two students who earned their high school diploma and associate degree tuition-free.

Students at the middle and early colleges can earn up to 60 hours of college credit or an associate degree in four years at the same time as graduating from high school. More than 88 percent of the 38 graduates from The Middle College at GTCC-High Point earned a total of 640 college credits that can be transferred to a four-year college or university.

For Dhara, it was this opportunity that attracted her to the middle college program.

"I really liked the middle college program because I had access to great college classes, and the small classes also helped me during high school," she said. "I also heard that students at the middle colleges are more like family."

This was certainly apparent at the school's graduation as student speakers joked about moments during their high school careers only they could understand.

Dhara praised the middle college program for helping her to come out of her shell and take on leadership positions. "I was shy and probably a little immature, but my school has helped me make really good decisions."

She certainly showed she's matured - she served as president of student council, leader of the student-mentoring program USucceed, a member of the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council and a student who presented at the National Service-Learning Conference.

As a recipient of the district's service-learning diploma, Dhara will represent her school at Cool to Serve - one of GCS' signature events that honors students who dedicated at least 225 hours to serving the community.

Dhara will attend her "dream school" of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She plans to study biology and hopes to devote a career to dentistry.

Fifty students graduated from The Academy at Smith on Friday night, crossing the stage at N.C. A&T's Harrison Auditorium. Among them was Luis Angel Vargas, the school's valedictorian, who graduated summa cum laude as a North Carolina Academic Scholar and member of the National Honor Society. Luis, an avid boxer, has earned college credit through dual enrollment at GTCC and also took Advanced Placement classes. He will pursue a degree in biology on his way to becoming a physician's assistant.

Kenya Hairston's commitment to service learning may help her in her quest to become a child psychologist. She earned an impressive 784 hours of service, while also taking college and AP classes. She will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall to major in psychology.

Camoriae Carter hasn't let a chronic illness slow her down. She graduated magna cum laude with a service-learning diploma, a Certified Nursing Assistant license and college credits to help her as she pursues a biology degree at UNCG. She plans to become a veterinarian.

Tra Nguyen also earned a service learning diploma and was honored as this year's salutatorian. A member of the National Honor Society and summa cum laude honoree, she will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall to pursue her dream of becoming an ophthamologist.

The Academy at Smith Class of 2013 earned an impressive 259 college acceptances and more than 6,000 hours of service learning.

For more stories and photos from The Academy at Smith, click here.

Among those heading off to college next year are uncle and nephew Dondre and Dominiqe McCaskill, who think of themselves as brothers. They've grown up together and share a love of reading and video games. In fact, both plan to pursue careers in video game design. Dondre will attend N.C. State University, and Dominiqe will head to Cleveland State University in the fall.

Five students received a service-learning diploma, and 11 graduated with honors. The Middle College at N.C. A&T is one of two single-gender high schools in GCS. For more stories and photos, click here.

Allen Middle will welcome a new principal in July as it begins a transformation designed to improve student performance and school atmosphere.

Dr. Shelia Gorham, current principal of Wiley Elementary, will serve as the new principal at Allen Middle effective July 1. Under Gorham's leadership, Wiley saw its End-of-Grade test scores jump 18.7 percentage points between 2011 and 2012, making it one of the district's most improved schools in 2012.

Allen Middle has been recommended by the district to undergo transformation to address falling test scores and concerns from parents and staff about the school climate. Part of that process includes bringing in new leadership and giving existing staff the opportunity to reapply for their positions if they choose. They can also apply to work at a different GCS school.

"We want to make sure Allen Middle has a team that is full of energy and ideas to make the school a more successful place to learn," says Dr. Terry Worrell, Central Region Superintendent. "The district is committed to doing whatever it takes to give all students the best possible education."

Under the transformation plan, the school year will be extended by 10 days to allow for additional instructional time. The revised calendar, if approved by the Board of Education, would start the school year on Aug. 12, 2013, and end it on June 10, 2014.

Accelerating school reform is an initiative included in Guilford County Schools' 2016 Strategic Plan . GCS administrators opted to intervene at Allen to reverse the academic trend as a proactive measure.

In one of the camp's dining halls, families were able to take a break indoors and learn more about Parent Academy resources, as well as how the Personalized Achievement, Curriculum and Environment (PACE) project will use technology to transform classrooms. Representatives from Amplify were on site to show off the new tablets middle school students will be using. Parents were also able to explore the online learning resources available through Parent Academy.

Guilford Parent Academy's Family Fun Day was sponsored by Sprint, the U.S. Department of Education, Blackboard Connect, Guilford County Schools, Guilford County Association of Educators, Guilford Coalition on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Guilford County Council of PTAs and the YMCA of Greater Greensboro.

"Family Fun Day is our way to say thank you to parents, caregivers and children across Guilford County that make our community a great place to learn and thrive," said Lisa Gardner, GCS coordinator for Guilford Parent Academy and partnerships. "By providing opportunities where families and children can participate in activities together, we can all reinforce the importance a strong family unit plays in the overall development of a child. Kudos to everyone involved, especially our hard-working volunteers who helped make sure Family Fun Day was a huge success."

Northeast High Receives Donation from Crown Honda, 10 a.m., (Northeast High, 6700 McLeansville Road, McLeansville) - Crown Honda will donate three vehicles to the Northeast High Automotive Program for training purposes. This donation is the result of automotive technician, David Melchionne, at Crown Honda who has served on the school's National Automotive Technician Education Foundation Business/Industry Advisory Council.  Melchionne worked on this committee after work hours and unbeknownst to those at Crown Honda.  When Crown Honda was informed of his support for the program at Northeast High, they offered to donate the cars to show support for the program.

The Middle College at GTCC-Greensboro Hosts Graduation Ceremony, 7 p.m., (Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, Koury Auditorium, 601 High Point Road, Jamestown) - The Middle College at GTCC-Greensboro will bid farewell to the senior class of 2013 during a graduation ceremony on Tuesday.

Wednesday, May 22

The Academy at Central Celebrates Commencement, 7 p.m., (Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, Koury Auditorium, 601 High Point Road, Jamestown) - The Academy at Central will send off their graduating seniors during a commencement ceremony on Wednesday.

Thursday, May 23

Archer Elementary Students Finish the Race for Boston Marathon Victims, 10:15 a.m., (Archer Elementary, 2610 Four Season Blvd., Greensboro) - After discussing the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, a group of fourth-grade students from Archer Elementary decided to finish the miles for those individuals that were unable to finish the race. During the past several weeks Archer students and their families have been collecting data on the number of miles they run and walk every day. Their goal is to collect 1.4 miles for each of the 4,496 runners who were unable to finish the race. On Thursday, students will be outside walking and running laps to add towards their goal of 6,295 miles.

Friday, May 24

The Early College at Guilford Holds Graduation Ceremony, 10 a.m., (Guilford College, Dana Auditorium, 5608 W. Friendly Ave, Greensboro) - The Early College at Guilford will celebrate the class of 2013 during a graduation ceremony on Friday.

The project, which began in 2010, was built in three phases. Overall, a total of $30,000 was raised through corporate sponsorships, private donations and student fundraisers in order to complete the outdoor classroom that also includes a basic inventory of classroom supplies.

Although the concept of an outdoor classroom seems simple, there is nothing ordinary about the Northern Middle's outdoor learning center. The unique setting gives students an environment that encourages creative thinking outside of traditional classroom walls. The space is comprised of a 30-foot by 30-foot concrete base and a UV-resistant shade sail that is anchored by four steel columns.

"The open space is conducive to inspiring students to think and engage on another level that they might not reach in a traditional classroom," said Gabriel Sams, seventh-grade social studies teacher and the project leader. "Not being confined by walls and rows of desks allow students to exercise their bodies and minds in new, innovative ways."

Teachers can check out the space similar to how they would check out the media center or computer lab. Open construction allows for the space to be used creatively, and teachers can attach white boards or use sidewalk chalk. Click here for pictures of the space.