After almost six months of delay, Guilford County Schools has added another school to their list.

Ronald E. McNair Elementary School has finally opened to nearly 400 students and its principal who is looking forward to succeeding within the community that surrounds the school.

“On some levels, there was genuine sense of relief that my focus could shift from distractions related to construction to instruction only,” said George Boschini, principal of Ronald E. McNair Elementary (REM).

“The key to success for McNair is building and nurturing a sense of community, which was difficult to do when we were split between two locations.   Now that we are in open location, this process can begin.”

As the new school in Guilford County, REM’s main focus is to offer students academic success that rests with the staff.

“It took more than five months and more than 150 interviews for me to select each person working at McNair, and the staff comes from 35 different schools or departments within our system,” said Boschini.

Teachers were selected based on their commitment to children, refusal to accept excuses and a determination to make a difference.

Along with a dedicated staff according to Boschini, REM has access to updated technology for support towards teaching and learning for both faculty and students.

“To us, technology is a great equalizer and opens the world of possibility to our children,” said Boschini.

He is looking for new ways to capture students’ interest and actively engage them in learning. He feels technology does that.

REM has installed desktops, laptops, net books, mobile devices such as iPads and iPods, document cameras, interactive Smart projectors, sound systems, broadcast studio, full WiFi access, and DVD players for students to use to enhance their learning.

With this elementary school being named after N.C. A&T alumni, the late Ronald E. McNair, Boschini wants to bring ideals, leadership and legacy of McNair into the school.

“We want our children to see the power of dreaming, setting goals, working hard and never giving up,” said Boschini.

“Where others might see barriers for reasons of race, economics, home life or ethnicity, we want our students and families to see opportunities and possibilities.”

He expressed that A&T was an important stop in McNair’s life journey and played an instrumental role in his success.

The lessons learned and experience gained at A&T allowed him to reach the stars.

“We would love for our children to see life in the same way,” said Boschini.

Boschini was very excited and eager to see the students walking into his facility. “In my 36 years in education, this was the first time I could say this, and to know I played a role in helping make this possible, was a humbling moment…I felt truly blessed,” said Boschini.

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• Erik Veal, Editor-in-Chief