JN Fries Magnet School

JN Fries Magnet School is a magnet school located in North Carolina.

JN Fries originally opened in 1989 ^[2] as a regular middle school named after the late Joseph Nelson Fries.^[3] He served as CCS superintendent from 1977-1988 and led the county through many transitions. The original middle school fed into Central Cabarrus High and at its peak (before it became a magnet) had 1542 students. The mascot was named the Knight, often referred to as the Noble Knight. It has been named a School of Distinction for many years in North Carolina.

In the 2011-2012 school year, JN Fries reopened as a magnet school, housing the STEM and International Studies program. Since it was considered a magnet school, students who resided in Cabarrus County could apply to attend JN Fries. Students who met the academic requirements were then placed into a lottery if there were no slots available.

Because of its excellence that year, Fries was granted the Honor School of Excellence Award. In the spring of 2013, the International Studies program, at that time headed by Angie Wood, was proud to announce that it had been accepted by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva as an IB World School, and it now offers the IB MYP Program.

J.N. Fries

Biography

Dr. Joseph Nelson Fries was born in 1927 in Rowan County, to the late Joseph Abram (Jack) Fries and Nellie Penley Fries. He graduated from Boyden High School, earned his bachelor's degree from Catawba College, completed his master's studies at Appalachian State University, and received his advanced administration certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was awarded his doctorate degree in education from Duke University. During World War II he voluntarily served in the United States Army, Btry. B 3rd BN. 1st Regt. R.T.C. final station, Okinawa, Japan.

Dr. Fries devoted over 39 years of his professional career to public education in North Carolina, having served as superintendent of Cabarrus County Schools from 1977-1988. His colleague, Dr. Ed Tyson said, "He had a very large role in bringing about what turned out to be a very smooth and peaceful integration of schools in contrast to others...He did that by being fair to all people,” Tyson said. The other major change Tyson recalled was the 1983 merging of the Cabarrus County and Concord City school systems when Fries was superintendent. He encouraged everyone to continue their education. Following his retirement, J.N. Fries Middle School was named to honor his commitment to the children of Cabarrus County. His uncle Channing Hilliard Fries, Jr. first hired him as a teacher and coach in Nashville. After moving to Concord, he taught sixth grade at Clara Harris School. He served as the first principal of Beverly Hills School from 1954-1965. ^[4]

Dr. Fries passed away on March 15, 2013. He had been married to his beloved wife, Betty Barrier Fries, for over 63 years. Dr. Fries was known as a family man. He and his wife had two daughters: Nancy (Faggart) and Jean (Beasley). They had three grandchildren: Christine Stiles Lovelace, Robert and Joseph Beasley.

Accomplishments as Superintendent

• Construction of Northwest Middle School and additional rooms at Northwest and Central High Schools, gymnasiums at Northwest, Mt. Pleasant, and Royal Oaks, and a multi-purpose room at Beverly Hills School
• Secured 10-year $50 million funding program, financed with state funds and $25 million approved by Cabarrus County voters overwhelmingly
• Merger of Cabarrus County Schools and Concord City Schools in 1983
• Achievement of a uniform assignment in the schools

Quotes

"We don't want to become a system of testers and not be teachers." December 4, 1988

"There's one rule of thumb I have always tried to keep in perspective: the schools belong to the people and they are going to be what the people wish for them to be." December 4, 1988

Principals

The magnet school (after its reopening) has been headed by three principals:

• Dr. Kecia Coln (Dr. Coln opened the magnet program at Fries, and left the school for the CCS Human Resources Department during the 2014-15 school year. She was also Principal of the Year that year for the school system.)
• Dr. Jim Williams (Dr. Williams served as an interim principal at JN Fries through the end of the 14-15 year.) He was also at the time principal of the Performance Learning Center, which is located on the campus of Fries.)

• Mrs. Kristy Bullock^[1] (Mrs. Bullock arrived at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. Until then, she was principal at C.C. Griffin Middle School, also in Cabarrus County Schools and a former rival of JN Fries.)

The current STEM lead teacher is Megan McNutt while the IB MYP Coordinator is Shanna Meehan. The current API is Alyn Szymanski and current AP is David James.

Clubs

There are several different clubs that are offered at JN Fries, including Odyssey of the Mind, Quiz Bowl, Science Olympiad and Math Counts. JN Fries has consistently done well at regional competitions in Science Olympiad and Quiz Bowl at the most recent, coming in 13th out of 45 teams in Science Olympiad, as well as 3rd out of 5 teams in Quiz Bowl.

References

External links

• Official website