One day this past May, Chocowinity Primary School’s gym turned into a barber shop. Students with permissions slips in hand patiently waited for their appointments and their turn under the ring light and shears.
Rodney Bullock and students from the Beaufort County Community College (BCCC) Barber Academy travel to schools, set up shop, and give free haircuts to students and faculty. Over half of the school that day would receive haircuts — a fade, trim, and more — thanks to Bullock and his BCCC students.
Bullock’s program again offered a deal of free haircuts this August for all K-12 students and school employees.
It’s a win-win for both sets of students. Students from Beaufort County Schools (BCS) get no-cost haircuts, while Bullock’s Barber Academy students get eager customers and the opportunity to apply their training to real-world experience.
It’s a back-to-school benefit of being in Beaufort County, an eastern North Carolina community split by the Pamlico Sound.
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Beaufort County by the numbers
Beaufort is the 8th largest county by area in North Carolina. Thirteen traditional public schools serve the county under BCS. The most recent data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) estimates nearly 80% of the student age population in the county is enrolled in BCS.
| Type | Enrollment | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Public | 5,775 | 79.24% |
| Charter | 435 | 5.97% |
| Home School | 551 | 7.56% |
| Private School | 527 | 7.23% |
| Total | 7,288 | 100.00% |
Dr. Matthew Cheeseman took the role of superintendent in January of 2019 after a career spanning states, classrooms, and leadership positions.
Of the many things Cheeseman makes a priority, one is listening to the families his district serves and tailoring schools for their community needs.
“They have a fire academy on the south side, boat building on the west side here in Washington, and on the north side, they have welding,” Cheeseman said.
“Each school has anywhere between seven to nine different CTE programs. Vet tech, nursing fundamentals, ag science — we really try to listen to what our families in our communities want.”
Superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, Dr. Matthew Cheeseman
The tradition of building boats in Beaufort
Being on the Pamlico Sound, the area has a rich maritime history, and Washington High School is continuing in this tradition with its Boatbuilding Academy.
Ken Adams is a CTE teacher and comes from generations of shipbuilders. His great-grandfather built boats in England, and his father moved to America in 1964 to continue working with sport fishing companies. Adams grew up building race boats and said, “I’ve been in a shop like this my whole life.”
What ‘house’ are you in?
Another point of pride for Cheesemen and his staff is the school ambassador system adopted from local educator Ron Clark. At Chocowinity Primary, students are sorted into four different “houses” when they begin school — Amistad, Altruismo, Reveur, Isbindi — each representing a different positive virtue.
The virtues of each house and the act of demonstrating those virtues are celebrated schoolwide. Throughout the year, houses earn points, students ring a bell in the hallway to signify big wins, and ambassadors are chosen from faculty recommendations at the end of each school year.
These student ambassadors hold the title the following school year. They welcome visitors to Chocowinity Primary and hold leadership responsibilities for their individual houses.
The character-building program has a language all its own. A digital leaderboard posts points and profiles of students who helped their house earn recognition.
According to Cheeseman, the program builds school culture. Banners hang throughout the halls and students wear house colors, which he said promotes healthy competition. A bulletin board reads, “Four Houses, One Family”.
Family and growth exploration permeate the leadership structure for BCS staff. When Cheeseman started as superintendent, he saw that 77% of principals at BCS were internal hires.
He wanted to expand it even more and began asking, “How do we develop leadership in our buildings?”
Building up local leaders
He started by checking in with his employees, inquiring directly if they had desires to expand their roles in a school capacity. Most BCS employees were raised in Beaufort County, and Cheeseman knows their passion for the place.
“We try to really build these pipelines of professional capacity,” Cheeseman said. He simply asks, “‘Are you doing what you want? And if there is something else you are interested in, how can I help you get it?'”
Cheeseman created the Superintendent’s Leadership Cohort, a five-session training program for BCS employees. He explained that it lifts up the profile of the employee, helps recognize their assets, and allows the employee to determine any future goals. Since Cheeseman isn’t in a classroom teaching anymore, he uses this program to scratch that itch.
“We start looking at, what do you want to do, what do you want to be, and what’s your timeline?” he said.
The program keeps leaders in BCS and sets them up with classes they would need to qualify to move up or around. Cheeseman was named Southeast Regional Superintendent of the Year in both 2021 and 2025.
With the beginning of the 2025-26 school year approaching, he has this message for the district.
“Beaufort County Schools remain committed to advancing every student’s potential through our dedicated professional educators, strong business partnerships, and community support.”
Superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, Dr. Matthew Cheeseman
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