The Immaculate Heart of Mary property will have a new name when Guilford County Schools students walk through its doors. The Guilford County Board of Education voted at its Thursday, Oct. 23 meeting to name the school the Dorothy Kendall Kearns Academy.

Dorothy (Dot) Kendall Kearns served on the Boards of Education for both High Point City Schools and Guilford County Schools. She remains a strong advocate for public education and the betterment of children. Kearns also served in numerous community service positions with the National Conference of Community and Justice, the Guilford County Health Advisory Board, Communities in Schools, the North Carolina School Boards Association, on the Community Advisory Board for Kids Voting, and the UNCG Board of Visitors. She was also on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners from 1982-90, and served as its first female chairperson from 1985-88.   

She continues to serve children and schools and is currently Vice Chairwoman of Public Schools First North Carolina which is a state-wide 501(c)(3) organization for the “advancement of effective education for all North Carolina Public School students.” She has received numerous honors and recognitions for her service to schools, children and community and was most recently named one of 30 Women of Distinction by the UNCG Alumni Association. She received the Outstanding Service Award presented by the League of Women Voters of North Carolina. In 2008, the Governor of North Carolina presented Kearns with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, an honor given to outstanding North Carolinians who have a proven record of service to the state.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary facility was purchased to provide a new home for the Academy at Central.