Bus Drivers All Set for Halloween

Jeannette Carlton

Jim Foreman

Media Coordinator at Speas Elementary Recognized

Samra Childers

 

At the Oct. 23 meeting of the Board of Education, the board recognized Samra Childers, the media coordinator of Speas Elementary School, for winning a $5,000 Laura Bush Literacy Grant.

Speas is one of only 238 schools in the country to receive the award this year, and one of only 10 schools in North Carolina to receive the maximum award offered to “expand, update and diversify . . . library book collections.”

“I am excited and honored to receive this award.” Childers said. “In this age of so many budget cuts to education and library programs, this $5,000 will help us add many much-needed additional resources in several curricular areas, as well as provide exciting new discretionary reading to motivate students to learn and grow as readers.  I am particularly pleased that we will be able to support teachers and students in the Common Core areas where we did not have sufficient current materials, and to add to our multicultural collection.  We are looking forward to receiving our new books.”

Childers earned a bachelor’s degree from Pfeiffer College. She holds master’s degrees in Business Administration as well as Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has been an elementary school library media coordinator for 10 years. This is her fourth year at Speas. Childers is married to Joe Childers, the principal at Atkins Academic and Technology High School. They have three children.

Altogether, The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries awarded $1.13 million in grants for 2012. Partnering this year with the foundation was Target Corp. Through such programs as Take Charge of Education and Target School Library Makeovers, Target donates a significant portion of its giving towards educational causes with a focus on helping students achieve reading proficiency.

The Laura Bush Foundation has awarded more than $9.5 million to schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. In addition to these yearly grants, the Foundation has also awarded more than $6.3 million to school libraries in the Gulf Coast region to rebuild their library book collections that were lost or destroyed by hurricanes or storms.

More information about the foundation is available at www.laurabushfoundation.org

Students at Sherwood Forest Elementary Visit with People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

In the Thursday Oct. 18 edition of The Chronicle, reporter Layla Garms writes about a visit that people associated with Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind made to Sherwood Forest Elementary School.

The program, which was called "The Blind Side," was held on National White Cane Safety Day. For many of the students, a highlight was meeting a guide dog named Baldwin. You will find the full story and Garms' photos on pages A1 and A9 of the paper's E-Edition, which you can find at Winston-Salem Chronicle

Sedge Garden Teacher Receives 2012 Teacher of Excellence Award

Carolyn Woods, a speech-language pathologist at Sedge Garden Elementary School, has received the 2012 Teacher of Excellence Award, given by the Exceptional Children (EC)

Division of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. Woods has been a speech pathologist for 38 years and has taught at Sedge Garden since 1977.

“I feel very humbled to receive such an honor,” Woods said. “I feel that I have a true passion for my job as I can truthfully say ‘I love my job.’ Although many of my students learn at different rates and have a variety of speech/language issues I hope that I can make a difference in their lives as I work to make them successful and confident communicators.”

In the letter nominating Woods, Susan Battigelli, the school system’s program specialist for speech-language pathology, hearing-impaired and assistive technology, wrote, “Over her career, Mrs. Woods has provided an exceptional level of service to these students, who exhibit a range of impairments including those with severe and multiple disabilities. Moving beyond the basic expectation of providing services to these high-needs students, she has served as a motivator, model, and advocate, and has extended a quality of instruction and support that has made it possible for her students to advance to the next level of development and independence.

“Mrs. Woods has served literally thousands of students through her school-based services, on top of several thousand more through the Sertoma Summer Speech Program. It would not be an exaggeration to state that her professional accomplishments have left a lasting impact on generations of children within the community. She serves as the finest example of an educational speech-language pathologist, and Winston Salem/Forsyth County is proud to call her one of our own.”

In addition to her full-time job at Sedge Garden, Woods, who is a member of the Old Salem Sertoma Club, has coordinated the Sertoma Summer Speech Program for the past 23 years. Funded by Sertoma, the five-week summer program at Bolton Elementary School provides services for approximately 100 speech/language delayed children.

“I am most appreciative of the members of local Sertoma clubs for their funding so that this is an affordable program for parents and for the support that the school system gives in providing a space to hold the program,” Woods said.

Woods earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in speech pathology at Appalachian State University. She has been married to Jeff Woods for 38 years. They have two adult children and one grandchild and are members of Mount Tabor United Methodist Church.

Reagan High Science Teacher Co-Writes Article for National Publication

Aaron Willey, who teaches physical science and honors chemistry at Reagan High School, is the co-author of an article called “More is Less” in the October 2012 edition of Science and Children, a publication of National Science Teachers Association.

“Science educators and researchers around the world subscribe to this publication and we are proud to have one of our own science teachers as a contributor,” said Benika Thompson, the school system’s K-12 Program Manager for science. “Congratulations, Aaron!” 

Willey focused on problem-based learning (PBL) when earning her master's degree in education at Wake Forest University. The article came about as part of a joint project between the biology and education departments at Wake Forest, Willey said. Dr. Gloria Muday was doing work with tomato genetics and Dr. Michelle Klosterman was trying to find ways to bring this exciting research into the classrooms as problem-based learning. Willey helped trained undergraduate biology students who worked with students at Mount Tabor High, Jefferson Middle and Whitaker Elementary schools and co-wrote the paper with Klosterman.   

“I'm extremely interested in using PBL to get students (especially females) interested in pursuing the physical sciences," Willey said. “I'm looking forward to writing more in the area of PBL and also using modeling as a technique in chemistry. (Currently it's a popular method in physics). I am also currently interested in using computational science techniques to integrate more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) training for our students. I attended a computational science workshop in Dublin, Ireland this past winter so I've been trying to incorporate a lot of the new techniques I learned in the classroom.”

After earning an earlier master's degree in materials science and engineering from Clemson University, Willey worked as an engineer for Michelin for several years. Training others, she discovered a passion for teaching. After teaching a pre-engineering course at a high school, she entered the master’s program at Wake Forest.

“It's been a long road, but I'm finally doing what I love!” Willey said. “I was working in the area of spider silk research at Clemson.  It was an exciting area that used cloning techniques to try and replicate the material properties of spider silk, which is a completely renewable resource. As an Earth Club sponser at Reagan, I also want to incorporate this research into my classes.  There are just so many exciting areas of research that are perfect for getting students interested in science."

Willey is also one of 51 teachers who received an Endeavor Fellowship from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For more information about that go to Wake Forest University

Elementary Schools Participate in Walk to School Day

On Wednesday, about 85 students and their families at Jefferson Elementary School walked to school to show their support for October as Walk to School Month.

Throughout the month, schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system are participating as part of the Winston-Salem Area Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS). Walk to School Days are designed to encourage students to walk on a regular basis as a way to be healthy, protect the environment, and be more alert at school.

Continuing a tradition started in 2008, Kimberley Park Elementary School held its Walk to School Day on International Walk to School Day, which was on Oct. 3 this year. Jefferson Elementary held its first Walk to School Day on Wednesday, Oct. 17, and Rural Hall Elementary and Sherwood Forest Elementary Schools are scheduled to have their Walk to School Days on Friday, Oct. 26.

The Safe Routes to School Program for the Winston-Salem Urban Area is sponsored by the City of Winston-Salem Department of Transportation.

Sen. Pete Brunstetter Visits Wiley Middle School

On Friday, state Sen. Pete Brunsetter visited Wiley Middle School.

“We were very pleased with this visit,” said Andy Kraft, the school system’s k-12 program manager for social studies. “Senator Brunsetter toured the school and saw the tremendous benefits of the addition of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) program. He commented on the importance of STEAM education in preparing students for the 21^st-century global marketplace. 

“In addition, Sen. Brunsetter spoke to all of the eighth-grade students about how the legislative process works in the General assembly. This visit was part of the America’s Legislators Back to School program and was designed to expose students to the work of legislators and allow legislators to better understand the challenges facing schools.  We are very grateful to (Principal) Sean Gaillard and his staff for hosting this visit.”

Atkins Offers Learning Adventures Galore for Students Interested in BioTechnology, Engineering, Science

Terry Howerton, Kayci Nielson, Roy Hedgecough

For 10^th-grader Kayci Nielson, going to Atkins Academic/Technology High School is a way to get a jump on the career she plans in chemical engineering. She likes attending a school where people enjoy her chemistry jokes.

Here’s one:

Q: “Why do chemists call helium, curium and barium the medical elements?

A: Because if you can't helium or curium, you barium!

On Thursday night, Nielson was one of the Atkins students who joined teachers at the school for an informal open house to introduce its offerings to potential students. Roy Hedgecough - there with his parents, Amanda and Alan Hedgecough - was one of those who dropped by. Roy is still in elementary school – he’s a fifth-grader at Piney Grove Elementary - but he and his parents are already pondering potential paths to take through middle and high school.

“He likes science so this sounded like fun,” said Amanda Hedgecough.

Stationed at their classrooms throughout the building, teachers offered visitors tastes of such things as crime-scene investigation, computer animation and “cool chemistry.” In biotechnology coordinator Terry Howerton’s classroom, Roy discovered messages written with invisible ink and tackled other crime-related tasks. When Howerton and Nielson commented on how quickly he caught on, Roy said, “My mom watches a lot of cop shows.”

Tyler Gray and Roy check out the dry ice.

At present, Atkins has about 400 students – 150 freshmen, 110 sophomores, 70 juniors and 70 seniors. For students with an interest in biotechnology, engineering and such, Atkins is the place to go, said Kevin Hamilton, the school’s engineering coordinator. “We have about 20 courses that aren’t offered anywhere else.”

Ellen Palmer, who teaches biology and earth science, said, “The administration and the teachers are really committed to providing a great learning environment.” 

Elsewhere in the building, a rumor was circulating that Palmer was making ice cream – in a scientific way, of course – in her classroom. Those rumors proved unfounded. But she did have dry ice in water, a combination that produced bubbles that were fun to watch and poke.

There in Palmer’s room could be found ninth-grader Tyler Gray, who envisions becoming an aircraft-maintenance officer in the Air Force. He likes the school’s hands-on approach, he said. “I like taking stuff apart and working on it,” Tyler said. “It’s my hands-on school. More hands, less paper.”

And should you be wondering why chemistry jokes aren’t snappier, it’s because all the good ones argon.

East Forsyth High Students Help Families with Babies in Neonatal Intensive Care at Forsyth Medical Center

Daquan Richmond, Marco Aguilaro, Courtney Talley, Reginald Bonilla, Jesse Onderko

In the Thursday Oct. 18 of the Kernersville News, reporter Jennifer Owensby writes about Courtney Talley, a student at East Forsyth High School who is working with other students to help families who have children in the Neontal Intensive Care United at Forsyth Medical Center.

They are working through an organization called Project Brotherly Love to collect money and such items as baby blankets, baby body wash and lotion, and hand sanitizer.

Other students participating in the project include Jesse Onderko, Marco Aguilaro, Reginald Bonilla, Nate Parks, Brian Hurlburt, Jerod Everhart, Daquan Richmond, and Denis Maldonado.

Jennifer Owensby also took the photograph. You can find the Kernersville News at http://www.kernersvillenews.com/

Classified Advisory Council's October 2012 Spotlight

Each month the Classified Advisory Council puts the spotlight on a classified employee. For October, that employee is Pamela Weaver, a first-grade teacher assistant at Easton Elementary School.

Weave joined the Easton family October 20, 1989.  Easton has provided her with opportunities to grow and develop both in her personal and professional life. Mrs. Weaver is married to Captain W.S. Weaver of the Winston-Salem Police Department. They have one daughter, Tamela.

Mrs. Weaver began her career in a kindergarten/first grade combination class. Since then, she has assisted in kindergarten, first and third grades. As the years passed, she became the Before- and After-School Director, holding this position for more than ten years.

Easton Elementary is a Title 1 school and there are certain qualifications you must have to work in a Title 1 school. Mrs. Weaver received from the state her certificate as a Highly Qualified Teacher Assistant. She gained a renewed idea of what she wanted to achieve as an educator. With this new vision she wanted even more to become a teacher assistant who young children would look up to, and an educator who would always go the extra mile to ensure the success of all students.

Thank you, Mrs. Weaver for all you do for the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Schools.

Big Tires, Big Questions, Big Fun at Moore Magnet

Today was Transportation Day for students in kindergarten through second grade at Moore Magnet School. Standing by the truck that he drives for Fritts Motor Co., recovery driver Alexis Correa answered such questions as “Why does your truck have double tires?” To handle all the weight of the vehicles that his truck has to carry and so that the truck can still be driven should one of its tires get punctured, he told the students. He also talked about why he likes what he does.

“It’s a very good profession to have,” said Correa. “You get to help people for a living. Being able to help people is a very satisfying thing to do.”

Anne Collins, the counselor at Moore, has been organizing the annual event since 1995. “The whole point is to expose children to different occupations – get them thinking.”

“She works really, really hard every year,” said Tammie Brown, one of the school secretaries. “The kids enjoy it.”

“I think it’s great,” said Judy McLaughlin, a kindergarten teaching assistant.

Along with Correa, representatives from Gallins Vending Services, Parrish Tire Co. Ready Mixed Concrete Co., Forsyth Humane Society and Piedmont Sheet Metal Co. were there with their trucks. One question Terrell Robinson and Tom Westra of Piedmont Sheet Metal fielded was “How do you get electrocuted?”

“By not paying attention,” said Robinson, a residential HVAC technician.

Robinson went on to talk about the importance of being careful when working around electricity. Before he was done, he had brought Benjamin Franklin into the picture. His presentation to the kids was both informative and amusing, and he was clearly having a good time with the students. When a teacher started to say something to a particularly enthusiastic student, Robinson told her not to worry.

“I was a kid once, too,” Robinson said.

Stationed next to Piedmont Sheet Metal was a concrete mixer. There, you could learn such facts as a cubic yard (27 cubic feet) of concrete can weigh almost two tons. Terry Callaway, a fleet manager for Ready Mixed, said they like to go to such events when they can so that young people can learn more about what the company does and to see the equipment up close. “It’s a great opportunity for us to get out and give back to the community,” Callaway said.

The students also got to walk through the truck that the Humane Society takes to animal adoption events and uses to rescue animals after a disaster and to see some impressively big tires that Steve Lunt, a manager for Parrish Tire, brought. He pointed out the differences between a tire that you might see on a tractor-trailer truck rolling down the highway and one that you might see on a piece of construction equipment working in the dirt.       

The morning was informative for adults as well. “I found out a lot about tires that I never knew,” said Sally Merrill, a teacher assistant for second grade fresh from Lunt’s presentation. 

Wake Forest Baptist Donates Defibrillators to Middle Schools

Amy Craver with Principal Stephanie Gentry

In the Friday Oct. 12 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Richard Craver writes about a Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center program to donate an automated external defibrillator (AED) to each Winston-Salem/Forsyth County middle school. The first one went to Southeast Middle School.

"Fortunately, we have not had a reason to use an AED on campus, and I would like to be able to continue to say that," Principal Stephanie Gentry said during a training session. "But we would be foolish is we didn't take the opportunity to better protect our students and staff."

Journal photographer Walt Unks took the pictures. For the full story go to Winston-Salem Journal

Two Students Winners in 2012 Young Artists Competition

By Matthew Bullard

By Vignesh Gopalan

Two students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools have been named winners in the sixth-annual Young Artists Competition sponsored by Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC).

Both Matthew Bullard and Vignesh Gopalan were eighth-graders in Heather Miles Dutton’s advanced-art class at Meadowlark Middle School last year when they created the art that won the Middle School division. They were the only two middle school winners in the state. Two winners were also chosen in the Elementary and High School divisions.

Dutton had this to say about Vignesh's work: "Vignesh took this idea and ran with it. ‘Show me the meaning of ART. What it means to you.’ Vignesh's work in art is always meaningful, eye-catching and beyond his years. It meant a lot, as his art teacher, to see that he thought of ART in a powerful way...including his own face in the message!"

Dutton had this to say about Matthew’s owl: “Each student got to pick a species of an ‘Owl.’ They gridded their owl's photo and drew it in a huge poster form. Then they used pencil technique to capture the realistic features of their owl. Matthew's Owl was what we talked about in class as being very regal and mysterious. Matthew's skill is a combination of sheer talent, an artistic eye, and a true grasp of creating mood and feeling into artwork."

Dutton said that the work of these two students is an example of the value of being able to take art every year in middle school.

“My hopes are that they will be majoring in art one day!” Dutton said.

The winners’ artwork will be displayed at the PENC office in Raleigh and will appear in future PENC publications. Each piece of art was submitted on behalf of a student by a North Carolina art teacher

PENC received submissions from students from throughout of the state. The six winning artists received a monetary award and a certificate of achievement from PENC. Additionally, each winner and their art teacher were recognized at the PENC Executive Board meeting in September. The were also recognized at the Oct. 9 meeting of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education. PENC is committed to recognizing the hard work and dedication of North Carolina’s visual art educators and students.

Marine Corp League Donates to School Buddies Fund

Allen Martin and Vicki Fought

The Percy John Fulton Detachment 1075 of the Marine Corp League has donated $1,000 to the Lynne H. Berry School Buddies Fund.  MCL Detachment 1075 also supports Toys For Tots, Wounded Warriors, the Young Marines Program and Veterans Helping Veterans. Proceeds come from the annual North Carolina 5K Mud Run, held each year in Pinnacle, NC.

One hundred percent of the money donated to the School Buddies Fund is used to help students overcome barriers to their educational success by providing clothing, food, school supplies, bus passes, alarm clocks and other items to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools students in need.

Pictured above are Allen Martin, the volunteer service officer, and Vicki Fought, a school social worker. 

Volunteers Spiff Up the Grounds at Brunson Elementary

 
Brunson Elementary School has won an award that will enable the school to make its campus even more attractive. In 2010, Brunson Elementary School received the A.J. Fletcher Azalea Award given by Keep NC Beautiful. The award was 50 azaleas that volunteers planted on our grounds.

“Two years later we became eligible to apply for an additional award based on 1) how well we have maintained our azaleas and 2) our plans to further beautify our campus,” said Assistant Principal Andy Lester-Niles, who coordinates the school’s environmental initiatives. “We are pleased to announce we received third place for ‘Adding beauty to the community by enhancing their property with azaleas from the WRAL-TV gardens in an attractive and well-maintained manner.’  We have been awarded an additional 25 azaleas and $125 to help further our efforts.

“The award coincided wonderfully with our participation in the NC Big Sweep event last Saturday (Oct. 6, 2012).” Elaine Byers, who Principal Jeff Faullin calls “our amazing PTA grounds representative,” led the Big Sweep event.

Byers said that the Grounds Beautification and the Creek Sweep event brought out a record turnout of more than 100 adults and children including students, parents, grandparents, teachers and staff members.

 

“All worked side-by-side to complete tasks ranging from weeding, raking and mulching to sweeping the creek,” Byers said. “We also planted tees, pansies, cleaned campus sculptures and benches. It was a fabulous workday for all.

“Volunteers pulled debris from the creek ranging from a wheel, metal drawers, paper, guttering, to furniture parts and old clothing. In total, seven extra-large bags of trash were removed from the creek that flows right in front of our campus. We worked both school grounds and the creek for a total of 2½ hours. A pizza lunch was provided to all participating volunteers.”

Atkins High Graduate Looks Back 50 Years

James McCorkle

In the Thursday Oct. 4 issue of The Chronicle, reporter Layla Garms writes about the 50th anniversary of James McCorkle becoming the first African-American student at Guilford College.

McCorkle graduated from Atkins High School, where he was a National Merit Scholar and the president of the Student Council. He graduated from Guilford in 1966.

Garms also took the photographs. For the full story, go to The Chronicle

"A Day Made Better" at Ashley IB Magnet Elementary School

 

This morning, Maritza Riffo was working with the first-graders in her classroom at Ashley IB Magnet Elementary School when the door to her classroom burst open. In came a sizable group of people that, along with colleagues from her school, included people she had never met.

Understandably taken aback, she said, “What is this?”

It was a good thing. 

Riffo was the local winner in the “A Day Made Better” event, said Jennifer Stevens, an account executive with OfficeMax. In more than 1,000 classrooms across the country today, other groups were also presenting other teachers with $1,000 worth of educational materials as part of a national event sponsored by OfficeMax and AdoptAClassroom.org.

First, they wheeled in a brand-new chair just for Riffo. Following close behind came Steve Little and Adam Blackley, who both work at the OfficeMax in Winston-Salem, lugging a great big corrugated-cardboard box filled with educational supplies.

When it was time for a little speech, Riffo said: “Thank you so much. I just love what I do here. I love being with the kids. And I love teaching, and I love being in this school.”

“Let’s dig into the goodies,” called out one of the first-graders.

And that’s what they did. The students came over and helped Riffo see what all was inside. They found a backpack, markers, disinfectant wipes and all sorts of other things that will come in handy in the classroom. 

  

Looking on, Tommie Thompson, a kindergarten assistant who had come in for the surprise, said, “She is the hardest-working teacher I have ever met.”

Riffo is the only winner in Forsyth County. After things settled down a bit, the people from OfficeMax read the letter that Robert Ash, the principal at Ashley, sent when he nominated her:

 

“Ms. Riffo is an excellent first-grade teacher. She not only teaches her students all subjects for first grade, but she does it in English and Spanish. She is part of our school’s Dual Immersion program that helps students become bilingual in English and Spanish by the end of fifth grade. Her class of 24 students consists of native English and Spanish students. She does all of this while maintaining a wonderful sense of responsibility, humility, and compassion. She strives for all of her students to reach far beyond their own abilities and sees her students excel. She is a remarkable teacher who well-deserves to be recognized for her efforts.”

When Little shot some photographs, he asked the students to make faces for the camera. They were happy to oblige.

Mount Tabor Students Participate in Latin Achievers Club

Stephen Whittington talks to students at Mount Tabor High School

In the Tuesday Oct. 2 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, special correspondent Kathy Norcross Watts writes about Latin Achievers, a program that brings professionals with connections to the Latino community to Mount Tabor High School to talk about their careers.

"The kids love it," said Corey Daniel, a counselor at Mount Tabor. They feel that "someone cares about them and wants to invest in their future. We need them to care about their community, and we need their community to care about them."

Journal photographer David Rolfe took the photographs. For the full story go to Winston-Salem Journal

Kernersville Middle Teacher Has a Picture Book Published

 
John Stack, who teachers eight-grade math at Kernersville Middle School, has a new picture book out.

“The title is Cody's Almost Trip to the Zoo,” said Stack. “Cody's third-grade class is going to the zoo, but things start to get strange. The driver drives the bus into a lake, and it becomes a pirate ship with his teacher as the captain. They sail to a tropical island in search of some ‘beasts’ and enlist them to come back to the Treble City zoo. In the end, you are not sure if it was a dream or if it really happened.”

The illustrator is Aron Daniels.  His wife, Amy Daniels, teaches sixth-grade science teacher at Kernersville Middle.

The book debuted at the Bookmarks festival on Sept. 8 in Winston-Salem. Second Wind Publishing is the publisher, and, you can find the book at Barnhill’s bookstore at 811 Burke St. in Winston-Salem. You can also find it on Amazon.com.

Student Art in October issue of Forsyth Family Magazine

By Israa Wajih

By Rubi Bacho

 In the October issue of Forsyth Family, you will find art by four Winston-Salem/Forsyth County students in "The Artist's Corner" on page 96. Isaa Wajih is a ninth-grader at West Forsyth High School. Elizabeth Betson is the art teacher. Rubi Bacho is a fourth-grader at Hall-Woodward Elementary School. Joanna Smith is the art teacher. Claire Hudspeth is in the 10th grade at Reynolds High School. Amy Cruz is the art teacher. Beyonce Reynolds in the fourth grade at Rural Hall Elementary School, and Henry Moss is the art teacher. 

By Clair Hudspeth

By Beyonce Reynolds

High School Students Talk about the Importance of Voting

Silvia Rodriguez talks with Thaddeous Rice, Brett Saunders and Aaron Stamper at West Forsyth

In the Monday Oct. 1 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Bertrand M. Gutierrez writes about a drive to get high school students to preregister to vote. Two years ago, North Carolina pass a law requiring high schools to hold an annual voter-registration drive. Since then, more than 107,000 students, ages 16 and 17, have preregistered.

Journal photographer Walt Unks took the photographs. For the full story, go to Winston-Salem Journal