Reagan High School Turns 10

For the story about Reagan High School celebrating its 10th anniversary, go to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

Here are some more pictures from the celebration

Happy First Day for Students 2015-16

For the story, go to Students' First Day

Here are more pictures from the first day of school:

Celebrating the Start of the 2015-16 School Year

For the story, go to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

Here are some more pictures from the event:

Winston-Salem Police and Daggett Shuler Attorneys at Law Provide Students with Backpacks Filled with School Supplies

Daggett Shuler, Attorneys at Law has teamed with the Winston-Salem Police Department to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to local elementary school children who need help getting all the materials required to have a successful school year.

As a release from puts it:

"The back to school season is an expensive one, especially for families who are already financially strained. The Backpack Program aims to ease this financial burden on those families by providing backpacks filled with school supplies to students who otherwise would not have all the materials they need for a successful year in the classroom.

"The Daggett Shuler/Winston-Salem Police Department team will distribute backpacks filled with school supplies to five local elementary schools. The schools, familiar with their students, will identify the students most in need to receive the backpacks. Each backpack is filled with notebook paper, a notebook, a two-pocket folder, pencils, a pencil sharpener, an eraser, a bookmark, glue, scissors, and crayons.

“We are so excited to be reaching out to the local community in a new way with the Winston-Salem Police Department,” says David Daggett. “The Winston-Salem PD is committed to assist those in our community who need an extra hand, and we are thrilled to join forces with them on this project.”

Daggett Shuler also sponsors the Safe Sober Prom Night Program. For more information about it, go to www.SafeSober.com For more information about the firm, go to www.DaggettShulerLaw.com

One of the Founders of the Educator Warehouse Named a Community Hero

Karel Chandler, one of the founders of the Educator Warehouse, has been named a Community Hero.

The Community Hero Award is a new program associated with the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University, which will be held Aug. 22-29 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex adjacent to BB&T Field.

In conjunction with Lowes Foods, the Winston-Salem Open is recognizing five local community members for their outstanding service to Winston-Salem and the surrounding areas.  The organization being represented by each award recipient will receive $1,000 for the services and programs that it offers.

According to a release about the award, Chandler is:

A mother and very active community volunteer...In addition to her commitment to area teachers and students, Chandler is a devoted volunteer for the Winston-Salem Open each year, and enjoys watching tennis and loves seeing both returning players and anyone that may be new to the tournament.

“The help from the community such as this very generous donation is critical to helping students who could not otherwise afford school supplies. Rarely do people stop and think that without the “nuts and bolts” of everyday school supplies; some children begin the year at a steep disadvantage,” Chandler said.

“Believe it or not, this will help cover 15 backpacks for elementary school students, notebook paper for 80 students, crayons for a whole year of a 50 child preschool program, packs of Sharpies for 30 teachers in a local middle school, and pencils for 4 sections of high school English.  This is truly a gift that covers students of all ages and their teachers.”

For more information about the Educator Warehouse, go to Educator Warehouse

For more information about the Winston-Salem Open, go to Winston-Salem Open

For more information about Lowes, please visit Lowes Foods

More than 1,200 Attend Collaborative Learning Conferences at Walkertown High

Last week, more than 1,200 teachers, teacher assistants, principals, psychologists, parent-involvement  coordinators and others who work for the school system participated in one of the day-long Collaborative Learning Conferences held on Aug. 12 and 13 at Walkertown High School.

One purpose of the Collaborative Learning Conferences– the first held by Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools – was to explore the power of learning and working together to improve and to reach the school system’s goals. The topics that were explored were tied to the district goals and priorities. 

Pedro Noguera, a professor in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University, was the keynote speaker for Aug. 12. On Aug. 13, James Ford, a history teacher in Charlotte who was named the 2014 Burroughs Welcome Fund N.C. Teacher of the Year, talked about culture and diversity.

The school system’s three major goals are:

By 2020, 90 percent of third-grade students will read on or above grade level.

By 2018, the graduation rate will be 90 percent.

By 2018, the achievement gap between subgroups will have closed by 10 percent while the performance of all subgroups will have improved.

Power of K Teacher Leader Initiative Kicks Off

Thanks to the generosity of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is embarking on a two-year professional development initiative designed to enhance the leadership skills of a selected group of kindergarten teachers. It’s being called the “WS/FCS Power of K Teacher Leader Initiative.”

The kick-off began last week with the teachers spending Monday Aug. 10 and Tuesday, Aug. 11 together, said Eva C. Phillips, the school system’s Ready Schools Coordinator, “getting to know each other, talking about the successes and the challenges of teaching kindergarten, learning about what it means to be a teacher, reflecting on what it means to have a growth mindset,  and beginning to dig in to the uniqueness of the kindergarten year and how to balance what we know about how young children grow, develop and learn as we focus on the necessary content and assessment expectations and how it all works together to support our district goals/priorities.”  

On Monday and on Tuesday morning, they met in the offices of Kaplan Early Learning Co. in Lewisville. They then headed to Diggs-Latham Elementary School for lunch with principals and an afternoon session. Brian Kennedy and Chris Gerblick of Kaplan providing meeting spaces, supplies and snacks as well as the lunch on Tuesday, “ Phillips said. “We are extremely grateful for their continued support of this work.”  

Later in the week, the teachers attended one of the days of the Collaborative Learning Conference for some special kindergarten sessions related to kindergarten effective practices and implementation of the Kindergarten Entry Assessment Process (KEA).

According to a release about the initiative, the Power of K is “about balancing what we know about how young children grow, develop and learn (the how) with standards and other expectations of teachers and children (the what). There is not one POK way...it is individual...it is based not only on children's needs and interests, but also reflects each teacher's unique style...it is about implementing the ideals behind developmentally appropriate practices...it is about keeping children at the forefront of your teaching and making sure that each and every child's needs are met in the most effective and appropriate way.

“It is utilizing a variety of effective instructional tools and contexts, including but not limited to play-based experiences and learning centers, to scaffold and support children's learning and development. It is about taking children from where they are to where they can go...all the while knowing the learning standards and other curricular goals and embedding them into meaningful experiences in engaging ways for the particular children in your classroom.”

Main Street Academy Has a Back to School Festival

On Saturday, Aug. 8, Main Street Academy – with lots of help from businesses and organizations in the community – held its “Southeast International Back to School Community Day” in the field across from the school on South Main Street.

The day included a giveaway of school supplies, free food for young people, live music and performances, health screenings, and information about community resources.

The Southeast International Community Day was organized by the newly formed Southeast Community Partnership. The team included several churches, organizations and government agencies. Many from the community were excited about the event and pleased to see an event in the southeast community.

Here is what the Rev. Anthony Jones of United Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church had to say:

"For 10 years, I have been serving as the Senior Minister of United Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church, located in the Southeast Ward. One of my passions for ministry is working with children and youth.  Over the years, I’ve noticed there was a lack of positive activity for children and youth in the area. I prayed to God to provide an idea to help build upon my desire to provide succor and strength to the children and youth and in our area.  As a result of the Southeast International Community Day, the efficacy of agencies and people who share the passion to produce a proper environment has grown. Hopefully, experiences like this will encourage children and youth to explore their passion in life.

"I was gratified with the outcome of the event. However, we have much work to do. During the event, I was thinking of what could be done to improve the affair and create a greater impact for our youth and their families, next year. I want to thank Principal Travis for allowing Main Street Academy to be the space to give birth to our community day.”

Big Brothers/Big Sisters in also a member of the Southeast Community Partnership. CEO Shawan Gabriel said: "It was great to have  so many  community  partners to unite and host this type of event for the southeast community, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters was glad to be a part of it."

Many local families participated. The Martinez family has three children in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System. They were very grateful to be able to receive free school supplies. Mr. Stan Martinez, expressed his feelings as follows: “This is a blessing. Buying school supplies for three children can be very costly. Wwe in the community really appreciate this event.”

Barbara Gorham, the Director of Children’s Ministry at St. Peter’s Church and World Outreach Center said: “I absolutely loved the community collaboration and feel that we all made an impact in our community. To see greater results of the impact, we will have to continue to identify our community needs and collectively address them. 

 

“We identified a need, came together and addressed it, blessed those in need, mission accomplished! We had food and book bags remaining which resounds to me that when God gets involved there is always increase and surplus. Overall the event was a huge success. Can somebody say three fish and five loaves?”

Many parents were very grateful. Parent Cindy Robinson was very excited about the affair. “It’s exciting that our community is finally being recognized. We’ve never had an event like this in our community. This is great.”

Nichelle Carroll, the Home School Coordinator at Main Street Academy said: “It is my desire to create opportunities within our community to strengthen and empower children, as well as, their families. Southeast International Back to School Community Day was an opportunity to reach more families, by uniting with area churches, schools, government officials, business partners, sponsors and leaders. We have a common goal, to empower children, strengthen families and rebuild our community.  I was raised to have a village mentality.  We can accomplish much more, if we work together. Together we stand; divided we fall. Let's continue to empower one another and reclaim our community, one child, and one family at a time.”

Ronald Travis, the Principal of Main Street Academy, concluded the following:  “I am very grateful we are able to partner with so many outstanding agencies. We appreciate their support. We are very grateful that our community supported an event   of this magnitude.

“We are also thankful for the support of  Officer Pam Peoples-Joyner and the Winston-Salem Police Department. Her leadership was very critical to the success of this affair. Lastly, to Councilman James Taylor, Councilman of the Southeast Ward. He supported this occasion and has visited our campus and pledged his support of our endeavors. Main Street Academy wants to continue to be a productive partner in the Southeast Community”.

Other sponsors included Big Brothers Big Sisters, Winston-Salem Federal Credit Union, WXLV television, and Branded for Knowledge Inc.