January 2022 – Schools In High Point

January 31, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Spotlight Stories GCS High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP ..., Montlieu Academy of Technology, Spotlight Story,

Spotlight Story: Monthly Character Breakfast

High Point Schools Partnership is highlighting Montlieu Academy of Technology. Keep reading to learn more about their Monthly Character Breakfast.

Q: Who/what group started this program? How did it come to your school?

A: Jennifer Cooper, former assistant principal and now current principal at Millis Road Elementary School. Cooper had implemented and facilitated this at Johnson Street Global where she served as a curriculum facilitator at the time of its inception

Q: Please explain, in detail, what this program is?

A: The monthly character breakfast is designed to allow each classroom teacher to nominate a student from their respective classroom (Pre-K- 5) who exemplifies the character trait of the month put forth by Guilford County Schools. For example, this September teachers nominated students who showed responsibility. The teacher writes a short narrative of why the selected student received nomination and our principal, Kimberly Scott, reads each award aloud at a podium. Additionally, Montlieu Academy Communities in Schools Coordinator finds a guest speaker to speak about the topic from within the community.

For example, in December, Pastor Parker, the spiritual life director from Wesleyan Christian Academy spoke via live stream in our school’s cafeteria about kindness. Furthermore, because of the pandemic our Magnet coordinator/facilitator, Brent Miller live streams the event so that parents can see their children recognized as parents are still not allowed in the building due to the coronavirus pandemic. And it wouldn’t be a character breakfast without food! Biscuitville English Road has been our faithful food sponsor since January 2020, generously donating 75 biscuits along with condiments for each event.

Q: Where does this program take place?

A: The cafeteria at Montlieu Academy of Technology. We are able to socially distance and all speakers and guests report to the virtual building to celebrate our student recipients.

Q: When does this program occur? Is it a one-time thing or does it occur regularly?

A: Once a month from September through April.

Q: Why does your school support this program? How does it benefit your school/community?

A: Our school celebrates monthly character breakfasts simply because character counts! We admonish our scholars daily to show our three school-wide standards of respect, self-discipline, and integrity. While most of us can recall students at awards ceremonies celebrated for good grades and attendance, very rarely do we get to publicly recognize students who are good young people.

The Guilford County Schools counselors are tasked with teaching monthly character traits so the program fits in with the North Carolina guidance curriculum. Students who are often overlooked because their behavior is compliant are celebrated and recognized in this monthly event. Early in my career, I heard, “what you focus on, you get more of.” I believe this is true with the character breakfast. Students want to be seen as demonstrators of strong character and we are fortunate to have this event at our school and supported by our High Point community to reinforce this desire in tomorrow’s leaders.

Thank you so much to Elizabeth Strable, School Counselor at Montlieu Academy, for sharing this story. We look forward to hearing about more great things from Montlieu Academy of Technology!

To find out more about High Point Schools Partnership and our work, please visit our Facebook page and check out our page on Guilford Education Alliance’s website.

January 24, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Educators Andrew's High School Extraordinary Educators, GCS ..., Guilford County Schools, High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP, Penn Griffin School For The Arts,

Extraordinary Educators: James Dixon and Tiffany Faison

2021 Extraordinary Educators: James Dixon and Tiffany Faison

Great communities have great schools. High Point Schools Partnership creates impactful connections between our schools and the wider community to ensure students and their families are supported and can reach their full potential in High Point schools.

Part of High Point Schools Partnerships’ mission is to improve the image of our schools through storytelling. Who better to tell the stories of High Point’s schools than the people experiencing it first-hand? In this series of eight articles, we will highlight our 2021 High Point Extraordinary Educators as we dive deeper into what keeps them motivated in the face of constant challenges.

Congratulations to James Dixon from T. Wingate Andrews High School!

James Dixon, T. Wingate Andrews High School, awarded High Point Extraordinary Educator by the High Point School Schools Partnership at High Point Country Club, High Point, N.C., Friday, August 20, 2021. (Lynn Hey photo)

Congratulations to Tiffany Faison from Penn-Griffin School for The Arts!

Tiffany Faison, Penn-Griffin School for the Arts, awarded High Point Extraordinary Educator by the High Point School Schools Partnership at High Point Country Club, High Point, N.C., Friday, August 20, 2021. (Lynn Hey photo)

Thank you so much to James Dixon and Tiffany Faison for your dedication to High Point’s students. Congratulations on being selected as your school’s 2021 Extraordinary Educator!

To find out more about High Point Schools Partnership and our work, please visit our Facebook page and check out our page on Guilford Education Alliance’s website.

Article written by High Point Schools Partnership Staff

January 19, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Leaders Extraordinary Leader Florence Elementary School, GCS ..., Guilford County Schools, High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP,

Extraordinary Leader: Chiyanna Young

The High Point Schools Partnership had the privilege of sitting down and talking with Chiyanna Young, principal of Florence Elementary School. Young received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in School Counselling from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She was a school counselor from 1999 to 2015 during school she spent most of her career in High Point at the elementary level. Young has served a year at Dudley High School, a year at Cone elementary as well as working at Montlieu and Shadybrook elementary. After her time as a school counselor, Young obtained her second Master’s degree from High Point University in Educational Leadership.

During her time as an administrator, Young served as the assistant principal of Penn Griffin, Ferndale Middle, and Florence Elementary before becoming the principal of Florence in 2018. She is currently at the University of North Carolina to earn her Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Young loves working at the elementary level because of the staff and the general joy surrounding the age group she works with.

When asked about programs she wanted to highlight, Young was very proud to discuss the revitalization of their PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program. Based on reinforcing good behavior, students can earn “Cowboy Bucks” to spend at their PBIS prize cart at the end of the month. Students can buy different prizes at different prices to encourage good behavior on any scale. Florence uses the acronym GREAT [Goal-driven, Respectual, Exceptional, Accepting of others, Trusting] to guide its students’ behavior goals. Young mentioned one of her favorite prizes through this program was a Kona Ice day where the truck came on campus to encourage students. The prizes for this program are provided through grants and PTA support.

Recently, Young has been very focused on staff mental health. She decided to replace certain staff meetings with “Wellness Days” where teachers can either walk on the track or do yoga at the school. Young also mentioned that every month there is some staff incentive (such as free lunch or missing a duty) to keep staff motivated. Young emphasized how much stress her staff is under during these challenging times so she wanted to do whatever she could to help her teachers continue to be their best.

Thank you Chiyanna for sitting down and talking with us. We look forward to continuing to talk with and highlight different High Point principals and all the good going on at their school.

January 17, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Educators Extraordinary Educators GCS, Guilford County Schools ..., High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP, Oak View Elementary School,

Extraordinary Educator: Gina Sanchez

2021 Extraordinary Educators: Gina Sanchez

Gina Sanchez

Gina Sanchez started working at Oak View Elementary a little more than 9 years ago. She started as an Office Support assistant with 3 girls in the school. After moving to High Point from Puerto Rico, Oak View has been a part of her and her family’s lives.

Deanna Daniel, former principal of Oak View Elementary, describes “the level of expectation and belief in students” that Ms.Sanchez exudes in her classroom. She is “Committed, Hard-Working” and has a “Growth-Minded”.

According to Daniel, during remote learning, Ms. Sanchez “gladly provided instruction for both classrooms”, in person and remote, “without being asked to do so by administration.”

Ms.Sanchez wants her students to know “they are so important to our community and world and that they are so loved and appreciated.”

She goes on to say, “Over the years I have met teachers and staff that genuinely love the students and teaching. The students I have met at Oak View are so precious and loving and I enjoy watching them grow at Oak View.”

Q: What inspired you to become an educator?

A: As a volunteer, substitute, and kindergarten TA I have worked with many extraordinary teachers that inspired me to become a teacher myself. My own three daughters played a big role as well. They have had great and inspiring teachers and that made me think about the importance of how teachers impact children’s lives.

Q: What’s your teaching/leadership style?

A: I believe that I am energetic and passionate in the classroom. I love to feel the energy of my students as I am teaching. I want them to feel as passionate about learning as I am about teaching.

Q: Do you have a classroom motto or philosophy you abide by? Why?

A: My personal philosophy is to be a person in the classroom that students can trust and count on. I want them to know that I love them.

Q: What’s your favorite part about every day?

A: To me, the best part is when I see and hear students coming together and talking to each other whether it’s about their day, things they like, or things that we have learned in the classroom. Some of the things they say are so funny and cute.

Q: What’s your most memorable moment as an educator?

A: The most memorable moments for me are of the students that I have taught that have moved on to other grades but always greet me with so much love and enthusiasm each time they see me. It makes me feel like I really had an impact on their lives.

Ms.Sanchez is just one of High Point’s 2021 Extraordinary Educators. Tune in for the next few weeks to hear more stories and critical moments from our local teachers!

Thank you so much to Gina Sanchez for your dedication to High Point’s students. Congratulations on being selected as your school’s 2021 Extraordinary Educator!

To find out more about High Point Schools Partnership and our work, please visit our Facebook page and check out our page on Guilford Education Alliance’s website.

Article written by High Point Schools Partnership Staff

January 12, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Leaders Extraordinary Leader GCS, Guilford County Schools ..., High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP, Oak View Elementary School,

Extraordinary Leader: Bennie Bradley

The High Point Schools Partnership had the privilege of sitting down and talking with Bennie Bradley, the new principal of Oak View Elementary School. Bradley graduated from the Nurnberg American High School, a Department of Defense school, before attending the University of South Carolina. It was here that he obtained his undergraduate degree in Marketing and Management. Bradley came to the Greensboro area after an advisor at his alma mater encouraged him to move there. Once in the area, he worked at Staples as a traveling sales and operations manager.

Bradley ended up in a stationary position at Staples located in High Point. The managers at this branch were involved with a program called Reading is Fundamental. It was this program that first brought Bradley into schools when he was paired with Fairview Elementary to read with students. From here, he was encouraged to pursue a career in education. He was brought in as a long-term substitute teacher to Fairview before being recruited by Otis L. Hairston Sr. Middle School where he was a business teacher for 8 years. Bradley then went on to teach at Ben L. Smith High School for one year. In this year he was also their Teacher of the Year. It was the principal at Smith that encouraged Bradley to become a principal.

Starting at the Piedmont Triad Leadership Academy, Bradley was an admin intern for a year at Cone Elementary. After a job became available at Southwest Middle School he became an Assistant Principal there for 5 years before becoming the principal at Guilford Preparatory Academy. During this time, Bradley also served as the head coach for the High Point Blaze Track Club (an AAU youth track and field organization) for 11 years. Through this team, students gained scholarships for higher education as well as trained for the Junior Olympics.

Bradley came into his principalship with the mission of asking “what can we do to serve our community?” It was this question that led him to form a partnership with Oak View Baptist Church. Recently Bradley was joined by Oak View Elementary staff and their families to the church to help make Samaritan Packages and collect shampoo bottles for a women prisoners group. Bradley is eager to continue nurturing this mutual partnership.

Oak View Elementary is also proud of its Pre-K program. They have both Exceptional Children (EC) and general education classrooms. Bradley had the opportunity to visit a classroom the other week where the students were making lemonade as a part of their science unit. The teachers in their preschool classrooms come up with creative ways to engage their students in the learning material. These activities include inviting the High Point Fire Department during Fire Safety Month and painting pumpkins during the fall. There is a focus on creative play throughout the year to involve students in a number of productive skills.

The final program that Bradley wanted to highlight was a student club focused on the “Battle of the Books” activity led by Ramon Martinez (Oak View’s Media Specialist). Students in elementary and middle school get to focus on the books that they are required to read for this competition; they must be prepared to answer questions regarding this text. Bradley is so excited for this opportunity to extend students’ learning that he pledged to read all of the books the students read.

Thank you Bennie for sitting down and talking with us. We look forward to continuing to talk with and highlight different High Point principals and all the good going on at their school.

January 10, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Educators Extraordinary Educators GCS, Guilford County Schools ..., High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP, Welborn Academy,

Extraordinary Educator: Heidi Davis

2021 Extraordinary Educators: Heidi Davis

Heidi Davis

Heidi Savis has been teaching at Welborn Academy of Science and Technology for one year but has made an impression in her short time. She chose to come to this school because of the principal, who “transformed my previous school (Union Hill) from ‘F’ to ‘C in just five years.”

Shayla Savage, the principal of Welborn Academy, describes Ms.Davis as “fair and has high expectations for her students as well as herself.”

According to Savage, during ESOL classes, Ms.Davis teaches her students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and lifelong learners.

Ms. Davis says “The best part about every day is the opportunity to interact with and encourage young people.”

Mrs. Davis has demonstrated effective leadership that cohesively threads her students,

parents, and educators. Though differences exist in their background, languages, learning styles, academic and social needs, Ms. Davis’ strives to meet each student’s unique requirements.

Mrs. Davis is positive and upbeat and a true team player. She goes above and beyond to ensure that Welborn is a great place for her students to learn. She also serves as a model classroom for other ESOL teachers in the district as she has presented on the local and national level. The leadership, high expectations, and commitment to excellence she exhibits in the classroom are extraordinary.

Her mother inspired her to become an educator.

Ms.Davis is just one of High Point’s 2021 Extraordinary Educators. Tune in for the next few weeks to hear more stories and critical moments from our local teachers!

Thank you so much to Heidi Davis for your dedication to High Point’s students. Congratulations on being selected as your school’s 2021 Extraordinary Educator!

To find out more about High Point Schools Partnership and our work, please visit our Facebook page and check out our page on Guilford Education Alliance’s website.

Article written by High Point Schools Partnership Staff

January 5, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Leaders Allen Jay Elementary School Extraordinary Leader, GCS ..., Guilford County Schools, High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP,

Extraordinary Leader: Carla Flores-Ballesteros

The High Point Schools Partnership had the privilege of sitting down and talking with Carla Flores-Ballesteros, principal of Allen Jay Elementary School. Originally from Mexico City, Flores-Ballesteros attended the Modern American School before moving to Kentucky. Once in the United States, she finished High School at Paducah Tilghman. From here, she attended Murray State University for 2 years before moving back to Mexico. Here, she attended Universidad Ibero Americana and began teaching ESL. Flores-Ballesteros landed in North Carolina after her husband was relocated here for work. Once in NC, she attended Greensboro College and focused on Spanish in the K-12 classroom.

In the classroom, Flores-Ballesteros taught Spanish immersion for 10 years at Jones Elementary School. She focused on mainly math, spending half of her years in 3rd and the other half in 4th grade. At this school, her focus was Spanish Immersion but she also provided support for the students on the traditional side. followed her students to their other classes to support them in English as well. From here, Flores-Ballesteros became a Principal Fellow and obtained her Masters in School Administration, as well as her Education Specialist Degree, from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She became an administrative intern at Grimsley High School, assistant principal at Western Guilford Middle before coming to Allen Jay Elementary in 2017. She is currently working on her Doctorate of Education.

Flores-Ballesteros has received a great deal of recognition for her work at Allen Jay. She had been nominated for Principal of the Year every year in her four full years at the school. Three of those years she was a finalist and this year she won Elementary Principal of the Year.

When asked about the successes of her school, Flores-Ballesteros was excited to share some details about Allen Jay’s two dual-language programs. These programs started about four years ago and have prospered under her leadership. In the first dual-language immersion program offered in Spanish, students receive half of their instructional time in English and the other half in Spanish. This is an opt-in program so it is open to any student in Allen Jay’s district who wishes to participate. Both native speakers of English and Spanish are encouraged to join. This group of diverse students allows for them to learn the target language from one another. The school also offers the same model as the Urdu language, the national language of Pakistan.

The Urdu program is not just meaningful to the Allen Jay family, it has received national recognition. They are the only school in the country to offer a program of this nature. School personnel has also presented at national conferences to demonstrate their co-teaching model. Allen Jay utilizes the 3L program for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to support their English Language Learners. This program implements a push-in model (where the ESL teacher comes into the general education classroom) during Language Arts times. The program also builds off of the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum in lower grades and the American Reading Company (ARC) curriculum in upper grades to support the students in grade-level content.

Flores-Ballesteros also wanted to highlight the diversity she sees as a great strength in her school. Allen Jay is one of the most diverse in the county and that has created a close-knit school community. Staff enjoy working with one another and stay at Allen Jay as long as they can. The relationship among school personnel shows when they work together to meet the needs in the community. To support not just their students, but their families as well, all materials sent out from the school are translated into Spanish, English, and Urdu. These models of inclusion and accessibility have secured Allen Jay as a beloved neighborhood school.

Thank you Carla for sitting down and talking with us. We look forward to continuing to talk with and highlight different High Point principals and all the good going on at their school.

January 3, 2022 0 Comments Schools in High Point Extraordinary Educators Extraordinary Educators Ferndale Middle School, GCS ..., Guilford County Schools, High Point Schools Partnership, HPSP,

Extraordinary Educator: Geoffrey Butler

2021 Extraordinary Educators: Geoffrey Butler

Geoffrey Butler

Geoffrey Butler has been at Ferndale Middle School for two years, but he has been a teacher for 18 years in total. He loves learning and thinks “it’s amazing to inspire it in my students and to experience it myself.”

LaToya Caesar, the principal at Ferndale Middle School, describes Mr.Butler as the “embodiment of the Ferndale culture of Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Excellence in his pedagogical practice this year with our ESOL population”.

In addition to the ways he has gone above and beyond in his work with the Testing Team and a variety of other roles, Caesar says “He is consistent and shows up every day for our kids.”

Q: What inspired you to become an educator?

A: I struggled with learning differences in middle school and I may not have made it had I not had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Pittman. She took time to meet with me before school to help me get organized and be successful in my classes when other teachers were not.

Q: What’s your teaching/leadership style?

A: I believe in student-centered learning. Once a structure or a routine is established, it should be up to the students to guide their learning and to help their fellow classmates. I’m there in case they get lost or are in dire need of help, but helping students to learn for themselves and reflect on their learning is what teaching is all about for me.

Q: Do you have a classroom motto or philosophy you abide by? Why?

A: My classroom motto is “teacher as learner and learner as teacher”

Q: What’s your favorite part about every day?

A: I think that the best part of every day is those unexpected moments of joy and learning. It’s when the students ask you that question that you didn’t see coming or when a spontaneous discussion breaks out.

Q: What’s your most memorable moment as an educator?

A: Prior to joining GCS, I was a teacher at an academic preparatory program. A student whom I had interviewed at a beginning level graduated from our program and gave a rousing speech describing his experiences. To see how much he had changed and grown due to our teaching was very memorable.

If Mr.Butler could tell students anything, she would tell them “I believe that we’re all born to learn and I will work as hard as I can to make certain that they are able to learn as much as possible.”

Thank you so much to Geoffrey Butler for your dedication to High Point’s students. Congratulations on being selected as your school’s 2021 Extraordinary Educator!

To find out more about High Point Schools Partnership and our work, please visit our Facebook page and check out our page on Guilford Education Alliance’s website.

Article written by High Point Schools Partnership Staff

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