The Botanical Woodland Teaching Garden is officially open. The block-wide park planted with 76 native trees and shrubs marks the beginning of the planned 6.4-mile Southwest High Point Heritage Greenway.
Located along Richland Creek on a defunct right-of-way in the Southside Neighborhood of southwest High Point, the woodland was designed to raise the quality of life for the low-income residents there. The botanical garden will create an early interest in ecology and the sciences among neighborhood children, provide access to nature, and safe hike and bike paths.
SWRF Executive Director Dorothy Darr (holding ribbon center) was among roughly 60 in attendance at the Botanical Woodland Teaching Garden opening ceremonies. Photo credit: Paul Siceloff, SWRF Board Secretary.
Southwest Renewal Foundation Executive Director Dorothy Darr says the garden’s close proximity to the headwaters of two major watersheds in the North Carolina system will provide ecological benefits too.
“One is the Richland watershed which flows into Richland Creek and then down to the Randleman Reservoir which supplies our drinking water for much of High Point and Greensboro,” says Darr.
The Botanical Woodland Teaching Garden is also at the headwaters of the Cape Fear River Basin.
“It’s the only river basin in North Carolina that flows directly into the Atlantic ocean,” says Darr. “So, what we do upstream, which we are here in southwest High Point, makes a big difference downstream. It not only increases the quality of life for the residents who live around these surface waters but also influences our neighbors downstream and throughout the state.”
The Garden is enhanced by outdoor sculptures and a newly unveiled historical marker honoring Rev. Benjamin Elton Cox. Cox was the pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church in southwest High Point from 1958 to 1968, and an active participant in the civil rights movement. Cox began desegregation efforts in local schools and served as an advisor for the NAACP Youth Council before becoming the executive director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Plans are for the Southwest High Point Heritage Greenway to eventually stretch from the Amtrak station in downtown High Point to the Interstate 85 business loop on the southwest side of the city.
On Sept. 4, the state released the accountability results for the 2018-19 school year. Guilford County Schools’ elementary and middle school students have scored higher on state tests in every subject and at every grade level.
I credit the progress we’ve made to the focused work and collaborative efforts of our teachers, leaders, support staff, students and families. The improvement suggests that the strategic investments our Board of Education has made in curriculum development, instructional materials and supplies, and ongoing professional development for our educators are paying dividends in the classroom for all students.
A few points of pride:
Grade-level proficiency in English Language Arts/Reading in Grades 3-8 went from 52.2% in 2018 to 55.5% in 2019.
Grade-level proficiency in mathematics in grades 3-8 increased from 50.4% in 2018 to 52.5% in 2019.
Students posted the most significant gains in science in grades 5 and 8, with grade-level proficiency rates going from 66.7% in 2019 to 72.4% in 2019.
These increases were made in every racial/ethnic group, a credit to our focus on equity for all students. A special congratulations goes to Southwest Elementary School for having the highest growth index of any elementary school in the state. Nearly three-quarters, or 73.5%, of Guilford County schools met or exceeded growth in 2019, mirroring the state.
The GCS graduation rate held steady at 89.1%, placing GCS higher than four of the five largest districts in the state. Ten GCS high schools posted perfect graduation rates, and eight more had rates above 90% but below 100%. The district has cut the graduation rate gap between various student demographic groups in half during the past 10 years.
High school measures in biology and English II decreased, but remain above 55%. Some of that decrease can be attributed to changes in the process for calculating Math 1 scores, because scores for students who take Math 1 in middle school are no longer counted at the high school level.
The state used a new assessment for Math 3 in 2019, which is also included in high schools’ overall proficiency rate calculations for the first time. GCS’ proficiency rate on the new End of Course (EOC) test was 46%.
Despite these challenges, GCS reduced the number of state-identified low-performing schools from 42 in 2018 to 36 in 2019. More than 34% of GCS schools earned an A or B school performance grade in 2019 as compared to 31.9% in 2018. The number of C schools increased slightly to 31.1% from 29.4, while the percentage of D or F schools decreased from 38.7% to 34.5%. For the first time since 2015-16 all six schools with Alternative Accountability ratings showed that they were maintaining progress. Three of the six schools, Gateway, Scale- Greensboro and Pruette Scale, showed that they were progressing again for the first time since 2015-16. These rating systems were implemented in 2014-15 in which all schools started maintaining status.
I am proud of the successes we’ve seen in the past year. I am also immensely grateful for the Guilford County community and all of our partners who continuously support our schools and embrace our students. I know that our challenges are great and achievement gaps persist.
Nevertheless, I hope you can see the progress we have made as a district as we strive to transform learning and life outcomes for our students.
Thank you for all you do to make increased achievement for GCS students a reality.
GUILFORD COUNTY — The Guilford County Schools honored its top educators, including recognitions of teachers at High Point schools, during an awards ceremony.
The school system held its annual Celebration of Excellence Thursday night at Grimsley High School in Greensboro.
Tammy White was named the GCS Teacher of the Year. She has served as an educator for 25 years and has taught at Kiser Middle School in Greensboro as band director for 18 years.
Ron Luciano, the principal at Jones Elementary in Greensboro, earned the Principal of the Year honor. Under Luciano’s stewardship, Jones Elementary has recorded growth on student performance. In 2018, for the first time since at least 2010, Jones Elementary exceeded expected growth.
Several teachers and principals were recognized during the program, including the Rookie Teacher of the Year and Mentor of the Year.
Loretta Rowland-Kitley, with the Middle College at GTCC Jamestown, was named Secondary Principal of the Year. Lindsey Nail, with Jesse Wharton Elementary, was recognized as Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Liliana Jordanov, with the Middle College at N.C. A&T State University, was named High School Teacher of the Year while Lauren Jackson, with the Herbin-Metz Education Center, was named GCS Mentor of the Year.
Kavaughn Brown, with Mendenhall Middle School, received the GCS Rookie Teacher of the Year honor.
Chris Scott from Monticello Brown Summit Elementary, Erik Naglee from Page High and Arlisa Armond from Southwest Middle School in High Point were Principal of the Year finalists.
Grace Keener-Jones from Eastern High, Coshenda Clark from Johnson Street Elementary in High Point and Ricardo Bernal from Swann Middle were Teacher of the Year finalists.
The GCS Celebration of Excellence was sponsored by Guilford Education Alliance, Ilderton Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram of High Point, Lenovo, Lincoln Financial Group and Strawbridge Studios.
We have been waiting and waiting and WAITING to finally bring to you the first of many of High Point’s Extraordinary Educators’ stories. If you missed our first article describing the story behind the reason for our Extraordinary Educators, you can find it here.
Today, we are kicking off our series highlighting two High Point teachers, Natalya Moore and Michael Holden, high school teachers who make our city great. Read below to learn more about them.
Natalya Moore
Natalya Moore, a high school English teacher at T.W. Andrews High School
Natalya is more than just a teacher. She’s a justice warrior, a motivator and a purpose pursuer. As a high school English teacher at T.W. Andrews High School, Natalya wants each and every one of her students to feel purposeful and empowered in their studies.
“Having the opportunity to connect with my students each day to help them realize that they matter,” Natalya says, is her motivation each day. “I never want any child to feel ostracized, belittled, inadequate, or unworthy. So knowing I get to put a smile on a face, influence someone’s self-esteem, publicly recognize their positive efforts and actions, and just make kids feel good about themselves gets me excited about going to work every day.”
Natalya was nominated to be one of our extraordinary educators by Andrews principal, Marcus Gause, who said this of Natalya: “She is a stellar educator with a passion to transform the school community and to bring out the best in everyone around her.”
We asked Natalya a few burning questions and here are her responses.
Q. What is your most memorable teaching moment?
A. My most memorable teaching experience was during an assigned debate with my 11th graders. Their arguments were well prepared, points were relevant and current, and their energy was electric. Even when the debate took a turn, my students were sharp in their thinking and really engaged in the process. This was one of the proudest days of my career. It showed me that when motivated, our kids will achieve.
Q. What would you like the High Point community to know about your school?
A. The community needs to know that our school needs its support. The students there are no different than students anywhere else. With proper and sufficient resources, all children can excel. Donate to our academic departments not only our sports programs.
Q. Who or what influences your teaching style?
A. Injustice influences my teaching style. Teaching for me is activism. In addition to performing well on assessments, I want my students to gain knowledge about the world and then feel/be empowered to do something. I do this through the selection of reading material. Reading is central to English class so I make it count.
Q. What is your favorite Book?
A. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. So many great lessons.
Q. If you could pass on any wisdom to your students, what would you share?
A. You have a unique purpose. Work every day to find it and pursue it. Your outside circumstances and/or obstacles are NOT greater than your inner potential. It always seems impossible until it’s done. So, whatever your “it” is, you can get there. Remember that no one wakes up one day and is successful or has what they want. It’s the little steps and milestones you make along the way that make you great.
Natalya is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, and later her master’s in English and African American literature. She also received her School Administration License from Gardner-Webb University.
Michael Holden
Michael Holden, teaches 3D Modeling and Animation and Game Art and Design at High Point Central High School.
Our second Extraordinary Educator this week is Michael Holden who was nominated by his principal, Dr. Shelly Nixon-Green. She said this of Michael: “He is an exemplary teacher, webmaster, graduation advisor, student mentor, club leader, and more.” Michael teaches 3D Modeling and Animation and Game Art and Design at High Point Central High School.
“For the uninitiated, 3D modeling is basically how to make the objects or characters that would go into a Pixar movie or video game,” Michael explains. “Game art and design is how to make your own games, including electronic and board games, and how to make them so that people will have fun and want to play again.”
Michael describes his classroom as a place where he wants constructive criticism to flow freely, as it often does in professional design circles. He recalls once when he used a new software – like a big digital whiteboard – to encourage students to brainstorm and then “pitch” a designed environment that the students would create together throughout the year. He gave them space on the whiteboard to work, and space to critique one another’s work, which he hoped would motivate all of them to adapt and build off the feedback.
“I had taught this group of students multiple times before, and historically they were pretty quiet,” Michael says. “Getting them to critique each other’s work was often like pulling teeth. Asking them whose project they liked, and why, was often met with crickets – or worse – one-word answers.”
But as the students worked, Michael noticed that all their quiet was actually giving way to rapid fire brainstorming.
“Several students had finished their preliminary pitches, and there were tons of questions and answers
being written and answered – whole paragraphs of information, and a lot of back-and-forth dialogue,” Michael explains. “Here was all the constructive criticism I’d been looking for all semester – and it was silent, but in a good way. And now I have another way to reach my students.”
We asked Michael more about his work in education in High Point.
Q. What would you like the High Point community to know about your school?
A. There is such a variety of learning happening in our school, and it’s not just in my classroom. School isn’t just sitting at a desk for hours while a teacher drones on about a subject. It’s amazing to see the projects and lessons going on in the classrooms of our school. Teachers at Central do an amazing job at making lessons current, relevant, and interesting. Sometimes I even find myself a little envious at activities I see students doing in their science classrooms, or the field trips I see other career classes going on and, especially, the food being cooked in our culinary classes!
Q. How have you made an impact in the community?
A. I run several clubs at High Point Central and, for the most part, I feel that the students served by these clubs are underrepresented in other extracurricular activities. They don’t participate in school sports, or band, or typical service organizations, or even theatre. These clubs are often just for fun, but they also give these teens a safe space to socialize and just be teens. I think the Tabletop Club (which primarily plays Dungeons and Dragons) is really important. While it is a fun game, it really builds students’ empathy, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. The role-playing in particular is wonderful at building students’ courage and getting shy students out of their shells – and that breeds confidence that finds its way back into the classroom.
Q. How do you show your school spirit?
A. I am mostly a school t-shirt guy, which can be pretty boring – but I augment that by designing a lot of the school’s t-shirts, and even specific ones for my classes. I’m quite excited about a new retro-styled one that I designed over the summer.
Q. What has been the funniest moment in your classroom?
A. At the end of my level one 3D modeling class we learn about “bipeds,” which are basically pre-made human skeletons that you can animate in the software. They can walk around, and you can individually move all their joints to animate all sorts of movement. Inevitably students will figure out that the biped is not restricted in how it moves the way that real humans are, and that usually makes for a hilarious and raucous lesson as they experiment with sillier and sillier motions to have the bipeds attempt.
Michael is a graduate of Virginia Tech where he received his bachelor of architecture degree, and Savannah College of Art and Design where he received a master’s of game development.
North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction says our son goes to a “D” school. The state is wrong. We are in the school constantly, volunteering, working with our university students who intern there, and talking to teachers, students, and school leadership. A “D” isn’t an accurate reflection of the learning that happens there. As professors who teach future teachers and research in the area of educational ethics and policy, we wouldn’t send our kids to failing schools. Luckily, we think most schools in High Point are doing really well.
Let’s be clear: the state grading system was created by politicians. Not educators. Not education policy experts. Not anyone who has a clue how to evaluate educational quality. And it was created the way it is for political reasons, to serve political ends.
The current “grades” are developed out of a formula where 80% of the grade is determined by proficiency and only 20% by growth. Proficiency is simply a measure of if kids are academically performing at grade level. On the surface this makes sense – we want to know if the kids in a school are on grade level. But from an educational quality standpoint, proficiency tells us almost nothing about the quality of the schools, curriculum, or teachers. Why? Because proficiency tracks in almost lock-step with income. As a whole, students living in low-income households tend to come to school several years behind kids from middle-income homes. Public schools have to educate the kids who walk through the door, so low-income schools tend to start with more students who are already behind.
If you want to know if a school is doing a good job teaching kids, then the key question is, “do the kids learn once they are in the building?” The measurement we use for that is school growth. What shocks people is that the schools with the highest growth can have low proficiency. How can this be? Well, the kids in these schools are learning more year-to-year than kids in other schools; they just started farther behind. When we just look at growth – at how much kids are actually learning each year – the best schools in High Point this year were Fairview Elementary, High Point Central High School, Kearns Academy, Johnson Street Global Studies, Southwest Elementary, and Triangle Lake Montessori Elementary.
When we say that High Point has great schools, we aren’t just being cheerleaders. We are looking at the data: the growth data. Kids are learning in High Point Schools. While no single “grade” can capture school quality, if we grade the schools based just on growth (or how much the kids are actually learning in the school), High Point has 6 A schools, 12 B schools, 5 C schools, 1 D school, and no failing schools. Our son goes to a ‘B’ school by that metric. That sounds about right. He’s learning a lot, and we are thankful to all the High Point teachers and principals who ensure that each year our kids are growing and learning.
Below are the grades High Point schools ought to have based on student learning:
Allen Jay Elementary B
Allen Jay Middle B
T Wingate Andrews High B
Fairview Elementary A
Ferndale Middle C
Florence Elementary B
Penn-Griffin Schools C
High Point Central High A
Kearns Academy A
Middle College at GTCC-High Point B
Johnson Street Global Studies A
Kirkman Park Elementary B
Montlieu Academy of Technology C
Northwood Elementary B
Oak Hill Elementary B
Oak View Elementary C
Parkview Village Elementary B
Shadybrook Elementary B
Southwest Elementary A
Southwest Guilford High B
Southwest Guilford Middle D
Triangle Lake Montessori Elem A
Union Hill Elementary B
Welborn Middle C
The narrative about High Point schools won’t change unless we change it. So let’s start reporting the grades that more accurately reflect the efforts of our educators and the learning of our kids.
Rev. Dr. Joe Blosser and Dr. Allie Blosser are professors at High Point University and live in High Point.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Guilford County Schools’ elementary and middle school students scored higher on state tests in every subject and at every grade level in 2019, according to results released today by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
“The numbers are proof that the strategic investments our Board of Education has made in curriculum development, instructional materials and supplies, and powerful professional development for our educators are paying dividends in the classroom for all students,” sand Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras.
Grade level proficiencies increased across the district in English Language Arts/Reading in Grades 3-8 from 52.2 percent in 2018 to 55.5 percent in 2019. The largest gains occurred in fourth and sixth grades.
The increases were posted by all major racial/ethnic student demographic groups, with with students posting a 3.4 percentage point gain, black students posting a 3.5 percentage point gain, Hispanic students posing a 4.3 percentage point gain and Asian students posting a 5.7 percentage point gain.
GCS student grade level proficiency in mathematics in grades 3-8 increased from 50.4 percent in 2018 to 52.5 percent in 2019. Once again, the increases included all major racial/ethnic groups, with white students posting a 2.3 percentage point gain, Hispanic students posting a 2.4 percentage point gain, black students posting a 2.6 percentage point gain and Asian students posting a 2.9 percentage point gain.
Students posted the most significant gains in science in grades 5 and 8, with grade level proficiency rates going from 66.7 percent in 2019 to 72.4 percent in 2019. Students in grade 5 posted a 4.9 percentage point increase, while students in grade 8 posted a 6.5 percentage point gain. Hispanic students had the largest gains in science scores with a 10.2 percentage point gain, followed by black students at 7.1 percent.
The GCS graduation held steady at 89.1 percent, placing GCS higher than four of the five largest districts in the state of North Carolina. Ten GCS high schools posted perfect graduation rates, with 100 percent of all freshmen who entered the school in fall of 2015 graduating within four years.
During the past 10 years, the district has cut the graduation rate gap between various student demographic groups in half. In 2010, for example, there was a 12.6 percentage point difference in black-white high school graduation rates. Today that gap is 5.7 percentage points.
High school measures in biology and English II decreased slightly, but remain above 55 percent. The state is calculating Math 1 differently this year in alignment with federal guidelines.
As a result, scores for middle school students who are advanced enough to take Math 1 (a high school level course) are no longer counted as part of a high school’s proficiency measure for accountability purposes.
For districts like GCS, which encourages students to take Math 1 in middle school so they can tackle calculus and other advanced math courses prior to graduating high school, the formula change is having a dramatic impact. For example, with advanced middle-school students’ scores no longer counted, GCS’ high school grade-level proficiency on the Math 1 End-of-Course (EOC) exam (formerly known as Algebra 1) dropped to 27 percent.
The state used a new assessment for Math 3 in 2019, which is also included in high school’s overall proficiency rate calculation for the first time. GCS’ proficiency rate on the new End-of-Course (EOC) test was 46 percent.
The state also changed how it calculates student growth measures, which typically are more closely correlated with teacher and principal effectiveness. These changes, along with the state’s decision last year to drop high school students’ biology test scores, lowered year-to-year student growth measures and school performance grades at the high school level in GCS.
Despite these challenges, GCS reduced the number of state-identified low-performing schools from 42 in 2018 to 36 in 2019. More than 34 percent of GCS schools earned an A or B school performance grade in 2019 as compared to 31.9 percent in 2018. The number of C schools increased slightly to 31.1 percent from 29.4, while the percentage of D or F schools decreased from 38.7 percent to 34.5 percent.
This year, 73.5 percent of GCS schools met or exceeded growth in 2019 as compared to 74.2 percent in 2018, although this percent mirrors the state.
In North Carolina and nationally, research indicates that student performance on standardized tests correlates most closely to family income. In GCS, more than 71 percent of all schools have student poverty rates of 50 percent or more. Approximately 64.8 percent of all GCS students are considered economically disadvantaged.
As poverty has increased among GCS students, their readiness to learn has been negatively affected. In the fall of 2012, for example, only about 25 percent of entering kindergartners scored below or well below expected developmental benchmarks. In 2018, nearly 50 percent of all entering kindergarten students scored below benchmark, with more scoring well below.
“This is a generational problem that is going to require school partnerships for things that occur outside of our school district such as access to food, healthcare, transportation, the environmental burdens they face and the housing issues they deal with. All of those burdens show up at school. Our educators are not just teaching and learning, they are addressing all of those needs as well,” said Board of Education Chair Deena Hayes.
To access the media briefing report, click here. Click here to read more about the changes in the accountability system North Carolina has made in response to the federal, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). To read the letter GCS Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras sent to the State Board of Education regarding growth measures, click here.
Standing shoulder to shoulder on the steps of the High Point Country Club, men and women joke and laugh together as the camera captures their smiling faces. As the camera flashes though, it’s clear that several of them are uncertain about being the ones with the spotlight shining on them. These men and women are the ones who stand in the background daily, letting the spotlight shine on someone else; letting the spotlight shine on their students.
But on this day, the celebration and spotlight is focused solely on them, as community members from all walks of life gather to attend Celebrating High Point’s Extraordinary Educators.
The event, established in partnership between the High Point Community Foundation, High Point Schools Partnership (HPSP), and High Point Discovered, was created solely to celebrate the 25 honored educators in attendance – and the ones serving all over our city.
These 25 educators, representing schools across High Point, were nominated by their principals as extraordinary educators in their schools: leaders, mentors and guides for their students who go above and beyond their job requirements. Words are shared throughout the luncheon and reception to honor these teachers and, one by one, they are called forward to receive their gift, which is a small token of thanks for the tremendous work they do.
“And the gift card in the basket is for you!” Dawn Spencer, coordinator of HPSP says as gift baskets are passed to each teacher. Her words are met with a chorus of sheepish laughter from teachers and playful words of warning from principals. Many of the teachers would willingly spend their gift on resources for their students without a second thought. And although today is about teachers, it’s clear, many teachers still have their students on their minds.
Teachers comment about remarkable students they’ve taught and exchange stories about students they all know. One educator, Nita Canon, a teacher at Southwest Guilford High School, laughs as she learns from another teacher at the reception that she has had the teacher’s son in her classroom. Educators exchange stories about their classrooms, often referring to their students as “their kids,” or “their babies.” It’s clear that these men and women don’t just share a profession; they share a family.
So it’s no surprise that when asked about what is most important in their classrooms, this response comes up again and again: relationships.
Coshenda Clark of Johnson Street Global Studies answers the question almost instantly, when asked what is most important in her classroom.
“Once I have a relationship with the students, I know them at a different level,” she explains. “I can then meet all of their needs, not just their educational needs. I can meet their academic, social, and emotional needs of their family… If you don’t have a relationship, you can’t do that. So it’s my job to build a relationship and get to know them.”
Teachers like Andrea Emmanuel, a teacher at Welborn Academy of Science and Technology cite their own childhood experience as the inspiration for their relationship-building profession.
“Middle school was a little hard for me,” Emmanuel says, “and I didn’t want any other adolescent around that age to go through the same thing I did. There’s more to life than our environment and the communities we grow up in, and it just takes somebody to show us that.”
Even though many principals admit that there are loads of teachers in their schools that work to be the “somebody” Andrea Emmanuel refers to, it’s obvious the ones chosen to stand before the audience today earned the respect and trust of their colleagues.
Shindiana Harris, Montileu Academy receiving her award
Principals stand proudly be side their chosen teachers, sharing moments of pride they have for their teachers, like Principal Kristina Wheat of Johnson Street Global Studies, who stands beside her teacher honoree, Coshenda Clark.
“Coshenda will not tell you this, but that is one of her greatest strengths is building relationships with families who maybe didn’t have a great schooling experience themselves,” Kristina says. “She partners with them and makes them feel like an important part of her classroom. She invites them in. They volunteer, and they become part of her classroom unit. She really capitalizes on making those positive relationships with her families also, so she can better support her students.”
Throughout the day, it’s clear that these extraordinary educators don’t just teach in their classrooms but seize the opportunities to push their students through challenges and remind them of their worth and potential.
“[I want] my students to know they are loved and cared for, that they’re important, and that they leave the school year knowing they can do anything,” says Barb Collins, kindergarten teacher at Northwood Elementary.
Another teacher, Jakima Ledbetter of Oak Hill Elementary smiles instantly when asked what she loves about teaching: “Being able to make the lightbulb go off for so many of our students and letting them know there are possibilities!”
And these possibilities that our extraordinary educators provide to our students are possibilities that we can be part of. Cyril Jefferson, co-chair of educator engagement for HPSP and proud Red Raiders alumnus, asks all families in the High Point community to consider ways that they can partner with local schools.
“Education is both an issue and an opportunity, ” Jefferson says to the audience. He then reminds all those in attendance to thoughtfully consider the narrative and perception around High Point schools.
Paul Lessard, President of High Point Community Foundation
How do we tell our own stories a bout schools?” he asks, and encourages the audience to find ways to tell the truth, which he calls a “remarkable truth,” about our schools. “We can all be champions of education.”
Other speakers, like Dr. Tony Watlington, GCS chief of schools, remind the audience to consider how far the school system has come, quoting President Lyndon B. Johnson’s vision on quality and equal educational opportunities for all students.
“We can do better, and we have to do it together,” Dr. Watlington says.
Many teachers already see the individual needs and successes of schools beyond their own, like Lucinda Johnson, teacher at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts.
“I believe all kids can learn, a nd I believe all students should have a highly qualified educator who provides equitable education for them,” she says. “[I hope] that we get better and better every day, that we can serve more students. [I hope] that we set the bar very high for our expectations for what education looks like in every school.”
The afternoon ends with resounding applause and a sense of resolve that the more we recognize the individual men and women who are extraordinary educators, the more we seek as a community to come alongside our teachers and choose to serve, support and celebrate these teachers, the more our community will thrive.
“As a community and re ally as a village together, we have to raise our children,” Cyril Jefferson concludes.
“You have our most valuable possession in your hands: our kids,” Paul Lessard, president of the High Point Community Foundation, charges teachers. “And it’s the sacred duty of every community to own their schools.”
At High Point Discovered, we too believe it’s our sacred duty to recognize the men and women who hold in their classrooms our city’s students. That’s why we are excited to introduce our Extraordinary Educators series! Over the next year, we will be featuring the 25 teachers chosen to represent their schools, sharing stories on who they are, how they lead, what inspires them, and why they love what they do. We hope you’ll share their stories with your communities to remind everyone of the people who may not always stand in the spotlight but always carry the light of education forward.
Because as Andrea Emmanuel so aptly put it, “We are growing future leaders of America. We are growing great, independent adults who will one day do the great things we’re doing.”
HIGH POINT — Back to school reactions ranged from tears to fist bumps on Monday as the youngest students returned to Fairview Elementary School along with other Guilford County Schools on the traditional calendar.
Teacher Tanya Rodriguez said she was seeing evidence of “some nerves, but a lot of smiles” as students arrived at 7 a.m. at Fairview.
“Tears from some and parents, too,” said Quasheba Carter, a teacher who reported hearing more than one parent say “I don’t want to leave my baby.”
Many parents walked with their children through Fairview’s brightly colored hallways. “The story begins in kindergarten” was the message outside teacher Deidra Andrews’ classroom, where kindergarteners were busy at their desks.
David Gonzalez stood in the hallway with his three young children as his wife got one of their two kindergarten students settled into class. “It’s a little rough the first day,” he said. “It’s hard to let her go but she’s actually doing pretty good now that she’s distracted.”
“So far, precious,” said Nicollette Jones-Flowers, a first-grade teacher who was wearing a first grade crew T-shirt and helping some of the school’s approximately 450 students find their classrooms.
Keante Moore, a fourth-grader at Fairview Elementary, talks with his teacher Megan Reynolds on how he spent his summer during the first day of class Monday. Laura Green | HPE
Fairview Principal Abe Hege described it as a great start. “We’ve got a lot of excitement coming from last year into this year,” he said. “I think we saw more of our families at this Open House than we have in years past. The rain opened up on us from 6-7, but everybody bonded together and we moved everything inside the gym. Our parents did a great job and teachers loved it. This year we’re seeing a little more parental support, which is always great.”
Members of Wesley Memorial Church had cooked more than 600 hotdogs for the Open House and the Wednesday evening downpour didn’t damper anyone’s interest, said Pam Greene, a student support specialist at Fairview. “The families got to interact more because of the rain,” she said.
Inside High Point Central Monday, high school teachers wasted no time in getting back to academics.
“I’m not going to make you shout out your answers,” teacher Shaun Trepal told his 10th-grade world history class. “Don’t get down on yourself if you’re still shaking the dust of summer off your brain. We’re here to learn.”
Guilford County Schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras talked with students and staff as she toured Allen Jay Elementary, Ferndale Middle and High Point Central Monday morning before traveling to Northeast High, Northeast Middle and Stokesdale Elementary later in the day.
While visiting the ProStart culinary class at Central, Contreras asked students whether they were willing to take on the challenge of planning and preparing a holiday luncheon for her staff of about 25. She said she usually pays about $1,500 for the luncheon and would rather pay that to help support the class. Contreras told them she expects the students’ white jackets to be pristine when they serve the meal.
High Point Central junior Zarria Quick, 15, said she felt nervous but confident after accepting the superintendent’s challenge.
During Contreras’ visits to various schools, she makes sure they have received books and new materials the Board of Education invested in and her staff ordered.
High Point Central Principal Shelley Nixon-Green, left, leads Guilford County School Superintendent Sharon Contreras on a tour of the school during her visit Monday, the first day of classes for the traditional calendar schools. Laura Green | HPE
“It’s not that I don’t trust them, but I’m inspecting what I expect,” Contreras said. “On the most basic level, it’s just to welcome students, staff and families back. Also I’m checking to make sure the materials are here and that our facilities staff adequately cleaned the buildings. I expect on the first day of school the buildings to be sparkling, that they’ve mowed the grass and that their flowers and mulch are in place to make the school bright and welcoming.”
Central Principal Shelley Nixon-Green estimated 30 students showed up at the school Monday in addition to the more than 1,300 enrolled.
“Our teachers are starting with teaching on day one,” Nixon-Green said. “Teachers are focused on teaching, building relationships and continuing growth. We have a great staff. We’re really excited about the new school year. One of our challenges is making sure we continue to provide the opportunities that all of our students deserve in academics and otherwise. As a staff, we call those opportunity gaps. That’s a daily challenge and that’s what a lot of our students face.”
In addition to visiting six traditional calendar schools on their first day of classes, Contreras went to the juvenile detention facility where GCS teachers work with incarcerated students.
“They are our most vulnerable students, and often they’re throw-away kids,” Contreras said. “I want them to know ‘you’re not a throw-away kid.’ People forget they’re there. I want to make sure the books were delivered to the jail and that they’re there in class. Very often they will write to me. Last year two of the students kept writing to me for more and more books. That’s important to me that even though they are in detention that they know they get a second chance.”
HIGH POINT — Guilford County Schools will launch new programs and initiatives while expanding on some ongoing ones as the new school year begins this week.
Traditional calendar schools start the 2019-20 academic year on Monday as summer break comes to an end. The county school system will welcome about 73,000 students, including about 13,770 in High Point schools.
The county school system plans to launch or enhance outreach to students and parents.
One example: a partnership with the High Point Public Library to make learning easier and more accessible.
The school system has established a “partnership with the High Point Public Library and the Greensboro Public Library that allows our students to be able to have 24-hour access to many online resources,” said Janson Silvers, school system media relations specialist.
In addition, students may borrow up to 10 items at any time from one of the libraries.
“This partnership also wants to focus on eliminating any barriers to access of our public libraries and the wonderful resources they contain,” Silvers told The High Point Enterprise.
A pair of High Point schools will become part of a new online effort to keep parents informed about their children’s bus schedule.
Allen Jay Preparatory Academy and Johnson Street Global Studies will be part of a pilot program with a digital bus app. The bus app should allow parents to check where their children’s bus is on the road and the times for picking up or dropping off students.
The school system also intends this school year to build on its campaign to promote attendance by students, an effort that was launched last fall. The school system is partnering with Attendance Works, a national nonprofit that aims to bolster school attendance.
For the 2017-18 academic year, 14.8% of Guilford students — or more than 10,000 — were chronically absent. The total represented a decrease from the previous school year of 15.7% but remains unacceptably high, according to school leaders.
Through Attendance Works, educators collect data to better understand in detail why students are missing classes.
During the new academic year, educators also intend to build on what’s called its social and emotional learning initiatives. The program refers to an effort to help adults and children understand and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
The school system has lined up first-day activities for schools on Monday. They include the Southwest Guilford High School band playing for boys and girls at Florence Elementary School in High Point and High Point Rockers mascot, Hype the rocking horse, welcoming children at Colfax Elementary School.
The school system also will continue to advance its Career Technical Education, or CTE, initiative with the new school year. The remaining three CTE academies opening are the Academy of Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering at Smith High School, the Academy of Computer and Information Science at Northeast Guilford High School and the Academy of Transportation, Distribution and Logistics at Western Guilford High School.
HIGH POINT — The words inspire, advocate, empower, tireless work and commitment were repeated as top High Point teachers were recognized with Extraordinary Educators Awards on Tuesday afternoon.
The High Point Community Foundation collaborated with the High Point Schools Partnership to honor one teacher from each of Guilford County Schools’ High Point campuses at a luncheon at High Point Country Club.
Each High Point principal selected a teacher from their school who demonstrates commitment to student success above and beyond expectations.
Picking only one educator was a tough call for principals to make, said Dawn Spencer, coordinator of HPSP. Each Extraordinary Educator received gift bags that contained $50 gift cards.
“There’s a new energy and a hope, an excitement for the future of High Point,” said Matt Thiel, co-chair of HPSP, noting the recent downtown redevelopment. “I want to see as much of that energy, that excitement, that revitalization flow into our schools … because I believe you cannot have a great community without great schools and you can’t have great schools without a great supporting community. We need to be lifting up our schools, supporting them, promoting them and congratulating them.”
High Point Community Foundation President Paul Lessard thanked teachers, administrators, school board members and other local government leaders in attendance for taking the time to care about education.
“In a society these days that’s become more and more self-focused, I think teachers stand as a great example of servant leadership,” Lessard said. “You’re not in it for the money or the fame, you’re in it for the kids.”
Teachers named as Extraordinary Educators include:
Allen Jay Elementary – Nicole Salter
Allen Jay Prep – Chris White
T. Wingate Andrews High School – Natalya Moore
Fairview Elementary – Aminata Payne
Ferndale Middle – Valerie McCain
Florence Elementary – Kara Mason
Kearns Academy – Forrest Littleton
Kirkman Park Elementary – Mary Nifong
High Point Central High School – Michael Holden
Johnson Street Global Studies – Coshenda Clark
Middle College at GTCC High Point – Afzal Khan
Montlieu Academy – Dana Harris
Northwood Elementary – Barb Collins
Oak Hill Elementary – Jakima Ledbetter
Oak View Elementary – Candace Scott
Parkview Village Elementary – Lakayla Allamby
Penn-Griffin School for the Arts – Lucinda Johnson
