LIFE
Addictions
Affecting both young
and old, rich and poor,
addictions strip their
victims of any sense of
self-control, pages 8-9
I Volume 86 No. 2
cc
Currently,
400,000
military
personnel
are
completing
surveys in
which they are answering
questions about anticipated
problems in sharing living
quarters and bathrooms
with other soldiers identified
as homosexuals. In a nation
where all citizens are to be
treated equally, how can a
policy such as ‘Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell’exist?
59
Jacob Sechter
page 4
News
Still rivals after five
decades, GHS and
Page compete on and
off the field, but when
did this contention
begin? page 2
Opinion
Patients should not
always trust a
physicians’ diagnoses;
doctors are human
beings who make
mistakes. page 4
Features
Supernatural
enthusiasts enjoy tours
from Carolina History
and Haunts, especially
at Halloween time.
page 12
Sports
UNC football
coaches and athletes
must answer to several
allegations of offering
and accepting perks.
page 14
index
News
2-3
Opinion
4-5
Features
6-12
Sports
13-16
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
October 27, 2010
Maurice ‘Mo’ Green visits journalists,
shares insights regarding his position
BY JUSTINE REVELLE
Reporter
Superintendent of Guilford
County Schools, Maurice "Mo"
Green has served the district
for over two years. Previously,
he supervised over the Char-
lotte-Mecklenburg County
Schools that included about
140,000 students. He moved to
the smaller Guilford County
district with a dream of revi
sion. In an interview in the
newspaper class on October 8,
he shared his outlook on edu
cation as well as a few details
about his personal life, includ
ing his favorife activities as a
high school student himself.
A Georgia native. Green
attended college and earned his
law degree. Once a licensed
attorney, he explained that
after making partner in his
firm, he changed directions
and sought a career in educa
tion, perhaps because he has
two children of his own. He
shared fhat his career in law
ironically helped shape his ca
reer in education and claimed
that by combining aspects of
both positions, he has been able
to make the transition easily.
"When I started working in
Charlotte for a law firm, one of
the first clients I worked with
was the Charlotte- Mecklenburg
Board of Education. I had a keen
interest in what they we were
doing, and I wanted to help them
in any way that I could. I was
inspired by their organization
and wanted to make a tremen
dous difference for yoimg people.
I thought it may be a great idea
ultimately for me to combine law
with education," said Green.
Regarding differences be
tween Guilford County and
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Green
believes the two actually share
far more similarities.
"I would say both school dis
tricts are very progressive. They
both are doing tremendous things
for young people, such as the In
ternational Baccalaureate Pro
gram, Advanced Placement
courses, and the Early Middle Col
leges. I would also say demograph
ics of the districts are very similar;
both are majority minority stu
dents, and both have free and re
duced lunch systems, which in
volves slightly over 50 percent of
the students. The biggest difference
would be size," said Green.
Having served on boards for
the YMCA, Arts and Science
Council, and Crisis and Assis
tance, Green's work within the
commimity is very commend
able. He connects his work with
these organizations to his job
as a superintendent.
"A lot of the boards I have
served on are human relations
organizations. They also have
a great connection to young
people. Working with these or
ganizations has allowed me to
expand my knowledge with
different ways in which our
society can have an impact on
our young people and what
we can do to make a difference
[in their lives]," said Green.
Green described Crisis and
Assistance as an organization
created for people on the verge
of becoming homeless.
"Many of fhe people whom we
helped were, in fact, students,"
said Green.
Judging by all of Green's
work within the community, he
has touched the lives of many
grateful individuals. However,
Green still wants more. He
hopes to transform Guilford
County by putting many new
programs in place to do so.
"If you look at the strategic plan,
you wiU see how we're hying to
roll out many initiatives that will
help us get to a place of true excel
lence. We really want to lift up
character development and perfect
academic achievement. We will
also implement service learning,
which will be a part of our Char
acter Development Program.
"With the economy being
what it is, the school district has
had to make a few cut backs, in
cluding the loss of teachers and
limits on paper. We have been
fortunate not to lose many
teachers, and although the
economy has brought on limi
tations, the district has tried its
best to preserve arts and athletic
programs," said Green. "We
have not had to eliminate actual
people, but we have had to
eliminate positions."
Comprised of 121 schools,
the district has lost approxi
mately 120 teachers, so on av
erage, about one per school. We
also eliminated a lot of down
town, central office positions.
We have done a pretty good job
of trying to protect athletics
and the arts. To me, it's been
more of a situation where we
really have not advanced
as much as we would like to,"
said Green.
Green has highlighted three
main goals to execute this par
ticular school year.
"The first would be to enforce
character development and
Senior Justine Revelle interviews the superintendent
during her newspaper journalism class. Other visitors
included Central Region Superintendent Br. Terry
Worrell and Principal Anna Brady. Elliott Photo
service learning within the sys
tem; the second would be that
we have a number of low per
forming schools, known as Pri
ority One Schools, so we have
identified 11 that we will lift up
this school year; and third, I
would say literacy throughout
the district. The district has
made substantial progress over the
last two years in regards to literacy
and literacy results, but we are
notwberewewanttob^" saidGteea
Green then spoke of the chal
lenges he faces as the superin
tendent of the district.
"I would say certainly say
my greatest challenge would be
making sure that people under
stand the expectations and that
they are arriving to that level.
That requires the folks within
the school district to pick up
their game, and it also requires
that as we're going out to hire
new teachers and administra
tors, we find the very best
people possible to get the job
done right," said Green.
Recalling his own education.
Green spoke about his partici
pation in various activities
aside from studying.
"I enjoyed school, and teach
ers would say that I did pretty
well. I certainly got involved in
lots of different things while I
was in school. I enjoyed all of
my subjects, but particularly
favored math.," said Green.
He realized at a yoimg age
that he wanted to study law,
so he "liked things that [he]
thought lined up with a career
in law." Mentioning some of his
favorite electives and extracur
ricular activities, he could not
help but smile.
"I really liked being on the
yearbook staff. I was the edi
tor of the yearbook my senior
year, and it was a pretty big
publication back in those days.
I also played football. By the
time I was toward the end of
my tenure in high school, I was
more of an on-the-team player
than a true player. I really en
joyed playing-football in school
and later baseball," said Green.
Although the superinten
dent does not admit to having
a favorite book, he said that he
has enjoyed author Dan
Brown's works. He also has no
favorite television show or
movie, but he is most certain
of his favorite sports team.
"I tend to be a hometown
type of person, so having
grown up in Georgia, I am an
Atlanta Braves fan. After hav
ing moved to Charlotte, I be
came a Carolina Panthers Fan,"
said Green.
Maurice "Mo" Green is a
man of many falents, as evi
dent through his work in the
district and on various non
profit boards.
Assessing bis career thus far.
Green was quife clear.
"The most rewarding thing
is seeing young people doing
well and hearing about those
young people doing well.. .also
seeing them excited about
what they have accomplished
as well as what they are going
to accomplish," said Green.