Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Dec. 11, 2003, edition 1 / Page 4
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Program pushes Hispanic kids to excel Hispanic Achievers based on popular YMCA program for African-Americans BY COURTNEY GAILLARD THE CHRONICLE Leonardo Vazquez moved to this country nearly two years ago with his family from Mexico. Although the Wiley Middle School sixth-grader is still learning to speak English, he has managed to make straight A's in all of his classes thanks in part to the Hispan ic Achievers. "He makes straight A's and his behavior is wonderful. Everyone says that it's a pleas ure to have him in the class r o o m , " s a i d Maria DeJesus. who has been mentoring VajffliP7 fnr thr> last seven months. This mother of three sons said that Vazquez's parents moved the family to the United States so that their sons could receive a better educa tion. She also credits his parents' sup port and encouragement for his aca demic performance. Vazquez can read and write English but is still learning to speak the lan guage. DeJesus translates for him when he doesn't understand. Not all mentors are bilingual like DeJesus. "He likes to read and go to the library. We go to the library together. He gets books and finishes them," said DeJesus. Vazquez enjoys reading sci ence fiction such as "The Lord of the Rings" series. "When we're together I encourage him to speak English. When we greet each other we say 'hi."' Hispanic Achievers, a program of the YMCA Community Outreach Ser vices, is a mentoring program for His panic youths in middle school. A child is matched with an adult who encour ages academic achievement, social Zazxarino development and personal growth. The program began in January. Most of the children in the program, including Vazquez, live at The Ledges, which is where they meet with their mentors several days a week in The Children's Center. When DeJesus is not helping Vazquez with homework assignments, she said, they'll spend time several times a week playing board games, eat ing out or going to amusement parks. The two shared a laugh about a past trip to Paramount Carowinds when Vazquez coaxed DeJesus into riding a roller coaster with him despite her fear of heights. Ask Vazquez what he likes about his mentor and he'll tell you. "Everything. She's nice," with a huge grin. It's obvious the feeling is mutual because DeJesus dotes on Vazquez as if he's her own son. Math and science are Vazquez's favorite subjects, which explains why this youngest of four boys dreams of becoming a doctor one day. On a recent field trip with the Hispanic Achievers to the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center trauma center, he was full of questions, said DeJesus, The aspiring doctor is also quite an artist. "He's a wonderful artist. There's an artist (inside of him). He draws so beautifully," said Vazquez. Program director Maria Zazzarino said Vazquez is one of 24 children matched with mentors. She said they hope to match another 20 or so kids with adults by the end of January. A lot of the children don't have enough to do outside of school, and Hispanic Achievers keeps them occupied, she said. "Four other children (from Hispan ic Achievers) are on the honor roll. It's hard to make straight A's when you do speak English. (Another child) was in danger of being held back last year, but she began working with a mentor and she made enough improvement to where they said she could pass her classes," said Zazzarino, who said the biggest challenge many Hispanic stu dents face in school is do'ing their homework at home because most of their parents don't speak English flu ently. "(Vazquez) has (hal inside motivation, but he needs guid ance and nelp. That's what this program is for - those kids who otherwise would get lost in the crowd," Zazzarino said. H i s p a n i c s make up around 5 percent of stu dents in the Winston Salem/Forsyth County School System, and Zazzarino said the dropout rate is more than 8 percent. Although DeJesus has children of her own anu a iuii time job, she enjoys the time she spends with Vazquez. "I have a real good relationship with his parents and with his brothers. His parents are wonderful," said DeJe sus, who is an educator for ABCD Early Beginnings. "I always tell Leonardo not to feel ashamed of who he is or where he comes from and to be proud and to learn." DeJesus considers her time spent with Vazquez to be some of the most stress-free time of her week. His inquis itive nature, said DeJesus, leads her to believe that he will go on to college and pursue a medical degree perhaps. "He asks me a lot of questions about his. future education. He says he wants to be somebody and he always says that he wants to take care of his parents. Leonardo wants to be a suc cess," DeJesus said. DeJesus and Zazzarino agreed that many children like Vazquez who move to this country can excel in American schools if they receive encouragement at home and from the entire communi ty Photos by Courtney Gaillard Leonardo Vazquez and his mentor, Maria DeJesus, challenge each other in a game. City named second most ? ? digital in nation Winston-Salem cited for ? ? , e-government services ] SPECIAL TO THK CHRONICLE Winston-Salem placed second in the latest ranking of the top 10 dig ital cities in the United States by the Center for Digital Government. The city is ranked among cities ? with a population of 125.000 to 250.0(H) on the center's 2003 Digi tal Cities Survey. Last year on the 2002 survey, the city tied for I Oth placed. The survey examines how city governments have progressed in adopting and using digital technol ogy to improve the delivery of serv ices to their citizens. Dennis Newman, the city's chief information officer, said that the ranking reflects the city's continued implementation of "e-government" services. "These new services include online payment of utility bills, online submission of cus tomer service requests, multi-lan guage translations of our Web site, and the ability to access GIS maps and engineering documents online. "These services are a direct result of the investments we have made in prior years in our informa tion systems, which built the foun dation for adding direct services to the public through the Internet." Winston-Salem will be recog nized for its achievement Dec. 11 during the National League of Cities meeting in Nashville. Tenn. Mayors, chief information offi cers and city managers in more than 300 cities were invited to partici pate in the survey. The survey grouped cities into three categories: population more than 250.000, pop ulation 125.000 to 250,000. and population 75.000 to 125,000. Sculpture from pane AI nered him national attention. Black, a devoted Republi can. was invited to' the White House in the 1970s by Presi dent Richard Nixon. He was featured on Charles Kuralt's On the Road" program. Forsyth County Commis sioner Dave Plyler initiated a campaign to raise about $.00,000 (in cash donations and in-kind contributions for things like materials and gar dening services) for the sculp ture two years ago. Walter Marshall, Plyler's colleague on the Board of County Commissioners recalled that Plyler would often point out the lack of racial diversity in the artwork featured in the old county building. "Dave would often say, Walter, wouldn't it be great if we had a black person among this group," Marshall said. Plyler first envisioned a Wist of Black. But as artist Grace Parker Napper learned what a giant of man Black was. it was decided that he deserved a tribute that stood as tall and proud as Black once did. "My hope for this sculpture is that it will inspire and moti vate people for generations to come, said Napper, who first molded the piece out of clay using pictures of Black. The piece was then bronzed, ensur ing that it will stand the test of time. Several bricks made by Black were bronzed and incor porated into the sculpture as well. Black's descendants came from far and near to attend the unveiling! Raphael Black is one of George Black's grand children. Like his grandfather, Raphael Black has refused to view challenges as insur mountable. Raphael Black in 195.1 was among the first eight African-American firefighters hired by the city. Raphael Black still counts "Trust and Ghey among his favorite hymns. His grandfather used to play the tune on his harmon ica. He bought Raphael Black his own harmonica and taught him the song as well. "He had a lot of faith and a lot of trust in God," Raphael Black said about his grandfa ther. "He believed in treating his tellowman fairly and work ing hard." Samuel Black, another one of George Black's grandsons, traveled from Detroit to wit ness the unveiling. Samuel Black often goes to schools in Detroit during Black History Month to share his grandfa ther's story with young people. "I am trying to teach them the lesson that even without a formal education you still can achieve with perseverance and determination." he said. The sculpture is open for public viewing. It is in front of the new County Government Building on Chestnut Street, behind the Forsyth County Jail. Photo by Kevin Walker County Commissioner Dave Plyler poses with former City Council member Virginia Newell. Environmental Technician Training Could Be Your Ticket to a Career! ? *210 hours of tuition-free environmental technician training at Forsyth Technical Community College ? Valuable certifications and job search assistance For information, Call Deltra Bonner, 336-724-3625, ext. 205, or call or visit a JobLink Center Attend a required orientation session at: Goodwill Industries Self-Reliance Hall 2701 University parkway, Winston-Salem, NC, 9:00 a.m., December 16, 2003 or January 6, 2004 Call Now! Classes begin January 19, 2004 "HOW MUCH LIFE INSURANCE DO YOU REALLY NEED?" IS ONE YEAR'S SALARY ENOUGH? CALL ME /T.Y.U Mose Belton-Perry \^/ 3911 University Parkway. Winston-Salem. NC 27106 /instate. ES Allstate Financial is the mattering name for Allstate Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries. Allstate Life Insurance Company. Home office: Northbmok. Illinois. <D 2001 Allstate Insurance Company QggoQn: of savinas ? IWVIIII^I? starting at $299 Sofas starting at $599 S)eeperSofas starting at $?99 6 MONTHS SAME AS CASH! g ;"ST ^g?j|j-^ LA-Z-BOYgm i Make The Rooms That Make A Home* (330) 76W330
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