NASA from page Al just talking the talk. The agency has put its money where its mouth is. Over the past few years, NASA has partnered with more than 100 schools throughout the coun try to form so-called "Explor er Schools." The schools are designed to cultivate the next generation of space travelers. Teachers at the schools regu larly attend training at NASA facilities, and NASA person nel have made Explorer Schools their second homes. There are three Explorer schools in Forsyth County: Paisley, Philo and Walkertown middle schools. It was stu dents from those schools who were on hand to hear Gregory speak last week. Gregory said NASA is also working diligently to make sure that its employees at every level reflect the racial diversity that America expects to see at a federally funded agency. Senior management is already doing well in terms of diversity, Gregory said. The agency has formed a number of outreach efforts with histor ically black colleges and uni versities to make middle man agement and entry level more diverse. "We have a long way to go, but I think we are making progress. I think you will see a representative population in the agency that you would expect and I would expect," he said. Gregory joined NASA after an illustrious Air Force career that included SSO air combat missions. He retired as a colonel in 1993, after 30 years and after logging more than 7,000 hours in more than 50 aircraft. But even with all of his extraordinary experi ences, Gregory said his heart still beats a little faster with excitement each time he walks into NASA headquarters. "Every day you go to work, it is like going to a play ground," Gregory said, citing the many experiments and exciting projects that take place at the agency eacli day. But every day has not been a walk in the clouds at NASA. The agency has not had a manned space mission since February 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disin tegrated on re-entry to Earth. After his address, Gregory told The Chroniftle that the shuttle will return to space in February or March of next year. But he says the shuttle's days are limited. "The space shuttle will be used almost exclusively to build the international space Station, (which is) 40 percent constructed," Gregory said. He said the shuttle, with its large cargo departments, is the only vessel large enough to carry materials for the space station. In the future, a space craft that is more human friendly and focuses less on cargo room will be designed and eventually used by NASA for space exploration, Gregory said. Program helps foreign-born students BY COURTNEY GAILLARD THE CHRONICLE Since 2000, some 3,000 for eign students (800 this year alone) have come through the Newcomer Registration Center for International Students. Here, they and their parents learn everything they need to know in order to enroll in the Winston Salem/Forsyth County school system. For some families, filling out an application or reading the bus and school schedules is tedious because they cannot read or write in English. While many of the students come from Latin America others hail from Rus sia, Greece and Africa. Graciela A. Calles coordi nates the newcomer program, which is housed in Kennedy Middle School, and she says it is the first program of its kind in North Carolina. The program is a huge help to students and their families who aren't acclimated to the American educa tion system. "We're the first point of entry for the students that come from different places or students who come from the united States but speak another language," said Calles. Immigrant students in kindergarten through 1 2th grade who have not yet enrolled in school have their language skills assessed, documents translated, and their school and grade placements are determined as i ! O Photo by Courtney Oaillard ? Connie Harvey discusses a science project with a student in the Newcomer Academy. well. Parents are also given infor mation on residential zones, school attendance Callat rules, nomework help, transporta tion, testing requirements and graduation requirements, and a variety of com munity resources. In order to reg ister a student, parents ntrist pro vide identifica uon, legai cusioay document, proof of address, birth certificate, immunization records and an academic tran Homeless from page A I the task force will look like (members have not been selected yet) or how it will go about eliminating chronic homelessness in Winston Salem. Malloy said the city is fortunate in that it is home to a number of agencies that have been fighting homelessness for decades. "We are not starting from scratch," he said. "We are not going to try to reinvent the Mangano wheel. In Winston Salem, w e already have any number of transi t i o n a 1 housing sites that a ^ e already in place. Winston-Salem was one of 13 cities awarded a $500,000 federal grant last week to fight chronic homelessness. The grant came from the Depart ment of Housing and Urban Development's HOME Invest ment Partnerships Program. The grant will be used as seed money for the 10-year plan, the city said. Philip Mangano, the exec utive director of the U.S. Inter agency Council on Homeless ness, was in Winston-Salem last week to announce the grant and meet with local homeless advocates and city leaders. Mangano said Win ston-Salem is the latest of many cities that are imple menting long-term plans to battle homelessness. Short term, Band-Aid solutions have kept the homeless problem alive for more than 20 years, he said. "We want to invest in the lives of homeless people (in order) to end their homeless ness." he said. But Malloy says for there to be true success, the invest ment from the federal govern ment will have to be much more substantial. "The half a million dollars is good. ..but I think the funds are rather meager as far as tackling the problem. What we are getting here is almost like a drop in the bucket to put out a forest fire," Malloy said. Mangano said more money for homeless programs could come as part of a program in President's Bush's 2005 budg et called the Samaritan Initia tive. Joines said the city will compete for more dollars to help its plan along. "Getting this plan in place will help us be competitive for those dollars," Joines said. Longtime local homeless advocates are cautiously opti mistic about the plan and the federal government's commit ment to help end chronic homelessness. Longtime homeless advocate Ginny Britt was among those who met with Mangano last week. She Ginny Britt leads a workshop on the homeless at an event last month. Britt says to do away with the problem it will take real, con crete initiatives from the federal government and other entities. pressed him about why the Bush administration is push ing to end homelessness while cutting federal housing subsi dies, which make it possible for poor people to afford a place to live. "That is going to put more people out on the street," Britt said after the meeting. "To me it is an oxymoron." Mangano said hard ques tions should be asked related to homelessness. but he pro Call for Enhancements The N.C. Department of Transportation's Enhancement Pro gram is seeking grant applica- ^ tions for bicycle, pedestrian, ? beautrfication /T| and historic / J resources / SST projects. All I y proposals must include a general description and cost estimate. Suggestions must be submitted by 2004 to be considered. Proposals should be faxed to (336) 748-3370 or e-mailed to wendym@cityofws.org For more information about the Enhancement Program, go to wwwncdol.org/ planning/development/ Enhancement/ For more O information * " ' call Wendy Miller at 727-2707 wfnslon-Sakm (hi vided no answer to Briti's question. Britt said if any city can make a success of its 10 year plan, it will be Winston Salem. She says the city's housing wing, led by Monica Lett, has worked with home less agencies in the past to make dreams realities. She said a head count at local shelters recently estimat ed that about 33 percent of the homeless population is consid ered the chronic homeless. script. Out of the 47,342 students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, 5.216 are Hispanics. 6 1 6 are Asian and 1 1 3 are Amer ican Indian. 5 Beth Donaldson teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to students in the New comer Academy, also housed in Kennedy, which serves students who have recently arrived in this country but aren't fluent in Eng Donor ' from page A I peration period. He was dis charged after a day and was driv ing within a week. "I would like to think that she would have survived, but there's no telling how long she would have been on the (organ donor waiting) list." Uoyd said. "Live donation is a tough thing to do. and we want to convince many people to do that... .We can't take our organs with us. This body is merely a shell." April is Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month, and nearly half of the more' than 83,(XX) Americans who are wail ing for transplants are minorities. More than 2,8