Youth teams Topic S S 0"*
JHLSLM JjPT iiHH I R A M S?
TheChronicle
Forsyth County Public Library
Volume40,NumberSALEM, N.C THURSDAY, November 21, 2013
'Core*
of the
Matter
New school achievement standards
taking some getting used to
BY LAYLA OARMS
THE CHRONICLE
The rollout of North
Carolina's new Common
Core State Standards cur
riculum is getting mixed
reviews.
Ann Petitjean, presi
dent of the Forsyth County
Association of Educators,
said the National
Education Association
supports the implementa
tion of Common Core,
which has been adopted by
45 states so far, across the
board.
" N E A
thinks that
Common Core
is definitely a
step in the right
direction to
reform educa
tion," she said.
"... I think that
the kids are cer
tainly better off
this year than
they have been
in the past."
The new
standards,
which Were
implemented in
North Carolina
during the
2012-13 school
year, are more
rigorous than
those of the
ABCs of Public
Education, the
previous student achieve
ment measure used in
North Carolina, and are
aligned with standards of
other states, as part of an
effort to make education
more uniform throughout
America.
Common Core is now
the standard for
English/language arts and
math, while N.C. Essential
Standards are used to
gauge achievement in all
other subjects; the two
standards have been
dubbed NC READY and
include several measure
ments that were not previ
ously required, including
end-of-grade assessments
in reading and math for
grades 3-8 and similar
assessments for grades 5
and 8 in science. NC
Ready also requires end
of-course assessments in
Math I, Biology and
English II for all high
school students.
"If they can be success
ful with Common Core,
then they will have some of
the same skill sets as other
people across the country,"
noted Danyelle Parker,
principal of Mineral
Springs Middle School. "1
think that what we're
teaching them are skills
that they're going to be
able to use in other aspects
of their lives as adults."
Although the idea of
making education stan
dards more rigorous is
largely well received, some
believe the new curriculum
was implemented too
auicklv robbine
1 / ' c
students and
teachers of the
time they needed
to properly mas
ter the new
methods
"The biggest
angst is the fact
that we really
only had one i
year to prepare
the teachers and
the students for
what the test was
going to look
like," comment
ed Dr. Amber
Baker, principal
of Kimberiey
Park Elementary
School. "That's
been the biggest
source of con- |
tention."
A.L.j
" B u d d v " ,
Collins, a member of the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth ,
County Schools and the ,
North Carolina Boards of
Education, said he would <
have preferred a staggered
rollout that would allow
students and staff more
time to adjust to the new
approaches to teaching and
learning.
**1 don't think anybody
is opposed to more rigor
ous standards. The ques
tion is how those standards
are being implemented,"
he commented. "Students
who have not been
exposed to that rigor do not
have the foundation to be
successful."
As a result of Common
Core's implementation,
Forsyth County, like most
counties across the state,
experienced a drop in aca
demic growth goals during
the 2012-13 school year.
Slightly more than 42 per
cent of Forsyth County stu
dents in grades 3-8 were
See Core on A3
Collin,
Parker
iS i I
l| 3 I
IF *
ill
? o z 2 8 ?:
V
Star Sightings
Photo by Todd Luck
Union Baptist Church
Pastor Dr. Sir Walter
Mack Jr. (second from
left) welcomed actor
Todd Bridges (from
left), actor/comedian
Chris Tucker and
Bishop Neil Ellis, sen
ior pastor of Nassau,
Bahamas' Mount
Tabor Full Gospel
Baptist Church, to his
church Sunday. All the
guests took part in the
Corner 2 Corner Drug
Dealers and Street Life
Conference. Read more
on page Bl.
Phmoi by Todd Luck
QEA students and teachers cheer as the parade makes it way down Carver School Road.
Charter school celebrates its growth
BY TODO LUCK i
THE CHRONICLE
Quality Education Academy celebrated the opening of
its new high school building last Thursday with a slate of
special events, including a spirited parade.
Hundreds of QEA students marched along Carver
School Road from the Carl Russell Sr. Recreation Center
to Lansing Drive, where the new addition to the charter
school stands. The Carver High School Band joined
QEA's band along the route, pumping up the throngs of
QEA students, staff and faculty who lined sidewalks
along the route. QEA CEO Simon Johnson, the grand
marshal I, waved and smiled at the onlookers as he was
chauffeured at the head of the procession.
"We wanted to celebrate this event." said Johnson.
"This is a big thing for us. Charier schools don't get any
See qea on a7 QEA CEO Simon Johnson addresses his students.
Social media community launched at Bennett
Bennett Colleye Photo
Socialgrlz's Marissa Jennings (left) and Natalie
Jordan promote the company in th War Room.
BY LAYLA GAR MS
THE CHRONICLE
Ten years after her graduation. Bennett College
alumna Manssa Jennings returned to her alma mater last
week to launch the next chapter of her career in the place
where it all began.
The 32-year-old says she took the first steps in cre
ating her company. Socialgrlz LLC, an online social
community for African American girls between the ages
of 13 and 17, as a senior at Bennett in 2003. This week,
she enlisted the help of Journalism and Media Studies
majors at Bennett to help the company raise funds to
create a Socialgrlz mobile app, the latest step in
Jennings' quest to empower and uplift black women and
girls.
"I just feel like there's been a misstep where African
American females have not been celebrated the way that
other females or even males have been celebrated," said
the Washington, D.C. resident. "One of the things that
See Jeaaiagi on A9
Leonard wants to reach the masses with hip hop portal
Submitted Photo
Ethemadassassin has appeared on the site.
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE .
For decades, hip hop music and culture has taken a beating for per
petuating what many believe are misogynistic and harmful messages.
Winston-Salem resident Lloyd Leonard Jr. is hoping to change that,
through the creation of the The Real Planet Hip-Hop. a Web site and
online magazine that helps to brand and promote both established and
up and coming hip hop artists.
"Our main objective is to really highlight different artists and help
them in the branding and marketing." he explained. "It's pretty much a
See Hip hop on AS
Leonard
ESBi
ASSURED
STORAGE
of Winston-Salem, LLC
55SSb^\
ro
? *
gm<N
H r
Mo
???go*
vo