WFU Phoio
Alvita Eason Barrow started on Sept. 2.
Barrow joins
Wake Forest Law
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Fields
Alvita Eason Barrow has joined the Wake Forest
University School of Law's Office of Career and
Professional Development as assistant director.
"We are thrilled to welcome Alvita to our staff and
the law school," says Kim Fields, director of the
OCPD. "Her experience in both the private and public
sectors of the legal field will be invaluable to our stu
dents as she counsels them to help them find the right
iob."
Barrow brings a wide range of
experience to this position,
according to Fields. Barrow
worked most recently at
Columbus Community Legal
Services, part of the Columbus
School of Law at the Catholic
University of America in
Washington, D.C., as the manag
ing director of the primary civil
litigation clinic within the law
school.
Previously she has worked as
a clearinghouse attorney for the National Legal Aid
and Defender Association, an assistant public defender
in the Office of the Public Defender in Rochester, N.Y.,
a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Nassau
County in Hempstead, N.Y., and as the director of
career services at George Mason University School of
Law. She earned a juris doctor degree from Cornell
University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from
Duke University.
"1 am excited to join the law school community at
Wake Forest," Barrow said. "My legal education was a
transformative experience and laid the foundation for
the achievement of my professional goals as a lawyer.
1 look forward to partnering with members of the Wake
Forest community in helping prepare our students for
successful legal careers and in assisting our students
and alumni in identifying and developing a career path
that will reflect their values, goals, and interests."
Barrow, who replaces former Assistant Director
Kara Bowser ('04), joined Wake Forest Law on Sept. 2.
Teachers
from page A1
File Photo
Forsyth County Association of Educators President Ann Pettijean joins other
educators, parents and students for a rally last year.
Stennette
that is still not enough.
Several counties have
reported unusually high
amounts of teacher
turnover. Brunswick
County lost one-fifth of
its 840 teachers in the
2013-14 school year.
Wake County has had 600
teachers quit since the
school year began, up 41
percent from last year.
Houston (Texas)
Independent School
District (H1SD), whose
superintendent, Terry
Grier, is a former
Guilford County schools
superintendent, came to
North Carolina to capital
ize on teacher discontent.
H1SD held its own career
fairs in Charlotte,
Raleigh and Greensboro
with the sole purpose of
recruiting N.C. teachers
for its 280 schools.
About 40 former N.C.
teachers have made the
move to the Lone Star
State. Among them is
Bobbie Lynch.
The New Jersey
native taught for several
years at Carver High
School before becoming
the learning teams facili
tator for Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools and ultimately
doing an principal intern
ship at Walkertown
Middle School.
An administrative job
wasn't available for her
after that, and she was
scheduled to teach at Mt.
Tabor High School this
school year. She was
looking at the pay loss of
going from an 11-month
administrative employee
to 10-month teacher. She
also wouldn't be working
with the at-risk students
she prefers to teach.
So she decided to take
advantage of HISD's
offer after attending the
Greensboro fair. She now
teaches at Middle
College High School on a
satellite campus of
Houston Community
College. She works with
students who have been
expelled or are aging out
of the school system.
She said she was just
making ends meet in
North Carolina. In
Houston, she's making
$10,000 more as a 10
month employee than she
was making in North
Carolina as an 11-month
employee.
"It's less stressful,
where 1 can focus on my
work rather than focus on
how I'm going to pay the
bills," she said.
Catherine Stennette is
also teaching in Houston.
She taught at Rocky
Mount's Tar River
Academy, a non-tradi
tional alternative school
for at-risk students. The
16-year teaching veteran
spent most of her career
in Austin, Texas before
moving to Rocky Mount.
She said she returned to
Texas after being told she
would not be re-hired this
school year because she
made too much money.
"I felt extremely dis
respected," she said. "I
left work and had a panic
attack because I didn't
know what to do at that
point."
She had attended the
H1SD job fair in Raleigh
and now teaches at Lee
High School in Houston.
In Rocky Mount she
rented her home and had
a second part-time job to
make ends meet. Now.
she plans to own a home
again, like she did when
she formerly taught in
Austin. In addition to
higher pay. Stennette said
her teaching load is less
in Texas and even school
supplies are provided for
her.
Forsyth County
Association of Educators
President Ann Pettijean
said HISD was smart to
come to North Carolina,
which has the highest
number of National
Board Certified Teachers
in the nation and an envi
ronment where education
cuts and other polices
make teachers feel
unwanted.
"1 think there comes a
point where you feel so
disrespected by the peo
ple who are making deci
sions about your job that
you have to look for
another place to work,"
she said, adding that
though the number of
teachers retiring earlier
or moving out of state has
increased greatly, it is
still a small percentage of
the state's teachers.
North Carolina
Association of Educators
President Rodney Ellis
called the situation a
"travesty" and laid blame
with lawmakers, who he
says have allowed other
states to "raid" N.C.
teachers because they
have not invested in
them.
"Teachers right now
are making some very
tough decisions," he said.
"Number one, if they're
going to continue teach
ing and, two, if they're
going to continue teach
ing in North Carolina."
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