Graduates of the Early College of Forsyth (ECF) received both their high school diploma and their AA and/or AAS degree in two separate ceremonies on the same day in May 2015. For the second year in a row, ECF has been ranked by Newsweek as one of the top US. high schools. Newsweek puts Early College of Forsyth in Top 1% of U.S. high schools snujiAJL iu THE CHRONICLE Early College of Forsyth (ECF), located on the main campus of Forsyth Tech in Winston Salem, has been recog nized as one of the top 500 high schools in Newsweek's recently released 2015 High School Rankings. Newsweek's study ana lyzed more than 16,000 high schools around the country, and ranked ECF at No. 103, placing it in the top 0.6 percent. Of the 15 N.C. high schools that made it into Newsweek's top 500 list, ECF held the second high est ranking and was one of five Early Colleges in the state to be ranked in the top 500. "Forsyth Tech, in col laboration with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, has worked hard over the past seven years ta make Early College of Forsyth an out standing educational option for high school students focused on obtaining a col lege degree," said Fran Cook, principal of ECF. "The success of ECF is due to the dedication of our tal ented faculty and staff to academic excellence and their commitment to help ing our students succeed." The methodology used in creating the 2015 listing involved factors that pre pare students for college, including, but not limited to, standardized test profi ciency, graduation rates and counselor-to-student ratios. ECF, which was opened in 2008 and gradu ated its first class in 2008, was recognized for its 100 percent graduation rate, 82.9 percent student reten tion rate, and the fact that 96.8 percent of graduates further their college educa tion at the end of the pro gram. For more information about Early College of Forsyth, contact Fran Cook, ECF principal, at 336-757-3294. Marchers say S.C. Gov. Haley has more to learn about race BY MEG KINNARD ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLESTON, S C. ?Taking the podium before hundreds assembled for Labor Day weekend activities in downtown Charleston, the Rev. Joseph Darby said he has no doubt that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was deeply affected by the slayings of nine black churchgoers ear lier this summer. But the second-term Republican, the daughter of Indian immigrants, may have diversity in her back ground but has a warped sense of racial reality in South Carolina and is mis guided when she talks about the state having racial harmony, Darby told a crowd of around 500 gathered in Marion Square. "She still needs a little bit of education," said Darby - an official with Charleston NAACP and longtime friend of Clementa Pinckney, the senator and pastor slain with eight others at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AA1?.) Church in June _ to cheers and applause from those gathered in the hot morning sun. "She is not the poster child for racial harmony." "Rather than condemn ing " Black Lives Matter,' you might ought to lighten up and listen to what they have to say," Darby admon ished the governor. - Darby referenced Haley's comments recently at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., where South Carolina's first minority governor said that black lives do matter but have been "disgracefully jeopardized" by the Black Lives Matter movement that laid waste to Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore. Haley called the riots there senseless, saying they primarily harmed black residents and the business es that serve them. But in South Carolina, primarily in the wake of the church slayings, the gover nor said the state showed *T off how far race relations in South Carolina have come. "With the grace of the aftermath of the Mother Emanuel church massacre, the world saw South Carolina as we are," she said. "We've been that way for some time now - it's just that a lot of people out side of our state never noticed." At Saturday's events, relatives of Walter Scott - the black man shot to death by a white police officer in North Charleston this spring - joined with the families of those killed at Mother Emanuel to march through downtown Charleston and discuss race relations, labor issues and healing. Darby's sentiments were echoed by the North Carolina NAACP presi dent, who also said Haley only spoke out about removing the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds after the deaths, not before the tragedy. "This narrative sug gests that only black death matters," the Rev. William Barber II said. "She didn't move the flag when living people boycotted the flag for 15 years with the NAACP." Haley, whose call to remove the flag was ulti mately successful this past July, says the state has made race-based progress but still can do more. Her office also says the gover nor commends the AM?. church for setting an exam ple of compassion that led the state through one of its most difficult periods. Haley press secretary Chaney Adams said in a statement provided to The Associated Press: "The governor has an enduring respect and fondness for the AMf. Church - she knows South Carolina would not have gotten through this summer die way we did if it wasn t for the example of love and compassion set by the Church and its leadership. Have an Opinion? Let us Know letters@wschroniclerom Winston-SaCem/Forsytft County Continuum of Care invites persons and organizations interested in addressing and ending homelessness to become members of the CoC. All are welcome Next Meeting Tuesday, September 22, 2015 8:30 a.m. Winston-Salem Rescue Mission 718 North Trade Street Winston-Salem, NC. For more information, please call Tim West at (336) 734-1303 or email tinned' atyofws.org. WE HAVE A NEW VISION FOR LIVING UNITED. BE A PART OF IT. Our community is ever-changing. That's why United Way is too. With our focus on truly interconnected solutions, we are better able to address our community's ever-evolving needs?whatever the future holds. When everyone works together, we can build a better community. Help make great things happen. Invest in our community through the 2015 United Way campaign today. hflHffiP *1 GIVE ? VOLUNTEER ? GET INFORMED ? SHARE WJblMSSfe www.forsythunitedway.org f ^0 touQ 0