Photos by Todd Luck
Alfred Harvey speaks.
Parent Leslie McLaurin makes a point.
WSPA
from poye AI
school/college credit on
their campus," she said.
"But we're in the very
beginning stages. We don't
have details; we don't have
agreements."
If the move happened,
Hanes Middle School
might move there and
WSPA middle school stu
dents would' merge with
that student body. Emory
emphasized that this was
just one possibility if the
move happened. Hanes
was displaced after con
cerns over the toxicity on
its campus last year and is
currently housed in the old
Hill Middle School, which
is too small for the student
body.
Emory said that if the
move didn't happen, the
school system would be
looking at ways to better
use the space, either by
increasing WSPA enroll
ment or moving other pro
grams into the unused
space.
Parents voiced their
disappointment that enroll
ment at WSPA wasn't high
er and hadn't reached the
100 students per grade
level Emory said the school
needed to sustain itself.
Many questioned if the
school system had done
enough to promote the
school and attract students.
"The magnet has failed
this school," said one par
ent
Some felt Prep was
being unfairly scrutinized
when other schools have
unused space, but Emory
said that all schools with
unused capacity are being
looked at for better ways to
use that space. Parents also
said they thought there had
been discussions about
closing WSPA last year, but
Emory said that those were
only rumors, and that no
one wanted to end the pro
gram. She said any change
to WSPA would be to
enhance it.
Parent Leslie McLaurin
said she just wanted to see
the program stay intact
regardless of where it was
at, though she also felt that
if the school had more elec
tives like band and home
economics, that it would
attract more students.
"I don't care where
they go, as long the pro
gram that you have set
aside for them
doesn't change but is
enhanced. It's going to be a
good move," she said.
A front office employee
at the school said she'd
heard many concerns from
middle school parents
about merging with Hanes.
Community member
Alfred Harvey said it
would be better to change
the curriculum and attract
more students instead of
moving.
"The middle school stu
dents will be left here.
What type of environment
will the middle school stu
dents be a part of if you
bring another middle
school here on top of these
students?," he said.
School Board Member
Victor Johnson questioned
if the move was even possi
ble. He
said he's talked with
administrators at WSSU
and they don't think there's
room for a high school.
"1 don't know what Dr.
Robinson is talking about,
but the people who run the
show, they're saying they
don't see that," he said.
WSPA Principal
Richard Watts said that
after he cleared up confu
sion among parents last
year on if WSPA was clos
ing, the ones he's heard
from have been OK with
the move. He said the stu
dents wanted to make sure
the school remained intact
wherever it went.
"They want a college
prep program; they want to
go to college," he said. "If
it's here, it's here. If it's at
Winston-Salem State, it's
at Winston-Salem State.
The key for them is to keep
WSPA, to keep the
Phoenix."
Watts also added that
the school is growing, with
95 students in this year's
' freshman class.
Emory said they'll be
more meetings and more
chances to get feedback on
the potential move, before
April, which is when the
bond proposal is supposed
to be finalized.
WSPA Principal Richard Watts speaks to parents as Superintendent Beverly
Emory looks on.
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