Michelle Todd-Davis talks about the importance of parent involvement during an event held at the Arts
Council Theater on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
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Local school board chair Dana Caudill-Jones addresses
parents during an event designed to encourage parents to
get more involved in their children's education on
Tuesday, Aug. 23.
School board encourages parents to get involved
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Prior to the start of the
2016-2017 school year,
members of the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools (WS/FCS) Board
of Education met with par
ents and others with a vest
ed interest in local schools
to discuss the district's core
values.
Throughout the sum
mer months, school board
members worked with par
ents, teachers, administra
tors and others in the com
munity to create a list of
words that will be associat
ed with the overall mission
of the district. Afterward,
several stakeholders decid
ed that student-cehtered,
collaboration; accountabil
ity, integrity, high expecta
tions, and equity are what
the district should value
most.
School board chair
Dana Caudill-Jones said,
"This district will live by
these core values every day
throughout the school
year."
During the event held
inside the Arts Council
Theater, parents also
learned about various
childcare offerings and
other activities for chil
dren. Parents and guardians
were also encouraged to
become more involved in
students' education by join
ing the PTA and building
working relationships with
teachers and administra
tors.
Caudill-Jones said par
ents are the most important
part of the WS/PCS team.
She mentioned what par
ents do for students each
and every day that no
teacher or administrator
can replicate.
"I can say personally
my parents were always
my greatest supporters and
what you bring to your
child no teacher can really
do. You are our rock stars
and our unsung heroes,"
she said. "You make the
difference and we want
more of you in our
schools."
To wrap up the event,
parents and guardians took
to the stage to discuss the
importance of getting
involved and how they will.
support their children's
school this school year.
Michelle Todd-Davis said
it is important that parents
recognize and address the
needs of children in the
home as well as in school.
"I think it's time we cut
some things out. We need
to start communicating
more with our children,"
Todd-Davis said.
Stella Holmes, who is
responsible for her grand
child, said she is all in
when it comes to helping
educate her grandson who
attends Gibson Elementary
School. As a member of the
pareht involvement team at
Gibson, Holmes said any
time she is asked to do
something at the school,
she does it.
"1 volunteer at the
school, I'm a member of
the PTA, and I feel like
family is very important,"
she continued. "It's up to
the family to help these
children and keep them on
the right path."
BOOK REVIEW
You know your own mind ,
BY TERRI SCHUCHENMEYER
FOR THE CHRONICLE
After thinking things through,
you have your opinions and while
you're willing to listen to what others
say, you're also willing to defend
what you believe in. And, as in the
new book "The Firebrand and the
First Lady" by Patricia Bell-Scott,
your Mends don't necessarily have to
agree with you.
Eleanor Roosevelt's Camp Tera,
nestled near New York's Hudson
River, was initially meant to be a
temporary, leg-up place for
Depression-era women who were
destitute and totally without
resources. Though she was young,
educated, and married, Pauli Murray
was there because of ill health.
Recovery-time aside, Murray's
tenure at Camp Tera was beneficial: a
Mend had told her that Roosevelt
answered all correspondence, and
Murray took that to heart. In 1938, a
few years after she was kicked out of
Camp Tera for "disrespecting the first
lady," she wrote a protest letter to
Roosevelt, requesting intercession in
FDR's stance on anti-lynching laws.
Activism was Murray's passion and
the answer she got wasn't what she'd
wanted but it did, as promised, come
from Roosevelt.
Murray was born in 1910, the
feisty granddaughter of a mulatto
slave whose stories of injustice she
grew up hearing. Murray lost her
mother when she was just three; a
few years later, her father was institu
Firebrand
am/fa
First Lady
^brtrortq/a tttenc/t/iip
Patricia Bell-Scott
"The Firebrand and the First
Lady" by Patricia Bell-Scott
c.2016, Alfred A. Knopf
$30.00 / $39.00 Canada
480 pages
tionalized, then murdered; and her
brother was lobotomized. She, her
self, had health problems and was
often severely underweight; during
one of her hospitalizations, she final
ly admitted that she was attracted to
women, which was then considered
to be a mental health issue.
It took awhile for Murray to tell
Roosevelt all that. Before she did,
and because of that first protest note,
the two corresponded for years in let
ters that offered guidance, outrage.
and rebuttal. The women didn't
always agree, but they always
seemed to attempt to understand one
another's take on issues. Murray sup
ported Roosevelt in her widowhood.
Roosevelt encouraged Murray in her
activism.
It was a support that Murray
imagined she felt long after Mrs.
Roosevelt's death.
I would not, under the broadest of
terms, call "The Firebrand and the
First Lady" a pleasure read.
That's not to say that this book
isn't a pleasure - it's just not some
thing you'd pick up to relax with.
Author Patricia Bell-Scott goes deep
into the politics and work of both
Roosevelt and Murray (more the lat
ter than the former) and that can be
very dry. It's informative - Bell-Scott
tells a story that's been largely hidden
for decades, about a woman who left
her mark on social issues in many
ways - but it's far from lively. Adding
more details of Murray's personal life
might've helped; that's what I was
hungriest for, but didn't get enough
of.
I think this is an important work
of history and definitely worth read
ing but you'll want to be in the mood
for it, particularly if you usually like
lots of energy in your stories. If
you're a scholar or historian reading
"The Firebrand and the First Lady,"
though, the pace is something you
probably won't mind.
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been
reading since she was three years
old.
Residents encouraged to follow basic mosquito
control measures to dodge Zika virus
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
As summer tempera
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upon us and Zika virus has
been locally transmitted in
a small neighborhood in
Florida, the Forsyth
County Department of
Public Health wants to
encourage residents to take
basic mosquito control and
protective measures
against mosquito-borne
disease. Whether you're
traveling out of the country
or just enjoying the beauti
ful North Carolina weather
at home, be sure to use
repellants and other gener
al protection measures
against biting mosquitoes.
Mosquito-borne dis
eases are most commonly
acquired from June to
September, but the Asian
Tiger mosquito can be seen
in Forsyth County through
October. Residents of
Forsyth County can "Tip
and Toss" to eliminate
mosquito breeding areas
and take preventive meas
ures to reduce the likeli
hood of mosquito bites.
As of August 12, the
North Carolina
Department of Health and
u.,?nn
Human avi t ivvo \nvi/
HHS) has reported 33 trav
el-associated Zika virus
cases. The first travel asso
ciated case of Zika virus in
Forsyth County was report
ed in March 2016. Forsyth
County Health Department
is home to one of several
Vector Control Programs
across the state and contin
ues regular mosquito con
trol activities around the
county.
"Mosquito control is a
community effort that
everyone should partici
pate in." said Marlon
Hunter, Forsyth County
Health Director. "We can
use the 'Tip and Toss' prac
tices to protect ourselves
and our neighbors from
mosquito bites this sum
mer."
Basic control measures
include reducing habitats
for the pests and reducing
exposure to them.
Tip and Toss:
?Reduce mosquito
breeding opportunities by
emptying standing water
from flowerpots, gutters,
buckets, pool covers, pet
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naivi uionvo, uiavaiuvu
tires and birdbaths at least
weekly.
?Be sure to tightly
secure screens on all open
ings on rain barrels used
for water conservation.
?Clean up any trash or
leaves that may be around
your home or in rain gut
ters.
Reduce exposure and
use preventive measures:
?If you are traveling,
be sure to visit the CDC
website for updates on
regional disease transmis
sion patterns and outbreaks
(www.cdc .gov/travel).
?Wear appropriate
clothing like long-sleeved
shirts or hats.
?You can also tuck in
shirts and pants, and wear
closed shoes instead of
sandals.
?Be aware of peak
exposure times and places.
?Use the appropriate
insecticides and repellants
for skin and clothing.
For more information
on preventing mosquito
borne illnesses visit:
http://www.forsy th .cc/Publ
I^Uanltk/ r\r r? o 11 fko
1V11VU1U1/ VI van lllv
Environmental Health
Division at 336-703-3225.
WE WELCOME
NEW rATIENIS
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? ?w<wiI* ? fulM A Uwir<f Prtfiai*
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(336) 744-1300
EEE?JIfe=E 0pen |
EMJM Mon-Fri
11-3
beta's Restaurant Sundav
102 West 3rd Street, SniteLpS ?
Winston-Salem, NC 27101 12-4
Phone: (330) 750-0811
ELLISON
I
Eric 8. INtoon
Attorney At Itw
Is Your license Revoked or
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I May Be Able to Get You a
Driving Privilege.
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Need to try a Property Bond.
Call Mel
112 North Marshall Street
Winston Salem. NC 27101
<Jnsi North of 1st Street)
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^
OUR BABIES i n
SEPTEMBER 29?
Join the Forsyth County Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition and other concerned
agenaes and citizens on Thursday, September 29. in commemorating
September as Infant Mortality Awareness Month as
"WAIXA MILE TO SAVE OUR BABIES"
To team how you can get involved in the fight against intent mortality, call the
Forsyte County Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition at
703-3260 or visit the website
- - ? - ~ - Lain .. i uLaL j aa JUUI
www.neipouriMiDies.org. *
& SS J-.