Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Sept. 9, 1993, edition 1 / Page 3
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Rfiptember9, 1993 Winston-Snlem Chronicle Page A 3 In Our Schools I had lunch with a friend last week. In addi- lon to his usual briefcase, cellular phone and ectronic calendar, he also had an algebra book, hen I asked him what he was doing with an ■ebra book, my friend infonhed me that he was dying so that he could help his children wift ,eir homework each night. I commended him for s tenacity and ribbed him just a little; but then reminded me that we both went to school A. A. j^ter the abacus) but B.P.C. (before pocket calcu- ,ors). I helped him to study. On Aug. 30, student^ in Forsyth County ceived he^ with their homework assignments irough a service .sponsored jointly by the Win- lon-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Forsyth .ssociation of Classroom Teachers (FACT) and nrsyth County Public Library . Homework Hotline began in 1981 and offers idents In Forsyth County assistance with their omework. Housed at the Main Branch of the orsyth County Public Library, teachers from the iinston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools work in ams of four providing Ip but not answers to ndents who have ques- ons about math, science, iglish and social studies, he teachers are all farail-, Rr with textbooks and urriculum. They have illy stocked resources nd teachers’ editions. Kay Shields, the Donna Oldham ihool system’s program manager for Commu- ity SchoolA^olunteer Services, coordinates omework Hotline and maintains statistical data n the program. Last year, the program answered 002 calls. Of those, 5076 were math question.s; 05 werefitglish questions; 588 were social stud- s questions; 564 were science questions; and 69 alls were in other subject areas. Of the total umber of calls, 6855 were from students in local ublic schools, and 147 were from students in on-public schools. Students called Homework Hotline 6264 mes last year. Parents called 687 times, and 47 alls were placed by other people including col- ge students. A breakdown of students who called shows lat 3283 calls were placed by students in grades. ;*5;'338 calls were placed by students in grades dirough eight; 1317 calls were placed by stu- snts in grades nine through twelve; and 64 calls 'ere placed by other grades, including college udcnts. The stats also show that each year, calls to [omework Hotline increase. In 1990‘91, 4750 alls were placed; during the 1991-92 school ear,5534, / Currently, Homework Hotline averages 54.7 alls per day. The program operates 128 days a ear on Monday through Thursday from 5-8 p.m, hen school is in session. The program is closed n holidays and profes,sional days. All children in the local school system were ven a sticker and bookmark giving them the tone number and subject areas covered by omework Hotline. The phone number is also Sled in tlie phone directory and the 1993-94 Par- nts’ handbook. More Mothers Breast-Feed Their Young exclusive to — low-income, African- American women who come through the WIC program. According to the Governor's Com mission on Reduction of Infant Mortal ity, the number of infant deaths in Forsyth County decreased from 61 in 1991 to 45 in 1992. While it's not known whether the decrease is due to breast feeding, Dr. Robert Jones, the director of WIC, feels breast-feeding promotes healthy mothers and babies. He said the counselors are all women who were on WIC assistance and have successfully breast-fed their babies. "We thought it would be better because they can relate to the women better," Jones said. "It's a better alterna tive than training my people because they all have something in common." Women breast-feeding their chil dren could become more common. The state legislature recently passed a law protecting women from indecent-expo- sure charges for breast-feeding in public. Walter Shepherd, executive director of the Governor's Commission, said the commission supports the law because they advocate breast-feeding. He believes this bonding between the mother and child will help develop fam ily values and could help offset criminal behavior as the child grows older. "There is nothing more intimate between the mother and the child than breast-feeding," he said. "I'm pretty well convinced that there has to be a strong relationship between (bonding at birth) and eventual behavior. It's a natural pro gression." Maria Franklin, a graduate of the program who successfully breast-fed her 11-month-old son, felt it was helpful. "No one encouraged me to do it. I wanted to breast-feed my child," she said. "I knew it would (create) a tighter bond from the beginning." Flack Gives Once-Troubled Nursing from page A1 Flack ended up going to WSSU, where she graduated in 1968. The school had prepared her well for the state nurs ing board exam, she said, but she flunked it anyway. "I was truly devastated," she said. She said she tells her students about that setback because she wants them to know that the test is passable, and that the reason she flunked was because of "her test-taking skills." "That may be why I work so hard with my smdents," she said. She passed it the second time. After graduation, she worked in hos pitals in Charlotte and Tennessee, and when she returned to North Carolina she was an instructor in nursing education at Gardner-Webb College. While serving as director of health services at Vorhees College in Denmark, S.C., she earned a master's degree in nursing from the Med ical College of Georgia. In 1988, as asso ciate director of nursing at Rutherfordton Memorial Hospital, she earned a doctor ate in education from Virginia Polytech nic Institute. Because of a newspaper article that someone sent school officials, she was asked to speak in 1989 at the pinning ceremony for nurses. She spoke at the same time North Carolina was stmck by Hurricane Hugo, and she said she was teased by school officials who said that she brought the hurricane with her. Flack, whose resume attests to a hurricane of energy, said that school offi cials started talking to her about taking on the head job while she was in town. When the offer was made, she didn't hes itate for a second, she said. "I really needed to come back and give something to the school," she said. "Somehow, I always knew I'd come back here." She took over in July 1989. In 1992, 96 percent of the students passed the state nursing exam. The two years before her arrival - 1987 and 1988 - the figures were 60 and 70 percent, respectively. Major changes in the curriculum was one reason for the improvement, she said. She also discovered that students weren't getting enough hands-on experi ence with patients. But perhaps the most important change was gearing courses and test questions to what was on the state exam. The school has also instituted practice exams, which mirror the state exam, she said. "It's real stressful," she said about the state test. "You're putting all your eggs in this and you want to be pre pared." She feels that the Clinton adminis tration's desire to reform health care has thrust nursing into the foreground. "I see nursing coming into its own. Sylvia Flack In terms of preventive care, we can do a lot," she said. Flack is the divorced mother of a 19-year-old son, who is a student at WSSU. Complaints Increase Against from page A1 Internal affairs has been busy investigating their own lately. Complaints against police officers have steadily risen. In 1988, there were 133; 138 in 1989; 163 in 1990; and 191 in 1991. The figure decreased last year, however, to its low est figure since 1989 — 157. These figures include civilian and internal com plaints. Cornatzer, however, said that number of com plaints is satisfactory based on the number of arrests they make per year. The police department made over 57,0(X) arrests last year and responded to over 128,700 calls, he said. "If you have all that contact and so few complaints, then someone is doing a good job," he said. He explains the increase in complaints to "supervi sors taking a closer look at our people than we did some years back." Number of complaints from 1988-92: ■ 1988 - 84 internal complaints; 39 citizen complaint's ■ 1989 - 123 internal complaints; 15 citizen complaints ■ 1990 -148 internal complaints; 15 citizen complaints ■ 1991 -154 internal complaints; 37 citizen complaints ■ 1992 -106 internal complmnts; 51 citizen complaints Number of arrests and calls from 1988-92: ■ 1988 - 50,952 arrests; 99,677 calls ■ 1989 - 49,064 arrests; 112,566 calls ■ 1990 - 54,849 arrests; 122,000 calls ■ 1991 - 66,493 arrests; 123,554 calls ■ 1992 - 57,000 arrests; 128,700 calls Source: Winston Salem Police Department Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Councils, Inc. STRATEGIES FOR THE 90*St PROMOTING MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IT’S THE LARGEST MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE IN THE SOUTHEAST. COME MEET: • CORPORATE CEO’S • PURCHASING EXECUTIVES • MINORITY ENTREPRENEURS • GOVERNMENT DECISION MAKERS SEPTEMBER 21-24 CONDUCT A YEARS WORTH OF BUSINESS IN FOUR DAYS!!! It's Time To Register Be one of 235 exhibitors who will come away from the 1993 Business Opportunity Confer ence a winner! Major Corporations, Governmental Agencies, Educational Organizations and Minority Vendors will exchange in this one day, information that ordinarily would take months to accumulate. Imagine that. More than 600 buyers and suppliers from the Southeast region and various states will be present and ready to talk business. Don't miss this grand opportunity to network with a captive audience - where everyone comes out a winner! For more information contact: CMSDC, Hatteras Building, 5624 Executive Center Dr., Suite 106 • Charlotte, NC 28212, (704) 536-2884.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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