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75 cents WlNSTON-SALEM GREENSBORO HlGH POINT Vol. XXVI No. 3
' ????! Ghroni -~e
1974 - Celebrating 25 Years - 1999 frcm this library
Exemplary!
' Photo by Jeri Young
Hundreds of students front J.D. Diggt Elementary School took to tho streets Tuesday for a parade through Happy Hill Oardens.
The parade, which was followed by a hot dog tapper and talent thow, wat held to celebrate the school's ABC scores. Students
at Diggt met exemplary growth on the statewide accountability test - a first for the school.
Disss celebrates ABC scores
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
On an exemplary day -
sunny skies and breezy temper
atures - an exemplary bunch of
students and an exemplary
group of parents and teachers
came together to laugh, fellow
ship and celebrate an exemplary
milestone.
It all took place Tuesday
afternoon at J.D. Diggs Acade
mics & Arts, the little school
tucked neatly in a corner of the
Happy Hill Gardens public
housing development.
The school has been on
cloud nine for the past month.
When the 1998-1999 ABC test
report was finally released in
early August, Diggs students
and staffers found out that the
school had met "exemplary"
growth on the statewide
accountability test.
was a first for Diggs - which
did not meet even its expected
growth a year earlier - and an
accomplishment that only 12 of
the system's 34 elementary
schools that took the test can
claim.
During a three-hour event
that was part tribute and part
celebration, the Diggs family
patted themselves on the back
and tooted their own horn in
dramatic fashion.
The afternoon began with a
colorful parade through Happy
Hill Gardens. The Spirits of
Parkland Marching Mustangs
and Majorettes .provided the
music for the trek. Their
tremendous sound brought
people out of their houses to
watch the procession.
"This is just nice," Happy
Hill resident Sharon Wilson
said as she and her friend Carrie
Nicholson watched the parade
go by their house. "This is the
first time that Diggs has had
something like this. We are very
proud of them."
Diggs students from every
grade level walked the parade
route, carrying signs touting
their achievements. They were
I
decked in yellow T-shirts with
the J.D. Diggs logo printed
boldly across them; Diggs
staffers donned purple shirts
with similar logos.
"It's tremendous," said
Amanda Bell, the assistant
superintendent for elementary
schools. "We are just extremely
proud of the children and the
achievements they have made."
Each class made a colorful
banner to carry during the
parade; some featured colorful
hand prints and students' signa
tures. At one point the pack
started a chant of "J.D. - D
Exemplary," but most of the
students were preoccupied with
See Diggs on A10
National Baptist Convention elects president
t
BY JERI YOUNG
THE CHRONICLE
Local ministers say the person
tapped to head the National Bap
tist Convention last week is a
breath of fresh air for the belea
guered organization.
The Rev. William Shaw, pastor
of White Rock Baptist Church for'
43 years, will succeed the Rev.
Henry J. Lyons, the minister
imprisoned for using the powerful
position to steal more than $4 mil
lion from companies and organiza
tions.
Shaw was elected last week
during the conventions annual
meeting in Florida. The 65-year
old, a former president of the
Pennsylvania State Baptist Con
vention. won by the slimmest of
margins - 241 votes - to best nine
candidates at Thursday's vote in
Tampa. Fla.
He ran on a campaign with the
acronym VISA: vision, integrity.
structure and accountability.
"He has integrity and clarity of
thought," said the Rev. Archie
LeMone, who served as Shaw's
associate pastor from 1962-66 and
is now associate director of the
National Council of Churches in
Washington, D.C. "He expects
people to be honest. If you're in
the ministry you damn sure better
be honest."
Those who know him say it was
a campaign fitting for a man who
made it a mission to implement a
centralized accounting and bud
geting system when he was presi
dent of the Pennsylvania State
Baptist Convention from 1978-84
and executive director of the feder
al Opportunities Industrialization
Center.
"The National Convention
right now needs fiscal effective
ness," LeMone said. "He handled
millions of dollars for the federal
government, and he was not audit
or Baptist on AS
Associated Press photo by Chris 0*Meara
Tho Kov. William Shaw, right, novrly oloctod president of tho Nation
al Baptist Convontion U.S.A. Int., roathos out lb tho outgoing acting
prosidont, tho Km v. Stowart Cureton of Oroonvillo, S.C., last Thurs
day night at tho ko Potato in Tampa, Fla.
Dozens speak
for and against
the Edison Project
iv
BY T. KEVIN WALKER *
THE CHRONICLE
,<r \ '
It wasn't the first time Rich O'Neil had stood on a stage and
answered questions about His employer.
As a representative of the Edison Project, a for-profit company
that runs public and charter schools, he is used to taking the heat
and answering the tough questions.
In the past, he has addressed crowds of thousands of concerned
parents, leery of the idea of a private company
handling their children's education.
Nowhere near that number of people showed
up for the public forum here last Thursday
night. But the 50 or so people who did attend
spoke passionately for and against the idea of an
Edison school coming to Winston-Salem. Many
had done their own research and were ready
with facts and in^depth questions.
' O'Neil was there to answer them along with
several people from Goldsboro, where the first
Edison school in the state began more than a
year ago.
O'Neil
"This is not a sales pitch, people. What might fit you may not fit i
us," said Shirley Simms-Stuart, a Goldsboro School Board member,
who voted to bring Edison to the city. "We are certainly pleased f
that we are able to "Wave the banner of success."
Carver Heights-Edison, an elementary school in Goldsboro, has
raised its scores on the ABCs test by 17 percent since last year. A
state assistance team was also at the school during that period; the
role it played in boosting the scores is a subject of much debate.
At least two Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County School Board
members are firmly in support of the idea of bringing Edison here,
most likely to run either Cook, Ashley or Petree elementary schools.
One of those board members, Victor Johnson, organized the
forum. The other pro-Edison member, Jeannie Metcalf joined
Johnson and other board members at the forum. Superintendent
Don Martin was also among those listening to the discussion in the
See Edison on A10
Stop the violence
Offenders get stem warning
during intervention session
'
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Officials of Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative - a
two-year initiative to reduce juvenile violence delivered a stern warn
ing to 36 adults bn probation last Thursday night: Stop the violence and
stop involving juveniles in criminal activities.
SACSI officials had a bit softer warning for 22 juveniles on proba- ,
tion: Stop the violence and take advantage of community resources to
turn your lives around.
The 36 adults, many of them felons, were identified as offenders who
are influencing juveniles, or are associates of people influencing juve
niles. ^The 22 juveniles were youths who have committed serious offenses
or associates of such people.
Two so-called notification sessions were held at the Winston-Salem
Police Department last Thursday night - first for the adults, then for the
juveniles. Each group was first taken into a room with community lead- ?
ers (ministers and leaders of community or neighborhood groups) and
then into a room with law enforcement, school, and
other government officials, as well as some officials
from the first group.
The adults and juveniles were summoned to the
Police Department by their probation officers and
appeared unaware of what was about to take place.
During the first meeting, adult probationers
were led into a room in which they were surround
ed by dozens of community leaders.
"We're concerned about our children," The Rev.
John Mendez of Emmanuel Baptist Church said. ?
"We're concerned about our youth because they
Mend?z
represent the future we see you as a tnreai 10 our
children because we are tired of burying children at a young age. We are
tired of seeing their futures snatched away from them because of vio
lence. guns, because of what you do with our youth and to our youth.
We're the ones that bury them.
"We're the ones that visit with the families. We see what you don't see
- their tears. We feel their pain; we know something about their strug
gles. We have to deal .with them after they're buried and then work with
those parents after that child is gone and try to help them to restore their
lives again because of what you do out there in those streets.
"But if you choose to stay in the violence, to continue to cripple our
young people, to continue to kill and destroy our young people for your
own individual and personal gratification and benefit, we will work as
hard as we can to get you off those streets."
One adult probationer said. '.'I have a question. I was wondering why
you label us as a threat to your children. The majority of us have got
Set Vlolww <m At
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