^ T|-fp 1 31 ? M, m W^sU-Sa.?n, N, " ?
I ^if "If T ? T" JT^\ X T7
? 1 I IL ?^plblic inM? ? I ml I 1?4
JTiL Jl ^ ^ 1V^ I vR
Vol.XXXVNo.35 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, April 30, 2009
^
Young
baseball >
players
in action
-See Page BIO
Women
warned
about
military
Peace
rally
draws
crowd
Leaders want
to relaunch old
Influx of stimulus dollars makes it important
to keep eye on school system, officials say ?
BY LAYLA FARMER -
THE CHRONICLE
Public school systems across the stflTCKtre slatedto receive
more than S300 million in funding from the federal stimulus
package for their Title I programs, which serve largely low
income and underperforming ?.hool's as specified by the No
Child Left Behind Act. But sotne lt>cal residents are con
cerned about how the influx of funds will be specifically
spent! ? \
Dellabrook Presbyterian Church opened its doors to the
community Monday evening for a forum to discuss the issue.
' Many area lead
ers usea me
event to sound
off about what
they think is
wrong with the
Winston
Salem/Forsyth
County School
System. and
how federal dol
lars might be
used to fix the
problems.
The meeting
was led by
Dellabrook
Pastor Dr.
Carlton
Eversley, presi
dent of the
Ministers '
Conference of
Winston-Salem
and Vicinity;
Photo by Layla Fumer# -jriH retired cdll
Virgina Newell wants the school system to , ,nr nt
do better with Title I schools. v ?
Virginia
Newell, a for
mer member of the Winston-Salem City Council.
"This meeting really started with a private phone call from
Virgina K. Newell to myself," Eversley told the collective of
school system officials, educators and concerned citizens
gathered in the sanctuary.
Newell had read about the funds that are set to flow into
the school system and began to question how the dollars
already in the system were being spent, he related. Monday's
meeting was designed to identify what action is being taken to
improve conditions for students in Title 1 schools and what
further enhancements can be made with the help of the addi
tional money.
Audience members expressed concerns about racial dis
parities in discipline; parental involvement; dropout rates.
There were also complaints about the neighborhood schools
program, which have created far more one-race schools in he
district.
Eversley and Newell outlined a six-part agenda designed
to address chief issues in the system at large. The agenda was
ratified by the NAACP in the 1980's and again in 2000,
Eversley said, with the exception of the sixth piece, which was
See Schools on A4
Photos by LayU Farmer
Volunteers work in the newly-planted garden.
GARDEN PARTY
Spring project brings together the young and the old
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
An intergenerational gar
den project designed to foster
positive relationships between
area youth and seniors "took
root" last Friday afternoon in
the grassy lot adjacent to the
Winston-Salem Urban League
downtown.
The project, sponsored by
the NC Cooperative
Extension, the city's
Department of Recreation and
Parks and AARP, paired sen
ior citizens with local Boy
Scouts in observance of Youth
Service Day and National
Zen Sadler examines his gardening gloves.
Volunteer Week, both of
which occurred last week.
"I was somewhat inspired
by Michelle Obama and the
whole concept of opening up
the (White House) facilities to
the community and focusing
on healthy eating," said the
Urban League's Patricia
Sadler, one of the organizers
for the project. "Young peo
ple today don't get a lot of
experience with gardening
it's important for Us to get our
young people outside and gel
them involved in some posi
tive activities. We thought
this would be a good way to
See Garden on All
Some local inmates could get new home
J bounty sets sights on
vacant downtown
building
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONIC ! I
The Phillips Building at
301 N. Church St., once home
to Wachovia offices, may be
getting new tenants.
County officials want to
Photo by Todd
Luck
The
Phillips
Building
used to
house
Wachovia
offices.
move the administrative build
ing of the Forsyth County
Sheriff's Department in and i
some prison inmates from the
nearby increasingly crowded
Forsyth County Detention
Center, which the Sheriff's
Department runs.
A public meeting was held
Monday at the County
Government Building to pres
ent the plan to the public and
get residents' feedback about
See Building on A7
i
Creative Community Service
Photo by Lay la Farmer
WFU's Delta Sigma Theta President Maya Yette poses with soros
Brigette Proctor, Tracy Watson, Ariane Datil and Courtney Rodgers
behind a desk they designed for a local boy. See page A3 for more
on the school's DESK project.
First-time students take thfe plunge
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE _ '
Petrce Elementary second
graders are accustomed to diving
into a good book or a class project,
but for most of them, diving into a
swimming pool was literally veer
ing into waters that were uncharted.
All that's changed now - thanks
to a combination of the students'
dustiness and a week of swim les
Tons from certified professionals.
Petree's entire crop of second
grade students, about five dozen
kids, are the first of what organizers
hope will be many, many graduates
of a new program designed to teach
minority children the life-saving
skill of swimming.
"I was shocked when I read that
See Swimmers on All Oiego Perez swims with instructor jay saui.
? I
DON'T
PASS
THE BUCK
BUY LOCAL