Vol. XXXV No. 44
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C
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NORTH HILL} J
ELEMENTARY SCHOCf
Photo by Layla Farmer
Nate Barber stands outside of North Hills Elementary last week.
r
Supporters
hope Barber
brings magic
touch to Carver
Education veteran leaves North Hills Elementary to
become principal of Carver High School
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Carver High School will start
out the 2009-2010 school year
1 I ? 1 i L t ? .
unuci new icauciMiip,
the Board . of Education
announced last week. .
Principal Nate
Barber was slated to
make the transition
from North Hills
Elementary, where he
has spent the last 10
years, to Carver on July
1.
Carver has been
without a permanent
leader since last tall, when tornier
Principal Carol Montague Davis
vacated the position to take over as
assistant superintendent of Middle
Schools for the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County School sys
tem. The school has endured ample
criticism in recent years because of
low test scores and slipping enroll
ment. Superintendent Don Martin
is hopeful that Barber's leadership
will help-turn things around.
Martin
"Certainly, Nate has a proven
track record with the school sys
tem. but more importantly, as the
principal of North Hills, they've
had outstanding achievement."
Martin said .
North Hills Was recog
nized as a Blue Ribbon
School in 2004, a distinc
tion from the U.S.
Department of Education
that only two schools in the
school system have ever
achieved. The accolade is
given to only the most
promising schools in the
nation, based on achieve
ment and other factors.
Martin noted that the population
North Hills serves, which is pre
dominantly African-American and
Hispanic, js similar to Carver's stu
dent body.
Despite being without a perma
nent principal, the school has ral
lied in the last school year. Martin
said.
"Carver has posted some pretty
See Carver on A5
L.ITTLE
Hero
Boy honored for attempts to save
his father's life
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
On the evening of Feb. 3, Rodney Boyce played in the snow
with his five-year-old son. Isaac. Then he headed into the house
for some quiet time with his new wife, Lysa Boyce.
I he family set
tled down in
front of the tele
vision, never
knowing that it
would be their
last night
together.
"We said
our prayers
together and
then we kissed
and said, 'I love
you' and 'good
night,'" Lysa
Boyce remem
bered. "Those
were the last
words (Rodney)
ever spoke."
Around 6
o'clock the next
morning, young
Isaac was
awakened by a
uream, wnicn
Photo hy Layla Firmer . .
Five-year-old Isaac Royce plays while wear- . .. .
ing his firefighter's hat.
"Isaac told
me that he heard a bang in his dream and an angel told him that
his daddy wasn't breathing," she said.
Lysa Boyce was awakened that morning by the sounds of
Isaac begging his father to wake up. She found the boy leaning
See Boyce on A5
Happy
Campers
Photo by Chad Roberts
Jordan Brown,
Malik Poindexter
and Kameron
Evans show their
support for home
town NBA star
Josh Howard,
who met these
kids and others
last week at the
Anderson Rec
Center. Read more
on B9.
?
Photo hy'tayla Farmer
Albany State senior
Cordarial Hollow ay.
Future
teachers
taught
at WSSU
HBCU students
from throughout the
region gather
for institute
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Forty aspiring minority
educators from historically
black colleges and universities
throughout the Southeast con
vened in Winston-Salem las!
week to take part in an innova
tive program designed to
improve their chances of suc
ceeding.
The Thurgood Marshall
College Fund (TMCF) led its
second of four HBCU Teacher
Quality and Retention Summer
Institutes this year at Winston
Salem State University from
June 21-27.
Nearly half of all minority
educators in public schools
systems around the nation hail
from public HBCUs. according
to the Institute, which over the
last two decades has awarded
more than $I(X) million for
leadership development and
support programs for students
at 47 HBCUs.
Organizers at the WSSU
event were pleased that many
of the future educators in atten
dance were black males - a rare
commodity in most class
rooms.
Sec Teachers on A 10
Competency testing concerns likely to grow
Beginning this school year, students can V advance to high school without passing test
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
A group of parents, school officials and
concerned citizens convened at Emmanuel
Baptist Church on Tuesday night to probe
the issue of a competency test requirement
that has kept some students from graduating
from high school.
According to Assistant Superintendent
Kenneth Simington, two percent of the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools'
Class of 2009 received graduation certifi
cates in lieu of diplomas this year because
of their inability to pass one or more eighth
grade competency tests before they com
pleted their senior years.
While some of those represented in that
two percent were students with myriad aca
demic issues, there were others who had
done well throughout their high school
careers, but were denied diplomas because
they did not pass the exam, which is given
Sec Testing on All)
Photo Hy |jiy[i Farmer
Kenneth Simington addresses those at Emmanuel Baptist on Tuesday night.
BUY LOCAL
CHAMUfft
DON'T
PASS
THE BUCK