Hall- Woodward, Speas honored for making great strides
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Two local elementary
schools were feted by the
Piedmont Triad Education
Consortium during its
Annual Meeting and
Signature School Awards
Breakfast on Dec. 4 at the
Cone Ballroom in UNCG's
Elliot Center.
Hall-Woodward and
Speas School were among 21
schools in the Piedmont
region that were honored for
their outstanding growth in
test scores in the 2008-09
school year. Both schools
were named Signature
Schools by the organization,
which provides staff devel
opment and support to 15
school districts and 17 high
er learning institutions
throughout the area.
"Historically, the
Piedmont Triad Education
Consortium has focused on
the outstanding achieve
ments of the top 21 schools
in the Piedmont Region,"
explained^ PTEC Executive
Director Larry Coble, EdD.
"This celebration, identify
ing these schools as
Signature Schools, recog
nizes the accomplishments
of faculty, staff and adminis
tration in achieving educa
tional excellence in an envi
Pho?ofc by Layta Fanner
Principals Essie McKoy and Dr. Kent Reichert are celebrating their schools ' success.
ronment of high-stakes test
ing and accountability."
Hall-Woodward and
Speas both made 100 percent
Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) in the state's ABCs
accountability program,
according to the school sys
tem, and showed significant
improvement in science,
reading and math scores.
"The achievements of
both Speas and Hall
Woodward schools captures
in reality and symbolically
some of the best in education
in our area," said Coble, a
visiting professor in. the
Department of Educational
Leadership and Cultural
Foundations at UNCG. "We
are proud to be able to honor
all of those who have con
tributed to improving educa
tion for their students."
Area school systems are
charged with selecting the
schools that receive the
honor from the PTEC each
year, based on their own cri
teria. The Winston-Salem /
Forsyth County system uses
the schools' ABCs growth
percentages, according to
Superintendent Don Martin.
"Both of thesie schools
have done outstanding work
... in making a lot of growth
and trying to move kids for
ward," Martin said.
" ..They've had a lot of good
performance over the years.
They use data extremely
well, providing interventions
for low performing kids."
The school system is
doing its part to support
Equity Plus schools (those
with a high percentage of
students on free or reduced
lunch programs) like Speas
and Hall-Woodward, Martin
said. The sagging economy
has forced the system to cut
programs and increase class
sizes in some schools, but
the Equity Plus schools have
remained untouched, in that
respect thus far, he added.
Hall-Woodward Principal
Essie McKoy says she is
proud of the progress the stu
dents at Hall-Woodward -
where 100 percent of the stu
dent body qualifies for free
or reduced lunch - have
made.
"This is actually an
award that is well-deserv
ing," said McKoy, who has
led Hall-Woodward for the
last six years. "I give the
credit to all staff members,
especially the ... high quali
ty individuals in the class
rooms teaching everyday.
This staff goes beyond the
call of duty in serving Our
kids."
Hall-Woodward assesses
student and teacher perform
ance regularly, in hopfes of
catching issues early,
McKoy said. The school has
also implemented new pro
gramming, where teachers
meet regularly to share best
practices with one another,
she said.
Speas also enhanced its
available programming in
the last school year, with
teams of teachers that visit
each classroom dunng read
ing time to assist students in
guided reading and math;
and an accelerated program
that introduces low perform
ing students to concepts
early, so they will get a head
start 6n their learning objec
tives.
After missing AYP by .01
percent in the 2007-08
school year, Speas Principal
Dr. Kent Reichert said he is
glad to see the school finally
getting the recognition it
deserves.
"I'm very pleased for the
staff; they oftentimes don't
get the opportunity to be rec
ognized for their work,"
Reichert said. "...This was
one chance for our faculty to
shine and for our community
to see that good things go on
at Equity Plus schools, just
like they do at -affluent
schools."
For more information
about the Piedmont Triad
Education Consortium, visit
www.ptecnet .org ,
Smith
from page A4
' F
land to its American Indian
owners. But owners say they
have received little or nothing.
David C. Smith, a partner
at Kilpatrick Stockton in
Winston-Salem, gave up part
of his practice to represent the
plaintiffs in the case - spend
ing much of his time for the
past six years working out of
the firm's office in
Washington, D.C., where he
often attended services at the
Episcopal church where his
grandfather was a priest.
Smith received his under
graduate and law degrees
from Wake Forest University.
Fellow Wake Law graduate
Dan Taylor, who spent a sum
mer doing some accounting
work related to the case, said
Smith's devotion to the case
made all the difference.
"I can't say enough about
what David has meant to this
case," said Taylor/it's been a
lifetime endeavor for David, a
true labor of love. It's been
Herculean, absolutely
Herculean."
The settlement includes: a
$1.4 billion Trust Accounting
and Administration Fund; a $2
billion Trust Land
Consolidation Fund; a $60
million federal Indian
Education Scholarship Fund;
and the establishment of a
commission to oversee and
monitor improvements in the
accounting and management
of individual Indian trust
accounts and trust assets.
"There is some excitement
in the case coming to a close
after 13 years of litigation,
and a lot of hope from our
clients who stand to benefit
financially from the settle
ment," Smith said. "Clearly
what took place that led to this
lawsuit is one of the saddest
parts of American history.
We're dealing here with some
of the poorest people in the
country. They deserve more
than is reflected in the settle
ment. The clients simply
asked for their money, which
the government has misman
aged."
Photo by Layla Farmer
Frank Pantano with Gale Kuhenbeaker and Ken White.
Census
from page AT
allowed Kuhenbeaker to catch
her breath, financially speak
ing.
"The job has helped me to
get back on my feet and I feel
that we will be able to pay our
bills and be okay," said the
married mother of three adult
children. . .It pays more than
most jobs, and it gives you a
lot of opportunity for growth."
The local Census Office
will act as the hub for next
year's count, which will begin
when all U.S. residents receive
a brief questionnaire in their
mailboxes. The Census mailer
will ask the names and ages of
all those who live in a house
hold - information that the
Census Bureau is required by
law to keep confidential, even
from law enforcement agen
cies and other government
agencies.
"Ten questions, 10 min
utes. and it's going to make a
difference in the community
for the next 10 years," said
Wayne Hatcher, director of the
Charlotte Region, an area that
spans five states and boasts the
second largest resident popu
lation of the country's 12 dis
tricts.
Hatcher was on hand at an
Open House at the Winston
Salem Census Office, which
was attended by local leaders
like Mayor Allen Joines and
County Commissioner Dave
Plyler.
The Census questionnaire
makes no attempt to gather
information about a person's
immigration status, criminal
history or sexual orientation.
If the mailed question
naires are not returned, a
Census worker will visit the
residence to try to obtain the
information through a brief
interview.
The data gathered through
the Census is used to deter
mine population demograph
ics and other statistical infor
mation. Population assess
ments gathered in the Census
determine federal appropria
tions of funds and programs;
political districts and the num
ber of U.S. House
Representatives each state is
allowed for the next decade.
North Carolina gained a 13th
District delegation in the
House following the 2000
Census.
J(The Census) will have a
significant impact on every
thing we do," declared Local
Census Office Manager Ken
White. "It helps the individu
als that we hire and it impacts
the community as well."
Job seekers can find appli
cation information at
www.2010censusjobs.Kov or
by calling 1 -866-86 1 -20 10.
The information is also avail
able at the N.C. Employment
Security Commission or
JobsNOW.nc.gov. Some jabs
will begin as early as January,
while most will begin in
February and March, and will
extend until June or July.
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