Certified nursing assistants get special treatment
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
As we move through our life journey,
sometimes we land on a path that requires
a little more help. A caring smile or part
ner to help connect the necessary services
to aid long term care patients helps.
Certified nursing assistants are the
wind beneath the wings of many longterm
care facilities throughout the community.
Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) don’t
get the recognition of other health profes
sionals, such as nurses and doctors. But
they provide much-needed assistance to
patients, particularly those in nursing
homes.
The ACEY Group, part of the
Winston-Salem Foundation’s Women’s
Fund, recognized nearly 50 CNAs at The
Oaks at Forsyth on 901 Bethesda Road
celebrate the 41st annual National Nursing
Assistants Week on Wednesday, June 13.
The week ran in mid-June.
As the CNAs worked their shifts,
members of the ACEY Group took the
same three shifts and delivered certificates
and gift bags as well as warmth and hugs.
“After having a staff person on her
team as a resident of The Oaks at Forsyth
and observing the quality of care shared
by CNAs at that facility, Dr. Lea Vickers,
an ACEY Group charter member, encour
aged the group to recognize the tremen
dous comn'iitment and work shown by var
ious employees at The Oaks,” the group
said in a press release. “The CNAs are the
persons that give the one-on-one direct
care, such as bathing, feeding, and many
other services to the patients. Their servic
es are invaluable to the care of the people
in the nursing facilities. So we decided to
help celebrate National Nursing Assistants
Week by giving the special recognition to
the CNAs.”
ACEY is an acronym that represents
goals of the group: Achievement in the
education of women and girls about the
power of philanthropy: Commitrrient to
connect with women and girls in the com
munity; encourage self-esteem and
empowerment of women and girls; and
Yield women and leaders and philanthro
pists.
Submitted photo '
Certified Nursing Assistants at The Oaks at Forsyth in Winston-Salem show the
certificates they received from the ACEY Group during National Nursing
Assistants week. In the front row left to right are Sharon Corrigan, Gwen
McCarroll and Evelyn Ruivivar. In the back row left to right are Charlita
Thompson, Jessica Ford, Deanna Taylor, Sharon Torrence and Dorien
Johnson.
Two N.C. leaders receive National
Education Association awards
Ellis
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Rodney N.
Ellis Sr., former president of the N.C.
Association of Educators from Forsyth
County, and Chris Sgro, former executive
director of EqualityNC, are among 12
recipients who will be honored with pres
tigious 2018 Human and Civil Rights
Awards from the National Education
Association.
The awards ceremony, which is part of
NEA’s Convention and Representative
Assembly, was held on Sunday, July 1, at
the Main Auditorium of the Minneapolis
Convention Center. This year’s theme was
“Many Dreams, One Voice.”
'“Both Rodney and Chris have made a
difference in the lives of so many through
their civil rights and social justice work,”
said NCAE President Mark Jewell. “As an
educator, Rodney helped open doors for
students, especially those in underserved
communities, and rallied for better condi
tions for all educators. His legacy of com
mitment and dedication to public educa
tion will live on through those he fought
so hard for. As for Chris, his work to
ensure that all people are treated fairly and
equitably speaks volumes to his character.
He has made it his mission to serve as a
human rights advocate in every sense of
the word. His passion to end discrimina
tion speaks volumes about the type of per
son he is and his leadership.”
The Cdsar Chavez Accidn y
Compromiso Human and Civil Rights
Award will be given posthumously to
Ellis, who embodied an undeniable love
for and appreciation of education.
Throughout his life, he worked to ensure
that all students and educators across
North Carolina, especially in underserved
communities, received the resources they
needed.
A teacher by profession, he was a true
champion who served in many leadership
capacities within NCAE. He often worked
quietly behind the scenes to guide the
Association through challenging times
fostered by politically motivated attacks
on public education. But, he was not afraid
to step up and push back when lawmakers
continued their assault, once calling on
fellow educators, parents, and students to
participate in an education-focused Moral
Monday and civil disobedience action in
the halls of the legislative building.
Ellis led the Association for four years.
While reflecting on his work and legacy at
the end of his second term, he said, “There
is a goal for this organization, an objec
tive, and that is to make sure that educa
tion for educators is the best experience it
can possibly be; and in doing so, we ben
efit those children that we teach. ... It
became my objective to restore the joy of
this profession for both educators and stu
dents.”
For many years, Chris Sgro has been a
true champion in the fight against discrim
ination of all people, in particular the
LGBTQ community. For his work and
advocacy, he will receive the Virginia
Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in
Human Rights.
In 2016 when the North Carolina
General Assembly crafted and passed
House Bill 2, which refused the human
rights of transgendered individuals to use
the bathroom according to their gender
identification in public facilities, Sgro
stepped into the forefront to combat the
legislation. He led work teams of staff and
volunteers to launch an impactful commu
nications campaign that widely publicized
the harmful impact of HB2 on the people,
public schools, and economy of North
Carolina. He used the message of human
rights to advocate for change and galva
nize the community for the cause. He built
a powerful coalition that included civil
rights leaders, coiporate leaders, and the
National Basketball Association (NBA).
Ultimately, some of the worst provisions
of HB2 were repealed in March 2017 and j
Sgro was one of the strongest voices to
defeat it.
Sgro’s legacy continues in North
Carolina. Most recently, he has taken his
passion and talents to fight at the national
level with the Human Rights Campaign
where he continues to pave the road for a
bright future ahead.
NCAE is the state’s largest education
advocacy organization for public school
employees, and represents active, retired,
and student members.
House forms panel
linked to
low-income students
SPECIAL TO THE
CHRONICLE_
RALEIGH - The
North Carolina House of
Representatives gave leg
islative approval on
Thursday to a resolution
that will establish a House
Study Committee to
explore ways to promote;
access to advanced educa
tional opportunities in pub
lic schools for low-income
students that demonstrate
high academic achieve
ment.
House Resolution 1102
Study Best
Practice/Advanced Ed
Opportunities establishes a
study committee made-up
of six members from the
House of Representatives
that is appointed upon the
recommendation of the
Speaker, the
Superintendent of Public
Instruction (or designee),
the Chair of the State
Board of Education (or
designee), and the
President of The
University of North
Carolina (or designee).
The committee is
tasked with studying and
determining the cost asso
ciated with establishing
educational opportunities
across the State for low
income, high-achieving
students.
“It is imperative to
explore the best practices
Rep. Hanes
Committee.
Hanes also comment
ed, “By passing this legis
lation we are giving low
income students an oppor
tunity to partake in post
secondary studies, ulti
mately giving them the
means to break from the
ravages of poverty.”
Rep. Debra Conrad (R
Forsyth), a primary spon
sor of the resolution and
the chairman of the
Education K-12
Committee, when speak
“It is imperative to explore
the best practices for identify
ing, teaching, and supporting
economically disadvantaged,
high-achieving students
across the State.”
for identifying, teaching,
and supporting economi
cally disadvantaged, high
achieving students across
the State. Once this group
of students receive the
attention they deserve,
they will begin to excel in
the classroom and begin
contributing to society in
meaningful ways,” said
Rep. Ed Hanes Jr. (D
Forsyth), the first primary
sponsor of the resolution to
establish the Study
ing on the resolution from
the House floor stated,
“We want to ensure that
each and every student
rises to their highest poten
tial and this group [com
mittee] will study the best
way they can achieve suc
cess,” Additionally,
Conrad commented,
"Every student, especially
those from economically
challenged families, who
demonstrate high achieve
ment and self-motivation
should be allowed to excel
and break the cycle of
poverty.”
Rep. Hugh Blackwell
(R:Burke), a primary spon
sor of the resolution stated,
“For more than 30 years
the nation has talked about
and spent money to raise
achievement levels for
low-income students.
Except in certain limited
circumstances, it really
hasn’t worked. My hope is
this [Study] committee can
identify best practices that
will work with wide suc
cess if faithfully imple
mented by educators, with
the appropriate skills and
passion.”
Rep. Rodney Moore
(D-Mecklenburg), while
speaking on the resolution
from the House floor stat
ed, “It is very, very impor
tant that we take the best
that we can get and that we
break this vicious cycle of
poverty that has plagued
our communities. As
we’ve said before, the
number one equalizer, out
of poverty and out of dire
straits, is education.”
The Study Committee
is instructed to outline their
findings and proposed leg
islation in a final report,
which is due on or before
Dec. 31, the termination
date of the Study
Committee.
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... - *■
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Public Comment
Opportunity For
Transportation Projects
Under 49 U.S.C. 5307(b)(1) through (7) and as a
direct recipient of FTA Section 5307 funding,
the Winston-Salem Urban Area Metropolitan
Planning Organization shall annually devel
op its Program of Projects (POP) and make it
available for public review detailing the project
purpose, funding requested and the local and
federal share. To comply with federal regula
tions, the Winston-Salem Urban Area has: 1. co
ordinated with the three transit agencies eligible
to receive the funding and identified eligible pro
jects; 2. coordinated with the North Carolina De
partment of Transportation - Public Transit Divi
sion to update the Transportation Improvement
Program plans and State Transportation Improve
ment Program; and 3. ensured the Program of
Projects reflects the Metropolitan Transportation
Plan for the urban area. The POP details the pro
posed projects to be used by FTA Section
5307 and is included in this public notice.
This list of projects was made available at local
libraries for public comment from June 1 through
July 1, 2018, and can be found at on-line at
DOT.CityofWS.org. The deadline for submitting
comments in writing was July 1, 2018. Oral com
ments will be accepted during a public hearing on
the proposed POP and allocation of funding on
July 19,2018, during the regularly scheduled
meeting of the Winston-Salem MPO's Transpor
tation Advisory Committee (TAC). The meeting
will be held at 4:15 p.m. in Room 530 of the
Bryce A. Stuart Municipal Build
ing, 100 E. First Street, Winston
Salem, N.C. For more infor
mation, please contact Morgan
Simmons by sending an email to
morgans@cityofws.org.
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