Black Santa comes to town
Photo by Kelli McDonald
Black Santa visited the Other Suns Event Center, 414 N. Laura Wall Blvd., on Saturday, Dec. 14. The event provides black families with the opportunity to take the tradi
tional photo on Santa’s lap.where the Santa looks like them. “I think it’s important that Santa represents the culture of the child,” said Hazel Mack who is the owner of
the Other Suns.
Barbara Hanes Burke out as vice-chair, Calvert Hayes in
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
After months of dis
cussion and planning,
last week the local school
board introduced its first
Equity Policy.
At the request of Win-
ston-Salem/Forsyth Coun
ty Schools’ Board Chair
Malishai Woodbury, last
December three special
committees were added
to the school board. One
of the three was the Cli
mate, Culture, and Equity
Committee. This commit
tee was established to ad
dress growing concerns
related to academic and
discipline disparities. Two
major goals of the commit
tee were to establish an Of
fice for Equity and create a
Equity Policy before 2020.
Superintendent Dr. Angela
Pringle Hairston said since
the sub-committee was es
tablished, members have
been working hard to de
velop the Equity Policy.
“The committee has
met throughout the year;
they’ve completed their
research. They have dia
logued about the concept
of equity, the origin of eq
uity and how it best fits into
our work as educators,”
Hairston said. “Following
these meetings in early
October, we launched an
equity audit. A lot of data
was compiled and used to
further refine the policy re
garding equity.
www.wschronicle.com
Before presenting a
draft of the Equity Policy,
Hairston said they used
information they received
from the Climate, Culture,
and Equity Committee.
According to Hairston, the
draft will be posted for 30
days to receive public in
put. After the 30 days, the
committee will come to
gether again and have an
other discussion and then
the policy will be taken to
the policy committee be
fore it will be presented to
the board as a final policy.
“We will follow the
process of comments,
going back to the sub
committee, going through
the policy committee and
bringing it back to you
once that work is com
plete,” .Hairston continued.
“Hopefully that will be by
the end of January but if
there is a delay, certainly
by the first of February.”
The Equity Policy pro
posed last week is based
on five “Pillars for Equity.”
Those pillars are: School
Policy and Organization/
Administration, School
Learning Environments,
Academic Placement/
Tracking and Assessment,
Professional Learning,
Standards and Curriculum
Development.
The draft of the policy
can be viewed on the dis
trict’s website, www.ws-
fcs.kl2.nc.us/wsfcs. The
Equity Policy can be found
under the Board of Educa
tion tab under “Policies.”
In other business, the
school board voted not to
re-elect Barbara Hanes
Burke as vice chair.
Malishai Woodbury
was the only nomination
for board chair so natural
ly the incumbent retained
her position. When it came
time to make nomina
tions for vice-chair, Dana
Caudill Jones nominated
Lida Calvert Hayes. Ev
ery board member except
Hanes Burke voted in fa
vor of Calvert Hayes.
The decision to move
away from Hanes Burke as
vice chair comes less than
two months after Hanes
Burke went against the
board’s decision to not ap
prove a mandatory African
American History course.
Instead, the board decid
ed to expand an African
American Infusion course
that is already in place.
When asked about the
board’s decision last week,
Burke said although she
isn’t vice chair any longer,
her primary focus will re
main the same.
“My primary focus re
mains the same: to utilize
my 30 years of training,
experience, and knowl
edge as a boots-on-the-
ground teacher and ad
ministrator regarding
the issues specific to the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County School District,”
she said. “Although it has
been an honor to serve as
vice chair this past year,
my role and commitment
as a member of the Win
ston-Salem/Forsyth Coun
ty School Board has not
changed. I would like to
assure.my constituents that
I continue to stand for the
same priorities for which I
was elected.
“As a board member, I
will continue to advocate
for the concerns of my
constituents, the students,
and staff of the Winston-
Salem/Forsyth County
School District. I will con
tinue to move forward and
represent their interests
with integrity and fairness,
even if that means standing
alone. The vice chair’s role
of the Winston-Salem/For
syth County School Board
is to serve in the absence
of the chair. By not serving
in the role of vice chair in
no way detracts from my
role or ability to serve.”