The New Survey - Eau Claire Community Council

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page 4 • June 2011 For nearly half a century, North Columbia schools have faced almost unimaginable odds. With the advent of school desegregation in the 1960s, the community of Eau Claire faced the slings and arrows of racial prejudice leading to the wholesale flight of white students and families from schools and communities they had predominated. What was left behind in the wake was anger and uncertainty if our schools could function at all and if students attending them would receive anything resembling a quality education. For a decade, schools in North Columbia were at ground zero of racially charged violence, both in the classroom and out. There was vandalism, fights, shootings and death. Parents and administrators, not only in Columbia but also throughout the South, faced serious decisions regarding the reality of public ally educating black and white children together. In a second exodus, Black families began to move from the area or attempt to find ways to send their children to safer schools. District resources, either real or imagined, seemed to drift away from schools in North Columbia to those in more affluent areas of the district. School populations began to drop significantly. Students were also dropping out of school at an alarming rate that reached three out of four by the late 1980s. Transient populations were the norm. The outlook seemed quite hopeless. Buildings began to decay; classrooms were inadequate with technology to teach a future generation. Realtors were steering away buyers from North Columbia’s once viable housing stock and businesses were choosing to locate in safer suburbs. Young families who bought their first homes in North Columbia often moved away by the time their children were of school age. Brick and Mortar Then, in 1996, the first of two bond referendums were passed by voters to upgrade old, and in some cases, build new schools. With $184 million allocated that year to upgrade elementary schools, Richland County voters agreed again in 2002, to fund the district’s largest bond referendum in history. More than $381 million would be allocated to middle and high schools to retrofit several schools in the district, to build additional instructional space, and in some cases, to completely rebuild schools. Though critics of the plan argued that new buildings don’t improve educational outlooks, a majority of voters saw The New Survey great promise. For the next eight years, schools throughout the district were improved. According to District One, funds from the 1996 bond referendum were used to equip every classroom in the district with two additional computers, install 15 additional computers in every media center, connect each school to the Internet, remove hazardous materials and repair leaking roofs. In addition, all elementary schools were brought up to standards and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE 1996 BOND ISSUE ARDEN ELEMENTARY: Renovations included the addition of new fine arts classrooms. PENDERGRASS FAIRWOLD SCHOOL: All existing spaces underwent renovations. FOREST HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY: This new school combined Denny Terrace and Crane Creek Elementary schools. HYATT PARK ELEMENTARY: Fine arts classrooms, a new classroom wing and science labs were added, along with other renovations. LEWIS GREENVIEW ELEMENTARY: The school’s renovations focused on enclosing the classroom pads and adding a new classroom wing. E.E. TAYLOR ELEMENTARY: The school was renovated and added a new gym and kindergarten classrooms. JOHN P. THOMAS ELEMENTARY: Renovations included a new gym and general classrooms. PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE 2002 BOND ISSUE ALCORN MIDDLE: Renovations included new classroom wings, an auditorium and performing arts wing. HEYWARD GIBBES MIDDLE: Features at the new school include a performing arts wing EAU CLAIRE HIGH: The art, athletic and instructional wings were renovated and new science labs, auditorium, gym and a fine arts complex were added to the facility Heyward Gibbes Middle School was completely demolished and rebuilt on its original site through funding of District One’s 2002 bond referendum. HEYWARD CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER: Renovations include a new technology center, business labs and computer labs ATHLETIC STADIUMS/FIELDS: Upgrades have been made to Bolden Stadium track and the baseball and softball fields at Memorial Stadium.
The New Survey June 2011 • Page 5 equipped with science labs, computer centers, art rooms, music rooms and physical education spaces. Among some of the most notable changes were in North Columbia. (See inset). Alumni groups organize By the end of the 1990s, Eau Claire and North Columbia residents were also beginning to reestablish relationships with area Claire alumnus said his group’s focus is to “bring back that pride in Eau Claire.” Through fund raising events, the Alumni Association has funded scholarship for seniors, as has the Eau Claire High School Foundation and the Eau Claire High School Faculty Alumni organization. A scholarship was founded in the name of alumna and NBC meteorologist Janice Wages Huff whose contributions toward the schools, Eau Claire Community Council President-Elect Alvin Hinkle set out to make a difference. Establishing the Eau Claire Education Task Force, Hinkle and a group of educators, service providers, parents and community organizers met with district leaders with questions needing solutions. “We knew that we would have to start with our elementary schools in finding ways to drasti- cussions was the formation of the Eau Claire Promise Zone, a grassroots coalition of community stakeholders committed to doing “whatever it takes” to ensure that all children are prepared to graduate from college and be successful in their career and in life. Together We Can Gathering steam for its approach and the continuing gravity of a situation that found three City and County elected officials, District One administrators, community leaders and educators collaborated in an effort to improve the district schools. A visit to Mobile, Alabama in 2008 brought the effort to light as stakeholders saw dramatic changes in that city’s troubled education system. schools. Efforts by the District and the many neighborhoods surrounding the schools were collaborating to support a change in attitudes toward local schools. Two alumni groups, the Eau Claire High School Foundation and the Eau Claire High School Alumni Association, appealed to graduates of the school to share their time, talent and gifts in support of academic and social improvement. Scholarships by the two groups as well as the Eau Claire Rotary Club and other groups drew community and business leaders closer, not only to the high school, but the feeder middle and elementary schools that form the Eau Claire Cluster. Bruce Trezevant, an Eau advancement of science education, has provided more than $25,000 in educational funds for Eau Claire graduates. “Don't ever give up on your dreams.” Huff told recipients of the annual award. “If I can make it, you can make it too!” Community takes up the mantle With practically every neighborhood in North Columbia connected with and/or adjacent to a school, it seemed only natural that neighborhood organizations were the first to recognize the link between communities and schools. In 2004, and with a mission to address the needs of Eau Claire’s cally reverse many decades of neglect of children,” Hinkle said of the group’s beginnings. It was essential, the group thought “that [children] were coming in with the same preparation as students in other parts of the district who were testing better.” The Task Force reached out to the Richland County First Steps (RCFS) for assistance. In response, an early childhood consultant by the name of Catharine Aitken, who also happened to be a resident of North Columbia, “came armed with a solution that was more powerful and comprehensive than any of us could ever have imagined,” Hinkle would later say. What resulted from those dis- out of the District’s five failing schools in North Columbia, Hinkle’s group would make inroads with City and County elected officials and education activists to form a citywide coalition to address Midlands-area schools that were falling behind academically. The A+ initiative would provide “meaningful involvement by parents and community … to commit to a long term goal of moving these schools toward excellence,” as outlined by the A+ Schools Community Advisory Committee. By bringing together churches, nonprofits, civic groups and city and county partners, the Together We Can initiative was created. An See Sea Change, page 8
Page 2 and 3: Page 2 • June 2011 The New Survey
Page 10 and 11: Page 10 • June 2011 Matters OFfai
Page 12 and 13: Page 12 • June 2011 The New Surve
Page 14 and 15: Page 14 • June 2011 The New Surve
Page 16: Page 16 • June 2011 The New Surve

The New Survey - Eau Claire Community Council

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?