Education

School Safety at Maureen Joy Charter School

By Carl Kenney

September 19, 2013

December 16, 2012, is a date many in Connecticut and across the nation will never forget.  A gunman walked into an elementary school and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children. Since then, 14 other schools across the nation have had shootings, including one in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. So what is the newest […]

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UNC senior aims to help students reach college

By Carl Kenney

April 12, 2013

“I wish I would have had someone to help me out from the very beginning, [starting] freshman year. [Someone] to tell me the importance of a higher education,” Symone Morales said, thinking back on her journey to college. Morales is a Durham native, born and raised in the Bull City. She has lived all over […]

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Playworks Durham, Durham T.R.Y. teach cooperation, leadership to youths

By Carl Kenney

April 10, 2013

Providing youth and children with the power to prevent destructive behavior in themselves and their friends is the goal of many youth organizations in Durham. Playworks Durham and Durham Together for a Resilient Youth (T.R.Y.) work to promote community change by supporting local youth. Playworks Durham Playworks Durham, at 119 Market St., strives to improve […]

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La Voz of Lakewood YMCA reaches out to growing Hispanic community

By Carl Kenney

¿Hablas español? The staff and members of the Lakewood YMCA in Durham want the community to know they do. The La Voz (The Voice) Spanish-speaking Advisory Committee aims to address the needs of the Latino community in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as the greater city of Durham. The idea for the committee began as part […]

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Y.E. Smith students take D.C.

By Carl Kenney

March 28, 2013

As Donald visited a Wright brothers exhibit, he made an important realization. Donald, a fifth-grader at Y.E. Smith Elementary School, learned the Wright brothers invented a lot of things before finally making the world’s first successful airplane. The exhibit quickly became his favorite part of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Samantha […]

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Holton’s cosmetology instructor makes the cut

By Carl Kenney

March 5, 2013

It is not every day you see a classroom full of mannequin heads; some with short hair, some with long hair and others with no hair. It is also not an everyday occurrence to see a classroom with no desks or shelves full of textbooks. In this class there is not even a chalkboard or […]

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EDCI seeking summer volunteers

By Carl Kenney

March 4, 2013

East Durham Children’s Initiative, or EDCI, is looking for community volunteers to help with the upcoming Summer Feeding Program. The program is beginning on Jun. 8 and ending Aug. 25. It will take place every Monday through Friday at 107 North Driver St. Pre-packaged breakfasts and a hot lunch will be served every day. Children […]

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Pete Street program helps residents cut energy costs

By Carl Kenney

February 20, 2013

Clean Energy Durham, a nonprofit organization focused on cutting energy usage and costs in neighborhoods throughout North Carolina, is working to promote energy efficiency through interactive workshops. Last year, employees produced a teaching program called Pete Street, which the organization sells to different communities in the state. So far, Durham, Chapel Hill, Wilson and Siler […]

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Northern High begins honoring Teacher of the Month

By Carl Kenney

For many years, the teachers at Northern High School have survived off of little appreciation. While an occasional free box of tissues is nice, it is not enough. The teacher of the month award has given life back to Northern’s faculty. “[The award] is fantastic because teachers have such an important job, but the best […]

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‘An Evening of Entertainment’ to showcase Durham youth

By Carl Kenney

February 19, 2013

For one night only, nearly 600 Durham public school children will occupy the stage of the Durham Performing Arts Center. At 7 p.m. on Feb. 21, elementary, middle and high school students from across the district be featured in “An Evening of Entertainment,” a fundraiser for the Durham Public Schools Scholarship Foundation. The event, which […]

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Eight Hillside seniors sign with colleges

By Carl Kenney

February 15, 2013

Eight members of Hillside’s Class of 2013 signed their names to the college of their choice at the school’s Signing Day Ceremony on Feb. 6. These seniors (pictured from left to right above) were Austin Weeks-University at Albany-SUNY, Que Cherry-Elizabeth City State University, Dontavious Jackson- Shaw University, Jordyn Smith-Howard University, Korrin Wiggins-Clemson University, Jaiven Knight- […]

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Student teaching partners

By Carl Kenney

February 11, 2013

By Deshauna Cook the Hillside Chronicle Hillside High School Hillside English teacher Sarah Bausell, who has been teaching for nine years, has formed a partnership this semester with Luis Castro, a student teacher who is entering the classroom after decades of work in other fields. Bausell taught at High Point Central High School, Mary Knoll […]

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Radio show puts the fun in fundraising

By Carl Kenney

February 6, 2013

Part Saturday Night Live, part Grand Ole Opry, this February’s Murphey School Radio Show aims to entertain while promoting local charity work. All proceeds of the fifth show will go to Book Harvest, which distributes books to needy children in Orange and Durham counties, and SEEDS, a community garden that teaches Durham youth to care […]

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El Centro Hispano helps immigrants work toward citizenship

By Carl Kenney

Sofía Castro, originally from Colombia, has enjoyed spending the last 18 years in the United States and she plans to stay — but as a full citizen. “This country has very good people, of God, more than any other part,” Castro said. On Thursday nights, Castro, along with a handful of other students, attends the […]

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More than just a modeling agency

By Carl Kenney

J’Quan, 13, said he used to be uncomfortable performing in front of an audience before he joined the Patricia Taborn Modeling & Talent Agency, Inc. two years ago. “We have to model at different places, and you have to be brave,” he said. “I used to not be very brave in front of people. I […]

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Durham Rescue Mission gives Hope to those in need

By Carl Kenney

Last year on January 24, after reaching their goal of $4.5 million, the Durham Rescue Mission broke ground on its new Center for Hope. The Mission has been ministering to the homeless, poor, and addicted since 1974, when CEO and founder Ernie Mills and his wife and CFO Gail Mills opened their doors to 12 needy […]

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Gay-Straight Alliances fostering tolerance in Durham high schools

By Carl Kenney

In a classroom in Jordan High School, a drawing of a large, purple eggplant is plastered across the door. The sign advises readers: “You can hate eggplant, but you can’t hate people. Hate-Free Zone.” Members of the Jordan Gay-Straight Alliance, or GSA, created the sign in line with the club’s dedication to providing lesbian, gay, […]

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Arts in Action program inspires change

By Carl Kenney

“Music. Dance. Marriage.” These are the words fourth graders at Eastway Elementary School are chanting in their hour-long Arts in Action dance class each week. For the next 16 weeks, fourth-graders at Eastway will meet every Thursday in their school’s gymnasium. They will learn intricate, high-energy choreography set to music from trained instructors and a […]

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Destin: A story of hope

By Carl Kenney

October 22, 2012

By Carol Longoria UNC  Co-Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com   Life was not always easy in the Johnson household.  Destin Johnson, the youngest of four children, started life in relative stability for the first eight to ten years.  Then his family was hit hard with a series of events — job loss, substance addiction, parents’ […]

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Child’s pose for Durham children

By Carl Kenney

April 11, 2012

By Abby Moore UNC-CH Staff Writer The Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com In the spring of 2009, Eastway Elementary School counselor Ingrid Saddler-Walker decided to go to the gym and take a yoga class. During the class Saddler-Walker had an idea: Why not use yoga to help children calm down? Three years later, Saddler-Walker is starting Wytha […]

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YO:Durham teens discuss shooting of Trayvon Martin

By Carl Kenney

By Jagir Patel UNC Co-Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com A group of Durham teenagers discussed the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a large room in Duke Memorial United Methodist Church on Monday, April 2. As part of the YO:Durham program, these 14 students expressed their emotions and conveyed their opinions on the death of Martin, an unarmed […]

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New Urban Design Center will give Livability Initiative a home

By Carl Kenney

February 29, 2012

By Leslie Ann Blake UNC staff writer The Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com   A new center is in the works that will be built by the people, but more importantly, for the people. The proposed Durham Urban Design Center’s main function will be to improve the community in ways the residents see fit, said Wanona Satcher, […]

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EDCI provides education services for youth

By Carl Kenney

By Jagir Patel UNC Co-Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Education services are beginning to take effect in the 120 blocks zoned for the East Durham Children’s Initiative (EDCI), an organization striving to combat the high crime rates and low standardized test scores that have come to characterize the community. As part of the Center for […]

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Barefoot march raises awareness for worldwide poverty

By Carl Kenney

April 14, 2011

By Maggie Bridgforth UNC Co-Editor the Durham Voice thedurhamvoice@gmail.com On most Saturday mornings at 501 Foster St., the home of the Durham Farmers’ Market, one can usually find tables bursting with the latest colors of the season: heirloom tomatoes, sweet onions, blueberries and wildflowers. But on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 5, instead of local […]

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Donations fund new technology initiative

By Carl Kenney

March 24, 2011

By Zakiya Scott UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Not every class has the opportunity to learn science through a game of Jeopardy. But for students in Harry Leak’s class at Fayetteville Street Elementary, thanks to a new technology initiative, it is possible. “Simple machines for 500! Here is your question…” Leak says to […]

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Oakwood Community searches for interns

By Carl Kenney

March 3, 2011

By Anita Rao UNC Staff Writer the Durham Voice thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Six ducks, four rabbits and one young couple living on Oakwood Avenue in central Durham soon plan to invite four men and women, aged 21-26, to move in with them. The new housemates will be the first participants in Oakwood Community, a residential community and […]

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UIS tests new program designed to evaluate teaching techniques

By Carl Kenney

By Kelcie Landon UNC  Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Dejon McGirt, a third-grader at Union Independent School, squirms with excitement as his raised hand pulls him out of his chair and he calls out the population of Finland. The classroom is full of students like McGirt who are cheering each other on in a […]

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Music educates Eastway students about black history

By Carl Kenney

February 18, 2011

By Zakiya Scott UNC Staff Writer The Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmailcom “Who was the first African-American to win the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament?” asked Star Sampson, principal of Eastway Elementary, to each student via classroom speakers. This question of the day reflected a current focus at the school: Black History Month. As the daily morning routine came […]

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Saturday Academy prepares black juniors for college

By Carl Kenney

By John Hamlin UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com The Saturday College Preparatory Academy, a program for black men in their junior years of high school, threw down the gauntlet at its second meeting Feb. 12. The students watched and discussed “The Vanishing Black Male,” a documentary summarizing the challenges they face. “It was […]

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After-school program offers a reality check

By Carl Kenney

February 17, 2011

By Maggie Bridgforth UNC Co-Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com At one end of the basketball court, a rambunctious group of middle school and high school boys plays an intense game of basketball. Above the hoop hangs a colorful banner that reads, “I am for you” in capital letters. The other end of the court is […]

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SeeSaw Studios gives back to young locals

By Carl Kenney

February 3, 2011

By John Hamlin UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Shana Tucker didn’t just get an outstanding T-shirt design at SeeSaw Studio — she enabled senior Kimani Hall to bolster his application to N.C. State University. When the after-school design and entrepreneurship program marked its 12th year with a fundraiser, Tucker gladly lent her musical […]

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Performance Learning Center gives a second chance

By Carl Kenney

By Leah Campbell UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Rashaud Trice’s high school diploma may look the same as anyone else’s, but his path to graduation was undoubtedly different. After spending almost four years at the Durham School of the Arts and barely managing sophomore status, Trice’s guidance counselor called for an academic intervention. […]

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NECD kids explore community in photo workshop

By Carl Kenney

April 15, 2010

By Terri Flagg UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com One group of Durham youngsters won’t have to write an essay to answer the question, “What does community mean to you?” They’ll be using pictures. About 10 students in fifth through ninth grade will be trying to answer that question as the capstone assignment of […]

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“The Nutcracker” gets a modern makeover

By Carl Kenney

March 25, 2010

By Terri Flagg UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com For nearly two years, Wanona Satcher has had visions of leg-warmer-clad sugar plum fairies salsa dancing in her head. The idea for a 1980s-themed “Nutcracker: The Musical,” Satcher said “came to me driving down [Highway] 55 one night.” And as auditions approach, Satcher’s dream is […]

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Baby College helping new parents

By Carl Kenney

March 4, 2010

By Sarah Rankin UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com The proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child,” is taken very seriously in Durham. A new program, the East Durham Children’s Initiative, will collaborate with community partners to create “a pipeline of services from cradle to career.” The initiative is modeled after the […]

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Group combines learning and service for NECD kids

By Carl Kenney

By Katie Little UNC Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Vesall Nourani compares the middle-school years of youth to a ripe fruit tree bearing its first fruit. According to the Baha’i faith that guides his youth group, children reach a level of maturity at this age where they can act upon their beliefs. Nourani’s group is […]

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Holton programs address after-school need

By Carl Kenney

February 18, 2010

Allie McCoy UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com When Afiya Carter, programming coordinator at Holton Career and Resource Center, got in a cab to go to work this week, she wasn’t expecting to find a new patron. “Turns out my cab driver had gone to Holton for middle school,” she said. “This is how […]

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Union Independent school prepares students to thrive

By Carl Kenney

February 5, 2010

By Katie Little UNC Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com A historical marker next to Union Independent School tells of a sit-in at the former Royal Ice Cream Company in mid-1957 that led to questioning the legality of segregated facilities at the N.C. Supreme Court. Inside the school, administrators and teachers are conducting another experiment to […]

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No Spectators Allowed

By Carl Kenney

November 19, 2009

By Praycious Wilson-Gay Teen Arts Co-Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com As we near the end of the semester, schools are showcasing their winter productions. Hillside High School put on the production of “High School Musical,” Jordan put on the production of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” and DSA with “With Their Eyes.” While watching my favorite new […]

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14-year-old finds friendship with pharmacist

By Carl Kenney

By Claire Atwell UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com At first glance, Barbara Haight and Sharika Strickland, hurrying out of the rain and in to Pepper’s Pizza in Chapel Hill last Tuesday evening, look more like a teacher and student than good friends. But looks can be deceiving, and as the two have shown, […]

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The Achievement Academy: A Chance to Succeed

By Carl Kenney

November 5, 2009

By Julian March UNC Staff Writer The Durham Voice thedurhamvoice@gmail.com The Achievement Academy is nestled in a suite in the South Bank Building in downtown Durham. Behind the door, students and volunteers move in and out of the hallway and the two main rooms. Gayle Erdheim, academic director, is on the phone with a parent […]

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GREAT showcases former gang car

By Carl Kenney

By Charity Jones NCCU Staff reporter the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com It’s an attention-getter. And that is exactly what the Durham Police Department wants. The all-white Cadillac Escalade has 24-inch spinners, six TVs, a Play Station 2, GPS navigation system and of course a custom paint job. But this car is more than just eye candy. […]

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Job Corps: Building lives and launching careers

By Carl Kenney

By Emily Browder UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com In the new office of Job Corps located on Briggs Avenue near downtown Durham, Samantha Monroe sits quietly completing paperwork before her interview with an admissions counselor. Monroe, 19, moved to Durham last September, unemployed and a high school drop-out. She first heard about the […]

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Durham students let their voices be heard

By Carl Kenney

Last week, the mayoral and city council elections was drawing near, local Durham youth were making sure their voices are heard. On Thursday, Oct. 29, Durham youth ranging from elementary to high school students gathered at the Holton Career and Resource Center to ask questions to their potential community leaders. These young and active members […]

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SeeSaw Studio gives voice to young artists

By Carl Kenney

October 20, 2009

By Claire Atwell UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Desiree Sanders, 15, doesn’t spend her weekday afternoons hanging out at the mall or watching television like many other high school students. Instead, Tuesdays through Thursdays she goes to SeeSaw Studio, a free afterschool program in Durham, to practice drawing and designing. “It’s really interesting […]

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Youth Football League Combines Athletic and Academic Success

By Carl Kenney

By Aaron Saunders NCCU Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com For the past 16 years, Durham youth have been able to grow athletically and academically through the Durham Eagles Athletic Association. Rodney Rogers, a former NBA player who started at Durham’s Hillside High School and Wake Forest University, and James Butch Williams, a Durham attorney […]

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Music moves our world

By Carl Kenney

October 8, 2009

by Praycious Wilson-Gay with Rosalia Preiss Teen Co-Arts Editors the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Music is a universal language for youth as well as adults. As my peers around me are always in classrooms humming or tapping on the tables, I come to wonder what their involvement in music is and how does it impact their […]

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Troy Weaver: a life of serving youth

By Carl Kenney

By Emily Kennard UNC Co-Editor the Durham VOICE Look around Troy Weaver’s office at the brand-new Union Independent School, on the corner of North Roxboro and Dowd streets, and it appears he has hardly started working. Frames are still covered in plastic wrap, shelves remain empty and walls are bare. But the mess isn’t due […]

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Program offers students lessons on music and life

By Carl Kenney

September 24, 2009

By Julian March UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE By early October, about a dozen high school students in Durham will be selected to participate in a student-run record label. Over the next few months, they will churn beats, rhythms and rhymes into records to be marketed locally. And, if Sandy Wiley has his wish, […]

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