Old Building Holds a Bright Future


By Kanisha Madison

NCCU Staff Writer

the Durham VOICE

From the outside it may look like an old building, but when one enters, many new opportunities await. The historic building which once housed a middle school opened Aug. 18 under a new name: Holton Career and Resource Center.

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The newly-opened Holton Resource and Career Center is a beacon of hope and opportunity for the community. (Photo by Kanisha Madison)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The center will offer continuing education courses including barbering, construction trades, small engine repair, landscape construction and turf grass management, visualization and modeling (using computers to analyze data), computer engineering (CISCO), and small business and entrepreneurship.

The programs are an extension of the regular high school programs which means students come from their high school to the center for elective classes.

“Things have been going unbelievably well since our grand opening,” says Gloria Woods-Weeks, principal. “Students are enjoying the programs that they are in.” Woods-Weeks was the assistant principal of East Chapel Hill High School before coming to Holton.

Although the center is currently enrolling students and many courses will begin once they have 10 students, some classes including basic mechanical repair, carpentry and scientific visualization have already begun.

Other classes, such as the CISCO I Networking Academy, will start in January. In this course, students will gain hands-on experience while actually working with a CISCO technician and earn CISCO career certifications.

A parent-student information session on Cisco I Networking Academy is being held on Sept. 28 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Holton auditorium.

“We are aggressively recruiting” says Woods-Weeks who hopes that more students will begin to realize what type of opportunities await inside the center.

The Holton Center also houses a Duke Wellness Clinic which is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Durham Parks and Recreation has a recreation center in another part of the building.

Many in the community are excited to see an old, abandoned building used for something that is worth bragging about.

2 thoughts on “Old Building Holds a Bright Future

  1. Rachelle Gold says:

    This is my first perusal of the NECD Voice, and I was very impressed with the quality of the reporting by both the NCCU and UNC journalists, the quality of the photographs, the variety of the stories, and the engagement with civic activities, schools, and local organizations in NECD. I was also very interested in the arts programs and bringing more arts education and physcial exercise, or self-esteem building programs to pre-teens and teens. Keep up the great work! What about some features articles about local neighbors who are finding creative ways to reduce graffiti, truancy, gang involvement, and apathy among pre-teens and teens? Or increase green space and community gardens or recylcing programs? What about senior citizens who may volunteer in the community to help teens? Or teens who volunteer to help seniors? What are some creative programs to help integrate the Spanish speaking neighbors with the African American neighbors and build briges between these communities?

    • Dear Rachelle,
      Great suggestions for story ideas! I’m certain our editors will jump on ’em!
      Jock Lauterer
      co-adviser
      the Durham VOICE

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