Entries by Jeanna Baxter White

UNC Charlotte’s Project ENRICH Provides Valuable Clinical Experience for Future Teachers

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Mebane Foundation Founder, Allen Mebane, believed that to achieve our nation’s greatest potential, it must ensure its young people receive a top-tier education. Knowing that teacher quality is one of the most important school-related factors influencing student achievement, the Foundation cultivates partnerships with leading colleges of education to fund transformative training opportunities for both in-service […]

Coming Full Circle: Brookstone Schools Grad Returns to Teach Social-Emotional Learning

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Jon Baldwin’s 15-year relationship with Brookstone Schools in Charlotte, NC, has come full circle. A former student turned school counselor, he is passionate about giving back to the school that gave him so much.  “There is a lot about this position that makes it beautiful,” said Baldwin, who joined the staff as the social-emotional learning […]

Moving the Needle: Davie County Schools Recognizes Mebane Foundation for Contributions in Early Literacy through DavieLEADS 

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The Mebane Foundation was honored to be recognized at the Davie County Board of Education meeting on March 1st for its role in supporting early childhood education in Davie County, as DavieLEADS (Literacy Empowers All in Davie to Succeed) comes to an end. The early learning and literacy initiative was funded by a five-year, $2.5 […]

In the Face of COVID, Hill Learning Center Invests in Making Reading Intervention More Accessible to Teachers and Students Across NC

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When the pandemic struck in March 2020, and in-person learning came to a screeching halt, Hill Learning Center in Durham rose to the challenge and, in only three weeks, developed and released a version of its Hill Reading Achievement Program (HillRAP) that could be delivered remotely as long as the teacher and students had iPads […]

Elementary Students Blossom at Innovative UNC Charlotte Summer Reading Camp

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By Jeanna Baxter White Summer is an opportune time to offer children programs that provide academic support, enrichment opportunities, and social and emotional growth. Given the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the past two school years, this summer’s added support was more important than ever. At Niner University Elementary (NUE) in West Charlotte, […]

Cognitive ToyBox: Building a Culture of Data-Informed Instruction in Davie County Preschools

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Despite a challenging 2020-2021 school year due to complications around COVID-19, Davie County preschools continue to help children get a strong start towards kindergarten readiness. One beneficial tool that preschool teachers continued to utilize was Cognitive ToyBox, a game-based assessment platform. Davie County Schools (DCS) has now used Cognitive ToyBox for four years to help […]

Mebane Foundation Continues to Support the Inspiring Brookstone Schools Program

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Three tables of kindergarteners are busily working away. Four children construct bridges for the Three Billy Goats Gruff, others are building houses for The Three Little Pigs, and the third group uses manipulatives to sequence Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? “The foundation of literacy is understanding the relationship between words and their […]

Wolfpack Readers Tutoring Program Gives Teachers Hands-on Experience While Students Gain Reading Skills

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Ella reads as Becky Dorman points to each word. For the next hour, the second grader will receive systematic, evidence-based instruction in the foundational skills needed for literacy success. The Wolfpack Readers after school-school tutoring program is part of the Yadkin Wolfpack Literacy Partnership (YWLP) between the NC State College of Education and Yadkin County […]

Davie County Schools Implement Heggerty to Support Phonemic Awareness

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“Deep,” says Susan Shepherd to her first-graders. “Deep,” they repeat.  “Replace the /p/ with /l/,” she says. “Deal,” shouts her students.  Shepherd is guiding her students through their daily Heggerty Phonemic Awareness lesson. Phonemic awareness is the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes, and it’s one of […]