By Jeanna Baxter White Studies show that reading skills are the foundation of all education. Success in school, the workplace, and life is dramatically enhanced for children who can read at or above grade level by the end of the 3rd grade. Given the projected learning loss experienced by many students due to school closures, […]
By Jeanna Baxter White Did you know that while students of color make up about half of the traditional North Carolina public school student body, 80% of teachers are white? Moreover, between 2000-2014 (the latest year for which data is available), the state saw an enrollment increase of 306.7% among Hispanic students. The mandate is […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Catherine (3) says she wants to be a doctor. James (5) wants to “build like daddy.” “COGNITION meets both of their interests,” said their mom, Katie Sanders. “ It offers wonderful hands-on activities and keeps the kids away from screen time which we try to limit. We feel very fortunate that the community chose to […]
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 […]
When Mebane Foundation President Larry Colbourne saw a plea in the Enterprise for sponsors for Davie County’s 4-H summer camps he immediately asked himself, “What would Allen (Mebane) do?” — then he wrote a check. “Allen read the paper every morning and I remember vividly how he’d call me into his office and tell me […]
Drumroll please! Smart Start of Davie County is proud to announce that the $10,000 Mebane Foundation Challenge Grant has not only been met but exceeded! Thanks to generous contributions from the Davie County community, Smart Start has raised $33,345 to fund its family support and literacy programs. “We are humbled by the donations from local […]
“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 […]
Once the camera is ready, Stephanie Nelson begins to record another learning video for Davie County’s preschool teachers and the families of children who are learning from home. Nelson, Davie County’s preschool collaborative teacher, was hired with funds from DavieLEADS (Literacy Empowers All in Davie to Succeed), a five-year, $2.5 million grant initiative between Davie […]
Instead of kicking up their heels, Davie County residents are being challenged to click a link. In lieu of its 10th Annual Hometown Hoedown, Smart Start of Davie County is partnering with the Mebane Foundation to promote early education initiatives in Davie County. Through this partnership, any donation made to Smart Start of Davie County […]
Although it looked a little different this year, Dream Big 2021 was just as joyful and exciting as ever, according to Book Harvest Founder Ginger Young. Every year on MLK Day, Book Harvest celebrates the power of community and their big dream of books and literacy for all kids with Dream Big. This annual celebration […]
By Jeanna Baxter White When Davie County Schools launched DavieLEADS four years ago, they could not have known that the initiative’s professional development component would provide a lifeline to teachers as a pandemic forced them to quickly adapt to new ways of teaching. “No one could have been prepared for a pandemic. However, a lot […]
Susan*, a single mom with two children, temporarily lost her job as a waitress when the pandemic hit and was evicted from her basement apartment because she could no longer pay her rent. She didn’t qualify for unemployment and her ex-husband, who also lost his job, was no longer required to pay child support. The […]