When I took on the role of leading Durham Public Schools, I knew the potential of this great district and its students. I was eager to learn of our past challenges and excited to work with our staff and the community toward solutions to ensure greater outcomes for our students. In a few short years, we began to see our collaboration and hard work realized through the academic achievement of our students and increasing enrollment in DPS.
We all know what happened next—the pandemic. We encountered a setback and our momentum slowed, but it did not stop. We kept pushing forward. I am excited to share that the resilience of our students and relentless spirit of our teachers has yielded tremendous results. Last school year, DPS experienced its highest academic growth since the 20122013 school year, and 86.5 percent of our schools met or exceeded year-to-year academic growth expectations.
Proud is an understatement. I am thrilled by this data and celebrate this news, but our job is not yet complete. There is still work to be done. While these numbers are encouraging, we know that they are only part of the story of student success.
My experience as a teacher, principal, and district administrator has provided me with invaluable insight as to how we navigate improving upon outcomes. Plans are already in place at the school and district levels to ensure we reach those goals. Through our current strategic plan and district-wide non-negotiables, we will continue to see our students succeed.
As I salute our teachers and staff for their tremendous efforts in the classroom, I also want to thank you, our families and Durham community, for your support of our schools and students. It takes all of us pouring into our students so they are prepared for success not just for today, but for all the days to come. Together, we can forge a bright future for every child in DPS.
Pascal Mubenga, Ph.D. Durham Public Schools Superintendent
ive years ago, Durham Public Schools Superintendent Pascal Mubenga connected community leaders to take up the charge of creating a foundation supporting DPS. From there, educators, business leaders, community advocates, parents, and DPS alumni gathered to brainstorm new support that could help transform the district. From those gatherings and through conversations with families and the community, the Durham Public Schools Foundation was born. Now in its fourth year, the Foundation continues to ground itself in supporting DPS students, families, and staff to fulfill the promise of public education in Durham.
DPS Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that unites DPS school communities, public- and privatesector resources and community leaders around strategies to strengthen DPS schools for all students.
The need to support DPS students and staff is more important than ever, and DPS Foundation Executive Director Magan Gonzales-Smith says it should be a priority for all of Durham.
“Durham’s success is linked to the success of DPS, and our schools are at the heart of Durham,” she said. “Everyone in Durham, whether you have kids in DPS or not, has a role in supporting our schools. That’s part of a community goal for shared prosperity.”
Gonzales-Smith has dedicated her entire career to public education. However, her passion for supporting outcomes for students and staff was cultivated as a child.
“My dad is a first-generation college student, and he was the first person in his family to graduate from high school and go to college,” said Gonzales-Smith. “That informed my view of the world at an early age and informs my passion for public education as a way to create more equitable communities. Strong and equitable public schools are essential for having a strong and equitable community.”
From awarding grants to supporting school learning and family needs to scholarships for graduating seniors, the Foundation is making a difference.
Other initiatives include leadership development for students, staff, and families, and two whole school transformation efforts — the WHOLE Schools Movement which focuses on mental health support for students and staff in direct response to the pandemic and Bull City Community Schools Partnership, a school transformation model created through organizing led by the Durham Association of Educators that is being piloted at three schools.
“I am most proud of how the approach to all of our work is rooted in what we hear from our students, teachers, families and schools,” said Gonzales-Smith. “As we hear what their dreams are for their schools, we can enable them to make those dreams a reality.”
hen Dr. William Logan was asked to take the reins at the historic Hillside High School as principal after nearly 10 years of service in various capacities, his thoughts immediately turned to the students and what more he could do for them. Naturally, he accepted. Another decade later, he’s still there for them.
Hillside celebrates 10 decades this year, which makes it even more special for this veteran educator. There are 100 years to celebrate, and the list of achievements and celebrations is long and wide.
Hillside’s longevity is a sign of pride, resilience, and strength — characteristics Dr. Logan reminds his staff and students that they possess and that no one or nothing can take away. The school was once one of 300 historically Black high schools in the state of North Carolina. It now stands as one of only five — and the oldest — that remain open and active.
Dr. Logan says that getting students to believe in themselves and in their own potential, and reminding staff that they have the capacity to make a difference in the lives of their students, is a persistent mantra that he repeats and by which he leads. He says the silent battle he fights is to reveal that the Hillside experience, for those who are curious enough to investigate, is totally different from naysayers’ perception.
“I allow the students’ and teachers’ successes to speak for themselves,” he says.
Hillside has shown how that should be done.
The district’s Beginning Teacher of the Year, Kiara Thorpe, spoke to this when she was honored for her work last school year.
“There’s so much legacy, there are so many celebrities. There are so many people who have done amazing work and we continue to push out leaders and critical thinkers. Our actions will always outshine what people say. When there are doubts, I know to keep my nose close to the ground and keep working,” she said.
The centennial will celebrate all of the school’s successes and longevity. A 100-year timeline is being created to explain the school’s history and meaning to its students, teachers, and community, past and present. The timeline will be used as a learning tool in perpetuity.
“So many people do not understand the history of the school, and there’s a misunderstanding of the community’s love for the school,” said Dr. Logan. There’s so much love in fact that organizations are willing to fundraise projects that contribute to its legacy. Just this spring, The Triangle Park Chapter of The Links unveiled a newly constructed sound studio at the school for students, staff, and the community to use.
Dr. Logan says the timeline will be unveiled during a community ceremony — date and time to be announced — and portraits of two of the school’s principals will be added to the wall displaying the institution’s lead learners. Nameplates with the principals’ names and dates of tenure will be placed under each portrait.
Noting the community’s involvement in the life of the school, Dr. Logan shared that the Hillside High School Centennial Sub-Committee took care of the celebrations this past spring; the school itself will take the baton and lead the celebration this fall.
Hillside High School was one of 300 historically Black high schools in North Carolina. The school is now one of five that remain active and open. Hillside was previously located on Concord Street.
A speaker series and documentary are also being planned to pay homage to the school’s history.
The largest Black schools in Durham prior to the building of Whitted School in 1887 were the Ledger Public School in Hayti, under the supervision of Miss Ledger, and the Hack Road Public School, where James Whitted, “a highly respected man of mixed races (Black and Indian) who had managed to educate himself,” was superintendent.
In 1887, the Whitted School existed as the James A. Whitted High School, in honor of its first principal. The school, which was located on the corner of Blackwell and Pettigrew Streets, burned in 1888 and was relocated to a Bull Factory warehouse. In 1890, 161 pupils attended the school’s six grades. Whitted taught the upper grades, William G. Pearson taught the middle grades, and two female teachers taught the first and second grades.
The first class graduated from the ninth grade of Whitted School in 1896. Also in 1896, a permanent brick building was constructed on Proctor and Ramsey Street for Black children at a cost of $8000. In 1899, the building was destroyed and reconstructed, but students were housed in churches during that school year. In 1901, another Black school, West End, was built. At this time, 707 students were enrolled in the Durham Black graded schools. In 1909, the East End School was constructed.
Only nine grades existed at Whitted from 1896 until 1911, but in 1911 a tenth grade was added. The 11th grade was added in 1918.
The Whitted School, which was in poor condition, burned in 1921, and students had to attend double sessions at East End and West End Schools. John Sprunt Hill, a leading Durham citizen, donated land for a new building on Pine and Umstead Street, which was named Hillside Park High School in honor of the donor and due to the fact that the school was located next to Hillside Park, a public cityowned Black Park. The class of 1944 was the first to graduate under the 12-year system. A public address system was installed in the school in 1943 at a cost of $150.
The “Park” was dropped from the name Hillside High School in 1943. In 1950, because of overcrowding in the high school, the Hillside High School students moved into what was then called Whitted Junior High School, located near the campus of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and now the site of an NCCU science classroom building, and the Whitted Junior High School students moved into the old Hillside Park High School building closer to downtown Durham. The schools’ buildings also swapped names. Hillside High School at this time only enrolled grades 10, 11, and 12 and Whitted Junior High School enrolled seven, eight, and nine.
Additions of an auditorium, cafeteria, auto shop, classroom, and gymnasium were made to accommodate a large number of transferred high school students in 1949. A classroom annex was added to the Hillside building in 1962. In 1966, a new library was added. A new band room was constructed in 1975. Hillside was relocated to a new building in 1995.
Eunice Sanders was Hillside’s principal from 2002 to 2006, resigning after the 2005-2006 school year to move to an administrative position within the Durham Public Schools Central Office. Earl Pappy was the principal of Hillside from 2006 to 2009. He was followed by Hans Lassiter who served as principal from 2009-2012.
The current principal is Dr. William Logan.
uperintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga arrived at Durham Public Schools in 2017 with a clear mission: establish a strategic plan to ensure that the educators, school and district staff, and community partners supporting our students would be working in alignment toward the same goals.
“Our families were asking us for a greater sense of direction and purpose, and we delivered,” said Dr. Mubenga.
Five years later, DPS is entering the final year of the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan. The 52 educators, community leaders, and parents who were part of the strategic planning committee took feedback from Dr. Mubenga’s initial listening and learning tour and crafted a plan for consideration by the Board of Education. They had no idea that the priorities and goals they adopted would have to carry the district through an unprecedented pandemic.
“We established a new mission for Durham Public Schools,” said Dr. Nakia Hardy, DPS’s deputy superintendent: Durham Public Schools embraces, educates, and empowers every student to innovate, serve and lead. “That mission says so much. It begins with care and support for Durham County children, which enables academic excellence, and leads to students taking charge of their destiny. And then there’s the most important phrase in the mission: every student.”
The initial years of the strategic plan saw immediate results, with a sharp drop in the number of schools labeled “low performing” in the state’s accountability model and an increase in student enrollment to launch the 2019-2020 school year. The district met its strategic plan benchmarks for academic performance and growth, as well as the graduation rate. Virtually every school reported that it had an active community partner supporting academic, socialemotional, or career growth for its students.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, having the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan in place helped blunt the impact of students having to learn at home and being isolated from their peers.
“From the beginning, technology was a vital part of our academic goals for the strategic plan,” said Dr. Hardy. “We were providing professional development to help teachers make the most of the powerful technology at their fingertips to support their students. We accelerated that effort to ensure that every student had a Chromebook at home to support their learning during COVID. Even though our students are back in the classroom, that access to
Our families were asking us for a greater sense of direction and purpose, and we delivered.
DPS’s strategic plan takes district to a new level
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• Launched Ignite! Online Academy
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technology for both teachers and learners is a game-changer for equity,” said Hardy.
With students returning for their second full year of inperson learning since the pandemic, DPS is expecting to celebrate a strong finish to the final year of the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan. At the same time, the district is launching an even more expansive community engagement strategy to garner input on a successor strategic plan for the next five years.
“We are building on the mission, vision, and core beliefs of the original strategic plan,” said Dr. Mubenga. “We are also casting our nets wider to ensure that more of our community’s voice is heard as we develop a new strategic plan. Durham is changing and our students’ needs are greater. We want to make sure we’re seeing all of those needs before we focus on the areas where we can have the greatest impact.”
DPS will partner with RTI International’s Center for Education Services to facilitate that community process. The district will engage with diverse voices including district personnel, parent/guardian and community stakeholders, and students to gain insight. Focus groups are being convened to gather their input, and an online anonymous questionnaire is being sent to students, staff, parents/guardians, and other community members for their perspectives on DPS’s future direction and priorities.
One member of the original committee is looking forward to the work of the next. Dr. Kimberly Ferrell was principal of
Burton Magnet Elementary at the onset and is now one of two DPS assistant superintendents overseeing elementary schools.
“Alone we do so little; together we can do so much,” said Dr. Ferrell, quoting Helen Keller. “As a principal I was honored to be on the committee. Our meetings were well planned with expected outcomes that would forge our work to heightened levels. In my new role, the strategic plan guides my work daily in leading principals in embracing excellence.
“A strategic plan is the blueprint that makes the difference.”
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The Hub Farm is a 30-acre outdoor learning oasis comprising a farm, forest, meadow, and pond. The farm is a valuable resource for district teaching and learning.
urham Public Schools’ crown jewel of outdoor education celebrates a milestone this year and will commemorate 10 years of learning, exploration, and hands-on experiences for Durham students.
The peaceful 30-acre farm, forest, meadow, and aquatic learning center is appropriately nestled next door to Eno Valley Elementary, Carrington Middle, and Northern High schools for tranquil instruction.
“It’s welcoming, where people feel at peace. It’s a transformative space for people’s emotional well-being, a good healing space,” said Ashley Meredith, the Hub Farm’s program manager.
Meredith has led the program for half of its 10 years, starting with the program as an AmeriCorps member immediately after graduating from college. She’s had the privilege of helping to expand its reach through programs and physical improvements.
“I think an opportunity like this is unparalleled for lots of students. It’s a really good way to level the playing field in terms of experiences. It’s really important for equity,” said Meredith.
Eno Valley Elementary School Principal Jason Jowers supports that belief.
“Outdoor learning provides students an opportunity to acquire background knowledge in topics they normally would have no exposure to. This is critical during EOG testing where literacy passages pull on the background knowledge of students,” he said.
Schools bring their students for field trips to the farm for exposure to wildlife, farm animals, and to learn about environmental stewardship, health and nutrition, and career development. The farm has quite a following on social media — Instagram and Twitter — and the newsletter has 1,400 subscribers.
While one can quantify the reasons for the farm’s utility, Northern High School Culinary Arts instructor Peter Brodsky says the resource is immeasurable.
“The impact goes so far beyond culinary or agriculture classes and really extends to everyone that is able to engage with the farm as a resource and incorporate the space into their instruction,” he said.
Meredith has high hopes for the farm’s impact.
“It’s a place that holds so much potential. There are endless opportunities to continue to build on it whether it’s through programming or physically. I hope it continues to become a bigger, rock-solid piece of the community,” said Meredith.
It is undoubtedly a meaningful resource for the district’s teaching and learning communities, especially at Eno Valley Elementary, according to Jowers.
“The Hub Farm is intentional about making sure they provide lessons that correlate to what is happening in the classroom. It is not just a set curriculum that they are unwilling to adjust. They are open to collaboration and want to do what is in the best interest of student achievement,” he said.
Brodsky can attest to successful collaboration.
When asked how he utilizes the farm, he said, “In so many ways! The Hub Farm is an incredible resource to teach students about modern agriculture, historical agriculture, organic farming, and so much more. Students are able to engage in real time with products throughout their growing season, from seed to harvest. They are able to see the critical role of honeybees and other pollinators in our food systems.
Students can also interact with livestock being raised in humane and ethical conditions, and explore how that contrasts with large scale industrial farming.”
Brodsky says he’s also seen English students writing poetry at the pond, outdoor education students in kayaks, and math students calculating the height and circumference of trees. “From K-12 in all aspects of our instruction there is no class that wouldn’t benefit from hands-on outdoor learning that is so readily available at the farm,” he said.
Brodsky says every student enrolled in his culinary arts courses visits the Hub Farm at least once a month or more. Students in higher level culinary courses have the opportunity to plan, plant, manage, and harvest crops at the Hub Farm for use in the catering menus they develop throughout the semester.
Brodsky said learning at the Hub Farm is fun and that the farm is perfect for teaching a variety of preservation techniques.
“Every year we make a variety of jams and jellies, including annual batches of our famous pepper jelly,” he said.
The class also pickles peppers, okra, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots. They make sauces and garnishes with the fresh herbs from the farm, baked goods using the chicken and duck eggs. Students have even produced full meals entirely with products grown and raised at the Hub Farm, including working with some ducks that were processed at the farm to produce pate, confit, sausage, stock, and more.
• In the 2021-2022 school year, 2,514 students visited the Hub Farm, more than 2,000 pounds of produce were shared with the community, and the first summer camp (summer 2021) was hosted with 96 students from 20 schools.
• More than 20,000 students have visited the Hub Farm in a decade.
• The estimated number of volunteers is more than 1,700.
DPS’s newest school opened its doors to the community in August.
Students and staff have already sparked success in their new school.
amilies seek the best for their children when it comes to teaching and learning. Durham Public Schools seeks to be the first and best choice, and the district’s Growing Together initiative intends to assure families that every DPS school is a great school — no matter whether it is a neighborhood school or one that families apply to attend. Beginning with the adjustment of elementary school boundaries and specialized program placements effective in 2024, and continuing with middle and high schools, DPS is intent on serving families better by:
• responding to Durham’s explosive population growth ,
• increasing equit y among schools to ensure that all students benefit from high-quality academic programs, and
• increasing families’ access to application programs by establishing them across Durham County.
For some DPS employees and stakeholders, like Melody Marshall, who have worked on the initiative, the mission is intensely personal.
Marshall, DPS’s director of student assignment, is a product of Durham Public Schools from kindergarten to graduation. From Morehead Montessori Magnet Elementary to Rogers-Herr Middle to Hillside High, Marshall experienced all of the normal peaks and valleys of school life, but she also experienced a seismic change: she was a DPS student before DPS truly existed.
“Before 1992, there were two school systems in Durham County. The city school district was majority-Black, and the county school district was majority-white,” said Marshall. “There were resource disparities and political divisions, and for all of the efforts to bring the two school systems together there was mistrust on both sides.” Neither school board was in favor of merger. That changed in 1992 when the state legislature merged the districts, but the merger didn’t come easily.
For almost 30 years, DPS made only minor changes even as Durham has transformed around us. I’m thrilled that we are finally acknowledging the needs of all of our families. And we did it with the community’s voice at the table.”
“There was a promise that our city schools would gain more resources, and that our schools would be more equitable,” said Marshall. “But one major piece of work was left undone for decades. Merger proponents saw that if we didn’t continue to look at school boundaries and magnet programs, that we would continue to struggle to give every family the same kind of access to high-quality academic programs.
“For almost 30 years, DPS made only minor
Academic and operational leaders join forces with community to foster growth, equity, and access
changes even as Durham has transformed around us. I’m thrilled that we are finally acknowledging the needs of all of our families. And we did it with the community’s voice at the table.”
The Growing Together initiative begins with elementary schools. One of the initiative’s foundations is ensuring that outstanding programs and academic experiences are in every school, not just in application or “magnet” schools.
“We are investing in and placing rigorous, high-quality academic programming in every elementary school,” said Dr. Debbie Pitman, assistant superintendent for specialized services and a key academic services leader on the Growing Together working group. “For example, beginning in 2024 every elementary school will have a daily, intentional focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) instruction. Currently we have some magnet schools with a STEM programming emphasis, but tomorrow’s careers will require that every child have that access. Parents and guardians shouldn’t have to worry about getting in the ‘right’ school to have that kind of support.”
In addition to a daily STEM focus, each of DPS’s elementary schools will also provide:
• weekly visual ar ts instruction in a dedicated classroom
• weekly music instruction in a dedicated classroom
• weekly world language exposure
DPS is also significantly expanding families’ access to other specialized academic programs tailored to students’ individual needs. Geographically located across Durham County in five equitable regions, DPS will offer six application schools that operate on the year-round calendar and five application schools that offer Dual-Language Immersion, an opportunity for students to develop fluency in two languages while they receive the same high-quality core instruction other DPS schools provide. Families may apply to enter these programs based on the region in which they live.
Finally, DPS is also expanding elementary access to Montessori education from two to three schools and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme will expand to a second school. These schools will be accessible by region as well.
“We are preparing our students for an international world full of technology, opportunities for creative expression, and diverse cultures,” said Dr. Pitman. “I can’t emphasize enough the quality of programming and teachers in every school. We are truly growing great schools together.”
As Marshall noted, the county changed more quickly than Durham Public Schools did over the course of 30 years. Neighborhoods aged and changed. Magnet programs were established to attract families with more resources to low-resource neighborhoods that later gentrified—but the magnet programs remained as they were.
“Before Growing Together, our student assignment policies and practices were no longer serving our families and community the way they had been intended,” said Mathew Palmer, DPS executive director for school planning, transportation, and school nutrition. A planner by nature as well as by trade, Palmer and his colleagues saw that school boundaries and magnet application rules were out of step with families’ lived reality.
“People believe that our schools are under-enrolled, but that’s especially untrue at the elementary level,” Palmer said. “Today we have some schools that are bursting at the seams and are using mobile classrooms that were ‘temporary’ years ago. In addition, we needed to make space for our community, school board and county commissioners’ priority to expand pre-K classrooms throughout the county.”
“We reached out to our community after we received the charge from our Board of Education to explore the changes that our families needed,” said Palmer. “Over the course of three years — even during the worst of the pandemic — we received hundreds of ideas and data points from parents, guardians, teachers, and members of stakeholder organizations. The community’s voice helped ensure that we did this work with a growth mindset: dreaming and planning without being limited to the past but envisioning a greater future.”
Palmer and his team of planners first poured over census and other data to establish the five geographical regions based on community infrastructure such as freeways and demographic data. They then revised school boundary lines within those regions to account for neighborhood changes since 1992 as well as projecting the future growth of Durham County.
With housing developments bursting from the ground, the new boundary lines and application program placements effective in 2024 will provide families greater access to highquality programs closer to home while improving bus service—a win-win all around.
“The Growing Together initiative is continuing to work on aligning secondary schools (middle and high schools) with the new elementary school plans. At the same time, an implementation and rules working Group composed of parents/ guardians and educators is working through some of the practical details with focus groups and other community engagement.
There was a promise that our city schools would gain more resources, and that our schools would be more equitable. But one major piece of work was left undone for decades. Merger proponents saw that if we didn’t continue to look at school boundaries and magnet programs, that we would continue to struggle to give every family the same kind of access to highquality academic programs.
Melody MarshallMarshall is excited to see an old vision being realized. “We’re on the path that we started on 30 years ago,” she said. “A more equitable district where every family, regardless of background or address, can access a great education for their child. We really are growing together.”
hen Joy Malone, executive drector of DPS Information Technology, received an invitation to speak at the North Carolina Executive Mansion last spring to share information about the DPS IT Summer Internship Program, she gave center stage to the two students who accompanied her. The trio visited the Mansion courtesy of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE). NCBCE operates out of the office of the governor.
Hillside High School Senior Zachary Tucker and J. D. Clement Early College Senior Le’lah McCoy were two of eight students who participated in a paid internship program last summer developed by Malone in collaboration with Dr. Julie Pack, executive director of DPS Career and Technical Education. Prior to the pandemic, DPS was considered a three-to-one (3:1) district, averaging one technology device per three students. To facilitate remote instruction, DPS received approximately 31,000 Chromebooks through the CARES Act and other private funding sources to become a 1:1 district. Malone quickly realized that receiving the devices was the blessing, while supporting the devices with no additional headcount was the curse. Dr. Pack came to the rescue and engaged school-based career development coordinators in recruiting students to apply for the DPS IT internships.
“This was our strategy to attract CTE students to a realworld IT opportunity while solving the challenges we faced with supporting a new 1:1 district. It was true work-based learning,” said Malone.
Students were chosen from New Tech, Hillside, Riverside, J.D. Clement Early College, and Durham School of the Arts. They were onboarded and paired with a mentor from DPS IT, given an opportunity to choose their specialty interest, and asked to journal their experience for a final presentation after the internship ended.
Zachary and Le’lah were all in. Both share that helping others through this work was fulfilling.
Zachary, who worked alongside the technology administrator at Hillside High School, describes it as “exhilarating that we were able to work and see how much goes into IT. We were engaged in solving problems step-bystep so teachers were able to teach their classes.” Upon graduation, Zachary matriculated to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is majoring in business administration with an interest in analytics.
Le’lah said she changed her mind from majoring in Computer Science to a major in Business Information Technology after working with Malone to tackle the challenge of making the internet accessible to those who didn’t have it and experiencing first-hand the power of knowledge and strategy. Le’lah received a merit-based scholarship for $28,000 and is excited to be attending Malone’s alma mater, NC A&T State University, to earn her college credentials.
“It made me feel good once it was over. I love helping people, and I love helping people in my community. This generation relies on technology so we have to learn it,” she said.
Accompanying Malone to the Executive Mansion to speak about their experiences was unforgettable, said Zachary. “It was exciting being surrounded by great, impactful people.”
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2022 Durham School of the Arts graduate Jared Boney says his mother met Malone at a job fair and came home to tell him about an opportunity that may interest him. He, too, was all in, became one of eight interns this summer. Now he’s working full-time in IT for Durham Public Schools.
Jared said he wants to remain current in the field, so work and school are currently his top priorities.
“It seems like an interesting field and I needed knowledge so I could figure out which pathway I want to go into,” said Jared, who is also enrolled in Durham Technical Community College, where he is earning technology certifications. He’ll be working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in business after he earns his associate’s.
He said he plays video games and has always been intrigued with how they are made, and the coding required to create them. Since he hadn’t decided upon his college major, working
in IT for the school system was a good opportunity to research his career options and work simultaneously. He hit the ground running, helping to network the district’s newest elementary school, Lyons Farm Elementary.
Jared’s learned how to set up switches as well as network systems. He provides phone and tech support and troubleshoots IT issues for his DPS coworkers. “I try to do what I can to help them,” he says.
department. They truly did work that was valueadded,” she said.
The teachers that I encountered built me up. The teachers really pushed us to advance ourselves. They really nurtured us while we were in those classes.
Malone said her intent has been to ensure that Jared and fellow interns like him would learn how to navigate the structure of corporate America. She requires a final presentation from the interns to allow them time to capture the work they completed and reflect on the experience.
“I want them to take ownership of their work and create a final presentation. It’s valuable for the student and the
“Jared says the experience has been indisputably valuable. Having worked part-time for fast food establishments until now, he says he’s learned office etiquette. He says his biggest takeaway thus far has been learning how to conduct oneself in a business setting.
“It’s fun to see the relationships grow,” said Malone, who says Jared’s co-workers give him support, career advice, and coaching.
Malone said Jared listens, observes, and demonstrates what he takes in.
“I’ve told him that when he has questions to bring pen, pencil, and a notepad, and he does just that. It’s encouraging that he’s taking in what we’re feeding him,” she said.
s director of Advanced Academics, Laura Parrott’s goal is to make real the promise to every student that “we see you.” As a progressive, diverse, growing school district with 55 schools and 32,000 students who speak more than 100 languages– including its superintendent who speaks five languages himself–Durham Public Schools offers an academic program that serves the needs of all learners.
Advanced Academics oversees all K-12 advanced academic programming in the district, placing equity and inclusion at the forefront. Its work is aligned to the district’s strategic plan, the educational blueprint created by DPS, its stakeholders and community.
Every child is seen. Literally.
Most notably, every student in kindergarten through second grade receives advanced educational services by a licensed AIG (academically intellectually gifted) licensed teacher. These district experts get to know the younger DPS students and during this time, they observe their potential and needs as learners, such as the quiet child who comes
alive when the program is in operation.
All elementary schools have at least one fulltime AIG specialist. The AIG specialists help classroom teachers recognize characteristics that are sometimes overlooked by the regular curriculum. “We’re about nurturing our students districtwide, cultivating their potential beyond reading and math,” said Parrott.
In third through fifth grade, DPS ensures that all students with advanced learning needs have intentional services from an AIG licensed specialist and/or teacher with weekly mandated services in reading and math. The services are based upon acceleration, enrichment, and core curriculum extensions.
Parrott unapologetically works under the equity creed.
“Diversity has always been huge for me because what we know is that giftedness can always show up in any demographic group. In any group, there are students who are advanced. Remediation is important but if we don’t give [advanced students] what they need in the beginning, it’s going to be difficult,” said Parrott.
“We know that the benefit of education is learning to live in a global society. We provide the rigor and enriched experience,” said Jamel Anderson-Ruff, coordinator of Advanced Academics.
Advanced Academics offers 29 Advanced Placement (AP) courses, including the arts, with a “phenomenal faculty who are up to the challenge,” said Parrott. Advanced Placement teachers have been recognized at the state level and have been tapped to lead support sessions in their content areas. “Their work beats the global and state average,” said Parrott. “It’s their passion. They want to make a difference for our students.”
In addition to the AP courses, e-learning and online offerings are available to middle and high school students through the district’s Ignite! Online Academy, through NC Virtual, and under a partnership with the NC School of Science and Mathematics.
“Our students can accelerate through these opportunities,” said Parrott.
Students can earn Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM) and test out of AP courses with a 90 percent passing score, even without seat time, and progress to the next class in the sequence, according to Parrott. This gives students the opportunity to take more courses or move on to the college level, she said.
CDM is a form of acceleration to maximize opportunities for high school students. It’s open to middle and high school students for high school level courses. It’s a little known fact that Durham is one of the leading school districts in the
number of students who successfully go through this process.
High school also provides open access to advanced learning courses, not to mention Governor’s School. Partnerships among schools allows students to take courses that aren’t available at their base schools.
Then there’s SPARK Camp, a one week districtwide exploration into topics chosen by its own fourth through eighth grade participants. Connected to standards, SPARK uses creativity, higher order thinking skills, active participation, and different curriculum structures to maintain these advanced learners’ interest. With up to 300 slots, DPS uses a lottery system to fill them, and scholarships are offered.
Rising ninth and tenth graders participate in Explore Your Options sessions designed to inform families about the opportunities to enroll in Honors, AP, IB, Dual enrollment, as well as CDMs to give them information as they plan their four-year pathways. These events also include small group and one-on-one sessions for families.
“The key is to look for students and not wait for them,” said Parrott.
The academic performance of our students speaks to the work. We make it a point to serve students who are not identified. It’s about serving an advanced learning need and not an identification label,” she said. The process includes portfolios to address students who don’t test well, and partnering with ESL (English as a Second Language) and EC (Exceptional Children) teachers.
Advanced Academics offers a 30-hour professional development session focused on characteristics of advanced learners and how to recognize them. Called TAP — Teachers Advancing Potential — the course is open to all K-12 educators. The curriculum includes strategies on how to respond to students’ academic, intellectual, and social needs. Parrott said there are immediate results.
“Teachers were approaching their students with a more appropriate challenge,” she said.
va “the STEM Princess” Simmons, a fourth grade student at Spring Valley Elementary School, is a nine-year-old STEM entrepreneur who uses her platform to spread the word that youth with learning challenges should not be ashamed. It just means you learn differently. She knows, she says, because she herself learns differently. Ava and her mother proudly proclaim that she now has a 504 Plan that will help catapult her to success.
We recently caught up with the author, influencer, creator and CEO of her STEM-centered business, the Team Genius Squad, while she was on a mission at the Book Harvest Block Party at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. She was accompanied by her mother and dressed to impress with her personalized lab coat emblazoned with girl power, the NASA logo, planets, astronauts, and chemistry patches, some of which she purchased and others that she created herself.
“I used STEM to help me with my reading and math skills, and now I can read up to grade level and read in class like all of my friends,” Ava said.
She’s also a proclaimer of the art of business and making your dreams come true.
In her book, Ava Discovers Her Inner Genius Using STEM, she writes, “With the proper tools, you can be anything that you want to be.” The book has accompanying activity and coloring books.
Ava said her mom noticed that she loved videos so she practiced by
talking to her dolls, watching videos and getting ideas from cooking videos. Once she decided upon her subject matter, she decided to write a book because COVID-19 was a barrier to in-person presentations. She also offers YouTube lessons on how to publish your book.
In her book, Ava tells her story by sharing that she discovered her inner genius after troubling experiences led her to the principal’s office. Her parents sought help and found that their daughter had a reading disorder. Once Ava’s challenge was determined, she soared. She was given a 504 Plan that helped her improve her reading skills. She now teaches STEM lessons and presents publishing workshops on YouTube. Her work has been viewed 600,000 times on YouTube, and she has 90,000 followers on social media. Social media aside, Ava’s can-do spirit as a student is a motivating factor at her school.
“We are very fortunate to have Ava The STEM Princess at Spring Valley. Her love of STEM activities, excitement for learning and her positive attitude inspires other students to do their best and persevere,” said her principal, Gwendolyn Wilson. Ava’s best advice for her peers is to believe in yourself, find something you’re good at doing, and encourage others.
She wants to establish relationships with companies to spread her message farther about STEM and its impact on young people and their ability to think critically. Since becoming an author, Ava has been featured in Forbes magazine, she has partnered with the PBS North Carolina Rootle Roadster Tour, and she hosted a STEM event at her school. Her book can be found on Amazon as well as at the Durham County Library. She plans to write another book as well.
DPS students have high hopes this academic year.
We asked three students “What are you most excited about for this school year?” and here’s what they had to say.
I am excited to learn more and expand my knowledge in preparation for middle school next year.
Ian Fernandez Gonzalez
5th Grade
Southwest Elementary School
I am most excited to see how my peers, teachers, and staff will motivate and push each other to improve this school year.
Avery Foster
8th Grade
Shepard IB Magnet Middle School
I am excited that this is my last year as a high school student. In 11th grade, I’ll start taking college courses.
Sa’adatu Suleiman
10th Grade
J.D. Clement Early College High School
Durham Public Schools
511 Cleveland Street Durham, NC 27701 919.560.2000 dpsnc.net
The SPARK Insider is sponsored by
The DPS Spark Insider is a publication produced by Durham Public Schools in partnership with Durham Magazine. The Spark Insider shares the stories of DPS students, teachers, and staff with the larger Durham community.
Durham Public Schools Board of Education
Bettina Umstead, Chair
Matt Sears, Vice-Chair Natalie Beyer Emily Chávez
Jovonia Lewis Millicent Rogers Alexandra Valladares