SPARK Insider - Spring 2025 Issue

SPARK

INSIDER

SHOWCASING OUR DYNAMIC STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND STAFF

RESTORATIVE

PRACTICES FASHIONING

ENTREPRENEURS CELEBRATING

GRADUATION

MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT As I reflect on the first months of my tenure, I am deeply inspired by the passion, resilience, and dedication that define our students, educators, families, and community partners. Stepping into this role, I committed to an entry plan that prioritized listening, learning, and building meaningful relationships. These conversations have reinforced a profound truth: Durham Public Schools is rich in potential, and together, we can transform this potential into remarkable outcomes for every student.

At the heart of my entry plan was a commitment to establishing a strong foundation for our district—one built on trust, collaboration, and an unrelenting focus on excellence.

I have listened closely to stakeholders across the district, visiting schools, meeting with educators, students, and families, and engaging with our community’s diverse voices.

These discussions have underscored both the opportunities we must seize and the challenges we must address to ensure every child in DPS thrives.

First and foremost, educating our scholars is at the heart of everything we do. Closing opportunity gaps requires intentional investment in instructional programming, student supports, and leadership development.

Safety and well-being are foundational to academic success. Students and staff must feel safe and supported in order to thrive. Strengthening services, enhancing safety measures, and fostering positive school cultures are all critical priorities.

Community trust and engagement are essential to progress.

Rebuilding trust requires consistent, open communication and a genuine commitment to listening and acting on feedback from all stakeholders.

Recruiting, retaining, and developing top talent is critical to our success. Our educators and staff are the backbone of this district. We must ensure they feel valued, supported, and equipped with the resources they need to be effective.

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Anthony S. Lewis, Ph.D., Superintendent Finally, we must streamline operations to improve efficiency and effectiveness. From facilities to transportation to instructional resources, our ability to deliver high-quality education depends on how well we manage our systems.

A sharper focus on operational excellence will allow us to maximize resources and better support schools.

I believe that Durham Public Schools can be the premier school district in the country. It will take time, focus, and effort. Most importantly, it will take all of us working collaboratively to realize this vision for our scholars.

I am honored to serve this incredible community, and I look forward to the work ahead as we embrace, educate, and empower every student to innovate, serve, and lead. Together, we will achieve extraordinary things.

Anthony S. Lewis, Ph.D. Superintendent

STUDENT SOUND OFF

STUDENT

SOUND OFF

We asked three students, “What has been the best part of this school year?”

I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone and gaining new friends, especially friends of various cultures.

Nathaniel Davis 5th Grade Hillandale Elementary School

I’ve really enjoyed the athletics program and the resources available to me that have supported my academic journey.

Zachariah Lassiter 8th Grade Lowe’s Grove Middle School

Having the chance to meet some really cool people who have helped me socially, emotionally, and educationally.

Mia Kizzie 11th Grade Durham Performance Learning Center

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Spark Insider Spring 2025 Volume 5 Issue 2

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sheena Cooper Maria Bajgain Crystal Roberts Michael Yarbrough

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Tony Cunningham, Jr.

GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Brown Harrison Brackett

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HEALING AND STRENGTHENING

HEALING AND

STRENGTHENING

Restorative Practices shows promise in conflict resolution, reducing school suspensions ust think what a great world it would be if we all took the time to repair harmful actions or to seek to better understand someone else’s actions and why they do what they do.”

Wise words from Dr. Jennifer Hauser, the principal of Easley Elementary School and one of many leaders in Durham Public Schools working to make that vision a reality.

Hauser is leading the school’s fourth year of implementing Restorative Practices – a set of strategies and principles that help students, teachers, and administrators alike learn to take better responsibility for their actions and to resolve conflicts in a more productive and respectful manner.

“I think Restorative Practices builds a stronger sense of classroom community,” Hauser said. “We’re teaching students the tools and strategies they need to know to address conflict and address harm. I’ve seen an increase in our students’ abilities to do that.” She added that Restorative Practices strategies also have had a positive impact on how her faculty and staff interact with each other, as well as with their students.

STRENGTHENED RELATIONSHIPS DPS adopted Restorative Practices in 2018 as an approach for replacing in-school suspensions and for reducing the number of the district’s out-of-school suspensions, said Dr. Laverne Mattocks-Perry, the senior executive director of Student Support Services.

“The term ‘Restorative Practices’ is derived from ‘restorative justice’ – the belief that accountability for one’s actions when you are in a community really helps people to

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be happier and to make more productive changes in their behavior,” Mattocks-Perry said. “People are more likely to make positive changes in their lives and their behaviors when those in authority do things with them rather than to them or for them.”

What this means for students and teachers is a more proactive approach to getting to the roots of behavioral problems and dealing with them head-on and with respect.

Instead of simply separating a student from others for several days, Restorative Practices aims to provide opportunities for students to talk with well-prepared adults about the behaviors that got them into trouble. It goes deeper by requiring that students think about their actions, the reasons behind those actions, and how they affect others.

HEALING AND STRENGTHENING

Teachers and administrators receive thorough and ongoing training to implement Restorative Practices in their schools.

“We are seeing that every school has a Restorative Practices plan, with a team deciding how they’re going to implement it in their classrooms,” Mattocks-Perry said. These teams agree on what the school’s norms of behavior will be, along with accepted approaches when breaches occur, she added.

“In some schools, there is a palpable change in the way people are speaking to each other, in the way conversations are happening between students and their teachers and administrators,” she said.

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Restorative Practices takes a proactive approach to encouraging positive behavior, agreeing to “norms” of behavior – what is acceptable and what is not.

When a student has exhibited harmful behavior, a key Restorative Practices strategy is to ask four essential questions: • What happened? Mattocks-Perry calls this the “Larry King approach,” simply letting the student or students involved talk in an open and non-judgmental atmosphere so that they can relay as authentic an account as possible.

• What were you thinking at the time? Instead of asking, “Why did you do that?” This allows the student to think about what was going on in their mind and what might have prompted the behavior or action.

• Who has been affected by this? This invites the student to think about how their actions affect others.

• What do you think needs to happen to make this right?

Is an apology in order? If something has been damaged, what should be done to repair it?

“These questions are intended to teach people that their actions have an impact on others, to teach empathy, to ask, ‘Who’s being harmed when you get physically aggressive?’”

Mattocks-Perry said. “You can then determine, based on the code of student conduct, what the next steps are going to be.

Most of the time, it is some kind of restorative approach.”

She stresses that while Restorative Practices is a viable alternative to other forms of punishment such as suspension, its intent is not to dilute the repercussions of more serious ones.

“You do teach students that accountability is not just understanding, but also that there are sometimes

consequences that are unpleasant,” she said. “There is a misbelief that this is a ‘touchy-feely’ approach. It is not. It is important for them to know that there are hard consequences for certain actions.”

Depending upon the incident in question, a student might be sent to a Restorative Practices Center within their school, where solid measures are put into place to ensure that they are addressing their behaviors, positively interacting with other students and staff, and keeping up with their schoolwork.

More serious infractions require that they be referred to the district’s New Directions alternative program, or be suspended altogether for a period of time.

‘REAL MOVEMENT’ FOR CHANGE The COVID-19 pandemic stalled the implementation of Restorative Practices, and while there was a slight bump in suspensions in the year after students returned to the classroom, Mattocks-Perry said she is excited about what the results will be in the near future.

“In 2023, we had to rethink how to rebuild and regain the momentum that we had before the pandemic. We know what happened to the mental health of many students over the 18 months we were out of school,” she said. “But we began our relaunch in 2024-25, and we are starting to see real movement. Our trend data is suggesting we are returning to some of the positive reductions in out-of-school suspensions.”

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MORE OPTIONS FOR

LEARNING Popular Montessori program expands for the first time in 15 years ittle River Elementary School Principal Cory Hogans knows why the Montessori magnet program is so popular. Not only was he the principal of Morehead Montessori for eight years, from 2004 to 2012, but both of his children went through the program and are now thriving in their adult lives and careers.

Perhaps it’s serendipitous, then, that Little River, the school that Hogans has led since 2012, is now transitioning to Montessori as part of the Growing Together initiative. Eleven classrooms at the school are Montessori, with eight more being added next

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year. The transition to Montessori will be complete for the 2026-27 school year, Hogans said.

“It was a happy accident,” said Hogans of the district’s decision to tap Little River for the Montessori expansion.

“I feel like the experience and the training I’ve had, along with the Montessori ‘lens,’ are helping me to bring some instructional integrity to the foundation we are trying to lay at Little River.”

A PROGRAM FOR ALL STUDENTS The Montessori program is not new to Durham Public Schools. The first two Montessori schools (Watts and

MORE OPTIONS FOR LEARNING

Morehead Elementary Schools) opened roughly three decades ago. Lakewood Montessori Middle School opened in 2010, making it 15 years since the program has been expanded.

All that is quickly changing.

Not only is Little River transitioning to Montessori, but Lucas Middle School will also offer Montessori for the 2025-26 school year.

Magnet Program Specialist Rita Rathbone says that this expansion will double the number of available elementary Montessori seats and triple the number of middle school Montessori seats. The program has been very popular, but access hasn’t been as broad and wide as it needs to be, she said.

“We want everyone in our community to understand that Montessori is for all children,” Rathbone said. “We want all children to engage and to have access to the program.”

The district is working to shatter the myth of the Montessori program as being elitist.

“There is so much data to showcase how much Montessori benefits all students, specifically students of color and students in poverty,” Rathbone said.

KEY PRACTICES AND FOCUS Key practices that define Montessori are multi-age classrooms and extended instructional periods.

Multi-age classrooms are a fundamental aspect of the elementary Montessori method that groups students ages 3 to 6 years old, 6 to 9 years old, and 9 years old and above into one classroom, or “community.” Younger students learn from older students, who in turn learn how to support the learning of the younger students. These students “loop,” staying with the same teacher for two to three years.

Classes also include extended instructional periods of up to 120 minutes. Each student has an individualized work plan that includes a variety of activities and skills they should master.

“Montessori is about a carefully structured learning environment, designed to use children’s natural curiosity,” Rathbone said. “Students are choosing the tasks they’re doing to demonstrate their mastery of various skills.”

An example of this would be young students learning parts of speech through the help of three-dimensional objects.

Specific geometric and color-coded shapes such as squares, circles, and triangles are correlated with specific parts of speech. Students can “build” sentences with the manipulatives.

“Montessori takes it to a different level. You first learn with the concrete with no connection to the abstract,” Rathbone said. “Young children truly aren’t capable of sophisticated thinking. Their abstract thinking is limited.

Over time that skill develops as children mature. It’s a different approach to learning.”

CREATING COMMUNITY Rathbone points to the Montessori method as a great confidence builder for children.

“Those long work periods following a highly structured work environment allows students to develop independence, allows them to demonstrate mastery of various skills, and allows them to cooperate and collaborate and learn with other people effectively – to be part of a community,” Rathbone said. “It builds their confidence and allows them to master their own environment.”

Hogans says he can sense the excitement building in his school community as the Montessori program continues to take hold.

“Montessori is a discipline and a methodology that, if we do it right, then the sky’s the limit for children,” he said. “I don’t believe Montessori is a panacea, but it is definitely a choice that works for many children. We have an opportunity in Durham to expand the chances for families who desire that pathway. It’s really a great thing.”

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NURTURING

SUCCESS

J.D. Clement Early College alumni celebrate 20 years, give back to students wo decades of preparing students not traditionally considered “college-bound” to pursue higher education and thrive in their careers and in life. This is the milestone that the J.D. Clement Early College High School reached in fall 2024.

One of the first early college high schools in the state, ECHS opened its doors to ninth graders in August 2004 on the campus of N.C. Central University. Twenty years later, 16 graduating classes have passed through its doors and into the world.

“This is a true partnership,” said Dr. Lori Bruce, principal of ECHS. “This is not just Durham Public Schools. N.C. Central has just as many rights to brag about this great program as does DPS.”

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NURTURING SUCCESS

CREATING COMMUNITY There’s a lot to brag about, especially among many of its graduates who have returned not only to celebrate their beloved alma mater but also to give back to students. They are doing this by establishing a formal, independent J.D. Clement Early College High School Alumni Association. The new association will provide the opportunity for alumni to connect and create programs and activities that benefit students.

The genesis of all this was an alumni survey created and distributed by veteran ECHS social studies teachers John Becker and John Tyus. “[Tyus and Becker’s] goal was to see if the alumni might be interested in serving our current students in some way, such as through mentoring or providing internships or apprenticeships,” Bruce said.

Word spread fast, and before Bruce and the teachers knew it, some 400 alumni had enthusiastically responded.

The ECHS team subsequently met with several of the alumni, who decided that they wanted to form an official association and mark the school’s 20th anniversary with a celebratory reception in December 2024.

In addition to ECHS alumni and staff members, the reception was attended by former ECHS principals, Superintendent Anthony Lewis, members of the DPS Board of Education, and NCCU representatives. A private donation from a staff member enabled 11 current student leaders to attend the event to mix, mingle, and network with alumni.

GIVING BACK The alumni also decided to host a “College Talks” information event on Dec. 11. About 30 alumni visited ECHS to share information about the colleges they attended. This included not only setting up booths like a traditional college fair but also meeting with students individually to discuss options for their futures.

“We had all students in grades nine through 12 tell us what they would like to learn more about in terms of college,” Bruce said. “They each were able to choose three university representatives and spend 30 minutes in a room with one of the alumni to talk one-on-one about their college experiences. It was great! They could

ask all kinds of questions, even including what the food is like!”

Bruce hopes to have ECHS alumni host a similar event for students in spring 2025 that will be focused on various career areas, and that both events will become annual occasions. She also hopes that the alumni will help sponsor student activities.

“One of the things that’s very expensive that could benefit our students is more college field trips,” Bruce said. “They need these experiences, even within the state. For many students, their families aren’t able to provide all of these tours. That’s something we would like to provide.”

A RICH LEGACY ECHS offers students the opportunity to earn up to two years of college credit upon graduation. It also focuses on providing opportunities for students to pursue careers in STEM, especially female students and students of color. The school serves approximately 400 students.

The school was named for the late Josephine Dobbs Clement, who was one of Durham’s most notable community leaders in the mid-to-late 20th century. She and her husband, William A. Clement, moved to Durham in the late 1940s, and both became very involved in advancing social justice here, challenging racial segregation in public schools. Mrs. Clement also taught at NCCU. Mrs. Clement was instrumental in desegregating both the local YWCA and the Durham League of Women Voters. She served on the Durham City-County Planning Commission and on the former Durham City Schools Board of Education from 1973 through 1983. She was the first Black woman to chair the Board and was serving in that role when the Board appointed the city’s first Black superintendent. Clement was appointed to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1984, then was elected that same year and for two subsequent terms until she stepped down in 1990.

To commemorate the school’s 20th anniversary, Clement’s grandchildren have commissioned a portrait of her that will be prominently displayed on campus.

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SIBLING PRINCIPALS

SIBLING PRINCIPALS Clay and Covington thrive on gentle rivalry, loving support

he term “sibling rivalry” often conjures negative connotations. But in the case of siblings Chaundra Clay and Terrence Covington, both principals in Durham Public Schools, a gentle rivalry between the two has paid off – for them and their students.

“Our staff say we’re very competitive with each other, that we both want to be the best,” said Clay, principal of the School for Creative Studies, referring to herself and Covington, principal of Neal Middle School.

“They say we’re especially competitive now because our schools were the top two middle schools to have growth,” she added, referring to the 2023-24 academic outcomes for their respective schools.

STRONG COMMUNITY ROOTS A healthy and productive competition, indeed. And it’s where the principals’ rivalry begins and ends, as they have always been supportive of each other in their careers and in their lives. Lifelong Durhamites, Clay was a member of the last class to graduate from Hillside High School when it was located on Concord Street (the site is now part of the N.C. Central University campus), while Covington was in the first freshman class at Hillside at its current location on Fayetteville Road.

Education was highly valued in the Covington family, as were strong faith and solid values around treating everyone with respect. Their mother, who originally had wanted to be a teacher, was a dietary technician at UNC-Chapel Hill. There, she met their father, who worked in the UNC Hospital pharmacy.

“Our upbringing and the way our parents raised us to stand ‘ten toes down’ on what you believe in and to treat folks right – we have carried that into what we do,” Covington said.

“The thing we took away from both of them was how they

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interacted with people; how they treated people; how people, in return, treated them,” he added. “They don’t meet strangers.

They talk to anybody and everybody about everything.”

TAKING DIVERGENT PATHS Clay developed a love for teaching through an aunt who was a Reading Recovery teacher, as well as through her own fifthgrade teacher.

“I’ve always loved kids, even when I was growing up. I kept kids in the summertime, and I always loved being around them,” she said. “And I was always telling my brother what to do.”

Clay did not, however, tell her younger brother to go into education and follow in her footsteps. He made that decision on his own years later.

Knowing she wanted to be a teacher early on, Clay obtained two bachelor’s degrees (one in family relations and child development and another in elementary education) and a master’s degree in school administration from NCCU. Covington initially chose a career as a behavior specialist.

After graduating from Fayetteville State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, he worked at the C.A. Dillon Youth Development Center in Butner.

Clay went straight to the classroom, first as a fifth-grade teacher at Lakewood Elementary School for five years. She then served as an assistant principal in Chatham County for several years before returning to Riverside High School, where she was an assistant principal for 12 years. She has been the principal at SCS since 2022.

After working for several years as a behavior specialist, Covington became a case manager for the Orange/Person/ Chatham Mental Health Center. While he enjoyed helping young people get their lives back on track, he began to realize that he should maybe try having an impact on their lives before they began to develop behavioral challenges.

SIBLING PRINCIPALS

“I started to see the lack of education that many of those kids were receiving,” he said. “It triggered me to go back to school to get onto the other side of this.”

Covington decided to pursue a master’s degree in school counseling and mental health counseling from NCCU. From there, he started as an in-school suspension (ISS) coordinator at Githens Middle School, then moved to the Durham Performance Learning Center (then located at the former Northgate Mall), where he worked for then-principal Dan Gilfort for years. Gilfort saw leadership potential in Covington.

“He ‘voluntold’ me to become a school administrator,” Covington said of Gilfort.

Covington obtained a second master’s degree from NCCU – this time in school administration. He was hired as an assistant principal at Neal in 2015, then became interim principal in 2022.

PRINCIPALSHIPS THE SAME YEAR This is where the friendly sibling rivalry – but mostly brotherly and sisterly support – kicked in. Right after he became interim principal at Neal, Covington heard of an opportunity for a principalship at SCS. “I called [Chaundra] and said ‘Creative Studies has an opening. If you don’t do the application, I’m going to do it for you,’” he said. “I felt like she was ready to take that step, and everything happens in an appropriate time.”

Clay did complete the application (herself, by the way) and got the job. Shortly thereafter, Covington was named permanent principal at Neal. “[Terrance] was still an interim principal at the time I became principal, and because I was the oldest, I felt like I should become a principal first. And I technically did!” she joked. “But I am happy for him.”

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Showcase of SCHOOLS!

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Principals and staff from across DPS shared with prospective families the best that their schools and programs have to offer. This annual event has become a must for prospective families who want to explore their educational options.

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FASHIONING ENTREPRENEURS

FASHIONING ENTREPRENEURS Holton Career and Resource Center builds career skills and a sense of community

arbershops and hair salons have long been social hubs for many communities.

High school students at the Holton Career and Resource Center are learning how to build a sense of community while also building skills for successful careers in barbering and cosmetology.

“Barbers play an important role in people’s lives, period,” said Mario Little, a Career and Technology Education teacher at Holton. “[Students] come here to get one thing and leave with so much more than what they bargained for.”

What barbering students bargain for is learning and mastering the technical skills they need to give great haircuts, learning how to run their own business, and racking up the hours of experience required to be certified as barbers upon graduation. What they leave with is all of this, plus a sense of how important a barbershop can be for the communities in which they live and work.

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“Being able to teach those students those aspects of community is important,” Little said. “That’s the approach I take.”

Little has been a licensed barber for 24 years and has owned his own shop, where he continues to serve clients, for 20 of those years. He said he has a sense of pride in knowing that many of his students have realized success as barbers, including at least one who already owns his own shop.

Barbering students, typically juniors and seniors, spend mornings at their base high schools to study their core subject classes. They attend Holton in the afternoon for classes and to log the hours they will need for certification. They need a total of 1,528 class and practice hours, much of which they can acquire via internships over the summer.

Upon graduation, students sit for the state board exam, which covers theory and practice. Once certified, they may begin working as full-time barbers.

FASHIONING ENTREPRENEURS

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FASHIONING ENTREPRENEURS

A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE Holton’s cosmetology students also need customers so they can practice their skills and gain the needed hours to qualify for their certification. Teacher Danielle Barrino touts her award-winning students as the best reason to come to Holton for a new ’do – and for a fraction of what a client might pay at a salon. The students are well-prepared and work under full supervision.

“We teach chemistry, anatomy, physiology, communication skills, hair design, nail structure, skin and nail disorders, and structure,” Barrino said. “We teach hair care, skin care, nail care… everything that falls under the cosmetology umbrella, in addition to business skills.”

Business skills seem to be particularly interesting to her students, Barrino said.

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“The entrepreneurial aspect of it is bringing more attention than ever to our program,” Barrino said. “People are now buying buildings and establishing salons, and they want to know how to successfully run a business.”

Cosmetology students must complete 1,248 hours of classes and practical experience, much of which they can attain with summer internships. After sitting for a state board exam that, like the barbering exam, includes theory and practice, they must serve as apprentices with licensed cosmetologists for six months before receiving their full licenses.

Barrino is especially proud of the awards that the barbering and cosmetology programs have received.

During a statewide SkillsUSA event last year, seven students from Holton competed, and all placed in several

FASHIONING ENTREPRENEURS

different categories, including a first-place win for barbering and natural hair and a second-place win in fantasy hair and makeup.

Like Little, Barrino has at least one student who is already operating her own shop.

“Blessed,” replied Barrino when asked about her experience at Holton. “I’m super blessed to be able to make that type of impact on students. I think about my instructors, how influential they were. That was a great experience, and hopefully, I’m creating that experience for my students as well.”

“

Blessed. I’m super blessed to be able to make that type of impact on students. I think about my instructors, how influential they were. That was a great experience, and hopefully, I’m creating that experience for my students, as well.

— Teacher Danielle Barrino

A SUPPORTIVE AND GROWING PROGRAM Holton Principal Kesha Futrell said she is proud of the program that the Holton teachers have built. It has grown significantly in the last several years, and there are slots available for next year’s program.

“The instructors are always challenging students to be creative, to do big, bold styles on their mannequins so they can learn industry trends,” Futrell said. “They also spend a lot of time learning about good customer service and the way you’re supposed to behave in a professional environment.”

Futrell especially likes the way the barbering and cosmetology teachers encourage students to interact and learn about each other’s craft.

“The students work really well together. They are back and forth all along; they learn with each other. They observe each other’s classes,” Futrell said. “And they exchange information.

The barbers learn how to do a roller set, and the cosmetologists learn how to use a razor and clippers!”

THE HOLTON CAREER AND RESOURCE CENTER The Holton Career and Resource Center, located at 401 N. Driver St. in Durham, is open to the community Monday through Thursday from 1:30 to 5 p.m. and Friday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Barbering services are $5 for adults and $3 for DPS students, young children, and those aged 62 and older.

Cosmetology services range from $5 to $35 and possibly a little more, depending on the service. All students are supervised by certified instructors. You may call 919-560-2219, ext. 33112 to schedule an appointment, but walk-ins are welcome.

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BUILDING BRIGHT FUTURES

BUILDING BRIGHT

FUTURES

Getting to graduation takes 13 Years of preparation igh school graduation is a time for reflection, gratitude, and – of course – celebration! Durham Public Schools will graduate approximately 2,700 students during spring ceremonies that will be held in May and June.

Every parent has their own personal story of the challenges they faced and the triumphs they enjoyed while navigating the winding road from “Wheels on the Bus” to “Pomp and Circumstance.” At the district level, the turning of the tassels also represents 13 years of dedication and

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BUILDING BRIGHT FUTURES

diligence in preparing students for life after high school, whether it be college, the military or the workplace.

“We really do start at the elementary level preparing our students for their postsecondary plans,” said Dr. Cherice Artis, a K-12 school counseling coordinator in Student Support Services. “We want to support academic rigor because the more rigorous their coursework, that gives them way more options.”

EXPLORING CAREER OPTIONS EARLY Information about career opportunities is shared early and often, beginning at the elementary level.

“We have career fairs and college fairs starting at the elementary school level just to let our students know that the sky’s the limit for whatever it is they might be interested in,” Artis said. She added that elementary school counselors visit classrooms and share presentations on various career options. However, the information is general and introductory, so as not to overwhelm young students.

“We definitely aren’t as specific about what you’d have to major in or become certified in,” Artis said. “The information at that level is more like what a day in the life of a firefighter or police officer might be, so students can get a good feel for what would be involved.”

COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS At the middle school level, school counselors use Xello, a college and career readiness software program. The program assists them in helping students make solid decisions regarding the classes they take and how those will help them in their future college and career choices.

“School guidance counselors and career development counselors (CDCs) work with students to complete lessons through the Xello program,” Artis said. “Xello features a ‘Matchmaker Interest Inventory’ to help students set career goals. It also offers a host of other things to guide students in their postsecondary plans.”

At the middle school level, students are instructed to begin paying attention to their learning styles and how those might inform what they intend to pursue beyond high school. The Xello program also helps students match their personality styles to careers for which they might be well-suited.

In the eighth grade, students are required to create their high school education plans.

Counselors work with them to ensure that they are selecting courses for which they are wellqualified and that will aptly prepare them for a variety of college and career options.

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BUILDING BRIGHT FUTURES

“I think it’s also important to note that many of our high schools have specialized career development programs where students can earn certifications in careers in which they are interested,” Artis said. “All of our schools have access to Durham Tech classes where they can earn college credit while still in high school.”

REAFFIRMING AND REFINING PLANS As students matriculate into high school, educators continue to work with them to ensure that their course selections align with their interests, without pigeonholing them or limiting them into one focus. The high school experience is carefully designed to allow students to maintain a good deal of fluidity as their interests change or deepen.

“In ninth grade, [students] revisit their interest inventory goals,” Artis said. “We continue with Xello. We perform

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BUILDING BRIGHT FUTURES

‘touchpoints’ with our students in grades 9 and 10, and they continually revisit and contribute to their education development plans.”

This continues into junior year, where students are encouraged to create resumes. Students also complete career guidance lessons through the Xello program. Lesson topics include: • How to define success • Learning to successfully interview for jobs • Selecting a college or university that suits you as a student, as well as prepares you for a career • Advocating for yourself in the working world • Time management By their senior year, students must revisit and revise their interest inventories one last time.

“We try to make sure that when they go off into the world, whether [to] college or military or work, students have the most current ideas of what would be in their best interest,” Artis said.

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO Artis said that one of the best ways parents can support their children as they approach high school graduation is to encourage them to spread their wings and explore options.

“I think it’s important for parents to safely let their babies go,” she said. “Next year, many of them will be on their own trying to tackle things for the first time by themselves.

Give them that opportunity to be independent while in the confines of their homes so they can make that safe transition. That will alleviate fears on both the part of the student and the part of the parent.”

She knows what she’s talking about, having been a school counselor for over 20 years.

“I love it because you get to see the change that you affect in a student,” Artis said. She added that she recently received an email from a former student’s parent, who told her that her daughter had recently graduated from college and was doing well, and thanked Artis for the role she played in her daughter’s success.

“Your work does make a difference in the life of a child, and that’s what you do it for,” Artis said.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR COLLEGE As Artis and her colleagues across the district work with students, they are intent on letting them know that college is within reach if that is what they want to pursue.

“We make sure that students understand that college is an option for everyone,” Artis said.

“We tell them that they should never think that they can’t go to college, regardless of where they live or how much money their family has.

There is money there available for you if you want to go to college.”

One of many ways this can happen is with the new NEXTNC Scholarship financial aid program that provides assistance for families making less than $80,000 per year. In addition, school counselors work with students to apply for other types of financial aid, including student loans and scholarships. The DPS Foundation also offers scholarship opportunities.

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GIVING BACK

GIVING BACK

Public education advocate Erika Wilkins returns home to support DPS

orn and raised in Durham, Erika Wilkins left home to pursue a career in education.

But she recently returned to serve as executive director of the DPS Foundation, an organization created expressly to raise awareness of the work being done at Durham Public Schools, as well as to raise funds for its programs.

Wilkins is now giving back to the district and the profession that she says gave her so much during her formative years as a student.

“We’re here to bring the community’s resources alongside schools and families wherever it’s needed,” said Wilkins, who understands the constraints of having high hopes for students while knowing that critical resources are out of reach.

MULTI-FACETED SUPPORT The DPS Foundation is a community-led nonprofit committed to fostering a more innovative, equitable public school system where every student can flourish. The foundation fulfills its mission by raising funds, partnering with schools to reinforce best practices throughout the district, advancing equity, and strengthening connections throughout the community.

During the 2023-24 school year, the foundation awarded nearly $250,000 to 39 schools through its Innovation Grants and the WHOLE Schools Fund. The foundation also raised awareness about its college scholarship applicants, doubling the number of applications and resulting in $62,500 in college scholarships to 27 DPS seniors from 13 schools.

An Evening to Shine – an annual arts and performance exhibition hosted by the foundation – drew 1,500 guests to the Durham Performing Arts Center and raised money for college scholarships. The foundation also supported more than 40 educators through mentorship and professional development opportunities and supported 130 DPS families through its family engagement work.

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A BACKGROUND IN EDUCATION After attending UNC-Chapel Hill on a full scholarship, Wilkins taught elementary school in Baltimore City Public Schools for four years. As a teacher, she created personalized materials and experiences for her students that resulted in a 93% success rate in annual student progress in their core subjects. She later served as a senior effectiveness coach and client team director with The New Teacher Project (TNTP).

As a teacher, Wilkins said she was filled with the same exuberance that she felt from the teachers and administrators she had as a student in Durham.

She said her experiences at Southwest Elementary and Jordan High Schools helped mold her dreams and feed her fascination with the art of teaching and being an educator. Attending school in Durham was “everything I expected,” she said.

Wilkins went on to serve as vice president of equity and learning at the New Teacher Center, then became an educational consultant with Valbrun Consulting. While there, she conducted audits and assessments designed to help nonprofit and educational leaders tackle disparities and put impactful equity-focused initiatives in place.

Along the way, she earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, and with the world at her fingertips, she chose to bring her gifts and newly acquired knowledge back to Durham.

COMING HOME Author H.L. Balcomb said, “Regardless the destination, all roads lead home.” That was true for Wilkins, who was hired as deputy executive director at the Foundation in May 2022, then took the reins as executive director in July 2023.

“I had the pleasure of serving in senior leadership roles in education organizations for eight years before returning to Durham to be closer to my parents and put down my kids’ roots.

I love this city,” she said.

GIVING BACK

The homecoming has been fast-paced and fruitful. With Wilkins’s leadership, expertise, and passion, the organization has provided steady support to school communities, even as DPS has wrangled with pay disputes, staff morale, and the need for stronger legislative support while keeping its focus on student achievement.

“It is important for us to ensure we’re not putting our thoughts on the issues, but to do our due diligence. I know DPS. It’s amazing, but it has its challenges,” Wilkins said. “Naming that is

so important. And I know the solutions to the challenges already exist in Durham.”

Giving back was central to how Wilkins was raised, so returning to Durham is a significant move. Acknowledging the space she occupies is just as important, she said.

“I’m a Black woman leading an organization, coming in to support a fantastic founder. The [foundation] board saw something in me. I felt honored and also proud.”

A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE Erika Wilkins still remembers the influence of principals like Mr. Guess at Southwest Elementary School and Susan Stewart Taylor at Jordan High School, where she graduated in 2005.

“Southwest was such a welcoming space. Mr. Guess did magic, and I couldn’t wait to go to school,” said Wilkins, who also fondly remembers retired Southwest principal-turned-volunteer, Dr. Dolores Paylor, who was “so warm.”

“I loved going to school because of the people. It was very much a community,” she said. Wilkins remains close with friends she made in elementary school and participates in alumni activities.

She also remembers Dr. Donald Jones, now principal at Lakewood Montessori, as her U.S. history teacher.

“He taught it accurately, and he made me like history,” Wilkins said.

As a student in the academically gifted program, Wilkins remembers hitting a snag on one particular test and there being a school-level discussion about the possibility of pulling her from the program. Her parents were contacted, and her teacher spoke on her behalf. “‘We know this is just a bad day for Erika,’” Wilkins recounted her teacher saying. She was retested and remained in the program, thanks to that teacher. She carried that experience and others like it with her when she became a teacher in the Baltimore City Schools.

“It really shaped my first year of teaching,” she said of that fourth-grade experience. She said she later told her mother about a student for whom she advocated, reminding herself of her own teacher’s decision to give voice to her struggles. Wilkins kept her student back at recess to practice her flashcards.

“I learned a different way to share information and fought hard for that student to have a second chance, very much because of that elementary experience,” she said. “I saw my teachers as having a partnership with my parents. I wanted to partner with parents as a teacher, not [with] a savior complex, and get past the fancy language. To say, ‘This is what’s happening, but this is what I know your child can do, and this is how we can show up.’ It’s a choice you have to make.”

Wilkins said she believes in having high expectations for kids, along with identifying resources, “to make sure they meet the bar. I knew that was a successful tactic because that’s what I experienced in school.”

Her senior-year high school math teacher helped shift Wilkins’s perspective. Her interest in going to college was “zero” at the time, with her sights set on becoming a cosmetologist. After her math teacher asked her how she planned to carry out the business of doing hair, she transferred into a business specialization at Jordan High School to learn how to be an entrepreneur. Wilkins eventually joined the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), which prepares students for careers in business, and won a state award through her participation.

Her teacher encouraged her to apply to colleges, partnered her with her counselor to work on the applications during lunch, and even paid for her application fees. She applied to UNC-Chapel Hill and to N.C. State University, but eventually accepted a full scholarship at UNC. She also received a scholarship from DPS Scholarship Foundation (which merged with the DPS Foundation in 2021). She now leads the organization that is continuing the scholarship foundation’s legacy of acknowledging academic skill in DPS students and easing the financial burden of college – something she benefited from herself.

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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.