There was a time when Hillside High School in Durham was a feeder school for N.C. Central, the university literally down the street.
But times are changing, reports Stan Chambers in today's Durham News, and now most Hillside students avoid the quick jaunt down Fayetteville Street in favor of a university outside of Durham.
But now the university wants to dig into those old roots once again and is becoming more aggressive about local recruiting.
Hillside High School Principal Hans Lassiter believes a Wake County judge finally "got it" when it comes to public education.
Lassiter, along with other school officials, was in a Wake County court last week as Durham, Guilford County and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools explained to Superior Court Judge Howard Manning how they were improving their low-performing schools. Manning threatened to shut down 66 high schools across the state, including Hillside, in 2004 due to low test scores.
"The judge 'got it' and wondered in writing and aloud: 'How on earth are the Dudleys, Hillsides and Carvers ever going to grow and demonstrate above average performance if they continue to receive students from their feeder patterns who are woefully undereducated and unprepared for high school work,'" Lassiter wrote in a recent blog post to school staff.
He added that early indicators show possibly up to 60 percent of Hillside students could pass this year's state tests, which would be the most in school history.
"Judge Manning seemed surprised by the growth that our school has enjoyed during the first semester and was impressed with preliminary benchmark data that points to continued growth and unprecedented success in June," Lassiter wrote.
Lassiter told his staff to continue focusing on the curriculum, plan their review sessions with help from other teachers and end of course summary reports and continue to be "very communicative and transparent with your students regarding the importance and significance of the next three weeks."
"I left the courtroom with a promise from Judge Manning that our data would be examined closely and that if he needed to speak with me/us about how we performed during the 2009-10 school year, he would contact me for an opportunity to provide insight as to our achievement or possibly the lack thereof," he wrote. "I certainly choose the former topic and not the latter!"
In today's Durham News, more on the recent selection of N.C. Central University's Marching Sound Machine band to perform in the 2011 Tournament of Roses.
That's the New Year's Day Rose Bowl parade, one prong of the holy trinity of achievement for marching bands. (Also coveted: a slot in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the John Philip Sousa Foundation's Sudler Trophy recognizing the best band in the land.
In inviting the NCCU band to the big bash, the parade's director, Stacy Houser, wrote to band director Jorim Reid that the band was chosen because of "excellent musical talents, entertainment value, performance skills, efforts and your outstanding directorship."
Some factoids on the parade, in case you're thinking of going:
* The parade is held in Pasadena, Calif.
* It starts at 8 a.m. local time. The route is about 5.5 miles and the parade lasts about 2.5 hours.
*The parade draws about 40 million television viewers each year.
Click here for more on the parade.
UPDATED: It's Scott Savol, a finalist on American Idol season four. Savol is giving a guest motivational speech for students in a Hillside assembly. He is also likely to sing this morning.
Savol made it to the top 5 of contestants in season four. He is married and a father - but he was also known for a controversy that season. That's because Savol had previously been charged with misdemeanor assault for hitting his girlfriend and mother of his son with a telephone on Valentine's Day 2001. Savol pled the charge down to disorderly conduct and received probation while also taking a domestic violence class. I wonder if he'll be discussing that with the students.
Looks like there's going to be a surprise visitor at Hillside High school tomorrow.
New principal Hans Lassiter hinted as much on his Twitter account:
"Someone SPECIAL is coming to HHS on Friday morning! This is the FIRST in our HOPE Series! Stay tuned! It's gonna be DA BOMB!"
Following a visit by Bill and Melinda Gates to the Performance Learning Center two weeks ago, I'm betting it won't be small potatoes.
Pat Nobles believes it because she experienced it.
"It is amazing what several neighborhoods can do when they work
together," she writes in an e-mail message announcing Saturday's
season-ending tournament for a Durham youth baseball league that almost
didn't have a beginning this year.
Thursday is going to be messy at Duke.
At Duke Chapel, the university is hosting a celebration of the life of John Hope Franklin, the civil rights pioneer and scholar, and his wife Aurelia Whittington Franklin.
That's at 11 a.m. and is expected to be a popular event, what with former President Bill Clinton heading the list of notables planning to attend.
Across campus, there will be three public high school graduations throughout the day at Cameron Indoor Stadium, adding to what will surely be a big old traffic congestion nightmare.
Hillside high holds graduation at 8 a.m. Northern high is at noon, and Durham School of the Arts is at 4 p.m.
Duke officials say heavy traffic is expected and parking on campus will be limited. Visitors are urged to use Duke's bus system.
Parking for the high school graduations will be available in the Blue Zone parking lot on Duke University Road and the Whitford Lot on Whitford Drive. Participants, guests and Blue Zone permit holders can enter the lot at the Iron Gate on Duke University Road. The Whitford Drive lot will be open for Duke permit holders, special guests and handicapped parking.
Folks attending the John Hope Franklin celebration at Duke Chapel should park either in the Bryan Center parking garage or in lots along Duke University Road near Chapel Drive, where shuttles will bring them to campus.
Or, you may just want to walk from wherever you're coming from. It may be quicker.
Thursday is going to be messy at Duke.
At Duke Chapel, the university is hosting a celebration of the life of John Hope Franklin, the civil rights pioneer and scholar, and his wife Aurelia Whittington Franklin.
That's at 11 a.m. and is expected to be a well-attended event, what with former President Bill Clinton heading the list of notables planning to attend.
Across campus, there will be three public high school graduations throughout the day at Cameron Indoor Stadium, adding to what will surely be a big old traffic congestion nightmare.
Hillside high holds graduation at 8 a.m. Northern high is at noon, and Durham School of the Arts is at 4 p.m.
Duke officials say heavy traffic is expected and parking on campus will be limited. Visitors are urged to use Duke's bus system.
Parking for the high school graduations will be available in the Blue Zone parking lot on Duke University Road and the Whitford Lot on Whitford Drive. Participants, guests and Blue Zone permit holders can enter the lot at the Iron Gate on Duke University Road. The Whitford Drive lot will be open for Duke permit holders, special guests and handicapped parking.
Folks attending the John Hope Franklin celebration at Duke Chapel should park either in the Bryan Center parking garage or in lots along Duke University Road near Chapel Drive, where shuttles will bring them to campus.
Or, you may just want to walk from wherever you're coming from. It may be quicker.
Hillside High School had to call off its Senior Awards Ceremony, scheduled for Thursday night, after a worker accidentally cut a power line yesterday afternoon.
According to Durham Public Schools spokesman Michael Yarbrough, "It has been repaired and all is well, but they had to cancel and are in the process of rescheduling for sometime next week."
The school is trying to get a new date set before the end of today.
The accident happened during work to enlarge the school cafeteria.
Wake Forest recruit is the state girls player of the year.
