Community Awareness Portfolio
by Janet Jones
Community Awareness Project
Harding University High School Community
Harding's Historical Culture
Harding University High School is rich in historical culture. In 1935,the school was organized and named Harry P. Harding High School and opened as an all-white school. In 1957, the school was integrated when Dorothy Counts, the first black student, attended the school for only 4 days (Arriero, 2015). During this time, the school demonstrated "cultural destructiveness," the lowest level of cultural proficiency as suggested by Terrell & Lindsey (2009). Later, the school's name became Harding University High School of Math, Science, and Technology when it became a full magnet school. Finally, the school's name changed to Harding University High School.
To learn more about the historical cultural impact associated with Harding University High School, view student Shekeria Barnes's video, "Its Great to Be at Harding," produced in 2014 for her senior graduation project (Barnes, producer, 2014).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IPA9AftIHg&feature=youtu.be
To visit the Harding University High School home web page, click on the link below (Harding, n.d.).
http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/hardinguniversityHS/Pages/Default.aspx
Community Sites Reflecting Culture
1. West Boulevard Branch Library
West Boulevard Branch Library
Teen Services
Access to Information and Resources
Teens who have access to information and resources learn that culture is what makes one society different from another society and that cultural diversity enriches our schools and strengthens democracy. Nineteen percent of the households in Mecklenburg County do not have computer access with Internet capabilities (J. Jones, Personal communication, January 28, 2016).
Cultural Impact
Tara Smith, Teens Services Branch Manager, describes the teen patrons of the West Boulevard Branch Library as African American students who are from the lower middle-class, have a supportive family structure, and want to make use of technology and services not found within their home when they visit the library. Most teen students walk to the library in small groups or as sibling pairs after school in hopes of checking out reading books, playing a board game, working with a tutor to complete homework assignments, or to use computers for school work, entertainment or to pay family bills online (J. Jones, Personal communication, January 22, 2016). To learn more about the West Boulevard Branch library, visit https://www.cmlibrary.org/branch/west-boulevard
Libraries matter not only for greater student achievement and preparing our students to be career and college-ready, but also because school libraries are imperative for participatory democracy. The better we prepare our students to problem solve and to critically question the information they are seeing, hearing and using, the more likely they are to make informed decisions and to participate as citizens who can shape democracy. The West Boulevard Branch Library selects and provides resources to meet the learning needs of its community of learners, encourages teen patrons to independently evaluate and synthesize information to create new knowledge, and strives to seamlessly integrate technology into learning.
2. Showmars Resturant
Showmars Restaurant
Safe, Clean Teen Hangout
Community Outreach
Showmars demonstrates its commitment to the local community through charitable volunteer work, donations and events throughout the year, including Levine's Children's Hospital Family Fund Run, the Greg Olsen Foundation Golf Tournament, WSOC TV’s Family Focus Program, and the American Heart Association ("Showmars Casual Dinning," 2016).
Cultural Impact
3. Communities in Schools
Communities in Schools
Community Support to Stay in School
Tutoring and Mentoring
Cultural Impact
Communities in Schools is an nonprofit national organization which has successfully overcome the barriers to cultural proficiency, such as "resistance to change, systems of oppression and a sense of privilege and entitlement, as described by Terrell & Lindsey (2009). To view one of Communities in Schools success stories, select the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K29X_DbQQKI&index=4&list=PLtR8wZFLzAAdpy03vP3MXYsp-RKxE_Dzn
4. BiLo Grocery Store
B-iLo Grocery Store
Live and Work in the Same Community
Southeastern Grocers Foundation
Bi-Lo is a member of The Southeaster Grocers Foundation, which endeavors to alleviate local hunger affecting vulnerable populations through food distribution (Bi-Lo, 2016).
Cultural Impact
References
References
Arriero, E. (2015, February 15). Charlotte integration pioneer Dorothy Counts-Scoggins: ‘I was ahead of my time’. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved January 31, 2016, from http://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article10455449.html
Barnes, S. (Producer). (2014, August 18). It is great to be at Harding [Video file]. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IPA9AftIHg&feature=youtu.be
Bi-Lo. (2016). SEG Foundation & Sponsorships. Retrieved February 1, 2016, from https://www.bi-lo.com/community/seg-foundation
Communities in Schools Charlotte Mecklenburg. (2016). CISCharlotte.org. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.cischarlotte.org/
Communities in Schools Charlotte Mecklenburg. (2016). Meet Diamond. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.cischarlotte.org/what-we-do/cis-student-success-stories/meet-diamond
Harding University High School. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/hardinguniversityHS/Pages/Default.aspx
Jones Cultural awareness at West Boulevard [Telephone interview]. (2016, January 28).
Jones Cultural awareness interview at Showmars [Telephone interview]. (2016, January 22).
Saifer, S. (2011). Key points to remember about culture. In Culturally responsive standards-based teaching: Classroom to community and back (p. 10). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Showmars casual dinning. (2016). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://showmars.com/community
Showmars casual dinning. (2016). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://showmars.com/locations/freedom-drive
Terrell, R. D., & Lindsey, R. B. (2009). The cultural proficiency continuum. In Culturally proficient leadership: The personal journey begins within (pp. 10, 24-25). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
West Boulevard. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://www.cmlibrary.org/branch/west-boulevard