We are off to a great start in the new year and have reached the 100th day of school already. Maybe I am just getting older, but every school year seems to just fly by! The month of February is the annual observance of Black History Month, a time to recognize the achievements, contributions and culture of African Americans. Therefore, I would like to take this time to highlight my alma mater:

There are 106 historically Black colleges and 251 Catholic colleges in the United States, yet only one is both Black and Catholic. That distinction belongs to Xavier University of Louisiana, which strives to combine the best attributes of both its faith and its culture.

Located in New Orleans, the small liberal arts college dates back to 1915, when St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament founded the coeducational secondary school from which it evolved. St. Katharine, supported by the interest of a substantial inheritance from her father, banker-financier Francis Drexel, founded and staffed many institutions throughout the U.S. in an effort to help educate Native Americans and Blacks. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in October, 2000.

Aware of the serious lack of Catholic-oriented education available to young Blacks in the South, St. Katharine came to New Orleans and established a high school on the site previously occupied by Southern University. A Normal School, offering one of the few career fields (teaching) open to Blacks at the time, was added two years later. In 1925 Xavier University became a reality when the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was established. The first degrees were awarded three years later. In 1927, a College of Pharmacy was opened. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Xavier continues to rank first nationally in the number of African American students earning undergraduate degrees in both the biological/life sciences and the physical sciences. The College of Pharmacy, one of only two pharmacy schools in Louisiana, is among the nation's top four producers of African American Doctor of Pharmacy degree recipients. In pre-medical education, Xavier ranks first in the nation in the number of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school.

Xavier is recognized as a national leader in the sciences and the liberal arts, maintaining its position as the #1 in the nation for producing the most African American graduates who successfully complete medical school, and most recently ranking as the nation's #2 HBCU by College Consensus.

Xavier University of Louisiana is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college with the distinction of being the only historically black Roman Catholic institution of higher education in the United States.

I am proud to be a graduate of such a prestigious Institution, Xavier University of Louisiana played a major role in developing me into the leader that I am today.

Happy Black History Month! This is the time of the year when we reflect on the inspirational individuals like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Mae Jemison, and many more who influenced our history and culture. Each one of them believed that they could make a change to help this world a better place. They started with a dream, set goals, and always had the hope to be someone who can learn, lead and inspire.

Through the use of PBIS and AVID systems, our teachers and staff are helping our students develop a growth mindset and believe in themselves. Our students are celebrated when they make right choices, work hard, and encourage others to do their best. Their actions are labeled as being safe, responsible, and respectful each day. We explicitly show them and celebrate their positive actions. In addition, they are reminded daily of the “Power of Yet”. When they encounter challenges, they know that they may not know it YET, but with practice, they will eventually get it. The power of believing in themselves is contagious!

Last month, we celebrated some amazing students who are continuing to follow the Wilson Way; Be Safe, Responsible and Respectful along with students who are demonstrating the Power of Yet by thriving at improving themselves. Having so many parents attend the celebration was extremely special, and the students loved having them be a part of their recognition. Each student is working towards becoming someone special, and we look forward to seeing what inspiring things these students do in the future!

We have several events coming up in the next few months. Please check out the event calendar for details to see what other amazing things our students are doing at Wilson!

Mrs. Wojcicki

Principal

Wilson Primary School

Happy February Wildcat Families

Love makes our friends a little dearer.

Joy makes our hearts a little lighter.

Faith makes our paths a little clearer.

Hope makes our life a little brighter.

Peace brings us all a little nearer.

It is hard to believe that January is gone already as we prepare for Parent-Teacher Conferences, 8th Grade Parent Meeting, AVID Family Night, and celebrating Black History Month. Spring will soon be here and our athletic department will be holding softball and track tryouts.

Just a few reminders:

• Cell Phones/Wireless Ear buds – students are not allowed to have these items.
• Dress Code – Please refer to pages 6-11 in your child’s planner for further details
• Tops: White, Grey, Maroon, and Navy
• Bottoms: Navy
• Jackets and Sweaters: White, Grey, Black, and Navy – Maroon only with Wilson Logo

We are Wildcats that show our:

C - Collaborating

L - Leadership

A - Accountable

W- Willingness

S – Succeed

I would like to recognize 12 Black Educators who changed history-

1. Rita Pierson, (“Every child needs a Champion”)
2. Carlotta Walls LaNier (youngest member of Little Rock Nine)
3. Charlotte Forten Grimke (first black teacher to work at the Penn School in South Carolina)
4. Kelly Miller (mathematician)
5. Fanny Jackson Coppin (first African American principal – born a slave)
6. Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser (first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology)
7. Dr. Jeanne L. Noble (appointed by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford to served on educational commissions)
8. Mary McLeod Bethune (once the highest ranking African American in government when appointed Director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration)
9. Septima Poinsette Clark (ran citizenship schools to help African Americans pass test required to register to vote)
10. Marva Collins (a recipient of National Humanities Medal for teaching teacher Socratic method of teaching)
11. Edmund Gordan (founder of Head Start and Urban Education at Columbia University)
12. Charles Hamilton Houston (argued cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, creating a legal foundation for the historic Brown v. Board of Education)

These leaders prove teachers have the power to change history. How will you make your mark?

Demetra Baxter-Oliver, PhD

Proud Principal

Wilson Elementary School

"Find the good. It's all around you. Find it, showcase it and you'll start believing it." -Jesse Owens.

In honoring Jesse Owens and his successful wins of the 1936 Olympic Games, we are reminded to look and find the good that surrounds us. Here at the Community Center, we hope to be that place where you find the good, whether that be in advancing your educational path, awareness of physical and nutritional health or looking for housing and employment opportunities. Helping everyone in all aspects of live is our goal and priority.

Wilson's Walking Club will be participating in the first annual Jesse Owens 5K Fun Run/Walk organized by one of our stakeholders Mountain Park Health Center on Saturday, February 25th. We encourage the Wilson community to participate.

Gaby Duran

Coordinator for Community Relations

Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space, once said, "Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations". What this means to me is not letting what other people think I am capable of stop me from reaching my goals. The AVID program in Wilson is designed to help our students imagine and prepare for their future college and career goals. If you would like to know more about AVID and how to reinforce at home the attitudes (e.g., growth mindset, optimism, etc.) and skills (e.g., organization, collaboration, etc.) it promotes, please go to the following website: https://www.avid.org/our-beliefs. Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to with a lot of hard work, practice, and determination!

Jason S. McIntosh, Ph.D.

Director of Advanced Learning Experiences

About Black History Month

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.

As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.

By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all colors on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.

The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first Black History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued Black History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.

(Excerpt from an essay by Daryl Michael Scott, Howard University, for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History)

We would like to give a huge THANK YOU and Shout Out to Antoinette and Rafael! Talk about going above and beyond! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! They have worn so many hats over the past month, I can’t even begin to list it all. But, please, when you see them – Tell them thank you!! They are providing quality support every day for our District with their incredible talents in custodial work, maintenance, and even stepping in to help the students get safely across the streets each morning and afternoon!

It’s Black History Month! Let’s talk about some amazing women in U.S. History.

Meet Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919). She found herself fighting a scalp condition that was causing her to lose her hair. Not having TikTok or YouTube to find solutions, she developed her own hair care treatment. She had such a mind for business, she became the “first self-made female African-American millionaire.”i

She helped many people… now think about this! Women in the United States could not even open their bank accounts until the 1960s and couldn’t obtain a credit card until the 1970s. This incredible woman, born in Louisiana just 2 years after the end of the Civil War, orphaned at 7 years of age, balding in her early adulthood, took it upon herself to not only develop for herself a new hair and scalp treatment, but then used her mind to build her into a million dollar business before women in the US even had a right to vote!!!

I love this quote of hers, “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”

Thanks to the movie, Hidden Figures, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan were recognized their incredible talents in the areas of mathematics and engineering. Because of K. Johnson’s ability to understand math and physics, the calculations were right for John Glenn’s space flight.

M. Jackson was the first African-American female engineer at NASA! She accomplished that in… not the seventies, not the eighties… no, she accomplished that in 1958! She had “to ask the City of Hampton for an exception” so she could take the classes she needed.

Dorothy Vaugh was a mathematician and computer programmer becoming the first African-American manager at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

We at Wilson are striving to spark excitement in the student.

Catherine King

Executive Director of Business Services

Child Find, a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enables states to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, who need early intervention or special education services. Special education services are available for children of any age (birth through 21 years). Wilson School District is responsible for locating, identifying, evaluating, and serving all children with disabilities (ages 3-21) and referring children ages 0-3 to AzEIP for evaluation and appropriate services. AzEIP is the Arizona Early Intervention Program for infants and toddlers. Wilson provides free and appropriate public education that includes special education and related services to children at public expense, under public supervision and direction without charge to parents. For all school-age students who are new to the district, the classroom teacher will complete screening activities within 45 days of enrollment. If any concerns are noted, the child will be referred for help. Parents who have concerns regarding their child’s education may contact the Special Education Department at Wilson, (602) 683-2400, ext. 4205.

Are you currently experiencing temporary living arrangements due to eviction, job loss or a traumatic event? Wilson School District offers services to families through the McKinney-Vento Assistance Act. Services such as enrollment and immunization assistance, uniforms or school supplies, community referrals and in some cases, transportation can be available. Your family may qualify due to living with another family or friend due to financial hardship or living in a shelter, transitional housing, or motel. Please contact your school office or Mariana Melendrez at 602-683-2515, ext 6002 for more information about this program.

Excellence in education

Website: https://www.wsd.k12.az.us/
Location: 3025 East Fillmore Street, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone: (602) 681-2200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilsonSchoolDistrictNo7