Press release from Asheville City Schools Foundation:
Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) honors community members in annual Celebration of Champions. 2017 Champion honorees highlight the work of community to enhance equity and support the achievement of all children. May 6t h at the Crowne Plaza Expo Center with registration and silent auction beginning at 5:15pm
Community supporters are essential in addressing and enhancing equity in our schools. This year, we honor community leaders, parents, and organizations that are building community around our children, expanding equity and opportunity, so that each child can be whole. This year’s event will feature their stories and celebrate the impact being made on children and teachers of Asheville City Schools. A cohort of Parent Champions, one from each of nine Asheville City Schools, reflects the diversity, assets, and supports that parents can provide. These individual and community Champions will be honored at the event:
Lifetime Achievement Champion, Alfred Whitesides: In 1950s Asheville, Alfred Whitesides, Sr., and Magnolia Kilgore Whitesides taught their children that the only way to fight segregation was with an education. Their son Alfred, Jr., took that message to heart. As a teenager, Al joined the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality (ASCORE) which led integration efforts in Asheville. Al Whitesides has fought for decades to ensure educational opportunity for the children of Asheville through our city schools and for the young people of North Carolina through our state university system. Dr. Whitesides served on the Asheville City Board of Education and the Board of his alma mater NC Central University, and he chaired the UNC-Asheville Board of Trustees. He currently serves as Buncombe County Commissioner, and mentors boys at Asheville Middle School through his fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi. Dr. Whitesides is most proud of his role as a husband, father, and grandfather. He and Mrs. Whitesides, who taught in the Asheville City Schools for 34 years, have two daughters, Kimberly Wilson and Sherry Poole, and three grandsons, Patrick, Erik, and Adrian. It is not surprising that Al Whitesides’ commitment to his community begins with commitment to his family; in this way, the importance of education is passed from generation to generation.
Community Champion, Asheville Writers in the Schools and Community (AWITSC): Committed to social justice and racial equity, Janet Hurley and Tamiko Ambrose Murray knew that Asheville’s children and youth needed outlets to voice their experiences and their passions, and they recognized a need for creative programming that involved artists of color as mentors in our schools. In 2011, along with Meggen Lyon and Asheville City Schools Foundation, AWITSC was formed and now provides innovative arts and creative writing opportunities to children, teens, and families in Asheville’s schools and communities. In 2016, AWITSC launched a bi-lingual online magazine program led by youth color, Word on the Street/La Voz de Los Jovenes. AWITSC programs build imaginative expression, academic achievement, self-worth, community connections, and social change.
Individual Champion, Sarah Reincke of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI): Volunteering has always brought Sarah Reincke joy. As a 16 year old, she arranged her schedule to leave school twice a week and volunteer at a preschool for deaf children. Years later, in the community she retired to, Ms. Reincke gives her time in the Asheville City Schools through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). She coordinates OLLI’s Civic Engagement Committee, spreading the joy of volunteering to the over forty OLLI members who she helps match with school placements. Some tutor individual students, and others assist classroom teachers–increasingly crucial roles in a time when many assistant positions have been cut. Whether sharing her latest vacation complete with souvenirs for each child, to working with small groups of students during reading group, or relaying a kind word or hug to a student who obviously needs it, Sarah enriches the educational experience for my students and myself. Her passion and compassion for students makes her one of their greatest supporters and advocates. I can’t imagine our classroom without her.” Multiply this impact by forty, and you have some idea of OLLI’s impact on the Asheville City Schools. Children smiling, reading aloud, connecting with a caring adult–Sarah Reincke and all the adult volunteers in OLLI’s Civic Engagement Program are helping to raise our community’s whole children.
Parent Champions:
Asheville High – Nancy Hutchins
SILSA – Alec Fehl
Asheville Middle School – Jessica Merchant Claxton Elementary – Pat Hall
Hall Fletcher Elementary – Angelica Wind Isaac Dickson Elementary – Gene Peyroux Vance Elementary – Allison Reece Asheville City Preschool – Luz Velazques2017 Celebration of Champions is made possible by these premier sponsors – The Omni Grove Park Inn, Mosaic Realty and Corner Kitchen Catering.
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