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1993
FIRST
BLACK
INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT
  • Superintendent Larry Coble resigns. The assignment plan contributes to his decision.

  • Palmer Gill Friende, who became director of secondary education in 1960 and an assistant superintendent in 1971, becomes the district’s first African American Interim Superintendent. 

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1994
DON MARTIN BECOMES SUPERINTENDENT
  • Dr. Donald L. Martin becomes Superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.​

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  • Dr. Martin and School Board explore use of magnet schools.

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  • According to WS/FCS: A new plan to be developed due to projections regarding student enrollment-demographic changes; some overcrowding in schools and racial balance issues; reduce or eliminate cross-busing “to the extent practicable while maintaining integration”; increase black parental involvement to impact students’ academic performance by improving neighborhood elementary schools; provide involvement and ownership of children’s education through school choice program.

1995
SCHOOL CHOICE PLAN-BOARD ENDS INTEGRATION
  • County to be divided into eight elementary zones (4-5 schools); six middle school zones (2-3 middle schools) eight high school zones (1 regular high school).

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  • The New Plan begins with Zone 1 with the goal of full implementation of the plan over 3-4 years. 

  • End of Busing - WS/FCS released from court-ordered busing.

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  • The Board adopts a “School of Choice” plan and abandons their prior 23 YEAR commitment to control school assignment and integrate schools.

  • In 1995 + 1998 the Office of Civil Rights complaints filed against WS/FCS, alleging School Choice Plan unlawfully re-segregated schools. 

< CLICK TO LEARN ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE

< CLICK TO HEAR ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE

CAROL MONTAGUE DAVIS, WS/FCS EDUCATOR

COLLEN LANIER, RETIRED WS/FCS EDUCATOR

1996
FIRST EQUITY
COMMITTEE
  • In response to rising concerns over the new assignment plan, the Board forms an 18-member Equity Committee composed of community members to track racial and economic disparities.

1997
LEANDRO V. NORTH CAROLINA
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  • The Leandro v. The State of North Carolina case was named after Robb Leandro, an 8th grader, when the lawsuit was filed in Hoke County.

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  • The Leandro v. State of North Carolina case is a school funding case. School districts in five low-wealth counties and families sued North Carolina, in that children were not receiving the same level of educational opportunities as students in higher-income counties.

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  • The state Supreme Court ruled the North Carolina Constitution guarantees each child “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education.” The court said NC had failed in meeting the standard.

1999

JOYCE MACK, NATIVE + WS/FCS EDUCATOR

ATKINS HIGH SCHOOL BECOMES CERTIFIED LANDMARK
  • Atkins High School, located at 1215 North Cameron Avenue in Winston-Salem, has become certified on the National Register of Historic Places: “The former Atkins High School is a substantial landmark in Winston-Salem, representative of the 
    more impressive schools built in North Carolina cities in the 1920s and 1930s.”  

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  • The school, constructed in 1931-1932, is a Rosenwald School. It was the vision of Booker T. Washington and his staff at Tuskegee Institute to develop schools to improve education in the rural South. Julius Rosenwald, a trustee of Tuskegee Institute who became president of Sears Roebuck Company, became the funder. 

DESEGREGATION
STAMP
  • The Desegregating Public Schools stamp was issued May 26, 1999. It is apart of the Celebrate the Century:1950s commemorative stamp series 

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