top of page
1990 new .png
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. 

GILL FRIENDE.png
GILL RUNNING FOR SUPERINTENDENT.png
1994
DON MARTIN BECOMES SUPERINTENDENT

  • Dr. Donald L. Martin becomes Superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.​

​

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

​

  • 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).

​

  • 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.

​

  • 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
97 LEANDRO.PNG

  • 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.

​

  • 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.

​

  • 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.”  

​

  • 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 

bottom of page