3/24/10 Local teen news

Wake schools end diversity policy - By a 5-4 vote, the Wake school board voted to end three decades of having race or socioeconomic status as a factor in student assignment of schools, instead deciding to create neighborhood community schools.  “This gives us our direction now,” said John Tedesco. “We’re now going to community schools. This will give parents more stability.” During a public comment period, police removed more than 20 people, mostly in their teens and early 20s, who sat in the hallway outside the meeting room and pierced the proceedings with loud chanting: “No resegregation in our town! Shut it down!” (N&O)

Apex robotics team reaches finals – Apex H.S. robotics team will compete against 23 countries in the FTC World Championships next month in Atlanta and which will be televised on ESPN.“They like this club because they actually get to do something,” said the team’s coach, Faith Starr, a teacher at Apex High School and herself a robot builder when she was a student at Southeast Raleigh High School. “They have to figure out how to design angles that will put the balls on target. They’re using trigonometry, not just learning it in a book.” (Cary News)

A.P. credits on rise with UNC students - Arriving with college credits allows students more schedule flexibility or the ability to graduate early, but some professors are worried that the quality of education is decreased by so many students receiving college credits for high school classes.  “I think it has hurt the quality of the degree for our best students,” said economics professor Ralph Byrns. He said he thinks the University’s emphasis on producing graduates encourages them to award credit to students that could decreases the value of student degrees if they graduate too quickly. (Daily Tar Heel)

Auto class now popular at Durham Tech – Due to the economy, a new co-op program and the Toyota effect, enrollment has doubled in the Automative Systems Technology class at Durham Tech.  “All these Toyota recalls have convinced people — they need a lot of training to work on cars,” Smith said. “They’re a lot more complicated than they used to be.” (Herald-Sun)

3/10/2010 Local Teen News

1,000 Clayton teens celebrate sexual purity - Clayton teens gather at “Silver Ring Thing” abstinence event, where teens are taught that sex is dangerous and waiting is better.  The silver rings represent a vow to not have sex until marriage. “God created us to be with a certain woman,” said Tyler Franks, 18, of Angier. “You’re not supposed to have sex until you’re with that woman.” (N&O)

Teen plans ’2010 Clayton Teen Fest’ – For her senior project, Clayton High School student Jordan Wing has spent over 200 hours planning this March 20 ‘state fair-type’ event that will bring students to God in a ‘non-threatening, fun environment.’When Wing went to Winterfest in Virginia with members of her church, . the 700 that accepted the Christian faith gave her what she calls the “holy shivers.”“It really influenced me a lot,” she said. “It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” (FV Independent)

East Garner school initiates Haiti project - An English as a Second Language class spent a month researching Haiti and painting chairs to raise money for Red Cross.  Juan Aguilar wrote, “If I help Haiti, I can make a very big difference in someone’s life. That is what the power of one is all about. You don’t need physical power; your mind is your power.” (Garner Citizen)

NC State students plan for Alternative Spring Break – Instead of hitting the beaches, a number of NC State students are preparing for public-service trips throughout the world, although not to Haiti. Last year Nadeem Elborno went to New Mexico to work with the Navajo community. ”I can honestly say when I went on my trip last year, it changed my life,” Elborno said. “It teaches you to see the world through the eyes of the people you’re serving.” (MyNC.com)

Photos of Wake County’s 2010 Pieces of Gold by photographer Travis Long – (N&O)

3/2/2010 Teen News: (∆) local and national

(∆)H.S. JROTC finding new success – 100 schools are on the waiting list to add JROTC programs, which supporters say is a leadership training program rather than an Army recruiting mechanism.  95-99% of JROTC members graduate on time and 30-50% of members nationally join the military after graduation. “It has really taught me how to be a better person,” said Chad May, 15, a sophomore. “My grades have improved drastically since joining.” (N&O)

Cheerleader fined $27K for file sharing – A federal court decided that Whitney Harper couldn’t use her ignorance of the law as a defense for file sharing 37 songs with her friends in high school.  “I knew I was listening to music. I didn’t have an understanding of file sharing,” she said. “Harper cannot rely on her purported legal naivety [sic] to defeat the … bar to her innocent infringer defense,” the New Orleans-based appeals court ruled unanimously, 3-0. (WIRED)

(∆)Teen archer hopes for Olympics - 13-year -old Miles Heyman, who has won several state and national archery contests for his age group, enjoys the discipline and social aspects of the sport.  “There’s more drive for perfection in archery than any other sport I’ve tried,” he said. “He understands that luck is not part of the equation,” Kristoff said. “The top archers exhibit type-B personalities. They’re analytical, they’re process driven.” (N&O)

Times’ story on Wake County schools – The New York Times summarizes the recent controversy over the diversity plan in Wake County schools. Across the country, research shows that students of all races and backgrounds perform better in diverse schools, said Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Diversified schools typically have higher graduation rates, more college acceptances and fewer students in the criminal justice system.  But the new board members cite other statistics: a countywide graduation rate that has fallen over the past five years, rising suspensions and a widening performance gap between poor and wealthy students. (NYT)

2/17/10 Teen News: local(∆) and national

(∆)DSA grad wins car design contest - Sean Coleman’s design for an eco-friendly car beat 1 million other designs to win the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas (SEMA) Urban Concept Car Competition.  He learned to sculpture as a student at Durham School of Arts and his prototype will be built this fall.  “Designed for, not highway use, but getting to work in the city, making a small run to the grocery store. I guess it’s the moped of the car world,” he said. (WTVD)

Student can sue over Facebook suspension – A federal judge decided that a Florida student can proceed with her case against a school district that suspended for creating a Facebook page that was critical of her English teacher.  “This is an important victory both for Ms. Evans and Internet free speech,” her lawyer said, “because it upholds the principle that the right to freedom of speech and expression in America does not depend on the technology used to convey opinions and ideas.” (NYT)

(∆)Knightdale student lobbies for AP class – When Knightdale High School decided not to offer an AP chemistry class, award-winning scientist Chelsea Sumner has rallied and organized her peer students to revamp the science program.  She texted friends. She visited classrooms. She talked it up. And now, one month later, she has names of 30 people who want to take the AP course. (East Wake News)

Profile of 14-year-old political pundit - Author of best-selling book Defining Conservatism: The Principles that will Bring Our Country Back, 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn is conservatism’s youngest star.  “Here’s the deal,” he says, “I’m not like a lot of my colleagues who think President Obama’s goal is trying to harm the country. That’s insanity. That’s out there. That’s loony tunes.” (Daily Beast)

(∆)Wake County school chief Del Burns resigns (N&O)

2/05/10 Teen news: (∆)local and national

Can schools punish students for Facebook postings? – Two federal courts have recently ruled differently, one deciding that a school can suspend a student for posting a sexually explicit parody of the principal while a different federal court ruled schools have no right to police the Internet.  “The law was unclear and now it’s in a state of chaos,” said lawyer Witold Walczak of the American Civil Liberties Union. Also, a Tampa student says he was kicked out of the National Honor Society for creating aFacebook page that was critical of his school. (Washington Post)

Taylor Swift backlash rages – Is Taylor Swift an immensely talented artist or merely a cardboard creation of the Nashville music industry?  MTV has compiled comments from her greatest supporters and her greatest detractors. Also, a link to her label head who blamed her Grammy’s performance on a “volume problem in the ear.” (MTV)

(∆)Southern Durham H.S. rebuilds wrestling program – Since James Taylor assumed coaching duties, Southern’s wrestling program has expanded from 12 to 25 wrestlers and on the verge of winning the Pac-6 championship for the first time. “That’s what hurt us our first two years,” he said. “Everybody was skeptical about wrestling, so we printed out a list of all the NFL players that wrestled and it was over 200.” (Durham News)

(∆) Apex church to offer free prom dresses - “There are a lot of girls that would like to go to the prom but the way the economy is not everyone has the finances to go,” said shop committee member Sydney Froom. “We have so many young people here in Apex so we asked for donations and they have been pouring in.” The Prom Shop will be held Friday, Feb. 19 from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon at Apex UMC. (Fuquay Varina Independent)

(∆) Wake County school news – NAACP leader urges pastors to fight for diversity policy (N&O),  Wake Co. Ed. chair explains status of meeting with NAACP (WRAL) and 14 Wake County magnet schools win national awards (N&O)