Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton speaks during a town hall meeting held in the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church, 900 College St., Monday evening. Thornton talked, as did other panelists, to issues affecting the minority community in Sampson County and what is being done to reach out to minorities and what can still be accomplished.
Panelists, answering prepared questions, outlined their various endeavors in addressing the minority community and urged all residents to do one important thing — participate, play a role in the process. The Sampson County chapter of the NAACP sponsored the event, which was attended by about 25 others. It was held at First Baptist Church at 900 College St.
Closing the
educational gap
Half of the Sampson County Schools’ student population — 50.3 percent — “is composed of minority students,” stated Charlotte Murphy, assistant superintendent for education and student services for the county school system. “We look very closely at the performance of minority students at each school and then develop school-wide strategies.”
Murphy said a main goal was to close the achievement gap between minority students and the rest of the school population, and to ensure the number of minority students reaching proficiency increases.
“The overall goal of Sampson County Schools is to decrease the (achievement) gap from 22.6 percent (below proficiency) in 2007-08 to no more than 15 percent by the year 2010,” Murphy attested.
Remediation, focused intervention and tutoring have all been utilized to meet the needs of all students, she said. Bilingual tutors have similarly worked with “migrant students” in an effort to break down the language barrier that sometimes exist, Murphy furthered.
Robert Taylor, assistant superintendent for student services for Clinton City Schools, credited the implementation of a fifth block at Clinton High School with giving students more time for remediation and to meet with teachers regarding schoolwork.
“At this point, we’ve seen some good results with that,” said Taylor.
He also pointed to after-school programs and an AT&T grant received for dropout prevention, which he said will go a long way in promoting programs that help keep students in school.
The more involved,
the better
Taylor and Murphy each agreed the level of scholastic achievement any student enjoys can be traced back to his teacher and parental involvement, which is key.
“If we can have a student reading effectively by the third grade, that will help as they matriculate to the schools,” Taylor said. “We know that one of the best things we can do is recruit high-quality teachers to help students. We also want to make sure parents are helping their kids.”
Murphy said, regardless of race, parents play a vital role in education.
“We encourage positive parental involvement,” she noted. “We have much, much more involvement from parents in the sports arena. If we could just get some of that enthusiasm and encouragement in academics, that certainly would help us and help these students meet these academic goals.”
Murphy said it is important that students know what is expected of them.
“We need to communicate high expectations to these students so they are forced to work toward their potential,” she remarked. That includes taking honors and higher-level classes.
As parents, teachers, principals and others lay down the foundation for young students, it is important role models continue their presence as those same children grow up, Sampson County sheriff Jimmy Thornton said.
“All these play a key role in the outcome of each of our citizens,” Thornton conveyed.
It is essential that residents get involved, and stay involved, in what is going on in their community, Thornton said. A vested neighborhood, he said, becomes a safe one.
“We, as citizens, set the tone as to whether we’re going to let that activity continue or if it’s going to stop,” the sheriff commented. “Once that element knows you’re not going to put up with it anymore, you’re going to see a change. They’ll get the message that, if they’re going to continue with that activity, they’re going to have to do it elsewhere. Without question, the minority community plays a vital role in letting us know what’s going on. Without the community, we’re hurting.”
The success of any law enforcement hinges on that participation by a community, Clinton police Chief Mike Brim told those at the town hall forum. A pre-selected question to Brim’s department asked what the minority community can do to help reduce crime.
“That has already happened,” Brim announced. “We have seen a 30 percent decrease in criminal activity in District 5 in the last three years. At the same time, were have seen 1,000 calls per year increase (in that area).”
District 5 is predominantly minority and Brim said the spike in calls, coupled with a decrease in crime, could be attributed to an increased trust in the department.
Answering another question, Brim also noted the minority hires that have been in recent years. In the last three years, he said, there have been 10 people hired into the Police Department. Six have been minorities. In the same time, four officers have received promotions, two of them black.
Another panelist, city manager John Connet said that, with the “heavy hand” of law enforcement in place, a “soft hand” was needed to guide the city in revitalizing run-down areas and ensure houses are kept up to code. That has been done in District 5 with the purchase of properties by the city and use of grant money for areas around Barden Street and the Sampson Center.
Connet announced that the city is now looking to form a community development program through which low-to-moderate income housing can be offered in the city. That is still a while from being reality, but is now in the works.
“We can’t just spend all our time removing houses, we need to start building them back,” Connet noted.
That kind of initiative and promotion of the area was just as necessary in education, Murphy stated. She said locals often speak ill of their own Sampson County, which does not help in recruitment and retention of teachers.
“Be positive, be positive, be positive,” she told those in attendance. “People say ‘they don’t have money, they don’t have resources because we are so rural. Help us promote the aspects of our community.”
An ‘outstanding’ message, but not many ears
Dwight Miller, president of the local NAACP chapter, expressed his pleasure with the wealth of information provided by panelists and said he hoped the NAACP would have a close partnership with the various agencies. He said packets of information would be dispensed by the NAACP at similar meetings across Sampson in future months.
“We’ll take these packets and pass them throughout the county,” said Miller. “We want to work as a team. Our goal is to be ahead of the problems. Your priority is our priority and our priority is your priority. That’s what a joint partnership is. We can be a resource to help you, to help support the entire community and make it better.”
Following the panel discussion, Miller noted the “outstanding job” each panelist did speaking to everyday issues that affect the minority community.
He just wished, he said, there were more people to hear it. Of the 25 people in attendance, however many were local school, government and NAACP officials.
Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.
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