ODE Community Outreach
Outreach Programs
Levi A. Simon III Scholarship Awards
In 1999, ODE began awarding the Levi A. Simon III Scholarship in memory of Levi A. Simon III. Levi, the son of ODE member Sheila Simon, was killed in a senseless act of violence in 1998. Levi was a graduate of Redan High School who was set to enroll at Ft. Valley State College as a Mass Communications major with an Arts minor.
Scholarships are awarded in three categories:
- Redan High School graduating seniors majoring in Mass Communications, Law, the Arts or Education.
- Graduating seniors from any DeKalb County School System High School majoring in Mass Communications, Law, the Arts or Education.
- Children of ODE members who are graduating high school seniors.
The scholarship is administered in conjunction with the Family Support Center, a Decatur based non-profit organization. The scholarship is funded by contributions of ODE members, friends of the Simon family and other members of the community. If you would like to make a interested a donation to the fund please send a check or money order made payable to Family Support Center, Attn: Simon Scholarship. Mail your contribution to ODE, PO Box 538, Decatur, GA 30031 Donations to the Family Support Center are tax deductible.
This year’s application deadline was April 25.
2000 Recipients
Aaron Baker
Towers High School
Ethan Candis
Lithonia High School
Rhonda Crenshaw
Redan High School
Douglas Henry
Columbia High School
Toshia Jackson
DeKalb School for the Arts
Shalonda Jordan
Towers High School
Rebecca Lane
Lithonia High School
Rodney Lee
Stephenson High School
Courtney McCutchen
Avondale High School
Corey Neal
Southwest DeKalb High School
Candace Newman
Redan High School
Amber Roberts
Redan High School
Bakari Small
North Atlanta High School
Richard L. Stephens III
Lakeside High School
1999 Recipients
Chulrae Bonds
Redan High School
Marcus Scott
Southwest DeKalb High School
Dawn Gordon
Stephenson High School
Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment-ABLE
After quietly working with ABLE for three years, the ODE Executive Board took the important step in June 2000 to become a member of the Industrial Areas Foundation Affiliate. (IAF) ABLE is a multi-racial community organization working to improve schools, neighborhood services, housing opportunities and jobs programs. Its mission is to build a powerful, broad based coalition that helps citizens in all socio-economic levels to be involved in the decision making process that affects their lives and communities.
Composed of about 20 congregations representing eight religious denominations in the metropolitan area, ABLE engages the support of its 20,000 member families, partnering with government agencies and the business community to improve the quality of life in Atlanta and surrounding neighborhoods.
ABLE, founded in 1992, trains and guides volunteers to join together in citizens groups to address their local concerns. The goal is to empower individuals by training community leaders and by building a broad-based, autonomous organization to improve the economic and political structures that affect their lives. ABLE played the key role in persuading the DeKalb Board of Education to dramatically increase the school maintenance budget and expand after school programs.
We strongly believe that being a member of ABLE will help ODE and its members to more effectively convey our concerns so that we can improve education and bring about positive, constructive and workable education reform in DeKalb County as well as improving the quality of life here.
Other members of ABLE include:
All Saints Episcopal Church
Cathedral of St. Phillip Episcopal Church
Central Presbyterian Church
Epiphany Episcopal Church
Liberty Baptist Church
First African Presbyterian Church
New Life Presbyterian Church
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Buelah Baptist Church
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church
First A.M.E Church
Wesley Chapel United Methodist
Springfield Baptist Church
St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church
First Iconium Baptist Church
Rice Memorial Presbyterian Church
Atlanta Unity Church
Holy Innocents Episcopal Church
St. Jude’s Catholic Church
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
In 1999, a group of DeKalb County Media Specialists approached ODE and asked us to sponsor the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. ODE has sponsored the events in March 2000 and March 2001.
The reading bowl was the brainchild of Helen Ruffin, formerly the Media Specialist at Sky Haven Elementary. After serving on the nominating committee in 1985 for the Georgia Children’s Book Award, Mrs. Ruffin decided the best way to inspire more of her students to read the books on the list would be to have a reading competition with another school.
In 1986 students from Sky Haven competed against students from Terry Mill Elementary. Each year after that more schools participated in an informal competition answering questions about that year’s Georgia Book Award nominees.
In 2000, with ODE sponsorship, the competition was named the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, in honor of Mrs. Ruffin who is now retired, and moved to its new home at Columbia High School in Decatur with nearly 20 schools competing. In 2001 nearly 30 schools competed in an Elementary School Division and a Middle School Division. Over 300 children participated in this year’s event. The Reading Bowl is successfully meeting its main purposes:
1. Turn students on to reading
2. Encourage independent reading for pleasure
3. To improve comprehension skills
4. To foster strong support for the media center which is the key to successful program in the schools
5. To encourage reading through friendly team competition
PeachSeed Storytelling Festival and Conference for Young Tellers
In December 1995, ODE provided the initial seed money for the 1st PeachSeed Storytelling Festival and Conference for Young Tellers held at the Decatur Library. The first festival featured professional storyteller Bobby Norfolk. Over 60 children attended 6 different storytelling workshops. The festival was so successful that we decided to make it an annual event beginning in 1997, and the festival was moved to Rowland Elementary School in Stone Mountain. The 6th PeachSeed Festival was held May 19, 2001.
The PeachSeed Festival offers between 15 and 20 different workshops each year for children in pre-K through 8th Grade. Classes are offered in various aspects of storytelling as well as other areas of the arts. The small interactive classes of high interest to children have become the trademark of the festival. The success of the festival has attracted funding from many sources including the DeKalb Council for the Arts, the Georgia Humanities Council, the State of Georgia as well as Kroger and Publix.
The goal of the festival is to connect children to learning through Storytelling and other art forms. Storytelling is an important tool in helping children to become better readers.
DeKalb Storytelling and Literacy Project
In 1999, ODE was awarded an Urban Grant from the National Education Association for the DeKalb Storytelling and Literacy Project. The goal of the project is to increase a love of reading in low-income children through storytelling and other interactive literary activities and by helping them to build home libraries. The initial focus of the project was the Tobie Grant Public Housing Project in Scottdale, working with children attending five different elementary schools. In the first year over $3,500 worth of books were given to children through the grant and through donations from Clairmont Hills Baptist Church and the Chapel Hill Elementary School Beta Club.
Professional storyteller, LaDoris Davis was contracted to work with senior citizens living at Tobie Grant. She taught them basic storytelling techniques and started taking them to DeKalb County Schools to tell stories to children.
ODE members and other members of the community volunteer time to read to students, listen to them read and tutor them. Our premiere volunteer is Mr. Ray Wetzel who works regularly with several children.
In 2000, ODE was awarded another NEA Urban Grant to extend the project for a second year. The program was expanded to provide free storytelling programs to low-income schools throughout DeKalb County as well as continuing the work at Tobie Grant. During Read Across America this year, ODE gave every child at Medlock Elementary School in Decatur a book. We also started working with two 2nd grade classes, one at Indian Creek Elementary and one at Rowland Elementary. Each student in the class was given a copy of every book that a volunteer read to the class. The teachers reported a marked increase in enthusiasm for reading as well as improved reading abilities in most of the students. We hope to be able to expand the program in the 2001-2002 school year.
In April 2000 ODE held its first Town Hall Meeting. Over 150 people assembled at Rehoboth Instructional Center to discuss HB 1187, A+ Education Reform Act of 2000. HB 605, Improved Student Learning and Discipline Act of 1999. Unexpectedly most of the conversation centered around HB 605 which went into effect July 11, 2000 and gives classroom teachers the authority to bar chronically disruptive students from their classrooms. Based on questions and suggestions made by ODE members at the meeting, the DeKalb County School System (DCSS) made several changes in its proposed implementation policy. Due to the success of the first meeting, we decided to continue the project and center the discussions on issues and books concerning Education Reform.
During the 2000-2001 school year ODE held five Town Hall Meetings on various subjects. The first two centered on Education Reform and the DCCS Curriculum Blueprint. In December we held a meeting to discuss Alfie Kohn’s book, The Schools Our ChildrenDeserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and Tougher Standards. About 20 teachers, parents and administrators participated in a lively discussion of the topics in the book. Many of the teachers present expressed concern that the move to tougher standards is having the effect of stifling teacher creativity.
The January 2001 Town Hall Meeting featured Roger Erskine of the University of Wahingtong K-12 Institute Roger also serves as Co-Director for the Teacher Union Reform Network and served as the Executive Director of the Seattle Education Association. He discussed reforms instituted by the late Gen. John Stanford when he was Superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools.
Our last Town Hall Meeting was held in February 2001 at The Carter Presidential Center. A diverse panel of 6 people discussed Phillip C. Schlechty’s book, Schools for the 21stCentury: Leadership Imperatives for Educational Reform. NEA Director Jackie Henry and WXIA-TV Education Editor Donna Lowry moderated the discussion. A healthy exchange of ideas occurred.
We will continue out Town Hall Meeting series during the 2002-2003 school year. Our goal is to raise knowledge and awareness among teachers and the community about important issues concerning Education Reform. Our fist meeting to be held in August or September will be a discussion of Gen. John Stanford’s book, Victory in Our Schools.
Levi A. Simon III Scholarship Awards
Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment-ABLE
PeachSeed Storytelling Festival and Conference for Young Tellers
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Organization of DeKalb Educators
The Voice of DeKalb Education
100 Crescent Centre Parkway : Suite 290 : Tucker Georgia 30084
tel 678.837.1170 : fax 678 837-1178 : email orgdekalbed@aol.com
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