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District honors students with promise, hard work

By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 1, 2013 1:46 PM

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News-Argus/TROY HERRING

Robert Poandl, a student at Spring Creek High School, accepts a PROMISE award from Superintendent Dr. Steven Taylor during the PROMISE Awards Student Banquet.

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School Street student Ororo James waits for her name to be called to receive her award.

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News-Argus/TROY HERRING

Nadareon Cox, 5, a preschooler at Edgewood Community Developmental School, accepts a PROMISE award from Superintendent Dr. Steven Taylor as Edgewood Principal Tasha Adams assists.

Lisa Poandl and her husband, Jim, have always been proud of their two children.

And, like most parents, they hope others see what they do.

On Thursday night at Tommy's Road Elementary, they got their wish.

PROMISE Awards, hosted each year by PAPA, Principals and Assistant Principals Association in Wayne County Public Schools, were presented to 31 students, one from each school.

This is the sixth year for the recognition, said Dexter Evans, assistant principal at Rosewood High School and one of the concept's originators, along with Carol Artis, principal at North Drive Elementary School.

"The basic idea is that we as principals and assistant principals, we're often giving out awards for everybody else. We thought it would be a good idea to have one from us to recognize those students who put in a good day's work and they work hard," he said. "They may not make the 'A' but they may work harder than the 'A' student. ...

"They're doing their best, they're putting their time in and it's like, for teachers, 'This is why I got into education.'"

Put simply, he said, these are students who show promise, a concept he learned from his own father, the late J.D. Evans, a retired educator and county commissioner.

"He used to say that," Dexter said. "I'd hear him tell people, 'You show promise, you can do good' and so forth."

The PROMISE Award is an acronym, he noted, representing special qualities present in each recipient -- Promise, Resilience, Optimism, Model Citizen, Integrity, Sensible and Enterprising.

It's a concept Mrs. Poandl can appreciate, especially for her son, Robert, 17, a senior at Spring Creek High School and a recipient.

"You know how they have the 'no bullying' at school?" she asked. "That's one of the biggest issues that he faced throughout high school.

"For him to jump that hurdle and keep striving and get the recognition that he did ... I'm hoping that he's going to take this and turn it around and use it when he goes to college."

Robert has applied at the Art Institute in Raleigh, she said.

Watching her youngest child cross the stage to accept the award made Mrs. Poandl "very proud," she said, of him as well as the school system.

"It means that the schools really are paying attention to the children," she said. "A lot of times you hear the negative aspect of the way children are just passed through. For them to do this, it helps the parents realize they're not; they're helping them to succeed."

The following are the students chosen to represent each of the district's schools:

* Brogden Middle: Rebecca Hudson

* Brogden Primary: Lillian Simpson

* Carver Elementary: Cameron Hope

* Carver Heights Elementary: Luis Lopez Morales

* Charles B. Aycock High: Brandon Hope

* Dillard Middle: Mikel King

* Eastern Wayne Elementary: Nikolas Wells

* Eastern Wayne High: Nathaniel Neal

* Eastern Wayne Middle: Cassie Murray

* Edgewood: Nadareon Cox

* Fremont STARS Elementary: Paula Garcia Moreno