Supply drive helps Dillard students
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 31, 2016 1:46 PM
For Goldsboro schools, every little bit helps.
That was the idea behind a donation made to Dillard Middle School Thursday afternoon as part of a project by city councilman Mark Stevens. Stevens, along with friends, family and colleagues, donated enough school supplies to fill two cars, the result of a months-long collection drive.
Stevens started the supply drive in mid-July as an initiative with Communities in Schools director Selena Bennett. After bringing the idea to multiple city council meetings, Stevens began reaching out to businesses and family friends to help collect supplies.
"There have been so many donations all over the city," Stevens said. "There are so many people I want to thank that I can't list them all."
Raymond Smith Jr., who is running for the at large seat on the Goldsboro board of education, joined Stevens to help deliver the supplies. He said that bringing the people in the area together through giving is important for providing stronger education.
"The key word is community-the community as a whole is responsible for coming together," he said. "As a community it is vital we reach out to help each other.
"As we come together, it makes us all stronger."
Stevens said that Dillard middle was chosen because it needed the supplies very dearly. He plans to expand the program to other inner-city schools during his time on the city council.
After being deemed a low-performing school, Dillard middle shifted to a project-based learning model in an attempt to boost performance. Project-based learning uses activities and projects to allow students to apply what they learn in a practical way, which can help them gain a deeper understanding of the topic.
Jamel Jones, Dillard middle assistant principal, said that the supplies would be a big help as the school undergoes the change in teaching style.
"One of the things about project-based learning is that it takes a lot of materials," he said. "This is going to help us get started on those projects."
The supplies donated included paper, binders, paper clips, pencils, rulers and more. Everything, Stevens said, except for electric pencil sharpeners.
Jones said that he wanted the students to learn to reciprocate the giving they saw.
"We want them to take this, and go back to the community and give it back," he said.