Changing the narrative
By Sierra Henry
Published in News on August 2, 2018 5:50 AM
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
A Goldsboro High School student walks through a group of community members welcoming her back on the first day of class in August of 2017. This year will mark the second time community members will come together to welcome GHS students back to school on their first day.
Stomp your feet and clap your hands, because it is time to welcome back Goldsboro High School students in style.
For the second year in a row, Goldsboro High School will host the Welcome Back Cougars event on Tuesday at 8 a.m. According to Mark Colebrook, founder of Operation Unite Goldsboro and organizer of Welcome Back Cougars, the community hopes to celebrate student accomplishments by starting off with a splash.
"We wanted to do something for the kids," Colebrook said. "Last year the kids really took to that, and they're looking forward to it. I've had conversations with some of the kids going back to school, and they've been asking the question 'are you guys going to do the same thing that you did last year?'"
Last year, between 80 and 100 people stood in the breezeway of the high school to welcome the students back for a new year. Colebrook hopes that even more community members will attend the event and continue to work together to celebrate student accomplishments throughout the year.
"The kids talked about it, was very interested in it and one of the things we didn't do well last year was follow up with it," Colebrook said. "We did a big splash in the beginning, but we didn't follow up throughout the year and the kids asked those questions -- well that was great -- but we need you guys to be with us throughout the year."
Colebrook said that community organizers hope to have future signup sheets for volunteers to continue celebrating student accomplishments, such as the nine-week testing and honor-roll students. He said that the main goal of the celebrations is to encourage students and increase their enthusiasm for school.
"The biggest challenge for high schools are trying to keep that enthusiasm that kids have in elementary," Colebrook said. "When you're in elementary ... everything is off the chart, everything is a celebration and everything is about success. When you get into middle school and definitely by the time you get to high school, a lot of kids are tired."
Christopher D. Horne, the new principal of Goldsboro High School, said that the Welcome Back Cougars event falls within one of the three pillars -- culture, system and instruction -- he wants to focus on.
After talking with Goldsboro High School alumni, faculty and community members, Horne noticed a few negative narratives that he wants to change.
"The current narrative is that it's a failing school ... it's not a school of choice. I'm not saying it's a correct narrative, but maybe the quality of teaching is not where it needs to be."
Changing the culture and negative narratives surrounding the school is one of the goals that can be accomplished through events like Welcome Back Cougars and future celebrations.
"In order for us to improve the learning environment, the students and their opportunities, it's an all-in effort," Horne said. "It's a we thing -- not a me thing -- as students, staff, family and (the) community (comes) together.
"It'll be a powerful shift, and like anything it's a process. I'm not guaranteeing being an A-plus school tomorrow, but I can say our goal is to be a school of choice.
"Our goal is to grow students and to provide a quality of life that our families and our students deserve."