For Reminence Penn and Eyanna Lessane, working with their middle-school students at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy is about far more than teaching about Greek myths.
It's also about making the students feel good about themselves and about giving them a sense that they can accomplish the goals that they set for themselves.
"I love the kids so much," Lessane said. "We are a low-performing school. The kids don't believe in themselves.... The kids -- they need to believe in themselves."
Lessane, who teaches students with learning disabilities, and Penn, who teaches language arts to seventh- and eighth-graders, decided that one way to help the students believe in themselves would be for teachers to take a walk through the neighborhood.
Principal Richard Watts credited the women with coming up with the idea, but they say he was the inspiration because it's something he used to do when he was a teacher.
"It's to get our school in the community," Watts said. "It's to let parents know we are here for them and for their students."
Winston-Salem Prep is housed in what was at one time Atkins High School, on Cameron Avenue. It offers a middle school that primarily draws students from the neighborhood, and a high-school magnet program that draws students from throughout the county.
On Wednesday morning, the way that Penn moved around her class working to pump up the students gave it a bit of a revival feel: "Students, do you believe you can achieve? Do you believe your teachers believe in you?"
Before moving on to the curriculum for the day -- Greek creation myths -- she talked to her eighth-graders about the plan to take a walk through the neighborhood.
"We are walking the block because we care about you. We love you. We are walking because we want to close that achievement gap," Penn said.
"Students, look for us because we are coming to you."
"Are you serious?" more than one student asked.
Absolutely, she said.
Lessane had mapped out a 1.7-mile route that would take the teachers down File Street, Cleveland Avenue, and Dunleith and 14th streets and, after school let out, about 12 teachers donned school T-shirts and headed out into the neighborhood to do some cheers, pass out some school brochures and visit with people.
Along the way around the neigborhood, several students joined them.
Afterward, the teachers said that the endorphins generated by the walk more than offset the sore feet.
"The children were inspired, and we were inspired by the children," Penn said.
"We're moving mountains. We believe in our children."
kunderwood@wsjournal.com
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