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Rural Florida school closures raise concerns about choice and segregation

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MADISON, Fla. (AP) — Tens of hundreds of scholars have left Florida public schools in recent times amid an explosion in school choice, and now districts large and small are grappling with the financial strain of empty seats in aging classrooms.

As some districts face school closures, administrators are facing one other long-overlooked problem: the way to integrate students in buildings that remain segregated along racial and economic lines. separated.

In northwest Florida, one small district plans to merge its last three independent elementary schools into one campus since it doesn’t have enough students to cover the associated fee of keeping the doors open. But the Madison County School District’s decision to achieve this has exposed racial tensions in a community where some white families have opposed public school integration for years.

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“It’s a taboo subject that no one wants to talk about,” county school board member Katie Knight told The Associated Press.

“At the end of the day, these kids are going to have to interact with all people, regardless of race, ability, personality type,” she said. “Trying to segregate our kids is not an option.”

Segregation, integration, consolidation

Shirley Joseph grew up in segregated schools in Florida and was a black student in certainly one of the primary integrated classes at an area high school.

Now, as superintendent of Madison County Public Schools, her job is to shut a few of them.

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Mannika Hopkins talks to fourth-grade students on the primary day of classes at Greenville Elementary School in Greenville, Florida, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kate Payne)

Fewer than 1,700 students remain in traditional public schools on this rural county within the state’s former cotton belt. Many families have moved to places with more jobs and housing — or have chosen other kinds of education. For those that remain, the colleges provide greater than just an education: All Madison students are eligible for free meals due to poverty rate within the county. One in three children there lives in poverty.

“If we want to survive as a district,” Joseph said, “we have to make tough decisions.”

Earlier this month, Joseph walked through elementary school hallways on a recent first day of school, stating empty classroom after empty classroom.

One of the colleges slated to shut is Greenville Elementary School, which has fewer than 100 students, or about a 3rd of the school’s total student population. capabilityWhen Florida schools were officially segregated, Joseph attended classes at what was then called the Greenville Training School.

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Generations of black residents cherish the school’s legacy small town from Greenville, where the music legend lives Ray Charles grew up.

More than 50 years after desegregation, the school remains to be operating 85% Black. Class size has declined because the school struggles to retain certified teachers. The school’s rankings have fluctuated across the state, but Greenville has received an “F” grade five times previously decade for low student achievement rates.

When an Associated Press reporter visited recently, fourth-grade teacher Mannika Hopkins had just eight students in her class.

“I hate that it’s closing. It’s my heart. It’s our community. … It’s us,” Hopkins said. “Who wants to move to a community that doesn’t have a school nearby?”

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Starting next 12 months, Greenville will merge with Lee and Pinetta elementary schools, that are predominantly white. All those students will probably be sent to Madison County Central School, most of them are black The K-8 campus, which is a 15- to 20-minute drive from area elementary schools, has not yet announced which teachers will transfer to the combined school and which can lose their jobs.

School choice causes drop in enrollment

Madison County is situated an hour east of Tallahassee, in a region once dominated by cotton and tobacco plantations. The statue Confederate soldier still towers over Central Park within the county seat of Madison County.

The area has been wanting students for years because the birth rate drops, businesses close and families move to places with more jobs outside the lumber industry, trucking and jobs on the nearby state prison.

Other families remained but simply left public schools.

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Alexis Kornegay teaches her first-grade students the alphabet at Greenville Elementary School in Greenville, Florida, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kate Payne)

For a long time, Aucilla Christian Academy in neighboring Jefferson County has attracted a few of the area’s wealthiest families. Founded in 1970, Aucilla opened amid a wave of recent private schools across the South, founded by whites against integration. Scholars call them “segregation academies” and lots of them remain majority white. According to data from the 2021-2022 school 12 months, greater than 90% of Aucilla’s students were white federal data.

Madison families have opposed consolidation previously: In 1998, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights intervened when residents he opposed the plans send students from mostly white Lee Elementary to Central, a school that may soon accept elementary students from the county. After the department got involved, the district began implementing the plan.

Today, it might never have been easier to depart Florida’s public schools behind. The chaos of COVID-19 has forced many families to try homeschooling or micro-schooling — small, private learning environments that usually serve multiple families. And now, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, all Florida students can qualify for taxpayer-funded vouchers value about $8,000 a 12 months to cover private school tuition, no matter household income.

For families against Madison consolidation, Aucilla is a possible destination, as is Madison Creative Arts Academy, a public charter school.

The parents of 9-year-old Noel Brouillette are hopeful she’s going to get a spot on the academy. It’s not about race, said her mother, Nicole Brouillette, but fairly the fame of the Black Central school, which has more fights. If Noel doesn’t get into the charter school, the family could leave Madison County altogether.

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The fourth-grade student is devastated that she will’t stay at Pinetta Elementary School.

“If I had never come here, I would never have met my best friend,” she said.

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Other parents are considering homeschooling, like Alexis Molden. She said her sons love going to Lee Elementary, but she’s heard rumors about Central — that multiracial kids like hers are bullied there.

“I’ve heard that… it’s basically segregation,” Molden said. “You have white kids, black kids, and then the mixed kids have to decide which side they’re going to be on.”

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School board member Katie Knight said if she had a dollar for each rumor she heard about Central, she could retire.

However, the county has its own history.

When Shirley Joseph, the present principal of Madison County High School, a long time ago, said her students would sort themselves as they entered her classroom — white kids on one side, black kids on the opposite — until she told them to change seats.

“We have to figure out, somehow, ‘How do we connect communities?’” Joseph said.

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There’s all the time talk of leaving public schools, Joseph said, but she believes most families will stay. In the meantime, she’s focused on providing the very best education possible to the scholars she has — those that can’t leave.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Tunde Oyeneyin Peloton about what to do when you don’t feel like moving

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“I wanted to run this morning, but I didn’t do it because my body said you didn’t need it,” explained a 39-year-old fitness star, adding that she did some mobility as a substitute on her foam roller.

“I worked. I felt my heart rate was growing. I felt a little sweat, but I poured love for my body, not burden my body just because the plan said that I should run this morning – she continued. “Listening to your body sometimes means deviating from the plan and you provide you with a brand new plan.”

Listening to your body just isn’t just about how you feel physically. Among the social, political and economic climate, finding motivation to move the body might be difficult.

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“I am the same as a person,” said Oyeneyin. “When I feel hard outside, I feel it in myself, in my heart, in my body. Sometimes the heaviness of the world shows in my body. “

When the world becomes overwhelming, the teacher said that he gives himself a grace.

“I do know that sometimes when the world feels heavy and feels dark, movement just isn’t what I need to do and permit myself. I devote just a few days I would like, after which I’m within the space where I can finally see and keep in mind that movement can be what leads me through a storm. Movement can be what gives me grace to see the sunshine on the opposite side – she noted.

Oyeneyin, who has been in Peloton for six years, is a strength on the earth of fitness. Powerhouse instructor and creator have experience as a star makeup, and once fought for doubt before she got here up with the movement. Her book “Speak: Find your voice, trust the intestines and go from the place where you are, where you want to be” Chronicle of her journey to confidence.

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“When I move, whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour, I feel something in my body that I have never done before. There is lightness. The weight is metaphorically raised – she said.

On days when she is attached to the time or little motivation, she noticed that she would force herself to move for 10 minutes and suggests that others would try.

“99,99999% of time, I exceed 10 minutes” – added the creator. “The mind and body began to connect.”

Apart from that, Peloton applicationShe said, she is filled with motivation to move.

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“I don’t think there is something in the application that you will not take motivation,” said Oyeneyin, adding: “Are you a skier and you want to build strength, we have it in the application. If you are a golfer and want to strengthen the golf game, we have it in the application. If the world feels heavy and you need to reset and you need 10 or 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation, we have it in the application. “

For her, she said that mediation is coming running.

“Running is a spot where I find peace and consolation on the earth. There I can concentrate on my breath and training – she explained.

She continued: “And for many people whom I am lucky to follow me on the platform, they find their relief on a bike. So everyone is something for themselves, no matter who you are. “

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Movement and exercise can cost a small cost for some: their glam. Some allow the fear of sweating hair to stop them from harder during training.

“Although I don’t want to sweat, I also want my carved arms,” ​​said Oyeneyin.

“I’m in front of the camera. I work in front of a life camera. So I understand – continued the athlete Nike. “I try, I might like to look cute, but at the tip of the day, if you force me to select one between the opposite, I need to be strong. I can sweat and be sexy. “

Have you already abandoned your fitness goals in the new year? Peloton's instructor Adrian Williams has some tips

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Brigette Romanek debuts the “glamous” collection in Crate & Barrel

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The well-known interior designer Brigette Romanek introduces her first collection with Crate & Barrel-54-part line that mixes glamor and ease, bringing a classy, but relaxed touch of a beloved house seller.

After presenting your knowledge about interior design with stars clients, similar to Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Kelly Rowland, Crate & Barrel, Romanek tapped to create a collection that embodies her characteristic funny aesthetics inspired by California.

“We are all so busy in our daily lives that thanks to my approach to design, I want people to stop and breathe when entering any room,” Romanek he said . “Working, Crate & Barrel and I both shared a true passion to encourage beautiful moments through the design, and everything, from furniture to decorations in this collection, are aimed at supporting this calming lifestyle.”

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Celebrated for easily combining aesthetics with functionality, the CRATE & Barrel Romanek collection is rooted in a timeless design with visually nice surprises and thoroughly created to make sure peace and flexibility in any space. Her knowledge about mixing various materials shines in wealthy layers of travertine, historic brass and bleached forests.

“The process of cooperation with Brigette was so inspiring and we had the honor to bring her a unique vision, bold creativity and artistically selected style for our clients,” said Sebastian Brauer, senior vp of CRATE & Barrel. “This collection seems effective and relaxed, combining modern, clean lines with natural and luxurious materials.”

Chest and barrel expressed His emotions during the announcement of the collection on Instagram on February 20.

“Confession: We have been keeping it secret for a year, and today! 🎉 @brigetteromaniac X @Crateandbarrel The collection is here! “The seller signed his position.

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“This is not your average cooperation. Think brave and vibey – just like the amazing designer star herself. We love how it is about abandoning the rules of designing and creating a house that seems to be super personal: “Returning home should feel like a breath. Like entering your individual sanctuary. “

From plush chocolate velvet sofas at a price from 2499 to USD 2,899 to Oak Wood Credenzas (1999 USD) and chest of drawers (2,699 USD), Brigette Romanek for the CRATE & Barrel collection adds luxury to each space. Store Collection in Crate & Barrel, while the supplies are last.

(Tagstotransate) Brigette Romanek

This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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“Rhop” stars react to the judgment of Karen Huger, because the series announces that it plans to continue without a star

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“The Real Housewives of Potomac” will last without “Great Dame”, Karen Huger. After Huger was sentenced to a yr in prison for the fourth conviction of Dui, the sources reported People magazine That Bravo plans to go forward with the production of the tenth season of the series in the absence of the star. Bravo didn’t confirm or deny the reports.

“This is very terrifying, but I accept full responsibility for everything that happened with my car accident,” apparently Huger said after the sentences. “No, I’m not an alcoholic, let’s be clear.”

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Just as fans reacted to social media messages, some of the solid members publicly spoke publicly about their reactions at the end of Huger’s legal saga.

“My jaw has fallen,” said Wendy Osefo People magazine. “I couldn’t believe it. At the end of the day we can have our differences, but I always wish it well and I just keep her in prayer, 100%. “

Similarly, Ashley Darby recalls crying “like a child” when she discovered before her Exposing yourself at the Tamron Hall show.

“I really encourage everyone to keep Karen in your prayers,” said Hall. “I really care.”

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For Gizelle Bryant, who began her profession Real Housewives in Huger in 2016, the legal “Grand Dame” fights caused a lot of emotions. After breaking away from the video from Huger during the Rhop congress, Bryant shared her response to the most legal verdict of the star during her “Gizelle 21 questions live” on Wednesday.

“It happened today. I do not have her wig. I’m nervous – she joked US weekly. “I’m shocked … I’m seriously nervous about her safety. Karen shouldn’t be cut into prison, she added. “I pray that she is fine and that the Lord is with her.”

Although Bravo has not confirmed or denied whether or not they would filmate Rhop without Huger, each Omefo and Bryant seem open to the possibility of continuing her absence.

“In this group we found a way to move with her presence and without her presence,” said Osefo. “Looking at the congress, I think that we maneuver in a positive way as an individual as an individual. I wish her all the best, but I think that the Potomac brand is still strong. “

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Karen Huger skipped Rhop season 9 rehabilitation exit

(Tagstranslate) Real Housewives of Potomac

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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