The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • N5

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 5N, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2004 North Raleigh News 5N FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17 2004 THE NEWS OBSERVER Building gains new life Schooldays Atall, stately gentlemanstands in columned splen-dor on tree-shaded Sycamore Street in Wake Forest. Although he is close to 80 years old, he stands tall and freshly painted. His columns, like sus- penders hold- ing up trousers, make him ready for each day. Inside, his walls glisten with new paint. Just like some of the elderly who live nearby, he has had some things removed asbestos, mold and mildew; and other things added a new bus loop.

For a while, he was surrounded by the clutter of modulars, tem- porarily crowding his campus. Now he feels the energy of chil- dren who dance down his corri- dors each morning. The Forrest Building at Wake Forest Elementary School, named after Rufus Forrest, a former principal and assistant superintendent, is alive and working after years of hospi- talization, tummy tucks and renovations. particularly proud that the doctors see fit to amputate his auditorium. Several years ago, he was able to show the world that the gym need to be amputated, and now the auditorium rings with the pulsing musical notes and rhythms heard before and the creative genius he has grown to expect.

He loves them all the short, crying kindergartners who come in clinging to their mothers on the first day; the freshly scrubbed, hair-bowed little girls; the rough- and-tumble boys. He hears the voices of teachers talking about how to best reach a child who learns differently, the cacophony of children reading, the sing-song laughter on the playground and the buzzing chatter in the cafete- ria. Choirs of birds sing in the stately trees that surround him. At night he sighs with rest. Each day is new and fresh as he breathes in the crisp, sharp breath of fall.

He is alive again, and he has plans of flexing those muscles and staying healthy for another four generations of children pumping through his transplanted heart. Kathryn Watson Quigg represents District 1 on the Wake school board. PARENT TO PARENT Parents are invited to bring a lunch to meet Leesville Road High School Principal Stephen Gainey, and a guid- ance department representative. The sessions will be from 1 to 2 p.m. in the career center.

Drinks and dessert will be provided. Parents can attend any session, however their focus will be as follows: Sept. 13, seniors; Oct. 11, Juniors; Nov. 8, sophomores; and Dec.

6, freshmen. GUEST COLUMNIST Kathryn Watson Quigg BY KINEA WHITE CORRESPONDENT Another school year has begun at Wakefield Middle School with- out Daquan Adams. For the third year, Daquan, 13, who is awaiting a heart-lung transplant, is receiving school in- struction through the Wake County school system at his home off of Fox Road. Tuesday morning, looking peaked and fatigued, Daquan and his teacher, Nancy Miles, worked to finish up a math test. Miles said after Daquan gave the correct answer.

Miles, a home and hospital teacher who has worked with stu- dents with chronic illnesses for eight years, knows a little en- couragement is needed to get Daquan through the lesson. Noticing Daquan had become listless and a little irritated, Miles hurried with the lesson. are bad days for Miles said. does better on Wednesday and Thursday. I guess because this is the first day we work together after the For the most part, Daquan, weighing a frail 85 pounds, is in good spirits.

He said he feels good and yearns to be at school. mother Lilly Holmes said her son is a night owl and sometimes stays up watching TV and playing around the house. Then there are the bad days when he is not feeling well, and Holmes has to coax him out of bed for his morning appoint- ments with his teacher and the nurses that come to their home. Daquan and his family at- tended an eighth-grade gradua- tion ceremony in May at Wake- field Middle School, where the school dedicated its yearbook to Daquan. kids were stomping and screaming for Holmes said.

She said she know the ceremony would honor Daquan. the people stood in line to sign his yearbook. It was really a The family has received over- whelming support, Holmes said, including prayers, cards and goodies and financial help. Correspondent Kinea White can be reached at Daquan is still awaiting transplants Nancy Miles tutors Daquan Adams at his North Raleigh home. He is in his third year of home schooling.

STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN ROTTET have worked to educate the com- munity about the DuBois School and to raise funds for renovation to turn it into a national museum. have high hopes that we can salvage the Murchi- son said. However, the accident will make harder what already has been a difficult task. In a press release sent to alumni and the advisory council, Murchison wrote: on this Tues- day morning, September 7, 2004, we walked on campus to see the roof of the building laying casually on top of the bricks that used to hold the roof high up to the sky. Now, renovation is needed twice as bad and the cost is going to be twice as expensive.

Murchison said the staff has applied for a $2.1 million grant from the City of Raleigh and Wake Occupancy and Prepared Tax fund. The tax program provides financial assistance for worth- while community projects. Murchison said she hopes the city and county officials see the DuBois Center and the effort to construct a national museum for Rosenwald schools as worthy of a share of the fund. DuBois was one of 813 North Carolina schools funded by phil- anthropist Julius Rosenwald for the education of blacks in rural areas. Several Raleigh museums and groups have also applied for the grant.

Joe Durham, deputy Wake County manager, said that reviews of the grant applications are underway, but there is no spe- cific deadline or timeline for mak- ing selections. He said they have determined that the DuBois pro- ject was a priority Durham said currently there is about $1.9 million in the fund, which is expected to grow to more than $17 million during the next 10 years. He said the city and county are trying to decide how grants would be disbursed and whether they would be multi- year allotments. Haywood Massenburg, an alumnus and chair of the DuBois renovation and restora- tion committee, said they are also looking into other fund-raising options. trying to raise some funds to try and fix it up with a memorial Massenburg said.

The committee plans to sell bricks inscribed with contribu- names. The memorial wall would be a granite and brick structure surrounding The Mcel- rath Building. Massenburg said the DuBois School is not only of importance to alumni but also the entire com- munity. The DuBois School, named for black sociologist and civil rights leader William Edward Burghardt DuBois, educated black children in northern Wake from Creed- moor Road area to the Rolesville area from 1926 to 1971. was the only school that we could go to and we had really good teachers.

we want to keep those memories alive and share it with young said Massen- burg. Staff writer Delawese Fulton can be reached at 836-4952 or DUBOIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1N WHAT IS A ROSENWALD SCHOOL? In the early 1900s, Julius Rosenwald, a millionaire and an owner of Sears, Roebuck and traveled the rural a matched dona- tions for school construction in hundreds of black co i i es Nearly 5,000 schools were built across 15 states. North Carolina re- ceived 812 and 21 were built in Wake County. A century later, many have been razed or are beyond repair. The DuBois Center is the largest remaining local school and is on the National Historic Register.

MILE Ave. ai St Stadium Dr. hi te A lle Ave. Oak St. d.

Juniper Wake Forest Franklin St. Cedar Ave. WAKE Area shown 1A 98 98 FRANK MEDLIN The News Observer DuBois Center The collapsed section of the DuBois Center in Wake Forest is seen here from the inside. STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS SEWARD Julius Rosenwald funded rural schools for blacks..