WS Chronicle

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D.

February is Black History Month, and it is also Career Technical Education Month. More than 600 students from Carver High School gathered in the gymnasium to find out about the new courses that will be offered in the 2024-2025 school year and to kick off Black History Month. The Career Technical Education (CTE) department and the students services department organized the curriculum fair on Feb. 1 in the Carver gymnasium.

The curriculum fair was hosted by Jana Minor-Oliver, the career development coordinator. 

“The purpose of the curriculum fair was to introduce our students to the new courses that would be offered in the 2024-2025 school year. There was a station set up for each career pathway that would be at Carver High School, such as cyber security pathway, entrepreneurship pathway, artificial intelligence pathway, food and nutrition pathway, sports and events, marketing pathway, drone and aviation pathway, hospitality and tourism pathway, etc.,” said Minor-Oliver.

There was also a station represented by the Career Center, the new fire and EMT Academy, and Allegacy Credit Union. Students were able to meet the teachers and get information about the new courses that will be offered next year.

To kick off Black History Month, Juan Eckard, Carver band director, and the Carver Marching Band provided special music for the event. Also, I taught students from the Drama Club how to wrap African headwraps for males and females. Esbedy Monzalvo and Melvina Robinson assisted me with creating unique designs for each student who wanted to wear a crown. More than 100  students came forward to get their heads wrapped during the curriculum fair.

Cherie Kimbrough, English teacher at Carver, was very surprised to see so many students interested in getting their heads wrapped. “I took several photos of my student Ruby Rodriquez-Penaloza while she was getting her head wrapped. She was all smiles. In fact, I have never seen her smile before. I know that she is an artist, and she is very creative,” Kimbrough said.

“I love the fact that the headwrap is like art that I can wear, and it is beautiful. There are so many ways to design the wrap,” said Ruby.

Kimbrough had her own ideas about why so many of the students were eager to get their heads covered. “I enjoyed watching my students get in line. I did not think that any of the students would be interested in this activity, but I found out they were very interested,” said Kimbrough. “When they saw their friends in their head gear, they noticed that it totally changed their appearance in a very positive way. They wanted to join in and see how they would look in the wrap. I loved it!”

English teacher Chris Lucas also admired watching the students when they came to the Black History station. “That was my favorite station. There was so much action in that spot and everyone was smiling and joyous,” Lucas said. “Each design was different and very creative.”

We just know inside that we are kings and queens, and these are the crowns we wear, I believe. African ge’lees began in Sub-Sahara Africa as a way to shield the people from the ultra-violet rays of the sun, but now the headwrap has become a fashion statement as well as a work of art. When I cover my head, I wear my crown in honor of God, so I usually leave a slight opening in the top of the crown so that the wisdom of the Creator can continue to mold me into a better person.

While the students learned how to wear their headwraps, they also took notes from the video of the Black History Wax Museum that was performed and recorded by the theatre arts students of Carver. Some of the leaders who are included in the video include Fannie Lou Hamer, civil rights activist, William Still, abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad; Harriett Tubman, Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association; Gordon Parks, the first African American photographer of LIFE Magazine, and many others. 

Also, students and teachers provided posters of various African American historical leaders which were placed around the gym. Each person was named and described with their contributions to the culture.

“I am so glad that so many of the students had the chance to look at the new courses for next year before registration begins. This exposure can help them plan for their futures,” Minor Oliver said. “I am very grateful to all of the teachers and leaders who provided stations, brochures, and information for the students as they make choices for next year.”