Things Are Bad For Our Kids, Let's Make Them Better

 The new York Times recently confirmed what we here at EzGreensboro.com have been telling you for years, Greensboro and Guilford County are bad places for children to grow up-- among the worst in the nation.

But folks like Joel Leonard of The Forge have ideas about how we can change that for the better. Joel sent myself and others the following e-mail:

"How can we help these students get to national competitions? Schools don’t cover travel costs. Sadly if this was a basketball or football competition, funds would emerge, but not for these competitions. And we wonder why companies can’t find skilled talent.

Hope that more contact Gene Holder Chair Elect at The Weaver Academy to get his input on steps forward. Gene Holder holdera@gcsnc.com

Joel Leonard

SkillTV.net"

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GCS Students Soar at SkillsUSA Contest Seven first-place winners will move on to national competition in June Greensboro, N.C. – More than 2,500 students, teachers, and industry members were in attendance for the annual SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference, held in Greensboro April 21-23. More than 1,700 North Carolina high school and postsecondary students competed in more than 100 hands-on trade, technical and leadership contests. All first-place winners will compete at the National SkillsUSA Conference in Louisville, Ky., in June. Winners from GCS are: First place ·         Brannon Carty, Northwest High/Weaver Academy, and Maleek Loyd, Weaver Academy – Digital Cinema ·         Benjamin Skaggs, Grimsley High/Weaver Academy – Internetworking   ·         Nicholas Andrew Stemen, Northwest High/Weaver Academy  – Telecommunication Cabling Lawson Rudisill, Grimsley High/Weaver Academy, and Vijay Purswani, Northwest High/ Weaver Academy – TV/Video Production ·         Jacques Bene, Northern High/Weaver Academy – Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Turning Specialist Second place ·         Paul Wheeler, Southwest High/Weaver Academy – Collision Repair/Body Repair ·         Ethan Smith, Southwest High/Weaver Academy – Internetworking ·         Ashton Micayla Hallisey, Northern High/Weaver Academy – Telecommunication Cabling ·         Tate Shanklin, Eastern High/Weaver Academy – Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Milling Specialist ·         Anthony Davis, Southwest High/Weaver Academy – CNC Turning Specialists Third place ·         Jared Garner, Northern High/Weaver Academy – Diesel Technology. Jared received a total of $15,000 in scholarships and $300 in tools. ·         Collin Crosby, Southwest High/Weaver Academy – Collision Repair/Painting ·         Peter Muniz, Southeast High/Weaver Academy – Computer Maintenance Technology Fourth place ·         Craig Ingle, Dudley High/Weaver Academy – CNC Milling Specialist Fifth place ·         Alexander Klug, Lyly Jennings, Taysha Meadows and Khalil Howard, Page High -- TV/Video Production ·         Nathan Schimmel, Southern High/Weaver Academy – Computer Maintenance Technology  About Guilford County Schools Guilford County Schools, the third largest school district in North Carolina, serves nearly 72,200 K-12 students at 127 schools. With approximately 10,000 employees, the district’s mission is to graduate responsible citizens who are prepared to succeed in higher education or the career of their choice. Guilford County Schools is a national leader in providing specialized schools and instructional programs designed to meet the educational needs of a culturally diverse citizenship. For more information, visit the district’s website at www.gcsnc.com. " Please help if you can.