Getting In - News Clippings

 This is a collection of newspaper articles, from across the state of North Carolina, that were published between May and September of 1980.  These are articles about the students that had been chosen for admission.

Guilford County: 

    Greensboro - Peyton Daphne Eddins; Avva Ravisankara Rao; Latonya Kennethia Kilpatrick; Charlene Michelle Carter; Andrea Margaret Wisner; Karl Claudius Garrison

    High Point - Otis Edward Tillman 

Students are also listed from Orange county, Chatham county, Alamance county, Moore county, Rockingham county, Montgomery county, and Davidson county

[Greensboro Daily News, June 4, 1980]

[The Greensboro Record, June 4, 1980]

Forsyth County: Winston Salem - Chuck Long

Davidson County: Andrew George Philpott

Davie County: Karen Denise Angell

Iredell County: Darlyn Michelle Little

Rockingham County: Tonya Annette Crawford

Surry County: Elizabeth Ann Kennedy

Watauga County: Miles Daly Duke; Ward Carpenter Travis

[Winston Salem Journal, June 2, 1980]

Iredell County:  Mooresville - Darlyn Michelle Little

[Statesville Record; June 3, 1980]

Rowan County: Salisbury - Ami Jayant Shah, Gary Allen Steele

[The Salisbury Post, June 11, 1980]

Lee County: Sanford - Jamie Cecile Pate; John Gordon Humphrey;  Sherri Lynn Vesalga

[Sanford Herald, June 4, 1980]

Orange County:

    Hillsborough - Janeen Lavey VanHook

    Chapel Hill - Susan Campbell Anderson; Clovis Ricardo Peres; Douglas A. Appleyard; Sean Campbell; Sarah B. Krigman

[Chapel Hill Newspaper, June 3, 1980]

[Chapel Hill News, September 18, 1980]

Catawba County:

    Hickory - Ellen Dixon;  Anthony Ray Hefner; William Marshall Mauney; Lorne Keith Annas; Shelley Lineberger;

    Newton - Larry E. Sigmon 

Lenoir - Darryl Hendricks

Burke County: 

    Drexel - Kris Lanada Carswell;    

    Connelly Springs - Jeffery Allen Parker

[Hickory Daily Record, September 6, 1980]

Durham county:  Durham - Grace Han; Beverly Adams; John Armitage; Chris Staffa; Tricia Townes

[Herald Sun, September 7, 1980]

Wake County:  

    Raleigh - Polly Weister; Beverly Robinson; Steve Gallup; Richard Chapman; Janet Leatherwood

[The Raleigh Times, September 1, 1980]

Getting into the new school (Prompt #3)

By Grace Han Cunningham 

Honestly if it weren't for all of the scraps of papers, test scores and letters I received during the application process, I would have very little recollection at all of the process. The only thing I do remember was the onsite visit with my Dad to the Durham campus.

My scrapbook tells me a fuller story, beginning in the spring of 1980 when my Dad submitted a nomination. Dad received a confirmation letter from Ola F. Stringer on Feb 14, 1980 and I received an acknowledgment letter with the Application for Admission. This letter mentioned a special Visitation Team that would be in the area in March or April to answer questions; and details would be sent later. 

I, like everyone else, took my SAT on Sat 3/22/1980 at Jordan High School in Durham. We were snail mailed our scores and on the paper, our school code was 341077 and NCSSM was listed as a nonpublic school with less than 100 students. We self reported activities, interests and awards, as well as our high school GPA and grades, we listed our part time hours worked, there was a lot of self reported information on the Student Report! My ethnic group was shows as "Oriental" - my how times have improved. I scored 590 for both the verbal and math section. 

One April 19, 1980 I was invited to interview and undergo additional, in-person testing at 8:00 am at the Carroll Junior High School in Raleigh. I have no recollection of what happened on this date but I did save the letter and my name tag! I do recall meeting Ola Stringer but only vaguely. 

On May 9, 1980, I received a letter stating that I was selected as a semifinalist. Out of 900 fellow 10th graders, 225 were selected as semi-finalists. We were then invited, along with our parents, to tour the school on Saturday, May 17, 1980 at 9:00 am. When we got there, we were given another letter stating along with the tour of the campus, the dorms, etc, the School decided to forego any further interviews and would be making final selections based on the data received and we should hear back within the next week. This letter was signed by Charles R. Eilber, our fearless Director.

On May 30, 1980, I received a Letter of Acceptance, which I had to sign and return no later than June 6, 1980. The letter stated "We are pleased and honored that you will be with us this year. You, and your fellow students, will be part of a unique and truly exciting endeavor, the beginning of a new school." We were further instructed that we would receive further information over the summer.

Now, all the letters were on the old letterhead - brown and orange logo (now referred to as the 'flaming diaper' and oh-so-cool font with no caps. It was very 80s. They all appear to be hand typed for the address line and probably copied for the body; and all hand signed by both Ola F. Stringer, Head of Admissions, and Charles R. Eilber, Director. I seem to recall they all had offices in the Main Bldg. where the dark panel wood offices of the hospital executives must've been. 

And looking back, I imagine that school faculty and staff were creating structure, curriculum, rules, etc making stuff up as the need arose and as the weeks progressed. 

The Durham Sun ran a short article on who was selected for the school on Saturday, May 31, 1980. Twelve students from Durham and Orange Counties were among the first class of 150 students. The article even listed our home addresses! Six were from Durham - me, John Armitage, Tricia Townes, Beverly Adams, Christopher Staffa and Amy Gilbert. Janeen VandHooke was listed for Hillsborough. and 5 students were from Chapel Hill - Susan Anderson, Clovis Peres, Doug Appleyard, Sean Campbell and Sarah Krigman. Students from nearby counties included Angela Jean Royster, Suellen Howell, Richard Arnold II, Percil Watkins and Alex Daughety. Our class of 150 represented 63 of NC's 100 counties at the time.

For the on campus visits, I have one memory of sitting in the cafeteria or some large room in the Main building with my Dad, looking around at all the other students and parents. The parents were the only ones paying attention to the speakers - we heard from faculty and residential staff; from Admissions, Senior Staff, etc but the students were excited and not paying much attention to the talking heads, I know I didn't! I remember thinking that the students looked smart and not at all the typical high school stereotypes.

I'm fairly certain I sent in my letter of acceptance the same day I received it. I was ready to move on. I finished up year 8 at Durham Academy and went with family to celebrate at Carowinds!! Y'all remember Carowinds - the self proclaimed "Entertainment Capitol of the Carolinas"?

The summer passed quickly and the next thing I knew, I was getting a letter from my roommate, Alison Newby! 

Fame (Prompt #3)

By Steve Gallup

Some time during the week of May 22, 1980, I found out I had been accepted to become a member of the first class of the NC School of Science and Mathematics. It was less than a week after my 16th birthday.  Best birthday ever!

Later that summer, before classes began, I was contacted by a reporter from The Raleigh Times, an afternoon regional daily paper, serving primarily the citizens of Wake County.  The reporter, Mary Burch, wanted to interview me about my admission to the School of Science and Math.  Naturally, I agreed.

So Ms. Burch came by my house and brought a photographer.  It was a pleasant, sunny day, so we talked outside, where the photographer could get a few shots.  I spent a long time answering the interview questions.  At least, it seemed like a long time.  A day or two later the story came out on the front page of the paper.  It was the lead story; right below the banner.  There are five head shots of rising 11th grade students, including a picture of me right smack dab in the middle.  The headline read, "Science-Math Hi -- Wake has five in cream of crop".

This was my 15 minutes of fame!

From my wide ranging interview (which I like to imagine was full of wit and wisdom), the writer took the following quote, and the layout editor put it in a caption right beneath my grainy black and white picture: 'I think it's a real honor to be chosen, because if you knew the other people going, they're such good students' -- Steven Gallup, from Broughton.  

Ugh!  What a horrible quote.  What a horrible picture.  If this is what fame looks like, I don't want it anymore.

But we all became a little more famous that summer; the summer of 1980.  We became members of the first class of the widely anticipated public residential high school for gifted students in North Carolina.

I don't really remember much about that summer; but I do remember watching an unheralded film about another group of high school students, coming from dissimilar backgrounds to apply for and attend a specialized high school in Manhattan.  Although the storyline was fictional, the high school was real. These students were from New York City; and the school was the High School of Performing Arts at 120 West 46th street. The movie was "Fame"; and it was released across the country on June 20th, 1980.

Here is the Wikipedia description of the characters, as they are introduced during auditions for the school, at the beginning of the film:

"Accepted in the Drama department are Montgomery MacNeil, son of a well-known actress; Doris Finsecker, a shy Jewish girl with an overbearing mother; and Ralph Garci, who succeeds after failed auditions for Music and Dance. In the Music department, Bruno Martelli is an aspiring keyboardist whose electronic equipment horrifies Mr. Shorofsky, a conservative music teacher. In the Dance department, Coco Hernandez coolly hints at how she could join any of the three departments while Lisa Monroe is talkative and nervous. Leroy Johnson attends to perform his part of a dance routine for an auditioning friend, but the dance teachers are more impressed by his talents than his friend's."

As the plot unfolds, the students advance from year to year in their education and in the daily struggles of their lives.  Montgomery discusses his homosexuality and comes out to his classmates.  Doris overcomes shyness and blossoms, away from the hovering of her helicopter mother.  Ralph experiences the highs and lows of life on stage, while also dealing with an attack on his little sister (and the magical thinking of his mother).  Coco finds herself unwillingly undressing on camera for an amateur film maker's "screen test".  And Leroy is dealing with illiteracy that could spoil his chances for graduation and future success.

The stories in the movie are actually deep, frightening, complex, and messy.  For every jubilant and spontaneous "Hot Lunch Jam"; there is a moody and sobering "Dogs in the Yard".  The songs that accompany the action, span a range of emotions.  One of them, "Out Here on My Own" was sung at the talent show held on the campus of NCSSM, later that fall.  I think we could all identify with the struggles and the stress of the characters in the movie, even though we were only beginning our own transformative journeys.

In the movie finale, all the characters come together for an end of the year performance of  "I sing the body electric", a song based on the poem by Walt Whitman.  In the scene, parents and faculty look on, in a supportive body, as students from all branches of the school rise to sing enthusiastically:

"I sing the body electric

I celebrate the me yet come

I toast to my own reunion

When I become one with the sun"

That part always makes me cry. 

The full article:

{Raleigh Times - Monday, September 1, 1980; "Science-Math Hi; Wake has five in cream of the crop" - by Mary Burch; Times staff writer}

Writing Prompt #3: The Application Process

Prompt:  Write a story about your application to attend (or work for) NCSSM in 1980.

Due Date: April 28, 2025

Details:  Describe any part of the experience that you had, of completing the process of application to the NC School of Science and Mathematics in the Winter and Spring of 1980.  Alternatively, you may write a story about your acceptance to be a member of the first class (or staff or faculty) of the school.  You may write more than one story about the process if you like. 

Background:

"To select a diversified student body of gifted and talented students with interest and potential for high achievement in science and mathematics is the goal of the Admissions Office".  This was Ola Stringer's report to the Board of Trustees in March of 1989.  The admissions process for NCSSM began with the hiring of Ola Stringer, in December of 1979, as the Head of Admissions.

The office of admissions began soliciting support for student applications to NCSSM by using Regional Education Centers across the state for school representatives to meet with public school superintendents, "to assist in clarifying the school's purpose and to enlist a cooperative support for its program."

After statewide distribution of admissions criteria, Mike Collins (Dean for Student Personnel Services) and Ola Stringer returned to the Regional Education Centers "to meet with parents, students, school personnel and community representatives."  Dean Collins and Mrs. Stringer listened to the feedback at these center; which included concerns about the nature of the new school's athletic and music programs; the "standards, values, and culture" of faculty and staff; the "guidance and supervision" of the residential life program; and the allowance for humanities and electives outside of science and math in the instructional program.  They undoubtedly sought to address these concerns, back in Durham, where the process of planning for a school student body was still underway.

Early in 1980 the nomination procedures and the criteria for admissions were developed through a collaboration between the office of admissions, the school administrative staff (which included no faculty at the time), and several advisory groups.  A one page nomination form was developed; and those forms (along with parent/student permission forms) had to be completed by February 29th, 1980.  

Admission packets were developed that included as much information about the school as could be provided at the time.  Keep in mind that the school was brand new.  Many of its programs and services were as yet unknown.  In addition to an application form, the packet included "an Instructional Program Summary, a Student Handbook Summary, a Description of the Campus and a Sample Weekly and Daily Student Schedule."  Those admission packets were distributed to the 913 students had been nominated.

Admission was restricted to rising 11th grade students who were legal residents of North Carolina, and demonstrating "a sincere desire to learn and the willingness to commit themselves to the idea of total development."  Applicants had to complete the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which that year was administered on Saturday, March 22nd. (A few applicants had to take the test in May due to a prior commitment to a regional band competition.) Scores would be available by the end of April; before most final selections were made.  High school transcripts were also required.

In addition, the nomination form (often completed by a teacher) included 11 questions to gather information on the student's "academic and personal" qualities.  And on the application itself, the student was asked, in two questions, to give their "perception of what the School can do for them and what contributions they can make to the School."

Next the student applicants would meet at one of eight regional locations, for interviews conducted by school staff, on one of four Saturdays from March 15th to April 26th.  At the same time as the interview, testing would be performed with the Alpha Biographical Inventory (a measure of scientific creativity) and Raven's Progressive Matrices (a test of intelligence and abstract reasoning), to help "determine aptitude and potential for high achievement."  886 applicants went to the regional sites for testing and interviews.

Back in Durham; a fourteen member selection committee was formed to select at least 225 semifinalists by May 9th, 1980; but ultimately 242 were selected.  In a Raleigh Times article, Ola Stringer said, "It was really very heartbreaking at times.  I would sit here and look at two files and feel I had lost my ability to discriminate."  And, "We agonized over our decisions and we prayed over them, and I empathized with the parents and with the students who weren't chosen."

Subsequently, the semifinalists and their families were invited for a final interview and a campus visit on Saturday, May 17th, when they could also meet the administrative staff and the newly hired faculty.

Besides academic and personal qualifications; regional, ethnic, and cultural diversity were considered in the selection process.  Finalists were announced on May 22nd, 1980; when 150 finalists were given admission, and 42 alternates were chosen.  The finalists came from 63 of the states 100 counties; and minorities made up 24% of the incoming class.  Still, nine students declined the offer of admission before classes began.

{Raleigh Times quote is from "Wake has five in cream of crop", by Mary Burch; The Raleigh Times; September 1, 1980}

{All other quotations and dates are taken from the "Admissions Office Report to the Board of Trustees", submitted by Ola F. Stringer, on March 6, 1980; Attachment #1-A to the NCSSM Directors Report to the Board of Trustees on March 7, 1980.  This document is found in NCSSM Historical Collection of the NCSSM Digital Collections.}

[The current logo of NCSSM]

[Some examples of the Raven's Progressive Matrices IQ test questions]