Thirty-five faculty, staff and students in the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education participated in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at North Graham Elementary School.
To honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cherrel Miller Dye, assistant professor of education and executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion, collaborated with Lesley Henry, director of education outreach, and Rickeya Jones, principal of North Graham Elementary School, to provide a meaningful inspirational experience for students and to deepen Elon’s support of its local school partners.
The 35 volunteers were assigned to different grade levels at North Graham each tasked with reading aloud “The Youngest Marcher” by Cynthia Levinson. Following the reading, students were asked to think about their own dreams for the world and to illustrate it on paper through words, sentences and pictures to make a class dream quilt.
In addition, students were asked to think of a word to complete their own footprint, “I can change the world by…” All footprints were aligned in a path down the hallway.
“It was so exciting to see the students at North Graham think creatively about how they can have an impact on their school and community. It was an important day for students to not only learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. but also about how they will fit into history going forward,” Abby Saracino ’23 said.
Sofia Arguello ’19 and third grade teacher at North Graham Elementary said, “I loved having professors and students from my alma mater at North Graham Elementary. My students got to meet people that have guided me to become the best teacher I can be. My professors got to see how much I’ve grown and together we spoke about the importance of learning history, and explore ways to leave a footprint in our community.”