'Power of One' aims to enlist help for schools

With Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools slashing teachers and programs to close a $100 million budget gap, can one volunteer make a difference at a struggling school?

More than 300 people answered "Yes" Tuesday by turning out to help launch "The Power of One," a community-engagement effort built on the notion that anyone can help a high-poverty school.

The launch of the project, sponsored by Mecklenburg Ministries, Temple Beth El, CMS and Communities in Schools, drew representatives from more than 250 organizations to the Bechtler Museum.

It became the second community-based project unveiled this week to benefit CMS. On Monday, business and philanthropic leaders announced Project LIFT, a $55 million, five-year effort to boost West Charlotte High and its feeder schools.

On Thursday, the nonprofit group Crossroads Charlotte will kick off "Get Real 2011," a five-week effort to build community consensus around services as governments prepare to slash millions of dollars from their budgets.

At the "Power of One" launch Tuesday, Superintendent Peter Gorman urged attendees not to be dismayed by the negative financial news coming out of CMS.

"I am still optimistic," he said. "There's lots of room for hope, and I see it every day when I see our students."

The goal Tuesday: to inspire attendees so deeply that they would tell others about the project.

Organizers screened "Souls of Our Teachers," a documentary featuring local teachers from high-poverty schools speaking about their students' dreams and challenges.

Afterward, three of the teachers gathered for a discussion about teaching low-income students.

Shanna Rae, a teacher at Billingsville Elementary, said she often teaches homeless students. She marveled at how well they cope despite not knowing where they'll sleep some days.

"It's not a challenge (to teach them)," she said. "It's more of a privilege."

Aaron Pomis, a teacher at KIPP Charlotte, a charter school, recalled one struggling but determined student who walked around reading books between classes and after school. She made four years' worth of improvement in one school year, he said.

Thomas Kirkley, a teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle, told of a troubled middle-schooler who entered his class as a student known for making bad grades and big trouble. He went on to become an honors student at Vance High, and now is headed to Georgia Tech on a scholarship.

Power of One leaders said anyone can have that kind of impact on a child. They gave attendees copies of the documentary and a guide for using it to inspire others. They also received a "gift card" enabling them to give $100 to a classroom project of their choice via DonorsChoose.org.

"You each have a voice," said Rabbi Judith Schindler of Temple Beth El, "and it needs to be heard."