Walk Together Today Alexandra Valladares

Join us in Part 2 of a two-part series as we continue our conversation with Athletic Director Robert Duncan at Riverside High in Durham, NC.  Coach Duncan is a former All-American and Academic All-American center at Durham's own North Carolina Central University, who has invested his entire educational career at "The River."

In this episode, host Alexandra Valladares and Coach Duncan delve into how their alma mater NCCU shaped their lives both during and after their undergraduate days. As Coach Duncan reflects back on how "truth and service" shaped his own life path, we are privileged to hear his insightful perspective on recruiting Black males into the teaching profession. This is part two in a two-part conversation. You can catch part one in Episode 003 here.


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Join us as in an "anomaly of a day" as our host Alexandra Valladares actually takes a moment to sit together at Riverside High with our special guest, Athletic Director Robert Duncan. Coach Duncan is a former All-American and Academic All-American center at Durham's own North Carolina Central University, who has invested his entire educational career at "The River."

Under the leadership of Principal Tonya Williams, Riverside High has embraced an effective model of shared leadership through the School Improvement Team (SIT) and has been implementing its newly developed  mission and vision.


Mission: Riverside High School welcomes, engages, exposes, and empowers a diverse community of learners to foster critical thinking and prepare students for lifelong learning and engaged global citizenship.
Vision: Riverside High School graduates will be self-reliant global citizens who make their mark as positive and contributing members of their communities.

In this episode, Coach Duncan, who serves as a member of the School Improvement Team, takes us behind the scenes of what it takes to build an athletics program as a new athletic director, from assessment of needs, to fund raising, to creating partnerships in the community, to developing support systems for the entire athletic department, and honoring the legacy of those who have come before you. This is part one in a two-part conversation, which continues in Episode 004.


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Join us as we walk together today at Sarah P. Duke Gardens with our special guests, Pastor Wanda Boone and Pastor Earl Boone. Dr. Wanda Boone is the founder and executive director of Together for Resilient Youth (Durham TRY). Together for Resilient Youth is a Drug Free Community Support Program grantee (DFC) in year 7 of the award. DFC grantee coalitions must be established community-based youth substance use prevention groups capable of effecting community- level change.
For many years, Earl and Wanda have been two of the 400,000 annual visitors to Duke Gardens, where admission is free, but parking can be a challenge on a beautiful day like today.  Open every day of the year from 8am to dusk, Durhamites can join folk from all over the world as they stroll through open space, stone steps, walking trails, and 55 acres of specialized gardens. 
In this episode, Alexandra, Wanda and Earl share stories of resilience... how being strangers upon arrival in Durham, as well as the support each received from strangers, helped them survive and overcome challenges along the way.  In telling the story of "Why TRY?" Pastor Wanda reveals the motivation, commitment, and promise of the effect that one caring adult can have in the life of young people who have experienced adverse childhood experience (ACES), and Pastor Earl introduces us to the power of intergenerational connections we can make with strangers nearing the end of life.

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Join us as we walk together today at Beaver Marsh Preserve with our special guest, Rickie White. Rickie  is the executive director of the Ellerbee Creek Watershed Association (ECWA), the land and water trust that owns, stewards, and makes makes Beaver Marsh available to the public.
Nestled between East Club Blvd. and Interstate 85 behind Compare Foods on Avondale Dr. in Durham, NC, Beaver Marsh Preserve is home to over 100 species of wildlife, including coyote, otter, mink, and of course, the ever-elusive beaver. 
In this episode, Alexandra and Rickie share stories about how ECWA obtained this wondrous urban preserve, what lured them into careers in science when they were kids, and where the challenges and opportunities lie for more effective community engagement, and specifically for public school collaborations in outdoor science education.

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