Ink Notes 5-13-21
Congratulations!
Dr. Faye Williams-Robbins will serve as deputy superintendent to Dr. Mark Daniel, the superintendent of Fort Wayne Community Schools. A graduate of Northrop High School and Purdue Fort Wayne, Williams-Robbins recently served as the district’s first chief of student, family and community engagement.
Williams-Robbins earned her Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and admitted to the Indiana Bar in 2001. She finished her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Ball State University.
No Menthol Sunday
May 16 is No Menthol Sunday is an international observance day led by The Center for Black Health & Equity is an important opportunity to engage faith leaders and their communities in a discussion about how to improve health outcomes for African Americans. The Federal Drug Administration has pledged to try and ban the use of menthol.
Although African Americans smoke at lower or similar rates compared with other racial and ethnic groups, they are disproportionately affected by tobacco use in several ways. Research shows that menthol makes it harder for the user to quit.
According to the Truth Initiative: “Nearly 90% of all African American smokers use menthol cigarettes, and more than 39,000 African Americans die from tobacco-related cancers each year. Experts believe that racial differences in smoking habits, socioeconomic factors and the metabolism of tobacco carcinogens may all play a role.”
To find out more about breaking tobacco addiction, go to www.quitnowindiana.com.
Virtual School
Fort Wayne Community Schools will launch the Fort Wayne Virtual Academy in the fall, an online only K-12 program.
The school will be a stand-alone program not directly affiliated with any existing FWCS school. It will accept up to 720 students (two sections at each grade level) through a lottery process, which will be open June 1-18.
Students will be provided technology to use while enrolled in the program. Fort Wayne Virtual Academy will not offer extra-curricular activities to its enrollees, and at the secondary level, there will be limited advanced coursework opportunities.
For more information, go to https://myfwcs.fortwayneschools.org/esnap
CONNECT to Services
CONNECT Allen County is a one-stop community resource access center where individuals and families can meet with professional providers that are all located in one office on the lower level of Rudisill Plaza, 201 E. Rudisill Ave.
Thirteen professional providers have offices in the 6,000-square-foot space, to provide immediate, on-site assessments and begin offering support with services such as food, housing, employment, healthcare, counseling, family support and more. The CONNECT staff is bilingual in English and Spanish, plus they can quickly enlist the help of local organizations to assist with other languages.
CONNECT is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am to 5pm, and Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 7pm. For more information, visit www.ConnectAllenCounty.com or call 260.901.5480.