New Bern Housing Authority and the City of New Bern
CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS PLANNING GRANT
Trent Court/Craven Terrace/Greater Five Points Neighborhood
Childhood Education Task Force
Wednesday, March 4 at 10:00am
Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Darlene Brown (co-lead), Debbie Hodges (co-lead), Dr. Terri Colon, Tammy
Collum, Patricia Benefield, Lloyd Stiles, Sandi Ruger, Darryl Bryant, Diane Richardson, Pat
Morrow, Chandler Powell, Perry Bosmajian, Rachel Ward, Cheryl Reed, Carol Becton,
Pat Ipock, Pinkie Moore, Charlotte Neely
Handouts:
People Plan Development Approach
Sample Education Strategy Matrix from Build Olneyville Plan in Providence, RI
Service Provider Inventory and Map
Subset of education-related questions from the CNI Resident Survey
Review of Key CNI Resident Survey Findings:

Early Learning: According to the resident survey, 1 in 3 children at Trent Court and Craven
Terrace under age 5 (31%) are not enrolled in an early learning program.

Special Needs: 14% of households report that they have a child with special needs. This
appears to be slightly higher than the rate of students with disabilities in North Carolina
(12.5%) and the nation (12.9%)

Parental Engagement: 1 in 5 parents (20%) never participate in PTO. The biggest barrier to
parent participation appears to be transportation; 1 in 5 (21%) said that transportation
would increase involvement at school.

Out-of-school-time programs: Only 26% of Trent Court and Craven Terraces households
have children who participate in out-of-school time activities. However, more than half
(56%) of households have children interested in future participation. The biggest barriers
are reported to be transportation (40%); lack of awareness (27%); and schedule (20%).
Overall, Youth Programming was among the top 3 things residents would like to change in
the neighborhood.

Schools:
o Elementary School students in the CNI grant area attend one of five Elementary Schools:
Albert H Banger, J T Barber, Oaks Road, Ben D Quinn, or Trent Park.
o CNI Middle School students typically attend Grover C. Field or H J MacDonald.
o High Schools students attend New Bern High School.
o According to data from the Craven County School Department, students from the CNI
target neighborhood lag are not performing as well academically as their non-CNI
counterparts.
Additional Issues and Opportunities Identified via Discussion:

Coastal Community Action offers a host of services including Headstart, senior services,
weatherization, urgent repair, single family rehab, HAARP. Currently they provide 617
Headstart and 142 early Headstart slots; 400 of which are located at Craven Terrace. They
also offer a home-based program.

Craven County provides early childhood care for 7000 kids. Craven Smart Start offered to
pull data on the availability and utilization of daycare/early learning slots as well as
childcare subsidies in the CNI grant area compared to the city/county.

Waiting lists for CCA programs are short. Concern about lack of recognition of the
importance of early learning. Need to provide information about the benefits in a way that
CNI residents are more likely to take advantage of.

Transportation is a major issue. It affects utilization of services, parent participation in
schools, access to out-of-school time programs, etc.

Hope Resource Center offers a 12 week parenting program utilizing the nurturing parenting
curriculum that is well regarded.

Family Literacy Program offers a dual generation program where parents learn while their
children are learning. It is a great model.

First 2000 days initiative recognizes how important this time is when the majority of the
brain synapses develop during this period.

Many parents suffer from depression and anxiety. Parent and child socialization groups are
important.

Man-up Program has a great track record working with fathers to address the challenges of
child support.

A pilot program with Work First and Craven Community College is promising.

Pre-K is offered by Craven County Schools for students with exceptional needs. Other
students only have access if additional slots are available. The program is currently offered
at Ben Quin, JT Barber and Graham; many of the schools where CNI students attend do not
offer the program.

NBHA offers an evening school as well as home-based on-line learning for students that are
not doing well in the traditional classroom. The School Department partners with Area Day
Reporting to serve students who have been suspended so that they can continue their
studies on-line.

Career College Promise offer students the opportunity to take Craven Community College
classes at the high school for college credit. Via a collaboration with Craven Community
College, students can also access EMT and Fire Fighter certification programs. These
certification programs are stackable. Students also have the opportunity to get their
Associates Degree via a five year program with the Community College where
transportation is provided.

Back Pack Blessings provides weekend food packs to students in need via a network of local
church volunteers.
Who’s missing from the table?


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Barbara Lee, Century 21
Stanley White Recreation Center
Betty Harby, DSS Daycare Coordinator
Regina Bryant, Hope Resource Center
Craven County Family Literacy Program
Black Ministerial Alliance/faith community
Craven Literacy Council
YMCA
Next Meeting:
Monday, March 16
10:00am
Trent Court Community Room
Proposed Agenda
 Review and update the Services Inventory
 Build consensus on Priority Needs that will be the focus of the
Education strategies