Students interested in attending the Denzel Washington School of the Arts at the Nellie Thornton Campus next year will have the opportunity to learn more about the extraordinary programs the school offers during an open house scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday, January 27th. Students and families can connect to the Zoom meeting with the Zoom ID 947 1252 3364 and Passcode 849601. The school – led by Principal Dr. Evelyn Collins – is reaching out to families with children who are currently in grades 5-8 in all schools in Mount Vernon and beyond who have a passion and talent in theatre, voice, dance, orchestra, band, technical theatre or visual arts. Enrollment for the school next year will include grades 6-12.
The Mount Vernon City School District has scheduled its annual High Schools of Choice Night for eighth-grade students and their families to learn about the District’s three theme-based high schools: the Mount Vernon STEAM Academy, the Denzel Washington School of the Arts at the Nellie Thornton Campus, and The Mount Vernon High School. The event is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 at 6 p.m. The event will take place via Zoom video conferencing this year (Zoom meeting details below). The event is open to students currently enrolled in the District as well as those currently attending private or charter schools.
The ‘Mount Vernon Basics’ program, launched in 2018, is an initiative that seeks to provide parents with the tools and resources needed to support their child’s education. The program’s leaders have announced upcoming events for the spring 2021 semester. For the health and safety of the District’s staff and families, the events will be held virtually through Zoom. The first event – Bringing Back the Basics: Providing Resources for Infants and Toddlers – is planned for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26th. The kick-off event was developed with the district’s newest partner, the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center. Zoom Meeting ID: 998 4024 8935. Password: basics
MARK YOUR CALENDARS – JAN 14th > 6–7:30pm 📝 for the next Virtual Parent Learning Module #6: Social-Emotional Support for Children & Families-Building Resiliency Now and post-COVID-19 This session discusses our resilience as the ability to bounce back from stress, challenge, tragedy, trauma, or adversity and provides ten powerful practices to nurture an attitude of resilience in children. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/97183424189?pwd=S0dxOXBpR0lIbkhEU2d6SGdhUTBYQT09 Use Meeting ID# 97183424189 Password: OSI2021
Judah Taylor, a 10th-grade student at the Denzel Washington School of the Arts on the Nellie Thornton Campus, won first place in a national competition in honor of William Warfield, earning the 2020 William Warfield Scholarship Fund Classical Vocal Competition for African American High School Students, with his performance of “Caro, Mio Ben.” Recipients of this year’s scholarships will perform in an annual benefit concert. This year’s benefit concert will be virtual at 4 p.m. on Sunday, January 24th.
Dr. Natasha Hunter - McGregor , Principal
Dr. Hunter-McGregor is one of three siblings born into a loving military family. She received her associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and her undergraduate degree from Howard University where she graduated from the School of Business with a major in Management. She continued her educational journey to later receive two masters and the degree of Doctor of Education from St. John Fisher College.
Dr. Hunter-McGregor’s educational career began in Harlem, New York at the age of 21 where she lived, worshipped and taught young people in the community. She worked as a teacher in many capacities, a social studies school based coordinator, teacher of students with disabilities, gifted and talented teacher, literacy coach, AIS provider, curriculum writer integrating the arts, as well as a staff developer for a collective 10 years.
Dr. Hunter-McGregor later became an assistant principal in the New York City school system where she served for 8 years prior to becoming principal in Mt. Vernon, New York. During her service in the Harlem community, Dr. Hunter-McGregor trained staff from partnering agencies such as City Year of New York, Harlem Children’s Zone, coordinated service activities, instituted new teacher orientation programs in her school and helped to improve academic performance and teacher effectiveness.
She was an active member of the NAACP, Urban League and is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Dr. Hunter-McGregor currently worships in the Mt. Vernon community and continues to put all of her energy into providing a high quality education for the students in her care by working collaboratively with families, staff, district staff, clergy and all key stake holders. She understands the superintendent’s 20/20 Vision and her immediate focus is to ensure that Graham School is taken off of the focus list and re-establishes itself as an institution of learning, whereby all families would like to send their precious little ones.
Dr. Hunter-McGregor loves sports and arts, traveling and spending time with family and friends. She adores her three children and strives to live her life with purpose, which she credits to the support of her loving parents.
