CrossRoadsNews, July 16, 2016 Section B

Family & Back-to-School Expo Saturday, July 23, 2016

Copyright © 2016 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

July 16, 2016

www.crossroadsnews.com

Making the grade

Section B

Young performers once again will take to the stage and step lively at the CrossRoadsNews’ 11th annual Family & Back-to-School Expo on July 23 at the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia.

Information & resources to get you excited about the new school year!

Noon to 5 p.m. • Lower Level • the Mall at Stonecrest ■ Free Back-to-School screenings

■ Informative presentations

■ Entertainment

■ Door prizes & giveaways

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The July 23 CrossRoadsNews expo will help families turn their attention to the 2016-2017 school year.

Expo is chock-full of information and giveaways 2346 Candler Road Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.CrossRoadsNews.com editor@CrossRoadsNews.com The Family & Back-to-School Expo Special Section is a publication of CrossRoadsNews, Atlanta’s award-winning weekly newspaper.

Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker Graphics Editor Curtis Parker Reporters Jennifer Ffrench Parker Donna Williams Lewis Graphic Designer Sharif Williams Copy Editor Brenda Yarbrough CrossRoadsNews is published every Saturday by CrossRoadsNews, Inc. We welcome articles on neighborhood issues and news of local happenings. The opinions expressed by writers and contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor those of any advertisers.

The concept, design and content of CrossRoadsNews are copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner. without the written permission of the publisher. © 2016 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

The new school year will be kicking off on Aug. 8 and the to-do checklist is long.

There are immunizations to get; back-toschool screenings to be done; and school supplies, uniforms and school clothes to buy.

And then everyone has to get back in that back-to-school frame of mind.

On July 23, the annual CrossRoadsNews’ Family & Back-to-School Expo will help families turn their attention to the 2016-2017 school year with information and other resources, performances, screenings, a fashion show, and giveaways.

It takes place from noon to 5 p.m. on the lower level of the Mall at Stonecrest.

During the expo, which is in its 11th year, families can visit exhibitors offering a variety of products and services to help make the new school year successful and see an array of dance and musical performances by talented DeKalb, Henry and Rockdale county students.

This year’s expo is sponsored by DeKalb Solicitor-General Sherry Boston and Kaiser Permanente of Georgia.

Boston, who has been solicitor-general since 2011, is a big supporter of perfect attendance for students. This is the fifth year that she has sponsored the expo to encourage students to sign her Perfect Attendance Pledge.

Kaiser Permanente, which operates five medical centers in DeKalb County and in Conyers, will be encouraging families to incorporate walking and other activities in their daily routine.

Exhibitors include private and state schools; dance schools; health centers; the Friends of Stonecrest Library; the Conyersbased nonprofit BRIMI Foundation, which supports girls; and the DeKalb Board of Health.

A young expo-goer signs DeKalb Solicitor-General Sherry Boston’s Perfect Attendance Pledge.

Boston, an expo sponsor, is a big supporter of perfect attendance for students.

Kids can take photos of Kaiser Permanente’s Doc Broc; pick up safety tips from the DeKalb School District’s McGruff the Crime Dog and reading tips from Reading Rams; and watch a kids fashion show featuring styles from Baby Girl Couture, a new kids fashion store on the upper level of the Mall at Stonecrest.

Former beauty queen and fashion icon Jan Reynolds is styling the show featuring back-to-school and other outfits.

Oakhurst Medical Centers and Georgia Piedmont Technical College will offer free blood pressure checks and the DeKalb Board

of Health will be offering rapid results HIV testing.

Giveaways include 50 drawstring bags to the first 50 people who sign up with BRIMI Foundation, T-shirts, gift cards and gift baskets.

Expo-goers who visit at least a dozen expo exhibitors can enter to win a “Fabulous Back-to-School” Gift Basket compliments of the Mall at Stonecrest.

The mall is at Turner Hill Road and I-20 in Lithonia.

For more information, call 404-2841888.

.

2016 Family & Back-to-School Expo Exhibitors & Grand Prize Entry Form Visit at least 12 of these exhibitors* at the 2016 Family & Back-to-School Expo and enter to win a Back-to-School Gift Basket from the Mall at Stonecrest. Drawing takes place on July 23, 2016, at 4:40 p.m. at the Main Stage in front of Sears on the lower level of the Mall at Stonecrest. _____ Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates

_____ DeKalb County Sheriff – Jeffrey Mann

_____ Jenae’s Dance Experience

_____ Brimi Foundation, LLC

_____ DeKalb Solicitor General – Sherry Boston

_____ Kaiser Permanente of Georgia

_____ City of Lithonia Farmer’s Market

_____ Friends of Stonecrest Library

_____ Kilombo Pan Afrikan Institute

_____ Conservatory of Dance and Fine Arts

_____ Georgia Piedmont Technical College

_____ Oakhurst Medical Center

_____ CrossRoadsNews

_____ Georgia Stars Academy of Dance

_____ Organization of DeKalb Educators

_____ DeKalb Convention & Visitor’s Bureau

_____ Green Pastures Christian Academy

_____ Team 3 Fitness, Sports & After School Program

_____ DeKalb County Board of Health – HIPPS Name ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City _____________________________________________ E-mail_______________________________________________________________________ Home phone _________________________________________________ Cell ___________________________________________________________ * Eligible entries must be validated by at least 12 exhibitors and must include your complete name, address, e-mail address and telephone number. Employees and immediate family members of CrossRoadsNews and the Mall at Stonecrest are not eligible to win. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. You MUST be present to win.

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2016 Family & Back-to-School Expo Program Highlights July 23, 2016 • Noon to 5 p.m. • The Main Stage in front of Sears Lower Level, The Mall at Stonecrest Noon

Expo kicks off with Rae Rae “The Exercise Motivator” Clark and the Prestigious Pearls dancers

12:30 p.m.

Georgia Stars Academy Jr. & Sr. Company

12:45 p.m.

Jenae’s Dance Experience Jazz ages 10-14 Rae Rae Clark

1 p.m.

Back-to-School Fashion Show

2 p.m.

Conservatory of Dance

2:30 p.m.

Kayla Wyatt, Singer

2:45 p.m.

Jenae’s Dance Experience Duet 9-year-olds

3 p.m.

DeKalb Solicitor-General Sherry Boston

3:30 p.m.

Georgia Stars Academy “Fab 7” Majorettes

3:45 p.m.

Zion Moore, singer

4:p.m.

Jenae’s Dance Experience Hip-Hop ages 12-15

4:40 p.m.

Grand Prize Drawing

5 p.m.

Expo Ends

Prestigious Pearls

Back-to-School Fashion Show

Conservatory of Dance

Sherry Boston Kayla Wyatt

Zion Moore

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“It felt great being up there and seeing … people of different colors and nationalities looking at me and me bringing a smile to their faces.”

Essence Magazine’s “Emerging Artist to Watch” Zion Moore performing with his dancers Ben McGana and Anthony Washington on July 2 in New Orleans. He will perform JUly 23 at the CrossRoadsNews Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Singer Zion Moore bringing it back home at BTS Expo

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

Fresh from “slaying it” at the 2016 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, Columbia High School’s rising senior Zion Moore will be on the Main Stage at the 11th annual CrossRoadsNews Family & Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Zion, who has been tagged by Essence Magazine as an “Emerging Artist to Watch,” performed before what his mother, Corliss Moore, said was “thousands, thousands and thousands” of people on July 2 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in downtown New Orleans.

“It was an amazing experience,” she said, adding that she cheered so loud, she lost her voice.

“There was just a sea of people,” she said.

“They had him up on the big jumbotron and I thought, ‘This is the real deal.’”

After his performance, Zion hobnobbed with the cast of the Fox TV show “Empire”

and received encouragement from Bryshere “Yazz” Gray who plays Hakeem Lyon. He also met Lee Daniels, “Empire’s” producer and creator.

Zion, who has performing since age 4, is a singer and dancer who is no stranger to the CrossRoadsNews Family & Back-to-School Expo stage. Last year he performed his then new release “Splash,” and in 2014, he showed off his “hopping and ticking” dance moves.

He said his performance at the Essence Music Festival was his biggest audience so far.

“It felt great being up there and seeing all these people of different colors and nationalities looking at me and me bring a smile to their faces,” Zion said. “It made me feel good.”

At the 2016 CrossRoadsNews Expo on July 23, Zion will perform at 3:45 p.m. from the Main Stage near Sears on the mall’s lower level.

He will perform his new “All I Want to Be” single just like he did at the Essence

Music Festival. The song is produced by his cousin, Atlanta music producer Mike Da Rockman.

In New Orleans, Zion told his audience that he knew that many of them at a young age said “I want to do this when I grow up.

I wanna be this when I grow up.”

“This is basically a testimony of what I want to do in life and what I try to do in life,” he said before singing about his parents working hard and growing up the church.

“When I step up on the stage, I’m going to turn it up,” he sang to screams from the audience.

Zion, who is 17 years old, is graduating from high school this school year. He plans to study mass communications and theater arts at Georgia State University.

View Zion Moore at the 2016 Essence Music Festival at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=f9qxaO3ESV8. Follow him on Instagram @iamziondafro.

Former radio, TV personality to serve as emcee Lillie Shaw-Lomax, a former TV news reporter and anchor and radio talk show host-turned-CME minister, will be mistress of ceremonies for the CrossRoadsNews 11th annual Family & Back-toSchool Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest on July 23.

In a media career spanning 30 years, ShawLomax worked with TV Lillie Shaw-Lomax and radio stations in Mississippi, South Carolina and Washington, D.C. Along the way, she interviewed the likes of Betty Shabazz, Bebe Moore Campbell, Colin Powell and U.S. Rep. John Lewis. She also had conversations with former Vice President Al Gore, Dorothy Height, Walter Mosley, Nikki Giovanni, Yolanda King, Sister Soulja, and Wynton and Branford Marsalis.

Shaw-Lomax, who lives in Stone Mountain, is nearing completion of her Master of Divinity at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and is the creator and host of the radio and television podcast Beneath the Surface: The Motto Is Faith.

Justice. Power. Unapologetic Truth, which will begin airing next spring.

Shaw-Lomax, who is married to First Afrikan Presbyterian Church’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Mark Lomax, is owner and president of G&M Shaw Productions LLC, a video and documentary production company.

The expo takes place noon to 5 p.m. on the mall’s lower level with performances, presentations and a kids back-to-school-fashion on the Main Stage near Sears.

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CrossRoadsNews

July 16, 2016

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MY GOAL IS TO: ³ KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE ³ IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE ³ KEEP OUR KIDS IN SCHOOL AND OUT OF TROUBLE ³ PROTECT THE VULNERABLE Solicitor-General Boston wants to help kids stay in school to ensure a brighter future for DeKalb’s youngest citizens. Our Office works hard with families and school administrators to provide support and resolve attendance issues before they rise to the level of prosecution of parents and guardians.

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“I’m hoping that the parents listen with an open mind. … I mean, we’re talking seventh grade.”

New HIV cases in DeKalb highest among ages 13-24 The DeKalb Board of Health will offer free rapid HIV testing on July 23 during the CrossRoadsNews’ Family & Backto-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

By Donna Williams Lewis

On a mission to curb the spread of HIV, DeKalb County public health workers are offering rapid HIV testing anywhere people congregate, from festivals and colleges to barbershops, libraries and street corners.

On July 23, the confidential, finger-stick test will be available at CrossRoadsNews’ Family & Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Dr. S. Elizabeth Ford, chief executive officer of the county Board of Health, said she is excited about the opportunity to try to reach the thousands of people expected to attend the 11th annual expo.

“I’m hoping that the parents listen with an open mind,” she said.

State figures show that from 2008 to 2012, the newly diagnosed HIV population in DeKalb was highest among ages 13-24, she said.

“I mean, we’re talking seventh grade,” Ford said.

The district health director talked about a mother who told health workers on World AIDS Day that she was worried about her son’s status.

The mom said girls had told him: “If you’re using a condom, you must have something.”

Some kids are dismissing HIV, Ford said, telling health workers it’s “just a virus, and you can take medication for that.”

HIV is spreading in the United States primarily through sexual behaviors or needle use, and it can lead to AIDS if left untreated.

“HIV is a long-term, irreversible, chronic disease that affects every organ, ultimately,” Ford said.

The medications required to keep HIV under control and that people can take to prevent the infection are pricey, she added.

Rapid HIV test results are available within 15 minutes, said Jil Swift, a county public health educator.

People whose tests come back as “preliminary positive” will be counseled and linked to care.

A vial of their blood is drawn and sent to a state lab to confirm the HIV diagnosis.

“Our main goal is to make sure people are getting tested and they know their status,” Swift said.

“A lot of people who tested positive had

no clue.”

DeKalb had 422 new HIV diagnoses in 2014, according to the latest figures available from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Among them, 82 percent were male and 71 percent were black.

In a county of more than 700,000 residents, 422 new HIV cases in a year may not seem like much.

“But it’s a real issue at a time when other cities are managing to get this under control,” Ford said.

DeKalb’s 2014 number is down by 19 percent from 519 new cases recorded in 2012.

But it’s an increase of 9 percent since 2013,

when there were 390 new cases in DeKalb.

Ford says every person who has been sexually active should know their status.

“The fact that we’re coming up with newly diagnosed cases of AIDS in 50-year-olds tells me that they have been living with HIV for years,” she said.

Georgia was ranked fifth highest in the nation for the number of people living with HIV in 2013, with the highest numbers coming from Fulton and DeKalb counties.

DeKalb had 9,039 people living with HIV and 4,873 living with AIDS in 2014, according to the state. Fulton County had nearly double DeKalb’s numbers.

Board of Health extends hours for BTS screening Library offering help The DeKalb Board of Health is offering Saturday and evening back-to-school hours for immunizations and screenings at its health centers.

No appointment is necessary. Services are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Parents should bring: n Each child and his or her immunization record. n Cash, a debit/credit card or a check from a Georgia bank. n Each child’s insurance card. The centers accept Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids and

State Health Benefits Plan (Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Georgia). Other insurance may be accepted.

On July 30, immunizations and vision and hearing screenings will be available at all centers from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Aug. 2-4 and Aug. 8-10, there will be extended hours for immunizations and vision and hearing screenings at all centers from 8:15 a.m. to 7 p.m.; extended hours for dental screenings at Central DeKalb Health Center from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and extended hours for dental screenings

at other centers. Call for information.

The centers are Central DeKalb, 440 Winn Way in Decatur (404-294-3762); East DeKalb, 2277 S. Stone Mountain-Lithonia Road in Lithonia (770-484-2600); North DeKalb, 3807 Clairmont Road N.E. in Chamblee (770-454-1144); and South DeKalb, 3110 Clifton Springs Road in Decatur (404-244-2200).

The centers’ usual hours are Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, visit www. dekalbhealth.net or call 404-294-3700.

with BTS paperwork Parents and guardians who need help with back-to-school paperwork and immunizations can attend Ready for School: Medicaid/Immunization Round Up on July 23 at the Clarkston Library.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Get help filling out your children’s Medicaid paperwork and get the free immunizations they need to start school.

The library is at 951 N. Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston. For more information, call 404-5087175.

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“Education is important to me and has been part of my multi-pronged approach to creating a better DeKalb.”

DeKalb Schools’ rising graduation rate is good news all around Why education matters n Nearly one-half of all high school dropouts ages 16-24 are unemployed. n High school dropouts earn an average of $270,000 less than graduates over the course of their lives.

For Georgians, this represents a $7.3 billion loss in earning potential. n Truancy is the No. 1 predictor among boys and the No. 2 predictor among girls for future criminal activity. n Truancy is also linked to other issues such as drug and alcohol use, depression, and violence. n Dropouts are six times more likely to be incarcerated as those with a diploma. n In Georgia, 56 percent of all prison inmates are high school dropouts.

Tips for a successful year

Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews

DeKalb Solicitor-General Sherry Boston encourages students, parents and all stakeholders to work together to keep youth engaged and in school.

By DeKalb Solicitor-General Sherry Boston

I love sharing good news, especially on the education front.

According to the latest statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education, the national high school graduation rate has reached a record high of 82.3 percent.

In DeKalb County, the graduation rate rose to 71 percent in 2015, a dramatic increase from 57 percent just three years prior.

I am no statistician, but I certainly understand the significance of this upward trend.

Behind every one of those numbers is the name and face of a young boy or girl who, by earning their high school diploma, is creating a pathway to success in higher education, the work force, and, quite frankly, in life.

Education is important to me and has always been part of my multi-pronged approach to creating a better DeKalb. We must all work together to keep our youth engaged and in school.

State law requires that all children between the ages of 6 and 16 attend school. Any

parent or guardian found to be violating the compulsory attendance law, as it is known, shall be guilty of educational neglect, a misdemeanor offense. Individuals convicted of violating the state law can be fined, sentenced to 30 days in jail, and ordered to perform community service. Putting parents in jail is the last resort. The Office of the SolicitorGeneral works with a team of school administrators and education experts to provide support and resolve attendance issues before they rise to the level of prosecution.

Our internal research indicates that parents sometimes avoid taking kids to school because of concerns related to learning disabilities, bullying, and lack of transportation. Many absences associated with those issues, however, are preventable because of the wide variety of resources. School officials can assist with linking parents and guardians to programs and resources that best match their needs.

The Solicitor-General’s Office also offers an avenue of support to parents and guardians whose children are chronically absent

through our Attendance Review Team diversion program. ART requires parents and guardians to sign a contract agreeing that their child will have no unexcused absences and that they will meet with the child’s teacher, counselor, or social worker at least once a month for a specified period of time. Those who fail to comply with these conditions and improve a child’s school attendance could ultimately be subject to prosecution.

Fortunately, the number of alleged educational neglect cases referred to our office has decreased significantly with each passing year. My hope is that this downward trend continues in tandem with the nation’s rising graduation rate. Call me overly optimistic, but I truly believe that through the combined efforts of parents, educators, and community stakeholders working together for the benefit of our students, we can one day boast a 100 percent graduation rate for every child in our nation and our great county.

Sherry Boston has been DeKalb County solicitor-general since 2011. Boston is the DeKalb district attorney-elect.

n Send your child to school every day school is open – except when ill. n Wake your child up early enough so she or he can get to school on time, even if that means 15 or 30 minutes earlier than she or he used to wake up. n Encourage your child to eat a good breakfast every morning; try not to let him or her skip breakfast. n Pack healthy snacks and lunches that will maintain their energy and help with learning. n Talk with your child about their school day. n Inquire about your child’s homework and make sure it’s completed each night. n School officials can be great problem solvers. Contact your school if you think your child has a learning disability, is being bullied, has transportation or attendance issues due to homelessness, or needs other support. n Create a study routine for your child.

A good rule of thumb is to have your child do his or her homework as soon as she or he arrives home from school. n Have your child prepare for school each night: Pick out clothes or uniforms, socks, shoes, place homework assignments in book bags, etc. n Be sure your child gets a good night’s sleep. n Praise and reward your child’s success when appropriate.

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“They’re so positive. I get a lot of hugs. I love it, and they do, too.”

Conservatory of Dance engaging mind, body and spirit

By Donna Williams Lewis

After 30 years of teaching dance, Michelle Douglas, founder and artistic director of the Conservatory of Dance and Fine Arts, is now working with the children of some of her former students.

Teaching is still a thrill for Douglas, whose studio serves about 250 children a year in on-site classes Michelle Douglas in Lithonia and in an outreach program called Dance in Motion.

“I love it, love working with the children, love showing the art of dance,” she said. “We dance to engage the mind, body and spirit.”

Conservatory dancers will perform tap, hip-hop and other styles of dance on July 23 at the CrossRoadsNews Family & Back-toSchool Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest. They will be on the Main Stage near Sears on the mall’s lower level at 2 p.m.

The award-winning Conservatory dancers come from a school that has produced a number of successful dancers – among them, Lamoi Hendrington of Lithonia, who was accepted into the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, and Jasmine Williams from Decatur, who is now performing with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Other graduates have gone on to dance with the cheerleading squads of the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins.

Douglas said she and her teachers promote a sense of family in the school and they work to keep their students encouraged and “lifted up.” She reminds her teachers: “You can find one good thing to say about any-

Students from the Conservatory of Dance and Fine Arts will perform tap, hip-hop and other styles of dance on July 23 at 2 p.m. on the Main Stage near Sears on the lower level of the Mall at Stonecrest during the CrossRoadsNews expo.

body. Find it and let them know what it is.”

The Conservatory is observing its 21st anniversary in August and it is hosting its annual open house for registration for the new school year on Aug. 6 at its Lithonia studios, near Panola Road and I-20, at 5424 Hillandale Park Court. Open house class

registration will be from noon to 3 p.m.

The school enrolls students from the age of 2 to adults. The tinier tots are typically the students Douglas teaches. She says they are uninhibited and love to learn.

“They’re so positive,” she said. “I get a lot of hugs. I love it, and they do, too.”

Classes include ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip-hop and African dance, tumbling and drill. This year, Douglas plans to offer after-school classes and to add a second performing dance troupe to give the “recreational” students who are taught just once a week a chance to perform.

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“That was where I got all of my real friends. The arts are not just about something to do. They can really change your kid’s life.”

Students at Jenae’s Dance Experience Performing Arts Studio will show off their hip-hop and jazz dance skills at the July 23 expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews

Jenae’s Dance Experience heading toward an amazing year

By Donna Williams Lewis

Over the past year, Jenae’s Dance Experience Performing Arts Studio has quadrupled in space, doubled in students and started a competition dance team that takes first place everywhere it goes.

The students will show off their hip-hop and jazz dance skills on July 23 at the CrossRoadsNews Family & Back-toSchool Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest. They will be on the Main Stage near Sears at 12:25 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4 p.m.

It’s a busy time for owner Jenae Duncan and her teachers

who offer classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, African dance, hip-hop, step and tumbling.

“This is our seventh year, and we’re really looking forward to an amazing year,” Duncan said.

To Duncan, who began dancing at the age of 2, dance is much more than movement. Shy and bullied as a child, dance became Duncan’s solace and shield.

“That was where I got all of my real friends,” she said.

“The arts are not just about something to do. They can really change your kid’s life.”

Duncan’s resume includes an A-list of stars she has toured and appeared with, including Monique, Beyonce and Sean Paul. She found her true calling to be teaching.

“I really have a love for kids, and I really get a big high off of teaching them,” she said.

Her dance studio has moved five minutes away from a 1,000-square-foot spot in downtown Conyers to a 4,125square-foot former beauty school in the Hunting Creek Plaza on Ga. Highway 20.

Since then, the school has grown from 60 to 120 students, with a capacity for 30 more. The students won three local competitions they entered this year.

Jenae’s Dance Studio offers scholarships, intentionally affordable pricing and free tuition for two kids each month who distinguish themselves in their actions and attitudes.

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“Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself or anyone else because if we stand together, we can stop the bullying.”

Kayla Wyatt stands for those who can’t stand up for themselves “I’m gonna stand tall And sing this new song.

They can push me down, But I get up off the ground And stand tall.”

– From “Stand Tall” by Kayla Wyatt

By Donna Williams Lewis

Fourteen-year-old Newton County student Kayla Wyatt is using her many artistic gifts to tackle an all too common school problem – bullying.

Kayla’s gentle voice and soft, tender music pack a powerful message in “Stand Tall,” a new song and video produced by the Marietta-based talent development company Hungry Artiz.

“I want to be the one who can stand up for the ones who can’t stand up for themselves,” said Kayla, an actor, model, dancer and singer.

She and two of her friends, Ciara Hall and McKenzie Calloway, will perform “Stand Tall” on July 23 at the CrossRoadsNews Family & Back-toSchool Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest. The trio will take the Main Stage, near Sears on the mall’s lower level at 2:30 p.m.

Kayla isn’t likely to have stage fright. She’s been wowing audiences since the age of 3, when she won the Little Miss Newton County pageant with a hip-hop version of the ABCs. Now she is an actress who was nominated in November 2015 for best supporting actress in the Short Film Awards in New York City for her role as Carlie in the film “My Hue of Blue.”

This fall, she will be a ninth-grader at the Academy of Liberal Arts at Newton County High School and a dancer in the school’s marching band.

She’s also a sought-after speaker in her school system, where kids at several schools have watched her perform “Stand Tall.”

“I always tell them don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself or anyone else because if we all stand together, then we can stop the bullying,” she said.

Kayla remembers feeling like a hero in seventh grade at Veterans Memorial Middle School when she intervened to stop a girl from picking on and pushing another girl.

Her video features a boy who loses his tablet to bullies. The role is played by the video producer’s son, Zyon Cooks, who has Down syndrome.

Kayla said it was fun filming the production.

“Zyon knew what to do, and we all danced at the end,” she said.

Listen to “Stand Tall” at https://soundcloud.com/user-276549592/standtall-by-kayla-wyatt. See the video at https://youtu.be/pd0jqGR9Ang.

Multitalented Kayla Wyatt (left) and friends Ciara Hall and McKenzie Calloway will perform “Stand Tall” on July 23 at the Mall at Stonecrest during the expo.

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CrossRoadsNews

July 16, 2016