Viewfinder: Q&A With Mayor Kelley

About 30 students in the Open Doors Academy at St. Paul's Episcopal Church grabbed chairs, which squealed as they formed a circle with Mayor Ed Kelley on Feb. 16. He spent more than an hour with the students, answering their questions, giving them advice and telling them about his job. Open Doors, which was founded at the church in 1992 and became a nonprofit about 10 years ago, offers middle schoolers an after-school and summer academic, cultural and social enrichment program. Most of the students at St. Paul's attend Roxboro Middle School, but the organization has four sites, including one for Wiley Middle School students. 

Open Doors has 160 spots, and all are filled, said Annemarie Grassi, executive director of the organization. The primary focus is on the middle school years, but Grassi said that Open Doors extends outreach throughout high school to make sure students have post-secondary plans. 

Some students shot their hands in the air confidently to ask Kelley questions. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders made sure not to lift their hand while one of their brothers or sisters was speaking.  Students explained that they are family, and consider each other siblings, and the middle schoolers in other programs are their cousins.  

The tweens and teens asked about why Kelley wanted to become mayor, what he likes to do in his free time, if his job is stressful and, reluctantly, if he gets paid well. They also wanted to know about crime rates now compared to those in the past, snow plowing streets and sidewalks and what the police force does about school-related violence. He answered them honestly, providing his exact salary, stats on cutbacks and new hires on the police force and how the city prioritizes snow plowing, as if he were in a council meeting and the students were addressing him at the lectern.