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Episode # 2216
Public Schools on the Brink (After the Show Discussion)
Lewis: Well, we are continuing our conversation on low performing schools here on Black Issues Forum and we have returning to the set, Alisa Jones and Margaret Carnes along with Principal John Modest and just to backtrack a little bit. We have been talking so much about the low performing schools and the problems why they are such teachers. How important are the teachers? And I will start with you, Alisa, what do you expect in a teacher? Especially when it comes to teaching your child?
Jones: My expectations are for the teacher to make their best effort to meet my child where he or she is. You know, kids come into every grade level at so many different levels of achievement I know it is very challenging for teachers to meet each child at their point of need but I expect them to at least make an effort to not teach, you know, not teach beyond my children or not hold them back but to try to meet them at the point of their needs and my highest expectation is communication. Communicate with me when there is a problem. Even communicate with me when things are going good, just a little note. You know, and I think that helps parents when they get communications that aren’t always negative. They are not on the defense when they hear from the teacher because they know, okay, well, last time she called me just to let me know everything was good. So they are not always on the defense. But communication I think is key because it is hard for parents to be involved and to help the teacher if they don’t know what’s going on.
Lewis: And, Margaret, through the leadership network what are some of the things that you are doing to try and bolster those parents to be a part of what’s going on in their kid’s education?
Carnes: Well, we think that it is critical for parent leaders to understand and learn the language around school reform or around education. What we found is that when parents understand that and when parents can sort of use the same language with our educator partners, when we can talk about end of grade tests and when we can talk about disaggregated data and what we are seeing in the data with various groups of kids and talk about other things that are education terminology that oftentimes parents are viewed differently by educators and that really gets us to the point where adult to adult we can begin to form some strong partnerships around helping students that need us desperately. So does that help?
Lewis: Yeah, and John, as a principal, do you see enough parents getting involved?
Modest: At the high school level-well, high school level we don’t have as much involvement as we would like. Normally, in terms of how that works at the elementary level you have a significant level of parental involvement, middle school level, significant. But it goes down when kids reach the high school. And in reality that adolescent who is in the high school needs his or her parent to be involved at that level also. So we have made some special efforts at West Charlotte to get our parents involved. We had a parent/teacher conference day last fall and we had over 850 parents come for that. And we are going-I mean, we know we want to build from that success. The parents at West Charlotte are beginning to get more involved in school. And in order for that to happen, though, we have to welcome them and we have to recognize that they have to be our partners as we work with their children.
Lewis: And I am not trying to browbeat on parents or anything like that but it seems like, too, that children have changed, students have changed like over the years. Where it seems like some parents are looking at the schools to teach their children morals or home training or something along those lines. Have you seen a lot of that within your school?
Modest: Well, in general because I have been in this business a long time, but I think more has been placed on the school in terms of helping to raise the child. So with that being the case, with society heading in that direction then we do have to step up and do as much as we can. We do want kids to come to school in a nurturing environment. They need to be in a school where the adults care about them, where we have positive role models, where we have teachers who have great content knowledge. Where we have teachers who can inspire because I know that was a difference for me. I had teachers who inspired me. Who helped me set goals for myself and when you are in an environment like that that can make a major difference.
Lewis: Any advice to those parents out there who may be sort of teetering, kind of falling short of the mark there?
Modest: Well, first and foremost the parent is the most important teacher. And that begins in pre-K and in elementary school, middle school, high school. And parents must be involved. They can never give up that responsibility of being the most important teacher in their child’s life.
Lewis: Now we are not including, Alisa, we are not including you in this conversation. At least that part. But we talked about it earlier, as a parent, what would you say to other parents?
Jones: Just to get involved. Find a way to get involved. Go to your child’s class. If your schedule doesn’t allow it then communicate with the teacher by email, by phone, just make your best effort to be involved beyond the fundraiser. And beyond sending cookies in for the Christmas party or a Christmas celebration. Now a holiday celebration is what they have to call it in school. But just beyond sending cookies in, just be involved. And I know everybody doesn’t have a schedule that allows it but many companies offer time for you to come in to spend time in your children’s school. You know, evening, communication with the teacher can be a written note. But just be involved and be engaged.
Lewis: And I have to think about this because initially when we started the program we were talking about Judge Manning’s decision and saying that if low performing schools didn’t come up to par, that he would close the schools and part of me was kind of asking with some of the challenges we have in finding space for students, how are you going to close the schools?
Modest: Well, that is an interesting question. I think one of the things we ended up doing was actually coming up with a reform package at each of the priority high schools, each of the priority high schools had to come up with a reform proposal. And the state of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Governor Easley, they made that possible. So for example, at West Charlotte we will be doing things in a different way next year based on the reform package that we had to submit to DPI and they eventually they had to sign off on it.
Lewis: Margaret, I want to get you back into this. Are you having any challenges, say, getting parents involved in your organization?
Carnes: Absolutely not. We-it’s been very heartwarming and inspiring to me, Mitch. We always have more applications because you have to apply to be selected but we always have more applications than seats. I think it’s really important to realize what we have seen and certainly what has been my experience for 20 years of working with the schools as a parent leader and that is parent’s who are not engaged or aren’t involved, it is not necessarily because they don’t want to be. And I believe just like we have to look at every child and see their potential and have high expectations for them, we need to start in a warm, nurturing way, looking at parents and parents need to look at each other as parents. And believe that that is someone who will become as engaged as Alisa and every other parent out here and then ask ourselves, what do we need to do and do a better job of to help them become more engaged? A lot of times we’re not doing, from the schoolhouse side of the equation, the things that need to be done to truly bring parents into that partnership and it is not as easy as just putting a sign up and saying parents are welcome.
Lewis: What type of qualifications are you looking for or characteristics in a parent?
Carnes: Great question. We actually have a leadership assessment form that we ask parents to rate themselves on and then we ask someone recommending them to rate them. It’s not really qualifications per se like education levels because we have parents who have not completed high school we have parents who at various socio-economic levels, this works with everyone. For us the characteristics and qualifications are can you work well with people around you? Can you inspire others? Those are leadership qualities that we are looking for. Do you do what you say you are going to do? Are you able to meet deadlines? So that’s what we look for in parent leaders to then provide this two year experience for them which I think most of them tell us, all of them have told us, it’s life changing for them because it is truly empowering.
Lewis: Alisa, I see you nodding over there. What are some of the things that you have gained from being a part of the network?
Jones: I think I may have mentioned before, I feel empowered with knowledge about my school, about our district, about our state, about ways to get other parents engaged because that is what I love about it is that, you know, yeah, I was already on the school leadership team and in the schools and active but they have trained me and helped me learn how to get parents who aren’t in the school now. That is who we are trying to capture, parents who don’t come in. Parents who don’t feel that they are needed or that they have anything to contribute, just ways to engage them and pull them in. And so that’s one of the most powerful things I got.
Lewis: And this may sound like a broad question and I ask it to all three of you, when should parents get started in making sure that their children are prepared to enter educational institutes, schools, what have you. When should they start? I’ll start with you, Alisa.
Jones: From the time they have them. I mean, you know, I believe every opportunity is a teaching opportunity and I have always tried to slip education in. You give them a cookie, you know, you give them three cookies, count the three cookies. I mean, from the time that you have your children you need to be their primary teacher. And it is never too early to start. Singing to them, talking to them, reading to them. It’s from the time you conceive them actually.
Lewis: Margaret, any other thoughts?
Carnes: I would take it back just a little bit, that the time you make the decision that you are going to have children. It’s a huge commitment. It changes your life forever. And I think before you decide that you are going to have a child or that there needs to be a real decision about what am I going to be able to give to this child? And then start thinking about what kind of environment situation do I need to create to make sure that my child is fully successful. And for those of us who perhaps have not had a college experience, we don’t know the necessary steps that you take. There is a lot that we don’t know and we don’t understand, doesn’t mean that we don’t want to. But it means that people who have need to reach out and help and help parents early understand that you can’t wait until they are in high school to start planning and thinking about college. That starts way back in elementary and certainly by middle school.
Lewis: John, any other thoughts?
Modest: Well, as soon as possible and don’t wait until high school because if you wait until high school to get involved it is going to be almost too late. Here in the state of North Carolina we have something called Gateways. And children, they are tested in grade three, grade five and grade eight. And students must be proficient at those gateways so what that says to me is parents really need to start probably as soon as the child is conceived to think about how they want to educate their child and they need to pay particular importance to reading. Reading is the most important skill.
Lewis: Alisa, Margaret, John, thank you so very much for this special edition. Thanks for you comments.
All: Thank you.
[END OF RECORDING]
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