School workshop aims to increase involvement

Classroom success starts with parents’ involvement in the home, attendees of a meeting for minority parents of local schools were reminded Tuesday.

The Parent Advocates for Children’s Education program hosted a keynote speaker and various workshops aimed to teach parents how they can get involved with their child’s education.

Orange County Schools’ School Community Relations Department & Curriculum and Instruction Program sponsored the meeting.

Narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students will be a battle, said ABC 11-WTVD anchor John Clark during the keynote speech.

Exhort, expect, exert, excel

Clark said he believed parents need to remember four key words in helping their children learn.

“We need to exhort our kids. When they do well, we need to know to make a big deal about it,” Clark said. “We as minority parents seem to be able to get to school for the game, for the talent show, but what about for parent-teacher night?”

Parents should expect more from children so they will hold themselves to the same standards, he said. Clark urged parents to “exert” by monitoring their child throughout the entire school year, not just when report cards are released.

“When you’re behind in a race, you can’t catch up unless you work extra hard. You don’t expect the guy ahead of you to stop and tie his shoes,” Clark said.

After the first three steps are followed, excelling will follow naturally, he said.

Clark also presented a final “ex” he told everyone to forget — excuses.

“We need to be working with our child’s teachers instead of coming to the school ready to pick a fight. (The teachers) want your child to succeed.” Clark said.

Opening up about the gap

Dr. Joe Davis, special assistant to the superintendent of Wilson County Schools, led a workshop titled “Acting White … Although I’m Black.”

He said the reason the achievement gap hasn’t been sufficiently filled is because people are afraid to talk about its cause.

“We don’t know as a country, we don’t know how to have a safe conversation about race,” Davis said. “We try to go around it like we’re walking on eggshells.”

He said that black males are typically the group that scores lowest on standardized tests, often not because they can’t perform, but because friends will call them “sellouts” if they do well in school.

Because of this, many don’t live up to their potential, Davis said.

“They’re like, ‘I’m smart, but I struggle with being smart because of the pressure I get,’” Davis said.

Davis called parents to action.

“We can close the gap,” he said. “But we gotta be specific and methodical about closing the gap. We can’t just keep talking about it.”



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