GRAND RAPIDS – Parents of GRPS students gathered once again Thursday evening (November 18) to select strategies to increase parent involvement in their children’s education. The forum was the fifth Believe 2 Become Neighborhood Meet Up in the central zone.
Prior to a celebration with live music, prizes, a turkey give-away, and cake for everyone, participants voted for the top four of the original eight strategies identified at previous Meet Ups.
The top vote-getter
The community can develop programs and partnerships with GRPS so more single fathers can get involved with their children’s education in addition to having more black males have a presence as role models in the schools. The district should encourage and articulate ways for fathers and men to be more active.
The crowd of about 400 parents, students, educators and supporters cheered enthusiastically as the top strategy was revealed by Kelley D. Gulley, president and CEO of National Community Development Institute (NCDI). She and Eureka People, also of NCDI, led the meeting in collaboration with Lighthouse Communities.
Believe 2 Become is a collaborative partnership of Grand Rapids Public Schools, Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation and more than 50 local organizations and hundreds of individuals who believe in Grand Rapids. Believe 2 Become is creating real opportunities for students to become the people they aspire to be.
Toward the goal of helping children and youth achieve more success in school, small groups in previous Meet Ups first identified increasing parent involvement as a top priority for the central zone, then brainstormed ways to increase the involvement of parents in their kids’ education.
The second strategy chosen by participants’ votes
The community should create an avenue for parents to learn how to help students with homework; for example, parent education classes.
Most of those present have attended two or more of the neighborhood Meet Ups. Many expressed enthusiastic support for helping parents get more involved with their children’s’ learning, homework, and classroom time.
“I want to get more involved with the community,” said Judy Liptrot, attending the meeting with her son, Malik. “Right now half our kids are going to jail and getting killed. We need to stand up and take care of our kids and stop the violence.”
Malik Liptrot, 11, is a fifth grader at Campau Elementary. He would like to go to school at Texas A&M, and maybe play running back for the football team. But he knows in order to achieve that goal in the future, he must focus on his studies now. “Algebra is fun,” he said. “It’s important to go to school every day.”
The third parent involvement strategy selected through voting
The community can teach parents how to advocate for their children, create a parent advocacy group in the school and offer a “parent university.”
Antonio and Shemika Fields attended the meeting with their children. Shemika helped open the meeting by sharing how she overcame challenges to stay involved with her kids’ education. “I’m happy I was able to come out and share my cries with the community,” she said. “There are more people like me out here, more kids like my kids. We all want the best for our kids.”
Antonio Fields agreed. “I want a brighter future for them, to see them go to and finish college, and take it from there,” he said. “Getting together for the kids is a good thing.”
The fourth parent involvement strategy chosen
The community can start a community center that parents and children can visit together.
Now that strategies are identified, parents will join groups to complete “action planning.” For the Action Planning Phase, there will be two large community meetings hosted by Lighthouse and NCDI, one at the beginning of the planning phase on December 11, and one at the end of the planning phase on March 5. In between these two larger meeting the community will split into four action teams which will each focus on one of the four strategies chosen on November 18. The action teams will each meet four times. The goal of these meetings is for each team to develop a strategic plan with short-term, intermediate and long-term goals focused on meeting their strategy.
Everyone is invited to participate in these meetings, even if they have not been a part of the planning process thus far. Each team will have one facilitator and one scribe remain with them through the entire process. The two large action meetings will be held at Ford Middle School from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
The times/dates/locations of each of the smaller meetings will vary and have not been decided yet.
Sunshine Mansfield, who attended all five Believe 2 Become Meet Ups, said they have had an impact on her family.
“I’m getting more involved in my kids’ education… going to conferences and board of education meetings,” she said. “I want to stay involved so I can get my voice heard.”
Shaunte Paul said she has attended every Meet Up with the father of her kids. “It has brought us closer together,” she said. “Sometimes we’ll just be playing with the kids at home and we’ll start saying I believe, I become.”
Mansfield said she is reinforcing the positive message at home as well. “I believe my kids can become whatever they want to be, regardless of their age,” she said.
For more images from Believe 2 Become Neighborhood Meet Ups in the central zone check out the flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/ibelieveibecome/sets/72157624843854520/.
