Our children’s minds are not social media timelines

  “I’m not saying that I will change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.”   -Tupac Shakur   There are no more 24 hour news cycles of the events. Emotions are no longer boiling and have simmered to a lukewarm state of being. There are far fewer hashtagged posts. Less battles over whether black, all, or blue lives matter and the topics… Read More

Breakfast with Steve Perry

  100 Black Men of Metro New Orleans recently hosted a breakfast with Steve Perry, CEO of Capital Preparatory Schools, in Hartford, Connecticut. He is a commentator on CNN, MSNBC and a motivational speaker. Given Perry’s upbringing, it is surprising he has accomplished all he has. His mother was 16 when he was born and he grew up in the projects of Middletown, Connecticut. Despite such adversity, Perry has become a leader… Read More

Allow Kids to Be Angry

  Florentina Staigers is an independent policy consultant with a background in law, sociology, and non-fiction writing. She currently works in the education field, but has also worked in immigrants’ rights and women’s rights. I remember what would happen when I was a teenager and I became angry.  I would raise my voice and my parents would send me to my room to sit and stew.  At school, I would get a… Read More

We need to talk about race before our White teachers can support our Black children

  When it comes to New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, it’s no secret there is a glaring difference in cultures between those who teach and those who learn within our schools.   Despite the apparent differences, at times, this issue presents itself like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about, and this silence is only detrimental to our kids.  As a New Orleans native, I often worry about… Read More

How are New Orleans Students Affected by the Recent Murder Deaths of Black Males at the Hands of Police Officers?

  Danielle Sanders is a Behavior Interventionist at Abramson Sci Academy in New Orleans, LA. Responsible for implementing Restorative Practices as a behavioral intervention to support scholars when demonstrating behaviors that are not in line with school culture.  I am almost dreading returning to school right about now. I have been emotionally drained trying to navigate the school system with its dramatic shift in cultural changes since Hurricane Katrina.   So to now… Read More

What Should We Tell the Children?

In the wake of the recent deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, as well as the Dallas police officers who were killed during a protest in Dallas; many adults are left wondering how they should explain these frightening occurrences to the children in their lives.  Schools can be a place where children can get answers to the questions that they may have.  According to Deborah Menkart, executive director of the Washington-based nonprofit Teaching… Read More

Putting Money Where it Counts

Jefferson Parish received $34.5 million dollars in grant money from the federal government. This money will be used for the education of low-income children, starting at infancy.  Head Start will receive a portion of the overall grant money during a 5-year term, and the remaining money will go to a program designed to help not only the children, but also pregnant women.  Overall, the program will benefit over 600 children and will employ 200… Read More

Parent Burnout

  Parents  just like children, can reach a point where they are completely burned out. It can happen at any point, but for many parents it shows up right around the end of the school year. It is the point where parents zone out, because we know if we  have one more conference with our child’s teacher or one more fight with our children about their school work, grades, or behavior we… Read More