Bridging the Gap: The Parent Perspective

Children learn from their parents by seeing, hearing and doing. As the last blog talked about the child’s perspective with Erikka, it’s now time to hear from the parents who entrust our children daily with educators. How can we ensure that the gap between home and school begins to come together? Speaking from the parent side of the equation I can’t help but do all I can to get this process front… Read More

We The People

    We The People, We Got Work To Do With the people, for the people, by the people. I crack up when I hear it; I say with the handful, for the handful, by the handful, cause that’s what really happens                                -Fannie Lou Hamer This past weekend, voters in the great state of Louisiana went to the polls to choose from several candidates vying for city, parish and statewide political seats in various… Read More

Heroes in Education: The Belief in Possibilities

  Recently I was asked to present an award at the 2015 OPEN Public Education Awards. The gala showcases innovators and exemplars in public education telling the untold stories of successful schools in New Orleans. I was thrilled to be invited and grateful for the opportunity, yet I had no idea of the impact the event would have on my perception of education. With so many people offering up their opinions on… Read More

Meeting of the Minds

  I recently attended a town hall held by the Orleans Parish School Board at my daughter’s school, Andrew H. Wilson. What I thought was going to be a meeting to discuss issues within the school system and how they planned to fix them did not happen. For starters, I wonder why these sorts of meetings are not advertised to the public. There are numerous ways to do so, like social media,… Read More

We Must Not Give Up

Would you give up on your child? Would you allow anyone to hurt them? Are they less important than the next child in the next state? Of course, we as parents would never give up on our most precious gifts. Our children help save us from the hardest times in our lives, so wouldn’t we save them from their hardest times? Children have been made to be the most controversial issue in… Read More

Knowledge is Power

  In this day and age, knowledge is the most powerful tool available for all of mankind. It also makes you wonder why don’t we highlight more of our youth that are accomplishing so much in school and in their communities. Here in New Orleans we tend to focus on the negative actions of youth; our youth need to be empowered and encouraged more so they want to be successful. We have… Read More

As Parents We Ask, Who Cares for Children Anymore?

I eat, sleep and breath education nowadays. I am always contemplating what can be done to make things better for our kids in New Orleans. How can the groups that I am involved in affect parental involvement, awareness and participation? From leadership classes to town hall meetings, these thoughts of how to spark holistic growth in our schools run through my mind. One morning it wasn’t any different but as I sat… Read More

A Promising Start

The students of Andrew H.Wilson had a very difficult and trying school year last year. But with InspireNOLA Charter Schools taking over this school year, parents felt confident their students  could reach their potential. The difference was clear even before this school year started, with an orientation where parents could feel the excitement of the CEO, administration and the entire staff and see a facelift that gave the school a new look… Read More

How to Play the Political Game: Putting the Interest of Kids First

Education is so political and all about personal gain. The only time representatives come around to speak to parents is election time—and when I say come around, I mean they make appearances at schools their friends’ children attend. It’s a struggle to make sure your child receives the best education possible when they are in public schools. Why is it that individuals who don’t have any ties with public schools, or to… Read More

Where we go from here

Through Stand for Children’s efforts to help parents to advocate for their children’s educational success, I have had the great privilege of getting to know hardworking parents all across the country with inspiring stories. Reflecting on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and how it profoundly affected the New Orleans’ public school system, I wanted to share with you the story of Roshand Miller, a proud mother of three school-age children who… Read More