Negotiating those roles can be “a tightrope,” said panelist and 30-year Shelby County school board member Brenda Jackson. “I think with the board and council, we don’t always have that relationship that I would like to have, because you’re afraid if you step over the line that you can be removed,” she said. “I don’t want to step over the line. But we’ve got one set of children and we have to work together for those children.”
Lauren Mitchell, a school council member from Madison County Schools’ Northside
Elementary, makes a point during a discussion at the Parent Leadership Summit. Listening
to her right are Fayette County school board members Daryl Love and Melissa Bacon.
Parents and others gathered for the summit spent time on a “data walk,” showing the performance of Kentucky students using a variety of yardsticks. During the panel discussion, Jackson noted that in responding to data, school board members first “should not be afraid” of diving in and both asking and answering questions about it.
“As board members, are we asking the questions, are we talking to the parents? Are we finding, even with the students, what they need? And when you get an answer that you’re not happy with or you’re not clear on, don’t just pass over it,” she said.
When the Fayette County school board asked questions, it resulted in a move to redirect more resources and create smaller class sizes in those high-poverty schools that needed help, board member Melissa Bacon told the summit crowd. The board also noted that English language learner staffing levels did not match the needs at some schools, and took steps to increase those positions, she said.
Fayette County board member Daryl Love, another panelist, added that in responding to data, boards also need to consider what happens beyond the immediate outcome. “When we think about data and strategies, we need to think about the long-term impact,” he said.
It’s also important to be flexible when those strategies don’t work, agreed Lauren Mitchell, school council parent member at Northside Elementary in Woodford County.
In looking for resources to address the problems that are identified, Michelle Burke, parent school council member at Madison County Middle School, had a tip for budget-strained school districts: Draw on the no-cost professionals in the community, as she did when she connected Eastern Kentucky University professors with students interested in their area of expertise. “It’s free,” she said. “I wish more people would call – just ask.”
Mitchell pointed to the improvement in the performance of English language learners in the Woodford County district after community partners volunteered for a mentoring program. Jackson said her district is creating partnerships with groups like churches for summer feeding programs and with the YMCA in a Black Achievers program.
Bacon said career academies in Fayette County’s high schools “are an incredible way” to get the business community involved in schools while preparing students for careers. Love said those efforts also should start early as children develop interests. “That career piece does not start at high school. It does not start at the middle school,” he said.
Extracurricular activities also have a role, Bacon said. Teachers can help with these efforts by identifying students who don’t have natural opportunities in extracurricular activities, Love said, and, especially for minority students, connect them with mentors they can identify with to get “messages of success.”