Be Encouraged

Over the last few months, I have been quite frustrated with the belabored issues occurring  in the district and around education in our city overall. It's tough to keep listening to the vicious complaints about what each stakeholder's belief that one entity is doing something "right." Most ignore the public education option in our inner-city. Others move to the outskirts of the city or into suburbs seeking safety and a quality education for their children; and then the rest of us are so focused on what use to be or this is how it is, we now have a depleted inner-city and an educational system so marginalized at every level that we have forgotten about the children.

As tough as it some aspects of life may be, we will pack up after our meetings and continue to churn the same mindset of what use to be. I often express to people, I am looking at how this will be in 2020 and 2065. I'm staying encouraged about the possiblities. If we live another ten to fifty years continuing to fight and disagree about how to make decisions about the education and safety of the children, we won't be a viable, progressive city. We are discouraging our next generation by not equipping them with the tools they will need to be come a productive Kansas Citian. So if we are going to change education in this city, I encouage all of those who are willing to see Kansas City change and are quite unsure of how to make it happen to get engaged in the process. We have so much to learn abbout each other instead of wasting time juding one another. If you want to really step out and get involved, contact me cleekoba@gmail.com or via Facebook.

Candace

Travel Reflection

In my travel to this week packed with workshops, I had a little time to reflect where the DAC and other Parent Groups in the school district are. At times it becomes daunting and we can grow weary and I believe in the time to step back and reflect. There are times I can get caught up in what I want or what doesn't feel right to me regarding the school district and I realized that can make the task a lot easier than just continuing to press in and continue the work. As I tell people all the time, we sit in these meetings making "big decisions" without consulting the idea children in our community are wondering the streets, looking for the next meal, wondering how their clothes will get clean and if they will even live through the night to see tomorrow.

Our work is bigger than what we personally feel. If we keep being defeated because we are the lone rangers making noise for KCMSD Scholars or parents or community members, then we will totally miss the mark. We will continue to cultivate 20-30 more years of the same monotonous circles in Kansas City. Parents, I encourage you to remove yourselves from what the school district may or may not be doing and hold them accountable for what they are supposed to do.

Bottom-up accountability...

What's the Unifying Parent's Message

As a community member who wants to live in a city of advanced education, technology, transportation and a myriad of other things, I am continuously disheartened by the progression of our city. I work with parents daily who continue to stand up for their rights and are continuously turned off by the blatant attempt to fractionalize their inclusion concerning their child(ren)'s education. As a person who is waiting for Kansas City to catch up to the rest of the world, I want to live in a city that progresses and values it's citizens. I won't belabour the point with socioeconomic and racial history nor will I forget this history; but I am willing to belaobur what can occur in the future.

I was asked a while ago what kind of Kansas City would I want to see in 2020? I named the usuals: better schools, transportation and commerce back into our city. Then I was asked, what is stopping these from occurring? I was puzzled because I couldn't yield to the idea of it being everyone else's decisions stopping it. I had to accept some responsibility in the matter. I pondered the question for a few weeks. I asked some parents their thoughts on the matter and they helped me come down to one conclusion: everyone wants thier child to have a good education. Class, race, background nor can divert this point.

How do the parents in Kansas City, MO (district, charter and private alike) ensure everyone's child gets a good education?