It is the teachers and administrators fault, not the parents or students
Via The State
A group of African-American parents has established a new organization in Richland 2, which leaders say was born out of the frustration among some parents that their concerns are not being addressed by the school board and the administration.
But Superintendent Debbie Hamm and other district officials say they have been frustrated in their efforts to learn about the organization or meet with founders to launch a conversation about the group’s issues.
The Richland 2 Black Parents’ Association is still in its infancy, with an inaugural meeting planned sometime in April. But one of its founding members, Stephen Gilchrist, said Monday the organization hopes to increase minority representation in the administration and on the seven-member school board, which now has three black members.
The group also wants to address such issues as the number of black males recommended for suspension or expulsion from school. Gilchrist said about 15 parents came together to form the group, including Glen Jones, Florine Handley and Keith Alexander, all parents.
“These are very well-educated African-Americans and the last thing they would raise is the issue of race,” said Gilchrist, a small-business owner and father of three sons. “But at the end of the day, many of us have gone to the district on numerous occasions, and said, ‘Guys, we have to deal with some of these issues,’ and they have chosen not to.”
Gilchrist, whose wife teaches in Richland 2, said the group wants to work alongside the administration, a move that both superintendent Hamm and board chairman Calvin “Chip” Jackson said Monday they would welcome.
“We are not trying to operate as an adversarial organization but as a complementary opportunity to represent black people in the community,” he noted.
But the presentation on the organization’s website, Richland2BlackParents.org, was more inflammatory: “PARENTS DID YOU KNOW!!!!! Richland School District 2’s student body is 68% Black? Most of the Administrative staff at the District Office that makes decisions about our children are WHITE?”