I am a product of school choice!
Growing up, it was my father at school meetings advocating for my education.
My mother, who recently retired from education, helped my dad to navigate the system.
I remember when it was time for me to go to middle school that there weren’t charter schools in Atlanta.
So my dad had to advocate for me to get into another school of choice.
Black dads have been advocating for school choice.
As I look at my own experience, it was my father who inspired me to be an advocate for school choice.
My father along with other dads in our community also filled in the gaps and advocated for other children.
My dad used these steps to advocate for better educational outcomes for me:
- Knowing my learning style
- Selecting a program that fit my needs
- Building relationships with the faculty and staff
The success of our students, particularly our Black boys, is critically impacted by parental involvement.
There Is No School Choice without Advocacy from Parents
I watched my dad advocate for the better educational resources at the schools I attended.
My father came to PTA meetings and challenged the academic rigor.
Very Well Families recently provided support for fathers with school aged children.
These best practices and others are strategies I use to empower parents to advocate for school choice.
Jason has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, blogger and community advocate. He speaks and writes primarily about the need to improve education for Black boys, particularly increasing the number of Black male educators in schools. In addition to blogging here at EdLanta, Jason is also a featured writer at Education Post.