 |
| Bryan Harris helps his daughters, Jessica, Shirley, and Ceosa (left to far right) settle into their lockers – and their academic
lives – at SPARC Academy in Raleigh, N.C. Jeffrey A. Camarati/Special to The Christian Science Monitor |
A push to bring dads into kids' school lives
Raleigh takes up a global movement to involve fathers more, especially at school.
By Kelly Starling Lyons | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitorfrom the August 31, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 3
Raleigh, N.C. - It's Monday morning, and Bryan Harris is walking his three daughters down a path he hasn't traveled before. This year, he's broken free of his long hours as a furniture deliveryman to be here on the first day of school, following his three daughters up the cement steps and grass-lined walkway to their classrooms at SPARC Academy, a K-8 charter school here. His two youngest, second-grader Shirley and third-grader Jessica, glance back at him with smiles. His fifth-grader, Ceosa, walks with her head held high.
"I wanted them to know I support what they're doing," he says.
Around the country, many African-American men are doing the same. They're part of a national movement called the Million Father March that encourages people of all races, but particularly black men, to be active in children's educational lives.
Created four years ago, the Million Father March is sponsored by The Black Star Project, a Chicago group working to build strong students, encourage parental involvement, and improve life in African-American and Latino communities. The goal is to eliminate the racial academic achievement gap, says Black Star Project founder and director Phillip Jackson. One key, he believes, is the commitment of dads.
This notion – fathers and father-figures taking children to school on their first day – is partly inspired by the Million Man March and partly by a South American practice of dads thanking principals and teachers on the last day of school, says Mr. Jackson.
Word about the event has spread through e-mails, churches, and community centers – a grass-roots effort with big results. The first year, just a couple of dozen cities participated. This year, he says, it's taking place in more than 200 places, from Jackson, Miss., to Berlin.
On Monday at Raleigh's SPARC Academy, local organizers Bettie Murchison and Bambi Richard Paku arrive early to greet families. They watch the nearly empty parking lot with hope in their eyes.
"They say you build it and they will come," says Ms. Murchison, president and CEO of the W.E.B. DuBois Community Development Corporation in Wake Forest. "You always hold your breath: Will they really be here? Will they really come?"
They do. Benny Butler is the first dad there, driving up with his wife, Veena, and their three sons. Murchison and Mr. Paku cheer as the Butlers step out, and they dole out Million Father March stickers.
RSS feed