Entry #9: "We were greeted by the message,
'Welcome to Kentucky, where education pays!'"
Louisville, KY -- First impressions. While we try to not make snap
judgments based solely on initial encounters, it still occurs.
In Taunton, MA. our first meetings with several
people in town, at schools and businesses were defined by caution and suspicion.
It took several days after our boys began attending Martin Middle School
to find "allies" in the student body. Certainly, we are outsiders
and should expect some question as to who we are and why we are visiting
their community. But we found local parents experienced this same thing.
The good news is that over time, these impressions were replaced by warmer
interactions, invitations to become involved and truly wonderful people
emerged. When leaving Martin, our boys were given gifts by teachers, they
exchanged email addresses with students and the office staff showered us
with brownies, t-shirts, and various going away presents. A caring community
revealed itself.
While Taunton's B.E.S.T. program has all of the the framework for bringing
about partnerships with parents, businesses, and schools, its success depends
on the attitudes and values of the individuals in the community. Some district
officials were discouraged with the progress in Taunton towards this end,
but my lasting impression is that family by family, they are moving in the
right direction. I hope they remain persistent and their discouragement
is replaced by more evidence of success. (The state testing results were
coming, and I'm hoping they will be pleased)
It is now time for us to move in another direction. . . south. We had decided
in making our plans that we needed to progress down the map as the temperatures
dropped. So, we hooked Eeyore up to Tigger (Van and Trailer) and headed
for Kentucky. On our way through West Virginia, we wondered if we were going
the right direction as the snow began to fall and stick along the road.
Wasting no time, we moved on through the mountains and entered the Kentucky
sunshine. Upon crossing the border, we were greeted by the message "Welcome
to Kentucky, where education pays!" Talk about important first impressions!
Then, as if on cue, we found a radio station with local news highlighting
Governor Patton's victory the day before. This is the first time in two
centuries that a Kentucky governor has served two consecutive terms. The
report went on to say that the Governor saw this as a mandate to continue
his agenda of which education was a top priority. These types of messages
must be communicated statewide and locally if we are going to continue the
changes necessary to insure the success of our kids.
We had planned to stay in Louisville for a few days while I attended the
Commonwealth Institute
for Parent Leadership. Sponsored by the Prichard Committee, this made
all of our travels worthwhile. Meeting middle school parents, reviewing
the importance of family involvement with schools and planning partnership
activities were some of the highlights. I even met author and researcher,
Anne Henderson. I had purchased her book The Family is Critical to Student
Achievement and was excited for this chance to hear her in person.
As we continue our time in Kentucky and down to Barren County Middle School,
I hope the lasting impressions are as positive as those first ones. If this
be the case, students here are very fortunate.
Til next week,
Darrell
Read next week's diary entry >>>
<<< Read last week's diary entry
Comment on this diary entry
Read some background about Darrell Lee
Back to Darrell's Diary
Index