by Chris Munzing
Long Beach High School Principal Nick Restivo said that when parents are invited to a meeting or a back-to-school function, he is often disappointed by what he sees -- not by the number of parents present, but by the under-representation of parents of minority students.
Restivo, who is in his second full year as principal of the school, said that he and his relatively new staff started to address this concern last year. Assistant Principal Anthony Bridgeman, who is black, Assistant Principal Ismael Colon, who is Hispanic, and Restivo visited various organizations, went to churches and spoke with parents as often as possible.
Restivo believes that the foundation for progress has been laid and results are already being seen. "What we set out to accomplish last year, we're moving forward to," he said. "It's not going to happen all at once. It's going to be a gradual process. It's going to be baby steps."
District Superintendent Dr. Ronald Friedman said that the school district is making an effort to try to attract more Hispanic and African-American parents to school functions. One recent example was the awards ceremony held at Kennedy Plaza outside City Hall on Sept. 12. The public ceremony, sponsored by the Long Beach chapter of the NAACP, was held to honor minority students with stellar academic records.
Friedman said that studies have shown that when the parents are involved, the children are involved. "There is a direct correlation between how involved the parents are and how serious the kids take schoolwork," he said. "Parents who are involved send the message that schoolwork is important."
Recognizing the academic achievements of any student is especially important, according to Friedman. Often, children receive cheers and adulation only when they make a play on the athletic field.
"We're really working on it," said Mary Lou Monahan, the NAACP's education chairwoman. "The children need someone to advocate education for them, and that always starts at home." Monahan said that the NAACP is running an SAT prep course to help its young members try to expand their horizons and make sure they're prepared for high school's signature exam.
The school district has taken steps to try to get the message to minority communities that involvement in their children's schools can only help their academic development. Representatives have gone to churches, agencies and organizations to stress the message of involvement and its importance.
"As a board, we need to go out and get them," said school board member Frank Alvarado. "Some African-American and Latino parents are not as involved as they should be." Alvarado said that the language barrier is one problem, and he believes that the board must be proactive in its attempts to bring this issue to the parents.
One plan currently in the works to increase parental involvement is a shuttle bus system. At the suggestion of Restivo at the recent board meeting, the district is looking into providing a school bus that would make several stops in the city to transport parents to school functions.
The district is currently examining the legal and liability issues of the proposed shuttle system, but Friedman is optimistic that the plan will be approved and implemented as soon as possible.
Other steps that have been taken by the district to try to increase minority family involvement include after-school programs at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, in association with the Latino Civic Association and Circulo de la Hispanidad. The MLK Center runs an after-school program out of Lindell School that provides 25 students with a five-days-a-week program that runs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Students receive help with their homework and are taught computer skills.
MLK Executive Director Lawrence Burns said that for the students involved, the results are outstanding. "Not one went to summer school," he said of last year's students. State testing had forced a large number of students to attend summer education programs in the past.
For students in the program, he said, it is necessary for the parents to be involved. "It shows that it works with parent involvement," he said of the program's success rate. Burns hopes to double the program's enrollment by the end of the year.
Mike Cruz, of the Long Beach Latino Civic Association, said that the organization has made a commitment to developing a parent-school relationship that would benefit the students. "We have a parent-student committee," he said. "We take the parents to school board meetings and get them involved in the PTA's."
Cruz said that the committee has worked closely with Friedman and school administrators to address the needs of the Hispanic community, such as bringing a bilingual counselor or social worker into the middle school.
Both Burns and Monahan said that there would be a joint task-force meeting among Circulo, the MLK Center, the NAACP and the Latino Civic Association to try to develop ways to increase educational involvement by both parents and teachers. The meeting is scheduled for November, and will involve representatives from each organization as well as school district officials.
"It's not a one-way street," said Dr. Jerome Oberman, former Long Beach Schools superintendent and the current chairman of the Long Beach Intercultural Community Coalition. "These things start at home."
Oberman suggested moving meetings and functions throughout the city to make it more convenient for parents without cars. He also suggested simply inviting the parents directly. Oberman agreed with Friedman, saying that the parents need to be involved "as much as they can be."
Friedman said that he has seen more minority parent involvement at school functions and board meetings this year than in his previous three years as superintendent. He hopes, however, that every parent of every child, especially Hispanic and African-American children, will get involved in their child's academics and set an example of a commitment to education.
