Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 December 2002 — Page 8

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20,2002

Parent’s may be fined for lack of academic achievement

Finally ... one school system has figured out a way to hold parents more accountable for their child’s lack of academic success in die classroom. Most educators agree that parental involvement is on the decline, which in most cases is followed fay a decline in student achievement “Many parents will not even

attend assigned parent/teacher conferences,” says Brenda Stokes, assistant principal of Pleasantwood Middle School, in Kansas City, Kan. “We send letters home through the mail, we send them home with their children, and we make repeated phone calls... and they still do not show,”

she says.

Studies show that the need for

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parental involvement is more important today than at any other time in our nation’s history. The lures of outside influences, that are destructive in nature, are more common today than in the past The immoral music that our children are exposed to, the very suggestive music videos they see, theavailability of drugs in schools, and the corruptive nature of many of our “so-called” leaders ... our children have seen and heard it all.

Houston s North Shore Middle School has decided to hold the parents accountable. They have begun a program that is the first of its kind in the nation. The school district has decided that the parents who have students that habitually foil to complete their homework assignments and miss the mandatory after-school program will be issued a citation and summoned to attend a court

hearing.

In foe first week of foe program, foe school issued 48 misdemeanor criminal citations. Those citations are equivalent to foe students’ parents receiving a traffic ticket A traffic ticket of this kind is punishable with a fine of up to $185. The summons received requires the parents to appear in court before Harris County Justice of foe Peace Mike Parrott In foe earlier stages of foe program, Parrott decided not to fine anyone. He mainly used foe court room session to set an example

behalf of Galena Park Independent School District, where North Shore Middle School is located, said “foe tickets actually are for failing to attend foe mandatory after-school program for habitual homework offenders.” She continued by saying, “We are issuing citations because students are not attending school. We are not issuing citations for not doing

homework.”

Parrott said even though it is a truancy violation that they are ticketing, foe purpose of filing foe charges, along with the afterschool program is to make sure that foe students complete their assignments. The students are

not likefoeones held by foe county or city government The county and city governments have the power to issue criminal citations. As for whether Parrott will be issuing fines when cases are referred to him in foe future, he said, “There is no doubt the next time they show up, there will be fines.” Whether this program will have an impact on foe parents and their children who are attending North Shore Middle School is yet to be seen. But this Houston school district is definitely taking a step in foe right

direction.

m hfy mother tried and she tried. She did not have any

supposed to finish their missing help. She could not get any child homework assignments during care. She could not get a job. She

Supportive parents, acting as positive role models, are in high f or parents and foe students deunand in today’s society. The and explain to them foe imporrole they play mfoeu’child sedu- 0 f finishing school work, cational development is crucial. Stad Sta nfield, speaking on

the after-school session.

In Houston this is considered part of foe regular school day and subject to truancy laws under foe

Texas Education Code.

Once a child’s teacher determines that foe student has missed too many homework assignments, they are referred to foe program. Texas school districts have their own separate taxing entities. The powers they have are

could not get any training, but

she tried.”

— Maxine Waters, American

politician

For speaking engagements or education workshops, contact me at: educationdoesmatter@ hotmail.com or write me at: 9701 E. 63rd St., Indianapolis, IN. 46236. My contact number is (317) 502-0272.

Morris Brown loses accreditation; Grambling on probation

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Financially troubled Morris Brown College, a historically Black school based in Atlanta, has been stripped of its academic accreditation, foe Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced last week. Another historically black institution, Grambling State University in Louisiana, will continue on probation for another year. It’s unusual for SACS to strip a school of accreditation, which results in loss of federal funding and financial aid. The decision to withdraw accreditation can be appealed. Also losing its accreditation was Mary Holmes College, historically aschool for Black women in West Point, Miss. The tiny twoyear college, which is affiliated with foe Presbyterian Church,

has been suffering declining enrollment and a subsequent cash shortage. Eighty percent of Morris Brown’s 2,500 students receive financial aid from the government, which gives foe school $8 million per year. Charles Taylor, Morris Brown’s president, said foe college will appeal foe decision and is committed to staying open. “Quite frankly, I was foe most surprised person in San Antonio,” Taylor said. “Eveiy single concern that was mentioned we had already begun to initiate a series of solutions to deal with those issues.” Morris Brown went on probation last year for shoddy bookkeeping and not having enough professors with advanced degrees. The staffing problem was solved, but foe school’s financial crisis has grown worse in foe last year. “SACS is going to make its decisions, and God is going to make others,”Taylorsaid. “Forfoemost

part, nothing has changed, except foe pace we’re going to have to move.” Taylor has putthe school’s debt at $23 million, and federal investigators are looking into whether foe previous administration illegally received millions in student aid money and used it to pay bills. The U.S. Department of Education has ordered Morris Brown to repay $5.6 million in federal loan money foe school received for people who did not qualify. Grambling was placed on probation last year mainly because financial records had been so scrambled that a legislative auditor could not check foe books. Audits were just recently completed for foe fiscal year ending last June. Enrollment at the Grambling, La., school this year was about 4,500. Neari Warner, Grambling’s acting president, said she was disappointed, though she understood that SACS officials wanted to watch the school for another

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Youth Conferen Kenneth Allen (riqht), chairperson of the Indianapolis Chapter of Indiana Black Expo Youth Committee talks with Clarissa Woodard, fifth grader at Bon Air Elementary In Kokomo. Woodard asked, “Why don’t | teachers talk about Black accomplishments as much as they talk about slavery?” (Photo/ Shift W.)

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year to make sure its progress was sustained. “We were hoping for something else,” she said. “But it’s not anything we’re going to sulk about” Warner said her auditing staff had to contend with five years worth of unreviewed financial data. “The hard work is done,” she said. “Now what I think we have to show is that we’ve established a systematic way to take care of our financial issues.” “Naturally, we’re disappointed that SACS did not lift the probation, especially when foe university has met all foe cited requirements of foe commission,” University ofLouisiana System President Sally Clausen said. “Oneyear just was not long enough to demonstrate that foe recent significant progress was going to be sustained. Well demonstrate that it will be.” SACS is one of foe nation’s six regional higher education accrediting agencies, covering more than 800schools in 11 Southern states.

Brebeuf Jesuit students help make holidays happy Special to Tha Racordar Nearly 40 needy families in Indianapolis will have a happier holiday this year, thanks to a continuing tradition at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. “Help for the Holidays,” sponsored by the Student Council is in its 18th year of operation. Families are “adopted” by each homeroom class, and based on information supplied by foe families, students purchase age-appropriate clothing and toys, food, and toiletries and paper products for foe ilyThe items are collected at school, individually wrapped, and then delivered by teachers and class representatives to each family. This year’s project ended Dec. 13. Nearly all of foe786students at foe Jesuit, Catholic, interfaith college preparatory school participated in Help for the Holidays. Senior Amy Gastelum said, “Delivering foe gifts packaged with love is definitely an amazing experience. It’s incredible to see the kids who will be receiving foe gifts you bought’ She continued, “Help for the Holidays is a fun time of givmg, but not just to foe family you have been focused on for so long. The act of giving with a group means that you are sharing with each other the satisfaction found in helping. This project is something that will always be in our Brebeuf memories.*