Black History month has come and gone. Seems it gets shorter for me each year even though this was a Leap Year. Last month, we tackled a topic that stirred up a lot of conversation and discussion regarding the gap in computer usage between black students and white students. One favorite testimony absolutely brought tears to my eyes and has inspired me to work even harder on conveying my thoughts on this month’s topic.

"Thanks for the information and the stories. thank again "

Did you know that it has been documented that there is a 36% gap in participation in kindergarten orientation/class visitation programs between schools serving low minority populations and schools serving high minority populations? Source: NCES analysis

So basically, the data suggests that when there is an opportunity to visit the school at the beginning of the school year for a munchkin, our minority parents are not as visible when minorities are the majority population. Why would this be the case?

In past discussions with friends and colleagues it has been argued that the teachers are unwilling to stay late and parents in high minority populations must work to keep a roof over their heads. It is assumed that in low minority populations, there may be a stay at home parent or a managerial parent who has more flexibility to be at the school during the day. Many say that teachers will not stay at the school beyond the work day for a variety of reasons and a Saturday event would be unheard of scheduling.

There is a need to probe the situation because at the end of the day, a munchkin’s well being in school is potentially put at risk. Why? Self esteem is such an easy thing to build and destroy during those early years starting school.

In order to strike that balance we have decided that we needed to dedicate a spot in the house for a school calendar to be posted or readily available for everyone in the house to see each day. We try to proactively talk to our munchkins about how they feel about us attending or not attending different events. Then we try to really assess what impact this has on her being able to enjoy learning. For example, we all went on both of her fall field trips. One was a trip to a pumpkin patch and the other was a trip to the Jamestown Settlement. We reflect upon what sacrifice it took to make those experiences possible and how we have to work hard together in order to be able to do it again in the future. We stay in prayer to ask for guidance on what we need to do to be there for her in the event of a school activity and alas we have a schedule conflict.

It is hard to stay involved, but perhaps you may remember as a child how important it was for someone in your family to come out and cheer you on at times. So even if a parent is unable to make the event, the next best thing is to substitute with an aunt, uncle, cousin or family friend. The more the merrier. Sometimes it is those after school activities that can be the glue to keep a child’s passionate flame burning for school.

This month, why not call the kids in your immediate and extended family to see if there are upcoming events or activities in which they would like to participate? Spring break is coming up. Perhaps this is a good time to help out a family member in seeing a different part of the country. My sister has invited the girls to Detroit so we will most likely bare the cold and enjoy the visit.

So the bottom line to this month’s discussion is to see if we can better understand what active participation by parents in the school truly means to the child. That can only happen with a face to face discussion. When it matters, then perhaps we can make it a higher priority to be there for him or her.

This series is intended to be a work in progress. What I am doing as an individual, and what others are doing as well. Together we can learn some new things and reinforce some things we already knew. What do you think? Can we work together?

Joan E. Gosier is CEO of HBCU kidz, Inc. HBCU kidz, Inc. is a private and family owned company that promotes family heritage, education and our nation’s 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities through a collection of high quality gift selections.