by Jennifer Roberts

In 2020, I launched Conversations in the Community, as a virtual platform to provide a safe place to have honest and meaningful conversations about racism and to address issues in education.  I had been having these conversations around my kitchen table and with family members and friends for years.  I thought to myself, “Surely other people are having these same conversations.  Maybe they want to have them with community members on Zoom.”  This was the impetus. 

Nearly two years, later Conversations in the Community is still offering virtual conversations and has expanded to being a local business offering individual, family, and small group conversations about racism, education as well as facilitating field trips and book discussions for adults and youth.   As an educational advocate for my own students, I have taken what I have learned about navigating the Prince William County Schools system and begun sharing it with other parents/guardians.  I am grateful for the relationships that have begun to blossom out of this important work and how I am able to serve my community in new ways by imparting valuable information that can help all PWCS students have a more equitable educational experience.

In 2023, Conversations in the Community is honing its focus to specifically work with parents/guardians, students, and  educators as an educational advocacy organization.  The organization will continue to elevate conversations about racism and its impact on providing equitable education as racism affects students and staff members in PWCS and it will work directly with parents/guardians to equip them with the knowledge to effectively advocate for their students. 

In 2023, I will continue to engage the “Coalition of the Willing” as there are educators and community members who are very much interested in listening, learning, and growing.  A painful lesson that I have learned is that there are many internal educational enemies who are not the least bit interested in all PWCS students being successful.  They hide in plain sight behind district issued laptops, PWCS staff badges and the hope that parents/guardians will not even recognize the educational malpractice they are performing daily.  They are hard to spot and even harder to root out, but all of this is part of our collective work.As we close out 2022 and look ahead to 2023, I want to encourage parents/guardians to actively do five things as they relate to educating your student(s):  Educate Yourself, Advocate for Your Student(s),Prepare for Opposition, Obtain Resolution and Repeat.

Educate Yourself:  Prince William County’s policies, regulations, staffing lists and website can be challenging to navigate. Parents/Guardians are often told, “It’s on the website (www.pwcs.edu).”    Have you seen the PWCS website?  It is not exactly user friendly and much of the information is buried. 

As intimidating as it may be, start by using the site’s search bar when looking for specific people or topics and enlist the help of your student’s principal or assistant principal to help you locate information and resources.  If you cannot locate the information that you are looking for, email or call your student’s principal or assistant principal to set up a virtual or in person meeting to help you access the resources that you need. 

PWCS has an ombudsman (https://www.pwcs.edu/leadership/school_board/office_of_the_ombudsman/index). According to the PWCS website, “The Office of the Ombudsman provides parents, students, and members of the school community confidential, impartial, and informal assistance in resolving school-related concerns, conflicts, and issues.” Email the ombudsman’s office to schedule a meeting to get connected with the resources that you need to help your student.

Additionally, check your student’s school website to see if it has a parent liaison or ask the front office staff.  This is a relatively new position to PWCS and nearly half of all schools have at least one parent liaison with the goal of all schools having at least one by the end of the 2022-2023 school year.  Call your child’s school to inquire if it has one and request the person’s name and email address.  Parent liaisons should be able to address your concerns or connect you with the right person that can address your concerns. If the parent liaison is unable to help you, ask for the name and contact information for someone else at the school who can assist you.

Once you locate the information that you are seeking, read it thoroughly and ask questions about it to your student’s principal or assistant principal so that you can gain clarity.  Ask to join the Principal’s Advisory Council at your student’s school or plan to at attend the meetings (you don’t need to be a member to attend),  join the PTSO and attend PTSO general body meetings.  If the people at neither of these engagement opportunities are asking the questions that you have or raising issues that are of concern to you, raise the issue yourself.  As a member of the learning community, you ask questions, share concerns and expect answers that makes sense.  Attend, one or more of the county’s advisory committee meetings (https://www.pwcs.edu/about_us/advisory_committees/index), schedule a time to meet with your school board representative by emailing him/her, attend bi-monthly school board meetings (https://www.pwcs.edu/leadership/school_board/index) and register to speak at school board meetings during Citizens Comment Time.  Learn as much as you can and then join these important conversations.

Advocate for Your Student:  Once you have done some research and gathered the information that you need, start scheduling meetings at your student’s school to address your questions and concerns.  Whether it’s a routine conference, an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting, classroom observation or a meeting with the principal or guidance counselor, schedule meetings to get a better understanding of your child’s experience at school and don’t forget to include your child in the dialogue. Enlist the help of current and former parents in your advocacy.  Their experiences and testimonies can be helpful as you seek an equitable education for your student.  Don’t be discouraged if  you must send multiple emails, call offices multiple times and escalate the discussion to the associate superintendent assigned to your student’s school or the district superintendent herself.  We are our student’s first line of defense and there is too much at stake for us to fall for the age-old “waiting game” or to cower because we might be perceived as disruptive.  Disruption is not always negative and sadly, some educators will ignore parents’/guardians’ requests until they give up.  Never give up.

Prepare for Opposition:  Change does not happen simply with the passing of time.  It happens when persistent parents/guardians apply pressure over time to get their student(s) the education they deserve.  Keep applying pressure and be prepared for push back.  Sadly, most people, including some educators, don’t want to do what is right for all students just for the sake of doing what is right.  I used to believe that asking educators to do what was best for my children would yield positive results; 90% of the time it doesn’t. 

If you are advocating for your child to be given more learning opportunities that complement their learning style, a teacher or even a principal might say, “We provide all students with a variety of opportunities to learn.”  This sounds good but is a very polite way of saying, “I am not going to do anything different than what I am doing right now.” By contrast, a teacher or principal who values this parent’s input might say, “Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate you and your family. While we work hard to incorporate a variety of learning opportunities to accommodate the needs of all our students, we recognize that there is always room for improvement.  Thank you for bringing it my attention that Kimberly needs additional or different opportunities.  I welcome your partnership in identifying and implementing some ideas that might be beneficial to Kimberly and to other students.  Please let me know when you are available to discuss.  I’d also like to invite you to visit our classroom when it is convenient for you so that you can see and even participate in some of our current learning opportunities.”

Several years ago, I remember proposing a variety of learning opportunities for one of my children as it was clear that they needed something different. The pushback I received was appalling and certainly didn’t make me feel like a partner in my child’s education.  I emailed suggestions and even shared pictures of some of the activities that I had done at home that engaged my student, but it was clear that the educators wanted no part of partnering with me to help my student have a better experience.  One educator even went so far as to say, “If we do this for your student, we will have to do it for every student.”  I was floored.

Obtain Resolution:  As you educate yourself and advocate for your student, set clear goals for what you would like the outcome of your work to be.  What do you want to happen?  This goal will depend largely on the issue that you are addressing.  If you are seeking an answer, the resolution may come once your question is answered.  If you are seeking a teacher change, the resolution may come when your child is switched to a new class or teacher.  Some resolutions are harder to obtain but don’t lose heart, don’t grow weary and don’t give up.  Stay engaged and escalate your questions and concerns to an assistant principal, principal, associate superintendent, supervisor or the district superintendent if needed and always document your journey.

Repeat:  Educating ourselves, advocating for our students, preparing for opposition, and obtaining resolutions will need to happen repeatedly as our children matriculate through PWCS.  This is not a “one and done” scenario.  Some parts of our children’s academic careers may be less eventful than others but we must be ever-vigilant and ever-learning.  We must use the quiet times to build relationships, research and rest up for the busier seasons that will surely come.When I hear horror stories of educational malpractice in PWCS, I often say, “This is not right.”  And it’s not, but this is the time that we are in and we must seize opportunities to advocate for changes that can have a lasting impact and improve our student’s educational experiences.  We, my beloved community, have much to do.  I am hopeful that we will make significant progress together in 2023.  Let’s get to work.

(Jennifer Roberts is the founder of Conversations in the Community.)