How Can Parents Make a Difference in Student Achievement?

Thanks for your support and thoughts on the subject. Stay positive!--JH

Correct full title is: "Teaching In Urban America: A Formula For Change.

Thanks for the uplifting thoughts and ideas my dear Sister Agnes Levine. I also think that Dr. J. Elisha Burke makes a great point when he says that parents are advocates for their children, and that they ought to be "demanding the best from their children". Concerning the best, I wrote the following poem for the Class of 2000 in 1988-1989 when they were in first grade:

The Best

I want to be,
The best that I can be;
Because I want to see,
The best come out of me!

I want to know,
All there is to know;
Because I want to go,
Where the green grass grows!

My poem, "The Best," is repeated at every school assembly and parent meeting in many schools in America. Let's use this poem to inspire parents, students, and others. Let's keep the dream alive in your schools and in your state!--JH

I couldn't agree with you more!

Dr. Hargrove:

If I were you, I would shop it around to some traditional publishers first before trying to publish it indepdendently. Traditional publishing houses have staff available to edit and market your book. They also take care of all expenditures related to the book's success.

If you decide to pitch your book to a traditional publishing house, I recommend that your first pitch be to literary agents. A literary agent has inside knowledge of your targeted market, and will serve as an advocate during contract negotiation and book publishing processes. Writer's Digest publishes a guide titled "Guide to Literary Agents". You can pick up a copy at your local bookstore. Check out the latest edition of Writer's Digest as well. There's an article in there highlighting agents who are seeking new talent.

All the best in the publication and sale of your book. If you would like to publicize it on my Internet talk radio show, just give me a call.

Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
www.jefferyafaulkerson.com

Dear Jeffery,

Thank you so much for all your suggestions! Also, thanks for keeping me in your loop, and I will follow your advice with the agent idea.--JH

Dr. Hargrove:

No problem.

I self-published my first book, "Raising My V.O.I.C.E.", through Infinity Publishing. They charge a one-time set-up fee of $500 plus a $195 distribution package fee. Print on Demand companies like Tate Publishing and iUniverse charge much more $1,000 or more, but they guarantee that your book will be placed in retail outlets and on online sites (barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, borders.com, etc.). Self-publishing is ideal if you want to have more control over your projects. You just have to run it like a business, understanding that you are solely responsible for their success.

Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
www.jefferyafaulkerson.com

I understand what you mean. I am with it!--JH

I will follow your advice! Thanks!--JH

Dear Dr. Wimberly,

I love these ideas. I agree that one of the best things that parents can do to close gaps in student achievement is to nurture the child by reading to them in the womb and thereafter. Early readiness, preparation, and development are key factors to student success. Thanks for your ideas and energy.--JH

Dear Dr. Hargrove:

I know you are looking for a publisher and I have a friend who is now with a major publishing company. As stated earlier, I do think with your background there should be no problem in getting you with a major company. Not only this, I think there are some other doors of opportunity open for you as well. Education reform and closing the achievement gap is a hot topic. Although you have probably worked on this a while, I feel this is a time for it to come into fruitiion. Let me know if I can be of assistance. I have read some of your other articles and I know that you have a lot to contribute. I know that you asked what can parents do to close the achievement gap. Can you tell me what tools as teachers and administrators we can use to work on closing the gap also? In your appoint with working with the state on education reform, what have you seen to be problems as well as workable solution to this despairity?

Absolutely ~ Through encouragement, relationship building with teachers/administrators/other parents, exposing students to other environments, spiritually, and exercising authority when necessary to show the seriousness of academic success. This can apply to both educated and uneducated parents/guardians.

LaTonya B

Hello LaTonya,

You are such a great thinker. Thanks for keeping the dream alive. The new generation of students will need our support. Thanks for your blessing and assistance!--JH

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement.--JH

Sister Latonya, I totally agree with you. Instead of limiting these kids and allowing them to remain ignorant about what goes on outside of their city block, parents and educators need to make sure they have a well rounded education. My parents always had books stacked to the ceiling in their home, and one of the values they instilled in me was the importance of reading and visiting the neighborhood library. By the time I was 6 years old, I was reading the Ebony magazine and the local newspaper at a 7th grade level.

There are plenty of resources to help teachers and parents prepare students for standardized tests. The problem is most of these people in the inner city have a screwed up mentality. Their priorities are all messed up, and the kids lose out in the long run.