Reflections

As a parent of two APS students, an advocate for educational equity, and someone who leads an organization dedicated to ensuring APS graduates can be successful in college, I’ve researched and reflected a lot about what students need, but this question caught me off guard.  I can only list 3 things? Is it Reading? Comprehension? Writing? Analysis? Computation? Scientific Method? Time-management? Self-regulation? The list of possible choices is endless.  But when I paused to think about my own children, and what skills I’ve tried to encourage in them, the answer came into focus.

A few weeks ago, some friends and I were talking about all the jobs we held in college. Some of us worked at campus libraries, others cleaned dorm room toilets. A few worked in the cafeteria or in administrative jobs at one of the several departments on campus. Probably one of my favorite jobs was staying at school once classes ended, working as a barback at alumni reunions – where I learned that old people drink liquor straight, no mixer. According to a recent report released this week from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, working too many hours can negatively impact student GPAs and decrease the likelihood of college graduation,

Although it’s only August, school started last week for Atlanta Public Schools and I’m settling into the new routine at home and work. At home, this is a big year for us as Franky, our first-born, enters his senior year. I’m feeling lots of emotions—sadness, excitement, anxiety—about his pending graduation and the fact that he’ll be headed to college soon. We feel the ground shifting under our family unit of four and are trying to stay steady as this inevitable and ultimately desirable change happens.