Black Kids Can't Wait

Never underestimate a parent advocate! Advocate like a mother in your own community!

GRAPHIC By: PC

Working to increase Black student achievement in schools is critical to ensure all children can achieve excellence. How are your supporting minorities in school to be treated equally?

While challenging authority figures, conversations can get heated quickly. Take a moment to learn and practice key strategies to conduct meaningful conversations and de-escalation tactics.

You can engage with the conversation with personal statements of “I see”, “I feel”, “I am curious about”, and “I wonder”. This can help the listener to further understand and articulate a meaningful response. Everyone should feel safe and heard when challenging the status quo.

What are some things you want to remember when engaging in powerful conversations that challenge the status quo?

REPOST

Real talk: How often do you yell at your kids? 😬
👉🏽 Almost no parent in the history of parenting can honestly say “never”—after all, we’re human! With all the stress we’re under, it’s pretty much impossible to react to *every* situation with patience and compassion.

🧡 No matter who we are or where we come from, we all love our kids and want to give them the best life we possibly can. And a big part of that is creating a safe, healthy environment at home where kids learn how to process big emotions.

💯 But that can be tough to do, especially when WE have a hard time regulating our own feelings (and not yelling)!

👀 So how do you coach yourself to stop yelling? Especially when it’s become a habit, or it seems like your kids just won’t listen unless you raise your voice???

📣 We’re doing a series of content to help you stop yelling!
🔔 So be sure to follow us if you want more tips.🔔

1️⃣ The first thing to do is to identify your triggers. Understanding what makes you angry in the first place (hint: it probably ISN’T the thing you’re actually yelling about) is the first step in heading that anger off—BEFORE it gets out of control.

⚡️ When you recognize the things that stress you out and make you more likely to yell, you can take simple steps to eliminate them as much as possible.

🚩 Do the kids always fight in the car on the way home from school?
💡 Bring a distraction or crunchy snack to pick-up to keep them occupied.

🚩 Messes make you feel overwhelmed?
💡 Get a “clutter basket” for each member of your house to put their clutter into, so you don’t have to look at it and they can easily find everything to put away.

Next, we’ll talk about figuring out where you are on the “anger scale,” and how it can sabotage your efforts to chill—more to come!

💬 What triggers would you add to the list?

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Reading stories can have a beautiful impact when learning about experiences from diverse populations. It can help understand and enjoy exploring different cultures and be compassionate while learning about their ancestral struggle. In a time when we see acts of exclusion occur, we can intentionally make space to embrace a person’s story that should be celebrated and included in our school's curriculum.

What are you reading?

How to talk to children when tragedy strikes?

Make time to talk - Providing them time and patience for them to share any emotions that come up. Let them know it is a normal human reaction. Confirm that their schools and homes are designed to have adults to protect them.

Keep responses short and balanced - Children psychologists recommend families can briefly provide information to young children under the age of 7. Over the age of 7 children will be more vocal about their opinions and need assistance to discuss sensitive topics.

Be observant of their emotional state - Support their thought process by asking how they feel and think about the incidents. If concerned with major changes in behavior occur, seek help from a mental health professional.

Use it as a teaching moment - Provide examples of how compassion is very much needed. Ask questions and allow the discussion to end with a positive outcome.

Limit TV viewing of events - Be mindful of the content of conversations being had in front of children. Inappropriate information can cause anxiety or confusion, particularly in young children.

Children can be exposed to tragedies in schools or through multiple media outlets. Rather than allowing fear to take hold of their emotions, families can work with children to process the emotions and provide compassion.

Students should always be provided a safe space to share their thoughts. Educators can build trust in the classroom and remove any self-doubt students may carry deep inside.

How are you supporting students to engage in classroom discussions?

Extremely thankful to our coalition partners that joined the March for Black Student Equity in Sacramento, CA. Parents and students united to raise awareness that the lowest-performing subgroups are not receiving the necessary investments from the Local Control Funding Formula. Sadly, statewide testing data from 2019 shows that Black students are the lowest performing subgroup with only 49% meeting English Language Arts Standards and only 33% meeting Math Standards. The statewide average for all students was 51% meeting ELA and 40% Math Standards. Despite this pervasive achievement gap, Black students are not designated as high needs under LCFF. We urge our state representatives to support the 80,000 Black students who are currently not receiving supplemental funds to achieve academic success.

Turn that inner critic off and turn the inner coach on to speak kindly to yourself. When we take care of our inner world our outer world starts to blossom.

There are many barriers navigating any system but it is your right to meet with teachers and school administrators to be held accountable. Parents need to be met halfway when engaging in schools. A few recommendations the Center collected on how to engage in your child’s school.

What are other ways to help parents become engaged at the school site?