Couple teach parents to be advocates for children

Calla and Gerald Wright grew up in families where parents got involved in their children's schooling.

Calla's mother was a teacher at Garner Elementary School. Gerald grew up in Nashville, Tenn., in a community where neighbors looked out for one another's children and encouraged them in their schoolwork.

But when it came time to get involved in their own child's school in Raleigh, the Wrights found they still had much to learn. Their oldest son came home with a note for being rambunctious. The Wrights had to find out how to ensure their son was treated properly and how to avoid having him labeled a discipline problem.

The Wrights started with their son's teachers. They looked into school policies. They met with other parents and listened to their experiences with bad behavior, failing grades and disputes with teachers.

Eventually, the Wrights straightened out their son's situation, but they saw that the wider work was far from done.

The Southeast Raleigh couple decided to help others navigate the system. Each week over Sunday dinner and coffee, they and other parents began sharing their own stories about discipline and academic issues involving their children. They talked about strategies to address their complaints and ways to become more involved at school.

Out of their weekly chats, the Wrights created a movement for parental involvement, the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children.

The role played by parents is so crucial in a student's education that it often makes the difference between a student passing or failing. It's particularly important for African-American parents, who want their children to avoid the general pattern of black children lagging academically.

"It's nice to see an African-American teacher and spouse at the forefront of this group," said Sheilah Sutton, a parent helped by the Wrights. "They are very supportive."

At the start, few parents attended the Wrights' meetings, but slowly the group grew. Currently there are more than 200 supporters. Calls are coming in from across the state from parents who want to start a similar organization.

"Calla and Gerald have been able to build a group through word of mouth, and it has been a real partnership for the parents and the school system," said Donna Hargens, the Wake schools' chief academic officer.

Models for involvement

The Wrights' mission is to give parents the tools they need to navigate through a large school system such as Wake County's. Their technique is to hold monthly seminars with school leaders that give parents a chance to hear about policies and procedures.

Calla and Gerald Wright both say that being able to know school policies helped them resolve their son's situation and that it helps parents respond sooner.

"We want parents to be able to advocate effectively and monitor closely what is happening with their children, not just when things get fever pitch," said Calla Wright, 49, a veteran music teacher at Zebulon Middle School.

The couple encourages parents to study the district's policies. Having that knowledge, they say, eases what can be an intimidating situation when parents do have to meet with a child's teacher.

Wake administrators welcome the assistance.

"We can use all the help we can in reaching parents," said Andre C. Smith, the principal at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School.

Since the coalition began, the Wrights have helped parents whose children are failing classes, cannot get into gifted programs or face suspension.

Sutton said the Wrights' effort has made a difference in her experience with Wake schools.