Proficiency is key
I read the article on the Editorial page on Dec. 22 in the Pine Bluff Commercial written by a Pine Bluff Branch NAACP member entitled “Return Local Control.” We should be asking, “Return local Proficiency.”
Let us focus on a time when scholars were proficient in math, science, English, and social studies, among other subjects, instead of local control.
We have a School Board trying to right the ship, and we should be trying to help them, but some want control without skin in the game. It doesn’t matter to some whether progress toward accomplishing the mission is occurring; they want to flex their muscles, disassemble what is working, and start a new school board.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
I raise this question, do you know the latest Department of Education Report Card for Pine Bluff Schools? Let us get in the spirit of repairing and not destroying because of disagreement. It is easier to replace an entire school board but more complicated to build the chemistry we have today of a school board working together.
The school board, teachers, and administration are not 100 percent of the problem; they receive the best daily that the families send them. Our scholars and parents face a multitude of endless challenges, and they need help. The Pine Bluff schools and parents need community support.
You may not have a scholar attending school, but remember, it still takes a village. You could join in and help the scholars learn to read better. Help with school activities, assist at the bus stop, or serve one hour a week as a volunteer on campus. If so, the schools need your help now.
For the love of our scholars, let’s help fix the problems. You don’t ditch the truck because it has a flat tire, you fix the flat and move forward.
The most pressing civil rights challenge of today is “proficiency.”
Rev. Jesse C. Turner, executive director,
Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc.