In 2000, when Damon King graduated from High School North, at age 16, his parents were especially proud, as their son was the only student from the WW-P district to be accepted to Harvard that year. Despite these achievements, Damon’s experiences as an African-American student, are representative of the struggles that many students face in the WW-P district to be recognized for academic merit and opportunity.
The African-American Parent Support Group (AAPSG), established in 1986, is determined to minimize those struggles for the 440 African American kids currently in the district.
The story of the AAPSG starts 18 years ago, in 1986. “The number of African American kids was increasing in the district, and they were experiencing difficulties,” says Yolande Zealy McCain, current president of the African American Parents Support Group (AAPSG), recalling the year the group was established. “There were some racial problems, some harassment, some physical fights.” Cheryl Larrier-Jemmott (who at the time was a parent with a child in the high school and later became school board president), teamed up with 20 parents, a former guidance couselor, and an assistant principal to start the group.
With a mission statement of six targeted objectives — including improving communication between home and school, providing opportunities for families of African descent to meet and network, and to increase cultural awareness and sensitivity — the group addresses academic and cultural issues and concerns, meets monthly, and hosts a number of events for students and families throughout the year.
Its next meeting Wednesday, February 4, at 7:30 p.m. in High School South’s Life Skills Room.
McCain believes the issues African American students face in the district have changed since the AAPSG’s inception. “Racism is more subtle now. The issues are more educational.” For example, she says, “I think our kids are not necessarily (benefitting) from the networking that goes on.” Frequently African-American parents are unaware of strategies for helping their children take advantage of academic opportunities.
Damon King’s parents had to work hard to ensure that their son got the academic attention he deserved. “It was not an easy road,” says McCain. “They still encountered difficulties. It was a struggle to have teachers in WW-P recognize his potential. His parents had to speak up to get him in honors and AP classes.”
She says a lot of networking among parents goes on through the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), and that parents who aren’t involved in the PTSA or who don’t visit the school district’s website frequently to inform themselves about the issues and opportunities are more at a loss. “Some of us are not educating ourselves as much as we could.”
Another area McCain says where African American students are at a disadvantage is the high school’s annual college fair. “The colleges that come without fail are predominantly white institutions.” While it’s not that the district doesn’t invite them, historically black institutions just don’t see the district as a target market. To flip this coin, the AAPSG organizes a bus trip to the College of New Jersey, which annually hosts a college fair featuring historically black colleges. The group sends flyers home with the kids to alert their parents about the fair and also relies on word of mouth.
Other college-focused activities include an SAT prep seminar, which is held two Saturdays a month, October through May. McCain has two daughters at High School South — Lauren, a senior, and Kristen, a sophomore — and says she’s convinced Lauren did better on her SATs thanks to the seminar. (McCain’s husband, John, runs his own executive recruiting firm.)
The AAPSG also hosts brown bag lunches for students to learn about different careers. Parent members of the group who work in a broad array of fields from health care and law to education and corporate management speak to the high school students about their careers.
At the monthly meetings, parent volunteers plan and organize upcoming events. At the Wednesday, February 4, meeting, the group will be finalizing plans for the district-wide February 19 Black History Month celebration. “This year the focus is on lesser-known African American scientists and professionals like Charles Drew (the surgeon/physican who developed the blood plasma bank) and Bessie Coleman (the world’s first black female pilot), not just Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks,” says McCain.
The AAPSG is undertaking several other initiatives, including recruiting more African American teachers into the district. “They act as role models,” says McCain. Right now only about 2 percent of teachers in the district are African American. The group has met with superintendent Loretan and Alicia Boyko, head of HR for the district, and made several suggestions including recruiting at historically black colleges, visiting minority job fairs, and placing ads in newspapers and magazines that target a minority population.
McCain recently received an e-mail from Lauren Stephens, who graduated from South, Class of 2002, a sophomore at Howard University in Washington, DC where she joined the National Honor Society. “Lauren said she felt the African American club, with the help of the AAPSG, helped her find her niche in West Windsor.”
Lauren’s older brother, Leonard, who graduated from WWPHS in 1996, went to work on Wall Street for a major company after graduating from Howard with honors. He, too, credits the club with providing him an opportunity to socialize with other African American students.
Other successful students include Danyelle Weaver, Class of 1996, who graduated from Spelman College in 2000 and now supervises 15 people as operations supervisor with Chubb Insurance Company in Atlanta, and her brother, Michael, who graduated in 2000 and is now a senior at Morehouse College. He has accepted a position with Bank America in New York.
“The school district is not always supportive of our kids to be the best they can be,” says mcCain. “And I don’t think our students are encouraged to achieve as much as they might be able to.”
AAPSG, Wednesday, February 4, 7:30 p.m., High School South, Life Skills Room, West Windsor. 609-799-6031, http//homepages.wwptoday.com/clubpages/aapsg. AAPSG is seeking more parent volunteers. To join the e-mail list, send an e-mail with your name and e-mail address to aaparentsgroup2@aol.com.
