New Site

Please check out my new website at doncoleman.org for all the latest news.

-Don

Don Coleman at this year's National Night Out

Taking Care of Our Teachers

Recently at a National Night Out event in Fairfield a parent asked me how I would support and retain teachers in our schools.
According to the National Education Association one of the leading reasons teachers leave their positions is “too little support”. The School Board and the community need to demonstrate support and appreciation for our wonderful teachers. I will create Teacher Appreciation Teams, made up of School Board officials and community members. These teams would have the single mission of showing teachers that they are respected, supported and vital members of our city.

A Shared Vision

I believe that the Mayor, City Council and the School Board need a unified vision for our school for continued educational progress. Elements of that vision should be:

• Quality & Equality- Focus on raising our schools above and beyond the standard and on closing any achievement gaps. In addition children should have the same great educational experience no matter where their school is located.

• Collaborative Efforts- We need to demonstrate a leadership culture of unity and mutual respect. Furthermore, we need to restore the public’s confidence in RPS by hearing the concerns of teachers, parents, and children alike.

• Financial Health- Our budget resources should be focused on our classrooms, more professional development for our teachers, and more leadership development for our principals.

7th District Town Hall

Check out the next 7th District Town Hall Meeting.
Location: Mt. Tabor Baptist Church (2011 Fairmount Avenue) from 11:30AM-1PM
hosted by 7th District Council VP Delores McQuinn.

Agenda items to include:

7th District Blighted Property Concerns
7th District’s Crime Stats updates and the Impact Report on the Enforcement Zones
7th District Community Concerns
National Night Out

I'll also be there available to hear any concerns about our schools.

Communication Gaps Between our Homes and Our Schools.

“I wasn’t informed of my child’s graduation time until the morning of.
Every time I phone into the school I got conflicting answers”

A Fulton parent shared this with me a few weeks ago. Parents need to be able get accurate information.
I'd like to look into schools having a regularly updated recorded informational line so parents can call for specific information, such as, special events, PTA meetings, or important notices.
For our school district as a whole, we need to establish a one stop hotline for parents to be able to get information akin to our current city 311 line. This would be an information clearinghouse for all things pertaining to RPS on the district level.

These are the kinds of improvements that need to be made to bridge the gap between our schools and our homes.

Please keep sharing your thoughts.

Vital Communication Gap: Parents, Schools, and the Communities,

It has become more and more apparent that communication is a weak element within the community, school, parent relationship. Have you noticed this too?
A woman in Fulton Hill shared with me that she only found out the time of her child's graduation the morning of the event. Teachers have some of the same frustrations in trying to get information back home.
RPS is hosting a communications focus group "establishing the communication efforts needed to keep" parents, teachers and community members 'in the loop'.

Forum Dates: July 10 and July 17th at 6pm in the Richmond Technical Center (South Building).

My team and I will be there to participate in the forum. This could be a good start to bridging this communication gap and restoring the vital connection between parents, schools, and the community.
Please join this community dialogue.