Yesterday, the Escambia County Public Schools announced that District 3 community and spiritual leaders have teamed up to unveil plans for the Carol McIntosh Education Initiative.
- The initiative will focus on increasing parental involvement in struggling elementary schools in District 3 and making parents partners in their children’s education. The plan includes mentoring, parental involvement, combating absenteeism, conflict resolution and career education.
Why? Research has shown that parental involvement significantly affects children’s educational performance. When parents are involved, children do better in school, and schools become better places to learn.
- Higher grades and test scores, long-term academic achievements, positive attitudes and behaviors are some potential benefits.
Other goals: improving mutual trust and respect among parents, school personnel, and students; respecting cultural, linguistic, and values differences; identifying and enhancing existing parent networks; facilitating parent involvement in school policy and programmatic decision-making; and coordinating with public and private sector organizations and churches to offer volunteers and mentors within the targeted schools.
What’s next: Plan details will be formulated by academic, social, and health experts within the school district with solid support and innovative input and participation from community partners and church congregations.
Dig Deeper: Carol McIntosh passed away last year. She was a long-time educator and served as the principal of Lincoln Park Elementary.
- She co-founded the Pensacola chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1993. She was an officer for Movement for Change and the Pensacola chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. McIntosh also served as the longtime president of the Escambia County chapter of the Progressive Black Women Coalition.
