The Tavis Smiley Foundation will present the fourth and fifth stops of its national series of parent education seminars in April to give parents tools and information on how they can ensure their child’s success in learning. The fourth stop of the Too Important to Fail Parent Education Summit will be held Saturday, April 14 from 9 am – 3 pm at John M. Smyth Magnet School, 1059 W. 13th Street, Chicago, IL 60608. Attendees can register at www.rsvpbook.com/ChicagoSummit.
The fifth stop will be held Saturday, April 21 from 9 am – 3 pm at World Overcomers Outreach Ministry Church, 6655 Winchester Road, Memphis, TN 38115. Attendees can register at www.rsvpbook.com/MemphisSummit. The program is free and admission includes lunch and free parking for participants in both cities. Advance registration is requested; however on-site registration will be accepted subject to space availability. The Parent Education Summit is a grassroots parents’ engagement effort to inform parents and the community about educational initiatives and programs, family and school partnerships, and school district resources. The workshop sessions will include learning strategies to support homework, planning summer learning activities, and the impacts of absenteeism and role models as well as health and safety on learning.
Parents will learn how grade-level reading determines high school performance and what they can do if their child is not reading at grade level. A special emphasis will focus on the challenges facing African American boys. Research shows less than 50 percent of young Black males will graduate from high school and on average their 12th grade reading scores are significantly lower than those across every other racial and ethnic group.
The program began in October 2011. Hundreds of parents have participated in sessions held in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Philadelphia. The program will be held in Houston and the Washington, DC area in May. Funding for the initiative is provided by the Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA) and Hyundai Motor America. National program partners include the National Education Association.
Through the interactive web portal, www.tooimportanttofail.com, summit attendees and the general public can learn more about the issues and engage in dialogue with organizations and constituents. Visitors can share ideas and vote on what they consider priorities through the use of social media.
All seminar sessions will be free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration information for the summits is available at www.youthtoleaders.org.
