This morning, I was invited to a breakfast with Art Harper, President & CEO of GE Equipment Management and a senior VP of the GE parent company. Mr. Harper is a founding commissioner on the Stamford Achieves initiative to eliminate the achievement gap here. I was honored to be at that table along with 7 other parent leaders in the community who have graduated from the PLTI course and have worked to make a difference in the lives of children. It was a wonderful, informal exchange of information and ideas. Stamford is trying something here that I don’t think any other municipality of our size would attempt…a community-wide, intensive effort to focus attention on education. I was most impressed with Art Harper, who does not come across as a stuffed shirt who runs a multi-million dollar global business. If anything, he came across as approachable to the point of being dare-I-say-it downright lovable? Big booming voice, with an even bigger heart for children and being an involved community citizen.
My only hope is that the momentum keeps up and this commission really makes a difference. I know I’m doing my part to spread the word and mentor parents, particularly those with children in the special education system. My goal has always been to empower parents to be their own best advocates for their children, while treating the school district personnel as colleagues on the same team and not adversaries. We’re making strides, but too many children are still being identified as special education when in fact it may be a cultural or language barrier between them and learning. Or minority children are not getting the services or support they are entitled to and the parents don’t have access to the resources they need to change the situation.
One thing is for sure…this problem won’t be solved overnight and it won’t be solved by any one person or group.
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