As a concerned parent of a Natchez-Adams School District student, I feel the need to address some of the issues that have plagued our district this past school year.

It was my perception that some of the issues and concerns felt from within my community about the problems our children would be facing over the next few years, as well as the future of the NASD, were collectively searched and answered at a recent town hall meeting hosted by the Natchez Board of Aldermen, along with the Adams County Board of Supervisors.

One of the first questions asked at the meeting was why do these hurdles exist in my child’s educational foundation, as well as all of the children in our district to the school board, along with Superintendent Frederick Hill, whom were there in attendance.

The response from our school board president Tim Blalock stated, “When we hired Dr. (Frederick) Hill, I said you are getting yourself into a mess, and it’s like excavating through a pile of trash, you are fighting more and more stuff that is a problem.”

Dr. Benny Wright then stated, “I am not committed to hiring friends and neighbors.” Pardon me Dr. Wright, but if I’m not mistaken, was it or was it not friends and neighbors who supported you as a successful dentist in this town for more than 20 years?

Let us not forget this school district is made up of our friends and neighbors, and with that being said, now is not the time to solely lay blame and only hold those people accountable by firing them, thinking all of our problems have been resolved to cure the failing school district.

Only working together will bring about better progress to help restore this district to its former glory.

However, it has been proven that an elected school board provides faster results needed for a failing school district, because it clearly holds the school board more accountable for decisions being made on behalf of our children.

Look at it like this, there are 490,619 students in the Mississippi public school district, with 163 school districts that employ 32,007 teachers statewide, and as taxpayers, we spend $7,928 per pupil.

And in those states where there are elected school boards in place, records have shown an 85 percent graduation rate. Critics who oppose an elected school board may say that electing a school board may not change the district’s dilemma.

But I would argue that the school board levies taxes, and any governing body that plays a vital role in the process of taxation should to me be elected, because taxation without representation is unconstitutional.

So, it is my opinion that we must not only change our reproach and the structure of our school district from within, but we must also consider looking outside ourselves for other alternatives methods of teaching our children.

One of these ides I personally voiced to the State Superintendent of Education was the “Leader in Me” educational format that consisted of the “7 Habits Curriculum.”

These simple, yet aggressive, “7 Habits” have been studied and proven to bring failing school districts back from the brink of destruction. I know this because I’ve seen it in action and with great succession in two states — Georgia and Louisiana.

This is why I strongly feel the “7 Habits” can not only bring academic success to our failing school district, but it can also incorporate a regimental form of disciplinary structure that is lacking and in some cases missing from within our district. The 7 Habits for this curriculum are as follows:

4Habit No. 1: Be productive: I am a responsible person: I take initiative.

4Habit No. 2: Begin with an end in mind: I plan ahead and set goals.

4Habit No. 3: Think win-win: Awesome can win.

4Habit No. 4: Put first things first: Work first, then play.

4Habit No. 5: Seek first to understand, then be understood: Listen before you talk.

4Habit No. 6: Synergize: Together is better.

4Habit No. 7: Sharpening the saw: I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, and not just school.

With these “7 Habits” adopted, I see great success for our school district, and more importantly for our children in their most formative years, which is now.

Yes, we as a community can do it — we can repair our schools.

But understand my friends, it has to be done collectively as a community all on one accord seeking the same agenda: the successful welfare and education of our children that will correlate to better pathways in producing more effective and proactive citizens, whom will one day lead this community.

Do I think we can do it? Yes I do. We are strong, we are responsible, we are resilient, we are Natchez.

 

Barney Schoby is a Natchez resident and parent of a student in the Natchez-Adams School District.