Local NAACP holds town hall for parent involvement

The NAACP of Sampson County held an education town hall at First Missionary Baptist Church on Memorial Day. Members from the community and both school systems were present to speak and listen to different concerns about what’s going on in our local schools. The initiative was headed by Larry Sutton, Sampson County NAACP president and long-time educator. He informed those in attendance that May is considered Education Month and intends to hold more such events.

The meeting started by everyone reading the mission statement in unison: “Our mission is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.”

“We need to be working to make things better for the community,” Sutton stated. He invited members from Sampson County and Clinton City schools to be present, including Dr. Linda Brunson (CCS Board of Education Chairperson), Dr. William Vann, Dr. Wendy Cabral (SCS Executive Director of Human Resources), and Jennifer Daughtry (SCS Executive Director of High Schools) to give some insight. Both superintendents, Dr. Jamie King (SCS) and Dr. Wesley Johnson (CCS), were among the first to speak.

“Our ancestors’ greatest dreams are what’s happening right now,” Dr. King opened up with. “To see the unity in this building is what they wanted to see. Is everything perfect? Of course not, but this is a step in the right direction.”

He implored parents to speak up and give their feedback, good or bad. “It truly takes a village. I know that as a parent of three girls. We have to pull together to give our students the learning experience they all deserve,” he said.

Dr. Johnson then gave his part, in which he highlighted the changing demographics of the schools. “The majority of our students are of the Latino community, which at times can cause learning barriers when English is their second language. We also have had a boom of Haitian-Creole students. Not many teachers speak Creole-French,” he stated. He did mention a solution Clinton City Schools are looking into, by utilizing a translation service called “Syncros.” This will be used with the hopes of preventing different languages from being a hindrance to students’ learning. “All children can learn,” Sutton had stated prior.

A common thing multiple speakers mentioned was the attack on public schools. Educator and administrator for over 39 years, Phil Williamson, spoke about it in-depth. “The attack on public schools is becoming greater and greater,” he professed. “It is a power grab. You must reach out to your legislators and let them know this misappropriation of funds between public and private schools is wrong.” He further insisted that “no data shows private school kids perform better than public school kids.”

“We have to close the achievement gap,” Williamson stated. At one point, he raised the question, “How many people have kids in the school system right now?” There were only a few hands raised amongst those in attendance, to which he replied, “That’s a problem. Parents not being here is a problem.” Granted, this event took place on Memorial Day, but the town hall was being held primarily for parents to express their questions and concerns. “Parent involvement is important,” he concluded.

Dr. William Vann, director of special programs for Clinton City Schools, mentioned how the NAACP and school systems need to be more collaborative. “If we can work together on setting up events like this, it would allow the word to get more widespread. If we can coordinate together, we can definitely reach the community together,” he attested.

Sutton expressed his appreciation to everyone who attended and looks forward to more interaction with the community. “It starts with us. We have to lead our children the way they should be led. It’s going to take all of us, but together, we can see the change we want to see,” he concluded.