Adult Advocacy

Okay, so I've always known this truth, but I'm realizing it more deeply lately, and it is this:
children's and youths' education is heavily a factor of what I call adult advocacy.

As I visit elementary schools to speak with 8th graders directly about our new high school, almost without exception, the youth are eager about the opportunity. I am well-received, and that reception is shown by the kinds of questions asked and, even when some students don't ask questions, by their attentiveness. What's been really eye-opening for me has been the contrast in the commitment of guidance counselors and teachers across schools.

Some schools I visit, like Tilton and Hammond, have awesome counselors who you can tell care about and are committed to their kids. These adult advocates, as I call them, go to great lengths to make sure their students complete and turn in applications for our school. In the case of the Hammond counselor, she and the two outstanding 8th grade teachers brought carloads of students to two open house sessions when most of their parents could not make it, to ensure their chances for a seat in our school. The counselor at Tilton, a school I visited later in my recruitment efforts, had already worked to have most of her 8th graders already placed in good schools even before I came. There were only about 8 students still in need of placement when I came in early April, a sign, as I told the counselor, that she is doing her job and doing right by her kids.

What's been saddening, though, are schools where the adult advocates aren't advocating. At one school I went to this week, I told the counselor about our website and how an application could be downloaded from it and copied for students (since I only had limited copies on me). This woman proceeded to complain how she's a counselor yet doesn't have a printer. When I asked if there were any other printers in the building, she said yes hesitatingly, but said they belong to other people and she doesn't want to use them. Then she added that she isn't willing to use her printer at home for school purposes. Whatever 'beef' this counselor has with other adults in the building, what was communicated to me was that she does not care enough about students to even make sure they get an application for a good school. It's no wonder that out of several classes of 8th graders, only 6 had been placed so far in this school (in contrast to the 8 who had not been placed in the other school). Thankfully, one of the 8th grade teachers had a printer in his classroom, but the counselor's only question for me (which she asked publicly when I opened the floor for students to ask questions) was whether or not we were a charter. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? I was proud to say we were not, but what if we were? What difference would that make for kids? In all the questions I've been asked by kids, never has any student asked whether or not our school is a charter. That's because that issue is an adult one -- not a kid one. And again, the counselor showed her true colors: she was more concerned with herself than with her students.

What have I learned from these visits? Well, first and foremost, I am thankful for those God placed around me when I was young who advocated for me in some way or another -- for those who took up the slack from what was missing in my home so that I could have a future. My sister is top of the list. My aunt, grandparents, and Sunday School teacher are not too far behind. Some of my teachers at school make the list, too.

What needs to happen in the lives of youth today is they need other adults to take up the slack, so to speak, when those who should be their advocates are not. I think about an after-school coordinator who learned about our school and encouraged youth in her program to apply. And she went the extra mile when the parent/guardian didn't show for the mandatory enrollment session to secure her seat. This after-school worker 'standing in the gap' so to speak and taking up the cause of this young girl can make the difference between a quality high school experience or a hellish one. The difference between a bright future and a gloomy one.

Adult advocates, where are you?