Changing the Education of Children for Tomorrow with Dr. Steve Perry

“Can you imagine a school where teachers don’t even like kids? Don’t even like them?”

Everyone sat silently for a moment, peering around and mentally envisioning this awful place. The room was filled with the men of Alpha Phi Alpha historically black fraternity, UNITE members, and other fascinated attendees from around campus. The questioner was Dr. Steve Perry, author, CNN correspondent, Essence Magazine columnist, and most importantly school principle. (Dr. Steve Perry is pictured below with the UNITE Executive board).

Dr. Perry told us how his work in schools like this changed his beliefs about education. His belief that all children are valuable led to his charter school, Capital Preparatory Magnet School, which is based around the belief that all children need to be embraced and encouraged to succeed. (Investigate!: http://www.capitalprep.org/).

Capital Prep is the brainchild of passionate urban educators who teamed up with Dr. Perry to serve low-income minority students in Hartford, Connecticut. They kept asking themselves, what amount of fabulously talented and innovative minority students have been rejected or disempowered by America’s past of oppression, disenfranchisement, and segregation that spreads all the way into the school system?

The Capital Prep team decided that the children of Hartford deserved to go to school where the adults love them, where they have authentic opportunities to thrive, and where no more of America’s talent will be wasted based on race or class identity. Dr. Perry designed his school around the students needs, crafting periods that allowed students to engage with deep learning, providing both breakfast and lunch so kids have the fuel to learn effectively, and so that each child who gets out of bed and comes to his school in the morning will be taught something worth learning – what he believes are the basic promises of a good education.

Our current school system has problems that many groups, individuals, and districts are trying to remedy. And many have. Many are on longer-term plans toward success.

What we at UNITE found most personally inspiring? Something we hope to take from Dr. Perry and into our classrooms with us every single day:

“I want every single child to wake up tomorrow morning and go to school getting the very best learning opportunities. Not next week, month, or year. Tomorrow. Now.”

-Special thanks to the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, for inviting us to co-host and attend the The Ritual, with speaker Dr. Perry. (Pictured at left, with UNITE Executive board).

-Special thanks to Dr. Steve Perry for flying to University of Illinois on Sunday, October 23^rd and making it back to Hartford for his students Monday morning.

Want to attend an Upcoming Meeting??:

Wednesday, November 16th in Room 210A

Wednesday, November 30th in Room 210A