By Gerald Chestnutt Riberio | Guest Column

Recently, I met with a group of people. We share the same common bond, the future of Selma’s City Schools.

A number of parents, some educators (both present and retired) and interested residents, made mention of these two concerns:

It was alleged that a great number of the people who work for Central Office do not live in Selma. Even the highest paid salaried employee, does not live in Selma.

Selma is good enough to give these school employees a pay check, but not good enough for them to call Selma home. Members of this community are upset that the current school administration has chosen to hire individuals that have no intention of moving to Selma rather than promoting highly qualified school employees that call Selma home.

Also alleged, the new school superintendent does not have an open door policy. She will not meet with parents. She will only meet with selected individuals in the community.

I hope this is not true. If so, we must demand that the superintendent have an “open door policy.”

As a product of the Selma City School system, I can say without a doubt, the Selma City School system has been failing our children for decades. These parents believe that nothing is going to change. The relationship between the school system and the community is broken. We must take our schools back.

I draw the line when it comes to neglecting our children. I will publically denounce any superintendent, school board member(s), including members of my family and teachers, who do not have our children’s best interests at heart. I will lead a public protest, hire lawyers and or gather the necessary signatures to recall and or remove any official in charge of our children’s education who fails to act in the best interest of our children and community.

As parents, we send our children to school with the best of intentions, believing that formal education is what our children need to become productive, happy adults. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Some school board members believe that the many issues that our children face can be resolved with more money, better teachers, more challenging curricula, or more rigorous tests. But what if the real problem is school itself or the individuals elected to lead and protect our school system?

Most public schools in Selma are a product of history, not a product of research. Even with the state taking over our schools, Selma City schools are directed toward secular ends, the basic structure and methods of teaching has remained unchanged. Moreover, many parents are concerned that school administrators and officials are not concerned with instructional time, but instead just move students from grade to grade without adequate comprehension. There is something terribly wrong when a good number of graduating seniors do not have the ability to read on grade level.

Both of my sisters are exemplary educators. Both of whom have taught in the Selma City School system. And both agree with the research that there are plenty of opportunities to learn to tolerate unpleasantness without adding unpleasant schooling to the mix. Research has shown that people of all ages learn best when they are self-motivated, pursuing answers to questions that reflect their personal interests and achieving goals they’ve set for themselves. Under such conditions, learning is usually joyful.

The biggest, most enduring lesson of the Selma City School system is that learning is work, to be avoided when possible.

Turning Selma City schools around will be a herculean task.

However, we cannot ask our children to wait another day for real leadership. We must implore the Board of Education, State department and the superintendent to come together and usher in the change that our children deserve … a great education.

Selma City School’s must create an atmosphere for purposeful parent engagement and partnerships that are culturally responsive and that permeates throughout the school district, and it must begin with governance and school administrative leaders, the superintendent and school principals

Gerald Chestnutt Riberio is a native of Selma and is the daughter of J.L. Chestnut, a former attorney who specialized in Civil Rights cases and litigation.