Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 8-28-15 Edition

Features
School Officials Optimistic About New Year
NAACP To Host Their Annual Freedom Fund Dinner
Members of the Hillsbor- ough County Branch NAACP and its Executive Committee have announced plans for the 2015 Annual Freedom Fund Dinner. The event will take place on Friday, October 30, 2015, at the Embassy Suites Hotel at USF.
The theme for this year is
“Pursuing Liberty in the Face of Injustice.” Dr. Bennie Small, President of the Hills- borough County Branch NAACP will serve as the Chairman of the 2015 Free- dom Fund Dinner this year.
Dr. Small said, “I decided to serve as the Chairperson this year because of the injus- tices that are taking place all over the country. I have been a member of the NAACP since I was in high school and I’ve been involved in the demon- strations, the sit-ins, and other events. I was involved in the marches where they used water hoses and dogs.
“It seems like history is re- peating itself and I felt that as the president, I needed to lead the organization in this strug-
DR. BENNIE SMALL President, Hillsborough County Branch NAACP
gle. It seems like we are reliv- ing things of the past,” he said. The organization’s kick-off event for the dinner is “Free- dom Fund Sunday,” which
will take place on Sunday, Oc- tober 4th. The Hillsborough County Branch NAACP will partner with community churches to promote the Free- dom Fund Dinner on this date.
Executive Committee repre- sentatives from the local branch will worship with local congregations and provide in- formation about the dinner and membership following church services.
For additional information about the dinner contact the Hillsborough County Branch NAACP at (813) 234-8683 or visit the website at www.hills- boroughnaacp.org.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The 2015-2016 school year in Hillsborough County has begun and some officials are optimistic. There has been a small reduction in suspensions and the superintendent has changed some policies.
Earlier this month, Hillsbor- ough County School Superin- tendent Jeff Eakins addressed the language in the district’s disciplinary policy, redefining terms such as “in- appropriate behavior,” the re- moval of some terminology and the number of days a child can be suspended for an in- fraction by the school.
Mrs. Doretha Edge- comb, Hillsborough County School Board Vice Chairper- son said, “Teachers can no longer use the term “inappro- priate behavior, it has to be a clear description of the behav- ior such as disrespectful. There are others that will be revised throughout the year. Children can no longer be given out of school suspension for tardi- ness.
“But the most important thing is parents need to get ac- quainted with the student handbook before anything happens. Parents need to re- view it and learn about the rights and responsibilities of themselves as parents and those of the student. Don’t wait until something happens. Parents can access the hand- book online or obtain an up- dated copy. But, this is vital to do it at the beginning of the new year. When something happens, most times it’s very emotional for the parents and students.”
Several years ago, Dr. Lewis Brinson, now the Chief Diversity Officer for the Hillsborough County School District addressed a national trend concerning the rate of out-of-school suspensions for minority students. The na- tional trend was also reflected in Hillsborough County.
He has tracked the data and said the number of suspen- sions and expulsions dropped in 2014, but not significantly. One of the new policy changes means that a principal or as- sistant principal can no longer suspend a student for 10 days. If a suspension exceeds 5 days, the Area Superintendent must review the case and make that decision.
“I agree with this policy. I
MRS. DORETHA EDGECOMB ... School Board Vice Chair-
person
DR. LEWIS BRINSON ... Chief Diversity Officer
think we need to look at other alternatives. When a student is out of school for 10 days, that student has a problem. If a ten-day suspension is effec- tive, they why do we still have a problem. If the student does- n’t attend ATOSS, then they will have a problem catching up. If the child can’t catch up, then the suspensi9on becomes a death sentence,” Dr. Brin- son said.
He further said that there must be a changing of the mindset of adults and stu- dents. Adults must realize that the students are young and immature and must help to guide the student and not de- stroy them.
“I think if we are ever going to change the mindset of peo- ple this is the year to do it. We have to make sure that the things on paper become a real- ity for our students.
“We need to better inform parents about the challenges and opportunities available for students. We have to look at each school individually and change the negatives so that students can be as competitive as in other schools.”
Dr. Brinson also agreed with eliminating suspensions for tardiness. “Before we sus- pend a student for being tardy, we must find out why he is late to class. There may be cultural or structural barriers.”
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