by Kenya Woodard

Last week, I attended the Black Alliance for Education Options’ annual symposium. It’s a gathering of hundreds of black leaders, activists, educators, students and ordinary concerned citizens who come together to discuss ways they can push for more school choice in their communities. Officially launched in 2000, BAEO wants to increase access to quality education programs for low-income and working-class black children.

By the end of the conference Saturday, I was fully reeducated about why the mission to expand educational options and empower parents was critical to the success of black children.

Not that I should have had to travel to Jersey City for such a lesson. The truth is, I know first-hand how lack of knowledge about and access to good schools and quality education programming can mean the difference between success and failure in life. In fact, I’m currently watching this very thing play out in my own family.

My youngest brother is a smart, bubbly kid who loves to read and has an affinity for video games. He attends a school for gifted and talented children in my hometown of Gary, Ind. Another brother, my sister and I all were enrolled in the same program. It was crucial to our development as the civil engineer, graphic designer and communications professional – respectively – that we all have become. But lately, it’s become clear that this program isn’t right for my youngest brother – he’s struggling in several academic areas. What’s also increasingly clear is that his choices for a quality education elsewhere in his city are severely limited. (more…)