Hey y’all, it’s good to see you again! This month, I went to the Listen and Learn that Durham Public Schools (DPS) held for the new superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis.  As usual I was there wearing multiple hats, my EPiC hat, my parent hat, and my DPS Parent Ambassador hat (I would recommend applying to be a parent ambassador, you learn a lot of “I didn’t know that” stuff).  

So, let’s dive in, what had happened was, Dr Lewis introduced himself and talked about how DPS success is a shared responsibility, between the school board, the superintendent and the whole community (sounds familiar? We Are DPS). I sat with my fellow parent ambassadors, in which we were welcomed, affirmed, and accepted into the space, yup ya’ll they called us out, in a good way.

At each table, there was a list of 5 questions that we had to answer as a table group.  The questions revolved around improvement, challenges, the opportunity gap (you know that’s top of mind for EPiC), and being the premier district. They were so vague that you could go anywhere with your answers.  It takes you back to your teacher saying, there are no wrong answers, only different opinions.  

I felt very encouraged to see Black Parent Leaders in the room, sharing their experiences, giving honest thoughts, and sharing positive feedback. My table had a whole discussion about changing the narrative of DPS, meaning, counter the negative with the positive. Mhmm, you know what I mean, Durham is bad, DPS is bad, and things like that. There were some tables, mine included, that had follow up questions, for example, what does premier district mean? Or, what does success look like? Whose success are we talking ‘bout? When you say financial challenges, what do you mean, what’s currently happening, or overall? I don’t think they were ready for our group of participants.

All in all, the room agreed that what will make DPS great, or better, or premier, is accountability and trust.  That’s what Dr. Lewis says he is trying to rebuild accountability and trust in DPS.  We (the Durham community) can’t make changes without them.  We have so many people, an entire community and community partners, invested in the success of the students that attend DPS schools, of course we want to know, that not only is the district being held accountable (remember last month, accountability equals tough love), and also has the trust of the community, only then can we truly say We Are DPS. 

I just heard the wrap it up music, so I have to get off my soap box (for now).  Real quick, before I go, I hope that you can make it to the Listen and Learn with Dr Lewis, he is holding one every week in October, with the last one being held on November 12th. He needs to hear from you, about your vision for DPS, and how you want to make DPS the premier school district in the United States.   

Welp, that’s all from me, I hope to see you on October 26th for our Community Conversation with Tiffany Hammond, storyteller extraordinaire and Autism advocate.  Until then, be well and be excellent.