Our Purpose
The SOMA Black Parents Workshop (“the Workshop) is an adult collective dedicated to the educational success and cultural grounding of children of African descent in the neighboring communities of South Orange and Maplewood, New Jersey. The Workshop serves to support students in the South Orange Maplewood public school district who identify as African-American, Caribbean or African, an
d the parents or guardians of this student population regardless of the race of the adult. For historical, cultural and identification purposes we will use “Black” to describe all children who fall within the group of students we intend to serve. For that purpose, we also include students of Hispanic ethnicity and all bi-racial Black students as well. We also welcome the participation of parents/guardians who have previously had children in the district and former students. The Workshop was created from a desire to create and pursue our own vision for the well-being and success of Black students in South Orange and Maplewood and a concern that without such a vision and plan the persistence of academic achievement disparities in the district’s schools would continue to deepen. Startling rates of academic disparity threaten the future prospects of our children/students. Additionally, we gather to address concerns over the lack of diversity and cultural competency among teachers and staff in the school district, disproportionate rates of disciplinary actions taken against Black students from elementary school onward, the failure to implement a state-mandated Black history curriculum, the dearth of Black, male, and other non-white teachers in the district and the overall treatment of Black students in the school district and larger community. In addition, the Workshop seeks to bring about the implementation of a more inclusive, stimulating and engaging academic program that includes curricula and ancillary programming that provides a more well-rounded experience for all students in the district. We live here because we want the best for our children, but recent history has demonstrated that largely leaving the care and welfare of our children to SOMSD will be inadequate. The Workshop collectively aims to work to ensure that our children have the highest and best outcomes possible, outcomes we determine for ourselves. The goal of the SOMA Parents of Students of African Descent Workshop is the elevation of Black student academic performance to a level consistent with and beyond their highest performing non-Black peers. The Workshop will achieve this goal by the following means.
1. Advocacy: The Workshop will be an active advocate with the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education and individual school building administrations on behalf of students of African descent and their parents. Our work will include intervention in policy related matters and serving as advocates, with the permission and coordination of parents, on behalf of individual students in matters related to academic performance and disciplinary actions. We will use a wide range of advocacy tools, including social media, news media and litigation to achieve our goal.
2. Research: We will avail ourselves of the most current and relevant academic research on academic achievement, school reform and student retention; as well as commission research specific to the interests of students in the South Orange Maplewood public school district.
3. Policy Development & Implementation: The Workshop will proactively engage in policy development for students of African descent and work to secure the implementation of effective policies that will support our goal of improving Black student academic performance.
4. Community Engagement: Outreach to the larger community will be achieved through workshops, meetings and information sessions designed to enlarge public knowledge of the performance of the school district.
5. Training and Support: For parents and students to successfully navigate and engage as part of the SOMSD and SOMA community.
6. Youth Empowerment: Youth directed action that develops leadership skills, socio-political awareness, engagement and ownership of their school and community experiences. While the primary focus of the Workshop is the academic engagement of students of African descent in the district, we will also consider issues related to access to quality after-school, athletic and recreational programming consistent with our overarching goal. We recognize the value extra-curricular activities play in student development and seek programming that is relevant, affordable and accessible to all students but specifically to the underserved Black student population. Membership in the SOMA Black Parents Workshop is open to parents and guardians who reside in South Orange and Maplewood, or who have a child in the school district.
