Commitment to diversity and change among the qualities Memphis parents want in next superintendent

Memphis-Shelby County School Board members received a clearer picture of the priorities parents want the next superintendent to have Wednesday night and two of the biggest are a focus on diversity and the ability to create change.The board held the second of three public input sessions this month to give parents and community members a chance to weigh in on the search that began when former Superintendent Joris Ray resigned last August.Throughout the session at Kingsbury High School in North Memphis, a popular point was inclusivity. The increase in Hispanic Memphians is leading to a need for more resources for students and parents.“Bilingual is important because myself as Hispanic and as a parent of bilingual students, I speak [English], but there’s parents I represent that don’t speak the language. And they would like to get in touch with [board members], but it’s hard. They have an issue; they go to a board member and the issue doesn’t get resolved. They wanna go higher but it’s hard when you don’t speak the language,” said one parent.Another major quality community members told board members they want in the next superintendent is integrity.A representative from the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) spoke on the need for integrity and how it ties into inclusivity. He says there are those in the community who feel that the integrity of the search for a new superintendent has been compromised because there are those who haven’t been included.“Another ‘I’ word that I use is ‘inclusive’. Coming from various communities, not just black/brown communities—people of all races—they don’t feel like they’re included in this process if we’re talking about integrity…I got a call from a citizen who said that they don’t feel we should even be trying to pick a superintendent right now because they said the integrity of this whole process has been compromised,” said the MICAH representative.Literacy was also a big topic with parents.Parent advocate Sarah Carpenter of Memphis LIFT addressed the low literacy rates in Memphis-Shelby County, particularly for black male students. Carpenter says there’s a need for a plan to teach children how to read.“I have to tell you, but I can’t make a plan to teach children how to read. We need somebody to come in here with a plan on how to teach our children how to read. If our children can’t read, your board members, they can’t do anything. Anything,” Carpenter said.One unifying theme throughout the session was a desire for a change in the system.A 57-year-old grandmother summed that sentiment up by saying she doesn’t just want someone who has the desired qualities, but also someone who can bring about change.What I care about is change. This is what we need. We need change. Not just a building, not just ‘integrity’, ‘innovative’, ‘bilingual’, all that. We need change. Change starts from the snake head on up to the body. And what I mean by that? You got dinosaurs. In the council and the body, you got dinosaurs… If you want change, I want you teachers. Teachers, you the ones that have to make the change. Because you have the power,” said the grandmother.The final community input session is scheduled for Saturday at noon at the Board of Education office.