Lee Croft-Clark, Chloe Smith Address Jamestown School Board
Community members asked the Jamestown School Board to consider adding a Community Navigator for the African American Community. The Jamestown Public Schools District used American Rescue Plan funds to hire two Community Navigators for the Hispanic community who started this Fall.
Pastor Lee Croft-Clark spoke on behalf of members of the local African American Community, saying a group had spoke with Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker about performance of African American students. Whitaker provided performance data, which Croft-Clark said was concerning, “So, we decided to come here today to seek your help or approval for what we call a student navigator to help with student activities relative to the school versus their homes and to see if the navigator can be a mediator to help to increase student performance.”
Reverend and parent Chloe Smith said the data provided by the district showed that African American students are behind in English Language Arts, Math, and have declining graduation rates. She said the group came to the board meeting in line with the District’s Family and Community Engagement Plan, “We are concerned. And we’re here. Now that we’ve seen the data, we want to be included in any effort to coordinate family and community engagement. And we want to be here to assist in helping our students to improve academically.”
Board member Pat Slagle, acting as board president for the evening, said the board would work with the group through the Superintendent on the group’s request.
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