Students, ex-NBA player team up to improve grades
Wali Jones wants to forge commitments to education.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published January 17, 2007
The deal was sealed in the few seconds it took to exchange phone numbers.
The former NBA superstar pledged to support the St. Petersburg High School freshman's efforts to keep his grades up. The 15-year-old vowed to call his new friend whenever he felt his resolve slipping.
Basketball legend Wali Jones made similar promises to dozens of Pinellas students at a two-day education forum last weekend at St. Petersburg College.
It all was in keeping with the former Philadelphia 76er's philosophy that even children most at risk can succeed academically if they have support from a caring adult.
"We have to serve each other," Jones said during a break Saturday. "I don't care what race you are, we have to help our kids."
The local version of Jones' nationally acclaimed Shoot for the Stars program, sponsored in part by the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP, was free. But there was a catch: Each student had to bring an adult.
More than 50 families attended Friday's activities in the gymnasium on SPC's Gibbs campus. Jones led the children, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, in a series of activities designed to help them develop decisionmaking and conflict-resolution skills.
Many of the families returned Saturday. The students met individually with Jones and wrote "academic action plans," promising to cooperate with their teachers to set goals they will pursue throughout the school year.
Alreya Roman, 10, pledged to get a B in math and to study at least 20 minutes a day. DeVane Owens, 13, promised to cooperate with his teacher and to spend at least 20 minutes a day on his math homework.
Meanwhile, Alreya's and DeVane's mothers attended a workshop to learn how to prepare their sons for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
"They get good grades, but I know they're capable of doing better," Stacey Owens said of her four school-aged children. "When I get after them, they do more."
Owens, 41, said she spends as much time as she can working with her children. She said it frustrates her when she hears people say black parents don't get involved with their kids' education.
"For the most part, parents are doing the best they can," she said. "They're doing as much as they know how to do."
Forums such as Jones' Shoot for the Stars help parents learn how to do more, said Maureen Thornton, principal at John Hopkins Middle School.
Thornton, who attended the workshops Saturday, said it's important for parents to know they can do a lot for their kids without necessarily volunteering at their children's schools.
Staying in contact with their child's teacher is a big help, Thornton said. Making sure children finish their homework and quizzing them before a test are also techniques they can use, she said.
Jones, a former human development trainer for the U.S. Department of Education, agrees there are plenty of ways parents can help.
But often, they need help themselves, especially when their time is limited, or when it comes to getting children ready for standardized tests, Jones said.
That's why his Shoot for the Stars program includes material for adults, too.
"One parent will tell another parent, and one child will tell another child," Jones said. "Together, we can make changes in their lives."