Schools

Fathers lead way to school success

Tampa men join a movement that encourages male involvement.

By JANET ZINK, Times Staff Writer
Published August 18, 2007

TAMPA - When Hillsborough County public schools open Monday, David Denson hopes African-American fathers in the city will make a strong showing.

Denson plans to.

He will accompany his 6-year-old son on his first day at the Walton Academy of Performing Arts as part of the Million Father March.

The march debuted in 2004 in about 30 cities. This year, the march will have more than 200 cities, including Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore and Los Angeles. This is the first year for the march in Tampa.

Denson, 59, is coordinating the effort locally for the Suncoast African-American Chamber of Commerce.

Fathers often show up on athletic fields, he said.

"But where are you at when it comes to their education?" he said. "It's always special to see fathers out there being active with their children's education."

The Black Star Project, a Chicago nonprofit group whose mission is to close the academic achievement gap between blacks and other races, created the march.

Research shows that when fathers are involved in their children's education, test scores and graduation rates improve, said Stuart Scott, program director at the Black Star Project.

And biological fathers aren't the only men who can make a difference. It can be a stepfather, uncle, big brother, mentor or family friend.

Too many children, he said, get their impressions of what it means to be a black man from movies and music videos that portray negative stereotypes.

"A lot of problems we have in society could be curtailed if those young boys and girls had a strong positive figure in their lives from the male perspective, especially from the African-American perspective," Scott said.

Last year, he said, with 125 cities involved, about 200,000 men participated in the march. This year's goal is 500,000.

Lynette Henry is a guidance counselor at Just Elementary School in downtown Tampa, where 87 percent of the students are African-American.

School officials, she said, are handing out fliers to promote the march.

Henry said she'd like to see black men make kids breakfast, check their book bags and take them to school Monday morning

"We want to encourage dads to do it on a regular basis," she said.

Times staff writer Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.

[Last modified August 18, 2007, 00:26:52]