Message from the Office of Cultural Diversity
Closing the Gap!
Closing the achievement gap among the different racial groups in America is of major interest to everyone. The many factors that come into play provide many different avenues that we can travel down. Many different roads have been taken by many different organizations with varying results. The important factors that everyone can agree upon are that everyone involved must be committed. Students, parents, the community, and schools must support the effort for all to succeed. Support systems must be in place that are available to stakeholders and the stakeholders must use the systems that are available. When growing up, my teacher would tell us that if the train would be at the station at 5:00 p.m. to take us to the next city, we had better be there to get on the train. If not, it was a long walk. The message was very clear to us that we would always be further ahead when we used what we had than to wait around for the next train. Every time we miss a train, it takes us longer to reach our destination. Those lessons and many others need to be passed on to the next generation in order for them to embrace values, work ethic, and behaviors that will enable them to be successful.
Dr. Nate Quinn
Office of Cultural Diversity
One successful man turned and looked at his wife and said, “We gave our children everything except what made us great.” She looked at him and asked, “What’s that?” He sighed and replied, “Struggle!”
Taken from Reposition Yourself
By Rev. T.D. Jakes