CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (August 21, 2019) — The African American Museum of Iowa and the NAACP will conclude their eight-month long series of community forums this Sunday, August 25, at the Museum, 2-4PM. The committee’s final vision plan for implementation will be shared. The “Not Without Me! Interfacing with the Education Process” forums were an effort to impact and close the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s “achievement gap” through mobilizing and strengthening parental and community engagement in the lives of youth. Forum participants identified obstacles and opportunities for involvement in the education process of our children.
Each month, community members, families, educators, and administrators came together in an attempt to articulate critical issues, discuss varying viewpoints, affirm the necessity of volunteerism, and establish a vision for solutions resulting in a September 2019 school-board presentation embraced in our schools this school year.
These free-and-open-to-the-public forums included presentations from local leaders, district data regarding achievement gaps, as well as round-table discussions and results-oriented dialogue. Community organizations also provided practical resources for parents and the community. The Cedar Rapids Community School District shared a fairly exhaustive list of volunteer opportunities within the District.
Future success depends on present action and our community is stronger when we all have a vested interest in its academic and communal success. We hope you are able to join this final forum.
About AAMI: The African American Museum of Iowa is a statewide museum dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and teaching Iowa’s African American history. As Iowa’s leading educational resource on the topic, we educate more than 30,000 people each year through museum tours, traveling exhibits, research services, youth and adult education programs, and community and fundraising events.