Ask for More Celebrates Ten Years of School Reform Collaboration

We hear a lot about collaboration these days.  But in 1999, the notion of bringing schools and community organizations together for school reform collaboration was a new idea.  In 2009, the Ask for More Collaborative is not only still a highly functioning group of partnering people and organizations; student achievement in the the Jackson Public Schools Lanier Feeder Pattern has also improved significantly.

With PPSJ as the convening partner, this groundbreaking collaborative developed a comprehensive approach to improving schools.  We believed - and still do - that sustainable change almost always grows from the ground up, not top down.  And that it involves communities of prinicpals, teachers, parents, and students working together to create a culture for change, success, and accountability.

The success of Ask for More is a clear result of the dedication and commitment of its partners including leadership in Jackson Public Schools.  What we have learned is that real lasting change requires a sense of community with the children at the center of that community.  Only a trusting community supports innovative teaching and learning.  In this kind of community, parents, teachers, administrators, principals, custodians, and neighborhoods work together to hold each other accountable and to "ask for more" from each other and our children.  We have learned that while education systems change very slowly, grassroots communities of educators and parents acting together can bring about change immediately and effectively.

As Carolyn Jolivette, PPSJ Director of School Reform Initiatives says, "Individually and collectively we make this commitment and act on it each day - Every child in the Lanier Feeder Pattern will successfully graduate and go on to become productive citizens."  This Ask for More goal is constant as we move into the next ten years.