Satellite Broadcast Features Caring Partners   

Earlier this year the Satellite Town Meeting--the Department of Education's monthly television program-assembled representatives of various faith-based and community organizations working to build stronger schools. The panel agreed that faith and community groups can be important allies for schools because they share the same values and commitment to children.

Rev. Johnnie Monroe of Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church, which runs an after-school tutorial program in Pittsburgh, Pa., defined the community-school nexus. "There are three basic institutions in the community?.They are the home, the religious body, and the school?.If we have those connected and we work with families, then we see a difference in the community," he said.

Other panelists included Rev. Gary Charles, president of the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium in Virginia; Rynn Mar Nichols, a school board member with the Alamosa Public Schools in Colorado; Jo McCord, a volunteer and partners-in-education coordinator for Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma; and Robert Gibbs, president of 100 Black Men of Jackson, a mentoring program in Mississippi.

All talked about the critical role of partnerships. "As an organization, we know we need the help of other [groups] and we want to give our help where it's needed," said Gibbs. "And the school system ought to reach out to [us] so we're there to help them."

To order a free copy of the April 2001 Satellite Town Meeting "Faith-Based and Community Organizations: Partners for Stronger Schools," call 1-877-4ED-PUBS (1-877-433-7827) with product number EK0365V, or order online at http://ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.hmtl, while supplies last.

The Satellite Town Meeting will resume its hour broadcast on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. E.T. To join the meeting, call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327), or visit the Satellite Event home page. Also, view live or archived Webcasts of the meeting by visiting Apple Computer's Apple Learning Interchange.

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Last updated—November 26, 2001 (eal)