Bloomberg: Black Parents Fail their Kids; Brother Useni Perkins Gives Tribute to Million Father March; 600 Cities Sign On For Million Father March; Help Keep Young Black Men Out of Jail with a Library Card

This Bloomberg screed sounds so familiar in Chicago. Mayor blaming parents, community leaders silent and schools continue to suck for most/many students who are almost all black and brown.

Only A Parent Revolution Can Save Our Children           (New York Mayor) Bloomberg: Black Parent Fail their Kids   Commentary   By Nat Hentoff Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011   With his usual glowing self-assurance, multi-term mayor Michael Bloomberg continually proclaims that his administration will be judged by his performance as our Education Mayor. But here is the people's judgment in a recent Quinnipiac poll reported by Michael Goodwin (New York Post, June 1): "By a whopping 64 to 25 percent, voters don't like Bloomy's management of the schools. Among parents, only 20 percent approve, while 78 percent disapprove."   This is a largely racially segregated school system in all five boroughs. In certain neighborhoods where Ray Kelly's stop-and-frisk police are all too familiar, parents would not have been surprised to hear from the Education Mayor himself what he thinks of them on his weekly WOR interview: "Unfortunately, there are some parents who...never had a formal education, and they don't understand the value of an education. Many of our kids come from [such] families-the old Norman Rockwell family is gone" (New York Times, May 21).   I waited for a stinging response to that old-fashioned racial stereotyping that would have outraged integrationist artist Norman Rockwell. None came from faithful Bloomberg schools chancellor Dennis Walcott or from the lordly panjandrum, Reverend Sharpton. But a considerable number of black parents responded angrily.   Zakiyah Ansari, an organizer for the Alliance for Quality Education, whose members are outside the mayor's social circle, let him have it: "How dare he, and how disrespectful of him to think we don't have the brain power-whether we have a PhD or an eighth-grade education-to know what we want for our children?" (Daily News, May 21).   Bloomberg's icy ignorance reminded me of a New York City Board of Education meeting I covered for the Voice in the early 1960s. After listening to a parade of education experts, a black parent rose from the audience. I learned from him later that he'd been a school dropout in the South and after coming North, following a string of menial jobs, he was earning about $90 a week in a dead-end factory job.   As I wrote in Does Anybody Give a Damn? Nat Hentoff on Education (Knopf, 1977), this father, so focused on his child-who was falling farther back every year in our school system-roared at the members of the Board of Education: "You people operate a goddamn monopoly, like the telephone company. I got no choice where I send my child to school. I can only send her where it's free. And she's not learning. When you fail, when everybody fails my child, what happens? Nothing."   But now, there is choice. Not all charter schools would have satisfied this father and his child, but some do enable kids to learn that they can learn-and want to learn more.   The Education mayor should visit the homes of some of these black and Latino parents in Harlem and East Harlem who are so fiercely intent on getting their kids into certain charter schools. They may or may not have had a formal education, but they sure as hell know the value of an education and they rage at an Education Mayor bragging about a school system where-as they read in newspapers more often in the tabloids: "The city's graduation rate continues to improve, but a woeful number of students finishing high school are not adequately prepared for college...At City of New York community colleges, 74 percent of students last fall required extra help before starting college-level work" (Daily News, June 14).   You don't have to be a black or Latino parent to be repelled by a mayor who believes-he said it himself-that low-income parents who never had a formal education don't understand the lifelong value of an education that enlarges and deepens a child's whole life.   I don't know any billionaires, but I doubt that any could match the chutzpah of the one we have at City Hall when we said of the "improved" graduation rates: "No one could have predicted in their wildest dreams that we would be this successful" (New York Times, June 15).   The nightmare for many parents ("Got My Dumb-Ploma," Daily News, June 15) is that while "the city's graduation rate rose slightly, only one of five kids in the Class of 2010 was ready for college, state Education Department officials said yesterday."   Bloomberg never mentions that he presides over a racially segregated school system and that "the racial gap" in achievement is glaringly evident "in the college-ready graduation rate...with just 12 percent of black students graduating ready for the next step compared with 41 percent of white" (emphasis added).   Returning to confront the celebrating mayor is Zakiyah Ansari of the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice: "It's like watching a bad accident coming in slow motion, but instead of preparing for the accident, the city is turning their eyes" (Daily News, June 15).   Do you dare, Chancellor Walcott, to demand that Bloomberg open his eyes? New York State Chancellor Merryl Tisch does see clearly that this mayor's control of education will diminish the lives of many of our new generation in his schools: "Today's data makes clear that we have tremendous work to do to reduce the drop-out rate, close a stubbornly persistent racial gap and ensure that more of our graduates are prepared for college and the work force" (Daily News, June 15). As long as Bloomberg is in charge?   Dig this investigative truth-telling by the New York Post's Yoav Gonen on June 15: "Shamefully few city high schools are graduating students with Regents scores high enough to be considered ready for college. Only 27 of the 347 public schools had at least half their students in 2010 score a 75 on the English exam and 80 in math-which the state considers the minimum score for kids to succeed at the next level...that's an abysmal 8 percent of all city high schools" (emphasis added).   Not a word from Bloomberg about this "wild dream" of success that "no one could have predicted." And, Gonen adds, nine of those 27 high schools in the 8 percent of successful schools "are high-performing, specialized facilities such as Stuyvesant and Bronx Science."   Only a tiny percentage of black students are admitted to these "specialized facilities." Here is Tom Allon, president of Manhattan Media-and a 1980 graduate of Stuyvesant High School: "At Stuyvesant, only 12 African-American students were admitted to the freshman class this year.   Latinos fared only slightly better. They comprise about 3 percent of Stuyvesant. By comparison, of the 1.1 million students in the city's public schools, 39.9 percent are Latino and 30.1 percent are black...Schools like Stuyvesant have long been the means for immigrants and working class families to hoist their children up the ladder of American society" (Daily News, April 10).   Not under Michael Bloomberg. As of now, his likely leading successors are Ray "Stop-and-Frisk" Kelly and Christine Quinn. I haven't heard anything from either of them on how they rate this Education Mayor and how they would begin to undo the grim future he has made for so many of our public school students. Are there other mayoral candidates who give a damn about them? Hold the presses! This morning, just hours before this issue was uploaded to our website, the Education Mayor appeared on WNYC and gave himself this latest report card: "The school results are better than they've ever been." Well, that's certainly reassuring.  Million Father March Inspires A Great American Poet            TRIBUTE TO THE MILLION FATHER MARCH   By Useni Eugene Perkins July 24, 2011 We march, we march, we march   As men of faith, courage and resolve As men of different hues, religions and creeds To be the fathers we should be We are Fathers, Grand Fathers, Foster Fathers, Step Fathers, God Fathers and Community Fathers Committed to taking our children to school And to advocate for the education they need To prepare them for the future           Educate or Die           Educate or Die   We march, we march, we march From the urban streets of Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco and New York City To southern hamlets in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida and North and South Carolina From the tropical island of Jamaica To Kampala, Uganda and Tamale, Ghana And our marches will resound On every continent in the world Where our children are being denied The quality education they rightfully deserve           Educate or Die           Educate or Die   We march, we march, we march Wherever our children are being miseducated And suffering from educational malnutrition We will no longer allow our children To be the fodder for substandard school systems We will take our children to school And be advocates for their education We will be the mentors and role models To lift them above adversity and mediocrity           Educate or Die           Educate or Die   We march, we march, we march To challenge inferior education That retards the true potential Of our precious children And we pledge our dedication and unyielding commitment Not to forfeit our moral responsibility And allow our children To be a betrayed generation Because we failed to struggle For their educational excellence           Educate or Die           Educate or Die   AS FATHERS WE CAN DO NO LESS AS  FATHERS WE MUST DO MUCH MORE In the interest of our children  (Poem reprinted with the permission of Useni Eugene Perkins)   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   The is managed by The Black Star Project and sponsored by Open Society Foundation's Campaign for Black Male Achievement.  Please visit our website at www.blackstarproject.org to bring the Million Father March to your city or for complete information about the march.  You may also email blackstar1000@ameritech.net or call 773.285.9600 for more information or to join the March.  600 Cities Have Signed on to the Million Father March as of July 25, 2011      If your city has not signed on, why not?  Adelanto, California Akron, Ohio Alamo, Georgia Albany, Georgia Albany, New York Albemarle, North Carolina Alorton, Illinois Alton, Illinois Anchorage, Alaska Angelus Oaks, California Anson County, North Carolina Apex, North Carolina Apple Valley, California Arab, Alabama Arkadelphia, Arkansas Asheboro, North Carolina Asheville, North Carolina Ashford, Alabama Atlanta, Georgia Atlantic Beach, North Carolina Atlantis, Florida Augusta, Georgia Aventura, Florida Avon, Alabama Bakersfield, California Bal Harbor Islands, Florida Bal Harbour, Florida Baldwin, California Baltimore, Maryland Banning, California Barkley Co, Missouri Barstow, California Baton Rouge, Lousiana Bay Pine, Florida Beach Park, Illinois Beaumont, California Bedford Heights, Ohio Bedford, Ohio Belle Blade, Florida Belleair Beach, Florida Belleair Bluffs, Florida Belleair Shore, Florida Belleair, Florida Belleville, Illinois Bellevue, Nebraska Belmont, North Carolina Benton, Arkansas Berlin, Vermont Bessemer, Alabama Bessener, North Carolina Bethel, Alaska Beverly Hills, California Big Bear Lake, California Billon County, South Carolina Biscayne Park, Florida Black Mountain, North Carolina Black, Alabama Bladen County, North Carolina Bloomington, California Blythe, California Blythe, Georgia Boca Raton, Florida Boone, North Carolina Boynton Beach, Florida Brandon, Florida Brevard, North Carolina Briny Breezes, Florida Bronx, New York Brook Park, Ohio Brooklyn Heights, Ohio Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn, Ohio Bryant, Arkansas Buffalo, New York Burlington, North Carolina Cahokia, Illinois Calimesa, California Calumet City, Illinois Camden, Arkansas Camden, New Jersey Canal Point, Florida Canyon Lake, California Carpentersville, Illinois Carrboro, North Carolina Cary, North Carolina Cathedral City, California Catskill, New York Cayce, South Carolina Cedar Springs, Michigan Central Islip, New York Centreville, Illinois Chapel Hill, North Carolina Charleston, South Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Chatham County, North Carolina Chesterfield County, South Carolina Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago, Illinois Chino Hills, California Chino, California Cincinnati, Ohio Claremont, California Claymont, Delaware Clayton, Missouri Clayton, North Carolina Clearwater, Florida Clemmons, North Carolina Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Clinton, North Carolina Cloud Lake, Florida Coachella, California Coconut Creek, Florida Coffee Spring, Alabama Coleman, Georgia College Park, Georgia Colton, California Columbia, Alabama Columbus, Georgia Concord, North Carolina Conover, North Carolina Conway, Arkansas Conyer, Georgia Coral Gables, Florida Cordoba, Alaska Cornelius, North Carolina Corona, California Cottageville, South Carolina Cottonwood, Alabama Cowarts, Alabama Crafton, California Crestline, California Crystal Beach, Florida Culver City, California Culverton, Georgia Cumberland County, North Carolina Cuthbert, Georgia Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio Dade City, Florida Daleville, Alabama Dallas, Texas Danville, Illinois Darlington County, South Carolina Davidson, North Carolina Dekalb, Georgia Delray Beach, Florida Des Moines, Iowa Desert Hot Springs, California Detroit, Michigan Dixmoor, Illinois Doral, Florida Doral, Florida Dothan, Alabama Dover, Florida Dunedin, Florida Dunn, North Carolina Durham, North Carolina East Chicago, Indiana East Cleveland, Ohio East Los Angeles, California East Palo Alto, California East Point, Georgia East Saint Louis, Missouri East St. Louis, Illinois Eaton, Georgia Eden, North Carolina El Dorado, Arkansas El Portal, Florida Elba, Alabama Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elon, North Carolina Enterprise, Alabama Euclid, Ohio Eureka Springs, Arkansas Evanston, Illinois Fairburn, Georgia Fairfield Park, Ohio Fayetteville, North Carolina Florence County, South Carolina Florence, South Carolina Florida City, Florida Fontana, California Forest City, North Carolina Forest Park, Georgia Fort Rucker, Alabama Freeport, New York Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Gadsden, Alabama Gainesville, Georgia Garfield Heights, Ohio Garner, North Carolina Gary, Indiana Gastonia, North Carolina Geneva, Alabama Girard, Georgia Glen Ridge, Florida Glenwood, Illinois Golden Beach, Florida Goldsboro, North Carolina Golf, Florida Gooding, Idaho Gordon, Alabama Graham, North Carolina Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Terrace, California Green Pond, South Carolina Greenacres, Florida Greensboro, Georgia Greensboro, North Carolina Greensville, North Carolina Griffin, Georgia Grimes, Alabama Gulf Stream, Florida Gulfport, Florida Haleburg, Alabama Hamlet, North Carolina Hampton, Georgia Harnett County, North Carolina Harrisburg, Arkansas Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harvey, Illinois Harwood Heights, Illinois Hattiesburg, Mississippi Havelock, North Carolina Haverhill, Florida Hawthorne, California Hayward, California Hazel Crest, Illinois Hazel Park, Michigan Hazel Wood, Missouri Headland, Alabama Hemet, California Hempstead, New York Henderson, North Carolina Hendersonville, North Carolina Hesperia, California Hialeah Gardens, Florida Hialeah, Florida Hialeah, Florida Hickory, North Carolina Hidalgo, Texas High Point, North Carolina Highland Beach, Florida Highland, California Hileah Gardens, Florida Hillsborough, North Carolina Hillside, New Jersey Hoke County, North Carolina Holland, Michigan Holly Springs, North Carolina Hollywood, California Homestead, Florida Homestead, Florida Hope Mills, North Carolina Hope, Arkansas Horry County, South Carolina Hot Springs, Arkansas Houston, Texas Houston, Texas Huntersville, North Carolina Hypoluxo, Florida Indian Creek Village, Florida Indian Rocks Beach, Florida Indian Shores, Florida Indian Trail, North Carolina Indian Wells, California Indio, California Inglewood, California Inland Empire, California Irvington, New Jersey Islandia, Florida Jackson Heights, New York Jackson, Michigan Jackson, Mississippi Jacksonboro, South Carolina Jamel Te Pec, Oaxaca, Mexico Jamestown, New York Jennings, Missouri Jerome, Idaho Joann, Alaska Jonesboro, Georgia Juno Beach, Florida Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida Jupiter, Florida Kannapolis, North Carolina Kansas City, Missouri Kenneth City, Florida Kent, Washington Kernersville, North Carolina Key Biscayne, Florida Keysville, Georgia Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kingston, North Carolina Kinsey, Alabama Kinston, Alabama Kirkwood, Missouri Knightdale, North Carolina La Quinta, California Ladera, California LaFayette, Alabama Lake Arrowhead, California Lake City, Georgia Lake Clarke Shores Lake Elsinore, California Lake Park, Florida Lake Worth, Florida Lakeland, Florida Lakewood, Ohio Lanette, Alabama Lantana, Florida Largo, Florida Laurinburg, North Carolina Lee County, North Carolina Lenoir, North Carolina Levy County, Florida Lexington, North Carolina Lincolnton, North Carolina Linndale, Ohio Little Anchorage, Alaska Little Rock, Arkansas Locust Grove, Georgia Loma Linda, California Long Island, New York Los Angeles, California Lovejoy, Georgia Loxahatchee, Florida Lucerne Valley, California Lumberton, North Carolina Macomb, Michigan Macon, Georgia Madeira Beach, Florida Madrid, Alabama Magee, Mississippi Magnolia, Arkansas Malvern, Alabama Malvern, Arkansas Manalapan, Florida Mangonia Park, Florida Manor, Texas Maple Heights, Ohio Maple Heights, Ohio Maple Wood, Missouri Marion County, South Carolina Markham, Illinois Marlboro County, South Carolina Marshall, Texas Matthews, North Carolina Maumelle, Arkansas McDonough, Georgia McRae, Georgia Meldey, Florida Mentone, California Miami Beach, Florida Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Shores, Florida Miami Springs, Florida Miami, Florida Miami/Dade County, Florida Middletown, New York Midland City, Alabama Midlothian, Illinois Midville, Georgia Milledgeville, Georgia Millen, Georgia Milwaukee, Wisconsin Monroe, Louisiana Monroe, North Carolina Montclair, California Montgomery County, North Carolina Montgomery, Alabama Moore County, North Carolina Mooresville, North Carolina Morehead City, North Carolina Moreno Valley, California Morganton, North Carolina Morrisville, North Carolina Morrow, Georgia Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Holly, North Carolina Mount Vernon, New York Murrieta, California Muskegon, Michigan Needles, California New Bern, North Carolina New Brockton, Alabama New Orleans, Louisiana New Rochelle, New York New York City--Bronx, New York New York City--Brooklyn, New York New York City--Harlem, New York New York City--Manhattan, New York New York City--Queens, New York New York City--Staten Island, New York New York City, New York Newark, New Jersey Newburgh Heights, Ohio Newton, North Carolina Newville, Alabama Nickerson Garden, California Nome, Alaska Norco, California North Bay Village, Florida North Little Rock, Arkansas North Miami Beach, Florida North Miami, Florida North Palm Beach, Florida North Redington Beach, Florida North Riverside, IL Norwest Town, Pennsylvania Oak Island, North Carolina Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park, Michigan Oakland Bay, California Ocean Ridge, Florida Oglesby, Texas Oglethorpe, Georgia Oldsmar, Florida Omaha, Nebraska Ontario, California Opalocka, Florida Oxford, North Carolina Ozark, Alabama Ozona, Florida Pahokee, Florida Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach, Florida Palm Desert, California Palm Harbor, Florida Palm River County, Florida Palm Springs, California Palm Springs, Florida Palmdale, California Palmetto, Georgia Parma Heights, Ohio Parma, Ohio Pasco County, Florida Pass-A-Grille Beach, Florida Perris, California Pharr, Texas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Phoenix, Illinois Pinckard, Alabama Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pinecrest, Florida Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinellas County, Florida Pinellas Park, Florida Plant City County, Florida Polk County, Florida Pontiac, Michigan Posen, Illinois Queens, New York Raleigh, North Carolina Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Mirage, California Redington Beach, Florida Redington Shores, Florida Redlands, California Rehobeth, Alabama Reidsville, North Carolina Rialto, California Richmond County, North Carolina Riverdale, Georgia Riverdale, Illinois Riverside County, California Riverside, California Riviera Beach, Florida Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Robeson County, North Carolina Rochester, New York Rockford, Illinois Rocky Mount, North Carolina Roosevelt, New York Roxboro, North Carolina Royal Palm Beach, Florida Ruffin, South Carolina Running Springs, California Sacramento, California Safety Harbor, Florida Saint Charles, Missouri Salisbury, North Carolina Samson, Alabama San Antonio, Texas San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino, California San Francisco, California San Jacinto, California Sandcut, Florida Sandersville, Georgia Sanford, North Carolina Santa Monica, California Sardis, Georgia Schenectady, New York Scotland County, North Carolina Scott, New Jersey Seffner, Florida Selma, North Carolina Seminole, Florida Shaker Heights, Ohio Shelby, North Carolina Shellman, Georgia Siler City, North Carolina Slocomb, Alabama Smithfield, North Carolina Smoaks, South Carolina South Bay, Florida South Euclid, Ohio South Holland, Illinois South Miami, Florida South Palm Beach, Florida South Pasadena, Florida Southern Pines, North Carolina Sparta, Georgia Spring Lake, North Carolina Springfield, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri St. Peter Beach, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Stanley County, North Carolina Statesville, North Carolina Stockbridge, Georgia Stone Mountain, Georgia Subter County, South Carolina Sugar Hill, California Summerfield, North Carolina Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Sunset Beach, Florida Surfside, Florida Sweetwater Florida Syracuse, New York Tacoma, Washington Tag Dale, Missouri Tallahassee, Florida Tampa Bay, Florida Tarboro, North Carolina Tarpon Springs, Florida Taylor, Alabama Temecula, California Temple, Georgia Tequesta, Florida Terry Hill, New Jersey Texarkana, Arkansas Texarkana, Texas Tierra Verde, Florida Torrance, California Treasure Island, Florida Trinity, North Carolina Troy, New York Tuscaloosa, Alabama Twentynine Palms, California Twin Falls, Idaho Tyler, Texas Union City, Georgia Union County, North Carolina University City, Missouri University Heights, Ohio Upland, California Upper Marlboro, Maryland Valdez, Alaska Valley View, Texas Venice, California Victorville, California Vidette, Georgia Virginia Gardens, Florida Wadesboro, North Carolina Wakeforest, North Carolina Walterboro, South Carolina Warrensville Heights, Ohio Washington, North Carolina Washington, Pennsylvania Watts, California Waverly, Alabama Waynesboro, Georgia Waynesville, North Carolina Webb, Alabama Webster Grove, Missouri Weddington, North Carolina Wellington, Florida West Columbia, South Carolina West Miami, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida Westbury, New York Westchester, Illinois Westchester, New York Whiteville, North Carolina Wildomar, California Williams, South Carolina Williston, Florida Wilmington, North Carolina Wilson, North Carolina Windsor Canada Winston-Salem, North Carolina Wintersville, Ohio Wrightwood, California Yaides, Pennsylvania Yermo, California Yonkers, New York Ypsilanti, Michigan Yucaipa, California Yucca Valley, California -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The 2011 Million Father March is managed by The Black Star Project, U.S.A., sponsored by the Open Society Foundation's Campaign for Black Male Achievement.  Please visit our website at www.blackstarproject.org to bring the Million Father March to your city or for complete information about the march.  You may also email blackstar1000@ameritech.net or call 773.285.9600 for more information or to join the March.      700 Cities, One Million Fathers, One Objective - The Million Father March!!!   The NorthStar News and Analysis    Your City and School Are Asked to Join The Million Father March Founder Now Wants Fathers To Volunteer At Their Children's Schools    By Frederick H. Lowe The NorthStar News and Analysis July 21, 2011 Black Star Project, a Chicago-based organization that launched the Million Father March, which encourages fathers to escort their children to school on the first day of class, now wants fathers to make an additional commitment to their children's education. "We are asking fathers and other significant male figures, uncles, cousins, older brothers, to volunteer 10 hours during the academic year in their children's schools, " said Phillip Jackson,  executive director of the Black Star Project. "The men can tutor, serve as mentors, hall monitors, chaperones and perform other jobs around the school to assist the students, faculty members and the principals." Jackson believes that fathers' participation in their children's schools will help improve academic achievement and reduce discipline problems.The National Fatherhood Initiative, a Germantown, Md.-based organization whose goal is to improve the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible and committed fathers, agrees with Jackson's assessment. According to a fact sheet, titled "Father Factor in Education," the National Fatherhood Initiative said father involvement in schools is associated with the higher likelihood of a student earning mostly "A's." "This was true for fathers in biological parent families, for stepfathers and for fathers heading single-parent families," the National Fatherhood Initiative reported. On the other hand, fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school, the National Fatherhood Initiative reported. This is the 8th year of the Million Father March, which begins Aug. 1 and ends Sept. 15. The Million Father March is not a mass gathering like the Million Man March, where one million men assembled  in Washington D.C. Because the nation's schools open at different times during the academic year, fathers are encouraged to escort their kids to school on the first day of classes. Schools in the South and West open the earliest, followed by schools in the Southeast.  Schools in the Midwest and Northeast open in September, the latest school openings of the academic year.   Jackson is excited about the number of school systems and fathers participating in this year's Million Father March.  He predicts that 700 school districts and more than 800,000 men will participate in Million Father March. "Can you imagine if all of those men volunteered to work 10 hours in their children's school. That would have a dynamic effect on the school system," Jackson said. He added, however, that some schools may not want fathers involved because it would be "one more thing" in which faculty members have to manage. The Million Father March has grown nationwide because it is being pushed by individual schools and individual classrooms. In Broward County Public Schools in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the district embraced the Million Father March, said Charles Webster, the district's coordinator of public relations and government affairs. As a result, participation in the Million Father March continues to grow. In the 2009 school year, 28,391 fathers participated. Turnout in 2009 was particularly surprising because school was delayed a day because of Tropical Storm Fay, Webster said.  In 2010, the number of participants climbed to 36,875. Last year, 38,081 signed up for the Million Father March, Webster said. "It's important that men participate, not just the ladies, because it shows men care about their children," he added. U.S. Secretary of Education Supports the Million Father March.  Webster added that the presence of men on school grounds prevents student violence. "At one high school, there were fights after school. Men showed up and stood on the school grounds and the fights stopped," he said. And Webster added that many of the men ask school officials what else they can do to improve the schools. The first day of classes this year for the Broward County Public Schools is August 22. Jackson also wants Chicago churches to become involved with their neighborhood schools. "There are 650  schools in Chicago and 10,000 churches," Jackson said. "We want the churches to partner with their neighborhood schools and at 9 a.m. on September 6, we want the ministers wearing their church robes to hold prayer vigils outside the schools and pray for a productive, successful and saf

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