An Open Letter From Bernard Gassaway to Parents and Guardians

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I pray that when you receive this letter, you are in good health.

I am mid-way through my second year as principal of one of the most promising learning communities in the world. Boys and Girls High School is a special place with a rich tradition and a promising future.

Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have experienced a decrease in the quality of education at schools. One of my major responsibilities is to reverse this trend from failure to achievement.

Frankly, this cannot be done without your guidance, support and courage-- courage to challenge us to do better; courage to challenge your children and yourselves to do better.

We are working hard to make it possible for our children to have opportunities to receive a very good education. I knew when I accepted the challenge to serve as principal that the job would not be easy. I knew that I would have to face many issues with children, teachers, education officials and parents.

I realize that though we may all have the same goals in mind, we may not follow the same road map. I also know that if we work together, we are more likely to succeed.

While there are many challenges that we face, I will only highlight two specific areas of immediate concern: Sexual promiscuity among our youth and youth violence.

My sixteen-year-old daughter, Atiya, gave me the following advice. She said, tell parents to be more involved in their child's life. They should have tough conversations about sex and the repercussions. Here is what we know, by the time teens reach high school, they have formed strong beliefs, often based on incomplete information.

I, too, encourage you to communicate frequently with your children. You may be surprised to see what your children are seeing and experiencing on the Internet. Monitor what your children are doing online.

While technological advances can be used for good, too many of our children use it for bad. They use social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) to promote promiscuity and violence. They have little understanding of the potential long-term effects of what they share over the Internet.

Without parent and adult direct oversight, violence and inappropriate behaviors will prevail.

By working together and keeping lines of communication open, we can make a difference. I welcome your ideas. Over the next few months, I want to begin to address these and other areas of concern with you. I feel the quality of our children's education and lives will be compromised if we fail to address these concerns.

We have no choice but to act aggressively, collaboratively and faithfully.

Be well,

Bernard Gassaway