{"id":17652,"date":"2020-05-29T21:43:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T21:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipschools.org\/?p=17652"},"modified":"2020-05-29T21:47:59","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T21:47:59","slug":"meet-this-years-parent-organizing-award-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipschools.org\/en\/latest-news\/blog\/meet-this-years-parent-organizing-award-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet This Year’s Parent Organizing Award Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Rocketship, we believe in Parent Power. We see it come to life every day as parents demand a better future and a more just education system from their local leaders. Countless parents contribute to our Rocketship community every year, but these mothers and fathers stood out to us, which is why we’re excited to honor them as this year’s recipients of the Parent Organizing Award. These incredible parents took the time to reflect on how their involvement with Rocketship’s parent engagement community has affected their lives or perspective on your child’s education. Then, our staff highlighted how they’ve impacted their local community. Here’s what they have to say:<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/strong><\/em>Cynthia Cathey<\/h4>\n

“I chose to become a parent leader to help my children and other children become leaders themselves. I also wanted to show other parents that they are more than just a parent who volunteers at school; they can make a difference in the community, as well.”<\/p>\n

Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nCynthia is a founding member of the Rocketship Delta Prep’s Parent Organizing Committee (POC). She successfully led the POC and larger school community through a contentious and lengthy Action campaign in 2019 to keep the local district from closing their school down. She has coordinated, participated in, and chaired over seven research meetings in the past year with school board and city council members and candidates, and worked tirelessly to mobilize her whole school community for multiple large School Board actions, advocating for her school. Cynthia works hard to educate herself and her school community on local education and city politics by attending and speaking publicly at countless School Board and City Council meetings and working to improve school-community relations by attending local community events, such as Chamber of Commerce meetings and Kiwanis and Rotary Club events to advocate for Rocketship. In addition to her work with the POC, she is a member of the RDL SSC and the East Bay Regional Advisory Board, and will soon be joining the Antioch Rotary Club board, to represent Rocketship. Cynthia is a powerful advocate for her school, her own children, and closing the achievement gap in her community, and is a passionate and dedicated organizer who is always seeking to improve her craft, no matter what obstacles her family or the school community encounters along the way.<\/p>\n

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Arlaee Hernandez<\/strong><\/h4>\n

“Decid\u00ed enviar a mis hijas a la escuela Rocketship porque es la escuela en la que conf\u00edo porque tienen la capacidad de sacar lo mejor de los ni\u00f1os como personas y como estudiantes y eso me da la seguridad que los est\u00e1n preparando para el \u00e9xito. Muchas gracias por ser la escuela en la que mis hijas quieren estar.<\/p>\n

Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nWe’re celebrating Arlaee for her time, hard work and dedication throughout the seven years that Rocketship has been in Milwaukee and for all that you do for our school. As a founding parent, she has always been instrumental to our Rocketship family.\u00a0We want to acknowledge and appreciate her for always being available and for being a leader in different ways. She is a true inspiration for our community!<\/p>\n

\"\"Jade Carr<\/strong><\/h4>\n

“There are so many reasons that I can say why I send my son to Rocketship. Rocketship was like a godsend for my son Nzuri. He has come such a long way from when he first started. Zuri was diagnosed with mild autism. He\u2019s doing things that his therapist said that will take \u201ctime\u201d. The Rocketship staff is more than enough. They go over their call of duty as being a teacher. They are not just staff or teachers to the Rocketeers, they are family.”<\/p>\n

Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nJade is a constant support and is always going over and beyond in any way she can at Rocketship. We are very thankful for her constant recruiting of new families for Rocketship at the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center. We are grateful for her continuing parent engagement by attending parent coffees and panels. We all love the joy she has every time she walks in the school doors and the happiness she brings others.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gabrielle Alston<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201dAs a PAVE parent leader and as a parent of a son with special needs at Rocketship, it\u2019s really important to me that parents feel empowered to speak on issues that impact their own children personally. It\u2019s important because you come to find out that other parents are experiencing the exact same issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nGabrielle Alston is a quiet, unassuming woman whose advocacy speaks volumes. From attending every single parent organizing event and meeting to bringing together families even amidst strife, to pushing for me as an EO to do better, be better, serve better, Gabrielle has proven herself an invaluable member of the Parent Organizing Committee, a trusted source among her peers, and a true advocate for all children with special needs.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ashley McMichael<\/strong><\/h4>\n


\n<\/strong>\u201dWhen I think of the experiences in my life that have piqued my desire to serve those from resource-challenged communities, I think of the saying \u2018be who you needed when you were younger.\u2019 I realized at a young age that I had both a voice and influence amongst those in my community, and knew that I wanted to use my voice to ensure that all disenfranchised families could thrive.\u201d
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Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nFrom starting the first of its kind in the network Parent Action Committee to fighting for additional resources for families by advocating for quality schools and recruiting and building a team of 15 educators, funders, wraparound service providers, curriculum specialists, and vocational teachers to create a high-quality middle school that she hopes to open in SY21-22, to pushing for DDoT to provide safer roads for RLP students, Ashley McMichael has consistently shown that she will always go above and beyond to serve our families.<\/p>\n

\"\"Karuna Kalyani Karra<\/h4>\n

\u201cMy parents are my own motivation and role models and with their inspiration, I try my best to help people and I LOVE kids so I want to help them unconditionally to mold their FUTURO at school. Maybe this help can be a \u2018drop in the ocean.\u2019 This is what made me become a parent leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nKalyani was one of the founding members of Rocketship Futuro Academy’s Parent Organizing Committee in 2019. Since then, she has been a consistent and reliable parent leader that has worked hard to recruit other POC members, lead Community Renewal Events to educate the school community about the upcoming campaign and deliver powerful testimony to multiple public officials. Kalyani has led efforts to improve school-community relations by inviting school board members to meet with the POC, attending local community events like the Concord Mayoral Address in order to speak on behalf of Rocketship, accompanying community members on tours of the school, and coordinating both school and community communication efforts. Kalyani is a strong public speaker and talented relationship-builder that pushes her team to think outside the box. As the president of the RFA SSC, she is involved in every aspect of parent leadership on the RFA campus and dedicates countless hours to both the POC and SSC groups, acting as an advocate for parents in every aspect of the school and larger Concord community.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mai Huong Ho-Tran<\/h4>\n

\u201cAs a parent member of the Board, I’ve grown in my appreciation for both the level of detail it takes to run the day to day, as well as the heart it requires to serve all students. We can often get focused on just our own children or our own school, but participating in parent engagement has given me a bird’s eye view of Rocketship’s mission and heart of service. Our students are blessed with incredible teachers. I can only hope that my involvement in some small way, contributes to the quality of the learning experience for our students, the excitement of our teachers and the increased commitment to be involved by more parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why She Stands Out:<\/strong>
\nThis is the 2nd year Mai Huong has assisted our Los Dichos Team to translate the readings to Vietnamese. She always graciously offered to help with anything that comes your way. She have helped us sell shirts and it is amazing to see her in action selling in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish, languages you dominate fluently. She was also sought out to be part of Rocketship’s Board and also assisted in organizing this year’s Lunar Celebration, which brought joy to so many of our families. Thank you, Mai Huong, for all you do!<\/p>\n

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