Brandon Hogan lost his coveted blue shirt in the second week of June — for some disrespectful responses to teachers and for hanging out with the silly kids. Not having that shirt had serious consequences for Brandon at home: no TV, no friends allowed to his house, and no use of his cell phone, until the behavior changed and the blue re-earned.
With so little time left in school, would there be motivation to earn it back, and thus bring the first year of the bright fifth-grader’s transition from doting home schooling to the no- excuses Amistad Academy to a successful conclusion?
The answer is yes, but not without the continuing profound involvement of his parents, pastors Sue and Fred Hogan, a demanding and devoted teacher advisor, Karissa McKinley, and a secret weapon: group emails.
Yes, group emails.
Interviewed after a year of being profiled as part of a series on parental involvement, the family said what helped them most to be effective parents in their child’s education was the power of email.
Sue Hogan’s daily email to teachers and theirs to her provided not just information, but the full picture of Brandon’s day at Amistad for his mom, and for his teachers in a sense a snap shot of his world so teachers and parents are on the all important same electronic page.
And not just individua,l but group emails whose subject line from her to Amistad staff was “Good morning, teachers.”
“When there was a problem” at the start of the year, said his mother, “he would present one side of the story. Since I always viewed Brandon like with an ‘S’ on his chest for super, he being a preacher’s kid, two preachers’ kid, how, I asked, could his teachers have been so wrong?”
The emails, which began as daily bulletins and now are perhaps three times a week, enabled Hogan to know exactly what happened. “So when Brandon comes home and if there’s a problem conveyed in the email, I listen to his side of the story, but I have the fuller picture.”
• The emails help the teacher as much as the parent. “Miss McKinley,” said Hogan, “referring to Brandon’s advisor and math teacher, “is a young teacher, but she just didn’t back down when I told her Brandon would not act this way or that. She held her ground, and the email communication really helped.”
• Emails went to more than teachers. They went oftento the dean, such as Tyrrel McFadden (pictured here), and even the school’s director, Matt Taylor. when necessary.
Taylor had promised the Hogans at orientation that no amount of parental involvement would be too much, and he kept his word.
“The emails,” said Taylor, “were absolutely critical for Pastor Hogan to buy into the program at Amistad.”
• From a teacher’s perspective, emails are better than phone calls, said McKinley. “They allow us to be proactive, heading off a problem.”
• Emails also, she said, give a teacher time to respond, to be thoughtful, which phone calls don’t allow. “We communicate the good things as well as misbehaviors.”
About That Shirt
The shirt was important to Brandon. He argued that the recent tally, 68 scholar dollars on his pay check, was too low. You needed 70 dollars to get the shirt back, and Brandon was sure he had turned in an assignment, which was marked unturned in. If he could clarify that, he’d get his shirt.
His parents and teacher said goodbye and looked forward to the sixth grade; the Hogans will definitely be back to Amistad, Sue Hogan said with a nod. And Brandon, like all incoming sixth-graders, will have Ms. McKinley for three weeks of mandatory Amistad summer school.
As they spoke, Brandon returned. Lo and behold, the correction he offered was accepted, and his blue shirt returned.
This meant not only that Brandon could now have his privileges restored at home. It also allows him to play on the Amistad basketball team too, coached by Vaughn Collins, who greeted his newest player in his blue shirt.
Previous installments in the Independent’s series on parental involvement in local schools:
The World’s At King/Robinson’s Door
Parents Give Schools Thumbs Up
Mom’s Business Grows, Along With Xena
7 Parents Get Their Own “Head Start”
Moonlight Readers in West Rock
Joshua’s Parents Take Him To “Foie Gras” Service
Parents Question Skittles Suspension
Parents Want Say On Suspensions
Son Gets Pills; Suspension Policy Targeted
Dad Goes To The Top, Gets Results
Parents, M&Ms Join In Math Lesson
Brandon Aims For The Blue Shirt
Night-Shift Waitress Hangs Up Apron
Dad Meets The Teachers. All Of ‘Em
Ms. Lopez Moves Brandon’s Seat
Night-Shift Waitress Gets Xena To Class On Time
Fifth-Graders Get “Amistadized”
Board of Ed To Parents: Get Involved!
Beautiful story!!