Local organizers hope to bring male role models to students

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) - When students return to Lynchburg City Schools on Tuesday, they’ll be welcomed with words of encouragement by possibly 100 or more men from around the community.

Dubbed “Men 2 School,” the idea is to get more than 100 volunteers to show up and cheer students on as they begin the second part of their school year. The initiative first was organized in August.

“Our kids really need that extra push sometimes, and we’re hoping an encouraging word or a smiling face can do it for them,” said Jonathan Willis, co-organizer of the event and pastor of Prayer Faith Temple.

Willis said the goal not only is to encourage students to take education seriously and do their best in school but also to provide positive male role models for children who may not have one in their lives.

James Coleman, co-organizer, pastor of Providence Transformation Church International and a member of the Lynchburg City School Board, hopes the effort lets students know people care.

“We hope that we can bring some joy and encouragement to the students and the staff,” he said.

A Men 2 School event at the start of the school year in August saw 100 men turn out to welcome students. Coleman said an “excellent response” from volunteers should produce similar results.

In August, Sterling Wilder, co-organizer, executive director of the Jubilee Center and a Lynchburg City Council member, said the emphasis was on men in order to provide positive male role models.

Oftentimes, those role models can be hard to find in schools, where most teachers are female.

According to the National Education Association, only 17 percent of Virginia teachers are male. Virginia has the lowest percentage of male teachers in the nation, per the NEA’s May report, “Rankings & Estimates: Ranking of the States 2015 and Estimates of School Statistics 2016.”

In Lynchburg, those numbers are slightly higher, with male teachers accounting for 21 percent. However, in LCS, where 64.8 percent of students are minorities, only 3.3 percent of teachers are minority males, according to a division personnel report released in September.

Men 2 School volunteers will greet students at Heritage High, E.C. Glass High, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School for Innovation, Linkhorne Elementary, Dearington Elementary School for Innovation, Heritage Elementary, Linkhorne Elementary and Robert S. Payne Elementary schools.

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Information from: The News & Advance, https://www.newsadvance.com/