Many parents are facing the difficult decision of sending their child(ren) back into the classrooms this 2021-22 school year. We are here to offer alternatives means for parents in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
It is no secret that people within the black and brown communities are often left feeling helpless when it comes to surviving in this America. Our communities are being hit disproportionately with this deadly virus and yet poor leadership demands that we send our scholars and teachers back into the fold. We demand better for our children, our families and our communities.
This initiative has two primary goals:
- To provide parents with options, information, opportunities to connect, create community, and ultimately to educate their children.
- To find teachers and educators who are willing to work with families at little to no cost within a small group homeschool setting.
It is time for us to change the narrative and help our communities to liberate themselves from the systemic racism embedded in so many of today’s schools. We will not allow our children to be the “guinea pigs” in this fight against COVID-19.
Teachers and Educators Call-to-Action
This is a call to action for all certified educators and tutors who are willing to work with families seeking alternatives to educate their children this 2021-2022 school year. Your services would be used to work with families virtually or in a small homeschooling setting (whichever option you are comfortable with), allowing parents the option to not send their children back into a classroom in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to partner with families who are marginalized and in need of assistance during these trying times. We are hoping to lessen the impact on scholars and teachers in already overcrowded classrooms, and parents who feel they have no other options.
***This is just a preliminary sign-up form. If selected, you will be required to submit to a federal and state background check along with proof of your certification.
If you are interested please complete our sign-up form:
Thank you for tuning in. Don’t worry if you missed it, we have the video for you here.
Information about our guest:
Dr. Adrienne Johnson is an experienced educational leader who has taught K-12 students in the area of Special Education for over 34 years. She has earned numerous degrees which include Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Special Education and a Doctor of Education Degree in Ethical Leadership. As a recently retired teacher, Dr. Johnson currently provides private virtual tutoring services to students in the Atlanta area who have been impacted by school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Johnson’s international experience reaches West Africa where as an education team co-leader for the NFP Joseph Assignment Global Initiative she was instrumental in leading a team of volunteer teachers in collecting, organizing, binding and packing educational materials for distribution to schools in Ghana. Dr. Johnson also met with Headmasters to provide curriculum development and teacher training workshops to teachers in Ghana while co-laboring with other leaders introducing innovative teaching methods and educational games in order to enrich classroom instruction in the village of Nsaba. Dr. Johnson declares that her greatest accomplishment is being in a happy, covenant marriage to her best friend, Conrad Johnson, for the past 38 years. She is the proud mother of three adult children Dr. Tiffany Lowery (Anthony), Stephanie Lee (Jon) and Jamison Johnson (Shannon). She lives to spoil her adoring grandchildren Tiara, Tyler, and Isaac.
Monica Olivera is an author, freelance education writer, and homeschooling mom. Her site, MommyMaestra.com, helps Hispanic parents get more involved in their children’s education by providing resources, tips, and opportunities. She has written several education books, including The Latino Family’s Guide to Homeschooling and Preschool at Home: A Guide for Caregivers. Her education articles have appeared in numerous online sites such as NBCNews, latinamom.me, and PBS Parents.
Joyce Burges is a veteran homeschooling mom for nearly 30 years. She is the mother of five children and has been married for nearly 45 years to her high school sweetheart. Joyce is an author of three books..Teach Me How to Teach my Child, A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Greatness, and A Home Educator’s Guide to Greatness, She’s is a singer with a CD “Forever Hymn.” Joyce is a national speaker and an effective community leader. She finds delight in strengthening families through her website, music, writings, and her community work. She presently serves on her local school board. She is the CEO and Co-Founder, along with her husband Eric, of the National Black Home Educators (NBHE – www.nbhe.net) – an organization that empowers parents to educate their children for excellence. She’s been featured in Ebony, Essence, Jet, and The Crisis Magazines. She has also been featured with The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, BET Tonight, BET News, and many, many other publications, magazines, television and radio outlets nationally and locally. Joyce is a former Council Member and candidate for Mayor in her city. She also serves as a liaison for encouraging and strengthening families with several local and national organizations and boards. She recently created a portal “Project Legacy,” where she mentors girls between 10-15 years old to realize that they are royal. She meets with each girl once a week. Joyce enjoys traveling, cooking, gardening, and spending time with her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, EdD is a homeschooling mother based in Maryland and co-founder of the Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars (BFHES). Born in Washington D.C., she is co-editor of the forthcoming book Homeschooling Black Children in the United States: An examination of homeschooling in practice, theory and popular culture. Her research includes study of African American homeschooled students who are dual-enrolled in community college, creative placemaking as a tool for community building and high impact learning practices. She recently earned her doctoral degree this past May in Higher Education/Community College Leadership from Morgan State University. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Towson University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (African-American Studies and Mass Media) and minor in Writing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Her expertise as a scholar and homeschool practitioner has been commissioned by the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC), showcased at Impact Hub Baltimore and highlighted in her work with her brands Student Media Online and So Our Youth Aspire. Dr. Ali-Coleman is also a multi-disciplinary artist, community organizer, activist and founder of the arts company Liberated Muse Arts Group which she founded in 2008. Liberated Muse has produced monthly, annual and biennial events, including the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest, and Kwanzaa in August, while producing print and digital anthologies, music, films and theatrical productions. She has led this work while pursuing a long-time professional career as a creative. A 2015 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist awardee, Dr. Ali-Coleman is currently a 2020 Quadrant Playwright with Theater Alliance in Washington DC. A playwright and curator, her plays have been featured at the Kennedy Center, United States Peace Corps, Anacostia Smithsonian Museum and other venues. Her first historical exhibit, Flying Towards Freedom: Migration Stories of Maryland Families was commissioned by the PGAAMCC and installed at the Oxon Hill branch of the Prince George’s County Public Library in February 2020, closing early due to Covid-19. In 2018 she debuted her first children’s book, Mariah’s Maracas, illustrated by her life and creative partner who, for the past 12 years, has helped homeschool their now 16 year-old daughter who is a multi-talented writer, plant whisperer and music and film lover dual-enrolled in community college. Support her work and learn more by visiting KhadijahAli-Coleman.com
Dr. Cheryl Fields-Smith is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education in the College of Education at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She earned her doctorate from Emory University in 2004 under the direction of Dr. Vanessa Siddle Walker. Her research interests include family engagement and homeschooling among Black families. She has conducted interviews and focus groups with over 80 African American families with children who attended public schools or who were homeschooled. Dr. Fields-Smith’s most recent publication is a book titled, Exploring Single Black Mothers’ Resistance through Homeschooling, which details the lives of single Black mothers who homeschool while not working full-time. Her work has been featured in many multimedia reports including NBC News, PBS NewHour, and the Atlantic. Prior to earning her doctorate, Dr. Fields-Smith served as an elementary school teacher in Connecticut. She taught 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades. During her tenure as a teacher she taught in two magnet schools, both of which emphasized the Bank Street Model.
Dr. Fields-Smith multimedia features:
NBC News, African-Americans and Homeschooling: ‘A Way of Freedom
PBS, Black Families Increasingly Choose to Homeschool Kids
The Atlantic, Black Homeschooling
74 Interview: Professor Cheryl Fields-Smith on Why More Black Families Are Homeschooling Their Kids
For parents seeking to connect with other parents to potentially establish homeschooling co-ops, please connect with us via our group platforms on Facebook.
If you are interested in starting a chapter in you state or city please contact us.
National Black Liberation Alliance 