March 5, 2008

Dear Membership and Community,

Thank you for your support on the Cincinnati Public School Levy. We really made the difference yesterday in passing Issue 10.  The Cincinnati NAACP must continue to organize, organize, organize, around issues that are important to our community. This is how we will shape public policy for our community.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me, your President, the "benefit of the doubt" around voting yes on Issue 10. I have already reached out to CPS leadership to begin the process of working together as a team in addressing the NAACP concerns. Our concerns are real and must be addressed.  Also, we must put our heads together to increase parent involvement with our children in CPS schools.  If we want to increase the academic scores of children in CPS schools one major area we must address as NAACP members is demanding better behavior from our students. The healthy work environment or lower discipline issues in the classroom will help the teacher focus on teaching. The Cincinnati NAACP has begun the discussion of adopting a school in the Fall. I will need every NAACP member in Cincinnati to rally around the idea of us adopting a school for it to be successful. I think we all must do more to help our young people. Prisons and jails are not the answer.

We have much to be proud of Cincinnati NAACP. Let us take our victory on Issue 10 with dignity and class. We appreciated all sides of the discussion around Issue 10. We will continue to find the common ground around issues that are important to all of us in Cincinnati. I hope we agree that our children are our future. Public Education is a core value because it gives so many of our children a solid future and a fighting chance and it must be protected. Again, thank you for your continued support of the Cincinnati NAACP and my leadership as President.