---

At last week’s School District Meet-and-Greet in the Barack Obama Building, parents and district employees discussed parent programs and formally met some new administrators, including high school principal Reginald Mirthil.

MEETING THE PRINCIPAL

Mirthil, who is an alumnus of Asbury Park High School, just started as principal in September.

“I am humbled to stand before you this evening as a former student of Asbury Park High School, a brother, a neighbor, a friend, a son, and a partner.” Mirthil said to the crowd.

He showed a picture of himself as a member of the Asbury Park High School football team.

“I wore the name of the town across my chest, and now I bear the burden of our problems across my chest,” he said. He also referred to himself as a “father of 363,” the population of the high school.

“One of my VPs [vice principals] keeps telling me, ‘You can’t build Rome in a day, Mr. Mirthil.’ I stopped by her office the other morning and said, ‘I’m building Rome.’ That’s my theme music. I’m building Rome,” Mirthil said.

His priority is the students above all else, he added.

“I’m not here for you,” he said to the assembled parents. “I’m not here for the teachers. I’m here for the children. It’s not about money, it’s not about personal gain. I have a vested interest that they succeed. I don’t move because of the fact that I think it’s going to make my name ring bells throughout the town. I don’t look for anyone, I keep to myself, but when I see the students then I brighten up, because that’s what motivates me.”

As a gradute of Asbury Park High School, Mirthil expects to draw from his own experiences to connect to students and the community.

“I came through this machine, I understand it very well. I know that we came from so much and we had a lot, and we still do. I see the potential in every one of those students’ eyes, and it can be done.”

“Join us, continue to support us, I’ll be there for you,” Mirthil said. “But I’ll be there for the kids first.”

SUGGESTIONS FROM PARENTS

Parents offered ways to better serve the city’s Spanish-speaking parents and families.

Chrissy Coloma, Community Relations Coordinator, said cultural differences have made it hard for some Spanish-speaking parents to have an active role in the PTOs [Parent-Teacher Organizations].

“For example, fundraising is fundamentally American,” Coloma said. “It’s a very foreign concept for a lot of Spanish-speaking families to understand.”

For this reason, the district may hold a meeting for Spanish-speaking parents prior to the regular PTO meeting so they can better understand what will go on. A proposal for holding such meetings will be put before the board of education [BOE] in November, Coloma said.

A team of part-time translators has been used for every meeting district-wide, for both Spanish- and Creole-speaking parents and family members.

Parent Florinda Yoxom suggested having a Spanish-speaking staff member available at the schools.

“There used to be a young Spanish-speaking lady in the office of Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, but she’s no longer there,” Yoxom said. “When I come to the school people are being pulled of classrooms to translate, and I have to wait or just leave because there’s no one to help me.”

Parents suggested expanding after-school sports programs such as tennis, basketball and swimming for children in preschool and up. Currently, after-school sports programs are available for students in the middle school and high school.

“There’s a big need for swimming, especially in the Spanish community,” said Yoxom through a translator. “Swimming’s not really learned, so if the children could learn it would give parents the support to help them be the best parents they can be.”

Parents and family members from outside the Spanish-speaking community also voiced support for extending after-school sports. Teaching computer and financial skills for younger students was another suggestion.

“I’d like to see a financial literacy program come about,” said parent Frank Syphax. “Maybe even from the elementary school level, to start learning about finances and stuff. Everyone wants to do sports — especially our males, I’m always concerned about our males — but kids need to be able to see a future in school.”

Superintendent Dr. Denise Lowe said that a financial literacy course is a requirement for graduation from Asbury Park High School.

———–

[Photo courtesy of Asbury Park school district.]

---