Sunday, January 9, 2011

Parent Talk Discusses Universal Pre-K and the Parent Trigger

Parent Talk will explore two hot topics on the minds of parents and educators in America, the first Universal Pre-K and the Parent Trigger. Host Mike Robinson will talk with parent advocate Nakia T. Ngwala about her passion to establish Universal Pre-K in her local school districts and Ms. Gwen Samuel Founder and President of the State of Black CT Alliance and her views on the controversial new Parent Trigger law.


Our first guest is Nakia T. Ngwala a community and youth advocate and organizer will discuss her efforts to have Universal Pre-K/Preschool available to all parents regardless of their income.

Nakia Troi Ngwala's advocacy began more than a decade ago while she held various corporate positions throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area.


In 2004, out of inspiration from the birth of her first son, Mrs. Ngwala became a full-time parent, full-time community advocate and organizer, and youth advocate and has been actively engaged in promoting unity, social justice and equality in her community of Springdale and in Prince George’s County, Maryland ever since.

In September 2008, when Mrs. Ngwala learned that her 4 year-old son was not eligible to participate in the public preschool program in Prince George’s County because of the county’s income requirements, she immediately became a Universal Pre-K/Preschool for All advocate. Since then, as a constituent in Prince George’s County, she has written letters, and has called and continues to call on elected officials to inform and encourage involvement from the county on the importance of early childhood education for all young children in Prince George’s County. In November 2008, she was a contributor in the Universal Pre-K Fact Finding Meeting with the Prince George’s County Public School’s Board of Education to examine national, state, and local data regarding Universal Pre-K and to determine if there was a need to establish a Prince George’s County Universal Pre-K Task Force.


Our second guest is Ms. Gwen Samuel Founder and President of the State of Black CT Alliance will share her views on the controversial new Parent Trigger law.


Ms. Samuel is a Parent, Founder and President of the State of Black CT Alliance, an organization which advocates for equity and access to high quality socioeconomic and educational opportunities for communities of color and vulnerable populations. Ms. Samuel is also the founder of the Meriden Kids Walk Safe Coalition (MKWS) – a Safe Routes to School Initiative.

A graduate of Springfield College, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services, Ms. Samuel works tirelessly to promote effective and sustainable practices that foster the academic and social development of our children while seeking to strengthen our families and communities. She firmly strives to ensure that “each and every child has access to the right of a high quality education and equitable access to opportunity, and that we must work effectively until neither race nor socio-economic status is a predictor of student success.”

In recognition of her work, in March of 2010, in a national Parenting Magazine contest, Ms. Samuel was one of 51 moms across the country that were selected to represent their state at the inaugural Mom Congress on Education and Learning Conference at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

In September of 2010, Ms. Samuel was selected to sit on an educational panel at the NBC Universal Education Nation Summit in New York.

She firmly believes that when parents, children and community know more and better they do more and they do better.



Show Date: January 9, 2011
Show Time: 8:00pm-9:00pm
Call In Number: 1 (914) 803-4591
Website:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/educationaljournal

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