All parents want their children to get the best education they can in order to be set up for success later in life. When one Black Arizona mom saw that her child was being misunderstood and unfairly treated because of his skin color, she stepped in to advocate for him. She got him into a gifted program, which enabled him to excel academically.
Janelle Wood’s experiences with her son led her to want to help other moms. She launched the Black Mothers Forum on August 17, 2016. Forty mothers of black sons showed up.
“Of course, I was going to fight for them,” Janelle told Today. “I’ve always had it in me.”
"We saw the era of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin — and now Tyre Nichols — and police brutality," Janelle explains. "Many of our mothers, we live with this tension every day: 'Will my son make it home today?' I could speak passionately to mothers of sons because I feel it."
Studies show that the bias that exists in current classrooms negatively impacts Black students. A 2016 study published in Economics of Education Review showed that non-Black teachers have lower expectations of Black students. An American Psychological Association study published in 2021 shows that Black students are punished harsher than their white counterparts.
These harsher punishments have long-term consequences. They lead to Black students having lower grades and a dislike of school. This can lead to students being penalized outside of school in a "school-to-prison pipeline."
Woods wanted to end this. She was motivated when she heard the stories of her community. "One Black mother, whose daughter's teacher berated her in class, told her to log off Zoom, only to have the police knock on her door and accuse the girl of truancy," she said. "If we stop the school-to-prison pipeline, children will get the education they deserve."
Woods, along with the Black Mothers Forum, decided the best way to do this was through micro-schools. In January of 2021, they opened their first two: Nia Academy and Crum Academy. Micro-schools offer small class sizes and independent learning where a child can move at their own pace.
The Black Mothers Forum now teaches 42 K-8 students in the Tempe and South Phoenix areas. The schools are open to all races. While the current teachers are all only people of color, it is not a requirement for employment at the schools.
The Black Mothers Forum’s schools use the “Triple P Positive Parenting Program” for their discipline needs. It is a more holistic approach than in traditional schools.
"As teachers, we often only discipline the behavior we see, rather than asking, 'What's the cause?'" explains Ja-Queese Dightmon, the director of curriculum and programming. "There is always an antecedent and if we don't find it, there are no teachable moments, restorative practices or conflict resolution. We need that to make sure children feel seen and heard."
For students such as 7-year-old Adrion, who was born with hearing loss, the Black Mothers Forum schools are a wonderful resource. “When we looked at other schools, the kids with different special needs were all jumbled in a classroom together," mom NaTyshca Pickett explained. "We were also concerned that Adrion would miss out on so much language because of those large class sizes." Now Adrion says, "I go to the best school ever."
Christina Foster decided to put her daughter in the Black Mothers Forum schools after noticing her daughter was treated differently because of the color of her skin. "She is always going to have to deal with micro and macro aggressions," she explained. "But if there is an opportunity to lessen that experience, then I wanted to utilize it."
Both Christina and NaTyshca are happy with their decisions and excited to see their children excel.
