Rondo Community Elder Mary K. Boyd on the Reading Crisis and First Educators

Rondo community elder Mary K. Boyd has dedicated her life to education. Miss Mary K. was born and raised in the Rondo community of Saint Paul. She has a diverse resumé of teaching careers, including talking typewriter, youth advocate, and director of Street Academy.

 Miss Mary K. served in a number of leadership roles at Saint Paul Public Schools. She was the vice principal of Hazel Park Junior High, and the principal of Central High School and the Area Learning Center in Saint. Paul. Miss Mary K. broke barriers in later years, when she became the first Black assistant superintendent of Saint Paul Area Schools.

 Outside of K-12 education, Miss Mary K. taught at several colleges, and served as the interim dean of graduate education at Hamline University. She also served in a number of Social Work roles. She was the interim Director of Family and Children Services, and the interim Child Protection Manager in Ramsey County. She is also the CEO of her own company, MKB Associates.

 Miss Mary K.’s career has been grounded in teaching others and connecting people. Throughout her career, Miss Mary K. has grown a deep understanding of the problems that prevent children from being their best. Throughout her career, she’s run across a number of barriers that children face to success. She feels one of the most prominent is literacy.

 The Literacy Crisis, and the Problems with Education

 Education is more important than ever right now. The National Assessment for Educational Progress highlighted in a 2022 report that 37% of fourth graders read below a basic level. Even more troublingly, only 31% of Minnesota’s Black students are proficient in reading. There are scientifically proven benefits of how reading well helps children’s health. This stark decline in literacy is a public health crisis.

 From her many years as a teacher, Miss Mary K. believes that some of today’s youth don’t see the importance in education. Many kids don’t understand how what they learn in school benefits their everyday lives. This may lead them to disengage in the classroom, and not fully apply their strengths to be successful in school.

 We cannot put this issue on kids. The way school is set up, as well as how teachers approach their classrooms, has a significant impact on how successful students are. Schools often rely on traditional wisdom, but this isn’t a fit for everyone. Everybody has a different learning style. It’s important that teachers recognize this if they want to help students be their best.

 Miss Mary K. has frequently seen that the formal education system isn’t always set up to recognize this. She warns about the dangers of prescribed education. Presuming that everybody learns in the same way will undoubtedly leave some children struggling.

 Mary K. feels that another issue is that kids don’t see themselves in the context of their communities. Social media has worsened this issue, by creating a focus on oneself rather than others. Many kids today don’t see themselves in the context of how they contribute to other people’s stories.

 Reimagining Our Role as Communities: First Educators

Miss Mary K.’s many different roles have made her passionate about the connection between education and the community. Miss Mary K. believes education can be more than just formal schooling.

 This has been a cornerstone of Miss Mary K.’s work. Inspired by Dr. Patricia Harbour Moore and the Kettering Foundation, Miss Mary K. created the Every Body’s In movement. The movement’s message is simple: everybody can be an educator.

 Miss Mary K. believes that community members can play a transformative role in kids’ lives. She  discussed this issue in an interview with Youthprise:

 “The language of education is not always the language of the community,” she stated. “The schoolhouse should partner with the community, so that the community will support the schoolhouse.”

 Her philosophies about this are centered around first educators. When Miss Mary K. and her husband first had children, she vowed to be their first educators. To her, this meant always inspiring her children to be their best.

 Throughout her life, this belief extended to encompass her community. She thinks that community members can play a transformative role in kids’ lives. The Rondo community’s investment in the lives of their children has stuck with Miss Mary K. all these years. In reflecting on all of the Rondo community members who shaped her, she realized that everyone in a community can teach kids important life lessons.

 Miss Mary K. believes there are multiple roles within the idea of being a parent. She thinks parents are mentors. They can guide children to make informed decisions in life and have their best interests at heart. Parents can also be teachers who try to help their children learn life lessons. Most importantly, parents should be cheerleaders. They should always trust and believe in their children’s abilities, cheering them on every step of the way.

 She believes community members can fill the first educator role, too. Everybody in the community can have kids’ best interests at heart and show that they accept children for who they are. They can teach kids important lessons about getting through life. Most importantly, they can be cheerleaders, encouraging them to be their best.

 Being a first educator does not have to mean hands-on mentoring. To Miss Mary K., being a first educator is a mindset to carry with you everywhere. For the children who are in your life, treat them like you are a mentor who welcomes and accepts them, and has their best interests at heart. Be their teacher, and share your wisdom with them. Make them feel included and believed in by being their metaphorical cheerleaders.

 Miss Mary K.’s definition of a first educator is as simple as this. She believes anybody can teach others something new. When community members take the initiative to be first educators, that’s when children in your community will flourish.

 A Call to Action

Miss Mary K. advises communities to be the change they want to see. If we want to see children be more invested in education, it’s on us to encourage those changes. Here are a few steps people can take in their communities to help address this issue:

 •   Embrace Miss Mary K.’s definition of first educator

Change rarely happens in a snap. It is unrealistic to expect entire communities to take action on this issue at once. This is why individual actions remain one of the best agents of change. Be that mentor, teacher, and cheerleader for children in your community, and encourage others to as well. Instill those essential life skills and morals into the next generation, so they can be their best.

 •   Encourage children to read

Literacy is a public health crisis. 69% of Black students in Minnesota reading below the proficiency level should be a major cause for concern for parents. Read to your child every night. Visit libraries frequently, and go to your local bookstore. Check out the post on Planting People Growing Justice’s blog about how to help children discover the joy in reading.

 •   Seek out culturally representative books

There is a significant lack of representation of Black children in their books. Few children’s books feature Black characters. Make sure your children have access to books that reflect their lived experience and have positive messages that affirm their identities.

 Check out the Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute website for more information about the reading crisis.