MN VOICES | Jo Ann Clark helps students of color get to college

Jo Ann Clark loves kids and she loves education. "I'd rather invest money in education than jail," Clark said in a February interview with TC Daily Planet. She pointed to education as a major factor in helping kids obtain better jobs as adults. Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, Clark credits her grandfather and grandmother with instilling in her the importance of getting a good education. When asked why she listened to them, she simply replied that obeying them was the natural thing to do.

So she went to business college and married a college graduate. In 1980, she moved to east St. Paul, where she has lived ever since. Clark stated with pride that all three of her children went to St. Paul public schools and graduated from high school. Her two oldest have graduated from college and her youngest son will graduate from college in April. Clark said success in school "takes parents, students, and teachers... in partnership. When you have that, it equals success." She described her own partnership with teachers as her children grew up, relating that she wrote letters to each of her children's teachers telling them that education was important to her and to let her know if her children received less than a C.

For more than 20 years, Clark has volunteered with the St. Paul public schools, including the budget committee, the parent advisory group at Battle Creek Middle School, and the PTA. She served as PTA president at Harding High School for four years. During her time as PTA president, she noticed that the schools had college fairs for students to attend in the middle of the day. She believed that there needed to be a college fair that parents could attend because, as Clark stated, "Kids are not paying for it!" She suspected that most parents did not know about the fairs during school hours and that many students did not take the information home to their parents. If parents attended the college fair with their children, they would no longer need to rely on their children to give them all the information. With these thoughts, Clark came up with the idea for the Thinking College Early Fair.

The fair began in 2005 at Progressive Baptist Church, where Clark attends church. She organized the fair with the support of the education ministry at her church-a ministry she helped start-and held it in the basement of the fellowship hall. Soon, the fair outgrew the church, and Clark wanted to reach those who do not go to church. So her church partnered with St. Paul public schools to host the fair at the schools. The first fair occurred at Arlington High School.

"Thinking College Early is very important," Clark said, "because students and parents learn about scholarships, high school classes to take, and questions to ask colleges." They even learn about FAFSA, the federal financial aid application that determines how much financial aid a family is eligible to receive. Four-year colleges and universities, two-year colleges, and trade schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin are invited to the fair. The variety of programs showcased allows parents and students to become aware of the options available to them.

Clark is passionate about seeing students, particularly students of color, obtain a college degree. Keith Hardy, St. Paul school board member, said, "Clark has led the effort for many years of helping students of color get focused on going to college and navigating the steps to get into college. Her life's mission is seeing these things happen."

To help students gain a better understanding of what college is like, once a year Clark leads a tour of Historically Black Colleges. The tour expands students' options outside of Minnesota and Wisconsin to the southern and eastern regions of the United States. The education ministry of her church organizes these tours in October during the week of teacher conventions  for students in 8th-12th grade.

Clark stated that sometimes people wonder why she takes eighth graders. Isn't that too young? "It's never too early to start," Clark declared. One of the reasons she takes eighth graders is so that they will know what classes to take as freshmen in high school.

Clark acknowledged that she is a very busy person, but said that it's possible with the help of the education ministry at her church, which is a group of people committed to the vision of education. This group maintains an updated list of scholarships, and, until recently, they organized special talks with speakers about careers and life skills, such as how to keep track of finances. Through such efforts, Clark stated that a great majority of the kids from her church graduate from high school, and many go on to continue their education.

This may seem like a lot of activity to some, but for Clark, giving is a normal part of life. "You help your neighbors," she said. In addition to her volunteer efforts in education, Clark volunteers at her church and in her community as part of the District 1 Community Council. When asked about her future plans, Clark quickly responded, "to see my grandkids get their degree." In the end it's about kids and it's about their education.

Andrea Parrott

Andrea Parrott is a freelance writer from the 'burbs. (Twitter: @andrea_parrott)