One thing Dr. Goffney expressed during this luncheon is the importance of voting and being present. There is so much going on during legislative sessions that impact public education, and it is important that people are aware and informed about the decisions that are being made.
In addition, she made it known that she wants these meetings with the pastors to be meaningful and purposeful. “We want to give information and receive information,” expressed Dr. Goffney. Dr. Goffney also wants the pastors to be informed about different things that are occurring in Aldine so that the pastors can express their concerns and even help tackle some of the challenges that are happening in the district. She quoted her mentor stating, “When you have good information, you can make good decisions.” She further expressed, I want us to have ongoing conversations on how we can improve Aldine.”
The pastors were able to ask questions and discuss topics of interest and concern that are greatly impacting the community and the world in general. One topic included hate crimes and how students are affected and how Aldine handles this situation if it becomes present.
Dr. Charlotte Davis, Director of Guidance and Counseling made it known that overall, the district hasn’t been informed of any hate crimes that have happened, but if they do occur, the district does have protocols in place to address it. Another topic of concern was sex trafficking. One pastor noted the importance of this topic and how churches and schools are considered to be the highest breeding and recruiting ground. Regarding this subject matter, the district has trained their counselors to know what to look for, and how to handle this situation if a situation was to arise. Other topics discussed consisted of bullying and mentoring our youth. These are just a few topics that our youth are facing on a day-to-day basis.
This luncheon was well attended and was the first meeting of many more to come. Dr. Goffney truly believes in the collaboration and partnership with these ministers in order to help make Aldine even more successful.
“The way to change the world is through individual responsibility and taking local action in your own community.”
-Jeff Bridges
