You’re the CEO of Their Future: Caregivers Council Has Your Back
Get to know NMBLC’s Caregivers Council, which equips parents and guardians to champion student success through shared strategies, behavioral health tools, and community support.
by Kristin Satterlee
Do you care for a student in the Albuquerque Public Schools district? New Mexico Black Leadership Council’s (NMBLC) Caregivers Council wants to help you be the CEO (Childhood Education Officer) of their schooling.
What Is Caregiver’s Council?
The Caregivers Council is a quarterly meeting of parents, guardians, and caretakers of all stripes who want to get more involved in their students’ academic success. By meeting together, caregivers can share what has worked for them, learn new techniques, and find out what’s happening in their community.
It’s also an opportunity for caregivers to learn about behavioral health (how thoughts, feelings, and actions impact overall health and quality of life) and social-emotional learning (developing skills to understand and manage emotions, build healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions).
“Caregivers may not have the tools to know how to manage these behaviors. We want them to walk away feeling a little more secure and knowledgeable about how to raise their children,” explains NMBLC Roots Conservatory Manager Mike Jackson. “To raise these young ones to be just as successful as they can be.”
What Are the Council’s Long-term Goals?
With time, NMBLC will expand its partnership with experts in behavioral health. “Having people in that industry share their best practices and wisdom is one of the goals of the Council,” says Jackson.
In the long term, NMBLC hopes to bring the Caregivers Council right into the schools. Jackson envisions “a little tour where one Caregivers Council's at this school and the next one's over there. That would be ideal.” Leveraging NMBLC’s existing relationships with community school coordinators will help: “We would love to see each community school coordinator committing to participate, and also to bring families that they know could benefit from this community.”
Why Is NMBLC the Org to Make This Happen?
NMBLC has been building relationships in the International District for years—as well as building trust with the area’s diverse communities.
“In some way, whatever the need is, I think the diverse cultures in the International District see us as a guidepost… So I think that's one of the advantages we have. And another one is our historical partnership with the schools,” Jackson explains.
“I think having the touchpoints with all these families, it seems like a no-brainer that we should facilitate some way for the families to meet. It's on us to recognize the need and then try to do what we can to fulfill it.”
Is There Childcare?
Of course! “There's usually food as well,” Jackson adds, “and fun activities for the children to be doing while caregivers are participating in the workshops.”
Who Can Join? What’s It Cost?
The Caregivers Council is a free program for all caregivers, parents, students, and families, especially in the International District—anyone who wants the tools to advance and advocate for the students in their life.
How Do I Sign Up?
The next meeting of the Council will be in early fall, once the school year is underway. To get on the mailing list for meeting info, email Johnson at michael.j@nmblc.org. And we’d love for you to reach out to the community school coordinator at your student’s school to let them know you’re taking part in this initiative.