In the Schools, Calm in the Face Of the Storm

A Milestone for Students In Club 2012

Broadcaster and former Washington Redskin Rick "Doc" Walker was the keynote speaker at Wednesday night's end-of-the-year awards ceremony for Club 2012, an academic club set up by parents to help guide their African American sons toward success.

"I feel cheated as a parent that my 14-year-old son didn't get exposed to a program like this," Walker said in his address to the 20 eighth-graders, their families and teachers.

Club 2012 was the brainchild of LCPS guidance counselor Gabrielle Carpenter. As an educator and parent, Carpenter was concerned with the lagging standardized test scores that black males historically received, even in affluent Ashburn. She approached math teacher and parent Tom Carter with the idea of organizing Club 2012.

The club started three years ago at Eagle Ridge Middle School when the boys were in sixth grade. When nearby Stone Hill Middle School opened, the program was introduced there as well. On Wednesday night, the teens celebrated their last year in middle school and the success they've achieved since the club's inception.

From the start, parents set high expectations for these kids. Since sixth grade, there have been twice-weekly homework clubs, PSAT prep work, educational speakers and etiquette training. Field trips have included visits to Howard University, one of the nation's oldest historically black colleges, and Harvard University's school of medicine.

The group also takes an active role in giving back to the community. It helped out with the Darryl Green Youth Life Foundation and recently canvassed as "Club 2012 Ambassadors for Obama."

"We grow stronger and smarter every year," said parent volunteer and Eagle Ridge staff member Roxana Cromwell, who emphasized that the main goal of Club 2012 is to create positive peer pressure for these kids. "We want them to graduate from high school in 2012 in excellence and with options."

Rodney Moore, principal at Stone Hill, said his experience with Club 2012 has been positive. "These kids are solid and steady role models, really good guys. They are leaders in the school."

Plans for Club 2012 include more PSAT and SAT prep, college and university field trips and continued exposure to different career choices. The club's dream goal is to visit Africa in 2012. "They need to realize there's a bigger world out there -- not the little bubble of Ashburn," said Cromwell.

The club founders also have set up a nonprofit group called Excellent Options to help other concerned parents organize similar clubs in schools across the country.

All the presenters at the awards ceremony cautioned that the next four years of high school are going to be tough. "If peer pressure hasn't gotten you yet, it will tempt you in high school," said Walker, "but you've gotten an excellent foundation from your parents and from Club 2012."

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