When you walk through the front door of the Emily Krzyzewski Center, the very first thing you see is a photograph of Coach K with his mother: the woman whose lessons serve as the inspiration for the Center and whose name it bears. Anyone who knows Coach K or has heard him speak has heard him talk about his mom, how she was “the best person in his life” and how her simple lessons laid the foundation for everything that he has stood for throughout his life and career. But Emily K’s lessons are not only important to Coach K; they have served as an example of the kind of involvement the Emily K Center staff seeks from the parents and families of the Center’s Pioneer Scholars. Through the programs offered at the Emily K and consistent personal interaction with Emily K staff, parents of Center scholars are laying the foundations for their own children to pursue dreams.
When one looks at the success that the Emily K Center has achieved thus far, there is no doubt that this is the result of some outstanding educational programs and the hard, daily work of a gifted staff and committed tutors. But this work directly with the young scholars is not the only reason for success. The Emily K Center staff does not simply admit an individual student into the Pioneer Scholars program, they admit that student and a family dedicated to his or her success. From the beginning, the staff at the Center partners with the child’s support system at home in a mutual commitment to that child’s educational and character development. New families to the Center go through a Family Orientation as well as a Parent/Student conference with Center staff members. The sign-out process at the end of an Emily K Center weekday also encourages regular interaction and updates from the Center to home and vice versa; a parent must sign their child out directly with his or her lead tutor each afternoon.
There are also opportunities for the parents to learn more about how to navigate the school system and advocate for their children with optional parent empowerment workshops. Over two years, 50 percent of the Emily K Center families have participated in six-week Parent and Family Advocacy Support Training (PFAST) workshops dedicated to such goals as improving contact with the child’s school, understanding the school system and its structure, and learning what other community resources are available. Parents want to learn; they want to be the best advocates for their kids that they can. The Emily K Center is committed to creating opportunities for parents to be more effectively involved.
The mutual commitment of the student, parent, and Emily K Center staff is reaffirmed yearly at the fall Student-Tutor-Parent conferences that take place after the student receives their first report card. At these meetings, students, parents and tutors work together to develop and put in writing the child’s academic and character development goals for the year. The form makes clear that these goals are not up to the child alone and that the parent and tutor must do their part as well. When all three put their signatures at the bottom of the page, they have made a pact to hold one another accountable.
The Center finds time to develop social ties among families as well at such events as the Dream-Do-Achieve Team Celebration Dinner in December and the Recognition Ceremony in May. Most recently, the staff has deemed the last Friday of every month, “Family Night,” opening the gym to the Pioneer Scholars and their families. Each month, about half of the families show up to enjoy the time with their children.
One parent that takes advantage of every opportunity to participate and learn is Ana. Ana and her husband have four of their own children and have taken over parenting responsibilities for their nephew, Angel, as well. Ana’s oldest son, Jonathan, and Angel have both been in the Pioneer Scholars program for two years. Ana is one of those parents that just always seems to be there. She has participated in all of the programs offered to parents at the Emily K Center and she even volunteered herself as a translator for Center events. It is difficult to see how Ana makes time for this because her co-workers insist that she is always at work. But Ana is a parent who has the time because she makes the time. It seems a simplistic concept: being there. But it is a difficult reality to ensure when you are also working a full-time job in support of your family. Ana is quick to point out the vital role that her husband plays, as well. “He works a lot and so he cannot always be there himself,” she says, “but he supports the children by supporting me.”
Ana and her husband are the type of parents with whom the staff at the Center loves to work and they have been thrilled to come in contact with Ana and many others like her. “Ana is representative, in many ways, of the Pioneer Scholars parents as a whole,” says Educational Director Adam Eigenrauch. “She made a commitment to support her children at a high level and has followed through on that. She works hard to support them both in and out of school, and she cares dearly about their success and development.”
When asked what she believes is the best advice she could give another parent, she responded emphatically and without hesitation, “Oh, just love your children. Be there. Always support them.” Some of Coach K’s favorite memories of his mother are the times when he would come home late after one of his high school games and his mom would be waiting up for him. She would ask him how his game was, how he was. For him, it was never the words that were important but the simple fact that she was there and that time was for him. Today, he draws great parallels between being unafraid to fail and being successful. “Anything I felt good about, my mom and dad felt better about. Everything that I did was supported. I think this type of sustenance had a lot to do with my being confident as an adult. For some reason, I’m not afraid to lose. I wasn’t back then, and I’m not now,” Coach K says. It was his mother’s consistent support in his youth that allowed for this kind of confidence. What a bright future is ahead of Jonathan, Angel, and the rest of the kids at the Emily K whose familial support will allow for them to dream, do, and achieve without ever having to be afraid.
