Scholarship and Awards Banquet Sept. 15
By Meliqueica Meadows and Alvin A. Reid
Of the American
Both John A. Wright and Cheryle Dyle-Palmer have dedicated their careers to education, and both share a common belief – successful students not only must start learning early, they must be in the right state of mind.
Wright, chair of the Missouri Humanities Council and retired assistant superintendent in the Ferguson-Florissant Public Schools, will be honored as the 2006 Lifetime Achiever during the Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Banquet on Sept. 15.
Dyle-Palmer, Parents As Teachers National Center’s chief operating officer, will be honored as 2006 Stellar Performer.
“The biggest thing we can do (to improve education of city students) is to give the kids hope,” Wright said.
“Unless they can visualize a better future, academic improvement is not going to happen.”
Wright, a historian who wrote a dissertation on “The Desegregation of the All-Black Schools that Existed in St. Louis County Prior to 1954” and Discovering African American St. Louis – A Guide to Historic Sites, says African-American students could also benefit from “an integrated curriculum.”
“Imagine you went to a family reunion and relatives pulled out a photo album, and your family was left out,” he said.
“Kids need a reason to like themselves. They won’t have any interest in learning if they think they have no future and they do not like who they are.”
Dyle-Palmer said success in the classroom begins at home – and early.
“When we talk about school success and children coming to school ready to learn, the literature shows that the earlier we start the better we are,” she said.
“Working with pre-schoolers is not enough. Parents are the first and most important teachers of children, and education begins at the prenatal stage.”
Students of service
Both Wright and Dyle-Palmer have left their marks on education locally and nationally.
Wright joined the Ferguson-Florissant district following its merger with the Kinloch Public Schools, where he had been superintendent for the previous two years. His duties have included public relations, federal programs/pupil services and personnel since 1984.
He became a teacher following graduation from Harris Teachers College in 1962 and was named principal of the John Griscom School for Socially Maladjusted Students (Grades 4-12) in 1965.
He later served in the Webster Groves Public Schools before his appointment as superintendent in Kinloch.
Wright holds a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, is president of the Board of Trustees of St. Louis Community College and serves as Missouri State Coordinator for the Educational Policy Fellowship Program of the Institute for Educational Leadership.
Dyle-Palmer has more than three decades of experience in education, including her time as CCO of Parents as Teachers National Center, a resource base for the nation’s largest parent education and early childhood development program.
It serves parents from pregnancy until their child enters kindergarten.
Dyle-Palmer, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, was instrumental in developing culturally sensitive curricula and encouraging diversity at the center. Before joining the organization in 2002, Dyle-Palmer served as vice president of children and family services for the National Benevolent Association.
She is involved in organizations including the National Council of Negro Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Leadership St. Louis and Child Welfare League of America, where she was chair of the public education sub-committee of the Crisis in Work Force Task Force.
Tickets for the 19th annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Banquet, to be held Friday Sept. 15, are available for $85 each for general seating (tables of 10 for $850), and $1,500 for a VIP/corporate table of 10. For information and tickets please call (314) 533-8000.
