Men of Quality Virtual Community Conversation
On March 10, 2021 Theta Omega Chapter organized and sponsored the first-ever virtual Community Conversation forum.
One hundred and eighty school administrators, JCPS school board chair person, and Black male students from thirty area high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools participated in the event. Area professional led twelve workshops ranging for coping skills to financial planning. Representative Charles Booker shared real life experiences during the keynote address in efforts to motivated the most economically challenged students.
The new format for a Life Style Choices Forum was adopted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic that prevented person-to person interactions in concert with government and CDC guidelines. The event was held Live where students could enjoy the conference in the comfort of their own home.
Brothers Kirk Lattimore, (retired JCPS assistant superintendent) and Michael Shoulders (9th grade counselor at Marion C. Moore High School), led a team of Theta Omega brothers, (William Leach, Audwin Helton, Lonnie Golston, Warren Shelton Jr, Reggie McDaniel Jr., Lester Sanders, Delquan Dorsey, Daniel Muldrow, Darryl VanCleave, and Furman Glenn), in setting the agenda, arranging the logistics, and selecting area professionals to lead the breakout sessions.
Dr. Sharis Lattimore designed and coordinated the IT for the conference during the planning phase and during day of the conference. Three JCPS Digital Innovation staff, Dr. Sarah Bumpus, Danielle Washburn, Jack Bosley, provided technical support for each session during the day of the conference. Google Meet was employed as the IT platform for presentations and student question and answer sessions.
In concert with past LSCF events, the Community Conversation was designed to emphasize to students that the choices that they make today will have lasting impact on the quality of their lives in the future. The organizers aimed to Uplift African American male students who attend Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and give them guidance so that they become true future leaders in their communities. Further, the Initiative had objective of providing students the tools that they need to make good decisions and learn to value and appreciate the quality education goals of the Omega Men of Quality program.