Mychal Wynn Presentations

This upbeat presentation examines the many roles that teachers and support staff play in a school community. Mr. Wynn captures the spirit of what it means to have the noble role of teaching children and the level of collaboration that must be developed between home and school; teachers and colleagues; and between schools within a cluster of schools (i.e., elementary, middle, and high school).

Everyone in a school community from school bus drivers to cafeteria workers, from custodians to administrators, from classroom teachers to local law enforcement personnel has a role in forming the necessary 'web of protection' around children and families to ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn in a safe and nurturing environment. This upbeat, informative and inspiring presentation captures the spirit of what each of us can do to inspire students and build partnerships with families.

This presentation will help schools, after-school programs, counselors, community centers, and faith-based organizations learn how to build on the gifts, talents, interests, and learning of students to develop college-bound cultures. The building blocks of college preparation and career exploration begins with kindergarten building blocks, painting, and play acting. As elementary school children affirm careers as pediatricians, teachers, lawyers, and astronauts their journey into math, science, reading, writing, art, music, and physical fitness can all provide the launching pad toward college and careers.

An informative and motivational presentation that shares Black male achievement data within a context that inspires a sense of urgency: lowest SAT/ACT scores; lowest NAEP 4th grade and 8th grade performance; lowest AP enrollment rates; lowest high school graduation rates; lowest college readiness rates; and lowest 6-year college graduation rates. As a parent and advocate, Mr. Wynn passionately presents what is wrong, what must be done, and what he and his wife have done to lift their sons to a level of academic achievement that should become commonplace rather than an aberration.

An informative and motivational presentation that helps parents, teachers, community representatives, and business partners to better understand how to build the types of relationships and self-sustaining programs needed to close the achievement gap and pave the way to systemic sustainable increases in student achievement. Practical examples are provided that outline how to create the necessary researched-based practices, school-wide climate and culture, and support mechanisms to create a culture of academic excellence and high expectations.

Black males, as a percentage of the population, dwell at the bottom of the academic achievement gap in urban, rural, and suburban school districts in the U.S., Canada, and throughout the Caribbean. They represent the greatest special education placements and highest number of suspensions, while being the least represented in gifted and talented programs, honors, and Advanced Placement classes. They are the students most "at risk."

Participants learn why identifying, analyzing, and understanding the unique societal, home, and community variables that impact all students identified as "at risk" is prerequisite to developing holistic and effective strategies for closing the achievement gap, reducing discipline problems, and ensuring that Black males and their families fully understand the many options and opportunities afforded them within their respective school districts. Mr. Wynn further outlines how to use national achievement data to drive in-school data gathering, school improvement, and student achievement strategies.

Preparing for and being accepted into college is a knowledge-intensive process. The information gap between children from high-poverty households or parents who are not college graduates and those of children with college-educated parents widens each school year. The ability and desire to enroll in honors, Pre-AP, AP classes in high school results from having established a solid academic foundation during elementary school. The importance of entering the advanced math and foreign language pipelines during middle school is more likely to be understood by students whose families are focused on college planning during elementary school.

This presentation will help schools, after-school programs, counselors, community centers, and faith-based organizations learn how to build on the gifts, talents, interests, and learning of students to develop college-bound cultures. Participants will better understand the correlation between an early college focus and k-12 academic rigor. The building blocks of college preparation and career exploration begins with kindergarten building blocks, painting, and play acting. As elementary school children affirm careers as pediatricians, teachers, lawyers, and astronauts their journey into math, science, reading, writing, art, music, and physical fitness can all provide the launching pad toward college and careers.

This presentation will outline strategies specifically focused on closing the achievement gap. The session will examine each of the components outlined in Mr. Wynn's school improvement/student achievement planning framework: Mission, Vision, Climate and Culture, Curriculum and Content, Instruction, and Assessment.

Despite the national focus on developing rigor, relevance, and relationships, schools and school-wide planning teams continue to struggle with understanding how to connect relevant research to the needs of high-poverty and culturally different students and families. Strategies must be conceptualized within a culturally-relevant framework whether the school is located in an urban community serving high-poverty African-American students and families, in a rural community serving migrant families, or at the Carolina foothills serving a high-poverty Caucasian student population.

Mychal Wynn, the father of two black males presents an informative and inspiring session outlining national achievement data and shares the strategies, successes, pitfalls, and obstacles faced by he and his wife in raising their sons. Participants learn how to strengthen collaboration with teachers, positively influence peers, identify their sons' unique gifts and talents, and ensure high academic achievement and positive personal and social development. Parents further learn how to create the necessary kindergarten-through-college plans to ensure that their sons stay focused through the challenging transition into middle and high school. Youth enjoy the session as much as parents as Mr. Wynn speaks candidly about the issues and obstacles that he and his wife have experienced with their sons in the areas of school work, extracurricular activities, academic achievement, hip-hop culture, peers, and constructing the necessary "Web of Protection" to ensure their sons' social success and academic achievement.

Mr. Wynn speaks candidly about how children learn to manipulate parents at home and teachers at school and how to stop it! Office referrals at school and threats at home don't solve behavioral problems, however, participants learn how to discover what does work!

Parents learn how to become proactive in developing the necessary home-school relationships and communication mechanisms to ensure positive social development and high academic achievement. Parents learn how to deal with both and how to identify the gifts and nurture the angelic nature of every child. Parents also learn how to recognize the unique gifts, talents, abilities, and personality types of each of their children.

Students engage in reading and discussing the book, "Follow Your Dreams: Lessons That I Learned in School. " In small group discussions, Mr. Wynn talks to students about the issues raised in the book and the lessons learned in his life. Mr. Wynn engages students in an open and candid question and answer session. Students frequently raise such issues as: peer pressures; whether or not certain dreams and aspirations are realistic; the issues confronting Mr. Wynn as a husband and father; the issues and obstacles which Mr. Wynn had to overcome growing up in poverty; and much, much more.

The college planning series of presentations outline: - What it takes to get into and succeed in college - The importance of honors and AP classes - How to prepare a plan for the current school year - Mid-year assessment and summer planning - Year-end assess and planning the next year's course schedule and extracurricular activity involvement. Each presentation outlines strategies specifically focused on the four components of k-12 college planning (academics; extracurricular activities; personal qualities; and developing individual gifts and talents). Students and parents will learn how to construct a 7-year middle-through-high school plan within each of the four components and how to track their progress throughout the middle-through-high school experience.