Music gives this Parent Coordinator an opportunity to press play, pause, and connect with an active father figure presence in a proud school community.

By Denise Henry

The bell was ringing

Our souls were singing

Do you remember?

Never a cloudy day

On any given day at P.S. 11 Elementary School in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the sweet notes of songs like September by Earth, Wind & Fire, replace the harsh sound of school bells signaling to students to line up on the blacktop. The music welcomes students and parents into the schoolyard to play tag, shoot some hoops, and catch up with friends.

“Sometimes it’s jazz, reggae, Motown, or a little R&B. It’s just more pleasant to start the day with music,” says Clement Rand, Parent Coordinator of P.S. 11. “The parents will come in dancing and embarrass their kids.”

Parent Coordinator Rand plays the music that gets kids and adults alike to put a smile on their faces and add a little spring to their step Monday through Friday. This lively morning routine that Mr. Rand started many years ago, is a perfect example of a small gesture that has made a big impact on a school community.

“Before they would blow those whistles and it was really shrill and jarring and I just found it distasteful,” he says. “The way you start the day has an impact on everything else. A little music in the morning sets the tone.”

As a valued, long-standing member of the P.S. 11 school community, Mr. Rand’s ever-present smile, calm, and welcoming presence, also sets an important tone for what children and parents can expect from the P.S. 11 family of staff and teachers.

“Parents feel welcome and a sense of ownership with the school,” says Mr. Rand. “They realize that the reason why the school is what it is, is because of everything that they’ve done to help out. They bring initiatives to the table and with the administration and the staff, we just make it happen.”

Mr. Rand’s tenure at P.S. 11 began in 1995 when his eldest child was a kindergarten student. Along the way, he has served as a volunteer tutor, assistant basketball coach, and PTA president. He became the Parent Coordinator over 15 years ago and works diligently every day to increase parent outreach and support.

“My top priority is parent engagement and being engaged with the kids. I see myself as the parents’ eyes when they’re not here,” he says. “I make sure that I’m around the school, and around the children as much as possible. I try to come up with activities to keep the parents involved. And my main thing is to keep the fathers involved.”

Making dads feel wanted and important to the school community, and maintaining a strong male presence, is essential. The goal is to “develop more of a presence of fathers in general, and black and brown dads in particular, to shatter the myth of the absent father,” says Mr. Rand.

Increasing the father/father figure presence has changed the face of P.S. 11 and has added a whole new level of involvement and participation in the classrooms, hallways, and in the school community as a whole. 

“The dads are very present and active. In the yard in the mornings, fathers are dropping off their kids. Every Friday before Martin Luther King weekend, we have Dads Day of Service,” Mr. Rand says. “Dads come in and do different activities like putting together furniture in classes, cleaning closets, and helping out in the cafeteria.”

Seeing this dedicated father engagement inspires Mr. Rand (a self-described “idea person”) to create more events and activities to bring fathers and the entire community together to make P.S. 11 a school that students are proud to call their home away from home.

“I do a lot of mentoring with the boys in 4th and 5th grade. It’s a program called Boys to Men. They have a format and venue to actually share and speak openly and candidly about things pertaining to boys specifically,” says Mr. Rand. “I don’t take credit for it, I just thought that father’s want to be involved, so I’m here to kind of direct them about what they can do to help. Whatever your schedule permits, that is what we welcome. The kids get excited when they see them here.”

Morning greetings between parents often include fist bumps, tight hugs, and some brief conversations before they say their goodbyes and begin their day. With Mr. Rand’s encouragement, these greetings have led to deeper, more meaningful conversations.

“Make yourself present and approachable. You have to be the one making eye contact, shaking hands,” Mr. Rand advises. “You have to have conversations of substance. Sharing the same difficulties may not always reach a conclusion, but being able to unburden and share that release, that energy can be a big help. You have to make those good connections and people have to become comfortable with you, and then be able to trust you. Sometimes you’ll see things or you’ll notice something just because you’ve taken a moment to pause. You really won’t know if you don’t take a minute to stop, talk, and just connect.”

These moments build deeper connections with family members and go a long way in establishing trust and a sense of security within this school community. Parents recognize that building a strong and supportive school foundation is not an afterthought for the P.S.11 family. Foremost in their minds is being there for the children during their time at school and even after they graduate.

“I think of myself as being the dad to all of the students. Even after kids graduate, they still come back to visit and check on me and share their stories about their accomplishments,” says Mr. Rand. “Recently, I saw a former student who suffered a heart attack in the 3rd grade, and he told me he’s about to start his first year in medical school. If kids have gone on to play high school or college basketball, I’ll try to go to their games as much as possible to support them.”

And this support goes both ways. Current and former families show their love for P.S. 11 through donations, volunteering, and community outreach.

“Parents donate because they appreciate the foundation that we set at P.S. 11 for the kids here and beyond,” he says. “We have a silent auction in the spring and the parents come out to support that. It’s just really nice to feel connected to the community.”

This Clinton Hill neighborhood has seen a lot of changes in the past 10 years. There were mixed reactions about what the makeup of the neighborhood was beginning to look like as the community began to gentrify. But when P.S. 11 was threatened with colocation because the city said the building was being underutilized, community members came together with a united mission: increase the student population to preserve an amazing neighborhood school.

“We all want the same thing. We want the best environment for our kids,” says Mr. Rand. “And if we can agree on that, we can work together.”

The big ideas and tireless collaborations at P.S. 11 have blossomed into a 4th grade indoor skydiving trip, an overnight trip to D.C. for the 5th graders, college tours, cavern diving, an indoor hydroponics lab, a computer lab, and so much more.

“Everything, everything we have done has been a collaborative effort,” says Mr. Rand. “The parents work together.”

Aware of the transformations that will inevitably occur as their children transition to middle school, parents are even more grateful and appreciative of the strong bonds and important skills their children have gained within the nurturing environment at P.S.11.

“We maintain high standards academically, and we also push them socially,” Mr. Rand says. “We have high expectations in terms of behavior, in addition to academic expectations. We set a strong foundation in elementary school to lead them into their time in middle school.”

Rasheda Rand, P.S. 11 Assistant Principal, echoes this sentiment.

“We’re proud of how comprehensive the school is. Being very strong academically, having a large black and brown population. And being able to compete with any of the schools out there as well as providing students with awesome extracurricular activities, and robust trips,” Ms. Rand says. “It’s not like we’re doing one thing great. We’re doing many things very well.”

With a barrage of negative stories about the NYC public school system flooding our media, it’s refreshing to hear the staff at P.S.11 loudly and unabashedly sing their praises. Sharing with others what they already know and are proud of about their school, is music to the ears of past and current P.S. 11 community members.

As Principal Hope likes to say, “It’s an Ivy League education in a public-school setting,” says Mr. Rand. “I want everyone to avoid the blanket, absolute statements about the terrible conditions of public schools, especially in New York City. About how you should never send your child to public schools, because they don’t care about the kids. It’s not accurate and does not reflect the experiences in every school. It definitely does not reflect my experience. I came to the school as a parent and decided I wanted to be involved and do what I could. And I’ve been here for a couple of decades now.”

Mr. Rand’s longevity and success at the school is credited to his dedication and unwavering love for the P.S.11 community, as well as working for a principal who believes in her staff.

“As long as you demonstrate that you are capable of following through with something, Principal Hope will give you a lot of free rein,” he says. “However, the responsibility is also yours to follow through. Make sure that if this is what you’re going to do, let’s make sure it’s something that’s going to work. And if it doesn’t, be responsible for those consequences as well. You have to trust the people that are under you. Give them the sense of responsibility and ownership that if they are willing to do the work, if they really believe in something, they can go with it.”

As students watch the staff and teachers bring exciting activities, offer rigorous academics, and share joyous moments, they can feel the love from the moment they step onto the blacktop in the mornings to the sounds of Mr. Rand’s music selection for that day, until they leave school. And these feelings continue throughout the school year.

New York City students begin their school year in September. It’s somewhat fitting that the song September that Mr. Rand plays to greet them on school mornings, is one of the favorites of students and parents.

The verse Do you remember? Never a cloudy day rings true because P.S.11 students will undoubtedly remember so much about their elementary school experiences because of the core memories they have already retained. Musical mornings wondering which songs they will hear from Mr. Rand’s playlist. After school activities where you don’t want to leave and go home because you’re having so much fun at school with your friends. These memories will never fade.

Of course, there will be those cloudy, difficult days for students. But because of the strong, nurturing community built around them, the foundations protecting them, P.S.11 students will push past the obstacles and thrive. All thanks to a family that has proven to be quite successful at doing the hard work to build a strong and vibrant school community.

“We want P.S. 11 students to be recognized by the way they carry themselves, with a sense of self confidence,” says Mr. Rand. “They carry themselves in a certain way with pride.”

Spoken like a true father figure about his many children.

“I’m the biggest cheerleader for the school,” Mr. Rand says. “I really believe in the community and the school. Everything hasn’t been a success story. We’ve had some things that didn’t go right. But the thing is, even our non-success stories, we still take responsibility for them. I’m really proud of the sense of community and family here.”