In-town
Angel CBF’s Angel Pittman shifts focus to advocacy for equal access to education By Jennifer Colosimo
Angel
Pittman’s passion has always been steeped in education. She spent many years as an elementary school teacher before joining CBF as field personnel to lead out-of-school programming at Touching Miami with Love (TML). Now 25 years into her career, she has discovered a new way to live out her calling.
Florida International University to provide a summertime kindergarten readiness program. “Our thinking was that if we could intervene and help kids stay up-to-pace with their peers until they hit third grade, they would have a much more successful future,” school because his middle school didn’t even Pittman said, citing that 25 percent of the As an educational advocate with the offer the required courses, Pittman took news prison population have ADHD and 41 percent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Pittman of this inequity to the superintendent and has realized the power of her veteran voice, are suspected of having a learning disability. pushed for changes to the school’s course and uses it loudly, boldly and often to help “I have seen myself that kids who have offerings. But she didn’t stop there. Pittman families gain access to the education they untreated or undiagnosed ADHD make joined forces with the district’s magnet deserve. poor decisions which not only impact them “After a few years at TML, we were seeing school director and created parent seminars for the rest of their lives, but also impact to share about the educational options kids who had needs that weren’t being the community at large. There is a direct available for their children and how to access link to a pathway to crime when children addressed by the school district. Sometimes them. the parents didn’t understand what their are not served well for their special needs. “It wasn’t enough for me to just say child’s educational needs were,” Pittman said. I have seen kids who had potential; but there was an inequity,” Pittman explained. “I realized this gap most profoundly when “I wanted to know how we could work I encouraged a parent to talk to the child’s teacher and doctor about ADHD. The mom’s together to make things different—not only response was, ‘Where do you think he caught for this child, but for others like him.” For more than 15 years at TML, it?’ It focused a light on how much education Pittman and her husband, Jason, have we needed to do concerning learning worked to expand the services provided to differences.” children. While still providing out-of-school The next decade saw Pittman transition programming, they increased TML’s from program director to vice president of impact to include educational intervention TML, investing her time in the development of parent-education programs about learning services, including in-school support for CBF field personnel Angel Pittman serves as exceptional learners who were falling differences. Then, sparked by a young man an educational advocate in Miami, Fla., offering named Zayquan who couldn’t attend magnet through the cracks as well as partnering with guidance and resources for parents struggling to get adequate support for their children in school.
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fellowship!
