Carlton Jenkins is up for the challenge
As the new superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District, Carlton Jenkins’ career comes full circle.
December 29, 2020 7:00 AM Doug Moe
Updated:
Photo by John Ficenec
Assuming the role of Madison Metropolitan School District’s superintendent is a return to Madison for Alabama-raised Carlton Jenkins (pictured), who worked as an associate principal at Madison Memorial High School in 1993.
Two things happened when Carlton Jenkins first arrived on the campus of Mississippi Valley State University in 1987. One was immediate, the first day. He met a woman named Lisa.
“The first day I hit campus,” Jenkins says, “I told her I was going to marry her.”
A few of the nation’s private historically Black colleges and universities have achieved progress in graduating their Black students. For example, Spelman College in Atlanta has a Black student graduation rate of 75 percent. Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Hampton University in Virginia have graduation rates of 60 percent or better.
But at most of the nation’s state-operated historically Black colleges and universities, the graduation rates remain very low. JBHE has compiled a listing of Black student graduation rates at a large group of the state-operated historically Black universities. The graduation rate is determined by determining what percentage of students who enter a particular institution received their bachelor’s degree within six years at the same university.
Central St. Matthew United Church of Christ Pastor Phil Brockett shares a prayer based on Psalm 16:5: The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. and Psalm 16:6: The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. Later, Brockett recalled the Sunday he had Dr. Sutton share his story at church: I recall very clearly the Sunday your dad shared his life story in church. Several things came through to me. One was his quiet and constant faith - he took initiative and followed the path that was set before him. Along the way he did not let prejudice or the judgement of others deter him. Instead, difficulty and opposition fueled him. He kept his hand to the grindstone and kept working. It was as if his life path was not in his hands, although he very much contributed to and created his journey. As a result the boundary lines fell in pleasant places - look at the places he went and the things he accomplished and he truly has a