MMSD School Board Candidate
Nichelle Nichols:
Helping Families Be Better
Nichelle Nichols:
Helping Families Be Better
By Jonathan Gramling
For most of her professional life, Nichelle Nichols has been about helping
parents and children better their situations and become empowered to
change their circumstances and fortunes in life. Nichols, the divorced
mother of four sons, ages 10-19 who is a candidate for the Madison school
board, has worked with families on a grassroots basis.
Back in the mid-1990s, Nichols worked for Family Enhancement.
“I facilitated voluntary parent groups for parents who wanted to come out
and get the support from other parents who were in similar situations like
them, meaning talking about the challenges of raising kids,” Nichols said.
“I loved my job at Family Enhancement. One of my favorite programs there
was working with school aged parents or teen aged parents, which I did for
about five years. I really tried to encourage them to stay in school, finish
For most of her professional life, Nichelle Nichols has been about helping
parents and children better their situations and become empowered to
change their circumstances and fortunes in life. Nichols, the divorced
mother of four sons, ages 10-19 who is a candidate for the Madison school
board, has worked with families on a grassroots basis.
Back in the mid-1990s, Nichols worked for Family Enhancement.
“I facilitated voluntary parent groups for parents who wanted to come out
and get the support from other parents who were in similar situations like
them, meaning talking about the challenges of raising kids,” Nichols said.
“I loved my job at Family Enhancement. One of my favorite programs there
was working with school aged parents or teen aged parents, which I did for
about five years. I really tried to encourage them to stay in school, finish
| Nichelle Nichols (c) with her sons Elijah (l-r), Isaiah, Kahari and Jahlani Nichols-Floyd |
school and at the same time, learn about their children’s development and how to be a good parent at a young age.”
After stints with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, United Way and the Community Action Coalition, Nichols was hired by the Urban
League of Greater Madison as vice president of educational learning, which basically placed Nichols in charge of the Urban League’s
Schools of Hope programs, which is providing services in nine Madison elementary schools, four Madison high schools and schools in
Sun Prairie, Oregon and Middleton.
In her capacity, Nichols sees the difficulties many of students of color are having.
“We’re still seeing the kids who are really, really struggling in literacy,” Nichols said although the emphasis of the program is on math. “We
have several complicating factors in middle school, one just being adolescent development. We have a lot of kids who are changing and
are becoming new people. To the degree in which those social behaviors get in the way of learning, we find that we have to try to support
our tutors to work with kids where they are. And sometimes, that is with all of the challenges of them developing a new identity, them
having issues at home, them having issues in the classroom and then still trying to encourage them and support their learning.”
Nichols believes that the responsibility for students doing well begins at home. Outside of work, Nichols spends her time working to keep
her sons focused on their education.
“I don’t blame it all on the system of the school district per se,” Nichols said about the difficulty that African American males especially
experience in the public schools. “I think it is an odd coincidence when you look at the data and you see that they graduation rate for
African Americans hovers around 50 percent and your kids are African American, you go, ‘Oh, maybe this was something bigger than me.’
But I feel that in my household, the conversations are always about, ‘Get out your homework. Get off the computer. Do your work.’ You
struggle as a parent, especially when you hit the middle and high school years where kids have this thing called free will. And all of a
sudden, they don’t necessarily hold the same values that you want them to and you’re trying to reinforce that. And that is a challenge. And
as a single woman raising males, sometimes you get to the point where your kids become teenagers where you realize there are certain
things that you can’t relate to. I can’t relate to them becoming young men. For me, I feel that is where I would bring perspective to the
school board because at the board level, I feel, you need to know what you don’t know. And you need to be open to hearing other
perspectives and suggestions about solutions that will take us in the right direction. It’s the same thing with parenting. It’s a unique
challenge.”
What Nichols thinks is important for people to understand is that there is often a cultural divide that prevents teachers and students from
bonding in a way that facilitates the educational process and the transference of knowledge.
“I think there is, in a cultural way, a certain body language and dress code and certain things, to be honest with you, that can be frightening
to some teachers who don’t understand that,” Nichols observed. “And it creates a barricade or a wall to how to engage and really connect
with someone on an individual basis because all you see are the superficial exterior and you are like, ‘Whoa, this kid is a little threatening
or I don’t feel comfortable with that.’ I feel like a lot of the conversations that I’ve had with my kids have been always been about how you
show respect and how can you be opinionated and assertive without making someone feel violated. I think those are important
conversations that we have to have with our young people because as they become adults, this is the real world. People judge you on first
impressions. I think it is a challenge and obviously it’s a challenge in our district when you look at the percent of expulsions and
suspensions and you look at it attributed specifically to African American males and you wonder what is going on here.”
It is this real-life experience with the most pressing issues that the Madison school board is facing that has motivated Nichols to run for the
board.
“I have always been passionate about education,” Nichols said. “I feel like I have been engaged in sideline conversations for years as my
kids have played football or been involved in sports. When you have conversations with parents repeatedly about what is happening with
their kids and what is happening with your kids and are you experiencing the same disappointments and challenges that I am. And you
wonder what is going on. I just feel like I have a perspective. I have personal experience and professional experience that I think would
enhance the board of education and bring energy to our district around really communicating about the achievement gap and our greatest
challenges in the district.”
The election for Madison school board is Tuesday, April 3rd. For more information, contact Nichols by e-mailing her at nnicholsfloyd@aol.
com.
After stints with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, United Way and the Community Action Coalition, Nichols was hired by the Urban
League of Greater Madison as vice president of educational learning, which basically placed Nichols in charge of the Urban League’s
Schools of Hope programs, which is providing services in nine Madison elementary schools, four Madison high schools and schools in
Sun Prairie, Oregon and Middleton.
In her capacity, Nichols sees the difficulties many of students of color are having.
“We’re still seeing the kids who are really, really struggling in literacy,” Nichols said although the emphasis of the program is on math. “We
have several complicating factors in middle school, one just being adolescent development. We have a lot of kids who are changing and
are becoming new people. To the degree in which those social behaviors get in the way of learning, we find that we have to try to support
our tutors to work with kids where they are. And sometimes, that is with all of the challenges of them developing a new identity, them
having issues at home, them having issues in the classroom and then still trying to encourage them and support their learning.”
Nichols believes that the responsibility for students doing well begins at home. Outside of work, Nichols spends her time working to keep
her sons focused on their education.
“I don’t blame it all on the system of the school district per se,” Nichols said about the difficulty that African American males especially
experience in the public schools. “I think it is an odd coincidence when you look at the data and you see that they graduation rate for
African Americans hovers around 50 percent and your kids are African American, you go, ‘Oh, maybe this was something bigger than me.’
But I feel that in my household, the conversations are always about, ‘Get out your homework. Get off the computer. Do your work.’ You
struggle as a parent, especially when you hit the middle and high school years where kids have this thing called free will. And all of a
sudden, they don’t necessarily hold the same values that you want them to and you’re trying to reinforce that. And that is a challenge. And
as a single woman raising males, sometimes you get to the point where your kids become teenagers where you realize there are certain
things that you can’t relate to. I can’t relate to them becoming young men. For me, I feel that is where I would bring perspective to the
school board because at the board level, I feel, you need to know what you don’t know. And you need to be open to hearing other
perspectives and suggestions about solutions that will take us in the right direction. It’s the same thing with parenting. It’s a unique
challenge.”
What Nichols thinks is important for people to understand is that there is often a cultural divide that prevents teachers and students from
bonding in a way that facilitates the educational process and the transference of knowledge.
“I think there is, in a cultural way, a certain body language and dress code and certain things, to be honest with you, that can be frightening
to some teachers who don’t understand that,” Nichols observed. “And it creates a barricade or a wall to how to engage and really connect
with someone on an individual basis because all you see are the superficial exterior and you are like, ‘Whoa, this kid is a little threatening
or I don’t feel comfortable with that.’ I feel like a lot of the conversations that I’ve had with my kids have been always been about how you
show respect and how can you be opinionated and assertive without making someone feel violated. I think those are important
conversations that we have to have with our young people because as they become adults, this is the real world. People judge you on first
impressions. I think it is a challenge and obviously it’s a challenge in our district when you look at the percent of expulsions and
suspensions and you look at it attributed specifically to African American males and you wonder what is going on here.”
It is this real-life experience with the most pressing issues that the Madison school board is facing that has motivated Nichols to run for the
board.
“I have always been passionate about education,” Nichols said. “I feel like I have been engaged in sideline conversations for years as my
kids have played football or been involved in sports. When you have conversations with parents repeatedly about what is happening with
their kids and what is happening with your kids and are you experiencing the same disappointments and challenges that I am. And you
wonder what is going on. I just feel like I have a perspective. I have personal experience and professional experience that I think would
enhance the board of education and bring energy to our district around really communicating about the achievement gap and our greatest
challenges in the district.”
The election for Madison school board is Tuesday, April 3rd. For more information, contact Nichols by e-mailing her at nnicholsfloyd@aol.
com.
