Million Fathers March: Doting dads take their children to school

Nathaniel Walker worked until 2 a.m.

Then he went home, showered and was off again to what he considers his most important job of the day — taking his 7-year-old granddaughter, Kasey, to school.

Walker, 45, a production supervisor for an air filter manufacturing company, joined thousands of men in more than 70 cities who took their children to school on Friday as part of the annual Million Fathers March father engagement initiative.

“I want her to know that she has a positive father figure in her life,” said Walker, who drove his granddaughter to M. Agnes Jones Elementary School in Atlanta, where she is a second grader.

Kasey lost her father last year, and Walker helps fill that void.

“There’s so much negativity today,” he said. ”It’s important that my grandkids know I’m there for them in any way I can be. School is very, very important because without an education, their lives will slow down to almost a halt.”

The event is sponsored by Dunwoody-based Fathers Incorporated and is designed to spur more male engagement in schools.

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Although the event is called a father engagement initiative, no one is left out. In the past, the men have included grandfathers, uncles, big brothers, cousins, pastors and other positive male role models.

Fathers Incorporated CEO Kenneth Braswell said he wants to see fathers play a bigger role in the academic lives of their children.

The “warm and fuzzy” part of the story is often focused on the day parents walk their children to school. The piece that is rarely told, said Braswell, is what happens the next day and the years after.

Last year, for example, Fathers Incorporated paid for 40 men to join a school’s PTA.

Fathers later volunteered as crossing guards, hall monitors and to read to younger students.

“We want to pull them all of the way in,” he said.

Research has shown that it’s important for fathers to be engaged in a child’s education, which results in greater academic achievement, lower stress and less bad behavior. And that’s true for both boys and girls.

William White IV and his three daughters walked up hand in hand to M. Agnes Jones Elementary.

The family moved to Atlanta about two years ago from Washington, D.C., where White, an investment adviser, was very involved in the classroom.

“I like to be able to meet with their teachers and check in on their progress,” he said. An additional benefit is the bonding time with his daughters, who are ages 4, 5 and 8.

The Atlanta Gladiators’ hockey team mascot, Maximus D. Lion, was on hand to greet the students and fathers. There was also a table set up with free books and T-shirts.

“Good morning, my brother,” boomed one of the organizers as he high-fived incoming students and shook hands with the men.

Principal Margul Woolfolk said she got goose bumps as she watched father after father come to the doors of the school.

“It seems like the dads are so excited and all the children are smiling,” she said. “It’s amazing. We hope the dads stay engaged and advocate for their children.”