16818_BlackMale_trifold3_WEB.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Take a look at these stats on black males and blacks in general. I am convinced that success in education is the only rational strategy, over which we have direct control, that can contain and reverse these numbers. It will never be the government!


16818_BlackMale_trifold3_WEB.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Vol 2, No 1/2 JAAME – LEADING EDUCATORS SERIES : Journal of African American Males in Education

Vol 2, No 1/2 JAAME – LEADING EDUCATORS SERIES : Journal of African American Males in Education

Study Finds High Dropout Rates for Black Males in KIPP Schools

Study Finds High Dropout Rates for Black Males in KIPP Schools

Study: KIPP charter schools have extra edge - The Washington Post

Study: KIPP charter schools have extra edge - The Washington Post

Motivated Student (Critical to High Achievement)

My favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints, won a Thanksgiving day thriller over the Dallas Cowboys. Final score, Saints 30, Cowboys 27.

It is a game that fans will talk about for some time to come. While there were mistakes made by both teams, it is the game-changing play by New Orleans safety Malcolm Jenkins that made an impression that will last for many, many years it football folklore.

You see, Jenkins stripped the football from the clutched hands/arms of Dallas receiver Roy Williams, who was surely on his way to a game winning touchdown.

Now, enough about the plays of the game. And, what does this all have to do with one of my other favorite subjects, education.

Motivation, or more particularly self-motivation, is just as important in the pursuit of academic excellence as it is in the game of football or almost any other endeavor in life.

Some commentary by the hero of the game may help add clarity to my point of view.

Jenkins observed that "You can attribute Gregg Williams {defensive coordinator} --how he preaches effort. "When our guys hustle to the ball, good things happen."

Jenkins goes on to say "You can't stop effort. "We're going to play to the end. We're going to fight you to the last play. You can coach up schemes, you can coach up routes, or what ever, you can coach plays, but at the end of the day what wins football is effort and heart. {MOTIVATION, my emphasis}

Saints Head Coach, Sean Payton seemed to agree. He said "The play that Malcolm Jenkins makes is an effort play, a heart play.

Implication for academic achievement: You must have a motivated student show up in the class room every day. A student willing to put forth the effort required to achieve and succeed.

Now this observation is clearly not revolutionary. But it is more important to the issue of increasing graduation rates and closing achievement gaps than most educational discussion captures.

As work continues on achievement going forward, perhaps it would be useful to adopt a more disciplined and organized approach. More on that later, but for now, Go Saints!

A Call for Change

A new report was released on November 9, 2010 by Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS).

This report is titled A Call for Change and it primarily examines black male achievement in 6 areas.

1. Readiness to learn
2. Black male achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
3. Black male achievement on the NAEP in selected big city school districts
4. College and career preparedness
5. School experience
6. Postsecondary experience

Much of the information contained in this report has been revealed from other sources. However, this document does serve to collate significant data sets for review and further analysis.

One of the recommendations by CGCS is to "Convene a White House conference on the status of Black males and develop an overall call to action and strategic direction for improvement."

I vote no on this one. The last thing we need, in my view, is to be studied in the glare of a White House summit as some helpless endangered species.

Instead we should say thanks for the data and the hard work that went into pulling this information together and then get to work making our own corrections.

Government has neither the time nor resources to devote to what I consider to be our problem. When will we (black males) summon the courage and will to reverse these trends?

Marian Wright Edelman notes that "Education is a precondition to survival in America today."
Surely when talking about self-preservation, black males must take ownership of this cause themselves.

To review the report go to http://www.cgcs.org and click on ACHIEVEMENT.

Black Male Graduation Rates

Our local Black newspaper, The Shreveport Sun, recently reported some results and conclusions published by The Schott Foundation for Public Education regarding graduation rates for Black males.

For example, it was reported that "...the overall 2007/8 graduation rate for Black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent." By any measure, it is unacceptable for only 47 Black boys out of 100 to graduate from high school.

However, some additional context for this statistic is needed, particularly as it may relate to local performance.

The 47% national rate for black males compares to a 78% national rate for white males for a 31% gap.

The black male rate in Louisiana is reported at 39% compared to white males at 59% for a 20% gap.

And, our own Caddo parish rate for black males is 38% compared to 57% rate for white males for a 19% gap.

Again, all unacceptable.

You may view the entire report on line at: http://www.blackboysreport.org.

We appreciate the Sun for bringing this matter to the attention of our community. Clearly we have significant work to do locally to aid our children, and especially black boys not only improve graduation rates, but also to gain an appreciation for high academic achievement.

Governor's Education Focus

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was in Shreveport on February 11, 2009 in part to promote the need for new education legislation. There appear to be three major areas that have so far been identified. They include:

• A discipline agenda
• Value added testing
• Removal of barriers that limit or restrict faith-based organizations relationships with charter schools.

According to news reports, the discipline agenda aims to give teachers more options in controlling the classroom as well as turning up the heat on parents who fail to take responsibility for student behavior.

This site has previously suggested some type of legislative approach should be considered in the area of parental accountability. However, we also believe in balance and funding. Balance would include provisions for mental health services and adequate funding to provide these services.

It does not take much imagination or research to know that much of the student anti-social behavior has its roots in the home and that the home needs, in many many cases, mental health services.

In any event, this overall legislative package should be closely monitored by concerned community members, to make certain that thoughtful and constructive ideas are incorporated in any final product.

Mental Health Services

In a recent post, the availability of psychological services was identified as a key element in improving academic performance in some settings.

The Black Male Handbook, edited by Kevin Powell, makes an even stronger case for the need of these services. A chapter by Andrae L. Brown, PH.D, entitled Moving Toward Mental Wellness is certainly worth reading.

Dr. Brown talks about the prevalence of traumatic events in the everyday lives of black men and boys and makes the following observation:

"The most susceptible youth are young people from neighborhoods with high rates of female-headed households living below the poverty level, and low school attendance and employment rates. Research suggest, and my personal experience confirms, that up to 50 percent of youth involved in the justice system meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) This rate is up to eight times higher than in the general population."

He goes on to say "For instance, maltreated children (those experiencing abuse and neglect) are 59 percent more likely to be arrested before they reach age eighteen, and 30 percent more likely to be arrested for violent crime. Furthermore, 92 percent of youth involved in the juvenile justice system report some type of trauma, which then can result in hyperactivity, inability to pay attention, extreme impulsiveness, aggression, anger, paranoia, aloofness, and the inability to develop close relationships."

Our school district is now promoting The Caddo Plan as it attempts to jump start 11 low performing schools and improve academic performance. Does the plan consider the need for mental health services in view of the communities served by many of these schools?

This appears to be an area worth exploring no matter what entity ends up controlling these schools.

Grade Retention and Accountability

I make no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of high stakes testing. The pass/fail nature of these tests is simply unfair and wrong in my view.

However, there seems to be another side of this question that bears closer examination. Is grade retention itself an effective strategy for improving student achievement.

Enter the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) with some interesting observations. In a position statement on this subject, the association states "...that as many as 15% of American students are held back each year, and 30% -50% of students in the US are retained at least once before ninth grade. Furthermore, the highest retention rates are found among poor, minority, inner-city youth."

Now I am no supporter of a simple policy of so called "social promotion" either. In fact, the association points out that "...neither grade retention nor social promotion is an effective strategy for improving educational success."

NASP argues in favor of what it calls "promotion plus" specific interventions that focus on student needs. I particularly like the very first thing on its list which is to "encourage parents' involvement in their children's schools and education through frequent contact with teachers, supervision of homework, etc..

Other suggestions include:

-offer extended year, extended day, and summer school programs that focus on facilitating the development of academic skills
-establish full-service schools to provide a community-based vehicle for the organization and delivery of educational, social and health services to meet the diverse needs of at-risk students
-Implement effective school-based mental health programs

NASP says "a recent systematic review of research exploring dropping out of high school indicates that grade retention is one of the most powerful predictors of high school dropout."

With local and national emphasis on understanding and reducing what is called a dropout crisis, it is clear to me that automatic grade retention policies are part of the problem and not the solution. They should be stopped immediately in favor of more innovative approaches. Start with a detailed study of NASP recommendations.

A blueprint for black men to use

I have previously acknowledged the crisis gripping the black male in America. Even a cursory review of the stats would confirm this assessment. However, I do believe there is something we can do about our situation and it is within our control. The issue is do we have the will to dig ourselves out of this hole.

In a recent keynote address, Israel L. Gaither, national commander of the Salvation Army, challenged black men to rise up and lead. He said, "Enough is enough, now is the time for the rising of those who dare to lead with spiritual, cultural and intellectual integrity."

Following his model, a viable blueprint for black men should be characterized as L.E.A.D.

• Learn to love God, others and ourselves. This becomes our core value.
• Education is a life or death issue for blacks and the black man in particular. You must graduate from high school and you must do well in high school. There is no other option.
• Accountability for reversing the dismal conditions facing black men rest with black men. We cannot abdicate this responsibility to anyone. Fathers, accept responsibility for your sons and daughters. That means you love your children, you set boundaries and limits for them and you protect them.
• Determination and cooperation will govern relationships between black churches, fraternities and other organizations. The pooling of resources and talent is an important strategy to address the black male crisis. A collective rather than a go-it-alone approach is more effective.

Now, there is no shame in needing or asking for help. However, we should be clear that the heavy lifting is ours to do.

As Mr. Gaither put it "rise up, rise up, it's getting late.

Black Male Crisis is Real

There is a position among some in this country that black males are under siege. I am now among those who have come to this conclusion.

The tipping point for me comes in the National Urban League's State of Black America. You may view information on at http://www.nui.org/. The League has published reports of this nature in prior years, however, this year the focus presents a portrait of the Black Male.

Some of the findings indicate:

• 18% of black males drop out of high school compared to 14% of white males
• Black men earn less than three-quarters of what white men earned($34,443 vs. $46,807)
• A higher percent of blacks (especially males) than whites are convicted and receive longer sentences than whites.
• Black men under 25 years of age are 15 times more likely to die by homicide than their white counterparts.

Of course this conclusion is not a surprise to prolific author Jawanza Kunjufu who published Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys. Kunjufu concluded in part that "...passive conspirators, are African Americans who participate via their mis-education, self-hatred and apathy. This group consists of African American males who do not raise their children. It also includes African American women who have double standards for their children. They have lower expectations for their sons than their daughters. this group includes African American educators who also have lowered their expectations for African American children, specifically the male child. It also includes those that sell drugs and commit murder."

My attempt is therefore to drive a commitment to action in order to reverse this crisis.

Education is the key. Our males must be shown the value of learning and performing at their very best no matter the circumstances. Knowledge and your ability to apply it to a variety of situations will truly set you free and enable one to compete at the highest levels of our society.

This is about a change in black culture. More on that later. What do you think?