News
The Achievement Gap
ChannelOneNews, a network for teens, looks at the achievement gap for Black male students and shows that very few are reading at grade level and that their dropout rate is nearly twice that of white male students. Still, the program profiles a young Black men at the head of his class at the California Academy of Mathematics and Science in California to show that young Black men are succeeding in school.
BME: Good News About Black Males
The BME (Black Male Engagement) Challenge—pronounced "Be me"—is collecting the stories of African-American men in Detroit and Philadelphia who are taking the lead in making a positive difference in their communities. The program is being supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Open Society Foundation's Campaign for Black Male Achievement, and one of the program's goals is to "flip the switch" and change the negative perception that many people have of African-American males.
Denzel Washington on Dropouts: 'Most Dangerous Time' for Kids Right After School
In the first installment of an 18-month series on the nation's high school dropout rate, Gwen Ifill sits down with Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington to discuss his work as national spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and making a difference in the lives of at-risk youth.
Guilford County School District Seeks Help for Black Males
Guilford County School officials (North Carolina) have created a strategic plan that is studying Black male achievement trends and barriers preventing them from excelling at the rate of their counterparts. Among the list of barriers that impact overall achievement, the group found, are low expectations from peers, structure at home, lack of African American role models and lack of cultural sensitivity among instructors.
African-American Graduation Rate in Berkeley Surpasses National Average
African-American students in Berkeley are breaking barriers. Almost 76 percent of Black students successfully completed high school compared to the national average of just 55.3 percent.
Magic Johnson's New Venture: Helping LA High School Dropouts
Magic Johnson is teaming up with EdisonLearning to help improve high school dropout rates of African-American and Latino students in Los Angeles County.
Changing the Odds for America's Boys and Men of Color
PolicyLink joined other equity advocates, government leaders and foundation officials at a Select Committee Hearing on the Status of Boys and Men of Color to publicly urge legislators to seek out and invest in comprehensive strategies that will expand access to quality academic and career opportunities for young men and women of color.
NBC Nightly News on Using Summer to Close the Achievement Gap
"Summer Slide" is not a ride at Six Flags. It's another term for the kind of "brain drain" that can happen to kids during the summer.
Solving the Black Male School Achievement Puzzle
Fifty years ago, we had African American educators leading the charge for the education of African American children. Presently, 83% of America's teachers are white and female.
Want to Boost Minority Achievement? End School Bullying
A study concludes that bullying has an even greater negative impact on the GPAs of black and Latino students than those of their white peers.
New Report Puts the Black Male Achievement Crisis in the Spotlight
A 120-page report titled A Call for Change: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban Schools shines a light on six key areas affecting black males, including achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, college and career readiness, and school experiences.
Houston Gangs Recruiting Students, Both the Imposing and Bullied
A new study shows that gangs are no longer just an inner city problem. The National Gang Center recently released a study that estimated 55 percent of all gang activity occurs in big cities, and 41 percent occurs in either suburbs or smaller cities.
New Report "Yes We Can" Shows America's Public Schools Fail Over Half the Nation's Black Male Students
"Yes We Can: The 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education" reveals that the overall 2007/8 graduation rate for Black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent.