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Posts published in “Education”

"American Promise" Documentary Focuses on the Education of Black Boys

By goodblacknews on October 13, 2013


It wasn’t easy – but Idris Brewster and Seun Summers made it through. The two teenagers made it through a difficult, challenge-filled journey to graduate high school. And they made it through with cameras documenting their every move.  The two friends wScreen Shot 2013-10-13 at 3.42.16 PMere the main characters in the documentary American Promise, which explores their lives in Brooklyn from kindergarten to high school graduation day.
Idris’ parents Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster are the film’s producers and directors. Both Idris and Seun, who are African-American, are admitted into the Dalton School, a prestigious private school on New York’s Upper East Side.
Both of the boy’s parents decide it’s an opportunity they cannot pass up –  but also acknowledge there will be difficulties their sons face on issues of race and class.
How would Idris and Seun handle fitting into the culture of a mostly white prep school?
The answer is complex – which the film shows in situations varying from tragic to mundane. The documentary raises more questions than it provides answers:

  • Why do girls say no to Idris when he asks them to dance in middle school? (His black male classmates are convinced they would all “get girls” if they were white)
  • Why does the school perceive Seun as unprepared? (His mom swears he is organized and motivated at home)
  • What are Seun and Idris ‘missing out on’ by attending Dalton?

Seun – who struggled to connect with other kids socially and had his fair share of academic troubles at Dalton – decides to leave after eighth grade and go to a predominantly black high school in Brooklyn.
Idris stays and attends high school at Dalton but is not without struggle – he is later diagnosed with ADHD during his sophomore year after years of trouble focusing. He also struggles to keep up with the academic rigors of Dalton, but ultimately stays and finds the experience rewarding.
The film first opens in theaters on October 18th.
article by Todd Johnson via thegrio.com

ATL Principal Jason Stamper Saves Student From Dog Attack

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2013

Jason Stamper atlanta principal dog attack
Jason Stamper (pictured), the principal of technology at the New Schools at Carver in southeast Atlanta, told WSB-TV 2 that it’s his job to protect students and that’s what he did when he saved one of his students from a dog attack.  After hearing from other students that someone was being attacked by dogs on campus, Stamper sprung to action.
At first he jumped into his car and used it in his first attempt to scare off the dogs.  “Didn’t work and actually I had some tennis rackets in my car and I actually was able to get them off with some tennis rackets,” he explained.  His daring actions saved 16-year-old Carver student, Azarius Lowe. But Stamper did not want to take all of the credit, saying that cops and other school staff helped too. The dogs are still on the lose. Animal control has set up traps to catch them, but they caught a dog not connected to the attack.
The boy’s father, Arthur Steverson, was thankful that Stamper helped his boy and treated him as his own son. He said he wasn’t afraid for himself when he fought off the dogs, but was afraid for Azarius after seeing his injuries. The boy is recovering from the attack and will be OK.
article via newsone.com

Couple donates $10 million, Keeps Head Start Open During Government Shutdown

By goodblacknews on October 8, 2013

Children from the Head Start program at the Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center join supporters and members of Congress to call for an end to the partial federal government shut down and fund the comprehensive education, health and nutrition service for low-income children and their families outside the U.S. Capitol October 2, 2013 in Washington, DC. The federal government is in the second day of a partial shutdown after House Republicans and Senate Democrats refused to agree on a budget. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Children from the Head Start program at the Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center join supporters and members of Congress to call for an end to the partial federal government shut down and fund the comprehensive education, health and nutrition service for low-income children and their families outside the U.S. Capitol October 2, 2013 in Washington, DC. The federal government is in the second day of a partial shutdown after House Republicans and Senate Democrats refused to agree on a budget. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Philanthropists Laura and John Arnold have offered up to $10 million in emergency funding to the National Head Start Association in an effort to keep them open during the government shutdown.  The personal donation will help keep Head Start and Early Head Start programs, who were forced to close or are facing closure, open. The programs service more than 1 million low-income children each year, providing them with meals and health care and getting them ready for elementary school.
On October 1st, 23 programs in 11 states, servicing over 19,000 children were to be funded and are expected to lose that money.  “For nearly fifty years, Head Start has been the window of opportunity for more than 27 million of our nation’s poorest children as they embark on their journey to achieve the American Dream,” said Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of the National Head Start Association. “The Arnolds’ most generous act epitomizes what it means to be an angel investor; they have selflessly stepped up for Head Start children to ensure their path toward kindergarten readiness is not interrupted by the inability of government to get the nation’s fiscal house in order.”
According to an NHSA press release, the Arnolds offered assistance after learning about the government shutdown’s paralyzing impact on Head Start programs. Following the government shutdown, if Head Start programs receive funding for a 52-week period, Head Start programs will begin to repay the funds from NHSA at no interest through the Arnolds.

Morgan State University Launches Global School of Journalism and Communication School

By goodblacknews on October 4, 2013

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZgfZkrnPKE&w=560&h=315]
Morgan State University LogoMorgan State University is launching the Global School of Journalism and Communication School to better prepare students entering the competitive field.
The Historically Black University explains their mission on the site:
Today, the mission of Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication is to give voice to a broader group of people – people who struggle to contribute to the public discourse that shapes this nation and the world. We serve this cause with innovative teaching, cutting edge research, and exemplary service to Maryland, our nation, and the world.
Our goal is add to the diversity of thoughts, opinions and beliefs by offering students from a wide range of backgrounds the liberal arts education and skills training they need to effectively communicate ideas – to plead their own causes, or to accurately tell the stories of others.
In our global school, students travel the world in their classes and assignments, without leaving the campus. They also see the world through their interactions with our partner programs at universities in distant lands – and they are offered opportunities to travel abroad in our Worldwide Learning Lab program.
The great advances in technology have turned the world into a global village. The goal of our school is to make our graduates effective communicators in every way – and every corner of this village.
The school officially launches this fall and it will be commenced with a special ceremony on August 27, 2014.
article via blackamericaweb.com

Mother And Son Graduate Together With PhDs

By goodblacknews on September 29, 2013

mothersongraduatetogetherphd

Vickie McBride gave birth to her son at the tender age of 13, but that did not deter her from earning her PhD–or his, for that matter.  Last August, Vickie and her son, Maurice, walked across the stage at a graduate ceremony in Minneapolis, Minnesota and were handed their doctorate degrees from Capella University, WRDW-TV Augusta 12 reports.
Given their journey, Maurice said he could not have ever imagined the day he would earn such a high academic honor. “Never in a thousand, million, trillion years [did I expect to get my PhD],” Maurice said. “The thought of becoming a doctor anyone was far fetched.”  Maurice’s awe at his own success was only outdone by his mother’s achievement.
“I never thought I would get chance to see my mother walk across the stage and then she turned around and saw me walk across the stage,” he said.  Growing up in the small town of Waynesboro, Ga., Vickie said  being a teenage parent was taboo. She remembers some of the older people in the community ”whispering” about her, but that did not stop her from continuing her education. Vickie’s mother, a retired teacher, took care of Maurice while she attended school.
“As a teenager I continued my education, Vickie said. ”(Dropping out) was never an option.”  She eventually went to college and even earned a graduate degree all while raising Maurice and three other children.  “I had to figure out how to work and how to parent and how to manage school all at the same time.” she said.

'Invisible Man' Ban Rescinded by North Carolina School Board After Community Backlash

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2013

"Invisible Man" author Ralph Ellison and his wife, Fanny, at their home in New York in 1972, 20 years after the novel's publication. (Nancy Crampton / Knopf)
“Invisible Man” author Ralph Ellison and his wife, Fanny, at their home in New York in 1972, 20 years after the novel’s publication. (Nancy Crampton / Knopf)

ASHEBORO, N.C. — High school students in Randolph County once again can get “Invisible Man,” Ralph Ellison’s classic 1952 novel of alienation and racial discrimination, at school libraries.  Nine days after the county school board banned the book, it reversed itself at a hastily called special meeting Wednesday night, voting 6 to 1 to return the novel to school bookshelves. Several board members apologized for the ban and said they had been chastened by an outpouring of angry objections from county residents.

The backlash caught board members by surprise. Several said they had been inundated with emails begging them to reconsider. Others conceded that they had acted rashly and should have consulted with the superintendent and rank-and-file teachers in the 16,000-student district, about 85 miles northeast of Charlotte.  Several said the public reaction had opened their eyes to viewpoints they had not considered and broadened their outlook on the importance of all types of literature.
“We may have been hammered on this and we may have made a mistake, but at least we’re big enough to admit it,’’ said board member Gary Cook, who had voted for the ban but reversed himself Wednesday.  The meeting, in a packed boardroom, lasted only 45 minutes. The vote to rescind the ban took a few seconds, with only board member Gary Mason dissenting. He called the book “not appropriate for young teenagers.”
The board’s abrupt reversal came in the middle of the annual Banned Books Week sponsored nationally by the American Library Assn., which celebrates the freedom to read. The association and the Kids’ Right to Read Project wrote the school board condemning the ban and asking that it be reversed.

Jet Magazine Offers ‘The Best Man Holiday’ Scholarship To College Students

By goodblacknews on September 25, 2013

TheBestMan-610x250
Jet magazine has teamed up with NBC Universal’s movie The Best Man Holiday to present a scholarship awarded to five deserving college students.  The two partners have announced that they will be providing The Best Man Holiday Spring 2014 Scholarship – which has also received the sponsorship from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
“Jet is committed to the advancement of education for all individuals, especially those in the Black community, and I’m very excited that we have the opportunity to partner with NBC Universal to offer five students scholarship funds that may help further them toward earning a college degree,” said Jet magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Mitzi Miller in a statement.
“I love the first installment of The Best Man because it told a dynamic story of a group of diverse, adult friends who maintained a strong friendship since their years at college. What better way to celebrate such an inspiring narrative than to help a student finish college so they might one day enjoy that same experience.”  Students who are interested in applying should submit all materials by Tuesday, October 15 and winners will officially be announced in the November 25 issue of JET.
Visit JetMag.com for more information.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com

Best-Selling Slave Memoir "The Bondswoman's Narrative" is Authenticated by South Carolina Professor

By goodblacknews on September 23, 2013

“By Hannah Crafts,” reads this page from the 1850s novel “The Bondwoman’s Narrative.” (The Bondwoman's Narrative, Beineke Library, Yale University)
“By Hannah Crafts,” reads this page from the 1850s novel “The Bondwoman’s Narrative.” (The Bondwoman’s Narrative, Beineke Library, Yale University)

In 2002, a novel thought to be the first written by an African-American woman became a best seller, praised for its dramatic depiction of Southern life in the mid-1850s through the observant eyes of a refined and literate house servant.  But one part of the story remained a tantalizing secret: the author’s identity.
John Wheeler lived on the plantation where Hannah Bond escaped slavery.

That literary mystery may have been solved by a professor of English in South Carolina, who said this week that after years of research, he has discovered the novelist’s name: Hannah Bond, a slave on a North Carolina plantation owned by John Hill Wheeler, is the actual writer of “The Bondwoman’s Narrative,” the book signed by Hannah Crafts.

Beyond simply identifying the author, the professor’s research offers insight into one of the central mysteries of the novel, believed to be semi-autobiographical: how a house slave with limited access to education and books was heavily influenced by the great literature of her time, like “Bleak House” and “Jane Eyre,” and how she managed to pull off a daring escape from servitude, disguised as a man.

The professor, Gregg Hecimovich, the chairman of the English department at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., has uncovered previously unknown details about Bond’s life that have shed light on how the novel was possibly written. The heavy influences of Dickens, for instance, particularly from “Bleak House,” can be explained by Bond’s onetime servitude on a plantation that routinely kept boarders from a nearby girls’ school; the curriculum there required the girls to recite passages of “Bleak House” from memory. Bond, secretly forming her own novel, could have listened while they studied, or spirited away a copy to read.

The research also shows that Bond may have been given a man’s suit by a member of the Wheeler family who was sympathetic to her desire to flee.

Professor Hecimovich, 44, said that he has verified the writer’s identity through wills, diaries, handwritten almanacs and public records. He intends to publish his full findings in a book, tentatively titled “The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts.”

His work has been reviewed by several scholars who vouch for its authenticity, including Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation’s pre-eminent scholars of African-American history. Professor Gates bought the obscure manuscript at auction in 2001.

Education Department, Alabama District To Promote Advanced Placement Classes To Black Students

By goodblacknews on September 16, 2013

Lee County Schools Al

This week, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR)  made a announcement that it has reached an agreement with the state of Alabama that will aid all students, particularly African-American ones, in accessing advanced placement classes. The Lee County School District entered in to the historic first-time agreement, which aims to bolster higher-level learning and increase college opportunities for students.
The plan has a few key points that Lee District intends to roll out immediately, including addressing the dearth of Black students in advanced or AP classes and higher-level courses, finding out why Black students are faced with barriers, introducing dual-enrollment courses with the local community college at the predominantly Black high school, and offering transportation between buildings.
Lastly, material will be produced to encourage students of all levels and backgrounds to embrace AP courses, pursue higher-level courses, and consider going to college. The OCR will be deeply involved in helping Lee County get the program rolling.
From the OCR’s assistant secretary Catherine E. Lhamon:

We look forward to working with the Lee County School District administrators to ensure that all students have equal access to a quality education and are pleased that the district has taken positive steps to increase college-ready access through raising the enrollment of Black students in AP and other higher level courses. The Lee County School District has been a partner throughout this process and I applaud the steps the District is taking to help ensure their compliance with our civil rights laws to serve all students.

To learn more about the Lee County School District plans, click here.
article by D. L. Chandler via newsone.com

USC Offers Full-Ride Scholarships To Low-Income Students Who Commit to 7-year Program of Tutoring, Classes and Seminars

By goodblacknews on September 3, 2013
Tristan Baizar, Neighborhood Academic Initiative scholarship recipient, in his new dorm room, hugs his mother, Malva Yorke.

Flush with excitement, Tristan Baizar showed up on his USC move-in day even before the official 8 a.m. check-in time. His mom and girlfriend helped him unpack. It was a quick process — from past camps and programs, the 18-year-old South Los Angeles resident knew how to move into USC’s dorms. Except this was the real deal, the first step into his freshman year of college. Baizar met his new roommates, bought textbooks and soaked in the experience.

But later in the day, a few hours before his first dorm meeting, Baizar slipped away from campus. He drove across town to a small elementary school in Boyle Heights and an auditorium full of sixth-graders and their parents.  Baizar stood at the front of the room and flashed a smile. He hoped his presence would help pitch the program he credits for his new Trojan education.
More than two decades ago, USC designed a way to give low-income students in South Los Angeles a chance to attend the private university, free of charge, if they met several conditions.  Currently, students commit to a seven-year regimen of after-school tutoring and classes on Saturdays. Beginning in ninth grade, students also have to take weekday morning classes at USC. Parents must attend Saturday seminars.
Those who stay with the program from sixth grade through their senior year of high school and meet USC admission requirements receive a 4 1/2-year tuition scholarship to the university. The scholarship money applies only to USC, but officials say the program motivates students to attend four-year schools.  The first class of students graduated from the program in 1997. Of those original 43 graduates, 20 went to USC.
Today, the Neighborhood Academic Initiative boasts 745 graduates and a 99% graduation rate from the program, with 83% enrolling as freshmen at four-year colleges and universities and 35% as freshmen at USC.  About five years ago, officials began looking to move the program beyond South Los Angeles for the first time.
To the northeast sits USC’s 79-acre Health Sciences Campus. USC already had long-standing relationships with several neighborhood schools, said Kim Thomas-Barrios, executive director of USC Educational Partnerships.  “Logically, that was the best place for us to expand,” Thomas-Barrios said.  When USC officials approached the principals of Murchison and El Sereno elementary schools to determine interest in the program, they quickly agreed.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our community,” said Margarita Gutierrez, the principal of Murchison.
Most families in the area live at or below the poverty line, and almost all of the students qualify for free- or reduced- priced lunch. Gutierrez said parent participation is low — so she was thrilled when two-thirds of sixth-grade parents showed up for an informational meeting last month.
Program manager Isabel Duenas, who took attendance at the meeting, entered the program as a sixth-grader at Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School in L.A.’s Mid-City neighborhood. When she was in high school, her family moved to Lynwood, and she commuted to classes at USC to keep her spot.
It paid off: She earned the scholarship to USC and graduated in 2010. She’s among the growing pool of graduates who return as teachers, mentors or coordinators.  Duenas will be busy the next few months. The East L.A. branch of the program is slated to launch Jan. 25, and before that, she’ll spend her time convincing students and parents to sign up, as she and eight other program graduates did at the meeting.
Baizar, the tallest, stood in the middle of the line of graduates. It seemed as if time had barely passed since he heard the same presentation as an overly talkative fifth-grader.  At the time, he had some taste of what to expect. His older sister also graduated from the program, falling short of the USC scholarship but doing well enough to attend Loyola Marymount. His mother, Malva Yorke, a single parent, had attended the years of Saturday seminars.
Baizar battled a lack of motivation at first. He got a few D’s and F’s midway through sixth grade and barely clung to his spot in the program. After that, he vowed he’d never get anything below a C.  When Baizar graduated from James A. Foshay Learning Center in South L.A. in the spring, he had a 3.7 GPA and a 1650 SAT score — good enough for admission to USC.  Baizar said the program gave him a shot at a campus that was probably otherwise out of reach.  “I feel like I would have been at a good university, like UC Irvine or Cal State Long Beach, but not as well-funded,” Baizar said. “I don’t believe USC would have been a possibility.”
His girlfriend, fellow program graduate Jessica Alcazar, wasn’t accepted to USC. But she described the process as a “win-win,” saying the classes and mentoring kept her grades high enough to earn admission to UC Irvine.  After the presentation at Murchison, excited chatter bounced around the auditorium as parents and students filled out applications. All 66 sixth-graders at Murchison will be able to participate, as well as 35 more from El Sereno Elementary. Officials said the program will eventually expand to about 600 students in East L.A.
Parent Morena Gonzales was all smiles. She said her oldest child finished only high school, and she didn’t pressure her to continue out of concern about costs.  “As a single parent, I wouldn’t even begin to figure out how to pay for my child’s education,” she said in Spanish. “My whole perspective has changed — I’m looking forward to learning more.”  After the meeting, her daughter Lilia, 11, said she wants to go to USC.
article by Devin Kelly via latimes.com