All Black Male Charter School Opens in Oakland

[cawacko]

When it comes to education I am definitely open to trying ideas outside of the status quo. This is a new charter school for all boys but it was basically set up for issues facing black boys. I read the comment section of the article and people wrote if we fought so hard to desegragate schools why would we want to resegragate them now. There was also a complaint that this was sexist.

To me not all kids learn the same and I am all for being creative, especially when it comes to helping those who need it the most. And in this instance that is young black males in Oakland. Time of course will tell how the kids in the school perform compared to their peers but I'm wishing them the best.



Oakland school aims to help black boys

In the first hour of the first day of school Tuesday, the sixth-grade Oakland boy was sure he was in trouble for goofing off.

His teacher, Peter Wilson, had stopped his lesson in mid-sentence and turned his attention to the African American preteen, who now wore an uh-oh expression as he braced for a rebuke.

"Did you eat breakfast this morning?" Wilson asked quietly as the confused boy shook his head no. "Your actions are telling me you're hungry."

The teacher, also African American, then promised to bring fruit and granola bars the next day and returned to teaching. The boy's behavior immediately improved.

That might not have been the result at other Oakland middle schools, where a third of black males were suspended at least once last year.

But at the 100 Black Men Community School, a new all-male public charter school, educators and organizers say they refuse to accept those odds - or any of the other statistics associated with black boys that include higher dropout rates, lower test scores and disproportionate placement in special education programs.

The school, started and financially supported by the Bay Area chapter of the 100 Black Men nonprofit organization, is open to all male students, but it was created specifically for issues facing black boys - including difficult family lives, street culture, community violence and lack of male role models outside professional sports and the music industry.

"We know our children can perform as well as any other children," said Dr. Mark Alexander, an epidemiologist and chairman of the board for the local 100 Black Men. "We're going to create a culture that hopefully will be stronger than the streets."

Not about segregation

While the idea of a black boys school might sound counterintuitive given the efforts of past generations to desegregate public schools, it's not about racial segregation, school organizers said.

It's about recognizing that the status quo isn't working and identifying the specific needs of African American young men. Not all teachers are prepared to deal with those needs, said Derrick Bulles, of the Bay Area 100 Black Men.

Too often, African American boys get marginalized; teachers don't understand them or fear them, Bulles said.

At 100 Black Men Community School, most of the instructors, administrators and board members are black males.

"We don't have that problem," he said. "They're our boys. We are best able to manage that."

Organizers say the school will be rigorous while focusing on African American culture and individual identity based on a wide range of role models.

A moment to remember

Parent Dorcia White was among the parents snapping first-day photos Tuesday, even though her sixth-grade son, Drake, looked slightly annoyed. She looked at Drake's digital image on her phone and saw a leader, not a dropout.

"I decided to send him here because of the data on African American males in the district," White said. "I didn't want him to get lost in that."

Students arrived at school in their uniforms of khaki pants and white shirts, some looking excited, others looking sleepy.

Terrell Wrice, 11, was happy to be there.

"The school gives us a different feeling - equal in one environment," he said, adding that the only downside was a lack of girls.

The school opened its doors to 90 students, but expects to enroll 120 male students in kindergarten and first, fourth, fifth and sixth grades this year and eventually add grades to grow into a K-12 with 900 students.

Mentors will be an integral part of the school, which will offer pre-med, aeronautics, robotics and other math and science programs.

The Oakland school board approved the school's charter in the spring and housed it in the former Thurgood Marshall School in the hills above 106th Avenue.

Successful model

It was modeled in part after the Eagle Academy for Young Men, started by the 100 Black Men New York chapter in 2004, where the graduation rate is more than 80 percent compared with 30 percent for African American males across New York City.

Back in class, sixth-grade teacher Wilson was planting the seeds to produce similar statistics in seven years.

Several times throughout the morning, he asked students to repeat after him: "I am an intelligent student. I will act intelligently."

He also reviewed class rules and encouraged his students to take school and themselves seriously.

"It takes a lot of energy to be bad," he said.

"Intelligent students don't talk with these," Wilson said, as he balled up his fists before pointing to his head. "They talk with this."


http://www.sfgate.com/education/arti...ys-3840007.php

[blackascoal]

As someone who has mentored African-American boys for a lot of years, I applaud this effort.

There is precedent .. and there is success in doing this.

Chicago's Male Urban Prep Academy Sending EACH Of Its GRADS Off To College...AGAIN!



Chicago's Urban Prep Academy (an all-male charter school) just pulled a THREE-PEAT announcing that ALL of their graduating seniors have been accepted into four-year colleges! Get the deets on this fabulous feat inside.....

Some folks have no faith in the educational system, but Urban Prep Academy on Chicago's south side must be doing something right. Once again, 100% of its 2012 graduating seniors are heading off to college in the fall. And by the way, this school is the only all-Black, all-male public prep school in Chicago!

This is the third year in a row that the school has achieved the feat thanks to hard working teachers, dedicated parents, and of course...the amazing students.

The school started with kids whose futures had been left for dead by their public schools: Only four percent of the school's incoming freshmen were reading at grade level when they arrived on campus.
http://theybf.com/2012/03/30/chicago...o-collegeagain

The downside is this is the education these kids should be getting in public schools.

[Cancel 2016.2]

Only four percent of the school's incoming freshmen were reading at grade level when they arrived on campus.

Thanks for your link as well BAC... the above basically screams for schools to implement whatever the Chicago Urban Prep Academy is doing. They went from 4% reading at grade level to 100% not only graduating, but being accepted to four-year colleges. D... AMN.

[Annie]

There were numerous studies back in the 70's, both sociological and educational that found that for many children through 12th grade, single sex classes were more conducive to academic success than co-ed. Not all children, many.

I don't remember all the details, though I'm considering trying to hit SSR and see if not archived somewhere. While 'commonsense' is not a replacement for research, it stands to reason that those children that have a difficult time learning-whether from hunger as observed in the OP or because they are 'bigger', 'smaller', less athletic, etc., than what they perceive to be the norm, would make taking the sex issue off the table, for a few hours anyways.

Again, commonsense doesn't cut it, though for decades there have been documented differences between the facility of males to grasp math, while females blow the other gender away in language usage, both oral and written. What has also begun to be studied is why males have been on a downward trajectory since education departments have been emphasizing females being 'brought up.' Males, not just black males, have been declining in college enrollments and in college graduation rates. It seems schools are helping females deal with math and science issues, failing to do the same for males in language.

While properly prepared college students seem to appreciate many of the same studies in literature and social sciences, that is not so at the lower grades. Want a boy's attention in social studies? Bring in uniforms and weaponry. Girls? Bring in clothing and accessories from the period. Reading? Boys want action, again war or fighting (Outsiders is a favorite of 7-9 graders). Girls? Romantic war novels, (Summer of My German Soldier.)

[RockX]

This needs to be stopped, where is the ACLU.....Oh wait, they are already in West Virginia, hopefully they will move over to Oakland and file the appropriate lawsuits to stop this illegal activity.


************************************************** ********************************
Suits Challenge Classrooms That Segregate Boys, Girls


Public-school students in some parts of the country this year are going back to very different classrooms than they are used to: ones with both boys and girls.

A decade-long campaign to separate genders in schools—based on the theory that children learn better that way—has sparked a backlash that is chalking up victories. Critics have sued three districts to end their single-sex classes, and sent letters of concern to 15 others.

A judge in one of those lawsuits last week ordered a school district in West Virginia to halt its single-sex program, and a handful of other districts around the country have voluntarily suspended their own split-gender classes for the new school year.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other critics say separation violates the Constitution's equal-protection clause by providing education that is unequal. They say it isn't effective and propagates stereotypes. A group of social scientists called the American Council for CoEducational Schooling published an article in Science magazine last year saying single-sex education is "pseudoscience" and brain research showing differences between the sexes is unconvincing.



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...690764846.html

[Cancel 2018. 3]

if teachers supposedly don't understand black males or fear them...how does separating them help that issue? this only serves to separate americans, not unify us.

[cawacko]

if teachers supposedly don't understand black males or fear them...how does separating them help that issue? this only serves to separate americans, not unify us.

By putting them in classes with black males as professors who do understand them. If that's what it takes then so be it. To me, we need to focus on what gets best results for the kids.

[Cancel 2018. 3]

By putting them in classes with black males as professors who do understand them. If that's what it takes then so be it. To me, we need to focus on what gets best results for the kids.

why not train the teachers instead of separating the kids? this basically says that white people, based on their skin color, are not capable of adequately teaching black boys. imagine the outcry if this was said about black teachers teaching white kids. there will be cultural, economic and other factors that make a teacher unique and thus impossible to relate to every student. we are a melting pot and this idea is going back to the idea that we need separate schools. back then, many white people didn't want black students and didn't want black teachers teaching their white children. that didn't fly then and it should fly now.

would you go for this if white kids set up a school designed specifically for white students?

[cawacko]

why not train the teachers instead of separating the kids? this basically says that white people, based on their skin color, are not capable of adequately teaching black boys. imagine the outcry if this was said about black teachers teaching white kids. there will be cultural, economic and other factors that make a teacher unique and thus impossible to relate to every student. we are a melting pot and this idea is going back to the idea that we need separate schools. back then, many white people didn't want black students and didn't want black teachers teaching their white children. that didn't fly then and it should fly now.

would you go for this if white kids set up a school designed specifically for white students?

A lot of schools are all ready set up for white kids that have white teachers. I believe the statistic is 50% of black kids in Oakland public high schools do not graduate. That is unacceptable. The status quo is not acceptable. Something needs to be done. As bac's post showed this has been tried in Chicago and New York with success. White kids don't have 50% high school drop out rates which is why this is different. It's about results not social engineering.

[Cancel 2018. 3]

A lot of schools are all ready set up for white kids that have white teachers. I believe the statistic is 50% of black kids in Oakland public high schools do not graduate. That is unacceptable. The status quo is not acceptable. Something needs to be done. As bac's post showed this has been tried in Chicago and New York with success. White kids don't have 50% high school drop out rates which is why this is different. It's about results not social engineering.

i'm not saying it hasn't worked, i'm saying the method is wrong. it doesn't help in the long run. should a black teacher from the inner city be barred from teaching white kids in beverly hills because they cannot relate to those kids?

i believe we need to educate the teachers and not separate the kids. this serves to keep the races separate.

[cawacko]

i'm not saying it hasn't worked, i'm saying the method is wrong. it doesn't help in the long run. should a black teacher from the inner city be barred from teaching white kids in beverly hills because they cannot relate to those kids?

i believe we need to educate the teachers and not separate the kids. this serves to keep the races separate.

The school is open to all male students so unless your issues is with male and female only schools it is discriminating against no one. If you aren't familiar with inner-city Oakland there are very few white people who live there. The schools are mostly black with some hispanics thrown in. So unless you're a fan of the 1970's style of busing kids across cities to integrate schools there is nothing wrong with what is going on here. Whites and others with money have school choices. They can move to a city with better schools or send their children to private schools. Poor people in the inner-city don't have that option. And you don't see families with money choosing to send their kids to failing inner-city schools. This school is creative outside-the-box innovative thinking.

[blackascoal]

The school is open to all male students so unless your issues is with male and female only schools it is discriminating against no one. If you aren't familiar with inner-city Oakland there are very few white people who live there. The schools are mostly black with some hispanics thrown in. So unless you're a fan of the 1970's style of busing kids across cities to integrate schools there is nothing wrong with what is going on here. Whites and others with money have school choices. They can move to a city with better schools or send their children to private schools. Poor people in the inner-city don't have that option. And you don't see families with money choosing to send their kids to failing inner-city schools. This school is creative outside-the-box innovative thinking.

I do appreciate your posting of this .. and I greatly appreciate your understanding and insight of the issue good brother.

Thanks again.

[Cancel 2018. 3]

The school is open to all male students so unless your issues is with male and female only schools it is discriminating against no one. If you aren't familiar with inner-city Oakland there are very few white people who live there. The schools are mostly black with some hispanics thrown in. So unless you're a fan of the 1970's style of busing kids across cities to integrate schools there is nothing wrong with what is going on here. Whites and others with money have school choices. They can move to a city with better schools or send their children to private schools. Poor people in the inner-city don't have that option. And you don't see families with money choosing to send their kids to failing inner-city schools. This school is creative outside-the-box innovative thinking.

i am aware of that, however, the article is clear that this is geared specifically toward black males. if this is just a location issue, why the need to state is geared toward black males? further, there are many whites who do not have money to simply go anywhere they want, additional, school districts (at least when i was in school) would not allow you to go to a different school outside of your residential district. my mom tried to get me to a better school that wasn't in the inner city, but we couldn't afford to move. i was taught by whites, hispanics, asians, and black teachers and i believe that offers students a more well rounded education. do you really not believe we should train and educate our teachers instead of essentially segregating our students?

why the need to state that this school is needed because non black teachers are not equipped to understand black males and are afraid them?

should a black teacher from the inner city be barred from teaching white kids in beverly hills because they cannot relate to those kids?

[cawacko]

i am aware of that, however, the article is clear that this is geared specifically toward black males. if this is just a location issue, why the need to state is geared toward black males? further, there are many whites who do not have money to simply go anywhere they want, additional, school districts (at least when i was in school) would not allow you to go to a different school outside of your residential district. my mom tried to get me to a better school that wasn't in the inner city, but we couldn't afford to move. i was taught by whites, hispanics, asians, and black teachers and i believe that offers students a more well rounded education. do you really not believe we should train and educate our teachers instead of essentially segregating our students?

why the need to state that this school is needed because non black teachers are not equipped to understand black males and are afraid them?

should a black teacher from the inner city be barred from teaching white kids in beverly hills because they cannot relate to those kids?

The key number to remember is 50%. Half of black males who enter Oakland Public High Schools do not graduate. That is what is being addressed here. It's not about whites can't teach blacks or blacks can't teach whites. It's about a very specific group of kids who need special help and special attention. And trust me poor white families do not live in inner-city Oakland. There are other suburbs where they can go.

[Cancel 2018. 3]

fair enough cawacko.