educational crisis facing young men of color[1]

8/8/2019 Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color[1]

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Refections on Four Days o

Dialogue on the Educational

Challenges o Minority Males

January 2010

The Educational CrisisFacing Young Men o Color


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Reections on Four Days o Dialogue on the

Educational Challenges o Minority Males

The Educational Crisis Facing

Young Men of ColorReflections on Four Days of Dialogue on the

Educational Challenges of Minority Males

January 2010


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Preface

Two years ago, I was struck by a book published by the Urban League that gave a description o the

social condition o Arican American males. It was grim reading. I was particularly struck by the impact

o the lack o education on a persons chances o ending up in prison. This realization led me to an

examination o two things: one was the cost, in human and scal terms, o our ailure to educate our

citizens well. The second was a consideration o what the College Board might do in response to this

issue.

It is becoming an acknowledged act that the United States is losing ground in the international

competition to produce superior intellectual talent. This is a situation that President Barack Obama has

pledged to correct. Just as accepted is the act that the population o the United States is changing

dramatically, with a signicant increase in the Hispanic and Arican American populations. These acts

lead to an inescapable conclusion: I the United States is to achieve the presidents goals, then we will

have to do a much more eective job in educating those populations with which we have traditionally

ailed. This report, The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men o Color, is a step in the direction o raising

the visibility o a pressing problem in American society. Generally speaking, the report investigates

through the voices o members o the Arican American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American and Native

American communities the rustrations, hopes and aspirations o these communities. The report

also investigates the signicant dierences in perormance between males and emales within those

minority groups.

It is my hope that this report brings much needed attention to what is already a signicant problem or

our country.

Gaston Caperton

President, The College Board

For every 100 girls enrolled in kindergarten, there are 116 boys.

For every 100 girls enrolled in high school, there are 100 boys.

For every 100 women enrolled in college, there are just 77 men.

Victor Saenz, The 'Disappearing' Latino Male: Setting the Stage. A

presentation at the College Boards Dialogue Day on Hispanic and Latino Males,

Chicago, Ill., May 21, 2008


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Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Chapter 1: Common Themes and Voices ............................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 2: What the Data Tell Us ......................................................................................................................... 17

Chapter 3: Where to Turn Next ............................................................................................................................. 27

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 34

Appendixes ........................................................................................................................................................... 35

A. Participants in the College Boards Dialogue Days ...................................................................................... 35

B. Note on Data and Denitions....................................................................................................................... 37

C. Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... 38

D. Reerences ................................................................................................................................................... 39

E. Notes ............................................................................................................................................................ 42


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2

The Educational Crisis

Facing Young Men of Color

In recent years, it has become common to talk about the

Two Americas, one characterized by opportunity and

wealth, and the other characterized by signicant social

and economic strie. Indeed, the current economic crisis

has exacerbated this national conversation and made the

contrasts between the Two Americas even more stark.

Many would argue that the same dichotomy exists in

our nations system o public education. One is a system

that refects the best that our schools have to oer,

with challenging courses and exciting labs, dynamic and

well-qualied teachers, strong student engagement, and

active parent involvement always with an eye toward

preparing students or college and successul careers.

The other system suers rom low student academic

achievement, a seeming inability to instill in students

a belie in the possibility o their societal success, and

ew expectations that students will even complete high

school, much less enroll in college.

There is, however, a Third America. This is an America

that is almost totally ignored by mainstream society.

This America is oten captured in popular television

documentaries and newspaper stories and includes

rightening statistics about unemployment, poverty

and high rates o incarceration. The citizens o this

Third America are primarily men, and mostly men o

color. These men now live outsidethe margins o our

economic, social and cultural systems. They are the

byproduct o many societal ailures including the

ailure o our nations schools.

Despite some progress in recent years, the United

States is acing an educational challenge o great

signicance. This crisis is most acute or young men

o color. Regrettably indeed, shockingly in

the oreseeable uture, it is apparent that i current

demographic and educational attainment trends

continue, especially or men o color, the overall

educational level o the overall American workorce will

probably decline. As the body o this report documents,

estimates suggest that the decline will be most

noticeable by the year 2020 which is the same year

that President Barack Obama has set as the deadline

or restoring the U.S. to being rst in the world in the

percentage o young adults with postsecondary degrees.

I we are to meet the presidents challenge indeed,

i we are simply to avoid a urther declinein our global

standing we need to nd some means by which we

can break the cycle. The challenge is to nd both the will

and the way to give these young men the support they

need to make meaningul contributions to American

society and to achieve their ull potential as human

beings.

A major part o the challenge lies in erasing disparities

in educational attainment so that low-income students

and underrepresented minorities have the ability to

complete degrees. Just 26 percent o Arican Americans,

18 percent o Hispanic Americans, and 24 percent o

Native Americans and Pacic Islanders have at least an

associate degree.

In addition, across the board, young women are

outperorming young men with respect to high school

graduation rates. White women perorm 4 percentage

points better than white men, while Arican American,

Hispanic, Native American and Asian women outperorm

the men in their ethnic or racial group by 9 percentage

points, 9 percentage points, 7 percentage points and

2 percentage points, respectively. In higher education,

the gap is even more pronounced. Analyses indicate

that Arican American women earn two-thirds o the

degrees awarded to Arican American students; while,

or Native Americans and Hispanics, the number is 60

percent. Whether one talks about prisons, where Arican

American males are almost hal the inmate population

and Hispanics constitute 20 percent, or whether one

talks about violent crime, where young black men

are ve times as likely to be murdered as whites, the

situation in many o these communities must be seen as

a crisis.

Dialogue Days

This report summarizes our one-day seminars organized

by the College Board to explore the educational

challenges acing young men o color in the United

States. The Dialogue Days brought together more

than 60 scholars, practitioners and activists rom the

Arican American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American and

Pacic Islander, and Native American communities.

Executive Summary


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During these our sessions, participants expressed their

opinions and listened to the voices and anxieties o

community leaders about the state o educating young

men o color in the United States. Each leader brought

a unique perspective, experience and expertise to the

discussion about the critical problems that exist.

The Dialogue Day sessions pinpointed powerul societal

orces that threaten educational aspirations o young

men o color. These include the lack o role models, the

search or respect outside the education world, the loss

o cultural memory in shaping minority male identity and

pride, barriers o language, the challenges o poverty,

extraordinary community pressures and a sense that the

education system is ailing young men.

All o this must be placed in the context o the general

disadvantaged condition o minority populations in the

United States. Whether measured by unemployment

rates, poverty, imprisonment or recidivism, the

challenges acing minorities both males and emales

are stark and undeniable.

Recommendations

Participants in the College Board Dialogue Days eltstrongly that a signicant eort must be made to

advance educational outcomes or young men o color.

Four steps will help move us orward:

The ederal government, oundations and concerned

organizations should convene a national policy

discussion about these issues to heighten public

awareness and explore policy options to improve the

perormance o young men o color.

The ederal government, oundations and civic and

community organizations should und and support

additional research to explore and clariy issues that

have an impact on minority male achievement.

K12 schools, colleges and universities, and state

higher education coordinating bodies should orge

partnerships to help males o color get ready, get in

and get through college.

The states, ederal government and oundations

should identiy and scale up the most successul

model programs designed to ensure the success

o males o color by unding their replication and

expansion.

Finding the answers will require an advocacy and

mobilization eort that combines public discussion,

more robust research and scaled-up model programs,

all leading to the development o a powerul voicesupporting world-class educational experiences or

millions o young men o color.


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We need to say there is a male minority crisis.

Older, white, well-educated workers are retiring.

People who look like us are the uture. We need to

invest in that uture. This isnt an Asian American

issue. Its not even a minority issue. Its an American

issue a very practical economic concern with

immediate nancial consequences.

Participant, Dialogue Day on Asian American and

Pacifc Islander Males

Over several months in 2008, the College Board held

our sessions to explore the educational challenges

acing young men o color in the United States. Known

as Dialogue Days, these gatherings brought together

more than 60 scholars, advocates and representatives

rom minority communities across the United States

or one-day conversations about the dynamic nature

o American lie, the changing shape o American

demographics, and how to help educators and minority

amilies and communities stand up to what seem to be

growing pressures on minority males. Each meeting

ocused on a particular minority group Arican

American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American

and Pacic Islanders, and Native Americans including

Alaska Natives. The ull list o participants or eachDialogue Day is provided in Appendix A.

At these meetings, participants explored policy and

practice in the morning and engaged in a roundtable

discussion in the aternoon. Participants were

encouraged to express themselves ully and candidly,

with assurances that what was said would be treated

condentially and that comments would not be attributed

to individuals unless permission were granted.

In that setting, the our minority groups engaged in a

series o sobering conversations. Concerns about school

quality, lowered expectations, and inequities in unding

and teacher distribution were a signicant part o the

conversation. In addition, broader sets o issues were

brought into the discussions: poverty, amily structure,

parenting skills, disinvestment in minority communities,

prot opportunities at the expense o minorities and

communal memories o past injustices and present

indignities.

At these meetings, it became clear that the relative

lack o success o boys and young men o color in

K12 schools and higher education is but one part o

a complex puzzle that includes gender, race, ethnicity,

poverty, residence in urban or rural America, and acility

with the English language. All o this must be placed in

the context o the general disadvantaged condition o

minorities. Whether measured by unemployment rates,

poverty, imprisonment or recidivism, the challenges

acing minorities both males and emales are stark

and undeniable.

As might be expected, each o the Dialogue Days

developed its own identity. Issues o signicant concern

at one meeting sometimes received little attention at

another. All o them, however, were structured in a

similar ashion, and all o them coalesced around a set o

themes and concerns.

This report tries to capture both the content and the

sense o urgency these leaders elt in discussing the

issues at the College Board meetings. As one o the

participants emphasized, this is not a minority issue

but an American issue, with powerul consequences

or Americas amilies and or the nations social and

economic well-being.

This report draws on participants comments during

the Dialogue Days to give voice to the set o common

concerns expressed by persons rom dierent minority

groups and to highlight the concerns unique to each o

these groups.

Structure o the Four Dialogue Days

A series o meetings in 2008 hosted by the College

Board Dialogue Days: Examining the Decline

o Minority Male Participation and Achievement inSecondary and Postsecondary Education explored

high school and college persistence and completion rates

among minority males. Separate meetings convened

experts to ocus on secondary and postsecondary

educational achievement among Arican American,

Hispanic, Asian American and Pacic Islander, and Native

American males. The meetings, held in Los Angeles

Introduction


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6



(Arican American males), Chicago (Hispanic males), San

Francisco (Asian American and Pacic Islander males),

and Denver (Native American males), were held between

April and September 2008.

The ormat or each day began with presentations

and discussion related to eective policy and practice.

Although the agendas diered slightly, each day

consisted o two breakout panels and one roundtable

discussion. Ater each panel presentation, the discussion

was opened to all participants. Participant attendance

varied between 12 and 25, allowing or an intimate

setting encouraging thorough and candid discourse.

The panels and roundtable discussion were organized

as ollows:

Policys Role in Implementing Change consisted

o a panel o three policy experts ocused on how

educators and leaders o minority communities

could infuence public policy regarding minority

males in education. Topics ranged rom personal and

gender roles, the invisibility o the minority male,

and the importance o racial identity, to the need

or responsible social roles or young males, the

signicance o a supportive political economy, and

how to increase educational opportunity.

Putting Theory into Practice included a panel

o three practitioners or activists and ocused

on existing programs that address minority

males participation in education. Topics included,

or example, academic issues acing minority

males; gender, cultural, and social vulnerability;

sel-regulation; balancing knowledge, skill, and

understanding; confict resolution; assimilation; and

communication and sel-presentation.

The roundtable discussion included all members

o the group and was normally led by College

Board representatives. This two-hour discussion

refected topics that arose throughout the day but

also extended beyond these topics. A primary goal

o the roundtable discussion was to provide ideas

or next steps toward increasing participation and

success among minority males in secondary and

postsecondary education.

Unique Concerns

There were dierences among the comments made

by the groups represented in the Dialogue Days

discussions. The individual sidebars interspersed

throughout this report open a window on minority

groups special concerns. Language barriers, as they

play themselves out in schools and society generally,

are a signicant concern or Hispanic and many Asian

American communities. Asian and Pacic Islander

peoples oten eel invisible in the discussion o

minority concerns in the United States and like

perpetual oreigners. Asian American leaders have

also long complained about the perception that

their communities represent the model minority, a

designation that ignores the serious challenges acing

many Southeast Asian and Pacic Islander communities

and implies that policymakers do not need to attend to

these concerns.


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Most income comparisons between Arican Americans

and white Americans are so dispiriting that it is easy to

think there is no point in trying to improve things. Still,

household income or Arican Americans has improved

or generations. Recent Census data indicate that about

5.7 million Arican Americans are in households withan income o $19,999 or less annually, poverty stricken

by any common-sense understanding o the term. But

nearly 7 million live in households with incomes between

$20,000 and $49,999 annually (borderline middle class,

at least); an additional 3.3 million are in households with

incomes between $50,000 and $75,000; nearly 2 million

live on between $75,000 and $99,999; and more than

2.4 million enjoy household incomes above $100,000.

Judged against household income gures or white

Americans, these gures are low. Still, they represent

hope o enough income or most Arican Americans to

look to the uture with some reasonable income security.

Another set o gures, however, represents a orce

that threatens to pull the Arican American community

apart. The U.S. has the highest rates o incarceration in

the world, with the rates or Arican American men at

historically high levels, considered by many to be in part

the result o institutionalized racism. Incarceration takes

men out o homes, makes work hard to nd or ex-

prisoners and requently disenranchises them.

Signifcant Participant Observations rom the

Dialogue Day

When our young guys are enrolled in the honor

society, the entire amily shows up mothers,

sisters, wives, girlriends, children. A minor thing to

us, its a huge deal to these amilies. Its as though

we sprinkled magic dust on the amily. Very deep.

It means a great deal. Its all about a ceremony that

symbolizesrespect or these young men.

Privately these kids will tell us they know we are

the place to fnd a mentor, but theyd never admit

that in public. They know their lives are out o

balance.

Sometimes I wonder i we werent better served

during segregation. Black kids had black male

teachers. Those teachers had nowhere else to

teach.

A ootball coach would look at what this country is

doing and realize that were giving up a third o our

power. Weve only got two-thirds o the team on the

feld. Keeping a third o the team on the bench cant

be a good way to play the game.

It will require a comprehensive and systemic

approach. We need to address the schools, but we

also need to encourage good work and values in

home and community.

The Arican American Experience


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Young black males are in a crisis in this country.

Instead o addressing the problem, society has

created entire prison industries out o our misery.

Participant, Dialogue Day on Arican American

Males

Public discussion o a gender gap continues to

be met with skepticism because the underlying

assumption is that education systematically avors

males.

Participant, Dialogue Day on Hispanic and Latino

Males

The Dialogue Days explored the issue o minority

male educational achievement through the prism o

each o our minority groups in the United States

Arican American, Hispanic and Latino, Asian American

and Pacic Islander, and Native American. While each

conversation had a distinct ocus and provided unique

insights (outlined in sidebars throughout this report), in

combination, the Dialogue Days also pointed to a set

o shared concerns. We have identied seven common

themes:

1. There is a proound crisis in American education o

minority males that is overlooked by mainstream

society and leaders.

Chapter 1:Common Themes and Voices


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10



2. At work are destructive community pressures

that undermine minority male aspirations and

expectations or academic success.

3. Lack o male role models leads to a search or

respect outside our educational institutions.

4. Cultural and historic memory is deeply important to

minority male identity and pride.

5. Challenges o poverty, community problems and

language serve as major barriers to college access

and success.

6. Schools and colleges are ailing young men o color

across many areas and levels.

7. Society and communities must work together to

make a dierence or these young men.

1. Facing Proound Educational Crisis

An overwhelming sense emerged rom these meetings

that minority males are trapped educationally in a cycle

o low expectations and poor academic achievement,

with little hope o a better uture. Most education and

employment statistics do not begin to capture theseverity o the situation, and mainstream society has

not come to terms with the long-term damage this will

cause to our children and our nation. As a nation, we

seem unaware o the predicament in which young men

o color nd themselves today, according to participants.

The situation, grim or many years, appears to be worse

ollowing two decades o unprecedented economic

growth in the inormation technology and nancial

services industries, accompanied by a decline in heavy

industry and manuacturing that has let minority

populations, especially young men o color, behind.1

Oneconsequence is a large pool o poorly educated minority

men, increasingly disconnected rom mainstream

society. In some communities, nishing high school is

the exception to the general rule o dropping out, while

prison is as likely a short-run destination as college or

work.

Participants in these meetings did not sugarcoat the

depths o the challenge, gloss over how hard it would be

to respond eectively, or disguise their anger:

Growing anti-immigrant sentiment is a big

challenge or Hispanics. Neglect, social prejudice and

discrimination, along with school unding shortalls,

encourage dropping out.


Males

Intergenerational downward mobility is a sign o

something. Our young men are the canary in the

national coal mine.



Kids are coming to our tribal colleges with a lot

o problems. They have issues with drugs with

methamphetamine with poverty. And yet our

society is building sports palaces instead o schools

and libraries.

Participant, Dialogue Day on Native American

Males

We have 50,000 juveniles going to jail every yearin Florida, 73 percent o them black males, while just

23,000 Arican American males graduate rom Florida

high schools. Those kids on the pipeline to prison

nd their status elsewhere, outside the schools.


Males

2. Destructive Pressures Undermine Minority Male

Aspirations and Expectations

The metaphor o a pipeline to prison was mentioned

several times during the Dialogue Days. As it suggests,

many young minority males nd themselves responding

to a daunting array o school, social and community

pressures that encourage misguided decisions that

fy in the ace o academic achievement. Comments

suggested that minority males are aced with an

aggressive culture that expects them to conorm socially,

to be macho and cool, and not take school seriously.

Gang recruitment, oten related to street drugs, begins


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as early as middle school, exposing young men in low-

income and minority communities to a set o values

emphasizing toughness, rearms, gang initiations

involving thet and beatings, disrespect or women, and

drug dealing as an acceptable source o income.

Dropping out in the ace o these social pressures,

ar rom being rowned on, is too oten a mark o

the acceptance o male values by these young men.

Adolescent boys want to be big men in the eyes o

their peers, suggested one participant, not in the eyes o

people running the school system. In this value system,

rewards or social achievement are immediate, while

rewards or academic achievement arrive later, i at all,

he said.

Sociocultural pressures among Latinos and other

minority males are high. Theres the stigma o

acting white. Bullying and orms o social control

within groups is common. The gang culture and

the attraction o gangs are powerul in many

communities.


Males

Southeast Asian peoples are in very stressedcommunities. We experience very high rates o

juvenile delinquency very high rates o teenage

pregnancy and a lot o unemployment and crime.

Gambling addiction among our young men doesnt

receive the attention it should, but its a big problem.



About 10 percent o our kids will make it, no matter

what we do. Well take credit or them. Another 10

percent will ail badly maybe drugs, or booze, or

crime. Some o them will wind up in jail. Well blamethem. The other 80 percent will founder. We need to

change the air in the room or all these boys.


Males

In our state, Crips and Bloods have a ar stronger

infuence on young black kids than those o us with

letters behind our names.


Males

3. Lack o Role Models and Search or Respect

In sometimes startlingly direct language, participants

worried about the lack o role models representing

academic achievement and success or young men

o color. The issue emerged in dierent ways. Arican

American participants expressed concern about

masculinity dened as competition with other men and

dominance o women. Hispanic and Latino participants

pointed to values such as machismo(the need to be

tough) and amilismo(need to support amily). Native

Americans spoke proudly o an inherited warrior

culture and worried about how young men no longer

understood what it is to be a man. Meanwhile, Asian

American and Pacic Islander representatives worried

about their policy concerns being overlooked because

they are seen as the model minority.

The discussions were based on one underlying truth:

The behavior o young minority men revolved around thesearch or respect.

Machismo and amilismo are major issues in

Latino communities. Be a strong male, be someone

whos tough and independent and doesnt ask

or help. Mask your emotions. And be loyal and

responsible to the amily. Youre expected to work

and contribute to the amily very much along the

line o traditional gender roles and expectations.


Males

The strong Asian amily is a myth in many Asian

and Pacic Islander communities. Asians have their

own perect storm. The schools ignore them. The

kids are conused. And the amilies are stressed and

pressure the kids.




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12



Schools are important, but the most important thing

in moving orward is or the community to articulate

the need or these young people to rediscover who

they are as men.


Males

Masculinity is a dicult deal or black males. Its

hallmark is dominance o women and competition

among males. So the masculine mystique involves

competition with men around athletics and music,

and dominance o women.

Participant, Dialogue Day on Arican AmericanMales

We live in a world o stereotypes. Were supposed to

be the model minority. Then at the other extreme,

our teenagers are gang bangers. Theres nothing

in between. O course, Asians have long been

considered the perpetual oreigner.



4. Importance o Cultural Memory to Minority

Male Identity and Pride

Shared memories o the past are alive and well in most

minority communities. They are passed down by the

elders in these communities. They orm a counterbalance

to ocial histories, not so much by rebuking history as

by providing a shared consciousness o traditions and

memories too precious and important to lose. There was

a belie that awareness o cultural and historic memory

is deeply important to developing minority male identity

and pride.

During the Dialogue Days, shared memories were very

much in evidence.

The inequities and injustices o the past in Indian

education have created a legacy o ailure or Indian

males. We have to recognize that. How do we respect

our past while looking to the uture?


Males

We need to accept the unique cultural experience

o black males. Slavery and Jim Crow are nothing

to be ignored or dismissed. Its a cultural issue. In

many ways, schools are white state institutions,

perpetuating many o the inequities o our racial

past.


Males

Dropout rates among oreign-born and U.S.-born

Hispanic students dier dramatically. Overall,

oreign-born Hispanics drop out at three times the

rate o U.S-born students, but the rate is our times

higher or students rom Central American countries

and about twice as high or students with amilies

rom the Dominican Republic or South America.


Males

When I tried to act out the typical American teenage

drama, my parents were conused. Their attitude was:

The other kids dont like you? So what? We escaped

genocide and the killing elds. Get over it.



You have to begin with history. We cannot separate

out the political and historical rom the cultural and

social reality o today.


Males

5. Challenges o Poverty

Poverty and its accomplices unemployment on the

one hand and overworked parents on the other, single-

parent homes, poorly educated parents and the allure o

lie in the streets were themes in the Dialogue Daydiscussions, always present at least below the surace

and requently bursting into ull expression.

Theres no work in these communities. Teenagers

are having babies while still babies themselves. We

work with tough kids, but underneath theyre little

kids who need mentors.


Males

12




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Foreign-born students o all nationalities drop out

due to poverty and the need to work. Lack o English

prociency and the inability o parents to help with

schoolwork are also challenges.


Males

What role does class play in all this? What about

income? We may misrame the question i we

understand it solely as a gender question. About

80 percent o immigrants rom Cambodia, Laos and

Vietnam were reugees seeking political asylum,

many o them penniless.



The poverty rate or children among o-reservation

Indians is twice the national rate or all kids. For kids

on reservations, it is our times as great.


Males

Several participants commented on the importance o

providing boys with an understanding o how education

ts with the concept o what it is to be a man.

Starting in 1970, there was a big jump in Indian kids

enrolling in college, but it was 70 percent emale and

30 percent male. Males thought college wasnt cool.


Males

We should encourage young people to explore their

ethnicity, and as part o that, we should be asking:

What does it mean to be a man? Is the eminization

o boys a problem? I so, what can we do about it?



6. Schools and Colleges Are Failing These

Young Men

No one at these meetings gave schools a pass.

Questions were raised about the challenges white,

middle-class emale teachers have in dealing with

minority males; the shortcomings o programs to deal

with English language learners; overemphasis on special

education as a solution or boys acting out; outrageously

high dropout rates; or the lack o sympathy o schools

and colleges or Native Americans. Traditional schools

came in or a lot o criticism.

The dierence in educational outcomes between boys

and girls was noteworthy. In particular, the ndings

with regard to assignment to special education classes

are distressing. Boys, in general, are twice as likely as

girls to be identied as having a learning disability, and

males are twice as likely as emales to be diagnosed

with Attention Decit or Attention Decit Hyperactivity

Disorder.2

A dominant theme among Arican American, Hispanic

and Native American participants was a sense that

school practice avors girls over boys an ironic

comment on where we are today, given that less than a

generation ago, mainstream arguments held that schools

systematically avored boys. In taking up this discussion,

participants raised one o the more dicult issues in the

debate. But there is no doubt that girls get better grades

than boys and do better in school, and girls are more

likely to graduate rom high school, enter college and

complete degrees.

The consensus seemed to be that our schools are not

serving our young men well.

In the early years, including preschool, boys are in

a system mismatched with the male learning style.

They are likely to be a year to 18 months behind girls

in reading. The research shows they are more likely

to eel anxious and shamed throughout elementary

school.


Males


18/48



We can dene a pipeline to prison through the

schools. The kids in the pipeline have been retained

at least once; theyve been suspended at least once;

they have low GPAs; very little credit accumulation

in high school; and theyre behind at least one grade

level. In 15 high schools in one city, 4,000 boys meet

those indicators some o them meet our or ve o

the indicators.


Males

Latino students need teachers they can connect

with. They come to school only to learn that all they

have known all their lives is wrong or taboo.


Males, quoting Washington State study on Latino

students

Assessment policies disadvantage English

language learners. One issue with standardized

assessment with English language learners is, What

are you testing? Curriculum content? Or language

competency?

Participant, Dialogue Day on Asian and Pacifc

Islander Males

Colleges are a place where our kids are oten ruined.

Indian kids need two majors an academic major

and a major in their culture. Tribal institutions love

our kids. Mainstream institutions dont. They dont

love anyone!


Males

Sometimes I wonder i we were not better served

in a segregated system. Black teachers, male and

emale, taught our kids. Despite their shortcomings,

those schools were armative places or our kids.Todays schools are not armative or Arican

American boys. Every day these schools let these

kids know whats wrong with them.


Males

7. Society, Communities and Schools Must WorkTogether

I the participants were candid in their discussion o

schools, they were also highly critical o the rest o

society, arguing that the larger economy undermines

minority male aspirations. A sense emerged rom these

meetings that not only are schools ailing these young

people, society is ailing them. This is a unction o

communities in which there is no traditional work (but

many opportunities in the underground economy) o

amilies stressed to the breaking point o a society

that measures success with an index o stock prices

while ignoring the economic circumstances o most

people within the economy and o governments that

seem willing to spend eight to 10 times as much per

person to hold young men o color in jail as they do to

educate them.

In addition to other concerns, continual upheaval in living

arrangements is a signicant issue across low-income

groups. Constant household moves, sometimes several

times a year, create signicant educational challenges as

students leave one school or another, oten experiencing

curricular inconsistency. Migrant children are particularly

at risk rom such upheaval. Meanwhile, many immigrant

amilies worry about deportation, including separation

rom their children born in the United States. Also,

because o social and economic instability, many

immigrant amilies hold out little hope o college

attendance or their children.

The message that emerged rom this discussion was

repeated requently: While schools have a role to play,

they cannot be expected to x all the challenges minority

males ace. Community-based organizations, oster

care and child care systems, and youth development

programs must all be part o the response to this issue.

Minority males in and out o school are in a state

o crisis. Schools must be improved, but part o

the response required to resolve the crisis involves

individuals and agencies outside the schools.

14




19/48



The idea that schools can x all o this is oolish.

The schools are broken, too. This is not a school

problem. It is a community, institutional and

organizational problem, and the solution should rely

on partnerships that understand these issues are not

treatable in 90 minutes a day.


Males

What accounts or this Hispanic gender gap at the

postsecondary level? Is it economic necessity? Do

Hispanic males eel compelled to choose work over

education? What does the traditional cultural script

have to say in terms o machismo and amilismo?


Males

Asian Americans have the highest levels o stress

and anxiety o any group studied on college

campuses, especially on prestige campuses. They are

also overrepresented among campus suicides.



My uncle made a bet with me or $2,000 when I was

a boy. He bet that I would drop out. That I would windup working construction. And that I would ather

children I didnt know I had. Its hard to create policy

that works when some adults in the community

expect men to ail.


Males

Its a total mistake to believe that public schools are

the place to x all o this. We need them. We need to

x them. But we need to center this in churches and

community groups also.


Males


20/48

While used interchangeably, Hispanic and Latino are not

identical terms. Hispanic encompasses all Spanish-

speaking peoples in both hemispheres. Latino tends

to be used to reer to people o Latin American origin.

A person o Latino or Hispanic background can be o

any race. Despite the act that both terms encompassCentral and South America, neither includes Brazil,

where Portuguese is the ocial language. A large

majority o Hispanics in the United States trace their

ancestry to Mexico (approaching 60 percent), but more

than 40 percent trace their backgrounds to nations

throughout the Spanish-speaking world, with signicant

educational and economic dierences by nationality.

Language challenges, especially or immigrants, are a

major educational issue.


Dialogue Day

Latino high achievers in college are beating the

odds o a 50 percent high school dropout rate.

Latino males are not keeping pace. Theyre

not keeping pace in college entry, graduation or

aspiration or graduate study.

The diversity o the Latino population requires

attention. Cuban Americans are dierent culturally

rom Central and South American immigrants.

American-born Latinos are not the same as

immigrants. Immigrants come here to work, not to

go to school, while American-born Latinos may have

higher educational aspirations.

You never hear about this, but Latinos make up

about 18 percent o the rontline troops and sailors

in the U.S. armed services.

Several things are related to the success o Latino

students. Access to honors and AP courses.

Participation in extracurricular activities, including

music and intramural sports. We need to explore

what kinds o school and community organizations

can respond to the needs o young Latino men.

The Hispanic/Latino Experience

16


21/48





Young American men are less well educated than

their athers, while young American women are

better educated than their mothers

In this ranking o the worst or males [comparison

o bachelors completion rates or young males], the

U.S. was the worst o the worst.3

I equity, social justice, economic competitiveness and

a level educational playing eld continue to be important

goals or society, American leaders must deal with long-

standing racial/ethnic inequities in educational outcomes.

We cannot ignore the evidence that boys and young men

o color increasingly lag behind on important measures

o educational experience, achievement and persistence.

These ndings emerge rom the data available on

minority achievement in the United States, analyzed by

gender. While males, in general, lag behind emales,

outcomes or young men o color are disproportionately

behind those o their emale counterparts. This chapter

explores demographic inormation by age and race/

ethnicity, and examines educational outcomes by race/

ethnicity and gender.4

When demographic and educational change in the United

States is examined, there is a mixture o good and bad

news:

Chapter 2:What the Data Tell Us


22/48

Within a generation, the United States will be a

much more diverse nation. Indeed, by midcentury,

no racial or ethnic group in the United States will be

a majority.

Many minority groups, including traditionally

disadvantaged groups, are participating in school and

college in record numbers.

However, the astest-growing populations in the

United States are those minority groups with the

lowest levels o educational attainment.

I current population trends and educationalattainment levels continue, the average general

educational level o Americans will probably decline

by 2020.

Across the board, young men are not persisting

in school or achieving at the same levels as young

women.

The challenge o responding is most acute or the

most disadvantaged men o color. At just about

every stage o the educational pipeline, they lag

behind minority women in terms o achievement,

persistence, and school and college completion.

A More Diverse Nation

The U.S. Census projects that minorities will represent

more than hal o all children in the United States by

2023, and that the entire U.S. population will be 54

percent minority by 2050.5 Figures 3 and 4 present the

totalU.S. population in 2005. These data show that the

U.S. population that is under 18 is signicantly more

diverse than the population that is 18 or older.

There is every reason to anticipate that the trends visible

in Figures 3 and 4 will intensiy in the years beyond

2030. Fully 70 percent o the U.S. population now over

the age o 25 is white, a proportion that declines to 59

percent or those ages 5 to 17, and to 55 percent or

those under the age o 5.6 The U.S. population that today

is characterized as minority reverses those trends:

Just 30 percent o the minority population is 25 or older,

but the gure jumps to 45 percent or minority group

members under the age o 5. Clearly, over time, a larger

proportion o the U.S. population will be made up o

groups now in the minority.

Growing diversity in the United States presents a

number o challenges, but as minorities become a

majority, diversity can also become an asset in schools,

the workorce and society. Courts have held it to be an

educational asset. Scholars have described its benets

in a democratic and open society. The best business

leaders understand that greater diversity in terms o

gender, race and ethnicity is valuable on the plant foor

and in executive suites and boardrooms. A more diverse

and multilingual America will also be better equipped to

deal with the economic and political challenges it aces

around the world.

Greater diversity, in brie, ar rom being a cause or

alarm, is something to be cherished in American lie.

The ollowing section explores some o the dimensions

18




23/48



o American diversity, including diversity within

communities o color.

Faced with growing diversity, the United States can take

pride in the substantial progress made in the levels o

educational attainment o minority Americans in recent

decades. Many challenges remain, but a history o some

success exists, providing a oundation on which to build.

Thinking About Educating Men o Color

This document shows the many similar concerns o

minority educators and leaders in America as well as

the signicant dierences between minority groups(and requently within minority groups). The challenges

acing minority Americans take place in dierent and

unique policy contexts. Some o these contexts are

outlined below.7

Arican Americans

Disproportionately attend urban schools, many o

them large.

Ninety percent o Arican Americans are

concentrated in Caliornia and the belt o states

running rom New York through the South and

Southwest, the Midwest and Texas.

Fity-our percent grew up in emale-headed amilies

in which young people are more likely to be poor and

less likely to have strong male role models.

One study indicates that Arican American girls

may challenge bias and discrimination, while boys

may not.

Another study suggests that black males experience

depression, anxiety, guilt and hostility at levels

considerably higher than black emales.

Hispanics and Latinos

Ninety percent o the Hispanic population lives in

the states o Washington, Illinois, Caliornia and the

Southwest and along the Eastern seaboard rom

New York to Florida.

Many Hispanic and Latino homes do not use English

as the primary language.

Cultural backgrounds vary widely. The college

attendance rate o Cuban Americans is 45 percent;

or students o Mexican or Puerto Rican origin, it is

about 30 percent.

One study indicates that girls in urban barrios see

achievement as a way to resist cultural stereotyping;

young men, on the other hand, see cutting class as a

way to socialize with peers while escaping negative

judgments and confict in school.

Asian Americans and Pacifc Islanders

Although the U.S. Census recognizes 48 ethnic

categories o Asian Americans and Pacic Islanders,

a major challenge in examining the AAPI population

is lack o data in general, limited disaggregation o

data by ethnicity and culture, and insucient data on

AAPI males.

While Hawaii and Caliornia are the states with the

largest proportion o residents who are Asian or

Pacic Islander, Caliornia had the largest number

(4.5 million), ollowed by New York (1.3 million), Texas

(648,000), New Jersey (648,000), Illinois (551,000)

and Hawaii (498,000).

In Washington State, Asian Americans and Pacic

Islanders speak more than 100 languages; 40

percent o AAPI students speak a language other

than English as their primary language; in 16

Washington school districts, these students account

or 10 percent or more o enrollment.

Asian American and Pacic Islander students

experience alienation and marginalization in

schools to varying degrees. Filipino and Southeast

Asian American students are most at risk o being

considered low achievers and gang members by

teachers.


24/48

Native Americans

These students are very likely to attend remote rural

schools.

The Department o the Interior recognizes 562 tribal

entities in the United States.

Native Americans are concentrated in Alaska, the

Plains and Mountain States, and the Southwest. In

seven states, 5 percent or more o the population

is Native American or Alaska Native: Alaska, New

Mexico, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana, Arizona

and North Dakota.

Ambivalence about school is common. Discontinuity

between Native American and Western ways o

learning oten leads to disagreement.

English may not be the primary home language.

Social and behavioral norms at school may contradict

tribal cultural norms.

One-third o Native Americans are born into poverty,

oten to a mother who is not a high school graduate.

Minority Educational Progress

With regard to populations o color, here is what the data

reveal or young Americans (males and emales) ages 18

to 24:

For Arican Americans, the proportion holding a high

school credential was about the same in 2006 as it

was in 1986 (about 84 percent).8

Meanwhile, the proportion o Hispanics holding a

high school credential increased rom 59 percent to

65 percent.9

School completion rates or Asian Americans and

Native Americans in 2006 were 91 percent and 71

percent, respectively; trend line data to 1986 on

these populations are not available.10

With regard to college attendance, enrollment rates

or young Arican Americans (18 to 24) increased

rom 22 to 32 percent, while Hispanic enrollment

rates increased rom 18 to 25 percent.11

With respect to degree attainment, the number

o associate and bachelors degrees awarded

increased or all racial/ethnic groups, with minorities

accounting or almost hal the growth in associate

degrees conerred and 35 percent o the growth in

bachelors degrees.12

Trend line data on the Asian American and Pacic

Islander and Native American/Alaska Native populations

are harder to locate. However, we do know that the

proportion o Native American high school graduates

who completed a core academic high school track

jumped rom just 3 percent in 1982 to 36 percent

in 2005.13 We also know that the number o Native

American and Alaska Native youth enrolled in college

has more than doubled in the last 30 years, as did the

number o degrees awarded.14 Meanwhile, the number

o Asian American and Pacic Islander students enrolled

in higher education increased almost three-old between

1987 and 2004, with the greatest rate o increase (73

percent) experienced at the two-year college level.15

Despite the clear need to accomplish more, there is

a promising record o improving minority educational

attainment, a record on which the nation must build.

Fastest Growing Minority Populations

As valuable as that progress is, the increases outlined

above represent growth rom a very low base. Though

there has been progress, graduation rates or most

minorities still lag behind those o white Americans (and

o Asian Americans in the aggregate). In the course o

two decades (19872006), or example, Hispanic high

school graduation rates increased almost 10 percent.16

These rates (at 68 percent), however, are still ar below

the rates or Asian Americans or whites. Similar troubling

data can be seen elsewhere. Arican American highschool graduation rates have been essentially fat at

84 percent since 1986. It is true that Arican American

college participation rates jumped 10 percentage points

over the same two decades, while Hispanic rates

increased more than 7 percentage points,17 but these

college enrollment rates began at just 22 and 18 percent,

respectively.

20




25/48

For comparison purposes, the data or white Americans

might serve as a benchmark. White Americans started

with a college participation rate o 30 percent in 1987. By

2006, white Americans outpaced both Arican American

(32 percent) and Hispanic (25 percent) growth rates by

reaching a participation rate o 44 percent.

Comparative 20-year data or Asian American and Pacic

Islander students are not available (although compelling

testimony is presented at the end o this chapter

o current dierential educational attainment levels

by ethnicity and place o origin or Asian Americans

and Pacic Islanders). What became clear during the

Dialogue Days was that the educational circumstances

o Pacic Islander and many Southeast Asian students

mirror those o other severely disadvantaged minority

students.

The data shortcomings or Asian Americans and Pacic

Islanders are signicant. The convention has been to count

Pacic Islander communities within the rubric o Asian

American, but the community and school experiences

o these populations are ar rom being the same. By

including students rom vastly dierent backgrounds and

places o origin (Japan, India, China, Cambodia, Vietnam

and the Pacic Islands) under an Asian American

umbrella, policymakers and educators lose sight o the

stresses acing many o these subgroups, especially

the challenges conronting Southeast Asian and Pacic

Islander students and amilies.

According to one o the Dialogue Day participants,

in Caliornia, or example, the state with the second

largest Pacic Islander population in the United States

ater Hawaii, Pacic Islander students (male and emale)

have disproportionately lower high school and college

graduation rates when compared to white students and

the broader category o Asian Americans.18

Declining Educational Levels

I current population trends and educational attainment

levels continue, the general educational levels o

Americans will decline; American society will likely see

an increasein the proportion o the population with less

than a high school diploma, while witnessing a decline

in the proportion graduating rom high school, entering

college or attaining an associate degree or higher. In

short, in an increasingly competitive world, American

society will be threatened by two realities: A larger

proportion o the population will be poorly educated,

and those with the education and skills most in demand

will be shrinking in number and as a percentage o the

population (Figure 5).

Dierences in Educational Outcomes by Gender

Boys o color are signicantly behind on the achievement

and school completion scales; girls and women o color

are only comparatively better o, and they also ace their

own challenges.

Figures 6 and 7 below provide the most recent data

available on high school completion rates and theproportion o young men and women (25 to 29) with an

associate degree or higher. Across the board, the results

or women are better than those or men. This is not

simply a phenomenon attributable to minority Americans;

the gender gap extends across all racial and ethnic

categories white, black, Hispanic, Asian American and

Pacic Islander and Native American/Alaska Native.

With regard to high school completion, what these

gures indicate is that women consistently outperorm




26/48

men by 4 percentage points or white women,

by 9 percentage points or Arican American and

Hispanic women, by 2 percentage points or Asian

American women, and by 7 percentage points or

Native American women.19

22



The gender gap in higher education is even morepronounced. At this level, with degree completion

dened as holding an associate degree or higher, white

women have a 10 percentage points higher degree

completion rate than white men (Figure 7). For black

women, degree completion is 8 percentage points

higher than or black men. Degree completion or

Hispanic, Asian American and Native American emales

is 7 percentage points, 6 percentage points and 4

percentage points higher than their male counterparts,

respectively. Other analyses indicate that black women

earn two-thirds o both associate and bachelors degrees

awarded to black students, while Native American andHispanic women earn 60 percent or more o the two-

year degrees awarded to Hispanic and American Indian

undergraduates. Asian women earn 57 percent o

associate degrees and 55 percent o bachelors degrees

conerred on Asian students.20

It is clear that American males are not completing high

school or college at acceptable rates. Something is going

on in American communities and classrooms at both

educational levels to produce these disparities, which are

common across all racial and ethnic categories.

Even within the limited ramework o ocial data

denitions (see below), the educational crisis acing

young Arican American, Hispanic, Native American

and, among Asian Americans, particularly Southeast

Asian and Pacic Islander men, is ormidable at the K12

level. Figures 8 and 9 display data on two salient issues:

school suspensions and dropout rates. Across the board,

males rom all racial and ethnic backgrounds are likely to

be suspended at about twice the rate o emales. In the

case o black males, however, the rate is almost three

times as high. Status dropout rates or 16 to 24-year-

olds tell a similar story. Here, while black males are morelikely than whites to be dropouts, the rate or Hispanic

males is almost our times that o whites.21


27/48

Arrest and incarceration rates or men o color are

extraordinarily high. One recent estimate holds that the

chance o a young Arican American man going to prison

is one in three,22 and that Arican American males had

the highest rate o high school dropouts.23 Meanwhile,

about 20 percent o male inmates in state or ederal

prisons are Latinos, almost two-thirds o them between

the ages o 18 and 34.24

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency reports

that in the juvenile justice system, Arican American

rates o residential placement are our times as high as

they are or whites. Native American and Hispanic rates

also ar exceed those or whites (three times and twice

as high, respectively). Asians and Pacic Islanders are

the only racial/ethnic minority group with arrest rates

below those o whites, according to the council, which

does not distinguish between Asian Americans and

Pacic Islanders.25

When Arican American young men who have run aoul

o the juvenile and adult correctional systems (and are

hence ignored in the denition o status dropout) are

included in these estimates, ocially reported dropout

rates signicantly increase.

Implications

Two basic data points are critical with regard to

projected levels o educational attainment. First, the

youth population in the United States is becoming more

racially and ethnically diverse. Second, despite some

encouraging progress in educational attainment, minority

groups with the lowest levels o educational attainment

are growing the astest, while an aging white population

approaches or enters retirement.

An America that hopes to provide equal opportunity mustbegin with equal access to an education o high quality in

schools, colleges and universities. Individual and national




28/48

24



standards o living will be threatened i the United States

does not respond to the developments outlined here.

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the dilemma acing American

policymakers.26 Figure 10 ranks developed nations

(members or associate members o the Organisation or

Economic Co-operation and Development) by tertiary

or postsecondary attainment among each nations oldest

citizens and workers, those ages 55 to 64.27 Figure 11

provides the same inormation or younger citizens and

workers, those ages 25 to 34.

These gures illustrate a growing challenge. The United

States, which ranks second out o 32 nations in terms

o postsecondary attainment or people approaching

retirement age, drops to 11th place when postsecondary

attainment among young people is examined. This

dramatic decline has prompted a number o blue-ribbon

groups to call or establishing a national goal o ensuring

that 55 percent o young Americans attain an associate

degree or higher.28 One estimate holds that eliminating

the degree gap between underrepresented people

o color (including men) and white Americans would

produce more than hal the degrees needed to meet the

55 percent goal.29

I the 55 percent goal is to be attained, the United

States can no longer ignore the act that, at each level

o education, K12 and higher education, male students

rom every racial and ethnic background ace an

educational crisis.


29/48




30/48

Many Asian Americans and Pacic Islanders object

strenuously to several ways in which they are perceived.

They dont like to be stereotyped as monolithic because

that ignores the great diversity within the community.

They resent being stereotyped as a model minority

because that ignores serious disadvantages within thecommunity, and there is a long-held anxiety about being

considered the perpetual oreigner as though

an Asian American is not an American. Employment

preerences have brought many highly skilled and

upper-income Asians to the United States, but another

signicant source o Asian American/Pacic Islander

immigration lies in reugee populations and those

seeking political asylum.


Dialogue Day

In a global society, Asian Americans and Pacifc

Islanders have a lot to oer.

Why do girls outperorm boys in these

communities? Cultural restrictions and gender roles

may help Asian American and Pacifc Islander girls

academically. They cant go out at night; they might

as well study.

Asian Americans are overrepresented in the top

scores, and theyre overrepresented in the bottom

scores also. Its true across the board.

Between 30 percent and 75 percent o the people

rom Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and India tend to

arrive here under employment preerences. But

between 80 percent and 90 percent o immigrants

rom Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam were reugees

seeking political asylum.

Many Americans dont understand the variety o

ethnic groups contained in the term Asian American/

Pacifc Islander. The U.S. Census recognizes 48

categories under that umbrella term.

The Asian American and Paciic Islander Experience

26


31/48



Waiting or a Miracle is James Comers book that

argues were looking or a miracle i we expect

schools alone to solve the problems o black males.

He argues that only through a national ocus on

supporting black youth, linking them to community

organizations, and providing jobs can we hope toeradicate the designated loser label that plagues our

youth.


Males

A crisis exists and is acute or young men o color

at both the K12 level and the postsecondary level.

This concluding chapter identies common eatures

o promising programs and lays out next steps or

continuing the conversation and moving an agenda

orward to improve the achievement o minority men.

We must encourage public discussion, support research

and promote best practices.

Models or Progress

As the scale o the challenge acing young men o

color has become better understood, many schools,

universities, oundations and community groups have

responded with eorts directed at meeting the needs o

these young men. About a dozen o these programs are

described on the ollowing pages. Whichever minority

community these model programs are directed at, they

have several eatures in common.

Chapter 3:Where to Turn Next


32/48



Mentoring. The emphasis on mentoring in these

programs is notable. For instance, one o the three major

program elements in Puente lies in nding mentors to

encourage Hispanic students to nish a our-year degree.

Call Me MISTER depends on a cohort system (to provide

ongoing companionship and support) and an academic

support system to see that the MISTERs have mentors

and that the MISTERs will, in turn, become mentors

or disadvantaged students in elementary schools. Adult

mentors are also a major part o the XY-Zone program

in Texas, SaeFutures Youth Centers programming or

young Asian and Pacic Islander men in Seattle, The

Chinese Mutual Aid Associations boys programming inChicago, and the Eagle Academys Saturday workshops

in New York.

Partnerships. Practically all o these eorts are built

on partnerships. The Harlem Childrens Zone could

not exist without support rom oundations and the

business community. Hispanic Heritage Awards rely on

recognition ceremonies and placement opportunities

with local businesses. Call Me MISTER is a consortium

o higher education institutions in South Carolina and

ve nearby states. The American Indian College Fund

provides support or individual Native Americans andalso serves as a resource or the unique set o tribal

colleges serving the Native American community. Unless

the University o Caliornia System and the community

colleges o Caliornia were willing to work together, the

Puente Project could never provide the services it oers

to minority students across Caliornia. Partnerships and

collaboration are essential.

Male Role Models. Male role models may simply

be another way o saying mentors, but in some o

these programs, providing the role model may be the

most signicant element in the program. It is clearrom the name (Mentors Instructing Students Toward

Eective Role Models) that providing a role model o a

disadvantaged male who successully completed college

and became a teacher is the central ocus o Call Me

MISTER. The program was built out o the observation

that some 80 percent o teachers are women and

that too many minority boys rarely see an impressive,

proessional male adult in their communities or their

schools. Call Me MISTER sets out to turn that around

as does the XY-Zone program, the Eagle Academy or

Young Men, the Harlem Childrens Zone and, SaeFutures

Youth Center.

Single-Gender Schooling. The Eagle Academy or

Young Men duplicates an educational approach that

was (and is) widespread around the world and in

religious education: single-sex schooling. One does not

have to hold that single-sex schooling is or everyone

to believe that it might be a highly desirable learning

environment or many young men (and young women).

It is entirely conceivable that some students would nd

single-sex programming useul, just as others would

not. Such approaches might be particularly appropriate

or disadvantaged boys o color since it removes

at least one distraction rom their lives. Certainly that

is the motivation behind the establishment o the

Eagle Academy, a program that appears to be highly

successul.

Wraparound Services. Building on the perceptions o

James Comer, the College Boards earlier reports, and

the recommendations o the bigger and bolder task

orce, several o these models anticipate the Obama

administrations emphasis on community services in the

most challenged neighborhoods. The conveyor belt

o powerul experiences in the Harlem Childrens Zone

is especially noteworthy here prenatal care, classes

in parenting, work skills training, and a variety o social

services and community-building opportunities in the

Harlem neighborhood. The support o the Asian Pacic

Fund or community-based and youth organizations in

and around the San Francisco Bay area suggests support

or several similar eorts.

The ollowing programs have been developed by schools,

universities, activists in communities o color, as well as

oundations and sel-help groups. Many depend on local

leadership, and several emphasize research as the basis

o their eorts.

American Indian College Fund

The American Indian College Fund provides scholarships

and other support or American Indian students. The und

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disburses approximately 5,000 scholarships annually or

American Indian students seeking to better their lives

through continued education. As part o its support o

the tribal colleges, the und also provides support or

other needs at the schools ranging rom capital support

to cultural preservation activities.

Asian Pacifc Fund

Concerned that one in ve Asian American children

grows up in poverty and that 17 percent o dropouts in

the San Francisco Bay Area are o Asian origin, the Asian

Pacic Fund makes grants rom an annual campaign and

helps donors provide assistance in several key areas:

college scholarships, health education and childhood

obesity, program support or community service

agencies, immigration and naturalization counseling, and

youth services.

Agencies targeted include schools enrolling large

numbers o Asian American and Pacic Islander children,

Cambodian, Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese and Japanese

youth and community agencies. The unds nances

help support everything rom oral history projects and

community educational outreach through lm, to home

repairs, naturalization assistance, strengthening ocommunity boards and youth counseling. The unds

Growing Up Asian in America essay and art contest

involves hundreds o K12 students in nine counties

surrounding the Bay Area, helping develop writing and

artistic talent and providing an outlet or expressing pride

in ones Asian heritage.

Call Me MISTER

Call Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward

Eective Role Models) is a program run by Clemson

University in South Carolina that directly addresses theshortage o males in teaching. By providing support

so that young men can obtain a bachelors degree

and a teaching credential, the program expects each

MISTER to teach or one year or each year o support.

The program recruits young high school men rom

underserved, disadvantaged and at-risk communities

and expects them to return to these schools. The project

provides:

Tuition assistance through loan orgiveness

programs.

An academic support system to help assure student

success.

A cohort system or social and cultural support.

Participating academic institutions include 13 colleges

in South Carolina and ve partner universities in Florida,

Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Further inormation:www.clemson.edu/hehd/departments/education/research-service/callmemister

Chinese Mutual Aid Associations BBB Program

Chicagos Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA) oers

a number o ater-school programs or toddlers, children

and adolescents. O particular interest is the Boys

Breaking Barriers (Triple B) program, an eort to increase

the sel-esteem and leadership skills o boys within the

Uptown and neighboring communities. Meeting twice

weekly and serving youth 12 to 18 years o age, the

program is designed to articulate and explore issues

important to young men in a manner geared toward their

interests, to increase their sel-condence, to improve

their interpersonal communication skills, and to build and

sustain a support network. BBB eatures a mentoring

program that brings adult mentors and young people

together regularly as part o the BBB program.

A nearly identical program is also operated or girls and

young women, ages 12 to 18 Young Women Warriors

(YWW).

Further inormation:www.chinesemutualaid.org/

youth

Summer Day Camp. In addition to the BBB and YWW

programs, CMAA oers a seven-week summer day

camp annually that serves 60 youth ages 5 to 12. The

camp ocuses on educational sessions: math, reading,

writing and spelling. In the aternoon, the children

engage in planned activities, which include arts and

crats and sports. The camp also promotes leadership

and teamwork skills among 13- to 18-year-olds by

promoting eorts to help them plan and lead activities.


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Eagle Academy or Young Men

The Eagle Academy or Young Men is a grade 912 public

school or boys that seeks to create citizens o integrity

through a partnership between students, administrators,

teachers, parents, mentors and community supporters.

It stresses academic excellence, leadership, character

development, mentoring, integrity and community

service.

The Academy emphasizes leadership and character

development with an academically rigorous curriculum

that includes AP classes, exposure to cultural institutions

and colleges and universities, and proessionals as

mentors. It also requires an Academy contract, which

sets clear standards or behavior, personal accountability

and personal responsibility. Each student signs the

contract, which is read at the opening day convocation,

as a rearmation o the students commitment to

themselves and the schools mission.

The Academy is sponsored by 100 Black Men, Inc.,

a community-based organization o minority

proessionals, which also provides a Saturday Institute

oering academic and lie-skills training.

Further inormation:www.eagleny.org/home.aspx

Harlem Childrens Zone

The Harlem Childrens Zone is one o the most extensive

community-school collaborations in the history o the

United States. It is a remarkably ambitious venture. It

boasts that although a black boy born in 2001 stood a

33 percent chance o going to prison, the same child

stood a 100 percent chance o being on grade level in

kindergarten or the sixth straight year i he attended the

Harlem Gems preschool. HCZ is a unique, innovative,

community-based organization oering education, socialservices, and community-building services to children

and amilies. It wraps a comprehensive array o child and

amily services around schools in an entire neighborhood

parenting classes, job training, health clinics, charter

schools convinced that schools refect what is going

on in the communities around them. Many o the

thousands o students in these schools show impressive

achievement gains.

HCZ replaces the pipeline to prison (seven

neighborhoods in New York City provide 75 percent o

the states prison

educational crisis facing young men of color[1]

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