For my Homies...

Detroit, Motown, the Motor City...big props to Chrysler for highlighting the city in a recent Superbowl ad.  Kudos to Eminem for reppin' the city as well. No words for the the state of Michigan which has mandated that Detroit Public Schools close one-half of the city's schools.  The closures will cause overcrowding (imagine 60-student classrooms) and an environment that is in no way conducive to learning. It is unfortunate that in our trying economy one of the few things that give people hope for a future, education, is one of the first things sacrificed in the name of money. 

I know the population of Detroit and Michigan has declined over the past few years.  Detroit has fewer students, so it is understandable (by those of us who do not live there) that some schools would close. Some schools. It is likely that what is happening in Detroit can and will happen in other metropolitan areas.  We should heed the words of John F. Kennedy:

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.

(Click here to read the article in the Detroit News ==> Detroit Cuts Class)

(Click here to see the Superbowl ad==>Imported from Detroit)

Urban Prep Success

I've been meaning to touch on this subject since I first heard about it several weeks ago.  Urban Prep, a public, all-male charter school with a predominantly African-American student body, claims that 100% of its graduating seniors have been accepted to 4-year colleges.  In the time that the story was made public, there have been some naysayers inquiring about the legitimacy of the claim. It has been suggested that not all students who started with the class of 2011 are finishing with their classmates.  It has also been suggested that some students were driven away, perhaps because they weren't living up to the Urban Prep code. While there may be some genuine concern about the numbers, the fact still remains that Urban Prep is accomplishing something many high schools across the country are not: getting African-American males to graduate, period! 

Even if Urban Prep's claim was to GRADUATE 80% of its African-American male students, that would beat out most, if not all, schools in America.  To have these young men graduate with the intention of attending college is nothing short of AWESOME!  Keep up the good work Urban Prep!

(Click here for the Tribune article ==> Urban Prep)

Down but not Completely Out...

According to the 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males only 37% of Black males graduate from Florida's high schools, causing Florida to be ranked 49th in the country. As a parent of a young black male I find this statistic disturbing, as should everyone. Perhaps these young men feel that the educational system is not designed for them, and they would be correct.  However, it is possible for them to successfully navigate the system and achieve success.  It will take a concerted effort on all our parts to address the deficiencies that cause Black males to disengage from the educational system and sometimes from the mainstream of life.