In the News…
Do You Know Your Gifts?
March 4, 2012Do you know your gifts?
I had the opportunity to share the stage with Dalton Sherman, an extraordinary young man. Many know him from the YouTube video of his speech to over 20,000 Dallas Independent School District teachers and support staff, “Do You Believe in Me?” Dalton and I spoke at the Closing the Achievement Gap: Cutting the Pipeline to Prison Conference held recently in Columbia, South Carolina. Dalton spoke from the heart when he posed the question of parents and teachers, “Do you believe in me?” He also posed the question of students, “Do you believe in yourself?”
These two simple questions, “Do you believe in me?” and “Do you believe in yourself?” challenges parents, teachers, and students to engage in much needed self-reflection. When parents and teachers communicate their belief in their children and students they invariably are looking for students’ gifts and talents, potential and possibilities. A common theme in student achievement research is the importance of parent and teacher expectations and their belief in student potential and student achievement.
An important component of a college’s admission decision is what students will bring to a college’s school community—leadership, athletic abilities, creative gifts in the arts, or gifts and talents across a broad range of intellectual and creative areas. Long before sitting down to put together their college applications, students must ask themselves the following five questions:
- What are my passions?
- What are my gifts, talents, or interests?
- What are the opportunities within my school and community to pursue my passions or develop my talents?
- What are the before-school, after-school, or summer program opportunities to pursue my passions or develop my talents?
- What level of commitment am I willing to make to pursuing my passions and developing my talents?
Encouraging children to develop their gifts and providing opportunities for them to be exposed to personal development and enrichment programs will greatly expand their postsecondary opportunities and enrich their lives.
STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
March 4, 2012Although STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related careers are considered to represent the most important employment and highest paying job/career opportunities of the future, the recent report by the Fordham Institute, “The State of State Science Standards,” reports that most states are not preparing students for these type of jobs or careers.
24 states received a grade of ‘D’ or ‘F’: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Only six states received a grade of ‘A’ or ‘A-‘: California, District of Columbia, Indiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Unfortunately, this lack of preparation in school districts is reflected in student ACT performance. Following is student performance data on the 2011 ACT in the areas of math and science as it relates to the percentage of students from each demographic group considered to be “college ready”:
- 71 percent of Asian students were considered college ready in math and 46 percent were considered college ready in science
- 54 percent of White students were considered college ready in math and 37 percent were considered college ready in science
- 30 percent of Hispanic students were considered college ready in math and 15 percent were considered college ready in science
- 14 percent of Black students were considered college ready in math and 6 percent were considered college ready in science
The documentary, “2 Million Minutes” provides an important, if not ominous look into how STEM education in the U.S. is losing ground to such countries as China and India—countries where U.S. companies are actively recruiting to fill STEM-related jobs. The movie examines how students allocate their 2 million minutes of time over the course of four years of high school. While U.S. students allocate their time across a wide range of extracurricular activities, video game playing, and social interests, their Indian and Chinese counterparts are allocating their 2 million minutes to a much deeper range of scholarly and intellectual pursuits. In those countries, extracurricular activities and social time are not totally absent, they merely represent less of a priority.
Interestingly, the U.S. students profiled in the movie trailer are students in the top 5 percent of their class attending the nation’s best high schools. Panelists in the movie trailer provide some insightful comments into not only where our children place their priorities, but where parents place their priorities. High school basketball and football games have overflowing crowds, while chess competitions, science fairs, and academic celebrations are sparsely attended by parents, ineffectively promoted by schools, and little thought of by students.
The lesson for parents, students, and communities is clear, “Change your priorities and change student outcomes!”
Choosing the Right Summer Programs
March 4, 2012The college-planning workshop, “Choosing the Right Summer Programs” hosted by the Turner Chapel AME Church Education Ministry is taken from the book, “A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams”:
“Your experiences, such as where you have traveled, the type of communities where you have lived, the organizations with which you have been involved with, and the programs or camps in which you have participated contribute to your intangibles (p. 101). The summer months between 8th grade and your senior year of high school should not be squandered. Take advantage of the many opportunities to explore your talents, interests, and abilities. Some of the many opportunities that you may explore, experience, or become involved in are:
- Traveling
- Working in a meaningful job related to an area of interest or through an internship
- Participating in a summer learning opportunity in an academic, artistic, or community service
- Participating in pre-college summer camps/programs
- Participating in a AAU, USATF, or club sport
- Participating in summer practice for a high school sport such as football, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, etc.
- Volunteering as a counselor, life guard, coach, or art instructor at a parks and recreation, Boys & Girls Club, or community program
- Taking some of your non-academic classes or electives in summer school to open your schedule for more honors or advanced classes during the regular school year
There are many summer enrichment, internship, and college program opportunities. The first two stops are your high school counselor’s office and the web. Research programs related to your areas of interest and utilize the opportunity to increase your academic or athletic skills. Try to concentrate first and foremost on those areas that related directly to your college interests, whether in your major field or study or in sports that you intend to pursue on the college level (pp 163-164).”
The workshop also expanded parents’ and students’ understanding of the importance of taking advantage of summer program and enrichment opportunities to enhance students’ résumés and expand students’ gifts. To begin identifying summer program opportunities, do an Internet search of your area of interest, e.g., music summer programs, sports camps, pre-college programs.
Click onto the follow images for links to some of the many summer program opportunities shared in the workshop.
Increasing Black Male College Access and Success
March 4, 2012The illustration above is from the National Black Male College Achievement Study by Penn University Professor Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D., “Black Male Student Success in Higher Education.” The study provides a different research perspective as to the plight of Black males in gaining access to, and succeeding in, higher education. As opposed to a deficit-based perspective seeking to identify all of the challenges to Black male educational attainment, Dr. Harper examines the support mechanisms and assets of Black males who have successfully navigated P-16 education into advanced degrees and a broad range of careers.
Dr. Robert M. Franklin, President of Morehouse College, is quoted as noting the importance of the 5Ms, “Messaging, Mentoring, Monitoring, Ministering, and Money,” as representing important areas of strategic thinking for policymakers:
- What are the messages being sent to Black males as they navigate their P – 16 journey through higher education?
- What type of mentoring are they in need of as they progress through early adolescence, puberty, and into manhood?
- What monitoring mechanisms are needed to monitor their academic achievement, social development, intellectual and creative development?
- What type of ministering to their sense of social, community, spiritual, and humanitarian consciousness is needed?
- And finally, what type of financial support, i.e., money, will they need to gain access to, and support themselves, through college degree attainment?
Dr. Harper provides important insight into how reframing deficit-oriented questions such as:
- Why do so few Black male students enroll in college?
- What are Black male students’ grade point averages often the lowest among both sexes and all racial/ethnic groups on many campuses?
to:
- How were aspirations for postsecondary education cultivated among Black male students who are currently enrolled in college?
- What resources are most effective in helping Black male achievers earn GPAs above 3.0 in a variety or majors, including STEM fields?
I was particularly pleased to note that the Pre-College Socialization and Readiness questions reflected in Dr. Harper’s Anti-Deficit Achievement Framework are being addressed through our work at the foundation and through our partnership with the Turner Chapel AME Church Education Ministry. As a result of Dr. Harper’s research, we now have plans to incorporate additional questions pertaining to college achievement and post-college success into our College Panel Discussions. Parents and students should incorporate such questions into their college research and evaluation efforts:
- What transition support does the college offer for incoming freshmen who may not have had adequate preparation in their secondary schools?
- Are class sizes, student-faculty ratios, and campus culture best suited to student needs?
- What opportunities are provided for students to foster relationships with instructors?
- What opportunities are provided for students to engage in research and internships?
- What support and encouragement is provided to stimulate and nurture students’ degrees beyond the baccalaureate?
While raising such questions is important for all students considering their many postsecondary opportunities, there is a critically important question that parents of Black males, and students themselves must consider, “How will the institution treat me while I am there and how will the institution prepare me for the type of racism I am likely to encounter as I pursue graduate or professional degrees and enter the post-college workplace?” Answering this question was important in guiding the college choice of our older son, who ultimately chose Amherst College, and in part, guided our younger son in narrowing the list of colleges to which he has applied:
- Morehouse
- Howard
- Amherst College
- University of Pennsylvania
- Brown
- Northwestern University
- Washington University
Important findings for parents, educators, and policymakers to take into consideration are:
When asked, “Did you always know you were going to college?” the overwhelming majority of students responded, ‘Yes—it was never a question of if, but where.’ From boyhood through high school, parents and other family members reinforced to the achievers that college was the most viable pathway to social uplift and success. Interestingly, nearly half the participants came from homes where neither parent had attained a bachelor’s degree. Although they had little or no firsthand experience with higher education, these parents cultivated within their children a belief that college was the only allowable next step after high school.
When asked what differentiated their own paths from those of their peers who were not enrolled in college, the participants almost unanimously cited parenting practices. Their friends’ parents, the achievers believed, did not consistently maintain high expectations and were not as involved in their sons’ schooling. By contrast, most of the achievers’ parents and family members more aggressively sought out educational resources to ensure their success—tutoring and academic support programs, college preparatory initiatives, and summer academies and camps, to name a few.
Some of the key recommendations from the study are:
- Importance of consistently high parent expectations
- Equipping Families with College Knowledge
- Culturally sensitizing teachers, counselors, and postsecondary faculty to the practices and processes that are harmful to student achievement and aspirations
- Importance of college preparatory experiences
- Removal of financial barriers
- Importance of summer bridge programs
- Assuming institutional responsibility for Black males student engagement
Much of what is echoed through the reflections of the young men in the study as well as the key recommendations are reflected through our work with students and families:
- Closing the college-knowledge gap
- Assisting parents and students in identifying summer and pre-college programs
- Developing writing and communication skills
- Engaging in college research
- Identifying sources of financial aid
- Identifying the best college choice
- Preparing quality application packages to be considered for admissions into highly-selective colleges and universities
- Providing academic tutorial support
- Developing a sense of social and community consciousness
Perhaps most importantly, reinforcing the message, “It is not if you are going to college, only where are you going to college!” We are eagerly anticipating Dr. Harper’s forthcoming book, “Exceeding Expectations: How Black male Students Succeed in College.”
Many of the factors articulated as having contributed to the success of the Black men interviewed in Dr. Harper’s research are reflected in research findings from Ivory Toldson, Ph.D., in, “Academic Success for School-age Black Males” and in The Journal of Negro Education issue, “Academic Success for School-age Black Males”:
- Importance of parents and family as an important contributor to Black male achievement
- Importance of educational institutions in involving parents in school readiness and collaborating with parents to ensure nurturing and supportive actualizing school-based experiences for Black youth
- Benefits of an authoritative parenting style on Black male behavior and academic achievement
- Impact of after-school programs, tutoring, social skills training/group counseling, recreational, and cultural activities on strengthening Black male academic achievement
- Types of classroom environment and learning experiences cultivated by classroom teachers
- Impact of race-related experiences on Black male achievement
- Importance
Another important recommendation is:
“Religiously affiliated institutions should provide tutoring, mentoring, preparatory workshops for college entrance tests, scholarship for the talented but underprivileged, assistance with college applications, youth summer jobs/programs, assistance to poor families, and spirual services and assistance to Black male inmates and to former inmates who have transitioned back to the community.”
There is clearly a role that faith-based and community organizations must accept if we are to increase the numbers of academically successful Black males.
Click here to for the research study…
Click here to download Superintendent’s Conference Presentation…
Howard University Bus Trip
March 1, 2012The Howard University Alumni Association is sponsoring its 21st annual Spring Break Bus Trip to the Howard University campus. The trip is open to high school juniors and seniors. Go to the following links if you are interested:
Howard University Alumni Association
Form 1: Howard University Release Form
The cost of the trip is $220 and all payments are due in full by MARCH 16, 2012. For further information contact hubustrip@yahoo.com.
Morehouse College Summer Programs
February 29, 2012Morehouse College offers a broad range of summer programs:
- Coca-Cola Pre-College Leadership Program
- “Creating the Beloved Community: An Orientation to Ethical Leadership”
- Pre-Freshman Bridge Summer Science Program
- Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program
- NNSA-DoE Sponsored Pre-freshman
- Summer Enrichment Program in Physics Majors and/or Engineering
- 2012 Thomas J. Blocker Pre-Freshman & 2012 J.K. Haynes Summer Science Program for High School Students
- 2012 Pre-Freshman Summer Program (PSP)
- HHMI-Undergraduate Science Education Program
- Clayton County Schools Summer Program
- Youth Entrepreneurship Summer (YES) Camp
- Project Identity Summer Program for Youth
- D.R.E.A.M.S. Discovery Research Education for African-American men in STEM
KSU SAT Boot Camp
February 23, 2012The Kennesaw State University 2012 SAT Boot Camp is open to rising juniors and seniors from under-represented groups.
For a $25 registration fee, students will receive:
- Twelve hours of professional SAT preparatory instruction
- The opportunity to take a practice SAT test
- SAT practice workbook and study guide
- Customized tours of the KSU campus
- College Admissions and Financial Aid information
- Activities, giveaways, door prizes and more!
For more information or to submit an application, visit www.kennesaw.edu/admissions/minority/satworkshop
US National BioGENEius Challenge
February 23, 2012The Georgia BioGENEius Challenge is a competition for high school students who are doing outstanding research in biotechnology.
To reach the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge, you follow this path:
- You must apply to the Georgia BioGENEius Challenge. Please click here for the online application . Submissions must be completed on the Biotechnology Institute site by March 23, 2012.
- You must participate in the statewide Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) on March 29-March 31, 2012 at held in Athens, GA at the Classic Center. Winners of the local challenge will be judged and selected during the special awards judging at this event. Winners will be notified at the Awards ceremony on Saturday, April 1.
- If selected, you must be willing to attend the National BioGENEius Challenge in Boston, MA, from Friday, June 15 -Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Travel expenses will be paid for according to the Georgia BioGENEius Travel Policy.
Georgia BioGENEius Challenge Information
Georgia BioGENEius Challenge takes place on March 29-March 31, 2012 at the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) held in Athens, GA at the Classic Center. Information about GSEF and entry forms for the GSEF competition may be found on the GSEF website: www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/oasp. GSEF participants are invited from first and some second place winners of regional Georgia science fairs. GSEF participants may then enter the BioGENEius Challenge by registering with the Biotechnology Institute’s online application form. For the Georgia competition, no special posters or materials are required beyond the normal GSEF entry requirements. If the participant is selected as a finalist, a roll-up poster will be required for the finals in Boston in June. See below for Poster Guidelines for the US and International finals.
Judging will occur during the GSEF event during the special awards judging period. Winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 1, 2012. Checklist for entering Georgia’s Local BioGENEius Challenge:
- Complete online application here by 8 am, Friday, March 23, 2012
- Complete Declarations Form and email scanned, signed copy to maria.thacker@gabio.org by Monday, March 26, 2012
- Read Rules and Guidelines, Judging Criteria and Poster Guidelines
- Attend GSEF in Athens, GA March 29-March 31, 2012.
For a list all of Local Partners please click here.
Maria Thacker • 119 Euclid Ave, NE • Atlanta, GA 30307 • Phone: 404-920-2042
American Association of Blacks in Energy Scholarship
February 23, 2012American Association of Blacks in Energy (Atlanta Chapter) Scholarship Application
The purpose of the AABE Atlanta Chapter Scholarship is to assist African American, Hispanic, and Native American students with the cost of pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in an energy related field, at an accredited college/university.
Eligibility
Candidates for an AABE scholarship must meet the following eligibility criteria: Student must be a U. S. Citizen and a resident of Georgia. Student must attend a metro Atlanta area high school. Student must have a B (or better) average or a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale and a minimum Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score of 1400 or American College Testing (ACT) composite score of 19. Student must graduate by June 30, 2012 from an accredited high school institution.
Student should be involved in community/civic service activities. Student must have two recommendations (one from a teacher or counselor and the other non-academic). Student must submit an essay (300 word minimum/350 word maximum) stating why they should receive an AABE scholarship, personal career objectives and any additional information to assist the selection committee. Students must plan to major in approved business, engineering, technology, mathematics or physical science (astronomy, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, meteorology, physics) – i.e., energy industry related fields. Upon notification as an award recipient, student must provide an acceptance letter from an accredited college/university before the awards ceremony, which is scheduled to be held on Thursday, May 10 or Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at Georgia Power’s corporate office in downtown Atlanta.
Deadline to apply: March 2, 2012
KSU Alumni Legacy Day
February 23, 2012The KSU Alumni Association presents Alumni/Legacy Day for parents and their children who want to get a glimpse of Kennesaw State University. Alumni/Legacy Day is Saturday, March 10 and promises to be a day filled with information and interaction. Please share this information within your communities.
Alumni/Legacy Day will include:
- vital information about admissions, financial aid, athletics (football) and financial planning for college;
- tips on preparing for college interviews and presentations;
- fun and interactive sessions introducing students to the college classroom;
- tours of campus and student residences;
- breakfast and lunch; and
- a keepsake photo of the day.
Adults – $80, Children (ages 11-17) – $45. Adults must accompany children.
Feel free to share this flyer with your faculty, students and parents!
For more information, contact Jennie Kay Coleman, Office of Alumni Affairs at (770) 423-6333.