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Improving the academic achievement of African-American males: a case study in San Diego, California

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Improving the academic achievement of African-American males: a case study in San Diego, California

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Content INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g^ maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. a B e< ( & Howeii information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. M l A S 106-1346 USA 313 761-4700 800.521-0600 IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES: A CASE STUDY IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA b y Dennis W . Brown A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION December 1994 Copyright 1994 Dennis Wesley Brown D M I Nunber: 9600954 OKI Nicrofor* 9600954 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights rwtrvtd. This sicrofora sdltion is protsctsd against unauthorised copying undsr Titls 17, United Statas Cods. UMI 300 North lasb Road Ana Arbor, Ml 40103 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA School of Education Los Angeles, California 90089-0031 This dissertation, written by D en n jg W. B rovn _ under the direction o f hldL-Dissertation Committee, and approved by all members o f the Committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D o c to r o f E ducation m i ’ “ Him Dissertation Committef Dennis W. Brown Maury A. Ross IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES: A CASE STUDY IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA In the San Diego Unified School District the historical achievement of African-American males shows continuous failure. In seeking solutions to the problem the district created a program titled Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students (IAAAAMS). The purpose of the dissertation is to gather information on the effectiveness of the techniques that have been employed to improve the achievement of African- American males in San Diego city schools. The focus group of this case study are the students attending the four schools selected to pilot the program, Fulton and Knox elementary schools and Bell and Gompers secondary schools. Also included in this study are reactions to the program from parents, teachers, site administrators, district administrators, and school board members. The work of those chosen to implement the program, African-American male adults known as pupil advocates, is also evaluated. The validation of this type of program and similar programs is the success shown in meeting the stated objectives of improving the educational outcomes t o r African-American male youth. (Copies available exclusively from Micrographics Depart ment, Doheny Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0132 . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of a dissertation is an individual ized task that requires support from a number of sources. Throughout my matriculation I had many supporters, many who urged me to "keep my eye on the prize." I will acknowledge some in this text; however, others will be overlooked, but not purposely. My memory bank is just overloaded. Their spirit is, however, retained. To my parents, Clement W. and Dorothy G. Brown, both of whom departed this earth during my pursuit of this degree, I give thanks for the belief that they had in me and the encouragement to finish the task that they instilled in me and lived to see in vocational pursuits. To my family, wife Debra and sons Ajani and Jabari, thanks for giving me the freedom to continue to grow. I hope my quests will provide you with an easier path through which to pursue your dreams. You make everything in my life make sense. This one's for you. To the advocates and program coordinator, Agin Shaheed, Kasimu Harley, Doug Williams, Leonard Thompson, and John Browne, special thanks. This is your story. ii Each of you is a hero in the eyes of all of the students that you have affected in such a positive way over the last 5 years. You are heroes to me also. You weren't supposed to succeed, but because each of you believed in yourselves and believed in the young men, you have achieved greatness that will be appreciated and recognized in the years to come. Thank you, Anne Leu, for having the skill and patience for 6 years to take my scribblings and disorgani zation and put it in a professional-looking format so that my message can be shared with an academic audience. You are the best. To my friend and spiritual soul mate, Umar Hassan, thank you for being there the summers I spent in L.A. Having a friend in a foreign port makes every harbor a safe one. Dr. Reginald Clark, though we haven't communicated lately, I appreciate the introduction you provided me to academic research, I would not have had the self- assurance to finish this task without your early guidance. Lastly, to my special friends, too numerous to mention, thank you for your love, your support and encouragement. You made this adventure fun. I promise to be there if any of you are crazy enough to try something like this (smile). iii With sincerity, the struggle continues, Dennis W. Brown, Ed.D. August 2, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................... ii LIST OF T A B L E S ........................................ ix Chapter I . INTRODUCTION.........* ...................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................ S Purpose of the Study .................... 11 Research Questions ...................... 12 Limitations.......................... 14 Delimitations . * ................... 15 Definition of T e r m s ................. 15 Organization of the Dissertation .... 18 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE............... 20 Elementary School Programs ............. 24 East End Neighborhood House Program in East Cleveland, OH . . . 24 Helping Hands, Wake County Public Schools, Raleigh, NC ................ 25 Inroads/Wisconsin Youth Leadership Academy, Milwaukee Public Schools ...................... 25 Mathew A. Henson Elementary School, All Male Class, Baltimore, MD ...................... 26 Monnier Elementary School, Save a Star Male Leadership Development Preventive Dropout Program, Detroit, MI ................ 27 Pine Villa Elementary School, At Risk Male Class, Miami, FL . . . 27 v Chapter Page Morehouse College's Community Service Projects at Olgethorpe and Dean Rusk Elementary Schools, Atlanta, G A ................ 26 Woodward Elementary School Cadet Program, Detroit, MI ................ 28 Woodward Elementary School and Michigan State University "My Brother's Keeper" Program, Detroit, MI . . 29 Secondary School Programs ............... 29 The Children of the Sun, Tampa Urban L e a g u e ........................ 29 The Hawk Project, Grant Union High School, Sacramento, CA .... 30 A&M College, Black Male College Explorers' Program, Tallahassee, FL .................... 31 A Curriculum for Adolescent Fathers, English High School, Boston, M A .......................... 31 Ujamaa Institute, Medgar Evars College, Brooklyn, NY ............. 32 Privately Organized Projects for School-Aged Youth ...................... 32 Concerned Black Men, Inc., Project 200 0, Washington, DC .... 32 Toussaint Institute Fund, New York, N Y ............................ 33 District and State Proposals for School-Based Projects ................. 34 Increasing the Achievement of Black Male Students: The Portland, Oregon, Public Schools Approach .................... 34 Black Male Achievement: Prince George's County Public Schools, Prince George's County, MD ......... 3 5 Milwaukee Public Schools: A Dream Deferred .................... 3 6 Educating Black Male Youth: The New Orleans Public Schools ......... 37 Ohio's African-American Males: A Call to A c t i o n .................... 39 The Challenge of Private Vs. Public School Choice .......................... 4 9 vi Chapter Page Afrocentricity and Multicultural Education and African-American Male Programs . , * .................... 52 San Diego City Schools: Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students (IAAAAMS) ............................... 54 III. METHODOLOGY ................................. 56 The Program Description ................. 59 Background............................ 59 Program Objectives .................... 61 Instrumentation .......................... 62 Interview Questions, Student S u r v e y ............................... 65 Interview Questions, Pupil Advocates .......................... 67 Parents Questionnaire ............... 69 Administrators, Board Members, and Teachers Questionnaire ......... 70 Triangulation ............................ 74 IV, FINDINGS..................................... 75 Teachers/Counselor Responses ........... 80 Knowledge of Program Objectives . . . 82 Perceptions of Program Success .... 83 Perception of Program Support .... 95 Site Administrator Responses ........... 100 Knowledge of Program Objectives . . . 100 Perceptions of Program Success .... 102 Perceptions of Program Support .... 108 Central Office and Board Members .... 112 Knowledge of Program Objectives . . . 113 Perceptions of Program Success .... 115 Perceptions of Program Support .... 121 Parent Responses ........................ 127 Pupil Interviews ...........................136 Discussion of Student Responses ......... 167 Interviews: Program Coordinator and Pupil Advocates...................... 179 Triangulation with Grade Point Averages and Suspension Rates (School Year 1993-1994) 209 Suspension Rates ...................... 217 Summary of GPA and Suspension Data . . 219 Discussion ................................. 221 vii Chapter Page V. SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ............................... 228 S u m m a r y .......................................228 Review of the Problem ...................228 Purpose of the S t u d y .....................231 Methodology ..............................232 Sample and Population ................ 234 Findings .................................... 235 Conclusions.................................. 239 Implications ............................. 240 REFERENCES 244 APPENDIXES 254 A. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, STUDENT SURVEY .... 255 B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, PUPIL ADVOCATES .... 258 C. PARENTS QUESTIONNAIRE ....................... 261 D. ADMINISTRATORS, BOARD MEMBERS, AND TEACHERS QUESTIONNAIRE .................... 26 5 E. TEACHER COVER LETTER ......................... 271 F. TEACHER COMMENTS .............................. 273 G. SITE ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS ................ 279 H. CENTRAL OFFICE AND BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS . . 281 I. PARENT COMMENTS .................................283 J. IT'S YOUR CHOICE: LESSONS IN GROWTH AND SELF-ESTEEM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES ............. 286 viii 72 73 81 84 65 96 101 101 103 109 113 114 ix LIST OF TABLES Rate of Response--Teachers, Site Administrators (Principals), Central Office Administrators, and School Board Members ........................ Chronology of Interviews and Distribution _<f Surveys ............. Teachers/Counselor Experience (N = 47) Teachers' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 1 and 2 (N = 47) Teachers' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 3-16 ............. Teachers1 Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 17-25 ........... Site Administrator Experience (N = 4) Site Administrators' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 1 and 2 (N - 4) ............................... Site Administrators' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 3-16 . . . Site Administrators' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 17-25 . . Central Office and Board Members Experience (N « 9) .................... Central Office and Board Members’ Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 1 and 2 (N - 9) ........... Table Page 13. Central Office and Board Members* Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 3-16 116 14. Central Office and Board Members' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 17-25 123 15. Parents' Responses to IAAAAMS Program S u r v e y .....................................129 16. Knox Elementary School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 138 17. Fulton Elementary School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 144 16. Bell Junior High School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 152 19. Gompers Secondary School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 159 20. Bell Junior High Aggregated G P A s .......... 211 21. Bell Junior High Suspensions...............211 22. Gompers Secondary School Aggregated GPAs . . 212 23. Gompers Secondary School Suspensions .... 212 24. Comparison of Gompers and Bell GPAs .... 213 25. Combined GPA Totals for All 3 Years .... 213 26. Percent Distribution of G P A s ...............214 27. Combined GPA Totals for All Years ............ 214 28. Final Report Card Grade Distributions . . . 216 29. Combined Totals for Both Y e a r s ............ 216 30. District-Wide Suspension Counts and Rates for African-American Males ......... 217 x Table Page 31. District-Wide Suspension Counts and Rates for African-American Males in Elementary Schools .......................... 218 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The plight of African-American male students in U.S. schools is well documented (Bennett & Harris, 1962; Bridges, 1986; Curry, 1990; Doyle, 1989; Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Garibaldi, 1988; George & Farrell, 1990; Milwaukee Public Schools African-American Male Task Force [hereafter cited as Milwaukee], 1990; Olsen, 1990; Raspberry, 1990; and many others). The problem has caused a number of cities and school districts around the country to design and adopt strategies by which they seek to improve the performance of Black males in their respective schools. Cities whose programs will be described in Chapter II of this dissertation, which have embarked upon programs focusing on African-American males, include: Milwaukee, WI; Baltimore and Prince George's County, MD; Atlanta, GA; Detroit, MI; Pittsburg, PA; Boston, MA; Brooklyn and New York City, NY; Cleveland, OH; Raleigh, NC; Miami, Tampa, and Tallahassee, FL; Sacramento, CA; New Orleans, LA; and Portland, OR; along with San Diego, CA. These particular programs are unique because they identify students by race 1 and gender, and these African-American males are placed in classes that reflect this separation or in schools which are designated for African-American male students, almost exclusively (Davis, 1989; Green, Franklin, & Hammond, 1988; Milwaukee, 1990). The placement of Black males in racially and gender identified classes has not been without controversy. Debate exists about the need to separate African-American males out of regular school programs at all. Most debate, however, centers around whether racially identified classes or schools operate against the judgments articu lated in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in which the Supreme Court declared on May 17, 1954, that as a fundamental principle racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional (Oliver Brown et al., 1955). Some agree that this recreates situations of separate but equal that the decision sought to overturn (Jaynes & Williams, 1989; McPartland & Braddock, 1981; NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1991). Others argue that integration of schools has not worked to improve student achievement which was one of the primary reasons cited in Brown that justified the outlawing of segregation in schools (Bell, 1960; Bridges, 1986; Edmonds, 1980; Milwaukee, 1990; Olsen, 1990). Kozol (1991) argues that the nation has turned its back on the moral and legal 2 ramifications of Brown and that the situation in schools is more racially and economically segregated than it was 25 years ago. In some school districts substantial majorities of the student population are non-White, primarily due to White flight away from inner cities, resulting in the resegregation of schools. Still others suggest that segregation of African-Americans should be a matter of choice and that choice should not be limited to public schools (Alexander, 1993; Arnez & Jones-Wilson, 1988; Carter, 1987; Chubb & Moe, 1990; Raspberry, 1990; Ratteray & Shujaa, 1987; Sowell, 1972, 1984), The philosophical basis for all African-American classes and schools came from effective school research from Edmonds (1980), Bell (1980), and others. In opposi tion to concepts promoted by Coleman (1989) and Jencks et al. (1972), which suggested that family background was the major problem for Blacks and low-income children and schools could do little to help them, the former authors feel that school response is the principal determinant of pupil performance. They argue that school desegregation in and of itself has little effect on pupil performance. They choose to refocus desegregation away from solely racial balance and toward quality education. Edmonds (1980) and Bell (1980) based their premises on the fact that to a great extent Black students attend largely 3 segregated schools even now and that African-American parents involved in the Brown decision wanted to remove the badge of inferiority that was enforced through the legal subordination of Black people. That was to be followed by effective education whether in racially integrated environments or not. There are legal precedents that support this concept: Milliken v. Bradley II. 433 U.S. 267 (cited in Bell, 1980), which substitutes educational improvements in place of racial balance remediation in Detroit; Lau v. Nichols. 414 U.S. 563 (cited in Bell, 1980), supporting methods of reducing language difficulties for Chinese children; and Martin Luther Elementary School v. Ann Arbor School District Board. 473 F. Suppl. (cited in Bell, 1980), in which teachers became familiar with improving Black English barriers for students are examples. The debate about whether to educate Black youth in integrated or segregated environments is not a new one, nor is the discussion about the responsibility of finding viable alternatives for educating African-Tunerican youth by no means a new concept. Woodson (1933) stated: The program for the uplift of the Negro in this country must be based upon a scientific study of the Negro from within to develop in him the power to do for himself what his oppressors will never do to elevate him to a level of others. (p. 144) 4 More recently, Barnes (1992) issued the following challenge: Since education is a high priority in the nation, effective schools should now become a reality. Lest we forget, effec tive schooling is not and has not been a reality in the lives of African-Americans, especially the male .... The people criticizing his level of performance are the very ones who deprived him of an edu cation to say nothing about an effective education .... Rather than imprinting in mind that schools cannot do for African-Americans what they do for others, education leaders should be showing what schools can do to make African-Americans anybody's educational equal. The call is for proud educators who educate all people. (p. 2) Statement of the Problem Research shows that we as a nation have not success fully developed African-American students and that the underachievement of these students remains an enigma to education in the United States. The Black male in Ameri can society is on the endangered list. Jaynes and Williams (1989) reported that the enrollment of African- American males attending higher education had actually dropped 34,000 between 1976 and 1986, 4 0% of all adult African-American males are functionally illiterate, and the percentage of incarcerated African-American males is 13 times greater than the percentage of African-American males in college. Coleman (1989) cited statistics that show that 30% of African-American male high school students drop out, and the unemployment for Black youth ranges between 45% and 52% nationally. Hare and Hare (1985) reported that Black males have the following problems: • A homicide rate of 125.5 deaths per 100,000 Black males between the ages of 24 and 44 as compared with 14.2 per 100,000 White males. ■ An unemployment rate for working-age Black males that hovers at nearly 40%. ■ A 20% dropout rate for Black males by the time they reach the age of 21. * A disproportionate 40% of the nation's prison popula tion composed of Black males, although they represent approximately 6% of the nation's population. ■ Suicide as the third leading cause of death among Black males. ■ One out of every six Black males arrested by the time they reach the age of 19. Kozol (1985) indicated that 75% of all kindergarten students in a study tested at or above the national average in Cleveland public schools with no significant racial divergence. By the eleventh grade nearly 60% of all African-American students tested below the national norm while only 28% of White students did so. Whites in 6 essence remained the same; Blacks fell to 6 out of 10 below the national norm. Garibaldi (1992) in his research of African-American males in the New Orleans Public School System cited the following data: In an urban school system where 87% of the 66,000 students were African-American, we found that African males accounted for 58% of the nonpromotions, 65% of the sus pensions, 80% of the expulsions, and 4 5% of the dropouts--even though these young men represented only 43% of the school population . . . 800 of the 1,470 nonpro- motions in the first grade [emphasis added] and more than 1,600 of the almost 2,800 nonpromotions in the sixth grade through eighth grades were African- American males. With respect to academic achievement, we found that one-third of African- American males and females in New Orleans's public schools scored in the lowest quartile on the reading and mathe matics sections of the California Test of Basic Skills. Only 18% of the African- American males and 20% of the females scored in the highest quartile on the mathematics component of the text, and only 16% of females and 13% of males scored on the highest quartile on the reading test. (p. 5) Data gathered from the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) reinforce the contention that African-American males may be the most distressed population in our society. Approximately 57.7% of Milwaukee's 98,000 students are African-American. Of the 5,700 African-American males enrolled in the city's high schools in 1989-1990, only 135 (2%) had a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) between 7 3.0 and 4.0, while only slightly more than 1,000 (17%) had a cumulative GPA between 2.00 and 2.9. This means that more than 80% of the African-American male high school students are performing below average. Additionally, although African-American males constituted only 28% of the total students in the Milwaukee Public Schools during the 1989-1990 school year, they constituted 50% of the students suspended systemwide (Milwaukee, 1990). In the San Diego Unified School District the histori cal achievement of African-American males shows continuous failure. For example: 1. The mean GPA for African-American males, grades 7-12, in the 1988-1989 school year was 1.80 and in the 1989-1990 school year was 1.79. That means that the average student who was Black and male had a GPA below C- grade level. Only 5.2% and 5.1% had GPAs exceeding 3.0 in those respective years. 2. African-American males in grades K-3 showed a decrease in mean scores on the California Test of Basic Skills for the period from 1989 to 1990. These scores were already below district averages. 3. African-American males tend to be absent from school more than other students, particularly at the secondary level. 8 4. African-American males are likely to be suspended from school at a rate three times the average of other racial/ethnic groups in the district, especially in grades 7-10, where the rates per 100 students range from 59.9 in grade 7 to 3 9.6 in grade 10. 5. African-American males are twice more likely to be referred for learning handicapped classes (LH) than other district students. In the 1988-1989 school year, 15.5% were identified; in the 1989-1990 school year, 17.4% were identified. 6. African-American males constituted only 3.89% of all Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) students in 1988- 1989, and 3.21% in 1989-1990. 7. The dropout rate for African-American males in the 1986-1987 school year was 37.4%; 1987-1988, 42.3%; and 1988-198 9, 3 9.9%, meaning roughly 4 out of every 10 drop out before graduation. 8. While over one-third of all graduates of San Diego city schools meet the University of California A-F college entrance requirements, only 3.5% of African- American males meet those requirements. 9. African-American males scored at an average of 20% below the district level on the CTBS reading, language, and mathematics subteBts in 1990 (Improving the 9 Academic Achievement of African-American Males: Pre liminary Report. 1990). With all of the indicators of underachievement identified in the San Diego school district, the school board came under a great deal of pressure from Blacks and within themselves in a moral obligation to seek solutions to the problem. As mentioned above, San Diego is not alone in being a district that has made an effort to implement programs focusing on the improvement of their students. Nor is this perceived need a new one. Campbell (1969) noted that cities have changed and the changes cause a new set of constraints to be imposed upon school boards in cities. The White middle class has moved to the suburbs, replaced by lower-income people and some immi grants, most of whom are Black, Puerto Rican, Mexican- American, and poorer Whites. Fine (1969) suggested that the present role of school boards is overwhelming, the differences in size, wealth, and composition of the school communities result in differences in school board functions. As a result, the Institute for Educational Leadership (1986) study found that boards, particularly in urban areas, have become more representative of the diversity in these communities and thus more likely to service the needs of special interests within the community. This fact is coupled by demands from 10 government, business, and the public to improve the performance of students within the schools, especially low income and non-White populations. The result in San Diego city schools was the estab lishment of a district objective specifically focused on meeting the needs of African-American males. The objective reflected 11 expected outcomes for student improvement. In addition to addressing the above mentioned, the board research identified that a key factor in the failure of African-American males in schools is the lack of role models who can inspire them to education attainment (Andersen, 1989; Davis, 1989). Purpose of the Study The purpose of this investigation is to gather information on the effectiveness of the techniques that have been employed to improve the achievement of African- American males in San Diego city schools. It will help determine if the program recommended by the district had an impact on the overall academic performance and behavior of students who attend the pilot programs. The study will determine to what extent teachers were more empowered to meet the needs of these students. The study will ascertain how much greater participa tion there was by parents and community members who were 11 African-American and thus have a stake in the outcome of the project. The study will gauge the support by site and district administrators and the school board. The study will analyze the types of enrichment experiences developed by the advocates to determine if they were appropriate and effective with students in improving their motivation to achieve in school. The study will determine what effect, if any, the program had on other sites throughout the school district. The study will suggest whether the project should be recommended as a model for other schools or other school districts. The study will recommend further investigations that should occur in this field. Research Questions 1. To what extent did the implementation of the Pilot Schools Program in the African-American project enable the city schools to address the deficiencies shown by African-American males at the pilot schools and other schools in San Diego? 2. Did the project show movement towards meeting the district objective of improving the achievement of 12 African-American males? Were the 11 expected student outcomes for improvement reached at the pilot schools? 3. How many of the strategies employed by the pupil advocates were effective in improving student achievement? How was that effectiveness determined? 4. Were any of the strategies ineffective? If so, why? 5. Were the pupil advocates equally effective at each of their sites? 6 * How did teaching strategies change at the pilot schools? Was there a corresponding attitudinal change in the expectations teachers had for African-American male students? 7. Was there a change in the curriculum that comple mented the teaching strategies? If so, what were those curriculum changes? 8. How much support to the project at the pilot schools was provided by site administrators? Did that support change during the life of the project? If so, how and why? 9. How much support was provided to the project by district administrators? Did that support change during the life of the project? If so, how and why? 10. Did the school board actively support the project? How was that support shown? 13 11. What is the opinion of the project by its target population, African-American males, at the pilot schools? Do they feel they have been helped by the project? Was their overall academic achievement improved as a result of their participation in the project? How was their attitude about school changed as a result of the project? 12. How do parents and community feel about the project? Do they think it has been beneficial to their children? Has it increased their participation in school- related functions? Has it improved thfir attitudes about themselves? 13. Can this program serve as a prototype for other schools in San Diego or in other school districts? Limitations 1. Differential investigation mortality of subjects may limit the findings of the investigation. 2. Validity of the research is limited to the honesty of the subjects' responses to the surveys and questionnaires. 3. Internal and external validity will be limited to the reliability of the instruments employed in this study. 4. The investigation is of a program still in progress, and improvement in the performance of students 14 may be limited by the length of time of their participa tion . Delimitations 1. The study will be limited to students who have been part of the African-American male project. 2. Response of students will be limited to those whose parents have given permission for them to be included in this research. Definition of Terms Africans Studies: An intellectual movement among primarily African-American scholars evolving from the civil rights movement during the latter half of the 1960s. Its purpose is to socially and academically challenge and change the Eurocentric educational paradigm and simultaneously contribute to a process and movement of social change (Brisbane, 1974; Karenga, 1989). African-American: Currently this is the most widely accepted term used by scholars for this racial group to identify people who trace their social history to the original people of the African continent. For purposes of this study the term will be used interchangeably with Black which was popularized as a positive racial 15 identification during the Black Power and Black Identity movements of the middle 20th century. Afrocentricitv: A philosophy which seeks to define and delineate a conceptual framework for a self-conscious, unified and effective way of understanding, appreciating and utilizing the rich and varied complexity of African life and culture (Asante, 1980, 1987, 1990). It is a con tributing factor to multicultural education. Assessment: These are ways that students* quality of performance can be determined. Types of assessment include standardized tests and performance assessments such as portfolios, projects, and performances. Schools and districts are assessed as to the quality of their instructional programs via standardized tests such as the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) and the Abbreviated Stanford Achievement Test (ASAT). Black: This term which will be used interchangeably with African-American in this research (see African- American) has been popular for approximately 30 years as the name of the race of people who are the original people of the African continent. Black scholars capitalize the word in the research, recognizing it as a proper noun, not as an adjective. Brownjf. Board of Education of Topeka: The landmark Supreme Court decision that declared that as a fundamental 16 principle racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional. It is considered by many the most important Supreme Court decision in the 20th century. Improving the Academic Achievement of African- American Male Students fIAAAAMS): The focus of this dissertation is the program which was developed to attempt to improve the academic performance of Black males in San Diego city schools. The program was implemented in 1989. Increasing the Achievement of Black Male Students {IABMS) ; The Portland, Oregon. Public Schools Approach: This report described a comprehensive program developed by this school district which focused on improving educa tional outcomes for African-American male students. Milwaukee Public Schools African-American Male Task Force: A group of educators in the Milwaukee public schools formed to seek solutions to problems identified as impairments to the academic and social achievement of African-American males in the district. Multicultural Education; A system of study that recognizes the diversity of humanity, educates people in ways that are relevant to their own life experiences, prepares students and teachers for the world in which they will live with an appreciation for diversity, mutuality and interdependence (The Challenge of Diversity. 1991). 17 Pupil Advocate: The Board of Education hired four individuals to facilitate the IAAAAMS program at four pilot schools in San Diego City Schools. The individuals were called pupil advocates. They were responsible for the implementation and day to day operation of the program. Restructuring: Activities that change fundamental assumptions, practices and relationships, both within the organization and between the organization, in ways that lead to improved and varied student learning outcomes for essentially all students (Conley, 1992). Organization of the Dissertation This dissertation is a qualitative case study designed to take an in-depth look at the San Diego City Schools Improving the Academic Achievement of African Males Program. This type of program represents a radical departure from educational practices of the past 4 0 years which have emphasized integration of students across lines of race and gender. Chapter II will review the literature about special programs for African-American male students throughout the United States. This will allow comparisons and contrasts to be made about strategies implemented in these programs designed to meet the needs of this special group of IB students. Information will be shared relating to how these programs have been shown to be effective or not, how they relate to concepts of multicultural education, Afro- centricity, accountability, school restructuring and educational paradigms such as effective school research vs. concepts focusing on family. The chapter will then show how the IAAAAMS draws from each of those concepts. Chapter III will elaborate the purposes, rationale and methodologies for the qualitative measure that will be taking place. The population to be studied will be identified along with sampling techniques, procedures for data collection and descriptions of the data collection instruments. School records, maintained on the Student Information System (SIS), will provide information pertaining to GPA, attendance, discipline, suspensions, test scores on district-wide exams, recognition awards, GATE class placements and other vital information. Chapter IV will discuss the findings from the field work and provide an understanding of these findings rela tive to the question the study sought to answer. Chapter V will summarize the findings of the study, identify the conclusions and implications of this research and suggest recommendations for future research. 19 CHAPTER IX REVIEW OF LITERATURE The causes of the problems of African-American youth in schools are not all school related. Primarily, economic factors have also had an effect on the urban poor Black community that in turn affect the Black family. The decline in the United States industrial economy and the removal of many low-skilled jobs from the cities, often to small towns, suburbs, or more likely foreign countries, has caused the decline of both working class and middle class Black families in urban neighborhoods. This has deprived many remaining families in minority neighborhoods of contact with regularly employed individuals of job networks and other middle-class resources--in short, models of a disciplined lifestyle and realistic hope (Wilson, 1987). These neighborhoods suffer extreme cases of social isolation that generate problems for the resi dents such as: drug abuse, domestic violence, lack of health services for related health problems, suicide, and most ominously higher rates of arrest and incarceration for African-American male youth. In 1986, about one 20 quarter of all Black high school dropouts between 2 5 and 35 were in jail (Ferguson, 1990). The alienation leads to greater violence within the community. Strickland (1989) noted that "60 young Black men compared with every 10 young White men will more likely die violent, often self- inflicted deaths." In other words, "homicide and suicide kill more of our 15- to 24-year-olds than any other means" (p. 51). There has been as a result of these conditions an acknowledgment of both an internal and external crisis in the Black community. Suffering internally is the African- American family, neighborhood community, and cultural institutions. The external crisis results from the deterioration of skilled and higher paying jobs within, and accessible to, the urban Black community; the decline in public support for housing, health care, education, and related social service for lower-to-moderate income people; and the increasing reliance on prisons and other coercive methods for "regulating" the Black male popula tion (Marable, 1990). "To be young and Black in the urban areas of the United States is to be subjected to all the harshest elements of oppression at the most vulnerable period of one's life" (Staples, 1982, p. 22). 21 Other factors affecting African-American youth include the high proportion of female-headed households which increased from 22 to 44% between 1960 and 1985, Eighty-six percent of all Black children are likely to spend some time in a single parent household, usually a mother-only family {Jaynes & Williams, 1989). This factor is consistent with the rise of joblessness among Black men. Within the last 10 years, 1980 through 1990, there has been a 15% decline in labor force participation among African-American men (Inroads/Wisconsin, 1990). Poverty rates among African-American female-headed households range around 50%, and in households where the woman is under 25 years old the rate is over 85% (Edelman, 1987; Wilson, 1987). The length of poverty existence for these children is on the average over five times more for African-American children than for White children (Orland, 1989) . Black males in direct relationship to this crisis of poverty suffer other disorders that affect their overall performance in this society. Mental disorders represent one of the best indicators of stress in the lives of Black males. Like prisons, Black men are overrepresented in public mental hospitals. National data on inpatient admission to state and county mental hospitals show an age adjusted rate of 509 per 100,000 for Black males and 213 22 per 100,000 for White males. Admission rates for Blacks under 44 years old are three times those of Whites in the same age group (Bulhan, 1985). The statistics show a clear disadvantage to being born Black and male in America: Black males have higher rates than White males on mental disorders, unemployment, poverty, injuries, accidents, infant mortality, morbidity, AIDS, homicide and suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, imprison ment, and criminality; they have poorer incomes, life expectancy, access to health care, and education. We prefer to define these social problems as social symptoms of a history of oppression. (Majors & Billson, 1992, p. 12) This situation creates within African-American com munities a dearth of men who are likely to be present to act as models for male children. Often high unemployment forces these men into the alternative economies. Thus while many are employed irregularly or not at all, others are making money selling drugs or engaging in other risky and illegal work. This absence of role models who by their own lives would show that responsible, legitimate adult behavior makes sense, contributes to the difficulty Black male children have in proceeding through school and moving into steady and remunerative jobs. Wilson (1987), among others, has argued that jobs for adult males would be the most reasonable and effective public policy intervention. Others have suggested economic improvement through 23 entrepreneurial enterprises. Either way, opportunities for African-American men need to be expanded to help decrease the problems faced by African-American youth, especially young men. This plight has caused several public school districts to take drastic and, to some, controversial steps to solve the problems of this group of students. The impetus for these changes has come primarily from African-American communities which have been dissatisfied with the progress, or, more often, the lack of progress, exhibited by African-American youth in the public school systems of the United States. Ascher (1991) describes many of the programs that exist across the country. The programs range from being sponsored by schools and/or communities to those which are school-based or merely school-linked. Examples of programs focused specifically for African-American males are provided below. Elementary School Programs East End Neighborhood House Program in East Cleveland. OH This is an Afrocentric rites of passage program that works with fifth and sixth grade students referred to the program by educators from the Focus/Scope Primary Magnet School and Kirk Middle School. The students meet two afternoons a week and on Saturdays and learn about 24 culture, history, values, sense of family, male and female roles, and community pride {Bernstein, 1990; Bridges, 1988; Hill, 1987). Helping Hands, Wake County Public Schools. Raleighs NC This program pairs Black male educators, including teachers, counselors, and administrators, with 11- and 12- year-old Black male students. These educators act as "personal role models" for 8 to 10 students spending at least 20 afterschool hours per month with them. The "personal models" begin the year by making home visits, after which activities are structured around the students' academic and other needs. The Helping Hands program also provides students with 12 hours of monthly one-to-one contact with a community individual. The program partici pants assert that "when people know a child has an advocate, they react to the child differently. They tend to focus more on that child and offer support" {Bridges, 1986, 1988; "Helping Hands," 1988; Wake County Public Schools, 1988)♦ Inroads/Wisconsin Youth Leadership Academy, Milwaukee Public Schools The Inroads academy works with Black male third, fourth, and fifth grade students to improve their self- concept and decision-making skills. Students are 25 recommended for the program, often by their school principals. Parents are required to support their children's involvement through attendance at regularly scheduled parent seminars and meetings, as well as through regular interactions with both public school and Inroads personnel. Classes meet afterschool and on Saturdays and offer a curriculum that is systematic and sequential, and is designed to build both academic and personal skills (Inroads/Wisconsin, 1990). Mathew A. Henson Elementary School. All Male Class. Baltimore. MD The all male class at Henson Elementary starts in second grade and follows students through the fourth grade. The class was established to treat the main problems that boys face in school: low self-esteem and a lack of good role models. Professional men from Omega Psi Phi, a Black fraternity, come twice a month to work on self-esteem with the boys and conduct alternate week reading programs. This program also features special "claBS mothers," and these mothers learn parenting skills in meetings arranged to meet their needs (Ascher, 1991) . 26 Monnier Elementary School. Save a Star Male Leadership Development Preventive Dropout Program. Detroit.-Ml This program was developed in response to the alarming number of males in grades 3-5 who were being referred for disciplinary action, often leading to suspen sion. Male students who are exhibiting poor academics and citizenship meet with male and female teachers, coun selors, social workers, and other education professionals on a weekly basis. The focus is on conflict resolution, development of identity and self-esteem, and the building of internal motivation for behavioral and academic success and goals setting. Tutoring is provided in academic subjects. Parents are taught skills necessary to more effectively rear male children (Ascher, 1991) . Pine Villa Elementary School, At Risk Male Class. Miami. FL This program targets elementary male students in kindergarten and first grade from female-headed house holds. The kindergartners were assigned a Black male teacher while the first graders were assigned to a White male. The program focused on five areas: attendance, academic achievement, dyads (or buddies), gentlemen's social graces, and appropriate behavior for school life. Communication systems were developed between mothers so 27 they could share parenting information. Black men were recruited to be TAs. Even though the outcomes for this particular program were outstanding, the program was discontinued because it was found in violation of Title IX by the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (Raspberry, 1989; Wright, n.d.). Morehouse College's Community Service Projects at Olgethorpe and Dean Rusk Elementary Schools. Atlanta, QA The program targets African-American male children living in Atlanta's public housing. Morehouse College, an all male school, sends approximately 300 students to volunteer as mentors for a like number of fourth and fifth graders at the two elementary schools. The mentors meet with the boys to help them with their homework and to review the school day's lessons. They also tutor these and other students with math and reading problems (Prince, 1990) . Woodward Elementary School Cadet Program. Detroit, MI The program focuses on third to fifth grade boys. This program encourages fifth grade boys to tutor and mentor third graders. They study together once a week in computer technology. Parents are involved also, via 28 homework, field trips, and special parenting training programs. The fifth graders participate in a year-long rites of passage program following Ron Johnson and Nathan Hare's 10-point principles. The students open bank accounts and work on community projects. At year's end there is a rites of passage ceremony (Detroit Public Schools, 1991; Hare & Hare, 1985). Woodward Elementary School and Michigan State University 1 1 Mv Brother's Keeper" Program. Detroit, MI The goal of this program is to increase the educa tional self-esteem primarily of male fourth and fifth graders at Woodward. African-American students from Michigan State University mentor students, take them on campus tours of MSU, and generally introduce them to college life. In addition, they provide tutoring and lessons in Afrocentric cultural awareness (Ascher, 1991). Secondary School Programs The Children of. .the Sun, Tampa Urban League The Tampa Urban League developed a school curriculum based on addressing five risk factors among African- American males: crime and delinquency, health and longevity, education, economic development, and family and 29 community life. The program works closely with Tampa public schools and is considered a support for the schools. Interventions provided by the program include health and prevention of disease, physical exams, African- American culture, heritage, history, and values. Emphasis is placed on respect for self, family, elders, and community; responsibility to self, family, sexuality, and community; and self-development in the areas of education, health, economic development, and family life. Also included in this program are rites of passage and linking the young men in the program with an adult mentor (Tampa Urban League TRUST, 1990). The Hawk Project, Grant Union High School. Sacramento. CA The program was started with the primary goal of increasing male responsibility in teenage pregnancy. It also includes a mix of African and African-American history and African rituals. It strives to create young men able to resist drugs, gangs, low aspirations, or academic failure equally well. This program starts with students in the ninth grade and continues to serve students through grade twelve. It strives to develop in each young man something which he does exceptionally well (competence); a belief that whatever the task, he can be successful at it 30 (confidence); and an awareness of the historical greatness of African and African-American men and their personal responsibility (consciousness). Students do community service projects with seniors also (Nobles, 1989). A&M College. Black Male College Explorers1 Program. Tallahassee. FL The A&M college program focus is the low rate of college attendance among Black males and their high post- secondary dropout rates relative to other groups. The BMCEP is aimed at ninth through twelfth graders who will begin summer programs each year lasting 6 weeks which will help prepare these young men for college. The program will have an academic curriculum and also focus on cul tural issues such as nthe ideal man," the role of men in society, as fathers, or as the head of the family (Ascher, 1991). A Curriculum for Adolescent Fathers. English High School. Boston. MA The CSAPP is directed at African-American males, and the counselors in the program are African-American. This program has 15 credit courses which help students become more sexually responsible, make more effective decisions, and appreciate African-American males valuing education. Among the areas taught are effective social and 31 environmental living; relationships with a significant other/partner; coping with stress; male responsibility and parenting; facilitating positive child health and development; and the importance of personal development. The course offers help with feeling, peer support, mentoring, and employment (Battle, 1988-89; Sander, 1986) . U-iamaa Institute, Medoar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY This institute deals with problems faced by single parent Black and Hispanic families and their male children. Ujamaa means family in Swahili, and the high school places strong emphasis on family life and values. In addition to a state-required curriculum, empha sizing mathematics and science, the institute will offer a multicultural curriculum stressing the history and culture of African-Americans and including such particularly Black cultural manifestations as jazz. Family values and values clarification will be a theme across the curriculum (Berger, 1991; Bradley, 1991). Privately Organized Projects for School-Aged Youth Concerned Black Men, Inc.. Fro-iect 2000. Washington. DC The project operates on the premise that young African-American males need male models of success if they 32 are to avoid reproducing the negative images all around them. The concerned Black men will follow students from the first grade through high school. The project includes mentoring, seminars on such topics as self-esteem and self-development, and projects designed to enhance students' self-esteem. An Efficacy Project trains volunteers to serve as tutors, advisors, and mentors. The group has an annual Youth Recognition Awards Banquet, a Martin Luther King, Jr., Oratory Contest, and an African- American History Bee. Project 2000 is also running an adopt-a-school project in Washington, DC (Ascher, 1991) . Toussaint Institute Fund. New York. NY The assumption behind the Toussaint Institute Fund is that many African-American boys are unruly, poor students in public school because the general tone of the school, including its low expectations for them, encourages such behavior. It seeks out low income, elementary boys who are experiencing repeated failure in public schools, and provides them with 90V of the funds necessary to attend historically Black Independent Schools (The Toussaint Institute Fund, 1990). 33 District and State Proposals for School-Baaed PrcHects Increasing the Achievement of Black Male Students: The Portland, Oregon. Public Schools Approach In response to problems exhibited by Black males, including underachievement, high dropout rates, and untenable rates of unemployment, imprisonment, and suicide, the Portland school district implemented a program that has sought to intervene by implementing a comprehensive school program that operates on both aca demic and social levels. This program is based on Ron Edmond's effective schooling strategy which includes high expectations, a clear school mission, a positive commit ment to student achievement, and appropriate standards of behavior. The program also features a focus on mastery learning. It also attempts to battle the psychological effects of poverty and racism with several initiatives: a multiethnic curriculum; a formally supervised ritual developed by Nathan Hare to help initiate boys into manhood; African-American male mentors; and empowerment of the home and community through accountability and involve ment in the school's agenda. They also have programs to minimize such distracting influences as drugs, inappropri ate peer groups, and staff insensitivity to the problems 34 and strengths of African-American males (Green et al.( 1988) . Black Male Achievement:__Prince George 1s Countv Public Schools. Prince George's .County, MD Prince George's County is trying to overcome a number of problems, including underfunding as a district; lack of multicultural curricula, instructional materials, and library books; lack of African-American role models in both teaching and administrative ranks; and under representation of African-American male students in advanced academic classes while overrepresentation in special education courses. The district's advisory committee has recommended increased funding in racially isolated schools with funding supplied in part by Michael Millikin, increased staffing of African-American teachers, counselors, and administrators, especially with the increase of African- American male teachers in the classroom. The district has also included an accountability system which encompasses broader indices of student progress and performance and increased support for families who are economically disadvantaged by creating more full-day kindergartens and extended-day programs, restructuring extracurricular activities in the middle school, and working with other county agencies to 35 coordinate health, housing, employment, and other services. Students are provided mentors and internships. The district has further attempted to strengthen its relationship with the Black community by expressing greater connection though the school board election process and presenting school issues to neighborhood churches and housing developments as well as among African-American fraternal, professional, and volunteer organizations (Curry, 1990). Milwaukee Public Schools; h Pream Deferred The African-American Male Task Force of the Milwaukee Public Schools researched, analyzed, and attempted to find solutions to the problems of high suspension rates and extremely low achievement rates. They recommended a policy that suggested that the district must embody the notion that all students can learn at increasingly high levels. They felt that schools needed to provide for more flexible structuring of time for reading and other academic study. Students needed to be provided with access to more high quality afterschool, summer, and Saturday programs. Homework was developed to enhance both student and parent responsibility. Curriculum was changed to respond to diversity by including more interest in African-American and other world cultures. Students 36 (males) were taught how to deal with their gender and identity in a safe environment. Greater emphasis was placed in the district toward staffing African-American teachers, instructional modes to accommodate student differences, and greater staff involvement with parents. Staff has been provided opportunities to participate in ineervice courses on African-American history and culture, as well as racism and its negative impact on all Americans. Finally, the district developed an African-American male immersion academy with a focus on educating African-American males with an Afro-centered Immersion Specialty program. The recommendations of this task force are up for regular review (Johnson, 1990; Lawton, 1990; Milwaukee Public Schools African-American Male Task Force, 1990). Educating Black Male Youth: The New Orleans Public Schools The New Orleans public schools recognized that there was a crisis with its Black male students; most obvious were high dropout rates, college nonenrollment, and unemployment among Black males. They created the Committee to Study the Status of the Black Male in the New Orleans Public Schools. This group affirmed that the problems of the New Orleans community go beyond the responsibility of the school yet education is still the 37 primary key to improving the self-concept, self-esteem, academic ability, and economic opportunities of these young men* There were a number of recommendations that were enumerated by the subcommittees, programs that stress the following: ■ the benefits of staying in school by focusing on job, parenting, and family life skills; ■ the development of better communication between students and teachers; ■ the teaching of social behaviors and etiquette, good sportsmanship, and coping skills; ■ the requirement of prekindergarten and kindergarten programs for all children; • the reduction of pupil-teacher ratios at all grade levels; ■ the hiring of more male elementary teachers, especially in grades K-3; • the using of counselors and peer counseling in junior and senior high schools to de-emphasize the negative impact of peer pressure on Black males' academic performance; • the requiring of male students to participate in extracurricular activities not related to athletics; 38 ■ the piloting of an all-male magnet, a school which would require uniforms, a year-round program, and before and after school use of buildings; • the support of the business community for release time for parents to attend school meetings; • the provision of rewards for parents of students whose children have good attendance and high grades; • the outreach to parents {especially teenage parents and parents of boys) to show them the value of educa tion; • the outreach to parents to become active political allies of the schools. In addition to all of the above, other concerns and recommendations centered around greater volunteerism by various segments of the subcommunity, especially Black males; and a course on Black history and culture, including the contributions of Black Americans to this country. They also recommend that parents teach their children the importance of education, monitor their homework, and help them with their homework {Garibaldi, 1988) . Ohio’s African-American Males; A Call to Action The Education Subcommittee of the Governor of Ohio's Commission on Disadvantaged Black Males identified 39 problems of high dropout rates and low graduation rates, low scores on standardized tests, heavy placement in special education and slow learning classes, and high rates of suspension and expulsion among African-American males. They also identified that the percentage of African-American teachers is only half as great as the percentage of African-American students. The subcommittee also has asserted that African-American males’ failure in schools is the leading cause for most, if not all, of the problems they face in society. To overcome the problems that they found the sub committee recommended focus on four areas of change: decreasing the public school failure of Black males through lowering dropout rates, changing the attitudes of educators toward African-American students, setting standards for academic achievement, and realigning voca tional education. Some specific recommendations included: ■ replacing out of school suspensions with in school suspensions; • providing full funding to preschool and Head Start programs; ■ replacing ability grouping with individual education plans; 40 • assessing all school policies for their effects on dropout rates; • making academic achievement a top priority for African-American male youth. Concerns pertaining to attitudes dealt with several factors: changing the attitudes of educators, who often create "mistaken messages," changing the images of African-Americans in the school, and in turn, the way that African-American students see themselves. Strategies include changes like inclusion of a multicultural curriculum, provision of African-American role models, particularly by recruiting and retaining African-Americans in the roles of teachers, professors, and administrators. It is important for African-American males to define educational problems and develop solutions. Finally, all teachers should be helped to understand factors outside the school that may affect student behavior. All school personnel should be required to participate in human relations training. The subcommittee recommended increased partnerships between private industry and schools which provide scholarships for African-American males, parental training programs to promote efficacy, and collaboration efforts between the schools and social service agencies. 41 In the area of academic achievement emphasis was placed upon basic skills mastery by the fourth grade, removal of remedial programs to the end of the school day and in summer school, and development of programs that raise self-esteem and pride in African-American male students. They also suggested providing student advocates teams to work with students and parents on individual education plans. There were also recommendations by the subcommittee on both increasing Black enrollment in colleges and increasing vocational education available for these students. To avoid tracking, the suggestion is that both avenues be pursued during high school in order to keep both vocational and college plans open {Governor's Commission on Socially Disadvantaged Black Males (1990) . In the past, the cases that argued for school inte gration declared that separate but unequal provided inherently inferior educational opportunities for Black students. Briggs (1986) suggests that desegregation efforts have largely been frustrated and the problem of quality education for all is a bigger problem. He argues that too much emphasis was placed on integration with the result being that several generations of African-American and Hispanic-American youth were trapped in desegregated but inferior schools. This type of thinking serves as 42 support for those who faced with the above mentioned statistics advocate racially isolated classes focusing on providing quality education for African-American youth. In review of school desegregation cases some inter pretations of Brown by courts at that time working to delay integration efforts established positions that arguably support this strategy. Brunsen v. Board of Trustees of School District No. 1 of Clarendon County, S.C. (1962) had an interpretation of Brown that stated; What it [Supreme Court] has decided, and all that it has decided, is that a state may not deny to any person on account of race the right to attend any school it maintains .... Nothing in the Consti tution or in the decision of the Supreme Court takes away from the people freedom to choose the schools they attend. The Constitution, in other words, does not require integration. It merely forbids discrimination. It does not forbid such segregation as occurs as the result of voluntary action--as children of different races voluntarily attend different churches. (Brunsen v. Board of Trustees, 1962) However, Brown and other cases were explicit in their interpretation of "equal protection under the law" as one in which equal educational opportunities are supported by law. In Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 631, and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637, (cited in Oliver Brown et al., 1954), the court held that public institu tions (in these cases, graduate schools) must provide "those qualities which are incapable of objective measurement but which provide for greatness in a law school." The court held that "such considerations apply with added force to children in grade and high schools." Bolling et al. v. Sharpe et al. challenged the validity of the District of Columbia having racially segregated schools, indicating among other things that "Segregation in public education is not reasonably related to any proper governmental objective" (cited in Desegregation and the Supreme Court. 1958) . The all-African-American, all male classrooms have been called "an abandonment of any hope, faith, or determination to force change upon the public system" (NAACF Leal Defense Fund, 1991}. Although de facto segre gated schools and classes are commonplace in every city, the intentional creation of a race-segregated school or class violates existing federal civil rights laws. As the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has argued, introducing race-based segregation is a 180-degree change in direction for social and educational policy, and one with extremely high risks. It would legitimate the very mechanism that was used to effectively hinder and disadvantage generations of African- Americans. Once established, it would hand over a powerful tool to those who may not have the best interests of African- American children at heart and will be difficult, if not impossible, to control or undo. It also undermines efforts to eliminate segregation of African-American 44 males in special education classes and separate schools and classes for dis ciplinary problems--both practices that have been proved to be harmful to African- American pupils. (NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 1991, p. 2) It is important to note that calls for resegregation of African-American students came during the Reagan/Bush administrations during a time in which those administra tions were working to dismantle federal civil rights enforcement. Though the Supreme Court repudiated efforts in Bob Jones University v. U.S. and Goldsboro Christian School v. U.S. {Statement of the U.S. Commission. 1983), there were indications that during those administrations the Departments of Education and Justice actively sought to limit long-standing equal educational opportunities. Indeed in 1991, President Bush indicated support for changing civil rights laws if that was necessary to permit special schools for Black males. This was during the time when the Detroit Board of Education had been successfully challenged by the ACLU and NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund from admitting only boys to three academies {"Bush Endorses Civil Rights Revisions," 1991). As has been mentioned before, the deemphasis of integration as a cure for the problems of African-American students came in part from the effective schools research of Edmonds (1980), Bell (1980), and others. Edmonds' perspective was one that suggested that desegregation was 45 used as a tool to improve teaching and learning for Black children. In a broader sense, he viewed it as an instrument of instructional reform (1975), However, taken as a whole, in and of itself defined as the assigning of Black and White students to the same schools, has little effect on pupil per formance .... In fact, it is my firm belief that, except in the very small districts previously mentioned, desegrega tion has exhausted its usefulness as an explicit instrument of instructional reform for Black children. (Edmonds, 1980, p. 110) He described effective schools as having strong adminis trative leadership, a climate of high expectations, in which no children are permitted to fall below a minimum but efficacious level of achievement, an atmosphere that is orderly without being rigid. The acquisition of basic school skills takes precedence over all other school activities and pupil progress can be frequently monitored. He disagreed with research by Coleman and Jencks that family background was primarily responsible for poor school performance. He felt that demographic desegrega tion should take a backseat to instructional reform or there would continue to be a gap between White and Black pupil performance in desegregated schools. He felt that the legal perspective that treats desegregation litigation as a matter solely of racial balance, with the assumption 46 that quality education will come with that balance, to be in error (p. 121). Bell (1980) attempted to dispel the myth that histo rically all Black schools were automatically poor achieving schools. He cited the research of Sowell (1974, 1976) that identified the academic accomplishments made by Blacks in segregated public schools even during the pre- Brown era of segregation. In this research he listed schools like Dunbar, in Washington, D.C; Booker T. Washington, in Atlanta; Frederick Douglass, in Baltimore; and McDonough, in New Orleans. Sowell has pointed out that Black superachievers, like Ralph Bunche, Charles Drew, Edward W. Brooks, and William H. Hastie, all gradu ated from Dunbar High School. He suggests most Black leaders over 40 years old (in 1980) and much of the Black middle class are products of segregated schooling. Bell also discusses the accomplishments of Marva Collins' Westside Preparatory School in Chicago, Holy Angel Catholic School in Chicago, the Reading Is Yours to Keep Program in Boston, the BUILD Academy in Buffalo, and Verbum Dei in Los Angeles. Realizing that Black students to a large extent still attend either mostly Black or segregated schools, Bell suggested that legal remedies to underachievement of Black students be focused away from desegregation and toward 47 "alternative remedies" that focus on positive student performance. He indicated that a plan should include the following requirements: ■ The plan should aim to bring minority schools up to the academic standards of mainly White schools in the district . . . • The plan should place final responsi bility for minority-school effectiveness on the school board . . . the committee should attempt to build into their plan a. Provision for strong, dynamic leader ship with sufficient authority over selection and retention of teaching and administrative personnel to insure that credit or responsibility for the school's success or failure can be assessed fairly. b. Ample opportunity for Black and other minority parents to be involved in their children's schooling . . . • The plan should insure that minority schools receive at least the same funding as the White schools deemed "best" by the school district . . . ■ The plan must include a provision under which any child assigned to a school where his or her race is in the majority has the absolute right to transfer to the closest available school where the child's race is in the minority . . . • The plan should make clear that while this is an alternative to a racial balance plan, it is no less based on the constitu tional necessity of remedying basic rights of Black children long violated by school board policies. 4 The plan should provide for ongoing monitoring of the plan's implementation and functioning either by the Desegrega tion Plan Committee or by a referee to be appointed by the court .... (pp. 131- 132) 48 The Challenge of Private Vs. Public School Choice Related to the question of whether integrated classes provide the outcomes desired by African-American communi ties for their students is the question of private versus public education and the broader questions of vouchers and school choice. For some African-Americans the prospect of sending their children to public schools has become a less than desirable option because of the fact they were "dis illusioned with their lack of control and their inability to effect change in the public schools" (Crowley, 1988, pp. 1, 19-20). Those who advocate for African-American children have discussed causes for failure of public schools to be related to the big city school bureaucracies being unable to educate these children. Glazer (1993) cites problems such as: (a) the wide divergence between the ethnic and racial composition of school professional staffs and that of student population; (b) districts’ resistance to racial census for school integration and affirmative action in employment and promotion; and (c) the inadequacy that all bureaucracies were perceived to suffer from. Parents who send their children to non public schools generally do so because private schools do not have to contend with bureaucracies, teacher unions, tenure, desegregation orders, affirmative action, bans on 49 school prayer, or due process in cases of student expul sion (Shanker, 1992). However, the primary reason cited by Black adults from all socioeconomic levels for enrolling their children in nonpublic schools is to provide for them an environment that offers a smaller student-teacher ratio, a greater sense of caring, and a higher quality education (Arnez & Jones-Wilson, 1988) . Increasingly, these non-schools of choice are Black and Afrocentric in curricula and focus. Arnez and Jones- Wilson (1988) interviewed African-American parents (£J - 339) from a cross-section of income levels, living in the Washington, D.C., area who chose private schools for their child. They found that the primary reasons for placement (top 10 of 27 possibilities) were: (1) lack of dis cipline, (2) poor curriculum/poor standards, (3) large schools/overcrowding, (4) teachers' lack of interest, (5) difficulty of getting good teachers, (6) lack of respect for teachers/other students, (7) use of drugs, (8) moral standards, (9) parent's lack of interest/tru- ancy, and (10) lack of professional support. Shujaa (1992), Ratteray and Shujaa (1987), and Carter (1987) all researched African-American independent schools and the reasons parents chose to send their children to those institutions were twofold, a focus on high academic standards and cultural awareness. Hill, Foster, and 50 Gendler (1990) found that the presence of a distinctive school focus was essential to the effectiveness of inner- city private schools. Three characteristics held true of the 20 schools in their survey: 1. All have clear missions that focus on teaching traditional academic subjects. 2. All seek to go beyond traditional public schools in their efforts to teach moral, ethical,and cultural values and heritages of their communities. 3. All emphasize the raising of self-esteem among their students. Lachmann and Kosmin (1991) found that Blacks in private schools, particularly parochial schools, achieve at higher rates than do Blacks in other school systems. "Black Catholics are more likely than all Americans to complete high school and college" (p. 19). They also found that both middle class and poor Blacks benefit from Catholic schools because they teach all students the same way with the same curriculum and thus provide an oppor tunity for all to have similar outcomes. Those who are choice advocates point to the successes that have been shown by the students who attend these schools as compared with like peers in public schools. Sowell (1972) first advocated for vouchers and choice. He challenged the monopoly that public districts have with 51 school children except for those whose parents can afford to pay for private schools. Chubb and Moe (1991), Sizer and Whitten (1968), Raspberry (1990), and Alexander (1993) all have been ardent supporters of vouchers for private schools. Though relatively few African-American parents have sought this alternative for their students, increasingly public schools are facing the challenge presented by these alternatives to what they offer as education. The motiva tion to institute programs for African-American males is not unrelated to the private and/or voucher challenge. Afrocentricitv and Multicultural Education and African-American Male Programs Most of the programs identified by Ascher (1991) feature some component of the Afrocentric curriculum: Bernstein (1990), Hill (1987), Inroads/Wisconsin (1990), Wright (n.d.), Prince (1990), Detroit Public Schools (1991), Hare and Hare (1985), Tampa Urban League (1990), Nobles (1989), Battle (1988-89), Sander (1986), Berger (1991), Bradley (1991), the Toussaint Institute Fund (1990), Green et al. (1988), Curry (1990), African- American Male Task Force, Milwaukee Public Schools (1990), Johnson (1990), Lawton (1990), Garibaldi (1988), Governor's Commission (1990). 52 This is consistent with the recognition that most public school systems have long ignored the scope and sequence of African people's contributions to world culture {The Challenge of Diversity. 1991) . This is also consistent with views expressed by the National Study of School Evaluation (1973) that suggested that every school should prepare its students for life in a society composed of many different cultural and ethnic strands. Other reports such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Evaluation {NCATE) (1986) and Turning Points. Preparing Youth for the 21st Century (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989) took similar positions on creating multicultural perspectives in public schools to help students appreciate the social, political, and economic realities of living in a global society composed of both Western and non-Western people and ideas. Part of the controversy of African-American male programs has been the focus of Afrocentric curricula. Some like Bennett (1992), Ravitch (1990), and Schlesinger (1991) suggest that this concept of multiculturalism and more specifically Afrocentricism are cult concepts, political correctness, therapy for raising self-esteem, nonintellectual disciplines or anti-American. Karenga (1991) disagrees, suggesting that multicultural education is "a necessary corrective for the conceptual and content 53 inadequacy of the exclusive curriculum which omits and diminishes the rich (and instructive) variety of human cultures" (p. 3). Most facilitators of the above mentioned programs have agreed that the programs attempt to create a consciousness raising curriculum that focuses on the bicentennial history of African-Americans, and what this group, particularly its males, has contributed to a demo cratic, scientific, and artistic heritage. San Diego Citv Schools: Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students (IAAAAMS) Within the context of the factors cited thus far in this chapter, San Diego Unified School District estab lished a program called the Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students (IAAAAMS). It was the result of a district decision to focus specifi cally on the needs of African-American males. Made into a school district objective, it reflects needed outcomes for student improvement. Among the desired outcomes were: • Improvement in the overall academic performance of the students; • Improvement in the behavior of the students; • Empowerment of teachers to meet the needs of the students; 54 • Empowerment and encouragement of parents to partici pate in the education of their children; ■ Encourage the community to become involved in the education of African-American youth; ■ Increase support of site and district administrators for the education of African-American youth; • Provision of enrichment experiences through cultural reinforcement and focus on curriculum and out of school opportunities for students; • Involvement of other sites in the district besides the pilot sites in these programs; • Recommendations that the program expand beyond the district. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine how effective San Diego City Schools have been in meeting the program objectives. The validation of this program and the previously mentioned programs is the success that is shown in meeting their stated objectives of improving the education outcomes for African-American youth, particu larly males. In a greater sense, too, this is a validation of new paradigms instituted by educational enterprises to meet these objectives, especially public schools. 55 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This is a case study of a San Diego City Schools program for Improving the Academic Achievement of African- American Male Students. The principles of case study research in education as described by Yin {1989) suggest that case studies are the preferred strategy when "how'* or "why" questions are being posed, when the investigator has little control over events, and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon with some real-life context. These explanatory "types of case studies are complemented by others that focus on 'exploratory' and 'descriptive* issues" {p. 13). This research will cover each of the elements in this description. By reviewing the IAAAAMS program I have already explained how the program came into being and why it was considered important at the time it was implemented. This study explored if it has indeed improved the academic performance of African-American males at the four pilot schools. The study also explored whether or not the intervention of this district's project has produced identifiable climatic changes in the schools 56 that were selected for the program. The study also described the attitudes of students, parents, teachers, nonteaching staff, school-site administrators, and district administrators toward the program. Most impor tantly it will explore whether the program has been effective in meeting the district's goals, which were identified in its implementation. Yin (1969) suggests that if one needs to know "how" or "why" a program has worked (or not), one should lean toward using a case study or a field experiment (p. 18). Some other observations about case study research are offered by Isaac and Michael (1990). They describe the purpose of case and field study research as to study intensively the background, current status, and environ mental interactions of a given social unit: an individual, group, institution, or community (p. 40). They further provide the following as steps in the research: 1. State the objectives. What is the unit of study and what characteristics, relationships, and processes will direct the investigation? 2. Design the approach. How will the units be selected? What sources of data are available? What data collection methods will be used? 3. Collect the data. 57 4. Organize the information to form a coherent, well integrated reconstruction of the unit of study. 5. Report the results and discuss their significance (p. 48). The objectives of the research primarily are a focus on the effectiveness of the IAAAAMS program as determined by surveying and interviewing the stakeholders of the program, students, parents, teachers, site administrators, central office administrators, and board members. The researcher felt that for the program to be evaluated completely all of the aforementioned stakeholders needed to be assessed. Others who suggest features that make qualitative research stronger are Guba and Lincoln (1981), who suggest that (a) the researcher should spend a prolonged period of time at the site in order to build trust and to be able to determine when data are distorted, and (b) the researcher should triangulate findings. Because of practical responsibilities such as work it was not possible for me to spend a great deal of time with all of the subjects; however, many of the teachers, administrators, and central office personnel I am familiar with through fifteen years of interaction in San Diego City Schools. The district, like the city of San Diego, though relatively large, has a small town/suburban 58 attitude and culture; many people know each other who work for the same employer. For example, I am on a first name familiarity basis with all board members, the advocates, the superintendent of schools, assistant superintendents, and three of the four site administrators. I was a teacher at one of the schools, Gompers, my wife taught at Fulton Elementary. Therefore, both faculties are familiar to me. My oldest son also attends Gompers. These factors contributed to me being able to determine the accuracy of the data. Triangulation occurred by having access to student performance records and by having variable sources of data including interviews, questionnaires, surveys, and observation. The Program Description Background The program for Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students was authorized in 1989. The conditions which influenced the Board of Education to take this action included low test scores, low grade point averages, high suspension and dropout rates, low college attendance, and high numbers of African-American males placed in special education. In addition, the schools' curriculum was found to be devoid of any in-depth atten tion to African-American cultural heritage. 59 The district mandate is to improve the achievement of African-American males throughout San Diego City Schools. Eleven objectives were developed with each school expected to make efforts toward reaching those objectives. Four schools (Fulton and Knox elementary schools, Bell and Gompers secondary schools) were chosen to be pilot schools with a combined budget of $250,000. The program began at the pilot schools once the pupil advocates were selected. The advocates created a program based on the 11 objectives and also tailored it to the specific needs of each site. A major mission of each advocate was to establish credibility with African- American male students, parents, and school staff so that students, parents, and staff would be receptive to the program and willing to support it. Initial activities were to assess school climate and student and staff needs. From the beginning the advocates have met weekly to review site specific conditions, share successful strategies, engage in collaborative problem solving, and provide support to each other. Parent support was solicited through individual contact, scheduled meetings, and inservices. A strong parent support system has been established throughout the four sites. 60 Students have been exposed to African-American cultural heritage and many African-American male role models. Pupil advocate activities have not been offered exclusively to African-American males even though they are the target population. Program Objectives The IAAAAMS program was developed with 11 program objectives created by the San Diego City Schools Board of Education. The objectives as stated are: 1. Increase the number and percent of African-American males whose GPA exceeds 3.0 (in grades 9 through 12). 2. Increase the number and percent of African-American males who succeed in grades K through 3. 3. Increase the frequency of students achieving at grade level until every African-American male child leaves sixth grade performing at or above grade level. 4. Improve the school attendance of African-American male students. 5. Reduce the number and percent of African-American males who are being sus pended from school. 6. Reduce the number and percent of African-American males who are referred to Learning Handicapped (LH) classes. 7. Increase the number of African- American male high school graduates and reduce the number and percent of African- American males who are dropping out of middle and senior high level schools. 61 8. Increase the number of African- American males who meet college entrance requirements. 9. Provide the community and work force with a more educated, qualified, pro ductive individual. 10. Improve self-esteem through emphasis and knowledge of African {and African- American) [parentheses added] heritage. 11. Provide instruction which is respon sive to individual learning needs and which is interdisciplinary in nature. (Improving the Achievement, 1990, pp. 29- 31) Instrumentation To document if program objectives have been met it was necessary to create several different assessment instruments for the target populations, pupils, teaching staffs, parents, school administrators, board members, and advocates. After some experimentation and discussion I was able to develop four separate instruments, two survey questionnaires that served as interview formats for students and pupil advocates, and two survey question naires that required written responses from teachers, administrators, board members on one and written responses from parents on the other. Each instrument was developed to enable the researcher to collect the necessary informa tion and organize it in a fashion to determine if each of 62 the 11 objectives was being addressed and achieved by the program participants. It was my desire to determine from students their experiences with and perceptions of the IAAAAMS program in the areas of academic assistance, attitudes towards school and education, self-esteem, acceptance of the pupil advocates as role models, social skills, and knowledge of cultural heritage. The interview of the pupil advocates {and addi tionally a newly appointed program director) was to determine their perceptions and opinions of the project. There was also the need to understand from them their perception of the project's effectiveness, support within the district and at each of their schools, and their vision of the program's strengths, weaknesses, and future. Parents were surveyed via a questionnaire to deter mine their knowledge of the program, their perceptions of the program, how active their participation was with the school and the program. Their attitudes toward teachers, site administrators, and the pupil advocates were deter mined. Most importantly, the researcher attempted to determine what effect the program had on the students' achievement at their respective schools and themselves. Teachers were assessed about their knowledge of program objectives, their support of the program, their 63 perception of the program's effectiveness with their students, and their knowledge of support for the program throughout the school system. Because of the desire of the program to assist teachers in developing new instructional strategies for students and for curricular changes to take place at the site level, the researcher sought to determine whether those phenomena had occurred at the pilot schools. There was also an attempt to determine the effective ness of staff development strategies. I also sought to ascertain whether teachers felt that the district was justified in expending the monies allocated for this type of program and if teachers felt that the program merited expansion to other schools in and out of the district. From site and central office administrators, I sought to determine their knowledge of the program objectives, how much support as leaders they had for the program, their perceptions of the program's effectiveness in improving the achievement of African-American males, and whether they felt it was cost effective and should be expanded. For any district initiative to continue, the administrative leadership's knowledge and support of programs is deemed critical. Support of programs from board members is also critical. Four of five current board members initially 64 approved the implementation of the program. Each year there have been presentations made to board members by the advocates and program directors reporting the year's accomplishments. The board members have supported financially the continuation of the program. The ques tionnaire attempted to determine how they view the overall effectiveness of the program, their support for the program, and how they perceive it is being supported by teacher and district administrators. Because of their position within the district it was also important to determine if they felt that the program should continue to be funded and expanded to other schools. The instruments utilized in the study included the following. Interview Questions. Student Survey The Interview Questions, Student Survey (Appendix A), consisted of 25 questions to be answered verbally by the students in the program. The interviews took place over a span of 3 weeks, each occurring at the school sites that the students attend. This interview followed the design of a structured interview as defined by Isaac and Michael (1990). Their description states: The interviewer follows a well-defined structure resembling the format of an objective questionnaire, allowing clarifi cation and elaboration with narrow limits. €5 These tend to be factually oriented, aimed at specific information, and relatively brief. Structured interviews are suitable when accurate and complete information from all respondents is important and when the type of information sought fits read ily into a structured inquiry. (p. 38) Interview techniques are especially appropriate for children. These tended to be a bit time consuming, yet the interaction with students was priceless. A total of 4 0 students were interviewed. I asked for 10 from each school. Knox provided 9, Bell provided 11, Gompers and Fulton 10 each. They were randomly selected with the cooperation of the principals and the pupil advocates at each school. I asked that all students have been in the program at least 2 years. Parental consent was obtained for each student to be interviewed. Each interview was audio taped. This proved especially useful with the ele mentary students because before each interview I played the tape recorder for them at faster than normal, then slower than normal speeds. This helped relax the students and allowed them to be more trusting of me. The fact that the tape recorder was voice activated also helped, because a red light appeared each time they spoke. This initially gave them some control over the process. After each interview the elementary student received an oatmeal cookie and listened to a partial playback of their inter view at advance speed, slow speed, and finally normal 66 speed. All appeared to have enjoyed the experience. All of the students spoke freely and candidly, answering each question in an honest and open fashion without fear of consequence of intimidation. In designing the questionnaire I wanted to assure that the questions were understandable and meaningful to the student population I was going to interview. Having two sons aged 11 and 15 (the older one attending one of the pilot schools, Gompers) allowed me to fine tune the questions asked and my interview technique. It also allowed me an opportunity to determine how best to use the tape recorder. I felt that the questions asked best helped me determine the information I desired from the students who were involved in the IAAAAMS program. Interview Questions. Pupil Advocates The Interview Questions, Pupil Advocates (Appendix B), were developed to gain insights from the professionals charged with achieving the program objectives. The advocates’ role in the success or failure of the IAAAAMS program was the most critical. They were charged with the following tasks: * pull out student groups ■ after school tutoring • in class presentations 67 * role model luncheons * one on one consultation with teachers * parent contacts and meetings ■ site staff development * participation on site leadership team and other site committees * curricular development There was not universal acceptance of the program at its implementation. The African-American Male only designation offended many district people for a number of reasons. The objections caused the advocates to have to perform under a figurative microscope for several years, being strongly successful in their attempts to meet the demands of the program while facing resistance from several quarters. The interview was focused on finding whether the advocates had been successful in achieving the 11 program objectives. It also allowed the advocates to elucidate on recommended improvements or changes to the program. I took the time to also interview the program coor dinator who came to the program 3 years after its inception. He too was able to provide a unique perspec tive to the program. His observations and comments also served to set strategies that seek to maintain, improve, and expand the IAAAAMS program based on research from both 68 the district and specific individuals involved in the program. Parents Questionnaire The Parents Questionnaire (Appendix C) was primarily a Likert-type or Summated Rating Scale. The scale allowed parents to indicate fdearees of intensity] about their opinions of the IAAAAMS program. Purposely I asked fewer questions (15) on this instrument because I hoped to gain maximal response. The parents selected to receive this questionnaire included the parents of the students inter viewed. They were selected because they had already approved their students being interviewed, so they were already aware of the research. Ten other parents were then randomly selected, to bring the total of potential respondents to 20 per school. Though the questionnaire had fewer responses it focused directly on the 11 objec tives of the program. It also allowed for both positive and negative responses and personal statements. Mailed questionnaires typically have advantages and disadvantages. Most advantageous for me was the fact that it was simple, clear, and I feel well designed. It also allowed parents to be anonymous in their responses so they would not feel threatened, intimidated, or embarrassed. The major disadvantage of mailed questionnaires can be low response rate. The parents were provided with a 69 self-addressed, stamped envelope with which to return their responses. The return rate of 17.5% (15/80) though disappointing is adequate in this type of study. According to Lincoln and Guba (1985) a minimum number in a sample is 10%. Responses from the schools varied. Gompers had 6, Bell 2, Knox 4r and Fulton 3. The content of the response, however, allowed for a good understanding of how these parents felt about the program. Administrators, Board Members, and Teachers Questionnaire A single questionnaire (Appendix D) was developed for teachers, site administrators, central office adminis trators, and board members. This too was a Likert-type scale. Again "degrees of intensity" were sought; pri marily I wanted to determine overall support or nonsupport for the program. It was also necessary for me to attempt to gain an understanding of how much about the program was known by these sets of individuals because it was my feeling that this knowledge could possibly affect the level of support. Because of the desire for anonymity especially among teachers, the vast majority of respon dents, the mailed questionnaire was used instead of interviews. The questionnaire for teachers was provided during a job action (a work slowdown) which had been called by the Teachers Association. I did not identify 70 myself by name or position in the cover letter (Appendix E) that I sent to teachers because 1 did not want them to react to me or the questionnaire as another administrative requirement. I did allow for the principals and student advocates who distributed the questionnaires for me to identify me if requested. In fact, one principal and advocate wrote an additional cover letter to their staff. I did, however, identify myself to administrators and board members, some of whom identified themselves in their responses. The rate of response from all groups was adequate. Of 80 teacher questionnaires sent, 47 responded (58.8%). Site administrators responded 4 of 4 (100%). Central office administrators responded 6 of 6 (100%), and board members 3 of 5 (€0%) (see Table 1). I was allowed to utilize interdistrict mail services for these questionnaires and though generally slow it is unlikely much correspondence was lost. All of the interviews and surveys occurred during May and June 1994 (see Table 2). For those who have been associated with the IAAAAMS program since its inception, they now have a 5-year history. It was assumed that the opinions, perceptions, and understandings that were to be derived from this methodology could be determined from the population of individuals targeted by this research. 71 Table 1 Rate of Response--Teachera. Site Administrators (Principals). Central Office Administrators, and School Board Members Number sent Number responses Percentage responses Teachers 80 47 58.8 Site Administrators 4 4 100. 0 Central Office Administrators 6 6 100. 0 School Board Members 5 3 60.0* "It should be noted that 2 of the school board members were involved in election campaigns at the time the surveys were sent. It is likely they did not respond because of time constraints. 72 Table 2 Chronology of Interviews and Distribution of Surveys May 3 Met with Bell Junior High principal and pupil advocate Questionnaires approved Set date to interview students 16 Survey sent to central office staff and school board members June 1 Met with Knox principal and pupil advocate Questionnaires approved Set date to interview students Met with Fulton principal and pupil advocate Questionnaires approved Set date to interview students 3 Interviewed Knox students Teacher and parent questionnaires distributed Met with Gompers principal and pupil advocate Questionnaires approved Set date to interview students 7 Interviewed program director and pupil advocates 10 Interviewed Fulton students Teacher and parent questionnaires distributed Interviewed Bell Junior High students Teacher and parent questionnaires distributed 13 Interviewed Gompers students Teacher and parent questionnaires distributed 73 Trianaulat ion Patton (1987} cites Denzin (1978) as identifying four basic types of triangulation: (1) data triangulation--the use of a variety of data sources in a study, for example, interviewing people in different status positions or with different points of view; (2) investigator triangulation-- the use of several different evaluators of social scientists; (3) theory triangula tion- -the use of multiple perspectives to interpret a single set of data; and (4) methodological triangulation--the use of multiple methods to study a single problem or program, such as interviews, observations, questionnaires, and docu ments. (p. 66) The researcher utilized methods (1) and (4) to complete this case study. In addition to interviews, questionnaires, and observations, student records were reviewed to determine the success of the program in reaching its objectives. Chapter IV will present a summary of the findings. 74 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS In this chapter are the findings of the case study conducted at the four schools comprising the pilot schools, now referred to as demonstration sites, of the Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students (IAAAAMS) program. The program was authorized by the San Diego School Board in 1989. The conditions which influenced the Board of Education to take the action included low test scores, low grade point averages, high suspension and dropout rates, low college attendance, and disproportionately high numbers of African-American males placed in special education. The program began at the pilot schools once the pupil advocates were selected. The advocates created a program based on the aforementioned 11 objectives, each tailoring the program to specific site needs. This research sought to answer the following questions that were tied directly to the 11 objectives: 1. To what extent did the implementation of the Pilot Schools Program in the African-American project 75 enable the city schools to address the deficiencies shown by African-American males at the pilot schools and other schools in San Diego? 2. Did the project show movement towards meeting the district objective of improving the achievement of African-American males? Where the ll expected student outcomes for improvement reached at the pilot schools? 3. How many of the strategies employed by the pupil advocates were effective in improving student achievement? How was that effectiveness determined? 4. Were any of the strategies ineffective? If so, why? 5. Were the pupil advocates equally effective at each of their sites? 6. How did teaching strategies change at the pilot schools? Was there a corresponding attitudinal change in the expectations teachers had for African-American male students? 7. Was there a change in the curriculum that comple mented the teaching strategies? If so, what were those curriculum changes? 8. How much support to the project at the pilot schools was provided by site administrators? Did that support change during the life of the project? If so, how and why? 76 9. How much support was provided to the project by district administrators? Did that support change during the life of the project? If so, how and why? 10. Did the school board actively support the project? How was that support shown? 11. What is the opinion of the project by its target population, African-American males, at the pilot school? Do they feel they have been helped by the project? Was their overall academic achievement improved as a result of their participation in the project? How was their attitude about school changed as a result of the project? 12. How do parents and community feel about the project? Do they think it has been beneficial to their children? Has it increased their participation in school- related functions? Has it improved their attitudes about themselves? 13. Can this program serve as a prototype for other schools in San Diego or in other school districts? Answers to these research questions resulted from analysis of all the data collected in this case study. The questions were asked of several stakeholder groups including teachers, administrators, board members, parents, student advocates, and students. The Student Information System and the district's Research and Evalu ation Division were sources for information. 77 The sequence of responses will be presented in the order above, from teachers to students. This allows a transition of perceptions from district personnel to the target group, African-American male students. Each question will be analyzed separately in each group with responses evaluated within the context of the group and their likely effect on the IAAAAMS program. Before sharing the findings it is appropriate that the schools involved in this research be described. It is important to understand the contexts in which the program is operating to better understand the challenges those involved with the program face. The descriptions of each school were written by the school staffs for the 1994 School Accountability Report Cards of each school. Knox Elementary: Knox Elementary School is located in the southeast section of San Diego in a neighborhood of single-story homes and large apartment complexes serving low-income families. About 80% of the student population receive free and reduced-price lunch. Knox is a total magnet school with emphasis on oral and written communication. A second magnet has an emphasis on French. Of the 715 K-6 and 48 preschool students enrolled in October 1993, 13% spoke a language other than English. 78 Knox operates on a single-track schedule. The student racial/ethnic composition in 1993-94 school year was 54.6% African-American, 27% Hispanic, 12.9% White, 2.3% Filipino, 1.7% Pacific Islander, and 1.2% Indo chinese . Fulton Academics and Athletics Magnet School: Fulton Academics and Athletics Magnet School is located in Southeast San Diego in a residential area of single-family homes. New housing developments in the community promise a modest increase in future enrollment. Total enrollment in October 1993 was 541. The combination of ethnic groups at Fulton offers great cultural diversity. The student racial/ethnic composition for 1993-94 school year was 53.8% African-American, 15.7% White, 12.8% Filipino, 14% Hispanic, 22% Indochinese, 1.3% Pacific Islander, and .2% Other. Bell Junior High School: Alexander Graham Bell Junior High School is located in the Paradise Hills area and is home to an ethnically diverse population of 2,000 students. Bell takes pride in its educational program which meets the individual learning needs of its students through a variety of programs which include the Math-Science Computer Magnet, Ascending Scholars, English as a Second Language (ESL), 79 Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Special Education, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). The student racial/ethnic composition for 1993-94 school year was 39.3% Filipino, 20.9% White, 18.1% African-American, 17.8% Hispanic, 1.4% Pacific Islander, 1.1% Indochinese, and 1% Asian. Gompers Secondary School: Gompers Secondary School is located in the Chollas View area of San Diego. The area represents a mix of single-family homes, apartment rentals, and commercial enterprises. In 1978-79 our center for Science/Mathe matics/Computer Technology Magnet Program was started as part of the district’s integration program. In 1989-90 our school became a total magnet for grades 7 through 12. Gompers' current enrollment is about 1,710 students. The student racial/ethnic composition is 39.2% African-American, 29.6% Hispanic, 14.1% Indochinese, 12.6% White, 1.3% Filipino, 1% Asian, and .1% Other. Comments written by individuals responding to the surveys and questionnaires will also be shared. Teachers/Counselor Responses Of 80 questionnaires distributed, 47 teachers/coun selors responded, a rate of 58.8%. The distribution of 80 years of experience was fairly even (see Table 3). Years in the current capacity was strongly weighed towards individuals having 1-5 years at their current position and was overwhelming when combined with those having fewer than 10 years. This indicates that a large number of individuals have been on their current job approximately as long as the IAAAAMS program has been in existence at their respective schools. It also indicates a great deal of mobility at these schools when compared with the years of experience this group of teachers have. Table 3 Teacher/Counselor Experience (N = 47) Years of experience Number Years in current capacity Number 1-5 10 1-5 26 6-10 10 6-10 12 11-15 7 11-15 3 16-20 8 16-20 4 21-25 8 21-25 1 26-30 3 26-30 1 Over 30 1 Over 30 0 Though 47 teachers/counselors answered the survey, they did not all respond to every question. The results that follow will numerically and in percentages indicate 81 the responses to each question. Percentages are rounded to the next highest tenth where appropriate. Knowledge of Program Objectives One of the recommendations suggested by the partici- pants in the initial development of the IAAAAMS program was the need for staffs at each of the pilot schools to have information on the rationale for the program and a need for discussion of how the program would be carried out at each site. The advocates were expected to imple ment a program as soon as they arrived at each school. To many, this was analogous to building the plane while they were flying it, and a lot of the people on the plane, metaphorically speaking, had not yet developed confidence in the pilots. A major mission, therefore, was for the advocates to establish credibility with school staffs, along with students and parents, so that they would be receptive to the program. There was a range of staff reactions from openly hostile to very supportive. The first two questions on the teachers questionnaire were an attempt to ascertain the perceptions, understanding, and support of the IAAAAMS from teaching staff in this the fifth year of the program. The results indicated a good deal of familiarity with the program and agreement with the program objectives. Statement 1 says "I am familiar with the program 82 objectives of the IAAAAMS program." Of 4 7 responses, only 1 teacher (2.1%) indicated that he/she had Very Little familiarity with the program objectives. Fully 97.8% or 46 teachers indicated Moderate to Very Much when asked about familiarity (Table 4). When asked to make a statement of agreement that the program objectives were "important to the academic success of African-American male students," S teachers (10.6%) indicated Moderately, while 3 9 teachers (83%) were more strongly supportive of that statement. None did not support the objectives and only 3 teachers (6.4%) stated that they didn't know if the objectives were important to the academic success of the African-American male students (see Table 4). These results would initially serve to indicate that there is strong support from teaching staffs for the program objectives of the IAAAAMS project. It is agreed that this is a critical support group for the success of the program. This also shows that the advocates have done a good job in responding to the above recommendation. Perceptions of Program Success Statements 3-16 (see Table 5) focused on the teachers' perceptions of the success of the program achieving the 11 objectives that were established by the school board. High priority was given to achievement of 83 Table 4 Teachers* Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 1 and 2 (N » 47) 1. I am familiar with the program objectives of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 16 16 14 2.1% 34% 34% 29.6% 2. The program objectives are ones that I agree are important to the academic success of African American male students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N * 5 14 25 3 10.6% 29.8% 53.2 6.4% 84 Table 5 Teachers' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey:__Statements 3-1$ 3. The achievement of African American male students at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with has improved noticeably since the implementation of the IAAAAMS pro gram . 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 2 8 3 8 7 9 4.3% 17% 27.7% 17% 14.9% 19,1% 4. The IAAAAMS program provides support for teachers who may have difficulty with meeting the educational needs of African American males, 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 6 12 11 15 2 2.1% 12.8% 25.6% 23.4% 31.9% 4.3% 5. The parents of students attending the pilot school(s) I am familiar with are more involved in the education of their African American male children as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 7 12 3 8 16 2.1% 14.9% 25.6% 6.4% 17% 34% 6. The school attendance of African American male students is improved at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 3 12 14 2 16 6.4% 25.6% 29.8% 4.3% 34% 85 Table 5 (continued) 7. The suspension rates of African American male students are reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N = 3 6.4% Moderately 10 21 . 3% 9 19 .1% Very Much 4 6 .5% DK 21 44 . 7% 8. The number of African American males who are referred for Learning Handicapped (LH) classes has been reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N - 5 10.6% Moderately 5 10 . 6% 7 14 . 9% Very Much 3 6.4% DK 27 51% 9. The number of African American males who drop out of school at the middle level has decreased at the pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N 1 2.1% 3 6.4% Moderately 3 6.4% 9 19.1% Very Much 1 21.1% DK 27 63 .8% 10. The number of African American males who qualify for the A-F and California State University entrance require ments is increasing based on the courses attempted at the middle level pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program and grade improvement. Very Little N - 1 2.2% 2 4.4% Moderately 3 6.6% 5 11.1% Very Much 3 6.6% DK 31 68.8% 86 Table 5 (continued) 11. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program will likely be better prepared to enter the work force and provide positive community participation. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 3 9 17 13 4 2.1% 6.4% 19.1% 36.2% 27.7% 8.5% 12. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program exhibit more positive self-esteem through the increased knowledge of their African and African American heritage, 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 5 6 17 12 6 2.1% 10.6% 12,8% 36.2% 25.5% 12.8% 13. The instruction that teachers provide in the pilot schools is responsive to the individual learning needs of the African American male students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 5 14 17 5 5 2.2% 10.6% 29.8% 36.2% 10,6% 10.6% 14. Curriculum at the pilot schools tends to be inter disciplinary in structure. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 7 16 10 6 4 2.1% 19.1% 34% 21.3% 12.8% 8.5% 87 Table 5 (continued) 15. The strategies employed by the pupil advocates have been effective in improving student achievement at the pilot schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 3 13 15 12 3 2.1% 6.4% 27.7% 31.9% 25.5% 6.4% 16. The teachers at the pilot schools have changed their teaching strategies as a result of staff development received via the IAAAAMS program. Very Little Moderately Very Much DK N - 5 e 10.6% 17% 17 36 .2% 7 14. 9% 4 6.5% 6 12 .8% 88 the target group students, hence the name of the program. Though there were 11 program objectives, only the one (#10) which deals with improving self-esteem through increasing student knowledge about their African heritage is directly influenced by the advocates. The other objectives are influenced indirectly by the advocates. In the area of academics the pupil advocates work both in groups and one on one to challenge the students toward excellence. They visit classrooms to monitor activities in those classrooms. Student contacts and study skills support are given to teachers in their work with students. The advocates have set up and/or taught after-school tutorial sessions. Support is also given to teachers through inservices and individual sessions on topics such as classroom management, behavior modifica tion, and strategies for improving the academic success of African-American male students. The program also has a focus of enhancing the cultural awareness of the schools' staffs. They are assisted in motivating students by making the classroom curriculum more culturally diverse. Activities of the advocates in this process include classroom presentations and site and district presentations. The advocates have also created a resource library. The advocates also work with school attendance offices to monitor attendance of 69 students in the program. Support groups have been estab lished for students to discuss concerns and/or problems associated with attendance. The advocates also work with the site consultation teams to develop a model of teamwork in dealing with students. The advocates make home visits to students who are experiencing more severe attendance problems. Where necessary they have developed family counseling situations to help address the problem. The advocates assist their site administrators, teachers, and counselors in implementing the discipline program. They attempt in this capacity to help school staffs to monitor suspension rates and practices. Alter natives to suspension and inservices for staff have been implemented with their assistance. In addition, they work with students one on one and in groups to improve their behavior in school. Special education placement was also targeted by the program. Advocates have become part of site IEP and consultation teams, attempting to insure that students have appropriate placement. Responses to Statements 3-16 showed a greater range than the initial section (see Table 5). Statement 3 responses indicate that the majority of teachers feel that there has been Moderate to Very Much improvement in the achievement of African-American males since the 90 implementation of the program. Fewer feel that there has been less than Moderate or Very Little improvement. One teacher wrote the comment "individual students of mine have benefitted." Statements 6 and 7 deal with attendance and suspen sion rates, respectively. The vast majority of teachers feel that there has been improvement in attendance of the target population. Only a couple feel that there has been less than a moderate improvement. Slightly over one-third indicated that they didn't know. As with attendance, most teachers feel that suspension rates for African-American male students are reduced. An almost equal number say that they don't know, however. Very few feel that there has not been a moderate improvement in suspensions. The relatively large number of Don't Knows suggests perhaps that better reporting of results in this and other areas is necessary. More discussion about reporting will follow. Statements 4, 13, 14, 15, and 16 are related to instruction and support for teachers. A large percentage of teachers, more than three-quarters, feel that the IAAAAMS program provides support for teachers having difficulty meeting the educational needs of African- American students. Several teachers made specific comments about this support: 91 Doug Williams has been a friend, a brother, a father and ear for many students and teachers at this school who, otherwise, would have been lost, dejected, or confused .... The advocates chosen at the school sites are an invaluable resource .... Mr. Harley has been instrumental in making me a better teacher by increasing my knowledge of the importance of self for a successful student/person .... Doug Williams has been the most helpful source of information and support at my school since I started here three years ago .... One teacher commented negatively: Sadly--because of personality clashes, adversaries were made out of allies. Support, only if you agreed with the advocate, has gotten better however. Additionally approximately three-quarters of the teachers feel that the instruction that they provide is responsive to the individual learning needs of the African-American male students. The curriculum at the four schools, according to the majority of teachers, is interdisciplinary. One of the most important responsibilities of the advocates has been the provision of instructional strategies for teachers to assist them in meeting the needs of students in the program. Statements 15 and 16 suggest that the strategies of the advocates have been effective in improving student achievement with almost 60% 92 of teachers saying that teaching strategies have changed as a result of staff development received via the IAAAAMS program. However, more than one-quarter of the teachers indicated that they had changed their strategies Very Little or less than Moderately. About half of the teachers responding to Statement 5 felt that parents were more involved in the education of their children since the implementation of the program. Better than one-third, however, indicated that they didn't know. One teacher commented: It is very difficult to get parents involved in anything. Not a reflection of the program. Another critical area of the program deals with whether increasing the knowledge of African and African- American heritage provides students with increased self esteem {Statement 12). Again, about three-quarters of the teachers responding felt that this was Moderately to Very Much evident in their students. However, the statement was not without disagreement. Several teachers took time to write comments about this item. The comments were as follows: Many of the young men that have been in the program for 5 years are still display ing unacceptable behavior. Many go beyond being proud and showing confidence/high self-esteem. They are arrogant and rude to other students and teachers. Espe cially after returning from their Advocate fsicl time .... 93 Students use program and program goals as excuse to behave irresponsibly. Accentu ates already deep racial divisions within the student body .... . . . He [Mr. Harley] has empowered kids/ students to save themselves and me to better be able to meet their educational needs .... I feel that all ethnic groups need a representative such as Mr. Harley. If you can't appreciate/celebrate yourself and your past, how can you appre ciate/celebrate someone else's. Statement 11 asks comments upon whether the students who participate in the IAAAAMS progiam will likely be better prepared to enter the work force and provide posi tive community participation. Over four-fifths of the teachers responding felt that this was a probability. Fewer than 10% felt that they would not. As mentioned above, there were several areas in which the majority of the respondents did not know the answers. There are likely several reasons for this. Statements 9 and 10 ask about dropout rates of middle school students and the number of students who qualify for the A-F and California State University entrance requirements. Because two of the schools are elementary schools, one a junior high, and the other a 7-12 school, many of the teaching staff may not have access to that information. Likewise, Statement 8 asks about students referred for special education. This too is not general information. However, because they are program objectives, this 94 information should be reported to staffs so that they can understand the complete outcomes of the program. Perception of Program Support One of the recommendations for the IAAAAMS program which was made at its implementation was a proactive, strong statement of administrative support from the district and site administration for the program, including information on why the program is needed and involvement of staff in tailoring the program to meet the unique needs of each site. Statements 17-25 (see Table 6) sought to measure that support as perceived by teachers. It is critical that district leadership champion this type of effort and that a perception of support be had by all stakeholders involved in the program. In Statements 17, 18, 19, and 22 teachers were asked their perception of support from site administrators, district level administrators, school board members, and teaching staffs. Teachers perceived overwhelmingly that site adminis trators have been supportive. They were less sure about district level administrators or board members though a slight majority in each case felt that they were supportive. Slightly less than half in each case indi cated that they didn't know whether the district level administrators or board members supported the program. 95 Table 6 Teachers1 Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey; Statements 17-25 17. Site administrators at the pilot schools have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 10 13 19 4 21.7V 28.3% 41.3% 8.7% 18. District level administrators have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program, 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 1 12 14 20 2.1% 25.5% 29.8% 42.6% 19. The school board members have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N * 1 13 10 23 2.1% 27.7% 21.3% 48.9% 20. The students who participate in the IAAAAMS program have a positive opinion of the project. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N * = 10 16 16 5 21.3% 34% 34% 10.6% 96 Table 6 (continued) 21. The parents of students involved in the IAAAAMS program are supportive of the project and think it is beneficial to their students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 6 12 13 16 12.8% 25.5% 27.7% 34% 22. The teaching staffs at the pilot schools are supportive of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N 3 6.4% 11 23 .4% 20 42.6% 11 23.4% 2 4.3% 23. Acceptance of the IAAAAMS program has increased over the years of its operation in San Diego City Schools. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N 1 2 .1% 2 4.3% 11 23 .4% 12 25 . 5% 10 21.3% 11 23 .4% 97 Table 6 (continued) 24. The IAAAAMS program is money well spent and deserves to be continued and expanded in San Diego City Schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 1 4 6 8 21 5 2.1% 0.5% 17% 17% 44.7% 10.6% 25. The IAAAAMS program can effectively serve as a proto type for other schools in San Diego and for schools in other districts. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 1 6 6 13 16 5 2.1% 12.8% 12.8% 27.7% 34% 10.6% 98 Teachers felt that other teachers were supportive of the program. Close to 9 of 10 teachers felt that the majority of their colleagues supported the program. When asked whether acceptance of the program had increased over the years of its operation, about three- quarters of the teachers felt that it had as shown in Statement 23. Nearly one-fourth indicated that they didn't know. The perception of students' and parents' support was requested in Items 20 and 21. Most teachers felt that students who participate in the program have positive opinions about it. Some wrote comments about this: I feel that knowing the program is in place gives students more options in problem solving and crisis situations and empowers them. As a plus, the students feel good about the attention, . . . Most also felt that parents were supportive of the program. Two-thirds indicated that this was the case. However, one-third indicated that they didn't know. Statements 24 and 25 asked some critical opinions, whether the program should be continued and expanded, and whether it should serve as a prototype for other schools in San Diego and in other districts. Approximately three- fourths of the teachers responding indicated that they felt that the money for the program was well spent and 99 that the program deserved continuation and expansion. Almost an equal number felt that the program could serve as a prototype for other schools and other districts. This indicated strong support for other IAAAAMS programs from an important constituency in the school district, the teacher. It suggests that to those who responded the program is beneficial to the students. I allowed for personal comments in the survey. Many did respond, some supportive, some very critical. The complete comments from teachers are in Appendix F. Site Administrator Responses As mentioned before, one of the early recommendations for the IAAAAMS program was receiving a proactive and strong support from district and site administration for the program. Because they are leaders at the schools at which programs are in existence, site administrators play an important role in the success of this program (see Table 7 for site administrator experience). Knowledge of Program Objectives All four of the site administrators indicated Very Much familiarity with the program objectives of the IAAAAMS program (see Table 8). They also agreed with the objectives being important to the academic success of African-American male students (Statements 1-2). 100 Table 7 Site Administrator Experience (N « 4) Years of experience Number Years in current capacity Number 1-5 0 1-5 3 6-10 0 6-10 1 11-15 0 11-15 0 16-20 4 16-20 0 21-25 0 21-25 0 26-30 0 26-30 0 Over 3 0 0 Over 3 0 0 Table 8 Site Administrators' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 1 and 2 (N - 4) 1. I am familiar with the program objectives of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 Very Little Moderately 4 5 Very Much DK N * 4 100% 2. The program objectives are ones that I agree are important to the academic success of African American students. male 1 2 3 Very Little Moderately 4 5 Very Much DK N = 3 75% 1 25% 101 Perceptions of Program Success Site administrators' responses to Statements 3-16 are displayed in Table 9. Site administrators responded positively to Statement 3 suggesting that the achievement of African-American males has improved since the imple mentation of the IAAAAMS program. Likewise in the area of attendance, principals felt that there had been moderate or better improvement in the rate of attendance of African-American males as shown in Statement 6. Principals, however, more evenly divided about whether suspension rates were improved. One of the four suggested that Very Little change has occurred while the others indicated Moderate or better changes. Statements 4, 13, 14, 15, and 16 which relate to instruction and/or support for teachers show some differ ences of opinion within some statements and general agreement with others. One principal feels that the IAAAAMS program provides less than moderate support for teachers who may have difficulty with meeting the needs of African-American males (Statement 4). The other three feel that the program goes from Moderate to Very Much in providing support for these teachers. All, however, agree that teachers provide instruction that is responsive to the individual learning needs of the students in the program from a Moderate or better level. Again, one 102 Table 9 Site fofrninistrators' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey; Statements 3-16 3. The achievement of African American male students at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with has improved noticeably since the implementation of the IAAAAMS pro gram . 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 3 25V 75V 4. The IAAAAMS program provides support for teachers who may have difficulty with meeting the educational needs of African American males. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 1 1 1 25V 25V 25V 25V 5. The parents of students attending the pilot school(s) I am familiar with are more involved in the education of their African American male children as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 3 1 75V 25V 6. The school attendance of African American male students is improved at the pilot school{s} I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N * 2 2 50V 50V 103 Table 9 (continued) 7. The suspension rates of African American male students are reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 2 1 25% 50% 25% 8. The number of African American males who are referred for Learning Handicapped (LH) classes has been reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAMAS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - I 1 1 1 25% 25% 25% 25% 9. The number of African American males who drop out of school at the middle level has decreased at the pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 2 1 25% 50% 25% 10. The number of African American males who qualify for the A-F and California State University entrance require ments is increasing based on the courses attempted at the middle level pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program and grade improvement. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 2 2 50% 50% 104 Table 9 (continued) XI, Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program will likely be better prepared to enter the work force and provide positive community participation. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 1 2 25V 25V 50V 12. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program exhibit more positive self-esteem through the increased knowledge of their African and African American heritage. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 3 25V 75V 13. The instruction that teachers provide in the pilot schools is responsive to the individual learning needs of the African American male students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 3 1 75V 25V 14. Curriculum at the pilot schools tends to be inter disciplinary in structure. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 1 1 1 25V 25V 25V 25V 105 Table 9 15. The strategies employed by the pupil advocates have been effective in improving student achievement at the pilot schools. Very Little N - Moderately 1 25% 2 50% DK Very Much 1 25% 16. The teachers at the pilot schools have changed their teaching strategies as a result of staff development received via the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N » 1 3 25% 75% 106 principal does not feel that the curriculum at his/her school is interdisciplinary in structure, while the other three feel that their curricula are. All of the prin cipals feel that the strategies employed by the pupil advocates have been effective in improving student achievement at the pilot schools. There is agreement among the principals that the students who participate in this program will likely enter the work force and community better prepared to be positive contributors as they indicate in Statement 11. The principals disagree about whether the IAAAAMS program has helped reduce the number of dropouts. One feels that there has been Less Than Moderate success in this area, two feel that there has been Moderate success, and the fourth does not know. Contrastingly, there is more agreement that students are taking coursework that will qualify them for university admission (Statements 9 and 10), Again there are differences of opinion about whether students are being referred for special education courses in lower numbers (Statement 8). One site administrator indicates Very Little improvement, another Moderate improvement, the third Very Much improvement, and the last indicating that he/she doesn't know. 107 Lastly, one principal felt that teachers have changed their teaching strategies Very Little as a result of staff development activities sponsored by the pupil advocates. The other three felt that there has been Moderate change in teaching strategies. Perceptions of Program Support For questions 17-25 (see Table 10) the site adminis trators were almost in total agreement that support of all levels was strong for the IAAAAMS program. Only on State ment 20 was there some disagreement. Two principals indicated that they Strongly Agree that students who participate in the program have a positive opinion of the program. Two others indicated that they Don't Know. The Don't Knows are a bit surprising coming from principals, though I hesitate to speculate why they responded that way. Further questioning would be in order to find out why. All of the principals agreed that the program was money well spent and deserved continuation and expansion. They were also in general agreement that the program could serve as a prototype for other schools and other districts. Based on their responses, the principals perceive of individual differences in the effectiveness of the program in their schools; however, they tend to be supportive of the program. 108 Table 10 Site Administrators1 Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey: Statements 17-25 17. Site administrators at the pilot schools have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree DK Strongly Agree N = 1 25% 3 75% 18. District level administrators have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N * 3 1 75% 25% 19. The school board members have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 3 1 75% 25% 20. The students who participate in the IAAAAMS program have a positive opinion of the project. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 2 2 50% 50% 109 Table 10 (continued) 21. The parents of students involved in the IAAAAMS program are supportive of the project and think it is beneficial to their students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N * 3 1 75% 25% 22. The teaching staffs at the pilot schools are supportive of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N = 1 25% 3 75% 23. Acceptance of the IAAAAMS program has increased over the years of its operation in San Diego City Schools. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree DK Strongly Agree N 1 25% 2 50% 1 25% 110 Table 10 (continued) 24. The IAAAAMS program is money well spent and deserves to be continued and expanded in San Diego City Schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 3 1 75% 25% 25. The IAAAAMS program can effectively serve as a proto type for other schools in San Diego and for schools in other districts. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 1 2 1 25% 50% 25% 111 Additional comments by site administrators can be found in Appendix G. Central Office and Board Members These two groups of individuals to a large extent establish policy and practice within school districts. They also are expected to "create to vision" and give direction and leadership within the districts. This is true even in the restructured and decentralized school districts of today. In San Diego there is a close working relationship between the school board and the superintendent's cabinet. Much of what happens programmatically and within policy guidelines still originates at the district level. The IAAAAMS program is a product of the board of education, authorized in 1989 to counter conditions of low achieve ment manifested by African-American males. It was the board that established the 11 objectives for this program. District administrators, including those from central office, are expected to facilitate and support this pro gram and to work with the board to monitor its progress. In this research it was important to determine the view of these two sets of stakeholders to ascertain their knowledge of and support for the IAAAAMS program. Because they work so closely together in San Diego City Schools 112 their results are reported jointly. However, where desig nations need to take place that will be done. The respondents included the superintendent and 5 assistant superintendents and 3 school board members. Table 11 shows the experience chart for the central office adminis trators and board members. One item of note, most of these individuals have fairly long experience in the field of education; however, their years in their current capacities is generally short, 1-5 for 7 of the 9 respondents. The other 2 respondents have 11-15 years in the same capacity. Table 11 Central Office and Board Members Experience (N - 9) Years of experience Number Years in current capacity Number 1-5 0 1-5 7 6-10 0 6-10 0 11-15 2 11-15 2 16-20 0 16-20 0 21-25 0 21-25 0 26-30 4 26-30 0 Over 30 4 Over 30 0 Knowledge of Program Objectives As shown on Table 12, respondents indicated that they were more than Moderately or Very Much familiar with the program objectives of the IAAAAMS program. All of them 113 Table 12 Central Office and Board Members1 Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey:__Statements 1 and 2 (N * 9) 1. I am familiar with the program objectives of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 2 7 2. The program objectives are ones that I agree are important to the academic success of African American male students. 22 .2% 78 . 8% 1 Very Little 2 3 Moderately 4 5 Very Much DK N = 9 100% 114 agree that the program objectives are important to the academic success of African-American male students, Very Much (Statements 1 and 2), Perceptions of Program Success Table 13 displays results from Statements 3-16. The two groups were in general agreement with each other that the achievement of African-American males at the pilot schools has Moderately or better than Moderately improved since the implementation of the program. There was one person, however, who felt that the achievement was less than Moderate. One respondent noted that since the program's implementation, the number of African-American males whose cumulative GPA is 3.0 or above in grades 9-12 has risen from 50 to over 400 in San Diego City Schools. The group of statements relating to instruction and support for teachers (4, 13, 14, 15, and 16) provided some varying perceptions and levels of knowledge. Eight of 9 respondents felt that IAAAAMS program provided Moderate or greater than Moderate support for teachers having diffi culty with African-American male students. One individual felt that it was less than Moderate. Five of 9 respondents to Statement 13 felt that teachers provided instruction that was responsive to the individual learning needs of African-American male 115 Table 13 Central Office and Board Members’ Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey; Statements 3-16 3. The achievement of African American male students at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with has improved noticeably since the implementation of the IAAAAMS pro gram . 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 4 4 11.1% 44.4% 44.4% 4. The IAAAAMS program provides support for teachers who may have difficulty with meeting the educational needs of African American males. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 3 5 11.1% 33.3% 55.6% 5. The parents of students attending the pilot school(s) I am familiar with are more involved in the education of their African American male children as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N = 1 11.1% Moderately 1 11.1% Very Much 3 33 .3% DK 4 44 .4% 6. The school attendance of African American male students is improved at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 1 2 5 1 11.1% 22.2% 55.6% 11.1% 116 Table 13 (continued) 7. The suspension rates of African American male students are reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N = 1 11.1% Moderately 1 11.1% 1 11.1% 4 44 .4% Very Much 1 11.1% DK 1 11 .1% 8. The number of African American males who are referred for Learning Handicapped (LH) classes has been reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N = 1 11.1% Moderately 1 ll. 1% Very Much 2 22.2% DK 5 55 .6% 9. The number of African American males who drop out of school at the middle level has decreased at the pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Very Little N * 1 11.1% Moderately 1 11.1% Very Much 3 33.3% DK 4 44 .4% 10. The number of African American males who qualify for the A-F and California State University entrance require ments is increasing based on the courses attempted at the middle level pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program and grade improvement. Very Little N « Moderately 2 22.2% Very Much 3 33.3% DK 4 44.4% 117 Table 13 ( j 11. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program will likely be better prepared to enter the work force and provide positive community participation. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 1 3 3 2 11.1% 33.3% 33.3% 22.2% 12. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program exhibit more positive self-esteem through the increased knowledge of their African and African American heritage. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N = 6 3 66.7% 33.3% 13. The instruction that teachers provide in the pilot schools is responsive to the individual learning needs of the African American male students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N - 2 2 1 4 22.2% 22.2% 11.1% 44.4% 14. Curriculum at the pilot schools tends to be inter disciplinary in structure. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much N » 4 1 4 44.4% 11.1% 44.4% 118 Table 13 (continued) 15. The strategies employed by the pupil advocates have been effective in improving student achievement at the pilot schools. Very Little N - 1 11.1% Moderately 1 11.1% DK Very Much 7 77 . 8% 16. The teachers at the pilot schools have changed their teaching strategies as a result of staff development received via the IAAAAMS program. Very Little Moderately Very Much DK N 1 11.1% 2 22.2% 2 22.2% 4 44 .4% 119 students. Four indicated that they did not know including two of the board members. Five of respondents also felt that curriculum in the pilot schools tended to be interdisciplinary. Again 4 didn't know, including all 3 responding board members (Statement 14), Eight respondents felt that strategies employed by the pupil advocates have been Moderately or better than Moderately effective in improving student achievement at the pilot schools. One thought that these strategies had been less than Moderately effective (Statement 15). Four respondents thought that teachers at the pilot schools had changed their teaching strategies as a result of staff development received from the IAAAAMS program. Four other respondents indicated that they did not know. One indicated that teachers had changed teaching strate gies Very Little. On this Statement 16, 3 of the 4 individuals indicating that they didn't know were assistant superintendents. The respondents generally thought that the students who participate in the program would likely be better prepared to enter the work force and community. Seven of the 9 indicated agreement that this would likely happen Moderately to Very Much. Two indicated that they didn't 120 know, either they didn't know the students or did not want to conjecture on their future* As with other respondents, Statements 9 and 10 showed a wide range of responses. Statement 9 asked whether there was a decrease in the number of African-American males dropping out at the middle level schools as a result of the IAAAAMS program. One person indicated Very Little, one indicated Moderately, 3 indicated more than Moder ately, and 4 others indicated that they didn't know. Again 2 of the 3 board members responding didn't know. Five respondents felt that the number of African- American male students who qualify for university admission was increasing as a result of the program. Four others indicated that they didn't know. Most did not know if fewer students were being referred for special education classes at the pilot schools (5 of 9), The others disagreed, with one indi vidual feeling that there had been less than Moderate change, one feeling that there had been Moderate change, and 2 feeling that more than Moderate reduction had taken place (Statement 8) . Perceptions of Program Support As mentioned in Chapter III, perhaps the most criti cal support groups within the district for any program to be sustained are the site and central office 121 administrators and the board members. Each year there are annual reviews presented to the board and superintendent's cabinet by the program director and the pupil advocates. Each year the program must be reconsidered effective to remain in the district's budget. Judgment about the program's effectiveness determines the ability of the district's leadership to find and support solutions to problems of learning gaps between various racial and ethnic groups within the district. As mentioned before, African-American males had the lowest level of overall achievement in San Diego City Schools of any racial/ ethnic/gender group. In assessing the knowledge of the program of the district leadership and also assessing their support of the program, the researcher assumes that clues to the program's longevity and possible expansion will become evident. The school district leadership, like site administra tors, all have a perception that the other constituent groups within the district, teachers, parents, and students, have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program (see Statements 17-25, Table 14). In response to Statement 19, one assistant superintendent indicated that he/she did not know if school board members have been supportive of the program. The same assistant superintendent indicated that 122 Table 14 Central Office and Board Members' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey; Statements 17-25 17. Site administrators at the pilot schools have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N = 2 22.2% 7 77.8% 18. District level administrators have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 5 4 55.6% 44.4% 19. The school board members have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N 4 44 .4% 4 44 .4% 1 11.1% 20. The students who participate in the IAAAAMS program have a positive opinion of the project. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N 1 11.1% 5 55.6% 3 33 . 3% 123 Table 14 {continued) 21. The parents of students involved in the IAAAAMS program are supportive of the project and think it is beneficial to their students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 1 4 3 1 11.1% 44.4% 33.3% 11.1% 22. The teaching staffs at the pilot schools are supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree DK N 1 11.1% 5 55.6% 2 22 .2% 1 11.1% 23. Acceptance of the IAAAAMS program has increased over the years of its operation in San Diego City Schools. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N 5 55.6% 3 33 . 3% 1 11.1% 124 Table 14 (continued) 24. The IAAAAMS program is money well spent and deserves to be continued and expanded in San Diego City Schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N * 1 2 6 11.1% 22.2% 66.7% 25. The IAAAAMS program can effectively serve as a proto type for other schools in San Diego and for schools in other districts. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 1 3 5 11.1% 33.3% 55.6 125 he/she did not know if support for the program had increased over the years. I suspect that this person is one of two new assistant superintendents appointed this year and may not have a historical perspective about the program. Another assistant superintendent indicated that he (he identified himself) was unsure of parent support of the project, in response to Statement 21. Because two of the schools are in his area, I think that it is critical for him to become aware of that level of support. Communication of this information may be wanting. One of the board members indicated that he did not know if teaching staffs at the pilot schools were supportive of the program. Again, communication may be wanting. On all other points in this section of the survey the district leadership is in agreement about a perceived level of support district-wide for the IAAAAMS program. Most critically, they all agree Somewhat to Strongly that money spent on the program is well spent and that the program deserves to be continued and expanded. They also agree that the program can serve as a prototype for schools in this and other districts. Also, all three responding board members indicate strong support for the 126 program. The significance of this support will become evident in the summary chapter. It should be noted here that site, district, and school board support for the IAAAAMS program is strong in this district from all the constituent groups who are district employees, teachers, principals, central office administrators, and board members. This is so even though no group is totally knowledgeable about all aspects of the program. Several district administrators and two of the school board members added comments that can be found in Appendix H. The effectiveness of this program would seem to be evident because of the strong support. It is necessary to report the results of the other constituency group, parents, advocates, and students, to further deter mine the depth of knowledge and support. Parent Responses The survey sent to parents had the loweBt rate of return, 15 of 60 or 18.8%. Still their responses are an important part of the research of the IAAAAMS program because empowerment and encouragement of parents to participate in the education of their children was one of the desired outcomes of this program. The parent responses to this questionnaire gave some insight into the 127 success of this outcome. They also showed a diversity of opinion about the program (see Table 15). Statement 1 shows the number of responses from each school. The student advocates mailed the surveys to the parents of the students who were interviewed and 10 other parents. Each survey had a self-addressed, stamped envelope addressed to me at my house. Statements 2, 3, and 4 identify the parents' knowledge of the program, knowledge of their child's participation in the program, and the parents' participa tion in the program, respectively. It should be noted that whereas all parents responding were aware of the program, and 14 of 15 parents knew that their children were participating in the program, only 7 of the 15 respondents had participated in some program activities. The response to Statement 5 suggested that 12 of the 15 parents agreed that the IAAAAMS program helps their child be a better student in school. One parent strongly disagreed with the statement. Two didn't know if the program helped or not. Several made comments: Fortunately, my child has placed himself in the attention of the IAAAAMS program. He has added his name to many student lists to be involved in the activities. There are several students not receiving the benefits of the program because they are above average students. They are not as knowledgeable of the activities that go on. 126 Table 15 Parents' Responses to IAAAAMS Program Survey 1. My child attends school at: Knox 4 Fulton 3 Bell 2 Gompers 6 2. I am aware of the Improving the Academic Achievement of African American Male Students program at his school. Yes 15 No 0 3. He participates in the Improving the Academic Achieve ment of African American Male Students program at his school with my knowledge. Yes 14 No l 4. I have participated in some of the activities of the IAAAAMS program at my child's school or elsewhere. Yes 7 No 8 5. In general the IAAAAMS program has helped my child be a better student in school. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N - 1 6.6% 2 13 .3% 6 40% 4 26 .6% 2 13 .3% 129 Table 15 (continued) €. The pupil advocate at my child’s school has been a good role model for my child. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 2 1 3 8 1 13,3% 6.6% 20% 53.3% 6.6% 7. I have been more active with my child’s education as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 5 1 4 3 1 1 33.3% 6.6% 26.6% 20% 6.6% 6.6% 8. The teachers at my child's school seem to work well with my child in part because of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N - 1 6 .6% 3 20% 2 13.3% 2 13 .3% 4 26 .6% 3 20% 9. My child has learned more about his African and Afri can American heritage as a result of the IAAAAMS program, Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N - 1 6.6% 2 13.3% 6 40% 5 33 .3% 1 6.6% 130 Table 15 (continued) 10. My child's grades in school are better in part because of his participation in the IAAAAMS program, 1 2 3 4 Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree DK N = 2 13 .3% 2 13 .3% 5 33 .3% 3 20% 2 13 . 3% 1 6 . &% 11. My child's attendance in school is good in part because of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N = 3 20% 2 13 . 3% 5 33 . 3% 4 26 .6% 1 6 . 6% 12. My child is more interested in going to college in part because of the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree DK Strongly Agree N - 3 20% 3 20% 4 26 . 6% 4 26 . 6% 13. I feel my child is going to be a productive part of the community in part because of his participation in the IAAAAMS program. Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Agree DK N = 1 6.6% 5 33 . 3% 4 26 .6% 3 26.6% 1 6.6% 131 Table 15 (continued) 14. The instruction that my child receives at school meets my child's individual learning needs. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N = 1 2 5 4 2 1 6.6% 13.3% 33.3% 26.6% 13.3% 6.6% 15. My child's school is better because of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree N - 1 2 6 5 1 6.6% 13.3% 40% 33.3% 6.6% 132 . . . No doubt the IAAAAMS program has contributed to my son's self-worth and provided excellent role models in the process. I think the African-American students should attend a program such as [IAAAAMS] twice a week at the least .... I am grateful that a program such as the [IAAAAMS] has been introduced to Fulton school because the Black students [some] have no interaction [positive] with posi tive or successful Black men. In response to Statement 6, 12 of the 15 respondents Somewhat to Strongly Agreed that the pupil advocates at their child's school had been good role models for their children. Two, however, Strongly Disagreed with that statement, while one marked Don't Know. Comments on this topic were shared also: No comment negatively but I appreciate what Doug Williams has done for me and my child in and out of school. I did not know my son was part of this program. However, Mr. Williams has been an excellent role model regardless of the program. . . . And because his father is no longer in the home, my son has been able to turn to the pupil advocate and other teachers for advice, support and assistance that I was unable to provide. I feel that the school should allow the pupil advocate at my son's school to interact more often with the African- American males that attend Know school. Now that he has been taken away the boys complain about not seeing him as often as they use fsic] to and that he no longer has time for them. 133 Mr. Thomphsen raid is a good teacher. I think he is great. Six of the 13 parents disagreed with Statement 7 that they had been more active with their child's education as a result of the IAAAAMS program. Eight others agreed Somewhat to Strongly that they were more active. One indicated he/she didn't know if he/she is more active. Four parents Strongly or Slightly disagreed with Statement 8 that teachers seemed to work well with the children in part because of the program. Eight parents were Somewhat to Strongly in agreement with that statement. Three indicated that they didn't know. Only one parent did not think that his/her child had learned more about his African and African-American heritage as a result of the program. Thirteen parents felt that their child had grown in this knowledge, Some what to Strongly agreeing with that statement. One parent indicated that he/she didn't know. There were some strong comments made about this topic: . . . He has also become more acutely aware of the societal injustices put upon African-American males in this country which, perhaps has made him more cynical and feeling separate from rather than at one with all peoples. Learning of innumerable achievements by African- Americans and the lack of respect given to those achievers and achievements, coupled by his own experiences has, in my opinion, contributed to his growing cynicism but also inspired him to work harder. 134 I feel that academics should be stressed more to the students as a very important factor in achieving success as a Black man as well as Black history. The parents were fairly evenly split when asked if their children's grades were better in school because of their participation in the IAAAAMS program (see Statement 10). Four of the parents Strongly or Slightly disagreed. Ten of the parents agreed Somewhat to Strongly and one parent indicated that he/she didn't know. Statement 11 wanted the parents' opinion about the effect of the IAAAAMS program on their students' attendance. All of the parents had an opinion about this statement. Five indicated disagreement with the statement from Strongly to Slightly that their children's attendance had improved. The other 10 expressed agreement from Somewhat to Strongly that their attendance had improved. Six parents expressed Strong or Slight disagreement with the statement that in part because of the IAAAAMS program their child was more interested in attending college. Eight others either Agree or Strongly Agree with Statement 12. One parent indicated that he/she didn't know if his/her child's interest in college had increased. Most of the parents thought their children were going to be more productive to their communities because of their participation in the IAAAAMS program. Thirteen parents felt that way. Only one Strongly disagreed with 135 Statement 13. One parent also indicated that he/she ..didn't know. Most of the parents think that the instruction that their student receives at school meets their children's individual learning needs. While 12 parents Somewhat to Strongly agreed with that statement, 3 parents Strongly or Slightly disagreed. One parent indicated that he/she didn't know. Thirteen of the parents think that their children's school is better because of the IAAAAMS program. One disagrees Strongly, and another indicated that he/she didn't know. These results indicate an overall positive response to the program from the parents who responded. Though the majority of parents have not participated in activities sponsored by the program, only one parent expressed almost total dissatisfaction with it. This endorsement by parents is consistent with all of the other groups whose responses have been tabulated thus far. A complete text of written responses to this parents survey is shown in Appendix I. Pupil Interviews By far the most enjoyable part of this research effort were the interviews conducted with the students 136 involved in the IAAAAMS program (see Appendix A). Their excitement, enthusiasm, curiosity, and honesty were universal in a group of individuals ranging in age from 7 through 17, in grades from 2nd through 12th. These young men were selected randomly with the only criterion that they have been in the program for a minimum of 2 years. It was my feeling that this would allow them time to have a knowledge of the program and have a relationship with the pupil advocate and other students for a long enough time to make some judgments about the program. Likewise, it allowed them time to make judgments about the schools that they attend and the other adults, primarily teachers, that they have contact with. Lastly, it has given them an opportunity to gain some insight about what education and learning means to them as individuals. I will report each interview separately, with a transcription of important statements made by the indi vidual students. The first 10 statements were routine. However, it was important for the researcher to identify individual responses to Statements 11 through 25. Those are the questions/responses which I will focus on in this section (Tables 16-19). 137 Table 16 Knox Elementary School Student Responses to Statements 11- 25. Statement 11: Mr. Thompson is a friend I can talk to when I need to talk to an adult. Nicholas (Grade 5, 5 years in program): Yes Alton (Grade 5, 5 years in program); Yes Ronald (Grade 6, 5 years in program): Yes Shaun (Grade 5, 4 years in program): Yes Randall (Grade 4, 5 years in program): Yes Jason S. (Grade 4, 2 years in program): Yes Carl (Grade 2 , 2 years in program): Yes Shea (Grade 4, 4 years in program): Yes Jason R. (Grade 6, 5 years in program): Yes Statement 12: The project makes me like school more. Nicholas: Yes Alton: Yes Ronald: Yes Shaun: Yes Randall: Yes Jason S.: Yes Carl: Yes Shea: Yes Jason R.; Yes Statement 13; The project helps me by providing me with help in the following ways. Nicholas: It teaches me about African heritage. It teaches me how people used to live and do things. Alton: By learning how to control your actions. Learn about Africans and what happened in the past. Ronald; My temper, my self control. Shaun: Behave in class, respect my teacher. Randall: Learn more about Black history. Jason S. It helps me to focus on my school work. Helps me keep doing that, by making me think I can do it, want to do it, and making me think that I have to do it. Carl: Hmm. Helps me learn about African-American history. Shea: It helps you, like you learn self esteem. You can come here and talk to somebody. 138 Table 16 (continued) Jason R. It tells you about how you need to be in college and how you have to help each other out. Mr. MacNee who's in the gang prevention project tells about gangs and some things I didn't know. Now I do. My grades are mostly l's & 2's, 2's & 3's, 3'S & 41S, 4 's Sc 5's. Nicholas: 1 ' s & 2'S. Alton: 2 's St 3'S. Ronald: 2 's St 3'S, Shaun: 2 's S c 3's. Randall: 3 's S c 4 ’ s. Jason S. 1 's Sc 2's. Carl: 1 's & 2's. Shea: I get l's, Jason R. 2's Sc 3's. Statement tcontinu mainly E's St G's, G's Nicholas: E's Sc G's. Alton: E's & G's. Ronald; E's Sc G's. Shaun: G's St S's. Randall; G's Sc S's. Jason S.: E's St G ’s. Carl: E's Sc G's. Shea: G's Sc E's. Jason R .: E'8 Sc G's. 2 's, & 3 ' s & S My citizenship grades are s, S’s & N ' s, N's & U's. I've been improving Statement 15: Getting good grades in school is important to me. Is that Very Important? Kind of Important? or Not Important? Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason S.: Carl: Shea: Jason R.: Very Important. It's Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. 11d say it's Very Important Very Important. Very Important. Very Important [emphaticJ . 139 Table 16 fcontinued) Statement 16; I learn information about my African- American heritage at this school from my classroom teachers? from the African-American male program? or from both? Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason S.: Carl: Shea: Jason R.: Both. Uh, Mr. Thompson. From the program, From the program. Both. Both. I learn from both. I learn it from both. From the program. From the program. Statement 17: I feel good about being an African- American. Why or why not? Nicholas: I like being an African-American because I know what I am and I don't feel out of place. Alton: X feel good about being this color because I'm happy and I like to be in this program because it's fun and you learn a lot of things that you don't learn in your class. Ronald: I feel good because I have a lot of people who fought for my rights so I can do anything because it's a free country. Shaun: Yes, because Mr. Thompson is a good teacher. Randall: I don't know. I'm happy, but I don't know why. Jason S.: I feel good about being an African-American because I hear about all these other African- Americans doing such great things, and I want to be like that. Carl: I do because it's education for your life. Shea: Yes. [Why?} Because I can learn history about the past and other people. Jason R.: I feel good because I think I come from a very powerful race and I like being myself. Statement 18: The teachers at this school help me a lot with my school work. Nicholas: Yes Alton: Yes Ronald: Yes Shaun: Yes Randall: Yes 140 Table 16 (continued) Jason S.: Yes Carl: Yes Shea: Yes Jason R.: Yes Statement 19: I like going to this school. Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason S .: Carl: Shea: Jason R.: Yes Yes Yes Yes No, not really, because of terrible lunches. Cheese tastes like soap. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. [Why do you or why don't you?] I do when my teacher helps me and I get good grades and feel good about myself. And sometimes I'm tired and don't feel like going to school. Yes Yes Yes Statement 20: this school. Tell me what is your favorite thing about Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason 3.: Carl: Shea : Jason R.: My teacher. Mrs. Johnstone. The favorite thing about this school is this program. Learning the subjects in the class. P.E. The multi-cultural fair. I like the program and the teachers. This room, it's the prettiest to me. Like we get 15 minutes of recess and then we come in from like our break and then we do work and then sometimes our teachers give us other breaks during the day and then we go to P.E, Mr. Thompson's African-American thing and some of the programs that we be at. Statement 21: If you could change something about this school, what would it be? Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: To have better food. Better lunches. Get all the graffiti off the bathroom wall. The principal. 141 Table 16 (continued) Randall: Jason S.: Carl: Shea: Jason R .: Recess, to be a hour longer, no two. The lunch, where they order the food from. I don't think I would change anything. The office. [How would you change it?] I would put Mrs. Wailor's room and Mrs. Faucett’f room and leave the others like they are. Nothing. Music, or change the teacher. I don't like Mr, Statement 22; Do you think you would enjoy school as much if this program were not here? Nicholas Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason S. Carl: Shea: Jason R. Yes. No. Because you would hardly have anything to do but learn and go to recess. It would be boring without this kind of program. No, because we do stuff that's like fun stuff and it teaches us about self esteem and if we didn't have him here [Mr. Thompson] our self esteem would go outrageous. No. No. I don't think I would, I wouldn’t know most of the things that I know about African-American history right now. No, because it would be boring. Nope. Because like they take us on field trips and in our class most of the time we have to learn it real hard and then in here we have to be here two weeks and most of the time in class we have to learn it for a year. No, because it's fun, I like learning this stuff. Mr. Thompson is like nice and stuff and I don't feel uncomfortable around them. Statement 23: Do you think that programs like this should be at all schools? Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason S.: Yes Yes Yes Yes Yeah Yes, because it could help all schools and it could help all the Blacks there because they could get that knowledge, too. 142 Table 16 (continued) Carl; Yes Shea: Yes Jason R.: Yes Statement 24: program? Do your parents feel good about this Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall: Jason S.: Carl: Shea: Jason R.: Yes Yes Yes Yes Yeah Yes Yes Yes Yes Statement 25: Do you have any idea what you would like to do when you finish school? Nicholas: Alton: Ronald: Shaun: Randall; Jason S.: Carl: Shea: Jason S.: Basketball player or a scientist. To have my own business and maybe to teach like Mr. Thompson teaches at a school. Go to junior high school, high school, and college, then go to law school. Hm. Basketball player. Be a basketball player and a scientist. I want to be a doctor and veterinarian because I like animals. Yeah, a police officer. Get a job as a veterinarian or a lawyer. Not right now. 143 Table 17 Fulton Elementary School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 Statement 11; Mr. Shaheed is a friend I can talk to when I need to talk to an adult. Terrell (Grade 4, 2 years in program); what I've been through and stuff. Julius (Grade 5, 5 years in program): Nathaniel (Grade 5, 3 years in program) Derrick (Grade 5, 3 years in program): Dante (Grade 5, 4 years in program): Shaun Lee (Grade 5, 2 years in program) Avery (Grade 5, 4 years in program): Allan (Grade 4, 3 years in program): Brady (Grade 4, 2 years in program): Chaz (Grade 5, 3 years in program): Statement 12: The project makes me like school more. Yes, he knows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel: Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee Avery: Allan: Brady: Chaz: Yes, because it teaches Black people to get in the world of man instead of getting in jail, getting an education and rising high and living dreams and making life a little easier because they know what you've been through and stuff. Yes. Yes. Kinda. Well yes, we learn more about our African heritage, our African religion, about life. Like it's a precious gift. We wrote a poem about it. Yes. Yes, I do. Yes. Yes. Yes. Statement 13: The project helps me by providing me with help in the following ways. Terrell: [see answer to #12] Julius: By helping me learn about my history and where my ancestors came from and where I came from. 144 Table 17 Nathaniel Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee Avery: Allan: Brady; Chaz : Statement 3's & 4's Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee Avery: Allan: Brady: Chaz: (continued) : It helps me a lot. It helps me get more knowledge about our African ancestors. It encourages me to do more about Black males who are not doing anything. Helps me remember and think about my ancestors who fighted for our life like Martin Luther King. It helps me when I want to learn about God and stuff and I look up in a Bible and I start thinking back when my cousin used to be here and he told me God is Black and it gives a lot of other stuff, like who invented stuff. Most people think that White people invented all this stuff, but it's mostly African-Americans. : It helps me control my feelings, it kinda helps me feel how African-American ways, or in other words how African-Americans live. It tells me things about my ancestry and stuff. We get to go different places and meet different people. I never knew, my mom told me when I was one that we used to have a war over Black people, and never knew a white friend and I met two and a whole bunch more. And he tells me more how we can get together and help our Black brothers and have pride and like if I have problems with my teacher like I can come over here and he’ll help me solve them. Learning about Black history. Its helps me learn about my race, and I tell others, 14: My grades are mostly l's & 2's, 2’s & 3's, , 4's & 5's. l's St 2's & 3'S. Sometimes 3's & 4's. 21 s S t 3 1 1 s . 3 1 s S t 4 1 s . 21 s S t 3 1 s . 21 s S t 3 1 's. 11 1 s S t 2 1 1 s . 1's S t 2 1 1 s . 1'1 s S t 2 11 s . 2 1 s S t 3 1 s . 145 Table 17 (continued) Statement 14 (continued): My citizenship grades are S's & N's, N's & U's. mainly E’s & G's, G's St S's, Terrell: E's & G's & S's. Julius: S's. Nathaniel: G's & S's. Derrick: G's & S's. Dante: G'S & S's. Shaun Lee: G's & S's. Avery: G's & S's. Allan: G's & S's. Brady: G's & S's. Chaz: G ’s & S's. Statement 15: Getting good grades in school is important to me. Is that Very Important? Kind of Important? or Not Important? Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee: Avery: Allan: Brady: Chaz: It's very important to because I want to be a scientist when I grow up and I have to study real hard and get the jobs that I want and the right ones for me so I can do well in the future. Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. Very important, so I can grow up to be a good African-American male. Very important. Very important. Statement 16: I learn information about my African- American heritage at this school from my classroom teachers? from the African-American male program? or from both? Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel: Derrick: I learn is from this program and without this program I wouldn't know about Jessie Jackson and Martin Luther King or Michael Jordan or any other star or Black person who made a difference in our community. Both. Both Both. 146 Table 17 (continued) Dante: Shaun Lee Avery: Allan: Brady: Chaz : Statement American, Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel: Derrick: Dante; Shaun Lee: Avery: Allan: Brady: Chaz : Actually both, our teachers have taught us some stuff when we were reading a social studies book about African-American slaves. From the program. From the program. Both, but more from the program. Both. Both. 17: I feel good about being an African- Why or why not? I feel good because a lot of our ancestors, they did a lot of things. They did so many things that I can't even remember and we have our own country and we treat the people the way they want to be treated and we don’t treat people like slaves and that's why I like African-Americans. Because, that's just where I'm from. I feel good about myself being an African- American. I learned knowledge about my ancestors and kings and queens in our back ground . I like being African-American because I do a lot of things that some people can't. I belong to this program and some people can't, ain't nothing else. I feel good about being an African-American because we inherit knowledge, we're good in Olympics, we're built good, we have mostly teams, we were more say mathematics, archi tects. We built more than people in America before they found us. Because the African-Americans should be proud of themselves because we were really the first people on earth. Because, a lot of things. I can't think of why. I do because like Malcolm X he helped Black people. Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, all our African brothers and sisters our moms and dads. Because there are a lot of famous people. Africans invented a lot of things. Yes I feel good to be Black. I'm proud. 147 Table 17 (continued) Statement 18: The teachers at this school help me a lot with my school work. Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel Derrick: Dante; Shaun Lee Avery: Allan Brady Chaz: Yes, they do. Yes. Yes. Yes. Hm, yeah a little. Mr. Berry helps me a lot but I don't ask other teachers. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Statement 19: I like going to this school. Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel: Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee: Avery: Allan Brady Chaz: Yes. Kinda Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Statement 20: this school. Tell me what is your favorite thing about Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel: Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee: Ave ry: The pupil advocate program and we go on trips sometimes and we eat and sometimes they provide us with medals and stuff, like if we did like community service awards and like participation and stuff. I've been taking this pupil advocate program seriously. This program and basketball. That the teachers here are fun. That we have activities after we do our work and stuff and PE every single day. The academic program, we have PE everyday. The PE stuff. It's a magnet school, we got to play a lot of games and stuff. 148 Table 17 {continued) Allan; How we get to go to this Black/African thing because all those girls can't go but we can and its helps you stop talking about Blacks and all people. Brady: Math. Chaz: I don't know. Statement 21: If you could change something about this school, what would it be? Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel: Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee: Avery: Allan: Brady: Chaz: I would change that we would have more Black students in our classes so that Mr. Agin Shaheed would get all these medals for all he's done and stuff. And I think that's nice. Build a bigger room for here and build a gymnasium. I would change that we would have a longer recess period. Changing soccer to football. Have more people get along. Playground. I would have higher basketball hoops because they are getting too small for fifth graders. I would kind of change the way it was made, like renew it with certain things and buy new equipment. That you would have a longer recess. Well, love all people, a lot of people. I would change gangs, get a teacher you can more understand. Nothing. Nothing. Statement 22: Do you think you would enjoy school as much if this program were not here? Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel Derrick: Dante: Shaun Lee Avery: A little yes, but without Mr. Shaheed I wouldn't know what a pupil advocate program was. No. No. I don't know. Maybe. No. No. 149 Table 17 {continued) Allan: No, I wouldn't learn as much about Black people. Brady: No. Chaz; No. Statement 23: Do you think that programs like this should be at all schools? Terrell: Yes, I think so. Julius: Yep. Nathaniel: Yes. Derrick: Yes. Dante: Yes. Shaun Lee: Yes. Avery: Yes. Allan: Yes. Brady: Yes. Chaz: Yes. Statement 24: Do your parents feel good about this program? Terrell: Yes. Julius: Yeah. Nathaniel: Yes, they do. Derrick: Yes. Dante: Yes, they talk to my auntie sometimes, Shaun Lee: Yes. Avery: Yes. Allan; Yes. Brady: Yes. Chaz: Yes. Statement 25: Do you have any idea what you would like to do when you finish school? Terrell: Julius: Nathaniel Derrick: I would like to study the rain forest in Brazil and find factB and make chemicals and find new diseases in the world that nobody knows about yet. I'd like to go to college and after that be a NBA basketball star. I would like to be an actor. Yes, go to college and play college sports. After college, play baseball and basketball. 150 Table 17 (continued) Dante Shaun Avery Allan Brady Chaz : I'd like to be a scientist and a mathema tician. Lee: Probably a basketball player. Play football. If I can't make it in basketball or football, then I'll go to Caltrans, or be in the Navy. Be a lawyer. Probably a lawyer. 151 Table 18 Bell Junior High School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 Statement 11: Mr. Harley is a friend I can talk to when I need to talk to an adult. Rashard (Grade 9, Robert (Grade 9, Marlen (Grade 9, Daryl (Grade 8, 2 Paris (Grade 9, 3 Mylon (Grade 9, 3 Robert (Grade 9, Arthur (Grade 9, Derrick W. (Grade Jamal (Grade 9, 3 Sugar Ray (Grade 3 years in program): Yes 3 years in program): Yes 2 years in program): Yes years in program): Yes years in program): Yes years in program): Yes 3 years in program): Yes 3 years in program): Yes 9, 5 years in program): Yes years in program): Yes 9 , 3 years in program): Yes Statement 12: The project makes me like school more. Rashard; Yes. Robert: Yes Marlen: Yes. Daryl: Yes. Paris: Yes. Mylon: Yes Robert: Yes. Arthur: Yes. Derrick W.: Yes. Jamal: Yes. Sugar Ray: Yes. Statement 13: The project helps me by providing me with help in the following ways. Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert: The project helps me by knowing there is always someone I can talk to and I can ask other members to help me out. By teaching me about Black history. The project help me by allowing me to enhance my grades. To be proud of who I am. We learn more about out past history, and we are building up self-esteem. It helps me by giving me more friends to be around. It helps me get good grades. 152 Table 18 (continued) Arthur: The program helps me with my homework. It also teaches me about my culture. Derrick W.: Helps with teachers, help with grades and teachers, Black history and Black involve ment . Jamal: The project helps me learn more about my culture. Sugar Ray: It help me focus on studying. Statement 14: My grade point average is between 4.0-3.0, 2.9-2.0, 1.9-1.0, below 1.0. Rashard: 2. 9-2.0 Robert: 2. 9-2.0 Marlen: 4,0-3.0 Daryl: 2 . 9-2.0 Paris: 4 . 0 - 3.0 Mylon: 2. 9-2.0 Robert: 2 . 9-2.0 Arthur: 2.9-2.0 Derrick W.: 2.9-2.0 Jamal: 2.9-2,0 Sugar Ray: 2.9-2.0 Statement 14 (continued): My citizenship grades are E's & G's, G's & S' s, S's & N’s, N's & U's. Rashard: E's & G1 's. Robert: G*s and S's. Marlen: S's & N1 1 s. Daryl: E's & G 1 1 s. Paris: G's & S'1 s. Mylon: G's & S'1 s. Robert: G's & S'1 s. Arthur: S's & N 1 s. Derrick W,; E's & G 1 s. Jamal: E's & G 1 s. Sugar Ray: G's & S'1 s. Statement 15; Getting good grades in school is important to me. Is that Very Important? Kind of Important? or Not Important? Rashard: Very Important. Robert: Very Important. Marlen: A Very Important. Daryl: Very Important. 153 Table 18 (continued) Paris; Mylon: Robert; Arthur: Derrick W. Jamal: Sugar Ray: Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. Very Important. A Very Important. Very Important, A Very Important. Statement 16: I learn information about my African- American heritage at this school from my classroom teachers? from the African-American male program? or from both? Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert; Arthur: Derrick W, Jamal: Sugar Ray: From the program. From the program Both. From the program. Both. From the program. From the program. From the program. Both, but not enough from my classroom teachers. Both. Both. Statement 17: I feel good about being an African- American. Why or why not? Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Paris; Mylon: Robert: Arthur: Derrick W, I like being an African-American because African-Americans fight for what is right. Because I like being Black. Yes, because it makes me feel proud to see how my people came out from nothing to where they are now. Yes. I feel good about being an African-American because I respect my African-American leaders and I was brought up with African- Americans . I feel good about being an African-American because I have a lot of pride in my history. I feel good because I accept who I am. Yes. I wouldn't feel good being any other race. I do because of my strong ancestors. 154 Table 18 (continued) Jamal: Sugar Ray: I feel good about being an African-American because that's what God made me. I do because it makes me feel like I belong, and plus we were the first people that had the most useful inventions today. Statement 16: The teachers at this school help me a lot with my school work. Rashard: Yes. Robert: Yes. Marlen: Yes. Daryl; Yes. Paris: Yes. Mylon: Yes. Robert: Yes. Arthur: No. Derrick W.: Yes, Jamal: Yes. Sugar Ray: No. Statement 19: I like going to this school. Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert: Arthur: Derrick W.: Jamal Sugar Ray: Statement 20: this school. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. No. Tell me what is your favorite thing about Rashard: Robert: Marlen: I like gym and lunch. The program. The environment and the students at this school as well as the teachers. 155 Table 18 (continued) Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert: Arthur: Derrick W.: Jamal: Sugar Ray: Statement 21; school, what Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert: Arthur: Derrick W.: Jamal: Sugar Ray: The AVID [Advancement Via Individual Determination] program. [AVID is a program for junior and senior high students who belong to groups typically underrepresented on college campuses. Included are African- Americans, Hispanics, Southeast Asians, Samoans, and low-income Whites. The program teaches students how to study; it has an emphasis on students receiving good grades and taking college prep classes.] My favorite thing about this school is the classes I got and the people and students. The Black kids who attend this school and the opportunities we have because of the program. I like gym and lunch. My favorite thing about this school is lunch, the afterschool basketball and the ascending scholars. My friends. I like some of the classes they offer. The favorite thing to do at school is talk and kick it with my friends and even some times write poems to girls and friends. If you could change something about this would it be? I would change the food in the cafeteria and some of the teachers. I would grow grass on the fields that we play on. The discipline policies are too strict. There would be no silent reading for 17 minutes. I would change the rules about not wearing hats and the dress code. Nothing. I would like nicer teachers. The teachers. Having more Black magnet students. I don't know. The thing I would change about this school is that we start school later. 156 Table 18 (continued) Statement 22: Do you think you would enjoy school as much if this program were not here? Rashard: No, because I would not know a lot of people. Robert: Yes. Marlen: No. Daryl: No, I don't. Paris: I don't think so because the program moti vates me to keep trying. Mylon No, not at all, Robert: No. Arthur: No. Derrick W .: No. Jamal: Yes, because I liked my other schools. Sugar Ray: I think that if the program wasn't here I would have been moved to another school by my parents because my grades would be real low. Statement 23: Do you think that programs like this should be at all schools? Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert: Arthur: Derrick W, Jamal: Sugar Ray; Yes, definitely because African-American students would get better grades in school. Yes. Yes. Yes, I do. Yes, Yes. Yes. All schools with a fair amount of Black students. Yes, Yes, I think so because it helps me by Mr, Harley pushing me to get better grades along with my parents and it will keep most kids from joining a gang. Statement 24: Do your parents feel good about this program? Rashard: Robert: Marlen: Daryl: Yes, they love it. Yes. Yes. Yes, they do. 157 Table 18 (continued) Paris: Mylon; Robert: Arthur: Derrick W. Jamal: Sugar Ray: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. My parents do because I'm getting better grades than I was at the start of the year, Statement 25: Do you have any idea what you would like to do when you finish school? Rashard: Robert; Marlen: Daryl: Paris: Mylon: Robert: Arthur: Derrick W.: Jamal: Sugar Ray: Yes, I want to go to college and then become a physical scientist. I would like to play baseball profession ally. After high school I am going off to college. Yes, I'd like to be an architect. I would like to go to a 4-year university and get my degree and play basketball. Yes, I do. I would like to be a music producer, song writer, and have a record label. I would like to major in business and then make good money. I would like to get an academic scholarship to a university and go on to medical school to study to be a practical surgeon or an anesthesiologist. I'd like to major in engineering at the University of Georgia Tech. I would want to major in computer science and work with computers. The thing I want to do when I finish school is that I want to become a lawyer because I have a tendency to remember little things and sayings my friends say from when I was 5 years old till now. 158 Table 19 Gompera Secondary School Student Responses to Statements 11-25 Statement 11: Mr. Williams is a friend I can talk to when I need to talk to an adult. Anwar (Grade 11 Carleton (Grade Steve (Grade 9, Eric B. (Grade David (Grade 11 Derrick (Grade Curry (Grade 8, Malik (Grade 10 Jason (Grade 11 Ajani (Grade 10 5 years in program): Yes 11, 5 years in program): Yes 5 years in program): Yes 12, 4 years in program): Yes , 5 years in program): Yes 11, 3 years in program): Yes 2 years in program): Yes , 2 years in program): Yes , 5 years in program): Yes , 4 years in program): Yes Statement 12: The project makes me like school more. Anwar: Carleton; Steve: Eric B .: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik; Jason: Ajani: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No, it doesn't make me like school more, it helps me to reach a goal. Our pupil advocate Mr. Williams has always told us to shoot for the 3.0 and that's been my goal. And now that I've reached the 3.0 he's told me to go higher. Statement 13: The project helps me by providing me with help in the following ways. Anwar: Carleton: Steve: It makes me more responsible, lets me know what direction I want to go in and how to get there and it also helps me become a better man. It helps me focus on my goals and dreams. It helps me learn more about my heritage, it helps me learn things I should do and shouldn't do. 159 Table 19 (continued) Eric B.: David: Derrick; Curry: Malik: Jason: Aj ani: Statement 1.0, 0,9- Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B.: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Ajani: It helps me a lot, it helps me keep up my grade point average, it helps me get my school work and the atmosphere around school, it helps me concentrate on my classes. It's taught me a lot about being responsible, being self-aware and the need for education, taking the lead. The project helps me dealing with other students, handling my teachers in a pro fessional way, it helps me find out what I'm going to do after high school. For me myself it has shown me who I am, who I can be, and a little more responsibility. It gives me motivation to get better grades and you see other Black males striving to do something, do something with themselves, go to college. And I really want to do the same and I really feel good inside. Hell, if I need tutoring I can come to Mr. Williams and get help in all the subjects I need help in, and it's also like a peer group, if I'm having problems at home I can either talk to Mr, Williams or one of the other brothers and they can help me out with my problems. Provides me with opportunities for tutoring if I have problems in any classes. We're always told that if you have any problems in class then go to tutoring and that helps you reach a B average. During the meetings we do learn about our history. 14: My grades are mostly 4.0-3.0, 2.9-2.0, 1.9- 4.0-3 . 0 4.0-3 . 0 4.0-3 .0 4.0-3 . 0 4.0-3 . 0 4.0-3 . 0 4.0-3 . 0 2.9-2.0 4.0-3 .0 4.0-3 .0 160 Table 19 (continued) Statement 14 (continued): My citizenship grades are mainly E's 4 G's, G's 4 S's, S's 4 N's, N's & U's. Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B,: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Ajani: E's 4 G's. E's 4 G's. N's 4 U's. E'S 4 G'S. E's 4 G's. E'S 4 G'S. E's 4 G's. G's 4 S's. G's 4 S's. E's 4 G's. Statement 15: Getting good grades in school is important to me. Is that Very Important? Kind of Important? or Not Important? Anwar: Very Carleton: Very Steve: Kind Eric B.: Very David: Very Derrick: Very Curry: Very Malik: Very Jason: Very Ajani: Very Important. Important. of Important Important. Important. Important. Important, Important, Important. Important, Statement 16: I learn information about my African- American heritage at this school from my classroom teachers? from the African-American male program? or from both? Anwar: From the program. Carleton: From the program. Steve: From the program. Eric B.: From the program. David: From the program. Derrick: From the program. Curry: From the program. Malik: From the program. Jason: From the program. Ajani: From the program, more so. 161 Table 19 (continued statement 17: I feel good about being an African- American. Why or why not? Anwar: I feel good about being an African-American because it makes me who I am, and it's the best race that God put on this earth, we're the strongest and there is no reason not to be proud about being an African-American. Carleton: Black is power and dominance. Steve: I do because that's what I am. Eric B.: Because it is my heritage, I'm proud to be Black. David: Yeah, because there are a lot of stereotypes out there and this gives me a chance to prove them wrong by my actions. Derrick; Because Africans are the root of all civili zation. I’m proud to be part of that, the beginning of civilization. I think that that is very important. Curry: Because my heritage is very important and special to me. Because my heritage is who I am and if I don't care about who I am how can then, how can I expect anyone else to. If I don't respect what I am, there's no reason for me to go around and expect anyone else to. Malik: Well, our culture is strong and also teaches us a lot and I'm proud of that. Jason: No, because I'd be very bored in school and I'd have a lack of focus, because I'd have a lack that Mr. Williams give us. Ajani: I feel good about being an African-American because I know African-Americans have con tributed a lot to make America and I feel good about being an African-American because we're a powerful race. Statement 18: The teachers at this school help me a lot with my school work. Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B .: David: Yes. No. No. Yes. Yes. 162 Table 19 (continued) Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Aj ani: Statement 19; Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B.: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Ajani: Statement 2Q; this school. Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B.: David: Derrick: Curry: Yes. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. I like going to this school. No. No. No. Yes. No. No. Yes. No. No. Yes. Tell me what is your favorite thing about Looking forward to graduating. The location. Nothing except people, the kids. The whole school atmosphere, being with different people in different grades. Being able to leave soon. The experience we get dealing with the younger kids, we get to help them, if they are going in the wrong direction. We could be kinda like their big brothers, bring them up, tell them what they are doing wrong to improve themselves, encourage them to get good grades. Some teachers, the fact that some teachers take the time out if you need some help after school or during lunch. Mr, Williams is not a teacher, but he's a pupil advocate and he's always there, some teachers are always there. Some schools you don't have that. They'll put something on the board and tell you to do it. 163 Table 19 (continued) Malik: The people, a lot we can get along with. And some teachers, mostly teachers that take time after school, before school and help you prepare for class, help you with your grades and give you a chance to take tests over and things like that. Jason: The pupil advocate program. Ajani: The science and computer program. Statement 21: If you could change something about this school, what would it be? Anwar; Carleton Steve: Eric B .: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Ajani: Make it a high school or junior high, not all together. The administration, enable more African- American employees. Staff, they ain't organized. Nothing. They need a lot of different programs and activities for the kids, not only for African-Americans but others too, but mainly African-Americans because you have to give them a reason to want to come to school. Many different programs and activities would do that. Sports, definitely. We need a sports program to give our school some pride so people want to come here. Some of the teachers, or there is just the opposite, some teachers don't take the time out. Get an athletic program. I think this school needs sports. It would attract more people and they give the school a lot more pride. It would become a high school and get a football team. The athletic program. Statement 22: Do you think you would enjoy school as much if this program were not here? Anwar: Carleton; Steve: No. No. No, because they let us out of our classes. 164 Table 19 (continued) Eric B .: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Ajani; Probably not as much because it teaches me more about my Black heritage than I've heard in my history class. No. No, not at all. No. No. No, because I'd be very bored in school and I'd have a lack of focus, because I'd have a lack that Mr, Williams gave us. No, it would not provide the African- American males with the opportunities that we have now like the Golden Pyramid scholars and Links achievers or other field trips. Statement 23: Do you think that programs like this should be at all schools? Anwar: Yes. Carleton: Yes. Steve: Yes. Eric B .: Yes. David: Most definitely. Derrick: Yes, most definitely. Curry: Yes, I do. Malik: Yes. Jason: Yes. Ajani: Yes. Statement 24: Do your parents feel good about this program? Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B.: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Ajani: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I don11 know. Yeah, they do. Yes, they do. Yes, pretty much. Yes. Yes. 165 Table 19 {continued) Statement 25: Do you have any idea what you would like to do when you finish school? Anwar: Carleton: Steve: Eric B.: David: Derrick: Curry: Malik: Jason: Aj ani: Yeah, a mechanical engineer and/or a lawyer, and if I don't go into professional sports. Own my own business. Actor or a mechanical engineer. I'd like to major in business management, and own my own business. Architectural engineer. I want to be an aeronautical engineer. A computer engineer. Aeronautical engineer or go into pro fessional sports. I'd like to become an engineer. A marine biologist. 166 Discussion of Student Responses Several things became apparent from listening to the tapes and reading the transcriptions of the student responses. First of all, every student feels very posi tive about the pupil advocate at their respective school. Each student answered positively when asked if they thought the advocate was a friend that they could talk to when they needed to talk to an adult. Though I inter viewed approximately 10V of the students in the program, it is still exceptional that all would be so positive about the advocates. Relating to the concept of phenomenological research that was offered as a research strategy by Professor Broussard, I carefully listened to these students and attempted to detect fear or insincerity in their delivery. I also tried to tell if they were responding with answers that they felt would be what I wanted to hear. None did. Instead they spoke with confi dence and candor and expressed true love, admiration, and respect for the student advocates and a sincere appreci ation for the effort they have provided for the students. Likewise most of the students answered "yes" when asked if the program made them like school more. One responded "kinda" which can be considered positive in a general sense. The one "no" was followed by a positive statement: 167 No, it doesn't make me like school more, it helps me to reach a goal. Our pupil advocate Mr. Williams has always told us to shoot for the 3.0 and that's been my goal. And now that I've reached the 3.0, he's told me to go higher. Other students who elaborated on this question made comments like: Yes, because it teaches Black people to get in the world of man instead of getting in jail, getting an education and rising high and living dreams and making life a little easier because they know what you've been through and stuff. Well yes, we learn more about our African heritage, our African religion, about life. Like it's a precious gift .... Expressions like these, the latter two from ele mentary school students, indicate a depth of appreciation and understanding derived from the program by these students. There was a range of responses to Statement 13 which asked students to indicate how the project helped them. Some identified the fact that the project helped them academically. Examples are: It helps me focus on studying. It helps me get good grades. The project helps me by allowing me to enhance my grades. It helps me a lot, it helps me keep up my grade point average, it helps me get my school work and the atmosphere around school, it helps me on my class. 168 Other responses focused on meeting social needs: The project helps me dealing with other students, handling my teachers in a pro fessional way .... . . . and it's also like a peer group. If I'm having problems at home I can either talk to Mr. Williams or one of the other brothers and they can help me with my problems. It helps me by giving me more friends to be around. Many students talked about learning discipline and self- control . By learning how to control your actions. My temper, my self-control. It helps me control my feelings .... Overwhelmingly, however, students talked about the program instilling a sense of pride in their African and African- American heritage. Though some of it admittedly is idealistic and misinterpretation, still these students do not carry shame or stigma about being African-American males in the society of this country. Some examples of the pride in self that they feel include: It teaches me about African heritage. It teaches me how people used to live and do things. Helps me learn about African-American history. . . . and teaches Black history and Black involvement. 169 By learning more about past history and building up self-esteem. This transformation was noted in the third year review of the program and its importance cannot be understated. The African-American male students' self esteem at the pilot schools has visibly improved as demonstrated by self-respect, respect for each other, better attitude toward school, and career goals. This has been facilitated by greater exposure to their cultural heritage and African- American male role models. Such exposure included activities not generally experi enced by this population. Not only African-American male students, but other students as well have been educated about contributions of Africans and African- Americans to our society. Pupil advocate activities have not been offered exclu sively to African American males even though they are the target population. (Progress Report. 1992) The statements pertaining to the collective desire of these students to achieve in school contrast starkly with Fordham and Ogbu's (1966) findings that Black students perceived school success with "acting white." Information about student GPAs in this research will be reported in the next section of these findings. How ever, it should be noted that 37 of 4 0 of the students interviewed reported having grade point averages the equivalent of C or better. The advocates spoke of their frustration that more students were not achieving at the B average (3.0) or above, which is one of the program objectives. However, the fact that a random sampling of 170 40 African-American male students would produce such a low number of students who are failing is notable. One explanation is that these students all have been in the program for more than one year, which has given the students who might have failed if not exposed to the program an opportunity to develop the attitude and study skills necessary to be good students. Also, the culture of their peers apparently is supportive of them not accepting failure. All but one student, 39 of 40, indicated that getting good grades was very important to them. Many were quite emphatic in their response to this question. None of these students appeared to feel that it wasn't appropriate to get good grades, nor do they fear getting put down by their peers. When asked to respond to the statement, "I learn information about my African-American heritage at this school (a) from my classroom teachers, (b) from the program, or (c) both," an interesting division occurred. The two elementary schools, Knox and Fulton, and the junior high school, Bell, were fairly evenly split with students at Fulton saying 6 e's and 4 b's. The Knox students said 5 e's and 4 b’s; the Bell students indicated 6 b's and 5 e's. At Gompers, however, the students all indicated that these lessons were only taught in the 171 IAAAAMS program. Again, why this is so requires further investigation. All four schools are magnet schools with specialized curricula. Gompers is a mathematics, science, and computer technology magnet. Though this does not exclude racial and ethnic content in the classes (they feature courses in African and Latino history classes), it is apparent that this is not emphasized outside of the IAAAAMS program. Because improving self-esteem through emphasis and knowledge of African heritage was a program objective, the researcher wanted to find out if these students felt good about being an African-American. Already, the observation from the advocates in the 1992 summation has been shared. All of the students responded affirmatively to this statement, even when given a choice not to. Their responses indicated an appreciation of self learned in the IAAAAMS program. For example: I feel good about being this color because I'm happy and I like to be in this program because it’s fun and you learn a lot of things you don't learn in class. I feel good about being an African- American because I hear about all these other African-Americans doing such great things and I want to be like that. I feel good about myself being an African- American. I learned knowledge about my ancestors and kings and queens in our background. 172 Yeah, because there are a lot of stereo types out there and this gives me a chance to prove them wrong by my actions. Because my heritage is very important and special to me. Because my heritage is who I am and if I don’t care about who I am, how can I expect anyone else to. If I don’t respect what I am, there's no reason for me to go around and expect anyone else to. It is common knowledge that people with a sense of pride in self tend to perform well within society. As was noted elsewhere in this research, teachers, principals, central office administrators, and board members all thought that students would likely be better prepared to enter the work force and contribute to the community. Likely they observe the sense of pride held by these students as expressed in numerous responses to this state ment. From the students’ responses it can be assumed that this objective has been met. There was a mixture of responses when the students were asked about whether teachers helped a lot with school work, although overwhelmingly the students indicated that teachers do assist with school work; 35 said yes, 5 said no. All of the elementary students thought that their teachers were supportive in that way. The majority of junior high and high school students answered positively to this statement. 173 Similarly, responses were varied in response to the statement whether students liked the schools they were attending. The less than positive responses were, in some cases, humorous. No, not really because of terrible lunches. Cheese tasted like soap. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. 1 do when my teacher helps me and I get good grades and I feel good about myself. And sometimes I'm tired and don't feel like going to school. Have better food. The students who indicated that they liked their school least were Gompers students: 3 yes, 7 no. Statement 21 attempted to ascertain the reasons students didn't like their schools by asking what they would change. Most Gompers students stated that the sports and activities program was lacking at their school, which was why they didn't enjoy going there. For example, one student said: They need a lot of different programs and activities for the kids, not only for African-Americans but others too; but mainly African-Americans, because you have to give them a reason to want to come to school. Many different programs and activities would do that. It should [the school] become a high school and get a football team. However, none cited any dislike for the IAAAAMS program and several indicated when asked in Statement 20 174 to state their favorite thing about this school that the program was what they liked most, from several of the schools, I like the program and the teachers. Mr. Thompson's African-American male program. Some things we do. This program and basketball. How we get to go to this Black African thing .... The pupil advocate program and how we go on trips sometimes and we eat and some times they provide us with medals and stuff .... I've been taking this pupil advocate program seriously. The importance of the IAAAAMS program to the stu dents' attitude towards school is further reinforced by their responses to Statement 22 which sought to determine if they would enjoy school as much without the program. Not one indicated that they would. Many were very defini tive about why they gave the answers they did. I don't think I would. I wouldn't know most of the things that I know about African-American history right now. No, because it would be boring. Probably not as much because it teaches me more about my Black heritage than I've heard in my history classes. No, because I'd be very bored in school and I'd have a lack of focus, because I'd have a lack that Mr. Williams gave us. No, it would not provide the African- American males with the opportunities that 175 we have now like the Golden Pyramid scholars and Links Achievers or other field trips. The Golden Pyramids are awards provided by the San Diego Urban League to African-American students in Grades 9-12 who achieve GPAs of 3.0 and above in San Diego County schools. The Links Achievers program is sponsored by the San Diego chapter of Links, Inc., a national service organization. It identifies top African-American students in both public and private schools in San Diego County and provides them with a program of mentoring, development of social skills, field experiences with Black professionals, and academic scholarship support for graduating seniors. The students were unanimous in feeling that the program should be in all schools. Those that made comments about this statement gave the following reasons for their endorsement of the program: I think so because it helps me by Mr. Harley pushing me to get better grades along with my parents and it will keep most kids from joining a gang. All schools with a fair amount of Black students. Yes, definitely, because African-American students would get better grades in school. Yes, because it could help all schools and it could help all the Blacks there because they could get that knowledge too. 176 Furthermore, most students also think that their parents are supportive of the program. This is so even though the parents have not been as active with the program as was desired in the hoped-for program outcomes. The perception of parent support by these students likely has an effect on the willingness of students to partici pate with the program although that would need to be verified by further research. Green et al. (1988) wrote about the "cycle of failure" and "poverty of spirit where they see no hope." The last question of this survey asked these young men if they had any idea about what they would like to do when they finish school. It was placed in this research instrument to determine if these students saw themselves with a productive working future; in other words, do they have hope for themselves. This can have a definite effect on how they perceive the importance of school and educa tion. Responses to this question were somewhat predictable especially with the younger students, with a dream of professional sports participation as a goal of many. However, all students responded with an answer about some professional goal, some with associated academic goals. None aspired toward criminality or nonemployment. All students Grades 2 through 12 had dreams. The effect of 177 the IAAAAMS program toward nurturing those dreams cannot be totally determined by this research; however, some of the strategies employed by the pupil advocates such as determining the career aspirations of students, assisting students in developing career goals, and assisting students in developing action plans based on career objectives likely had an effect on the career hopes of these students. Twelve of the students mentioned pro fessional sports as a goal {or at least one goal). Sixteen indicated at least one goal to be either an engineer, scientist, veterinarian, medical doctor, or a marine biologist. Six spoke of a partial interest in law; two thought acting or music careers were in their futures. Three wanted to go into business, especially for them selves. One indicated college; another to be a police officer. One said either business or to be a teacher like the pupil advocate, Mr. Thompson. Of the 4 0 students interviewed, only one did not know what he wanted to be at this time. As mentioned before, the most enjoyable part of this research was meeting with, observing, and interviewing these students. They are indicative of the effect that the IAAAAMS program has had with African-American male students in establishing focus on academic achievement, appreciation for school, pride in heritage, empowerment in 178 behavior, respect for community, and aspiration for college and beyond. These students counter the negative stereotypes generally associated with African-American male students. They are also a reflection of the hard work put forth by the pupil advocates in attempting to make this program succeed. Their interviews will conclude this section of the findings. Interviews:__Program Coordinator and Pupil Advocates One of the important decisions made by the San Diego City Schools Board of Education in July 1989 was to hire student advocates at each of the four pilot schools. In a district report fImproving. 1989), the proposed descrip tion of their position stated: It is proposed that a Black male student advocate be assigned to each of the two elementary and middle level feeder patterns. These positions would be assumed by a professional staff (teacher, counselor, or social worker) who would work closely with a core of Black male students, their teachers, and parents to ensure students' success as they move through school. The staff person would: ■ maintain a profile on each student • provide guidance support for students, teachers, and parents • conduct a proactive motivational counseling program including academic support, social skills, self-esteem development, and cultural heritage 179 • develop and implement programs of enriched experiences * develop a mentoring program using Black role models ^ develop partnerships with families and community organizations ^ provide inservices and ongoing assis tance to school staff in instructional strategies, guidance, and management practices which are most likely to be successful in helping Black male students to achieve. The four individuals hired in this capacity were each highly qualified and particularly suited to assume this role. Each came with a strong background in working with students and adults. Collectively the implementation, continuity, and success of the program is most directly related to the efforts of this group of individuals. The program director is the second individual in that capacity. He is the instructional team leader for humani ties in the San Diego City Schools and at the moment one of the highest ranking African-American men in the San Diego City Schools. The former coordinator was an assistant superintendent, one position above the instructional team leader and with far more district-wide influence. However, the current coordinator in his capacity has overseen a 3-year extension of the program. The series of interviews with these five individuals took place in increments of approximately 1 hour each. Each was asked to respond to 20 questions, except the program coordinator who received fewer. Eliminated were 180 questions not pertaining to his job. Many of the responses were similar. Presented will be edited transcriptions of the interviews featuring unique responses and comparisons. Agin Shaheed Age 44 Master's in Counseling/Psychology from National Uni versity. Prior to becoming a pupil advocate he worked in the San Diego Unified School District as a district counselor. His training was as a Navy race human relations director for the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Miramar Naval Air Station. He served as a special assistant to Admiral Zumwalt. 6. What did you see as your role when you were hired to become a pupil advocate? To excite African-American children to be proud of being an African-American, to invite them to live in a pluralistic society that says you can be African and be American as you can be Irish and be American and to assist them in academic progress . . . to facilitate teachers and parents to assist me in that facilitation. 7. How has that role changed if at all over the years? It has changed because a lot of education was required. Staffs had little cultural literacy about the culture of Africa and African-Americans and to enable them to talk about those cultures. Now they know. I help them in developing delivery systems. 8. What has been the most difficult component of the program's implementation? How have you dealt with that problem? Actually . . . my program got off to a great start at Fulton. I had a principal Carol Pike . . . she started right off to institutionalize the program . . . it immediately involved itself with every aspect of the school . . . expectations by the staff 181 that they would be helped . . . I did not have problems getting started . . . I did a lot of staff development . . . our school had a strong institu tional base. 9. Contrasting, what has been the least difficult compo nent of the program's implementation? The least difficult has been the education of the teachers . . . 10. Have you noticed movement towards the program's 11 objectives in the 5 years in the program? Describe the level of success you have identified in each objective area. Objective 1; We don't have GPAs as standards, our grades are 1's & 2's, 3's & 4's, l's being the best . . . . I did a by report card analysis in the areas of reading, language, and mathematics. Sixty-eight percent had a 3 or better in reading in the 1st year. By the 3rd year it was 81%. In language it went from 72% to 84%. In math it went from 72% to 84%. By report card that did very well; however, on standard ized tests they are just about where they are nationally .... We had last year 14 boys in GATE up from 2 when the program began. Objective 2: First grade to third grade was the focus .... They were part of the above mentioned improvement. Objective 3: By the efforts of the program we had very, very few students retained; in fact, the one I can think of was by parent request. The success of other students has varied. Objective 4: The district assessment showed a 17% school attendance improvement. Objective 5: We improved the number of suspension reductions close to 100%. Suspension because of staff-support became a very last resort. Objective 6: We had no referrals for learning handi capped students at Fulton. Objective 7: Does not apply. 182 Objective 8: Doesn't really apply; however, because of a focus on career development some students have been directed towards certain classes even at the elementary level. I've also introduced the over 100 African-American colleges in the United States . . . Objective 9: We have an affirmation called "Straight to the top, can't be stopped" and in that we give the strategies for success . . . that "Knowledge is power I" Objective 10: We have a very strong focus at Fulton about African heritage; we have a slogan saying "Out of Africa came great Americans" that many redis tinguished themselves as inventors and scientists . . . that we have contributed to America's growth . . . . The staff has had a great amount of inservice on African history and Africans in America Objective 11: We have interesting talks about curriculum along with related analogies .... We have a talk about the butterfly, we acquaint students with the metamorphosis of a caterpillar and they are like caterpillars who eat leaves or pages of books, like science, like math, like English, and they must be hungry caterpillars who go into a cocoon in junior high and emerge in high school as a butterfly and into college . . . this excites them about learning because they are busy eating (reading) leaves . . . . 11. Do you think now that the objectives identified by the school board were appropriate to the needs of the student population that the program addresses? No, I think they were a good start; however, the objectives should be changed because about 90% of the objectives, the advocate has little control over. They are more suited to the classroom . . . there are some other things that we can be responsible for . . . . It's not what we're asked to do, it's what was omitted. 12. What is your perception of the student reaction to this program? Has it been universally accepted by Black male youngsters? If not, why not? The students identify very strongly with the program .... They feel like it's something that belongs to them. They're excited about it. They use the 183 concepts that they learn here back to the classroom and use them in life. 13. Do Black parents generally accept the program objectives by participating in their child's education more. If not, why not ? They accept the program. Participation was good in the first year .... Once they assessed that the program was doing well participation fell off. I don't have a lot of parent participation .... They must learn to sustain the program. 14. Has there been in the district strong support for the program? If so, where has it been the strongest? What are the weak spots, if any? . . . Individual by individual . . . and by degrees. There are times when there has been very strong support for the program by deed and mouth, other times it tends to wax and wane. Dr. Pendleton went on record saying that the advocate program in Year 1 exceeded expectations that were thought of at its implementation .... There seems to be a resting of support as a consequence .... We need them to be more involved .... My site has been very supportive. 15. What techniques have you used that have proved to be most effective in improving student outcomes? Challenging the students . . . giving them a formula to diagram themselves . . . by keeping the historical achievements of African-Americans in front of them 16. What is your observation about the impact this program has had in the district outside of your pilot schools? It's empowered the whole district in that people who know the program exists as a nucleus are more likely to speak up about things on their sites .... They know that the advocates are doing this at other schools so we can do this too. We had considerable influence throughout the nation. We get calls all the time from around the country and we speak throughout the country. It's been said that our program is the most comprehensive in terms of the 184 things that we do and that's been said by other districts. 17. Do you feel that this project should be replicated by other schools in this district? Yes, it should be replicated throughout the district. 18. Do you feel that this project should be replicated as a model for other school districts? It should be recommended in pieces. I don't believe it is a panacea .... It’s a working laboratory .... We have some things that people can use in their own particular schools and cultures. 19. What changes and/or improvements do you see as necessary to insure success of this program? The additional changes would be on a mandated way. Now teachers and administrators are somewhat invited to participate in this program and use things that the advocates recommend . . . whereas if they had to participate and be held accountable it would be better. 20. If I could change any aspect of this program it would be _________. It would be what I just discussed--the aspect I would change would be in a mandated sense .... The present process of us meeting with the board allows about 1/100 of what we can tell them that works in the program. In a different setting we could tell you enough things to revolutionize the school district. The program is user friendly, you can do the same types of things with other cultures. I think it can be examined and used for that purpose. Kasimu Harley Age 40 Master's degree in Counseling and Guidance from San Diego State University 185 He was director of the academic growth program at San Diego State University prior to becoming a pupil advocate. He too had no formal training for the pupil advocate position. His experience with students came from teaching and working with students at the college level. He is also a licensed marriage and family counselor. 6. What did you see as your role when you were hired to become a pupil advocate? I saw my role as one to excite students about learn ing, to get young African-American males to take learning seriously, to take school seriously, and to learn to aspire to be the beet they can be in school. I also felt it necessary to bring more parents into the educational process because we cannot be success ful with kids unless parents are involved. 7. How has that role changed if at all over the years? The role has changed because there is far more teaching that had to be done to try to prepare teachers to actually work with these young men. 8. What has been the most difficult component of the program’s implementation? How have you dealt with that problem? The most difficult part of the program’s implementa tion was getting the support of the staffs at the school. From some there was acceptance, from others there was a lot of resistance, with attitudes that we shouldn't be helping this particular group. Also at the district level, only after the former superintendent came out very strongly in support of the program, did others begin to show outward support, 9. Contrastingly, what has been the least difficult component of the program's implementation? The easiest part of the program has been the kids. You show them that you love them and that you're there for them and they respond very positively to you. 10. Have you noticed movement toward the program's 11 objectives in the 5 years the program has been in 186 place? Describe the level of success you have identified in each objective area. Objective 1: Far more Black youngsters are gaining good grades since the inception of the program. Unfortunately, many have raised their grades to about a C level and have stayed, while the program goal is 3.0 or above. We have to work with both students and teachers to improve this. Objective 2: I'm at a junior high so 2 doesn't apply. Objective 3: There are still not enough students at the school in GATE classes even though many are coming out of elementary school better prepared to do the work. Objective 4; Attendance of the students in the program has improved greatly. We work with the attendance office and the teachers and the parents especially, to hold them more accountable for their students' attendance. Objective 5: We have reduced the number of students getting suspended greatly. I credit the counselors and administration with working with these students. We also talk with students about how to control their behavior. I mediate with them. Some, however, we do have to suspend if they deserve it. Objective 6: I don't know the numbers of students being referred for special education; however, it's way down, I sit with IEP teams and very few young men go to special education when other alternatives are available. Objective 7; We are losing few students from middle school. Some do transfer but there are almost none dropping out. Again I don't know the figures but they are very low. Objective 8: Again, not enough students are going into GATE classes. However, when you talk to kids, a lot more are aware of college and talk about going. It's important, too, that when you bring in role models to talk to them that they discuss the classes necessary to get into college and work toward that profession. 187 Objective 9: One of the things that we try to do is talk about ways to improve the community, to create a consciousness with these young men about their responsibility to try and build up the community. We look at grades and challenge each other to go for the best grades. If we reach a 3.0 then don't stop, there's another goal ahead. Through field trips and other activities we teach students about their greater community. Objective 10: It is very important that teachers and administrators learn about African heritage and culture and accept this as a method of instructing and motivating students. The young men react to this very positively. They feel good about themselves when they can look to the past for knowledge of themselves and their place in a multicultural world. Objective 11: This is one of the things that we cannot control as advocates. We try to influence teachers to utilize this as a strategy and at Bell many classes are interdisciplinary. 11. Do you think now that the objectives identified by the school board were appropriate to the needs of the student population that the program addresses? I don't think that the objectives as articulated by the school board were positive or appropriate for this program even though they were good ideas because we as advocates can only really affect one area, the teaching of African heritage. The other 10 objectives are related to areas that school staffs, especially teachers, have to perform and there is no accountability for them. 12. What is your perception of the student reaction to this program? Has it been universally accepted by Black male youngsters? If not, why not? I think that the guys love the program. It has given them something that is theirs. They've established a sense of brotherhood and caring for each other and are proud of their accomplishments. I think that they also enjoy the activities that we are involved in like field trips and role models coming in and talking to them. 188 13. Do Black parents generally accept the program objectives by participating more in their children's education? If not, why not? The parent participation has really been a problem for me. There are some parents that have been there from the beginning and have helped with the program; others have been less available. We have tried to have inservices with parents. There still is a lot of uncertainty and apathy with many parents. 14. Has there in the district been strong support for the program? If so, where has it been the strongest? What are the weak spots, if any? The strongest support for the program came from the previous superintendent, Tom Payzant. It was vocalized and even in one of the early videos he talks about the program is unlike other programs in the state, and it doesn't effectively segregate students for a large portion of the time. Clearly he said as superintendent that "I support this program." Currently, the program is expanding through net working meetings, etc., but I don't feel the same level of support from the current superintendent as I felt from the previous superintendent .... 15. What techniques have you used that have proven to be most effective in improving student outcomes? Primarily, I do and all the pupil advocates do is try to allow the child to have a significant emotional experience that helps to engage them in the learning process. One of the things and probably my classic is a student that I had that had as a seventh and eighth grader a 0.50 GPA, and I had something called Operation Homework where whether you got credit for your homework or not you were going to stay after school and do it and so in terms of student account ability they would duck and dodge me, so I would have people go and pick them up. But with this one particular student . . . finally I engaged him about his grades, and asked him, "Who looks up to you?" He's got a 5-year-old brother. I got more assertive in terms of "is this important, is it important that you be here." Once he was able to discover that I called his mother .... Now he's at Morse H.S. taking A.P. classes and chances are he's going to try out for a Westinghouse scholarship .... So it can happen; however, it's an individualized thing . . . 189 You've got to hold them accountable, but you must believe in them. 16. What is your observation about the impact this program has had in the district outside of our pilot schools? I think it's provided a vehicle for people who may have been quiet about the problem to stand up and voice some of their concerns. It has also provided a network where people can get additional help . . . I think it's had a tremendous spillover effect. A lot of folks recognize that they are not alone. There is a big problem that needs to be dealt with but I think it needs to be kicked up to an institutional level, because many individuals are working on their own without any support. 17. Do you feel that this project should be replicated in other schools in this district? I think there are components of it that should be replicated but I think that it should be required at a school before the program is implemented, because I think that the success rate would be increased by requiring school buy in and the buy in of the leader ship .... You must engage the staff and hear their concerns and have that all out of the way so by the time you implemented and started the program you would not be dealing with people who are disenchanted . . . and sabotaging your effort. 18. Do you feel that this project should be recommended as a model for other school districts? I think it has had some success, some which will be more apparent over time. Other school districts have looked at the program, Miami, Dade County, Bakersfield, Richmond, Haywood .... It's a user friendly model; depending on what the climate of the school is you can modify it to meet the needs of the school. 19. What changes and/or improvements do you see as necessary to insure success of this program? One of the things is visible and vocal support demon strated by the superintendent, that actually develops in the cabinet and filters down to the principals at the sites. That's clearly needed. The other one is. 190 if the model that we have established is going to be used by the whole school district, then that model needs to be presented to all of the schools, so they can begin to use various pieces of it . . . . But it becomes a more standardized model for the school district .... Some people who felt that they were part of the original program should be recognized. 20. If I could change any aspect of this program it would be ________ , It would be the implementation. Before implementing there would be a major amount of time educating people about issues, helping everybody to develop a common language and then proceed . . . there are several math teachers on my campus who were appalled by . . . the fact that after the last few years despite our perceived efforts I still only have 3 African-Americans in my high level math class .... When I first got there we identified 9 students that we felt had the potential . . . we put 9 in and 7 remained . . . those are the kinds of things that have to occur. For me I went through a period where I thought the program was a setup .... When you looked at the 11 objectives we only had control over one, the one dealing with self-esteem. Some of the enthusiasm I had began to wane . . . the power that we had was mainly influencing [outcomes] .... But in spite of that we still persisted . . . I think they got more than their money's worth. Doug Williams Age 37 Master's degree in education at San Diego State University Prior to becoming a pupil advocate, Doug was a mathematics teacher in San Diego City Schools. He feels his training for the program came from his class room experience along with work in his church with youth. 6. What did you see as your role when you were hired to become a pupil advocate? 191 Basically to be a role model and be a consultant for the school, to serve as a resource for the school to know what to do with African-American males. 7. How has that role changed if at all over the years? It's more so because I do all for all situations. I've become a role model and advocate for teachers, parents, students, and now a district level con sultant. The job has expanded to become similar to a vice principal. 8. What has been the most difficult component of the program's implementation? How have you dealt with that problem? The most difficult thing was the points we were being evaluated on. We were able to support teachers but not control what happens in the classroom, yet we were evaluated on the outcomes. 9. Contrastingly, what has been the least difficult component of the program's implementation? The least difficult probably has been just working with the guys. I think basically you've just got to show them that you love them and you're going to be there for them. Initially I walked on campus and they looked at me like "who are you? Are you a security guard? Are you a custodian?" And I didn't answer either of those questions and eventually I developed a relationship and a rapport, one of mutual respect and then from that it kept going. And just the challenge for them, we started off with a 3.0 grade point average would be bottom line for all African-American men. And to see them to hit the 3.0 and for them to challenge themselves to hit the 3.5 and then the 4.0 was just fun. So it was just the relationship with the guys. 10. Have you noticed movement toward the program’s 11 objectives in the 5 years the program has been in place? Describe the level of success you have identified in each objective area. I think there has been success because I see a lot of it has to do with self-esteem, with attitude and direction of the students. When you look at the statistics the growth hasn't been as wide as it 192 should and a lot of it has to do with what happens in the classroom. Objective 1: Looking at the objectives after the first year we had an increase of 3.0 GPAs and from that point on it's stayed pretty consistent up to this year. My push is going to be at the 9th grade level to get more students to reach the 3.0 average or higher, but I wasn’t able to do that but I have a different strategy for next year .... Objective 2: In terms of increasing attendance, that varies from student to student. I see there has been a decrease in nonapportioned absences. One of the things I also found is that you have to have an excellent attendance office that's communicating with both the parents and students .... Objective 3: The number of suspensions, again that goes back to what's happening in the classroom. Though we've done a lot of work with the teachers, I still see that same group of teachers that are giving the majority of the referrals. We have had a lot of effort trying to reduce the suspension rate and the referral rate is somewhat consistent with those teachers, but the 1st and 2nd year teachers I have to work with them. I see their referrals going down because they are learning to work with the young men. Objective 4: In terms of the special education, I do not have a hold on that. Honestly, I really don't know how we're going to deal with it . . . . It seems like each year, more and more come in identi fied at the 7th grade level . . . it1s a difficult one .... Objective 5: We've done a great improvement in that. I think over all the district, students meeting the U.C. A-P standards is 3 8% and Gompers is well over 58% African-American males that are ready for that since 1990 .... I take my hat off especially to the college counselors, they're doing a great job. At the start of the program I told a lot of students, "You are going to college," and a lot of them laughed at me, "Not me, not me I" But telling them that they are going and taking them to colleges like USC and UCLA and placing them on the college campuses gave them a goal to shoot for .... 193 Objective 6: With the self-esteem I see improvement . . . I see students happy to be at school, happy about themselves. Happy about their culture and wanting to know a little bit more about their culture. 11. Do you think now that the objectives identified by the school board were appropriate to the needs of the student population that the program addresses? I think that I'll probably be the one [advocate] that's most different in the answer to this question. I think they were appropriate. I think the problem that I had was that they didn't deal with the advocate but it dealt with the African-American male and the persons that should have been held account able were not brought into the loop. The advocates should be held accountable, but you must also have the whole school staff, the classroom teacher as well as administration. When you look at the total group, the objectives fit the program and it challenges the student and actually tries to do what the program was meant to. But if you give the objective, this is the objective advocate that you're going to be judged about, so it is not meeting the goals, but if you look at the total family of the school, then it is going in the direction we should be shooting for. So inside the classroom, the teacher is held account able; outside the classroom the administration and the advocate is held accountable. 12. What is your perception of the student reaction to this program? Has it been universally accepted by Black male youngsters? If not, why not? I think the students love it* For the first time African-American males have been celebrated as someone special .... Throughout the 5 years it's been something very dear to them .... About 90% of them are in favor of the program .... There are some who are not interested in being part of the program for various reasons .... You don't have to be part of the program because you're an African- American male .... I've had White students say we want a program similar to what you do with African- American males, Samoan group the same thing. The group I get the most resistance from is the African- American females. They say you're dong something for the boys, but what about us . . . . Not being able to work with them has been a big frustration .... 194 It's good to hear other students say we want an advocate like Mr. Williams. 13. Do Black parents generally accept the program objectives by participating more in their children's education? If not, why not? I think they do .... It's funny, there are parents I may not have contacted but once or twice. At times I tell them I wouldn't contact you unless I need you because one of the things I was trying to do with the young men is to establish a sense of responsibility and try to help them to grow and mature .... I try not to call them too much, but they're like a quiet army. I can call upon them when I need to . . . . Out of the 5 years, there were two parents who called and said they did not want their sons to be part of this program .... The mothers called and said we want our sons to be part of the program, put him in and make sure he gets what you give to everyone else .... 14. Has there in the district been strong support of the program? If so, where has it been the strongest? What are the weak spots, if any? The strongest support that I saw within the district was in the first year. The program was really cele brated. We got a lot of fanfare. "This program is going to do X, Y, and Z . . . ," The superintendent came out and said this is what we're going to do. We had a retreat, the advocates, the principals, and key people from the schools and we were there for a couple of days doing inservices . . . a lot of fanfare. But I think from that point on it just was going to die down .... The support that was really needed was from the superintendent and the cabinet level, that this is a mandate .... It would have been helpful if they said this is some thing we must do to improve the achievement of African-American males .... They need to publi cize what schools are doing with African-American males .... Always have the administration both at the district level and the site level saying we're in support of the program. 15. What techniques have you used that have proven to be most effective in improving student outcomes? 195 Initially, the first technique was just to meet the kids. I let them know I was there, I was in support and that I cared. I let them know I was one of them and that I had been through what they had been through. And I was an example of one who had shown success and if I could show success, they could show success, I think I drew on the history, the past history going back to Africa and showing the great ness of our culture in Africa, the inventors and scientists, and to challenge them to if they could do it then, we can do it now. I really played on the legacy. The next was simply give them a goal. The 3.0 was something that I put out there . . . if you were above 3.0 then I pushed you toward a 4.0, I gave them something to shoot for, here's your target, go for it , As we went on with the program those reaching their objectives were able to stick out their chest .... I worked with the teachers inside the classroom on how to deal with African- American males .... I mediated between students and teachers .... I encourage them to mentor younger students. 16. What is your observation about the impact this program has had in the district outside of your pilot schools? We work with between 60-100 schools .... All of the programs take a piece of what we have .... We've had people shadow us . . . . Schools have come to us to develop programs, not only inside the district but outside the district and in other states. District-wide we're challenging everyone, we're the model and people are either trying to live up to the model or improve on the model. 17. Do you feel that this project should be replicated in other schools in this district? I think it should, not only advocates for African- American males . . . to meet with the needs of the students in general. Let all students know we care about them and value them. 19. What changes and/or improvements do you see as necessary to insure success of this program? One change is consistency and expectations at the district level . . . make it a mandate and tie it to 196 some kind of evaluation .... It's time to say it's a mandate but we must keep people accountable . . . . All schools need a minimum amount of the program. 20. If I could change any aspect of this program it would be _________. I would get the community more involved .... I don't see the community as a whole getting behind the program and supporting it 100% . , , . Businesses coming in and saying we're going to provide X amount of mentors, we need to get the publicity out and get four or five mentors from many businesses for the program to meet its objectives. I think it's an excellent program. I've been stretched. When I first walked on campus I really didn't know what to look for, but I can see just as much as I tried to stretch the guys, they stretched me and when you look back on this program, no one knows where the advocate fits in the hierarchy of the school. For some he's a teacher, for some he's a counselor, for some he's a vice principal, and it varies from school to school. But I'm just grateful to work with African-American males and to help just a few. Leonard Thompson Age 29 M.S. in education with emphasis in counseling from Pt. Loma Nazarene College. He was also a Regents Scholar at U.C. Berkeley. Prior to becoming a pupil advocate, Leonard was assistant director of financial aid for California Western School of Law. There was no formal training other than attending con ferences that he went to through San Diego City Schools. He had been working program coordinator in the partnership program and a college peer advisor. 6. What did you see as your role when you were hired to become a pupil advocate? As well as anything else it was to be a role model for young men, but also to design a program that 197 would motivate them, both socially and academically, for success. Also to evaluate, to research in schools to determine what is taking place, why African-American males were not successful and not only empower African-American males but families, student populations as a whole and school staffs. 7. How has that role changed if at all over the years? How it's changed from that time to now, when we were hired we were scheduled to work with about a hundred boys. We wound up working with every African- American male in the school, at this school that meant 200+ young men. Also we were at first limited to four schools; however, we now work with several schools as a whole because all the schools have the objective of working with African-American males . . . . The job is much more political than I had imagined .... 8. What has been the most difficult component of the program's implementation? How have you dealt with that problem? The most difficult I would say would be staff development and preparing teachers and also perhaps challenging them to work with their limitations in working with inner city youth, particularly African- American males .... We have brought the leaders on board and have gotten other staff members to buy in . . . . 9. Contrastingly, what has been the least difficult component of the program's implementation? The least difficult part would be the parent involve ment, We have been very successful in getting our parents actually involved because they want action and because they wanted action, ours is an action program. What we said we would do, we did and if there was a problem we moved quickly to solve it. We were able to pull in a large number of parents and they are still active, not only in our program but in the school as a whole. 10. Have you noticed movement toward the program's 11 objectives in the 5 years the program has been in place? Describe the level of success you have identified in each objective area. 198 I think they [the objectives] were appropriate for what we would like to see for African-American males, but overall for the program there are a lot of things we don't have direct control over. In the elementary level when we talk about young men achieving at grade level we have to look at the measures and the measures are report cards and test scores. We know that test scores do not always indicate what young men or students as a whole are capable of doing. At the elementary level, the grades are often left to the attitude or opinion of the teacher and it's not graded on points. Some of our kids have excellent grades and horrible test scores; others had great test scores and horrible grades. So it's kind of hard how we measure success from K to 3 or at grade level, so I think that is difficult for us. I think areas that we have shown improvement is in suspension rate and with reducing learning handicapped placement and also attendance rate and dropout rate at the four schools and district-wide there's been substantial improvement. You are also seeing when we first started the program under 50 students throughout the entire unified school district 9-12 had GPAs over 3.0. This year, 5 years later, we had over 450 . . . . So far as African culture for motivation I think that our young men are getting that; their needs to be more on a pull-out basis. We are trying to infiltrate the classrooms and a lot of teachers are working with us. There is a bittersweet rela tionship with the 11 objectives; some we have direct influence over, others not, but we have to work with faculty members to help them work with the young men to get them there. 12/13. What is your perception of the student reaction to this program? Has it been universally accepted by Black male youngsters? If not, why not? Do Black parents generally accept the program objectives by participating more in their children's education? If not, why not? Again I think we are seeing a substantial increase because we have a very large parent component. We're seeing it not only in the fact that parents are running the PTA, but we also have a parent room here and we have a parent patrol. They're here everyday . . . . Overall I think that there is acceptance by both parents and students. The young men are excited about being in the program and when there is not a group meeting or an activity going on, they miss it extremely and want to know when is it going on. I 199 think that the young men are motivated by this program not only to be African-American young men but to be good students. The program is designed to educate and motivate , , . . Other students who are not African-American want to be part of this program and it's not based just on the fact that it's a fun thing, but based on the fact of what we're learning. That's why we have classroom presentations for all children. 14. Has there in the district been strong support for the program? If so, where has it been the strongest? What are the weak spots, if any? . . . We have gone through a lot of changing of the guards with the program. When we first started out Dr. Pay2ant was superintendent of schools and Al Cook was over the program. When Al left we had Frank Till and John Browne, and when Tom [Payzant] left we got Bertha Pendleton who was one of the parents of the project .... The strongest support that we got was during the first 3 years when we were funded out of the general fund which means we were not on a soft budget and they didn't cut our budgets .... We got strong support from our board members, particu larly three, Weber, Ottinger, and Armstrong . . . and lukewarm support from the other two. From the super intendent we received very strong support from Dr. Payzant. Now that Dr. Pendleton is there we receive some support but not as strong in a verbal sense as from Dr. Payzant. We get very, very strong support from our instructional team leader. Dr. John Browne, and sometimes his ability to fend off certain attacks, he is not receiving support. I think he is buffering the program. We're getting strong support from our principals and they are to be commended because our program could only be as good as the principals we have, their ability to allow us some freedom .... We are lacking support from the assistant superintendent's position in requiring all schools to have something going on for African- American males .... 15. What techniques have you used that have proven to be most effective in improving student outcomes? I think what's been proven most effective is the individual time and the group time. The young men when you are spending individual time or group time, are just sitting shooting the breeze, or going home 200 on a home visitation . . . the relationships that we are building with these young men are turning them around and we're turning them around because these young men have not had these relationships before. The relationship is about high expectations, it's about I know what's been said about you, I know what the statistics say, but this is what I expect. So the relationships that we're establishing with the students are most important .... 16. What is your observation about the impact this program has had in the district outside of your pilot schools? I feel that the project should be replicated in other schools and the replication be based on the face model, what it [the program] is all about, not dupli cating this program and duplicating it word for word, because every school will have its niche and every advocate their own style. You have to base your program on the needs of the school and the style of the advocates .... 17. Do you feel that this project should be replicated in other schools in this district? Yes, in actuality it is being used as different models in other school districts. 18. Do you feel that this project should be recommended as a model for other school districts? There needs to be a development of a bureau of mentors and the bureau sent out to different schools. This would save time on the recruitment. The advocates at the other schools must have some sense of power. The advocates in this district have some power because they way it's set up .... 19. What changes and/or improvements do you see as necessary to insure success of this program? . . . my staff development component, a little bit more indepth and systematic change process for the Knox Elementary staff .... Program Coordinator, John Browne Age 52 201 Dr. Browne is in his third year with San Diego City Schools as an instructional team leader. He holds a Doctorate of Education from the University of Massachu setts. Prior to coming to San Diego, he was assistant superintendent in the Grant High School District near Sacramento. 6. What did you see as your role when you were hired to become the program coordinator? Actually I was hired as instructional team leader for humanities. A few weeks after assuming responsi bilities in that area, I was asked if I would be interested in the program for Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Males. I indicated yes, I would welcome that responsibility and so I was assigned that as an additional duty. What I see as my responsibility was to work directly with the four pupil advocates and also to work with their prin cipals in what we now call the four demonstration schools. And to report on a regular basis to my supervisor, Frank Till. 7. How has that role changed over the years? I continue to work with the four pupil advocates and their principals. We have expanded our scope of services so we can provide some limited assistance to all schools in the district who are making an effort to implement such a program at their sites, so we sponsor district-wide networking meetings. I have a direct role in that .... We are developing a curriculum handbook for all schools to use with a series of lessons African-American male students . . . . We have an end of the year conference that is a special celebration for student representatives . . . . This past year we had 66 schools who participate in that .... 8. What has been the most difficult component of the program's implementation? How have you dealt with that problem? The most difficult component has been our effort to get more active, visible, and articulate proactive leadership for the program from the top management of the district as well as individuals at the various school sites .... It's very uneven in its implementation throughout the district .... We are working with limited resources. 202 9. Contrastingly, what has been the least difficult component of the program's implementation? Working with the pupil advocates. We've had a very strong working relationship and work well together as a team. They require very little if any direct supervision. My role has been primarily to facili tate and plan major activities. They've been in the program 2 years before I came and had very little direct assistance at their school sites. 10. Have you noticed movement toward the program's 11 objectives in the 5 years the program has been in place? Describe the level of success you have identified in each objective area. Okay, there are 11 objectives in the program and I would say in the 3 years I have associated with the program most of the objectives relating to academic achievement have been achieved to a limited extent. For instance, we continue to increase the number of African-American male students who achieve at a grade level of 3.0 or above, but the numbers are still small compared to the total numbers of African- American males. We also continue to have positive impact on suspensions, dropouts, things of that nature . . . referral, special education, the numbers that go on to college, that relate to self-esteem, to good citizenship, we see improvement, not dramatic but some improvement .... In those that are directly related to what advocates can do with students without having to go through teachers we see the greatest amount of improvement .... When it comes to academics, the advocates are not doing the day to day teaching, they work with teachers and that is the bottom line objective of the program and that's been very limited. Students who have been in the program 2 years benefited more than students that haven't been in the program. We're constrained about what we can do to directly impact academic achievement. We have been responsible for giving African-American males set up in tutoring . . . that has tended to have greater impact on mathematics than language arts. 11. Do you think now that the objectives identified by the school board were appropriate to the needs of the student population that the program addresses? 203 Yes, they were appropriate to the student population, but they were not necessarily appropriate in evalu ating the effectiveness of the pupil advocates. 12. What is your perception of the student reaction to this program? Has it been universally accepted by Black male youngsters? If not, why not? For the most part it's been universally accepted. At our end of the year student conference this past May over 750 students were issued a survey to ascertain what their perception of their participation in the program had been. Over 53% said that they felt their grades had improved because of participation in the program. They most enjoyed the opportunity to learn about their African and African-American culture and by the kind of personal counseling and problem solving sessions that they could attend with the pupil advocates. They want more opportunities for same as well as more opportunities for field trips. So we think that there has been some positive experi ences that pupils see for having been in the program. We see some students personally returning from other schools that they've transferred to and telling the advocates how much they've missed the program because they have nothing like that at the school that they are now attending .... We also have parents volunteering information about how they enjoy their students being in the program and how much they've benefited by being in the program. At one elementary school we know of efforts by some parents of having their boys transferring to that school so that their boys could be in the program and who came out to meetings of the program more than they came out to the school's PTA meetings, so much that the school changed the time of the PTA meetings so that they could take advantage of the parents who were coming for the inservice offered by the school's African- American Male program. 13. Do Black parents generally accept the program objectives by participating more in their children’s education? If no, why not? That has been true at one school in particular of the four demonstration sites. We still have problems getting parents involved, coming to meetings or inservices. The advocates also made an effort to contact parents when special things were needed or even contact homes and so parents appreciate that 204 kind of attention but it hasn't been easy getting them to come to the schools for meetings or just school activities .... 15. What techniques have you used that have proven to be most effective in improving student outcomes? The program techniques have been tutoring as I mentioned earlier, the special sessions. In addition to the tutoring I think the pull out sessions that we've had between the pupil advocate and the African- American male students at their schools have been very effective for assisting students to learn more about themselves and focused on improved self-esteem and problem solving. The third program we've found most effective is the staff development sessions with teachers when they have been of sufficient length . . . when we've been able to work with teachers' issues with how they've been working with African- American males and that’s been the case in some schools where we've had that kind of commitment . . . . There must be direct work with students, with faculty, with parents, and the program has less chance of success if only one or two of these compo nents is addressed. Finally, I should mention the importance of role models from the larger community. We found that students really enjoy meeting with role models from all walks of life who come in and meet with them . . . . We find that role models can have a tre mendous influence over students deciding what they can do with their lives. 16. What is your observation about the impact this program has had in the district outside of your pilot schools? We've had around 100 schools in the total district out of 150 odd schools who have received some kind of service from the program. The pupil advocates have been invited to their school one or more times in some capacity to work with them or maybe to present directly to them or their staffs. We have had 80 or 90 schools to send representatives to district-wide networking meetings and that at those meetings we focus on information sharing, problem solving skill building related to those schools coming up with a solid program. So we know that a number of schools through our contact with them need more help and 205 assistance, that one thing they say consistently is that they are not getting sufficient help at their school sites to do what needs to be done in most cases . . . and that they need more assistance. We feel that we've been able to influence activities beyond the pilot schools to a limited extent because we have limited time to be of service to them . . . . 17. Do you feel that this project should be replicated in other schools in this district? Yes, I do. And it is to a limited extent. But I definitely feel it needs to be replicated especially if our model is used. They may not implement our whole model, just one piece of it. Of course as I've said before that has limited impact. 18. Do you feel that this project should be recommended as a model for other school districts? Yes, I think that the project should be replicated in many school districts. We have presented at many national conferences. The advocates have spoken about the San Diego model. They've been written up in national publications and studies or books on efforts to improve the achievement of African- American males. And the model, San Diego, has been described in those things. We continue to get calls and requests from other school districts especially in the state of California and other places to inquire about how we are doing and what we are doing and so we know that there is interest out there and people look upon the San Diego model as more compre hensive than they have seen in most other places. We think that our model has merit because we have a comprehensive model and it stresses more what students and staff and parents as well as with leadership at all school sites, that unless all these efforts are done then the program will be compro mised. We recognize the value of utilizing community resources, bringing in people from the community to help implement the program. We have found all these things very necessary. I would include with com munity resource, higher education institutions so that we acquaint young men very early in their schooling with them so they can make them very early a part of their vision. The San Diego model has been of high interest in the larger community throughout the nation and people are looking to us to give some guidance on how they should go. 206 19. What changes and/or improvements do you see as necessary to insure success of this program? We need more support from the leadership in the district. We need more risk taking from the leader ship in the district. Which would include the risk of clear accountability being expected of schools in terms of them following the board mandate that all schools implement this program. We know there is a lot of resistance to that, there's a lot of misunder standing related to the focus of this group to the exclusion of other groups, which is a misunderstand ing itself. It's not being something you do to the exclusion of others, that it's important that it be done. In addition, I think we need to have more aggressive effort to seek money from outside of the district. We can increase the resources to assist schools throughout the district. Efforts to increase the resources in this district have fallen on resistant ears because of politics. If we increase the money for this program other monies for other groups must be increased .... A third thing that is needed is staff development for principals like there is for teachers, because principals are often very reticent to make a proactive, highly visible role of support and are not aware of the kinds of things they could do with their leadership to assist the program's institutionalization at their school. So those three things are very helpful toward improving this program. I think that the program has much more benefit than you can see from the test scores or academic achievement. And I say that because of the impact that I've seen I have and how it's impacted young students from elementary all the way through high school, and yet if you looked at the record of these students you wouldn't necessarily see B averages, anything like that. While there are probably a 1,000% greater number of students B average or above than there were 5 years ago, that’s still a small percentage compared to all of the African-American males in the district .... Recognition of the positive impact this has had just on keeping students in school. These students have higher expectations of themselves and also they serve as positive peer influence on their peers. Now it's cool to work hard in school, to get good grades. The major influence student advocates have had on staffs is to see four African-American male pro fessionals work well as a team and to be as 207 conscientious and hard working as they are. It's been beneficial in helping staffs to realize they must assume greater responsibility just as they are seen in a role model of a pupil advocate and we can't underestimate the influence that they have just being there. I think that accounts for the fact that they are always being called to go to other schools, because they don't have anyone like that at their schools and so that would be my additional comments. The advocates and program coordinator each agree on the following points: ■ In order for the program to be successful in reaching the 11 objectives, it is necessary for school staffs, including teachers and administrators, to be accountable for the outcomes for the student popula tions that they address. • The objectives were appropriate for students, yet are not appropriate to evaluate the work of the advo cates . - There is a great deal of need for inservice for the teachers and site administrators that are dealing with students. The inservices should concentrate on enlightening teachers to the history and culture of African and African-American peoples. They also need to be inserviced about strategies to use to educate African-American youngsters. * The students in the program have benefited aca demically, behaviorally, socially, and in self-esteem from having been in the program. For many, it is the 208 first time they have been celebrated as African- Americans . • There is a need for more visible and verbal support to be supplied from the superintendent's level, along with support from site administrators. There has historically been support; however, over the past several years it has waned, even though the program has been successful. The support must also show itself in dollars. - Parents have generally supported the program; how ever, their participation has been limited except at one school. ■ The project has begun to receive national attention. It is the opinion of the advocates and the program coordinator that the model can be expanded to serve any school in any district with site specific modifi cations. As consultants to other districts, the advocates have found success in adapting the program to different school districts. Trianqulation with Grade Point Averages and Suspension Rates tSchgQl Year 1993-1994) In order to gain a better understanding of the program's success, it is necessary to provide whatever hard data are available. From pupil cumulative student 209 records, I have been able to attain and aggregate informa tion pertaining to grade point averages and suspension rates. The information for grade point averages (see Tables 20 and 22) pertain primarily to secondary students, Grades 7-12, because GPAs are not calculated in elementary schools. However, comparative grade assessments are provided. Suspension data are provided for all schools (Tables 21 and 23), By providing the following informa tion, movement toward reaching program objectives 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 will be determined. Totals from Tables 20 and 22 were compared with site totals compiled by the evaluation department in 1990 during the first year of the program. The district's totals were not aggregated by school; the combined totals from both schools were given. However, comparisons can be made by giving individual school totals against the previous totals and then combining the information for the 1993-1994 school year and comparing it with the 1990 totals (see Table 24). Combined totals for all 3 years are shown in Table 25. This shows a slight, but continual increase in GPAs at every grade level at both schools. The number of African-Amrican males attending the two schools has shown a significant increase of approximately 85 students. 210 Table 20 Bell Junior High Aggregated GPAs Number of students: 171 Whole school cumulative GPA: 1.91 Whole school cumulative citizenship: 1.78 Distribution by grade levels: Grade 7 N * 69 GPA 1.91 Citizenship 1.50 Grade 8 N = 52 GPA 1.87 Citizenship 1 .68 Grade 9 N - 49 GPA 1 . 95 Citizenship 2.16 Distribution by GPA: 4; . 0 — 3 • 0 2*9-2.0 1.!9-1. 0 . 9-0 Grade 7 2 28 32 7 Grade 8 2 15 24 11 Grade 9 3 21 23 3 Total 7 64 17 21 Percentage of 3.0+ GPAS 4.1% Percentage of 2.0+ GPAs 37.4% Percentage of 1.0+ GPAs 46 . 2% Percentage of 0+ GPAs 12.3% Table 21 Bell Junior High Suspensions Number of suspensions 67 Number of students suspended 43 Percent of students suspended 25.1 211 Table 22 Gomners Secondary School Aggregated GPAs Number of students: 261 {5 students have no records or incomplete records) Whole school cumulative GPA: Whole school cumulative citizenship: Distribution by grade levels: 2.2 2.52 Grade 7 N = 82 GPA 2 . 07 Citizenship 2 .13 Grade 8 N - 79 GPA 2.07 Citizenship 2 . 09 Grade 9 N - 33 GPA 2. 17 Citizenship 2. 34 Grade 10 N - 24 GPA 2.52 Citizenship 2.72 Grade 11 N = 19 GPA 2.45 Citizenship 2 . 55 Grade 12 N = 19 GPA 2 . 94 Citizenship 3 . 32 Distribution by GPA: 4.0-3.0 2, 9-2.0 1.9 -1.0 Grade 7 6 36 33 Grade 8 8 39 26 Grade 9 3 23 6 Grade 10 11 6 5 Grade 11 8 5 4 Grade 12 9 10 Total 45 119 74 Percentage of 3.0+ GPAs 17.2% Percentage of 2.0+ GPAs 45.6% Percentage of 1.0+ GPAs 27.2% Percentage of 0+ GPAs 8.0% .9-0.0 9 6 1 3 2 21 Table 23 Gompers Secondary School Suspensions Number of suspensions Number of students suspended Percent of students suspended 139 96 38 .2 212 Table 24 Comparison of Gompers and Bell GPAs Gompers and Bell combined Bell Gompers 1988-1989 1989-1990 1993-1994 1993 -1994 GPA N GPA N GPA N GPA N Cumulative 1. 86 344 1. 85 347 Grade 1. 91 7 171 2 . 2 261 1. 73 149 1. 73 151 Grade 1. 91 8 69 2 . 07 82 1.90 115 1. 90 116 Grade 1.87 9 52 2 .07 79 1.83 47 1. 81 47 Grade 1. 95 10 49 2 .17 33 2.49 17 2.39 17 Grade 11 2.45 19 2.25 16 2 .20 16 2. 94 19 No Grade 12 totals available Table 25 Combined GPA Totals for All 3 Years 1988-1989 1989-1990 1993-1994 N-344 N-347 N-432 GPA 1.86 1.85 2 . 06 Grade 7 1.73 1. 51 1. 99 Grade 8 1. 90 1. 81 1. 97 Grade 9 1.83 1. 81 2.06 Grade 10 2.49 2.39 2.52 Grade 11 2.25 2.20 2.45 Grade 12 2 . 94 213 Another comparison is the percent distribution of cumulative GPAs (Tables 26 and 27). Again, a comparison is made between the current 1993-1994 year individual totals against the combined totals of the 1968-1989 and 1989-1990 school years and then combined totals for both years are compared. Table 26 Percent Distribution of GPAs Combined Bell Gompers 1988-1989 1989-1990 1993-1994 1993-1994 GPA range % V % % 4.0-3.00 8.4 7.5 4 . 1 17.2 2.9-2.0 32 32 .8 37.4 45.6 1.9-1.0 39 38.6 46.2 27.2 0.9-0.0 20.3 17 12.3 8 Table 27 Combined GPA Totals for All Years 1988-1989 1989-1990 1993-1994 GPA range % % % 4.0-3.00 8.4 7.5 10.7 2.9-2.0 32 32 .8 41 . 5 1.9-1.0 39 38.6 36.7 0.9-0 . 0 20 . 3 17 10 .2 214 These figures also show a great improvement in the percentage of students who are improving their GPAs, particularly above the 2.0 level. It also shows that fewer percentages of students are receiving failing grades (below 2.0) at Gompers while at Bell there has been a slight increase this year from the 1989-1990 school year. Bell also has fewer percentages of students with GPAs above 3.0. Overall both schools' students have improved but by far Gompers students have improved the most dramatically. Further research is needed to determine why. As mentioned above, student results for elementary schools are not reported by GPAs. The district does report them in five categories and in each category combined schools for students in the IAAAAMS program have been presented in percentages. Percentage comparisons are presented for the 1990 school year which, like the secondary scores, were in combined totals from the two elementary schools. They are first compared against the individual elementary schools and then against their current combined totals (see Tables 28 and 29). These results show a significant percent increase in the number of elementary students in the IAAAAMS program that are receiving grades of Outstanding and Very Good with a related decrease in the percent decrease in the 215 Table 28 Final Report Card Grade Distributions Report grades Combined 1990 Knox 1994 Fulton 1994 1, Outstanding 10.4 26.3 19.0 2, Very Good 32 . 9 42 .1 38 . 0 3. Satisfactory 37. 9 23 .8 33 .3 4. Needs Improvement 15.1 5.2 6 . 3 S. Unsatisfactory 3 . 7 2.6 2 . 9 Table 29 Combined Totals for Both Years Report grades 1990 1994 1. Outstanding 10,4 22.65 2. Very Good 32 . 9 40.05 3. Satisfactory 37. 9 28.55 4. Needs Improvement 15 .1 5.75 5. Unsatisfactory 3.7 2 . 75 216 number of students receiving Satisfactory or lower. It could be suggested that the most significant impact academically of the program is in the elementary grades; however, that too would have to be verified with further research. Suspension Rates The suspension totals at the pilot schools are compared to district-wide suspension totals for the school years 1988-1988, 1988-1989, and 1898-1990 (Table 30). There were no documents available that compared the pilot schools with the district, although it is likely that they compare closely with district totals. Table 30 District-Wide Suspension Counts and Rates for African- American Males District Bell Gompers 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1993-1994 1993-1994 N \ N % N % N % N % Grade 7 326 49 . 5 452 64.4 458 59.9 Grade 8 384 54 .2 431 69.7 319 49.1 Grade 9 297 44 . 3 320 46.6 335 49.6 Total Numbers and Average Percentages 1, 007 49.3 1,203 60.2 1,112 52.9 48 25.1 96 38.2 217 These figures would indicate that these two schools have suspension rates, though still very high, signifi cantly less than were the district averages for similar grade levels between 4 and 7 years ago. It could be surmised that the greatest impact of the IAAAAMS program at the middle and senior high level has been a reduction in suspension rates for African-American male youngsters. Again further research is required. In the elementary schools the comparison between the district-wide rates for the 1987-1990 school years and the 1993-1994 school year are as shown in Table 31. Table 31 District-Wide Suspension Counts and Rates for African- American Males in Elementary Schools Knox/Pulton 1987-1980 1988-1989 1909-1990 1993-1994 N t N % N % N % 689 7.9 859 15.4 731 12.9 10 3.05 As can be seen in Table 31, suspensions are dramati- cally lower at the pilot schools than were comparable district rates 4-7 years ago. The impact of the IAAAAMS 216 program on this component of African-American male school performance is significant. Summary of GPA and Suspension Data This section attempted to triangulate performance information provided by the stakeholders of the IAAAAMS program with data on academic and behavioral performance. It also sought to determine to what extent several of the program objectives have been met or there has been move ment toward. Specifically: ■ Has there been an increase in the number and percent of African-American males whose GPA exceeds 3.0 in Grades 9 through 12? The comparisons show that there has been a slight increase of approximately 3% of the students at Bell and Gompers who have improved their grade level GPAs to 3.0 or above. When taken separately, however, there has been a decrease at Bell of 3.0 students and a significant improvement of Gompers students. ■ Has there been an increase in the number and percent of African-American male students who succeed in Grades K through 3? ■ Has there been an improvement in the frequency of students achieving at grade level until every 219 African-American male child leaves the €th grade performing at or above grade level? Academically there have been significant increases in the performance of students at Grades K-6 at the pilot schools. Many more students percentage-wise are achieving at the Outstanding or Very Good level, 19.4V, than were performing at that level 4 years ago. Here academically the IAAAAMS program students have shown their greatest improvement. • Has there been a reduction in the number of African- American males who are being suspended from school? At the secondary level, suspension rates for students at the pilot schools are significantly lower, 27.8% and 14.7V, than were the district-wide averaged for African- American males 4 years ago. It is here that secondary IAAAAMS students have shown great improvement. Elementary students have virtually ended suspensions. Of the 321 IAAAAMS students at the two schools in 1994 only 10 received suspensions during the 1993-1994 school year. That too is a significant reduction of district-wide averages 4 years ago, 9.85%. ■ Has there been an increase in the number of African- American males who meet college entrance requirements? 220 The data here are limited because Gompers students are the only ones with high school information. However, if we consider a 2.0 GPA the minimum for attending most community colleges and we see that 52.2% of the students at both Gompers and Bell have GPAs above 2,0, then we can deduce that more students have grades that allow them to be eligible for college now than was true 4 years ago at those schools when the total was 40,3%. Discussion The research findings presented in this chapter sought to identify the 13 research questions found on pages 75 through 77 at the beginning of this chapter. In the process 47 teachers, 4 principals, 6 district adminis trators, 3 school board members, 15 parents, 4 pupil advocates, 1 program coordinator, and 40 students for a total of 120 people responded to my inquiries. Their collective input has allowed me to draw conclusions from my findings. The program allowed the district to minimally address the deficiencies shown by African-American males. Most of the people associated with the program indicated that they had knowledge of and agreed with the program objectives. There was not, however, an adequate amount of preparation either through discussion or inservice of the stakeholders 221 who had the greatest contact with students and ability to impact students, the teacher and site administrator* The pupil advocates spent a great deal of time inservicing and educating staffs and attempting to develop buy-in to the program. Though fairly successful in gaining teacher (93.6%) and site administrator (100%) acceptance of the program, the advocates still are not convinced that support for the program is adequate. There is general agreement that the expectations were ones that were appropriate for the student population; however, they were not held to any one group to be accountable for their accomplishment. Though the project was not successful in achieving all of the 11 objectives, there was definite movement toward meeting them. Some areas were more successful than others * There was a slight increase in the GPAs of students at the pilot schools, approximately 3% at the secondary level* Students at the elementary level improved signifi cantly with grades of Outstanding or Very Good improving almost 20%. There was not a substantial increase in test scores as reported by the pupil advocates. There was agreement by all parties that attendance was improved due to cooperation between the parents, 222 school attendance officials, administrators, and pupil advocates. There was definite improvement in the lessening of suspensions for African-American males. Though still relatively high when compared with other groups in the district, the rates did reduce 27.8% and 14.7% at the pilot secondary schools and 9.85% at the elementary level from district comparisons. Though no numbers were available, there is consensus that recommendations for special education for African- American students have reduced. It should be noted also that the school district's special education program has embarked on a full inclusion program which greatly increases the number of special education students receiving instruction in regular classes. There were never large numbers of African-American students dropping out at the middle level, that number being less than 3% of all students in this group. That number has remained fairly constant, reaching a current level of 2.8%. The numbers remaining in school and high school graduation rates are showing a gradual increase going from 5.2% of all African-American students in 1987-1968 to 7.5% of all African-American students in 1993-1994 school year. 223 The number of IAAAAMS students eligible for college has shown a significant 12% increase at the pilot school, Gompers, which is the only high school in the IAAAAMS program. All stakeholder groups are convinced of the likeli hood of improved educated, qualified, and productive individuals coming out of the IAAAAMS program. The students demonstrate a high sense of self-esteem as a result of the instruction they receive in African and African-American history and culture. There is also consensus among the pupil advocates that this is the only objective of the 11 that they have direct control over. There seems to be some support in all of the schools except Gompers to incorporate this information into the regular school curricula. Most teachers, site administrators, and parents indicate that instruction is responsive to the individual learning needs of the students, also most indicate that the curricula in their schools is interdisciplinary in nature. Perception that there has been movement toward the 11 objectives is tempered by concerns expressed by the advocates concerning attitudes and expectations of teachers. There was some suggestion that there is no consistency of support for the program nor all positive attitudes about African-American males or the IAAAAMS 224 program. There are some teachers who will continue to resist this type of program. Changes in curriculum vary from school to school. Everyone was supportive of the job that the pupil advocates had done in working with the students toward reaching the program objectives. Teachers to a large extent support the work of the advocates and are appreci ative of the inservice opportunities that the advocates provide. Likewise site administrators and central office administrators recognized by a substantial margin the strategies employed by the advocates. Most appreciative, however, were parents and students. Most respondents feel that there has been substantial support for the program from site administrators and that the support has been consistent throughout the program. Though indicating strong support for the program at the district administrator level, the advocates feel that there is a lack of aggressive support from the current superintendent. They would like her to be more verbal in her support. School board members also express Bupport for the program and that support is recognized generally by the advocates. There is, however, not an understanding of district level support at the pilot sites. Many teachers don’t know if the program is supported at the 225 district level (42.6%), though about 53.3% are fairly confident of the support. Students and their parents are largely supportive of the program; especially the students have taken ownership of the program, the pupil advocates, and the activities it provides. Many have expressed the opinion that their academic and social performance is improved because of the program and they like their schools better because the program is in place. The students also indicate the program helps them build self-esteem and has given them an alternative to negative behavior and gang participation. One negative, the program has not appreciably improved parent participation at three of the four pilot schools. This lack of parent participation has a negative effect on the longevity of these types of programs. The advocates and program coordinator all indicate that they are consultants for several school districts around the nation including Sacramento, Bakersfield, Vallejo, Dade County in Florida, and others who are interested in the implementation of similar programs. All of the stakeholder groups feel that this is an appropriate type of program for use in other districts. There is a consensus that it can be successfully adapted for most environments. 226 Overall, the IAAAAMS program has proven to be an effective strategy in helping African-American male youngsters at the four pilot schools improve academic, behavioral, socialization, and self-esteem outcomes. There is a perception that additional work toward "insti tutionalizing1 1 this type of program is necessary. This topic will be discussed more in the next chapter. 227 CHAPTER V SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Summary Review of the Problem The decline in educational achievement has endangered the nation's international competitiveness. Within African-American communities and schools that have African-American students the level of achievement has become a national enigma. The plight of African-Americans has been further exacerbated by the problems of racism, poverty, poor physical and mental health, crime, imprison ment, unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, and low life expectancy. This is particularly acute among males. Throughout history African-Americans have attempted to find solutions to the problems that they have faced in the United States. Education has always been perceived as a vehicle that would allow them an opportunity to overcome some of these problems. Among the latest strategies has been the creation of programs that seek to improve the performance of African-American males. These programs 228 have been perceived aa unique because they identify students by race and gender. There has been some controversy in districts through out the United States because of this practice. The majority of the debate centered around whether the practice is in violation of the Supreme Court decision, Brown v . Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in which the decision stated the principle that racial discrimina tion in public education is unconstitutional. Supporters have suggested that school desegregation alone has little effect on pupil performance. They try to refocus desegregation away from the debate of school integration and toward quality education. Because of the desperate situation in which African- American males have been determined to be in, research that has even identified them as endangered (Jaynes & Williams, 1969), numerous communities around the country have embarked on the types of programs mentioned above. The statistics are staggering. Estimates suggest that: • 4 0% of all adult African-Americans are functionally illiterate (Jaynes & Williams, 1969). • 30% of African-American males drop out of high school. 229 * 4 5% to 52% of Black youth are unemployed (Coleman, 1989). ■ A homicide rate of 125.5 deaths per 100,000 Black males between 24 and 44. • A disproportionate 40% of the nation's prison popula tion, although they represent approximately 6% of the nation's population. * Suicide as the third leading cause of death among Black males. ■ One of six Black males are arrested by the time they reach age 19 (Hare & Hare, 1985). The school district research cited from various cities indicated that African-American males were per forming far below national standards. In New Orleans: ■ African-American males accounted for 58% of the nonpromotions, 65% of the suspensions, 80% of the expulsions, and 45% of the dropouts. ■ Only 18% of African-American males scored in the highest quartile on CTBS testing while over 33.3% scored in the lowest quartile (Garibaldi, 1992) . In Milwaukee; • Of the 5,700 African-American males enrolled in the city's high schools in 1989-1990, only 135 (2%) had a 230 cumulative GPA between 3.0 and 4.0, while only 1,000 (17%) had a cumulative GPA between 2.0 and 2.9. • Black males, while only 28% of the total students enrolled, constituted 50% of the suspensions. In San Diego: • The mean GPA for African-American males in the 1988- 1989 school year was 1.80, and in the 1989-1990 school year was 1.79. • Suspensions of African-American males per 100 students ranged from 59.9% in Grade 7 to 39.6% in Grade 10. ■ African-American males scored at an average of 20% below the district level on the California Test of Basic Skills. The San Diego City Schools established a district objective which focused on meeting the needs of African- American male students. The program for Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students (IAAAAMS) was authorized in 198 9. Purpose,of the Study This study was designed to explore how the IAAAAMS program within the San Diego City Schools had performed in its attempt to rectify the tremendous gap in achievement found between African-American males and other students in the district. Most importantly, it sought to determine if 231 there had been an improvement in academic performance and behavior of the students at the pilot schools involved in the program. Also there was an attempt to determine to what extent teachers were empowered to meet the needs of these students. The support of teachers for the IAAAAMS program was sought. The extent of parent and community participa tion in and understanding of the program was to be determined. The study was designed to gauge the support of this program by site and district administrators and the school board, and whether this support was to be ongoing. The people who implemented the program, the student advocates, were interviewed to determine how effective they had been, and how they viewed the success of the program over a 5-year period. The study also sought to determine if this project could serve as a prototype for other schools in San Diego City Schools and other school districts throughout the nation. Methodology The study used an in-depth, case study methodology designed around 13 research questions: l. To what extent did the implementation of the Pilot Schools Program in the African-American project 232 enable the city schools to address the deficiencies shown by African-American males at the pilot schools and other schools in San Diego? 2. Did the project show movement towards meeting the district objective of improving the achievement of African-American males? Were the 11 expected student outcomes for improvement reached at the pilot schools? 3. How many of the strategies employed by the pupil advocates were effective in improving student achievement? How was that effectiveness determined? 4. Were any of the strategies ineffective? If so, why? 5. Were the pupil advocates equally effective at each of their sites? 6. How did teaching strategies change at the pilot schools? Was there a corresponding attitudinal change in the expectations teachers had for African-American male students? 7. Was there a change in the curriculum that comple mented the teaching strategies? If so, what were those curriculum changes? 0. How much support to the project at the pilot schools was provided by site administrators? Did that support change during the life of the project? If so, how and why? 233 9. How much support was provided to the project by district administrators? Did that support change during the life of the project? If so, how and why? 10. Did the school board actively support the project? How was that support shown? 11. What is the opinion of the project by its target population, African-American males, at the pilot schools? Do they feel they have been helped by the project? Was their overall academic achievement improved as a result of their participation in the project? How was their attitude about school changed as a result of the project? 12. How do parents and community feel about the project? Do they think it has been beneficial to their children? Has it increased their participation in school- related functions? Has it improved their attitudes about themselves? 13. Can this program serve as a prototype for other schools in San Diego or in other school districts? Sample and Population The population studied consisted of students, teachers, parents, site administrators, district level administrators, board members, and pupil advocates along with the program director. This population was determined to all be stakeholders in the IAAAAMS program. 234 Surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and observation were used to identify the perceived effectiveness of the program by this population. Using qualitative research methods this case study was presented in a rich and detailed narrative style. Included with this was extensive transcription of the interviews of the students, advocates, and the program director. Triangulation occurred by running student information provided by the district's information bureau. Included in that informa tion were Cumulative Student Records (CSRs), suspensions, attendance, and dropout data. Findings 1. The IAAAAMS program allowed the four San Diego City Schools, Knox, Fulton, Bell, and Gompers, an oppor tunity to begin to address the deficiencies identified in African-American male students by the school district in 1989. Other schools in the district have shown less effort and less success in this endeavor. 2. The project has shown success in moving towards the 11 objectives identified by the school district. Improvement in academic performances has been slight but is definitely in an upward direction. Student behavior and attendance is much improved at the pilot schools. 235 Student self-esteem is very high as a result of the efforts of the pupil advocates. 3. The student advocates found that they have direct control over only one objective, the improvement of self esteem through presentation of materials on African and African-American history and culture. They worked hard to educate and influence school staffs on how to better understand and serve African-Americans. By reviewing student records and making comparisons with previous performance, they were able to demonstrate effectiveness of the program. 4. The advocates were not uniformly successful in attracting larger numbers of parents to participate in school activities. Only at Knox School was there substan tial improvement. There is an apathy that is difficult to overcome. More persistent education of parents and different types of outreach activities are in order. 5. The pupil advocates were all strong performers at their individual sites. Each site had its unique set of problems and differences. The elementary sites showed more dramatic improvements in academic performance; the secondary schools showed greater behavioral improvement. Gompers students generally outperformed Bell students at the middle level, Grades 7-9; however, the school environments are quite different. Older Gompers students 236 work with and mentor younger students, while Bell is a 7-9 site. Further research is in order to determine better individual effectiveness. 6. Teaching strategies changed moderately as a result of the efforts of the IAAAAMS program. These changes were likely affected by the implementation of restructuring efforts district-wide. From teacher responses, however, conceivably at the pilot schools there were increased expectations of performance by African- American male youngsters. Many expressed support for the efforts of the program. 7. Curricular changes were moderate also. There was greater emphasis on multiculturalism found in some schools as a result of inservicing by the pupil advocates. Other changes likely were motivated by the district's restruc turing efforts. 8. Site administrators were perceived of and rated themselves strong supporters of the IAAAAMS program. This support was perceived as consistent from the program's implementation. 9. District level support has been perceived as strong also by most respondents. The advocates and program coordinator, however, would like to see greater support shown by the current superintendent that they hope will filter to the sites. They would also like to see 237 mandates for program participation for teachers and admin istrators implemented by the superintendent and the cabinet. 10. Board support for the program has generally been perceived of as strong. Three board members, Weber, Ottinger, and Armstrong, were noted to have been extremely supportive from the program's inception. Over the years they have supported the program's continuation. There is a desire from the advocates that an increased funding of the program be provided. 11. The students have wholeheartedly endorsed the program. They have identified the program and the pupil advocates as motivators for positive academic, behavior, and social performance. Many have indicated a sense of pride received from the participation in program activities. There has been a recognition by many students that getting good grades and aspiring to be positive and productive citizens is a proper quest. Many suggest also that their attitudes about school have improved as a result of the program. 12. Parental support for the program has been strong. They generally perceive the program as beneficial for their children. Unfortunately, this has not greatly increased their participation in school functions. More 236 focus on parents is crucial in maintaining the program's viability * 13. The pupil advocates have had contact through consultancy or inservice with approximately 100 schools in San Diego over the last 5 years. As site administrators and teachers struggle to find solutions to the problems experienced by African-American youngsters, the IAAAAMS program has been perceived of as being a source for some of those answers. Because of the program's successes, other school districts are looking to it as a model to draw information from. Conclusions These findings and the work of the Improving the Academic Achievement of African-American Male Students pupil advocates has led to the development of several principles: 1. Improving the self-esteem of African American male students is of critical importance. This principle is predicated on recent education literature on the African American male as well as the personal experience of the Advocates. Low student achievement, poor citizenship and discipline problems are viewed as symptoms of a much deeper underlying problem: African American males view themselves very negatively, with a low sense of self worth and almost no awareness of their rich cultural heritage. Many, if not most, do not view themselves as being inherently valuable and having the poten tial for greatness. This principle has 239 led to implementing many large group, small group and one on one activities. In addition, each of the Advocates serves as a strong caring role model who establishes personal relationships with individual students. That in itself is a major posi tive influence on student self-esteem. 2. Students, parent, and school personnel (including teachers, support staff, counselors, and administrators) are all primary customers of the project. This principle is recognition of the need to work closely with all staff and African American parents in order to improve the achievement of children. It is important to work with all groups in a variety of ways. 3. Institutionalization iB central to program success. "Institutionalization*' of the IAAAAMS program is defined as ownership and commitment to the program, as exemplified by the site administra tor (s) and faculty playing key roles in implementing an IAAAAMS program. The program should not be totally dependent upon a pupil advocate or another person in a similar role. Site staff should perceive IAAAAMS activities as a part of their job description and not as "someone else's" responsibility. This principle represents one of the program’s desired outcomes and is essential if the program objectives are to be achieved. All of the capacity building activities by advocates are influenced by this principle. (Progress Report. 1994, p. 1) Implications The findings and conclusions of this case study pose a challenge to all stakeholders who are interested in bringing solutions to the problems that African-American youngsters, particularly males, bring to education systems 240 nationwide. The past decade has been the most ambitious period of school reform in the nation's history. However, in the African-American communities and schools which have African-American youngsters, nationally, statistics point to an alarming rate of academic underachievement and failure. The costs in stunted lives, reduced produc tivity, lost revenues, and universal social expenditures are a product of this national disaster. There is an obvious need for there to be a national effort toward the resolution of this crisis. School restructuring has generally been involved in creating internal structural and curricular changes, the institu tion of teacher empowerment practices such as governance, inservices based on improving teaching skills, etc. There have been calls for environments that support change, flexibility in scheduling, and collaborative planning. Principals have been challenged to be visionaries, estab lishing goals and benchmarks that allow faculties an opportunity to determine direction and success. All of the above are important; however, some other fundamental things which must take place when dealing with the problems of African-American youth are being addressed. School funding and programs for meeting the needs of poor, African-American students must continue to be 241 studied and challenged. This district has provided to the four schools adequate monies to pay for the services of four pupil advocates with a budget of $250,000. That budget has not been increased in 5 years. Schools and districts need to determine if resources are being allocated to adequately meet the needs of the most needy students or is money being used ineffectively and inefficiently. Race continues to be a sensitive issue, especially when meeting the needs of African-Americans. School districts at the top levels need to be studied to deter mine what kinds of leadership and vision are being provided to support efforts to assist Black students in overcoming problems. Commitment by site leadership and teaching staffs also needs to be investigated to determine how best to secure support for these types of efforts. School culture, belief systems, and practices that support achievement by African-American students need to be docu mented and demonstrated to all sites desiring to make improvements in the achievement of African-American students. Methods of empowering parents to become involved in the education of their children is an essential need of investigation and research. Districts in which there is cooperation between parents and educational professionals 242 need to be studied so that adaptation can become a national process. Empowering African-American parents to become actively involved in the education of their children is a particular challenge, but one that is perceived as essential in successfully educating Black children. Additional research must be done on the efficacy of single sex, single race programs throughout the nation. There have been some recent studies (Beckstrom & Shuster, 1993; Leake & Leake, 1992J that have addressed this problem. There is, however, not a great deal of research dealing with the success of these types of models. This dissertation has been an attempt to look at one particular model in a single city school district. There were, however, 22 programs cited in this research. Examination and networking of all the programs as to their collective similarities, differences, successes, and, most of all, effectiveness, is the major implication of this study and a challenge for future researchers in this field. 243 REFERENCES 244 REFERENCES Alexander, L. (1993). School choice in the year 2000. Phi Delta Kaooan. 71(10), 762-766. Andersen, A. (1989). Factors influencing the academic achievement of black male high school students. San Diego: San Diego City Schools Evaluation Department. Arnez, N. L., & Jones-Wilson, F. C. (1988). A descriptive survey of Black parents in the Greater Washington, D.C., area who chose to send their children to nonpublic schools. In D. T. Slaughter & D. J. 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Washington, DC: US Department of Education. Ravitch, D. (Ed.). (1990). The American reader; Words that moved a nation. New York: Harper Collins. Sander, J. (1986, May). Working with teenage fathers: A handbook for program development. New York: Bank Street College of Education and Ford Foundation. 251 Schleainger, A. M., Jr. (1991). The disuniting of America: Reflections on a multicultural society. Knoxville: Whittle Direct Books. Shanker, A. (1992, February 2). Private vs. public schools: What education gap? The Washington Post, p. 03 . Shujaa, M. (1992). Afrocentric trnsformation and parental choice in African-American independent schools. Journal of Negro Education. £1(2), 148-159. Sizer, T., & Whitten, P. (1968, August). A proposal for a poor children's bill of rights. Psychology Today. Sowell, T. (1972). Black education myths and tragedies. New York: David McKay. Sowell, T. (1974, Spring). The case of Dunbar High school. The Public Interest, 1. Sowell, T. (1976, Spring. 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The at-risk endangered species; The black male child. Unpublished manuscript, Dade County Public Schools, Miami. Yin, R. K. (1989). Case study research:__Design and methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. 253 APPENDIXES 254 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, STUDENT SURVEY 255 Interview Questions Student Survey 1. My name i s ________________________________ 2. I am in _________ grade. 3. I go t o _______________________________________ school. 4. I have been a t ____________________________________ school since________grade 5. I know about the African American Male Program here a t ____________________ 6. I have been in the program fo r years, since grade . 7. I do/do not belong to the African American Male Program. 8. I attend meetings of the African American Mate Program. yes no 9. My friends attend meetings of the African American Male Program. yes no 10. M r._________________ is the pupil advocate at my school. 11. M r._________________ is a friend that I can talk to when 1 need to talk to an adult. yes no 12. The project makes me like school more. yes no 13. The project helps me by providing me with help in the following ways. 14. Elementary My grades are mostly l ’s & 2’s, 2's & 3’s, 3’s Sl 4 ’s, 4's & S's. My citizenship grades are mainly E's & G’s, G's & S's, S’s & N ’s, N ’s & U ’s. Middle Level My grade point averages is between 4.0-3.0, 2.9-2.0, 1.9-1.0, below 1.0. My citizenship grades are E’s & G’s, G’s & S’s, S’s & N’s, N's & U’s. 15. Getting good grades in school is important to me. a. Very important b. Kind of important c. Not important 256 16. I learn information about my African American heritage at this school a. from my classroom teachers b from the program 17. I feel good about being an African American Why or why not? 18. The teachers at this school help me a lot with my school work. yes no 19. 1 like going to this school. yes no 20. Tell me what is your favorite thing about this school. 21. If you could change something about this school, it would be: 22. Do you think you would enjoy the school as much if the program was not here? 23. Do you think that programs like this should be at all schools? 24. Do your parents feel good about the program? 25. Do you have any idea about what you would like to do when you finish school? 257 APPENDIX B INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, PUPIL ADVOCATES 258 Interview Questions Pupil Advocates 1. What is your name? 2. What is your age? 3. What is your educational background? 4. What were you doing prior to becoming a pupil advocate? 3. What types of training did you undergo to become a pupil advocate? 6. What did you see as your role when you were hired to become a pupil advocate1 ' 7. How has that role changed if at all over the years? 8. What has been the most difficult component of the program's implementation? How have you dealt with that problem? 9. Contrastingly, what has been the least difficult component of the program’s imple mentation? 10. Have you noticed movement toward the program's 11 objectives in the S years the program has been in place? Describe the level of success you have identified in each objective area. 11. Do you think now that the objectives identified by the school board were appropriate to the needs of the student population that the program addresses? 12. What is your perception of the student reaction to this program? Has it been universally accepted by Black male youngsters? If not, why not? 13. Do Black parents generally accept the program objectives by participating more in their children’s education? If not, why not? 14. Has there in the district been strong support for the program? If so, where has it been the strongest? What are the weak spots, if any? 13. What techniques have you used that have proven to be most effective in improving student outcomes? 16. What is your observation about the impact this program has had in the district outside of your pilot schools? 17. Do you feel that this project should be replicated in other schools in this district? 259 18. Do you feel that this project should be recommended as a model for other school districts? 19. What changes and/or improvements do you sec as necessary to insure success of this program? 20. If I could change any aspect of this program it would b e ________________________ . 260 APPENDIX C PARENTS QUESTIONNAIRE 261 Dear Parent: My name is Dennis W. Brown and I am a principal in the San Diego Unified School District. I am also a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. I am currently doing research on the Improving the Achievement of African American Male Students (IAAAAMS) program in which your son is a participant. Attached is a survey which I am using to get an idea of parents' opinions of the project. Please take about 10 minutes to read and answer the questions on the survey. Your opinions are very valuable to this research. The surveys are anonymous and nothing you say will identify you or your child. The responses will not be shared with anyone outside of the research, not teachers or principals. I thank you in advance for your contribution to this important work. Answer each question as appropriate: 1 My child attends school a t _________________________________ 2. 1 am aware of the Improving the Achievement of African American Male Students program at his school. (check one) ___yes no 3. He participates in the Improving the Achievement of African American Male Students program at his school with my knowledge. (check one) ___yes no 4. I have participated in some of the activities of the IAAAAMS program at my child's school or elsewhere. (check one) ___yes no Please indicate how much you agree with each statement: 5. In general the IAAAAMS program has helped my child be a better student in school 1 2 Strongly Slightly Disagree Disagree 3 Somewhat Agree 4 Agree 5 Strongly Agree DK Don't Know 1 Strongly Disagree 2 Slightly Disagree 3 Somewhat Agree 4 Agree Strongly Don’t Know Agree 5 DK 262 6. The pupil advocate at my child's school has been a good role mode) for my child 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 7. I have been more active with my child’s education as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree S. The teachers at my child’s school seem to work well with my child in part because of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 9. My child has learned more about his African and African American heritage as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 10. My child’s grades in school are better in part because of his participation in the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 11. My child’s attendance in school is good in part because of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 12. My child is more interested in going to college in part because of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 263 13. 1 feel my child is going to be a productive part of the community in part because of his participation in the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 14. The instruction that my child receives at school meets my child’s individual learning needs. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 15. My child's school is better because of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree In the space below please provide any additional comments that you might have about the IAAAAMS program, either positive or negative. Again thank you for your valuable contribution to this study. 264 APPENDIX D ADMINISTRATORS, BOARD MEMBERS, AND TEACHERS QUESTIONNAIRE 265 Current Category (circle one) 1 Teacher 2 Site Administrator 3 Central Office Administrator 4 Board Member Years Experience Associated with Education (circle one) 1 1-5 2 6-10 3 11-15 4 16-20 5 21-25 6 26-30 7 over 30 Years in Current Capacity (circle one) 1 1-5 2 6-10 3 11-15 4 16-20 5 21-25 6 26-30 7 over 30 Please rate each response according to your perception of and experience with the IAAAAAMS program. 1. 1 am familiar with the program objectives of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 2. The program objectives are ones that 1 agree are important to the academic success of African American male students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 266 The achievement o f African American male students at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with has improved noticeably since the implementation of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don't Know The IAAAAMS program provides support for teachers who may have difficulty with meeting the educational needs of African American males. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know The parents o f students attending the pilot school(s) I am familiar with are more involved in the education of their African American male children as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know The school attendance of African American male students is improved at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know The suspension rates of African American male students are reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know The number of African American males who arc referred for Learning Handicapped (LH) classes has been reduced at the pilot school(s) I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know The number of African American males who drop out of school at the middle level has decreased at the pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 10. The number of African American males who qualify for the A-F and California State University entrance requirements is increasing based on the courses attempted at the middle level pilot school(s) that I am familiar with as a result of the IAAAAMS program and grade improvement. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 11. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program will likely be better prepared to enter the work force and provide positive community participation. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 12. Students who participate in the IAAAAMS pilot program exhibit more positive self- esteem through the increased knowledge of their African and African American heritage. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 13. The instruction that teachers provide in the pilot schools is responsive to the indi vidual learning needs of the African American male students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 14. Curriculum at the pilot schools tends to be interdisciplinary in structure. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don’t Know 15. The strategies employed by the pupil advocates have been effective in improving student achievement at the pilot schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don't Know 16. The teachers at the pilot schools have changed their teaching strategies as a result of staff development received via the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Very Little Moderately Very Much Don't Know 268 17. Site administrators at the pilot schools have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 18. District level administrators have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 19. The school board members have been supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 20. The students who participate in the IAAAAMS program have a positive opinion of the project. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 21. The parents of students involved in the IAAAAMS program are supportive of the project and think that it is beneficial to their students. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 22. The teaching staffs at the pilot schools are supportive of the IAAAAMS program. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 23. Acceptance of the IAAAAMS program has increased over the years of its operation in San Diego City Schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 269 24. The IAAAAMS program is money well spent and deserves to be continued and expanded in San Diego City Schools. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don't Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 25. The IAAAAMS program can effectively serve as a prototype for other schools in San Diego and for schools in other districts. 1 2 3 4 5 DK Strongly Slightly Somewhat Agree Strongly Don’t Know Disagree Disagree Agree Agree Please indicate, in the space provided, any additional comments, positive or negative, that you may have about the IAAAAMS program. 270 APPENDIX E TEACHER COVER LETTER 271 Dear Respondent: As part o f my research toward a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D .) from the University of Southern California I am completing a case study on the district program known as Improving the Achievement of African American Male Students (IAAAAMS). The study will investigate the four schools in San Diego City Schools which piloted the program which was authorized by the Board of Education in 1989. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the program has accomplished eleven objectives it was established to address at its implementation. This questionnaire was developed to assist this researcher to determine the opinions o f adult professional educators including teachers, principals, assistant superintendents, the superintendent, along with members of the school board to determine from each individual and group their perception o f the effectiveness of the program. The questionnaire will take about 20 minutes to complete. A space for comments has been provided at the end o f the questionnaire. Any and all information in the questionnaire will be confidential and will not be shared with individuals outside of the research effort. Thank you in advance for your assistance on this important project. 272 APPENDIX F TEACHER COMMENTS 273 Comment #1: I realize that, as a result of reading this survey, I have very little actual knowledge of what this program is. Our advocate at this site seems interested and caring, but I can only assume he is helping. He tends to work on his own. Comment #2: Advocates are off campus too much--more than 50% of the time--kids don't trust a system that isn't always in place. Comment #3: It would be good if the facilitators on campus were considered "student advocates" for all students! Comment #4: I would like to see us help all kids at risk. I think more people would respond more honestly if they weren't afraid of being verbally abused or chastised for their opinions/honesty. This is a good program. However. I would like to see all children helped, nurtured, guided, loved regardless of color. We have many kids who need TLC. They are our children too. Are they not a part of the village also? Because our advocate's personality is very strong, I think it got in the way of the program's success (initially)-- and it got off to a difficult start. This probably gave him more challenges than expected. I know it was very difficult to regain trust & respect after everyone felt their toes had been stepped on (sometimes needlessly). I know this was a difficult school for him. Good Luck! Peace be with you. Comment #5: According to High Strides magazine (monthly report on urban middle schools), African-American girls "have the same problems in schools but there is an assumption that it is only the problem of African-American boys." In my opinion, we should not be leaving girls out of the program. Comment #6: Another interested "pseudo" parental figure in their lives cannot help but be beneficial especially when they've been slipping through the cracks in the system--students want & need to be held accountable! 274 Comment #7: This [the IAAAAMS program] is needed for all groups of students having problems! It can not be divisive program. It has to be a program where the students learn to take responsibility for their academic success. We also need such a program for African-American girls who are getting lost in the system. I think the idea of the program is excellent, I'm not sure the implementation has always been as successful as it could have been. Perhaps, because these first years were learning years, some mistakes were made. I would like to see a program continue. I think there is value to it; however, it should be done with empathy for both sides. Comment #8: Mr. Harley has been instrumental in making me a better teacher by increasing my knowledge of the importance of knowledge of self for a successful student/person. I have seen Mr. Harley interact with students as a teacher of a class of 36, in potential violent situations and in one to one counseling situations. He has empowered kids/students to save themselves and me to better be able to meet their educational needs. He has worked with all ethnic groups and open minded teachers. Mr. Harley has made a significant difference at Bell Jr. High. I feel all ethnic groups need a representative such as Mr. Harley. If you can't appreciate/celebrate yourself and your past, how can you appreciate/celebrate someone else’s? Comment #9: With the key word being "achievement," as a teacher I have not seen the program improve the achievement of the boys in this program that I teach. This year I have students, many of whom have been involved in this program for their 5th year and they are less motivated to achieve than any other students I have had. 275 Comment #10: The advocates chosen at the school sites are an invaluable resource. The criteria used to choose them was well thought out and should continue to be used. Comment #11: Students use program & Program goals as excuse to behave irresponsibly*- Accentuates already deep racial divisions within the student body. By 3rd year we rarely see advocate, much less get help for kids. Created resentment--"Everybody needs an advocate." Advocate at this site constantly talked "Black Pride" but lives with a white woman--and all the kids know it--they wouldn't care if he didn't try to hide it. Comment #12: The program has undergone many changes over the past couple of years. I'm not too sure what is happening this year, but I do not believe it is currently having the impact it has had in past years. Comment #13: Many of the young men that have been in the program for 5 years are still displaying unacceptable behavior. Many go beyond being proud and showing confidence/high self esteem. They are arrogant and rude to other students and teachers. Especially after returning from their Advocate Time. At our school the Advocate Group often seems like a private club--leaving out girls and other races. Instead of the males appreciating the privilege, they act spoiled and boastful. I think it's time to take a new look at the program. It has great potential. The teachers and parents should be involved, also. Comment #14: Doug Williams has been a friend, a brother, a father, an ear for many students and teachers at this school who, otherwise, would have been lost, dejected, or confused. He is an inspiration to the young men he works with, and 276 they look up to him. I believe that his services are invaluable. Comment #15: The IAAAAMS program is saving what could become a lost generation of Black American males. It is a program that must be part of ev^yy school site from grades K-12. Comment #16: The IAAAAMS program at our school has had a definite positive effect on our male African-American students. I personally feel its effect has also affected all other students enrolled at our school through better race rela tions. Furthermore, I feel the program could benefit by expanding to Latino male children and ultimately all children to further improve race relations and academic achievement. Comment #17: There is a lot of room for improvement. As a plus, the students feel good about the attention, but many perceive it as giving African Am, males an easier out when trouble arises. There should be more than a chat after a problem. This doesn’t have to be punitive, but there needs to be after-school support groups or some such follow-up. The "getting out" of consequences or a softer-than-normal consequence doesn't solve academic or social problems that initiated the problem. Comment #18: The IAAAAMS program is definitely needed in our schools today. However, it needs to be more effective at the junior high school level. Students need to meet with their advocate on a consistent basis. They need to work on the following areas: 1) Basic Skills 2) Adopting business partner 3) Self-Esteem Workshops 4) Establishing personal discipline As a classroom teacher, I've discovered that there has not been improvement in these areas. Comment #19: Very little information is readily available to be able to comment on relative increases in achievement, participa tion, etc. Overall, this program has potential if done correctly. This year showed very little participation as a group activity as had been done in the past. This should have never been discontinued. 277 Comment #20: Doug Williams has been the most helpful source of informa tion and support at my school since I started here 3 years ago. I have seen direct positive results in students of mine that have been involved in the program. I also feel that knowing the program is in place here gives students more options in problem solving and crisis situations, and empowers them. 278 APPENDIX G SITE ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS 279 Comment #1: 1. Very positive program for African American students, as well as, all students. 2. More support is needed at the district level to direct all schools to provide a program which uses curricular content which promotes academic success for diverse student populations, i.e., African Americans, Latino and Asian populations. Comment #2: The IAAAAMS program has had a very positive impact on our school. Many of the skills and support structures for African-American males would be very beneficial for other students. I believe that more emphasis needs to be put on staff development to assist teachers/staff to be more responsive to the needs of our students. 280 APPENDIX H CENTRAL OFFICE AND BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS 261 Comment #1: 1. Since establishing this focus, the number of African American males (grades 9-12) has increased from 50 to over 300 for those achieving g.p.a.'s of 3.0 or above. 2. Although advocates are assigned to 4 pilot schools, all schools have the responsibility and work on these goals. Many have employed advocates with their own resources. Comment #2: I believe that the IAAAAMS program has made the district rethink how we should personalize teaching and learning for African American male students. It should influence the inclusion of an African American/Afro-Centric curricu lum K-12 for all students to understand and appreciate. We have too many displaced or misplaced African-American male students in Special Education and I believe the instructional strategies that have worked in the IAAAAMS program should be part of the general training for teachers in general education. Comment #3: If the program can demonstrate student achievement results over time, categorical $'s should be reallocated to this kind of effort. (Good luck, Dennis!) Comment #4: Is much more effective, in terms of measurable results, in elementary schools as opposed to secondary schools. Therefore, there is some question in my mind whether or not the funds are better spent expanding to all elem. schs. at the expense of secondary schools. Could spend less at secondary level if spent more at elem. level? This split between elem. & secondary results accounts for some inconsistency in my answers above. Would be happy to discuss with you. 262 APPENDIX I PARENT COMMENTS 283 Comment #1: I think that African American students should attend a program such as (IAAAAMS) twice a week at the least. I feel that academics should be stressed more to the students as a very important factor in achieving success as Black men as well as Black history. I am grateful that a program such as the (IAAAAMS) has been introduced to Fulton school because the Black students (some) have no interaction (positive) with positive or successful Black men. Thanks for caring 1 Comment #2: Mr. Thomphson is a good teacher. I think he is great. Comment #3: I feel the school should allow the pupil advocate at my son's school to interact more often with the African American male that attends Knox school. Now that, that has been taken away. The boys complain about not seeing him as often as they use to and that he no longer has time for them. Comment #4: "Keep up the good" work! Comment #5: My child naturally excels in the academic arena and my concern was that he could suffer burn out early in life, school-wise, or feel his achievements futile in pursuing a long range goal because of his heritage. No doubt the IAAAAMS program has contributed to my son's self-worth and provided excellent role models in the process. He has also become more acutely aware of the societal injustices put upon African American males in this country which, perhaps has made him more cynical and feeling separate from rather than at one with all peoples. Learning of innumerable achievements by African Americans and the lack of respect given to those achievers & achievements, coupled by his own experiences has, in my opinion, contributed to his growing cynicism but also inspired him to work harder. Another byproduct of my son's successes has been his father's growing involvement which in the past has been minimum at best, partly due to being out of the home. 284 And, because his father is [no] longer in the home, my son has been able to turn to the pupil advocate and other teachers for advice, support and assistance that I was unable to provide. Comment #6: I did not know my son was part of this program. However, Mr. Williams has been an excellent role model regardless of the program. Comment # 7: No comment negatively but I appreciate what Doug Williams has done for me and my child in and out of school. Comment #8: Fortunately, my child has placed himself in the attention of the IAAAAMS Program. He has added his name to many student lists to be involved in the activities. There are several students not receiving the benefits of the program because they are above average students. They are not as knowledgeable of the activities that go on. 285 APPENDIX J IT'S YOUR CHOICE: LESSONS IN GROWTH AND SELF-ESTEEM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES 266 It's Your Choice Lessons in Growth and Self-Esteem for African American Males P repared by John Browne K asim u H arley A gin Shaheed L eonard T hom pson D oug W illiam s San D iego C ity Schools San Diego, C alifornia 1993-1994 287 Contents Introduction by John Browne ................................. Lessons for Elementary Students Skin Color Cannot Think or Reason by Agin Shaheed ............................... Greatness Past and Present by Agin Shaheed ............................... Demanding Excellence of Self by Leonard Thompson ..................... Developing Personal Standards by Leonard Thompson ..................... The Future 1$ in Your Hands by Leonard Thompson ..................... Becoming Cituens in the 21st Century by Leonard Thompson ..................... Lessons for Secondary Students What i s Success? by Doug Williams ........................ Coat Selling by Kasimu Harley ........................ Developing a Personal Action Plan by Kasimu Harley ........................ Don't Be a Victim by Doug Williams ........................ It’ s Your Choice by Doug Williams ........................ Internal and External Influences by Doug Williams ........................ Introduction to It's Your Choice 1. History of IAAAAMS in San D iego City Schools The program for "improving academic achievement of African American m.ile students" (IAAAAMS) in the San Diego City Schools began in 1984. The Board of Education, acknowledging that African American males were the most at-risk group m the school district, decided to demonstrate their concern by funding a district pilot program in four schools and by directing all schools to initiate site-based efforts to improve African American male achievement. A pupil advocate was selected to develop and implement a program in each of the pilot schools. This curriculum handbook, I t ' s Your Choice, is a compilation of some key lessons developed and taught by the pupil advocates to African American male students in their school The mission of the IAAAAMS program is exemplified in the eleven program objectives approved by the Board*. The pupil advocates work with the administrative, teaching and support staff in their schools to achieve these objectives. A primary activity of the advocates is direct interaction with students in both group settings and one-on-one The lessons in this handbook are influenced by the program objectives and evolved as the advocates assessed the needs of African American males in their schools and needs of the schools as a whole. 11. Purpose of the Curriculum Handbook The purpose of the curriculum handbook is twofold: first, to provide a resource to staff at individual school sites districtwide whose assignment is to provide a special program for African American males, and second, to provide a resource to classroom teachers districtwide who might want to incorporate or adapt some of these lessons for their regular classroom. Many of the lessons lend themselves to use in the classroom as an enrichment to the academic core subjects of English, social studies, science and math Many of the lessons are appropriate for all students and not just African American male students. Elementary teachers might consider some of the secondary lessons appropriate for upper elementary and, likewise, secondary teachers might consider some of the elementary lessons appropriate for secondary, especially junior high Wherever the lessons are used, the desired outcome is that students will demonstrate skills in problem solving and personal growth which contribute to their academic success in school. •See eleven program objectives on page 6 289 HI. Societal. Lwrntf and Subject Matter Needs Which are Addressed in the Handbook The major needs which this handbook is attempting to address fall into the categories oi societal, learner and subject matter. Societal conditions having tremendous impact on young African American mates include the following five indicators: • disproportionate negative impact on the African American family due to the depression/recession in the society as a whole which has led to more racism, including hate crimes, as well as more job loss, inability to get jobs, family breakups, etc. • a major increase in crime and violence in the African American community • a major increase in drug use and violence associated with drug sales • a major increase in gang activity, associated with the above three indicators • a continuation of the high dropout rate among African American students, again influenced heavily by the above four indicators. The lessons in this handbook help prepare students to avoid being victimized by the reality exemplified by these five indicators which many students experience on a day- to-day basis. The learner characteristics of many young African American males include their being significantly below grade level in reading and math, having low self-esteem on sonu' academic tasks, having learning styles which are not adequately addressed by teachers and having disproportionate disciplinary referrals and suspensions, often because m alleged fights and willful insubordination. These lessons are designed to improve the students' sense of self and their motivation to do their very best Students are introduced to specific personal growth strategies for their immediate use Finally, the subject matter need addressed in this curriculum handbook is in the area of personal growth. No academic or other curriculum area addresses the need to help African American students develop strategies for not only surviving but prevailing against tremendous odds as they grow into manhood in the United States at the end of the 20th century. IV. Relationship of Curriculum Handbook to IAAAAMS Program Objectives and Orientation to the Lesson Outline There are eleven IAAAAMS program ob)ectives, mostly related to academic achievement. This curriculum handbook is designed to help schools proactively engage students in some preventive activities that result in students being more focused and motivated to be academically successful. Lessons such as "Demanding Excellence of Self", "Developing Personal Standards" and "What is Success?" are designed to engage the students in critical reflection and in taking personal stock of what they are doing in school compared with what they want in life. The implementation of these lessons with ongoing follow up support should increase the likelihood that the program objectives wilt be achieved. The lesson format used in the handbook is taken directly from the 290 direct instruction model (Madeline Hunter, Improved Instruction) which is best utilized when the goal is to introduce new information or skills to students. Each of the steps in the lesson is defined below: • The goal of the anticipatory set is to capture student interest in the lesson topic and stimulate students' thinking (e.g., by asking a provocative question) The lesson's objectives should be shared with the students at this time • The instruction section provides explicit direction (i.e., a script) which the teacher may choose to adapt, modify or teach exactly as presented It is very important that the teacher frequently check for student understanding during the instruction Understanding is facilitated through the teachers "modeling" what they are teaching and providing relevant examples. • The goal of thegitided practice section is to provide students an opportunity to practice using or applying the information taught The display of cognitive thinking skills, such as com prehension/application or synthesizing and evaluating may have to be demonstrated during guided practice. Comprehension skills would be displayed if students demonstrated that they understood what w,i> just learned. Application skills would be displayed if students could apply wtv.i they just learned to a particular situation/problem. The ability to synthesize would be displayed if students demonstrate the ability to draw from several sources, including their personal experience, in responding to a task or problem The ability to evaluate is displayed when students come to independent conclusions and judgments which they can defend (e.g., comparing two or more things) when presented with a task. AH of the previous thinking skills are simultaneously demonstrated when students are engaged in the act of evaluating. A key feature of guided practice is that the teacher always ussists the students during guided practice Guided practice is a very important part of the instructional process • The purpose of closure in a lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate, without assistance, that they have successfully achieved the objectives of the lesson. During closure students may be involved in a simulation, may simply take a test or may produce an exhibition that demonstrates their mastery of the lesson's objectives • Finally, independent practice is completed by the student outside of class. It might also be called homework and has the purpose of giving the students more opportunities to practice what they have already learned in class without assistance Independent practice might require students to draw from what they have learned in more than one lesson. All of the lessons in this handbook follow this format. The purpose, objectives and materials precede the above lesson outline in each lesson. V, Relationship of Handbook to the Hidden Curriculum in School Settings The hidden curriculum (Phillip Jackson, Life in Classrooms) is a very potent force in the school setting. While the formal curriculum refers to specific subject matter taught in official courses of study that have designated textbooks or other instructional materials, 291 the hidden curriculum is much more amorphous and often has more lasting impact on the student. Long after forgetting most of the content learned in school, most students remember how they were treated by their teachers and fellow students The hidden curriculum includes teacher expectations, student-teacher and student-studem interaction (e.g., teacher response to diverse learning styles), and communication and conflict management norms. The adult distribution of power, influence and status among students is also part of the hidden curriculum. All of these indicators are influenced by and influence the school climate and school culture. African American male students are often adversely affected by the hidden curriculum as recipients of low expectations and participants in school conflict situations for which they are blamed They are relegated with some exceptions to low status, power and influence m the school setting. The involvement of some in gangs is a way of achieving a form of the power, influence and status unavailable in other aspects of their lives This curriculum handbook includes lessons which attempt to help students look more critically at the consequences of their actions and make choices which have a positive impact on their life. The lessons "Skin Color Cannot Think or Reason," "Goal Setting" and "Don't B e - A Victim" address attitudes that some African American males may have about their skin color, their potential for success and their being victims. The lessons assist students to resist the potentially negative effect of the hidden curriculum by taking more responsibility for their lives VI. Suggestions for use of the Curriculum Handbook This curriculum handbook has many potential uses, all of which can be effective if the lessons are implemented by sensitive teachers who take their students' unique need* into serious consideration. We suggest the following approaches be considered when deciding how to group students for experiencing the lessons in this handbook: • in pullout groups in which, for example, students from a particular grade level are brought together for the lessons in the handbook • in class enrichment, in which the lessons are taught in the regular classroom tor all students (and adapted as appropriate) • in an advisory period (at the secondary level), during which the lessons are taught to students identified by site-determined criteria • in one-on-one situations, in which a particular lesson that fits a specific student's need is taught in a manner similar to the manner in which a tutor or mentor would interact with a student • in regular classroom or in pullout situations in which the goal is to reinforce reading and writing skills through use of the lessons We further suggest that the following criteria be considered when selecting students who could benefit from the lessons in this handbook: • students who need help in developing coping skills/school readiness skills or students who are displaying the wrong kind of coping skills 292 • students who are displaying early warning signs, such as not doing their school work, getting O or F grades and/or displaying off-task/disruptive behavior * students who are unmotivated to do their best. Poor motivation may be displayed by any of the behaviors mentioned above Regardless of how students are selected or grouped to experience these lessons, the teacher is strongly encouraged to follow the lesson format, particularly the need to check for student understanding throughout the lesson. We further request all teachers who implement any of these lessons to complete the critical feedback form and send it to John Browne, Instructional Team Leader, Humanities, Dana 193. Your feedback will be very helpful when we revise the handbook in late spring, 1994. V ll. Plans for Further Curriculum Development This curriculum handbook will be piloted in classrooms throughout the district during 1993-1994. Based on teacher feedback (which will include feedback from students) the handbook will be revised in late spring 1994 and new lessons (phase 2) will be added at that time. The revised phase one and phase two of the handbook will be disseminated in the fall of 1994. VIH. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND OTHER SUGGESTED MATERIALS Sincere appreciation is extended to the following individuals who assisted the pupil advocates in the development and/or production of this curriculum handbook Materials Development unit staff; pupil advocates Kasimu Harley, Agin Shaheed, Leonard Thompson, and Doug Williams; Lori Batey, Tarik Bennett, Leonore Spafford and Margaret Wilson. In addition, classroom teachers at the district-funded pilot schools, Knox, Fulton, Bell and Gompers, are appreciated for supporting the implementation of these lessons in their school. Suggested Materials Jawanza Kundufu. Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, Vol. 1 and Vol 2 Haki R. Madhubuti Black Men Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? The African American Family in Transition. MychalWynn. Don't Quit. 293 Program Objectives (As outlined by the Board of Education, San Diego City Schools) 1. Increase the number and percent of African American males whose GPA exceeds 3.0 (in grades 9 through 12). 2. Increase the number and percent of African American males who succeed in grades K through 3. 3. Increase the frequency of students achieving at grade level until every African American male child leaves sixth grade performing at or above grade level. 4. Improve the school attendance of African American male students. 5. Reduce the number and percent of African American males who are being suspended from school. 6. Reduce the number and percent of African American males who are referred for Learning Handicapped (LH) classes. 7. Increase the number of African American male high school graduates and reduce the number and percent of African American males who are dropping out of middle and senior high level schools. 8. Increase the number of African American males who meet college entrance requirements. 9. Provide the community and work force with a more educated, qualified, productive individual. 10. Improve self-esteem through emphasis and knowledge of African heritage. 11. Provide instruction which is responsive to individual learning needs and which is interdisciplinary in nature. 294 Lessons for Elementary Students Skin Color Cannot Think or Reason by Agin Shaheed PURPOSE This lesson will acquaint students with the biological and geographical bases of skin color and will help them understand that skin color has no bearing on intelligence. OBJECTIVES • Students will explain the biological basis of skin color. • Students will be able to identify geographical factors that influence skin color. • Students will be able to define migration and understand the role that it played m the development of skin color. • Students will identify one or more physical characteristics of peoples of different climates throughout the world. • Students will identify the biological purpose of the various skin colors m a t e r i a l s • Globe or world map • Glossy, four-color magazines from which pictures of individuals representing different ethnic groups may be clipped to make a collage. The following materials, though not required, may be useful: • Paul Showers, Your Skin and Mine, (New York: Crowell, 1965) • Video, Prejudice ; Answering Children's Questions , 1992. (Contact MPI Home Video, 15825 Rob Ray Drive, Oak Forest, Illinois 60452; 1-800-323-0442) • Video, Why Skin Has Many Colors. (Contact: Sunburst Communications, Department AW, 39 Washington Ave. Pleasantville, New York 10570-9971) ANTICIPATORY SET Recall with the students that you have been discussing with them the greatness of some prominent African/African American males in history. Ask emphatically: Is any one skin color better than another? Accept the students responses, asking them to explain what they think. 296 In st r u c t io n On the chalkboard write the following in prominent letters: ■58 ■ ijS- mm f T W - ' - Ask students what this statement means to them. Suggest to students that the statement means that the thinking or reasoning abilities of a human being do not depend upon the individual's skin color Tell students that only three substances are responsible for all of the shades of skin color in the world. Write the name of the substances on the chalkboard. Tell students that these substances were produced in the human body to help humans adapt to different climates as they migrated all over the world. Tell them that as a result of this gradual process of adaptation, humans developed different skin colors and physical features. Provide a pictorial display of various ethnic groups and the contrasting skin colors of the human family. (You might produce a display by making a collage of photographs from magazines.) Then have stu&nts locate the equator and the North and South Poles on a globe or world map. Have the students point to Africa. Note that many African coun tries are on or near the equator. Explain that many experts agree that human beings originated in what we now call "Africa." Explain to the students that because of the hot and sunny climate of the equator region, people who lived there developed very dark skin as a means of protection against the sun's rays. Tell students that peoples who developed dark skin include Africans, Indians from India and Australian Aborigines (or original peoples). Explain that the substance in the body's skin tissues that develops dark skin color is a pigment called mitanin. Melanin itself is brown in color. Tell students that the greater the concentration of melanin granules in a person's skin tissue, the darker his or her skin will be. The less the concentration, the lighter his or her skin will be. Explain that among the physical characteristics of peoples who developed dark skin are wider nostrils or noses, to gather warm air; thick, woolly or curly hair, to protect the scalp from the sun; and long, lean bodies to dissipate heat. Emphasize again that one value of melanin is to protect the skin against the harmful rays of the sun. 297 explain that the substance in the body that produces the yellowish skin tone is a pignu nt called carotene. Carotene itself is orange-yellow in color. Tell students that among the peoples who developed yellowish skin color are the Chinese, Native Americans and Malaysia ns- Explain that among the physical characteristics of such peoples are a protective flap over the eye resulting in the "slant" of the eye to protect the eye against the prevailing winds and short rounded bodies to retain heat. Explain that one value of carotene is to protect the skin in a multi-seasonal environment. Explain to the students that the substance in the body that produces skin with little or no color is called keratin. Keratin itself is dear in color. Tell the students that peoples who developed skin with tittle or no color include Europeans, Persians and Turks. Explain that among the physical characteristics of such peoples are thinner noses for filtering or lessening the intake of air; long, straight hair to let in the sun's rays, and mure body hair to provide or maintain warmth. Tell the students that one value of keratin is to help produce thicker skin and thereby protect against the cold Tell students that today our ability to control our environment, such as by use of heaters or air conditioners and through various means of construction, lessen the original utility of skin color and related body characteristics Ask students for other ways of controlling our environments. Then ask them for exam pies of living environments where skin color and related characteristics still play an important role. Environments that are hot and arid such as deserts, for example, are better suited for people with dark skin. Environments that are cold, such as the North and South poles, are better suited for people with light skin. G u i d e d p r a c t i c e Write the following statement by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on the chalkboard. Ask the students whether they agree with or share Dr. King's dream. Ask them how what they have learned in this lesson about skin color might contribute to better under - standing of color. Ask how an accurate understanding of the origins of skin color might increase the probability of Dr. King's dream coming true. 298 c l o s u r e Emphasize that skin color and related physical characteristics in today's controlled environments are basically ornamental, whereas in the early development of humans they had a greater usefulness. Emphasize, too, that skin color and related physical characteristics represent adaptations to physical environments and have nothing to do with a person's ability to think or reason. Explain that although scientists have estab lished that particular chemical substances are responsible for skin color, no evidence has been found to link these substances to intelligence, which is the capacity to learn or to profit from experience. Stress the fact that skin color cannot think or reason. Tell the students that despite scientific evidence regarding the origins of skin color, skin color continues to be used as a means of classifying human beings and pigeonholing them in various social classes. Have the students take part in one or both of the following activities: Group Activity One Have each student write anonymously an essay on the topic, "What Would Happen If 1 Became a Different Color?" Have them choose a specific skin color and write their essays accordingly. Set a time limit of 15 minutes. When the time is up, collect the papers, shuffle them, distribute them to the students and have volunteers read the essays aloud Encourage the students to dialog about what their classmates have written Stimulate discussion with questions such as the following: • When you became a different color, did your peer group change? If so, why do you think that happened? • Did you experience any change in attitude on the part of your employers? On the pan of individuals with whom you do business, such as store personnel? • Did you feel stronger or weaker? • Did you fell that your ability to learn had been affected? Group Activity Two Have students cut pieces of construction paper into stars, squares, triangles or any other simple designs and lightly tape them to their forearms. Have them stand in the sun for 10 to 15 minutes. During this time have students discuss or share what they have learned from this lesson. Then have the students return to the classroom and remove the designs Poll the students to see how many have experienced a noticeable change of skin color, i e , how many notice the skin darker or redder around the design. Have students use the scientific or biological information used in this lesson to explain why any color change has taken place. 299 Summarize the lesson by asking the following questions: • What skin color would you expect to find among peoples native to the equator region ’ • What skin color would you expect to find among peoples native to a cold climate region? • What does the phrase "Skin Color Cannot Think or Reason" mean to you? • How many chemicals are responsible for all the skin colors in the world and what are their names? INDEPENDENT PRACTICE Optional, depending on grade level and on whether the students have been introduced to the concept of culture Give students the following homework assignment, whose purpose is to help students differentiate between culture and color. Select two peoples who are outwardly the same color but who come from different cultures and explain in writing how they are different For example, an African and an Indian person from India may share the same color but they are different; a Russian and an Irish person may share the same color but .ire diifur- ent. Differences might include those of dress, language, religion and customary foods When the students return to class with their completed assignments, encourage volun teers to share what they have written. Lead class discussion of the writings. 300 Greatness Past and Present by Agin Shaheed PURPOSE This lesson will introduce students to Africa through a study of great African kings of the past. The introduction of African kings is intended to foster in the students a new pride in their African heritage. The lesson will clarify the historical and cultural ties between African Americans and Africa, offsetting the notion still found in school curricula that African American cultim begins with slavery in America. The lesson will challenge students to acquire the skilK to become future Leaders by learning about and incorporating in their lives particular qualities of these great kings. O b je c t iv e s • Students will name and identify some great African kings of the past. • Students will name and identify the countries on a map of Africa. • Students will identify two or more qualities exhibited by an African king which thev themselves also exhibit. MATERIALS • Map of Africa (blackline master provided) The following materials, though not required to present the lesson, may be useful • Overhead projector and screen (optional) • Sftaka: King of the Zulus, by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema (New York: Morrow, 1988). • Great Kings and Queens. A full-color annotated poster series available from Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 23 De Foor Hill Road, Atlanta Georgia 30318 (1-800-843-2337) • Illustrative History Magazine. Available from Fitzgerald Publishing Co., Inc , 442 Wolf Hill Road, Dix Hills, New York 11746 (516-549-8055). ANTICIPATORY SET Set the stage for this lesson by inspiring students with the following quote from Malcolm X. Write the quote on the chalkboard or display it as an overhead trans parency. 301 Ask the students what they think Malcolm X, who has gained the admiration of many African American students, meant when he spoke these words. INSTRUCTION Tell students that Malcolm X believed that in order to understand what is happening today, it is important to understand the past and learn from it. Explain to the students that you will give them an opportunity to learn first hand what Malcolm X meant by learning about African history and particularly about some "Awesome African Kings" (Asa Hilliard's phrase). Tell the students that Malcolm X was an African American who had many qualities like those of the African kings they will study. List the following qualities of Malcolm X on the chalkboard: thirst for knowledge, bravery, will power, knowledge of his great African history, a desire to be a good role model, and love for his people Ask students what their idea of a king is. Summarize their responses on the chalkboard Then offer them the following five qualities as characteristics of great African kings Write these on the chalkboard as well. They possessed great will power. They valued knowledge. They had a great ability to remember. They had a great love for their people. They had an ability to accomplish the impossible. Introduce students to specific kings, their personalities and their countries. Project an overhead transparency of the blackline master map of Africa provided with this lesson and indicate where each king ruled. If possible, provide the students with handouts summarizing the information you share Egypt/KemeL Akhenaton was Pharaoh of Egypt in B.C. 1375-1358. Uncle of the now- famous King Tut, he was the first notable ruler known to have proposed the notion that there is one God, not many gods. Akhenaton was a gentle and sensitive man who, with his wife Queen Nefertiti, was dedicated to advancing the religion, art and music of Egypt. In fact he built an entire city to help achieve his purpose. The city was named after him but was known as the City of Dreams. During his reign Egyptian sculpture, painting and language made great strides forward. The influence of Akhenaton and Nefertiti was felt for centuries. Mali. In the early 14th century, the kingdom of Mali on the west coast of Africa was among the most impressive and wealthiest kingdoms in the world. Mali's achievement is due in great part to the emperor ("Mansa") Musa who ruled Mali in 1312-1337 A D 302 Musa was an excellent administrator who ruled his country shrewdly He attracted a great number of scholars to Mali. Many of them gathered in Timbuctu, which became . 1 great center of learning. In fact, Timbuctu became known as the "City of Knowledge " It is the only city in history known to derive its income completely from the manufacture and sale of books. Timbuctu was the location of a renowned university to which people from the world over came to study, even such subjects as brain or eye surgery. Musa is well known of having led some 72,000 people on a religious pilgrimage from Timbuctu to Mecca, located more than 3,000 miles away in present-day Saudi Arabia With his great skill and knowledge Musa assured not only that they reached their destination but also that they returned safely. Along the way he spent so much gold that he caused prices of goods to rise seriously in some locations for a period of time When Musa returned to Mali, he brought with him architects, masons and other skilled craftsmen who helped improve his country. He gained respect throughout m u ch of the world for his country's accomplishments and for the peace and order that prevailed m Mali. Tunisia/Carthage. Hannibal was ruler of Carthage in North Africa in B C 247-183 Carthage, which no longer exists, was located in present-day Tunisia. It was a powerful country ruled by a great military general whose African armies conquered large portums of Spain and Italy. Hannibal was a man of strong will, which he demonstrated in his military campaign against the Roman armies. He marched an army that included African war elephants across the Alps. The Alps are very tall and treacherous mountains; few people thought Hannibal would succeed. But succeed he did, surprising Roman troops in northern Italy and conquering the territory. Hannibal also proved himself to be an effective leader at home in Carthage. He succeeded in bringing his country both prosperity and prestige Ethiopia/Abyssinia. King Menalek ruled the empire of Abyssinia—modern-day Ethiopia— in 1844-1913 A.D. Said to descend from a line of rulers that extended back to the biblical King Solomon, Menalek created his empire by joining together a group 0 1 independent kingdoms which often had been strongly opposed to one another Many great religious centers were established in Menalek's empire. His people demon- strated their religious devotion by committing long passages of complicated text to memory. Menalek, too, possessed this ability as well as a great knowledge of the religious writings of his culture. 303 Throughout his Long reign, Menalek managed to lead his people in resisting the efforts of other countries to invade or colonize Abyssinia. He was a great statesman who led his people well. South Africa/Azania. In the early 19th century the tribes or kingdoms that made up Azanta, what now is known as South Africa, often found themselves at war or in compe tition with each other. As settlers in Europe began to arrive in the region and extend their influence, Chaka, a Zulu prince, stepped forward and began a process of uniting various Zulu clans. It was his vision that there be a single Zulu people strong enough to over come the efforts of European settlers to colonize them. Chaka set about to revolutionize the way warfare was carried on among southern African tribes. He developed new military strategies and tactics and new weapons. He instilled a sense of discipline and purpose in his warriors. In time he succeeded in fulfilling his dream. The Zulus became the most powerful nation in southern Africa, including more than one million people within its borders. Chaka ruled his nation from 1816-1828 Ask students to identify any qualities of the African kings that they feel they have and to give examples of how they might use those qualities. Ask students to share what they can begin to do now at home, school and play to demonstrate the qualities of the great African kings. G u i d e d P r a c t ic e Have students indicate through discussion and dialog how they think the African cultures benefited from the qualities of the awesome African kings. Challenge students to explore in groups how these same qualities might benefit them today. Summarize some of the facts of the lesson by asking the following questions: • Which king was the uncle of King Tut? • Which king led 72,000 people on a journey of more than 6,000 miles? > Which king also was a military general and had an army that included elephants’ • Which king ruled Ethiopia? • Which king had the great vision to unite his people? 304 Help students clarify what they have learned by doing the following: • Have students name five great African kings, and one personality trait or quality of each. • Have students name five African cultures or countries. • Have students name one personality trait or quality of an African king that they will try to incorporate in their lives. INDEPENDENT PRACTICE Challenge students to read about and describe in writing one African king who inspired them and to explain why they find that king inspiring. 105 Africa i % % S MAURITIUS f REUNION MOZAMBIQUE SWAZILAND L IE O T H O < 0 0 0 k m t « ■ i m h a G'w n tmt'tm M 306 Demanding Excellence of Self by Leonard Thompson P u r p o s e This lesson will encourage students to apply their best efforts to accomplishing any tasks they attempt rather than merely to do enough to "get by." OBJECTIVES • Students will identify two skill areas in which they excel. • Students will identify two skill areas in which they need improvement. • Students will list two things they will do or change to improve their performance in the areas that need improvement. MATERIALS • Student Activity Sheet: "Attitude Survey" (blackline master provided) • Student Activity Sheet: "Focus" (blackline master provided) • Poem: "I Was Cool" (blackline master provided) • "Kadeem Hardison," Men of Courage by Kenneth W. Bentley, Nestle USA, Inc, pp. 28-29 (book provided) ANTICIPATORY SET Begin by distributing copies of the activity sheet "Attitude Survey." Have students complete the exercise. Recite the first stanza of the chant "Attitude Check": Attitude check. Attitude check, My attitude will determine my altitude. Ask students if they know what aititude means. Elicit that the word means a high location or area . Tell students that in the chant altitude refers to the height of their personal well being and achievement. 307 Read the chant, beginning again with the first stanza. Have students repeat each sta 1 1 2 . 1 after you: Attitude check. Attitude check. My attitude will determine my altitude. Attitude check, Attitude check, A bad attitude will mean a low altitude. Attitude check. Attitude check, A good attitude will mean a high altitude. Attitude check, Attitude check. When I have a good attitude, I can do anything I set my mind to do. Have students refer to their attitude surveys and count all the "Yes" answers. Tell students that the more "Yes" answers they have, the more likely it is that they have a good attitude. Stress that it is important to have a good attitude because the better a person feels about himself and the world around him, the better work he does. INSTRUCTION Tell students you are going to read an article to them about a person most of them will recognize as the witty, intelligent math whiz Dwayne Wayne from the television show "A Different World." Open Men of Courage to pages 28-29 and show students the photo graphs. Read the article to students and ask the following questions: Is Kadeem smart? (s he a hard worker? Is Kadeem a quitter? Does Kadeem try to do his best? Is Kadeem cool? Is Kadeem a winner? Tell students you are going to read another story about a young man's life, just as he wrote it. Distribute copies of the poem "If I Knew Then What I Know Now." Have students follow along as you read. If time permits, discuss the following notions with the students: Doors of opportunity Being cool 308 Necessity of being able to read and write Looking good only on the outside Getting ahead vs. "gett'n ova" Graduating at the bottom of the class Excuses What happens when reality sets in Repeat the questions that were asked about Kadeem Hardison to help students compare Kadeem with the "cool" young man: Is this young man smart? Is this young man a hard worker? Is this young man a quitter? Did this young man try to do his best? Is this young man cool? Is this young man a winner? Ask students which person they would rather be: Kadeem Hardison or the young man who describes himself as "cool." Ask each student who volunteers an answer to tell the class the reason he made the choice he did. Tell students that it is important for them to realize that Kadeem Hardison was not good at everything, but he worked hard to maintain his best skills and to improve in areas in which he was less skilled. Emphasize the fact that Kadeem never gave up; he did the very best he could at all times. Help students apply Kadeem's recipe for success to their performances in school: to prepare for successful lives, they should always do their best and learn all they can in school. G u i d e d p r a c t ic e • Distribute copies of the "Focus" activity sheet. Have each student complete the activity sheet. • Pair students and have partners share their plans for improvement. CLOSURE Conclude the lesson by using these or similar words: If you challenge yourselves to do your best at all times, it will pay off in future success. Doing your best means that you will continue to maintain your best skills and, at the same time, work hard to improve your skills in areas that give you trouble. Don't try to just "get ova"; get ahead! 309 N a m e __________________________________ D ate____________ Room Number Attitude Survey Circle One 1. A re y o u feeling ok today? Yes N o 2. A re y o u h av in g a good day? Yes N o 3. A re y o u u p se t ab o u t anything? Yes N o 4. H ave y ou eaten today? Yes N o 5. D id y o u sleep w ell last night? Yes N o 6. D id an y o n e h u g o r kiss y ou today? Yes N o 7, D id an y o n e tell y ou th at they love you today? Yes N o 8. D o y o u like school? Yes N o 9. D o y o u like y o u r teacher? Yes N o 10. D o y ou love yourself? Yes N o 310 Name Dale Focus Room Number 1. Tw o things I d o w ell are: a. ____________________ b. 2. T w o things I d o n 't d o w ell are: a. __________________________ b. 3. Tw o things I can do to help im prove the things I d o n 't do w ell are: 311 r . i n * ' i f t If I Knew Then What I Know Now When I was growing up, people would say be cool, stay in school. They told me the more knowledge the better chances for college. The doors of opportunity are wide Get an education so you can go inside. If I knew then what 1 know now. You see, 1 thought school was for the nerds and learning reading, writing and math was for the birds. I preferred being the class clown so 1 spent most of my time joking around. If I knew then what I know now. My teacher was always in my face telling me that 1 am behind in the education race. My teacher tried to help me pick up my pace but I always found a way to depart in haste. 1 got to go to the bathroom, I am sick, I am thirsty. All these excuses work. I was gett'n over. So I thought. If 1 knew then what 1 know now. You see, I had it made. Everybody liked me. I had nice clothes, cool shoes, a fresh haircut and a bad attitude. Everybody who was anybody wanted to be my friend. They would do my homework and let me see their work in class And I thought then that these good times were going to last. Because I was cool. (f 1 knew then what I know now. I could not wait to get out of school. I had a big plan to have a big job to make big money to live in a big house to drive a big car and to have big fun. I was going to be the man around town who loves to play around. If I knew then what I know now. 312 t ' . i f j i - 2 ( > t 2 Graduation day. Graduation day Free at last, free at last. I had finally graduated although 1 was at the bottom of my class. No more school, no more tests 1 went home and put on my best. You see, 1 had a job interview. More money, more money. If I knew then what I know now. When 1 got to the place 1 spoke with grace. But all they did was push an application in my face Sit down, they said, and complete this work, but I had a problem reading and writing and my head started to hurt. I tried to think of a reason to leave, but what I said they did not believe. If 1 knew then what 1 know now. Well, as you can guess My life turned out to be a mess. All because 1 did not do my best. Because 1 know now what I didn't know then I try my best to encourage my friends. Stay in school, don't be a fool. Stop playing around. Now is the time to get down To some serious work. Don't be a jerk. Learn all you can for you will need it to complete your plan. Do your best and forget about the rest. Knowledge is power. Get the Power. If I knew then what 1 know now. Leonard James Thompson I I 313 Developing Personal Standards by Leonard Thompson P u r p o s e This lesson will help students distinguish between right and wrong and make decisions that result in "right" actions. OBJECTIVES Students will be empowered to make decisions that result in "right" actions as demonstrated through role-play of the "STOP! THINK! MAKE A DECISION" method of decision making. MATERIALS • Student Activity Sheet: "Definitions" (blackline master provided) • Classroom dictionary A n t ic ip a t o r y S et Begin the lesson by sharing the following scenario with the students: One day a strong, young African -America n male named }amal was walking home from school. He noticed a woman about 20 feet ahead of him carrying tteo bags of groceries Suddenly the woman tripped over a curb and almost f e l l . Jamal noticed that something dropped from her pocket. The woman caught her balance and con tin ued walking. When famal came to the place where the woman had tripped, he found a wallet on the ground. In the wallet were $150 in cash, six credit cards, and the woman's driver's license Ask students what they think Jamal should do with the wallet. Record their responses on the chalkboard. If students do not respond, ask them if Jama) should keep the wallet or return it. Write the headings "keep the wallet" and "return the wallet" on the chalkboard, ask for a show of hands for each answer, and tally the results of the vote. (If desired, keep the tally on the chalkboard until the conclusion of the lesson to see if student opinion has changed.) 314 In s t r u c t io n Ask students to define the terms right and wrong. Write a sampling of student definitions on the chalkboard. Then have a student look up the definition of each word in the class room dictionary and read it to the group. Record these definitions on the chalkboard: • Right, just, moral or good (grades 2-9 dictionary) good, just, lawful (grades 4-6 dictionary) following what is just, good, or proper (middle school dictionary) • Wrong, not moral or good; bad (grades 2-3 dictionary) not right; bad (grades 4-6 dictionary) not according to the moral standard (middle school dictionary) Distribute the "Decisions" activity sheet and have students copy the two definitions in the appropriate spaces. To help students understand the meaning of right and wrong, lead them through the following exercise, asking these questions: 1. Is it good or bad to lie? 2. Is it good or bad to steal? 3. Is it good or bad to hurt someone? 4. Is it good or bad to help people? 5. Is it good or bad to listen to your teacher? 6. Is it good or bad to be nice to your family? Explain to students that knowing the difference between right and wrong will come with time and experiences. Tell them that if they are having a difficult time choosing between right or wrong, they should ask themselves if what they are thinking of doing is good or bad. Tell them that if they still have difficulty making a decision, they should put themselves on the receiving end of the action or situation and reflect on how they would feel. Tell students that they are going to encounter many situations in their lives that will force them to make decisions, to choose between right and wrong. Write the following words and definitions on the chalkboard. Discuss the definitions and have students copy them in the appropriate spaces on their activity sheets: • Decision. The act of making up one's mind; judgment • Choke. The act or power of choosing; selection; option • Consequences, Something that logically or naturally follows from an act or condition, result 315 Tell students that when they aie faced with a situation that requires them to make a decision, it is important to make the right—not the wrong—decision or choice. Explain that every decision or choice they make will have a consequence and that the conse quences of a wrong decision will usually be bad. Share with students the following three-step method which is designed to help them make the right choices when they are faced with both everyday and serious problems Write the three steps in bold letters on the chalkboard: STOP! T H IN K ! M AKE A D E C ISIO N . Explain the three steps to students: • STOP! Don't act hastily. Stop and get your emotions under control. • THINK! Evaluate the situation on the basis to what is the right and what is the wrong thing to do. • MAKE A DECISION. After you have stopped and brought your emotions under control, make a decision based on knowledge and control and not on emotion. Reinforce the three-step concept by pointing to the printing on the chalkboard and speaking the words aloud with students. Repeat this three times. Ask students to share experiences they have had recently that might have turned out better if they had applied the three steps. STOP! THINK? MAKE A DECISION. G u i d e d p r a c t i c e Select three volunteers to participate in a role-play exercise. Read the following script aloud to the students, replacing the names of the boys in the script with the names of the role players: Laron, Bitty and Brian are standing in tine waiting to eat lunch. Brian reaches around Bitty and hits Lawn on the back of the head. Lawn becomes angry because he thinks Bitty hit him, Laron hits Bitty in the chest and they get into a fight. Have the "actors'* rote play the situation; then ask the other students to explain what has happened and to tell which of the boys made the wrong decision. 316 Guide the discussion to make students realize that all three boys made wrong d ecision s • Brian made the wrong decision when he hit Laron on the back of the head • Laron made the wrong decision when he hit the person nearest to him. • Billy made the wrong decision when he began to fight with Laron. Ask students to explain how each of the boys could have handled the situation better by using the "STOP! THINK! MAKE A DECISION" method For example: If Brian had told himself to STOP, he could have controlled his temptation to bother Laron. This would have given him time to THINK about the consequences of start ing a fight Then Brian might have MADE THE BEST DECISION—not to hit Laron Repeat the exercise, having students explain how Billy and Laron could have made better decisions by applying the three steps. For example: If Laron had told himself to STOP, he could have controlled his instinctive reaction to hit back. This would have given him time to THINK about how to respond. Then Laron might have MADE THE BEST DECISION—not to hit the person nearest him but to find out what had happened and why. If Billy had told himself to STOP, he could have controlled his decision to strike back This would have given him time to THINK about the consequences of defending himself physically. Then Billy might have MADE THE BEST DECISION—to Jet Laron know what actually happened, to talk with Brian about what he had done, or to seek help from a teacher. CLOSURE Review the definitions student copied on their activity sheets and the "STOP! THINK' MAKE A DECISION" method. Remind students that they alone are responsible for deciding between right and wrong and controlling their actions. 317 Name __________D ale____________ Room Number Decisions Definitions right: wrong: decision: choice: consequence: 318 The Future Is in Your Hands by Leonard Thompson PURPOSE This lesson will encourage students to take advantage of every opportunity to make progress toward achieving their personal and career goals. OBJECTIVES • Students will define the words perceive, achieve , believe, opportunity and obstacle • Students will list three opportunities that might help them fulfill their dreams regarding personal and career goals. • Students will list three obstacles that might hinder them from fulfilling their personal and career goals. M a t e r ia l s • Student Activity Sheet 1: "Myself 15 Years from Today" (blackline master provided) • Student Activity Sheet 2: "Definitions" (blackline master provided) • Student Activity Sheet 3: "Opportunities and Obstacles" (blackline master provided) • Dictionaries ANTICIPATORY SET Begin by telling the students you want them to take a trip 15 years into the future. Tell them that in the future they can be anything they want to be, live anywhere they want to live and do anything they want to do. Tell them that the future is in their hands. Have the students close their eyes and imagine themselves 15 years in the future. Ask them: Where will you be in 15 years? What kind of work will you be doing? What will be important in your life? Give the students an opportunity to reflect in silence. When the students have completed their journeys into the future, have them open their eyes. Invite students to share with the class what they have imagined. When all students w ho wish to do so have shared their imaginary journeys, distribute copies of Activity Sheet 1: "Myself 15 Years From Today." Have the students complete the activity sheet individually to help them remember their journeys into the future. 319 In s t r u c t io n Explain to the students that you have given them an opportunity to take an imaginary journey into the future. Assure them that in reality, they hold their own futures in their hands. Tell them that their future depends on them Write the following words of Jesse Jackson on the chalkboard: Wha A ' ' - . : - ' ' * * \ Underline the words perceive, achieve, and believe. Then ask student volunteers to offer definitions of each of the underlined words. Record their definitions on the chalkboard Distribute dictionaries to students or to pairs or small groups of students Distribute copies of Activity Sheet 2 . "Definitions" to each student, student pair or small group Have the students look up the definition of each word and write it in the space prov ided on the activity sheet. When the students have completed the definitions, invite them to share the definitions they have found; record them on the chalkboard. Emphasize the following meanings of each of the words • To perceive. To become aware in one's mind, or to imagine. • To achieve. To do or finish with success, or to accomplish. • To believe. To have faith, or to have a firm conviction. Underline the terms imagine, accomplish and have a firm conviction Then draw the students' attention to the quote from Jesse Jackson on the chalkboard and replace the original underlined words with the underlined words following the dictionary definitions Whatever the mind can imagine, the body can accomplish. if you only have a firm conviction. Refer the students to their responses to the questions on Activity Sheet 1 Tell them that what they wrote represents how they Imagine themselves 15 years from today Assure them that they can accomplish everything they have imagined if they take advantage ot all the opportunities given to them. Emphasize the importance of having a firm Ijxitnd can ££i£clx& <amiChlCYfc b flk g fi* 320 conviction about their ability to accomplish what they imagine for themselves and of working hard to remove obstacles that stand in their ways. Give students an opportunity to comment on what you are telling them or to ask any questions they might have. Point out to the students that there are two other important words to define if they are make their dreams reality: opportunity and obstacle. Write each word on the chalkboard Have the students, working individually, in pairs or in small groups, find the meanings of the two words in their dictionaries and record them in the spaces provided on Activity Sheet 2. When the students have completed the definitions, invite them to share the definitions they have found; record them on the chalkboard. Emphasize the following meanings of each of the words: • Opportunity. A chance to make progress toward achieving a goal or goals. • Obstacle. Something that stands in the way of progress. Tell the students that going to school represents an opportunity. Explain that in school one can gain knowledge and that knowledge is power—the power to become whatever one wants to become. Ask students to share with you and their classmates the kinds of work they would like to be doing in IS years. Explore with them the sort of preparation they would need to do such work well. Help them see how specific types of education wilt help them obtain such work and excel in it. Tell them that dropping out of school poses an obstacle to reaching one's goal. Explain that without going to school, one cannot gain knowledge and that without knowledge, one has limited power. Ask students to offer additional examples of opportunities and obstacles. Allow them to ask any questions they may have. GUIDED PRACTICE • Review Activity Sheet 1 with the students. • Review Activity Sheet 2 with the students. • Distribute copies of Activity Sheet 3. Have each student complete the activity sheet CLOSURE Conclude the lesson using these or similar words: You can be anything you want to be Today you imagined yourselves 15 years from now. You learned that you can accom plish what you imagine if you hold firm to what you want. You learned that you must take advantage of opportunities to move forward toward achieving your goals and that you must work hard to remove any obstacles that stand in your way. Your future is in your hands. 321 Name __________________________________ D ate_____________ Room N um ber____ Myself 15 Years From Today 1. F ifteen years from today I w ill hold the job o f _______________________ 2. Fifteen years from to d ay I w ill live in a ______________________________ 3. Fifteen years from today I w ill d riv e a _______________________________ 4. Fifteen years fro m to d ay I w ill w ear ________________________________ 5. Fifteen y ears from today I w ill be: Single M arried D ivorced (circl* on*) 6. Fifteen y ears fro m to d ay will you have children? Yes N o (drcl* on*) 7. Fifteen y ears from today will you be in school? Yes N o (drcl* on*) 8. Fifteen y ears from to d ay w ill you still live w ith yo u r p aren ts? Yes No (d rd t unci 9. Fifteen y ears from today how m uch m oney w ill you hav e in the bank? 10. Fifteen y ears from to d ay will you live in San Diego? Yes N o < circle on*) 322 Name Date Room Number Definitions Perceive: ___________________________ Achieve: Believe: Opportunity: Obstacle: 323 N a m e _________________________________ D ate____________ Room Number Opportunities and Obstacles List three opp o rtu n ities that w ill help you becom e w hat you w ant to be 15 years from now . 1. ____________________________________________________________________ 2, 3. List three obstacles that w ill h in d er you from becom ing w h at you w an t to be 15 years from now . 1. 2. 3. 324 Becoming Citizens in the 21st Century by Leonard Thompson PURPOSE This lesson will encourage students to become responsible citizens OBJECTIVE Students will demonstrate awareness of the characteristics of a good citizen by • listing at least five of these characteristics. • naming one present-day person who is a good and responsible citizen. • identifying good citizenship characteristics revealed in the biography of one African American who was an agent of change the 20th century. • writing a one-page essay on how they will be good and responsible citizens in the 21st century. M a t e r ia l s • Student Handout: "Characteristics of a Good and Responsible Citizen" (blackline master provided) • Student Activity Sheet: "Who Is a Good and Responsible Citizen?" (blackline master provided) • Book of Black Heroes from A to Z: An Introduction to Important Black Achievers, by Wade Hudson and Valerie Wilson Wesley; Just Us Books, 301 Main St., Suite 22-24, Orange, New Jersey 07050 A n t ic ip a t o r y S e t Obtain the book Boole of Black Heroes from A to Z: An Introduction to Important Black Achievers (see materials list). Select the biography of a person whose life has exemplified the characteristics of a good citizen and who has made this country a better place (Suggestions: William E. B . DuBois, Langston Hughes, Jesse Jackson, Ulysses Kay, Martin Luther King, Jr.; Thurgood Marshall; William Grant Still; Whitney M. Young, jr ) Write the following questions on the chalkboard: 1. What if this person had never been bom? 2. What if this person had not received an education? 3. What if this person had refused to help others? 4. What if this person had refused to care? 5. What if this person had refused to share? 325 Tell student* they are going to play the ''What If" game. Explain that you will read them the biography of an important African American and they will use facts from the biography to answer each "What if" question on the chalkboard Follow the reading and discussion with the observation that the students' lives also can be important to their race and to their country. Explain that as future leaders and adult citizens, they will also leave their marks on the world. Help students understand that from the time they are born until they die, their lives will help or hinder society It is up to each of them to make a positive mark, to be a good and responsible citizen INSTRUCTION Ask students what it means to be a citizen, to have citizenship. Record representative answers on the chalkboard. Ask students if it is possible for a person to be a citizen of the United States but not to lu > a good and responsible citizen. Ask for a show of hands and tally the "Yes" and " N o1 answers on the chalkboard- Distribute copies of the "Characteristics of a Good and Responsible Citizen?" handout Call on students to read the definitions of citizen and citizenship. Point out that there is nothing in either definition that limits citizenship to good and responsible people Any qualified person can be a citizen; only persons with special characteristics are good and responsible citizens. Point out the 10 characteristics of a good and responsible citizen and discuss each one, asking for questions. Ask each student to think of a person he knows or knows about who exhibits these characteristics. Have students identify their selections and tell why they chose these particular people. G u i d e d P r a c t ic e • Review the "Characteristics of a Good and Responsible Citizen" handout with students. • Distribute copies of the "Who Is a Good and Responsible Citizen?" activity sheet Have each student complete his activity sheet. • Have each student write a one-page essay telling how he will become a good and responsible citizen. C l o s u r e Conclude the lesson using these or similar words: Because you are under 18, you can't vote, but you can begin to practice all of the other nine characteristics of good and responsible citizenship. If you do, your lives now and in the future will strengthen, not weaken, the society in which you live. 326 Characteristics of a Good and Responsible Citizen C itiz en A p e rso n w ho is b o m in a country o r w h o chooses to live in a n d sw ea r loyalty to a country. C itiz e n s h ip The position of being a citizen of a country w ith all the rights, d u ties, a n d privileges that com e w ith it. 10 C h a racteristics o f a G o o d an d R esp o n sib le C itizen 1. A g o o d citizen votes in elections. 2. A g o o d citizen takes care of the environm ent. 3. A g o o d citizen gets involved w ith the com m unity. 4. A g o o d citizen is read y to defend the country 5. A g o o d citizen obeys the law s of the country. 6. A g o o d citizen takes care of fam ily and friends. 7. A g o o d citizen is concerned about the safety of o th ers in the com m unity. 8. A g o o d citizen seeks to get a good education a n d stays inform ed on local a n d national issues. 9. A g o o d citizen respects self and others. 10. A g o o d citizen p ay s taxes. T hese are only a few characteristics that enable a p erso n to be a good an d resp o n sib le citizen. C an you think of other characteristics? 327 N a m e _________________________________ D ate____________ Room Num ber____ Who is a Good and Responsible Citizen? List five characteristics of a good and responsible citizen. 1. 2. 3. 4. 328 Lessons for Secondary Students What is Success ? by Doug Williams P u r p o s e This lesson will help students define personal success and identify the minimum standards needed to achieve that success. OBJECTIVES • Students will write a definition of personal success. • Students will state the difference between intermediate and ultimate goals • Students will state the correlation between high school grades and success. • Students will state the goals of a high school education. • Students will identify the minimum academic standard needed to attain personal goals. MATERIALS • Student Activity Sheet "My Success" a n t i c i p a t o r y S et Set the stage for this lesson by describing the following situation: It is fourth down and 10 yards to go for a first down in the championship game with two minutes left to play The bait is on your 40 yard line. You are the quarterback and your team is behind by five points. The ball is snapped and you fade back. You must decide what you will do based on these facts: 1. Your best receiver is double-covered. 2. Your next best receiver is only three yards downfield, but he has good skills 3. Your third receiver is open, but the pass must be perfect. 4. You are feeling the pressure of the rush. What would you do? Why? Explore with students the thought processes involved in making a decision and the criteria used to measure success: Would you throw? To whom would you throw and why? What is a successful play under these circumstances? What is the ultimate goal? Is there a difference between intermediate and ultimate goals? What are the intermediate goals, if any? Now ask the students the following questions: Suppose a receiver gives his best effort, but does not catch the pass. Is that considered being successful? Is making positive yardage considered being successful? If your team makes enough yardage for a first down, yet fails to score a touchdown, is that considered being successful? Suggest to the 330 students that each of the accomplishments you have just asked about represent an intermediate goal—each is a yard mark toward achieving the ultimate goal of scoring a touchdown and winning the game. Explain to the students that success is measured in terms of accomplishing one's ultimate goal(s). GUIDED PRACTICE (DISCOVERY LEARNING) Ask the students to State the goal of a high school student. Poll the students to determine how many students think the goal is to graduate. Write the poll results on the chalk board. Next write the following information on the chalkboard: V - > r v * (: z-- j i T • - . l i t . Ask the students if this report card is an example of success. Poll the students and write the results on the chalkboard. Next add the following information about yearly credits to the semester report card information on the chalkboard. ■4N1 X2, T * U 48 Explain to the students that with the grades you have recorded, a student will graduate from high school with a grade point average of 2.0 and receive a diploma. Ask the students to respond again to the question whether this report card is an example of success Take another poll of the student responses. Write the results on the chalk board. Have the students give their reasons why they consider or do not consider the report card an example of success. 331 Refer to the scenario with which you began this lesson. Ask the students: Would you consider it successful if your team makes a first down, but is not able to make any positive yardage in the next four downs? Explore with the students the notion that success is best measured in reference to one’s ultimate goat. Ask the students if the ultimate goal of a high school student is to graduate. Ask what the high school student's ultimate goal is. Responses might include college admission, getting a job, starting up a career ladder. Ask the students to offer some possible outcomes for a student with a report card like the one you have written on the chalkboard. Pose the question with these or similar words: What can a person hope to do with this kind of report card? Responses might include getting a minimum wage job or a fast food job, or going into the military service Help the students to see that this sort of report card may limit a student to getting low- paying jobs. Have the students write their responses to the following questions: You are approxi mately 65 years old. What have you done during the last 50 years that allows you to consider yourself successful? Who are the important people in your life? Do you have a family? Who are your friends? What are your important possessions? Tell students to include in their responses the basic standards by which they will measure success When the students have completed their writing, ask them to read their responses aloud. Lead the students in comparing and c o n s istin g the responses. Next, have the students write their responses to the following questions: What qualities in a person's life are important to you? Do you determine success solely on the basis of possessions acquired? Do you consider qualities such as integrity and honesty when you are measuring personal success? Ask each student to respond orally to the following question: If you were to continue to receive grades similar to your present grades and your behavior in and out of school were to continue, what would be the likely outcome of your life? Help the students understand that high school grades and behavior often correlate with life outcomes Ask the students to suggest a minimum GPA standard of a successful student. Point out that a 3 n GPA will make a student eligible for many four-year colleges and scholarships Suggest that students set a 3 0 GPA goal during junior high and a 3 5 GPA goal during high school. Explain that in order to compete with other students across the country, they must maintain a high GPA. Have each student develop a plan to accomplish his goal(s) by completing the activity sheet "My Success." 332 C l o s u r e Encourage students with these or similar words: Success is best measured in terms of an ultimate goal or goals. Your success in academics is most likely to lead to your success in a career you choose. Education is a must. Challenge the students to set a grade-point-average goal. Challenge them to strive for a 4.0 GPA but to use a 3.0 GPA as a minimum standard. INDIVIDUAL STUDY Have the students meet with a college counselor to obtain information about require ments for admission to a technical school or a four-year college or university 333 Name Dale Period My Success My personal and career goal(s): ____________________ My plana for attaining my goal(s)(Technical school. College, University, College major): High-school grades needed to accomplish my goal(s): Behaviors that I need to correct to accomplish my goal(s): 334 Goal Setting by Kasimu Harley P u r p o s e Students will identify and select a career or personal goal. O b je c t iv e Students will develop dear career or personal goal statements that encourage continuing growth as well as short' and long-range plans to achieve their goals. MATERIALS • "One Step Closer to Success" inventory • Handout: The Athletic Future of High School Athletes • Handout: Jobs and Education • Handout: Occupational Outlook A n t i c i p a t o r y S e t Set the stage for this lesson by having the students complete the "One Step Closer to Success" inventory. After the students have completed the inventory, ask them to tum the paper over on their desks. INSTRUCTION Instruct the students to dose their eyes and picture themselves 20 years from today Lead them in reflection by asking the following: 1. What type of career did you choose? What were the benefits of your choice? 2. How did the quality of your life change? 3. What were the challenges you faced on the road to achieving your goals? 4. How did you respond to those challenges? Instruct the students to open their eyes. Encourage them to share their responses to the questions and explore the responses with them. At the conclusion of the discussion ask the students to define the word goal. Write responses from the students on the chalk board. Then offer them the following definition: Goal? Write it on the chalkboard as well. 335 Next write the following quotes on the chalkboard: every time get you altitude. Wlliiaai BUh Dy« Ask the students: Whet are the similarities or differences in the two statements? Provide a few minutes for them to respond. Point out that the first statement simply says that it a person has no focused direction or goal, he will wander through life aimlessly The second statement challenges us to change our attitudes; in fact, it is another way of saying "What you can conceive or believe, your mind can achieve " Both statements are impor-tant because they make clear that when we have a goal and work to make our beliefs come true, we will reap the rewards of our labor. Clarify the first statement using the following goal statements. Write them on the chalkboard. A. My goal is to be successful this year B. 1 will work to get a "B" average in all my classes this year Ask the students which of the two goal statements (A or B) illustrates the first quoted statement above. Allow time for responses. Explain to the students that the first rule of goal setting U that it must be clear, measurable and obtainable. Write the rule on the chalkboard, leaving room for the six rules to follow. Help the students understand that goal statement A is too vague and that it illustrates the first quote. Point out that goal statement B, however, meets the first rule of goal setting Instruct the students to turn over their One Step inventories and to locate item 1 Ask mi volunteers to read their responses. Once you have located a student who wants to be an athlete, stop. Use that student's response to develop another pair of goal statements, Mich as the following. Write or summarize them on the chalkboard if necessary. C In 20 years I will be a professional football player making a lot of money D. In 20 years I will own a Mercedes Repair Shop and will provide employ ment and training for teenagers To reach my goal, 1 plan to complete high school with a B+ average. In two weeks I will interview a Mercedes mechanic to find out about the job requirements Before I leave high school I will work in a Mercedes dealership. I will attend a technical school or an apprenticeship program to become a mechanic 1 will be married with three children and have the financial stability to own a home and provide for my family and travel. 336 Ask the student who wants to be an athlete what is the major difference between the two goal statements. Solicit other students' responses. Explain to students that the second rule of goal setting is that a goal must have short-term and long-term objectives. Write the rule on the chalkboard under the first rule. Explore the first two rules of goal setting with the students by dissecting goal statements C and D. Explain that the first statement focuses on the individual's need for financial security, whereas the second statement acknowledges the balance that many people attempt to achieve by serving others. Emphasize that achieving success in life will depend on their ability to balance their career interests and community service. Tell them that beneath every life goal, there is a passion for living: The psychologist Viktor Frank! asserts that success, like happiness, is the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a course greater than oneself. The passion or intense feelings that we experience keep us connected to the goals of significance in our lives. Setting goals provides us an opportunity to marshal our abilities in order to stretch beyond boundaries set by other individuals. As w e move closer to accomplishing our stated goal, our sense of purpose and direction may shift. We may move away from an ambition to accumulate wealth to a goal of serving others. Explain to the students that in order to reach their goals, they must begin planning today Help the students realize that the successful behavior needed to obtain a B+ average w ill not simply materialize in high school. Ask the students to refer to item 3 of the One Step inventory. Encourage volunteers to share their responses and explore them. Encourage them to specify what they need to change. Emphasize that their success will depend on their willingness to change. Explore the students' answers to item 6 of the One Step inventory Pinpoint any external forces included among their responses, e.g., illness, drugs, gangs, death. Explain that external forces are behaviors outside an individual's control, i.e., the actions and attitudes of others. Offer the following example of an effective response to an external force that an individual thought might impede his goal. Once there was a student who wanted to be an obstetrician. When he answered item 6 on the inventory, he wrote that the death of his mother would stop him from achieving his goal. This situation served a a signal to assist this student to develop a support system which included his mother but extended beyond his immediate family Note; It is important to pay attention to how students respond to item 6 because their responses can serve as a guide for discerning the types of support students may need Any answer to item 6 that identifies drugs, gangs and/or premature death should be explored with the assistance of a trained professional. Ask the students the following question: How would your goal change if you found out that you had only one year to live? What adjustments would you make? How would things be different? Allow students an opportunity to respond Let the students know that the third rule of goal setting Is that a goal must be flexible. Write the rule on the chalkboard Use the "Athletic Future" handout here to illustrate this point. 337 Encourage students to examine other factors that may affect their attainment ot a particular goal. Write the following on the chalkboard: ^YheVl^e%andii you lemons, makelemonade. Explore the meaning of this statement with the students. Explain that the fourth rule ot goal setting is that you must maintain your motivation. Write the rule on the chalkboard. Tell them that one strategy to help us maintain motivation is called reframing or changing how one thinks about a situation. Tell them the quote about making lemonade is an example of changing a negative situation into a positive one Ask the students if they can think of other examples Suggest that the quote "Attitude will get you altitude" also is important: The manner in which you think of yourself can send you soaring to high heights or drowning in doubt Illustrate your point by sharing the following poem with the students: If you think you can, you will. If you think you cannot, you won’t. For out in the world, you'll find that life struggles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. The man who wins is the man who thinks he can. (Author unknown) Acknowledge that w e all need nurturing and encouragement from time to time (Use an example from your life when you needed uplifting.) Encourage each student to choose from the inspirational sayings you have shared one that is appropriate for him. Explain that you have several such saying that you find inspiring and that you want to share one now with them. Ask the students to stand and redtc after you the following: A Pledge To M yself Today 1 pledge to be the best possible me no matter how good I am 1 know that I can become better Today I pledge to build on the work of yesterday which w ill lead me 338 into the rewards of tomorrow Today I pledge to feed my mind: knowledge my body: strength my spirit: faith Today f pledge to reach new goals new challenges, and new horizons Today I pledge to listen to the beat of my drummer who leads me onward in search of dreams Today 1 pledge to believe in me Mychal Wynn* Tell the students that they have just completed one of the first steps in keeping them selves motivated and inspired. Inform them that just as their bodies need nourishment daily, their minds require the same. Encourage them to place one of their favorite inspirational sayings in their notebooks and by their mirrors. Stress the importance of their reddng their sayings daily. Explore with the students item 2 on the One Step inventory. Ask how many students have someone they admire. Remind the students that everyone needs nurturing. Suggest that persons whom they admire might provide them with the encouragement they need; they might serve as mentors and guides. Emphasize that they will have to do most, if not all, the work to achieve their goals but that it's important to have someone who supports their goals. Explain that the fifth rule of goal setting that you must build a support $y start. Add the rule to the list on the chalk-board. Explain how you used a mentor or other supportive individuals who helped you to achieve goals. Tell the students that building a support system may be one of the most challenging experiences that they will have because it requires that they face their strengths and weaknesses. Refer the students to item 3 on the One Step inventory. Suggest that they may need additional assistance to improve a specific skill Suggest as well that it is very likely that their support system will expand beyond their immediate families. Close the discussion by explaining that two other rules also apply to goal setting. The sixth rule states that goal setting requires that you reflect and evaluate. Write the rule on the chalkboard. Explore with the students the importance of staying on track by spend-ing a few moments each day reviewing how their behavior moved them closer to achieving their goals. Ask the students; What should a person do if his daily behavior has not moved him closer to his goal? "A Pledge to Myself* is reprinted by permission from the book Don't Quit by Mychal Wynn (Copyright 1990 by Mychal Wynn/Rising Sun Publishing, P.O. Box 70906, Marietta, Georgia 30007, ISBN 1-880463*26-1; Tel. 1-800-524-2813) 339 Suggest that if the behavior that requires change continues, it's time for the student to consider the seventh rule of goal setting, that is, you must be willing to adjust your goals when necessary. Add the final rule to the chalkboard list. Explain to the students that if their behavior does not move them closer to achieving their stated goals, they must seek assistance. Suggest that they may need to retrace their steps and schedule a talk with their counselors and/or mentors. Tell them it may be time to reread their goal statements and revise their strategies. GUIDED PRACTICE If some students are undecided about a career choice or direction, use the "Jobs and Education" and "Occupational Outlook" handouts to spur their thinking Give each such student five minutes to select a career in which he might be interested and have a volunteer work with him on his goal statement. Ask the students to rewrite their goal statements, item 1 of the One Step inventory, to meet the first rule of goal setting, that is that goals be clear, measurable and attainable When the students have completed this task, pair them and have them exchange goal statements Have partners determine whether the goal statements they received meet the requirements of Rule 1. Then have students rewrite their goal statements as necessary. Circulate around the room and support students as needed. Provide students with a sample of a goal statement that satisfies the second rule of goal setting. Have the students identify its major points. Then ask students to expand their goal statements to include short- and long-term objectives. Have each student write each of the seven rules of goal setting on a 3" x 5" card Have students select and place copies of inspirational sayings in their notebooks C l o s u r e Summarize the lesson's content by asking the following questions: • What are the seven rules of goal setting? • What are the three major qualities of a goal? • Why is goal setting important? • When is it important to read inspirational sayings? I n d e p e n d e n t St u d y Encourage students to examine/recite their goal statements/inspirational sayings to themselves daily and work toward continuing self-improvement. 340 N a m e __________________________________ D a le_____________________ Period. One Step Closer to Success Pleaee complete the follow ing inventory: 1. My goal in the next 20 years is __________________________________________ 2. A person I look up to is _____________ 1 admire this person b ecau se________ 3. Three behaviors that 1 must change are 4, Three things 1 do well are 5. To achieve my goal 1 am willing to 6. These things would keep m e from achieving my goal: 7. I believe that I can achieve my goal because 8. I am most afraid of 341 Jobs and Education 1, Hlgh-growth occupations that generally require a bachelor's degree or m ore education Systems analysts and computer scientists Marketing, advertising and public relations Physical therapists managers Operationa-resoarch analysis Ceneral managers and top executives Psychologists Teachers, secondary school Computer programmers Teachers, elementary school Occupational therapists Accountants and auditors Management analysts 2. High-growth occupations that generally require some p o s t-h ig h sch o o l tra in in g or extensive employer training Paralegals Cooks, restaurant Radiologic technologists and technicians Respiratory therapists Medical assistants Licensed practical nurses Physical and corrective therapy assistants Maintenance repairers, general utility and aides Teacher aides and educational assistants Data-processing equipment repairers Registered nurses Medical-records technicians Legal secretaries Surgical technicians Medical secretaries 3. High-growth occupations that generally require high school graduation or le s s education Home health aides Janitors and cleaners, including maids and Human services workers housekeepers Personal and homo-carc aides Waiters and waitresses Correction officers Food-preparation workers Travel agents Receptionists and information clerks Flight attendants Gardeners and groundskeepers, except farm Salespersons, retail Guards Ceneral office dorks Child-carc workers Cashiers Secretaries, except legal and medical Food counter, fountain and related Cooks, short-order and (ast-food workers Clerical supervisors and managers Truck drivers, light and heavy Stock clerks, sales floor Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants 342 Occupational Outlook As we enter the 21st century, the global marketplace will continue to transform American employment patterns. Most of the 24.6 million new jobs that will be added to the U.S. economy by the year 2005 will be high-skill positions that require more training than most of the jobs they will replace. 343 The Athletic Future of High School Athletes 1 M any h ig h school ath letes list a professional sp o rt as a career goal. A N atio n al C ollegiate A thletic A ssociation (N CA A ) stu d y , how ever, sh o w s th e p o o l of h ig h school athletes w h o play in college is sm all. F o o tb all B ask etb all N u m b e r o f h ig h school p lay ers 525,000 927,000 N u m b e r o f h ig h school seniors 150,000 265,000 N u m b e r o f N C A A p layers 12,000 47,000 N u m b e r of N C A A freshm en p ositions 3,800 16,400 N u m b e r of N C A A seniors 2,400 8,930 N u m b e r of p ro rookies a year 64 215 P ercentage of high school p lay ers w h o p lay in college 2.6 6.2 P ercentage of college players tu rn in g professional 2.7 2.4 Source: NCAA USA Today, Wednesday, February 19, 1992 344 Developing a Personal Action Plan by Kasimu Harley PURPOSE This lesson will help students learn the importance of developing a life plan and of determining how best to use their time to achieve their goals O b j e c t iv e Students will team how to develop an individualized action plan as demonstrated by their ability to develop personal goal statements and to use them to write short- and long-term self-improvement plans. MATERIALS * "One Step Closer to Success" inventory (from the "Goal Setting" lesson) • Teacher-prepared overhead transparency sample goal statement (see ' Goal Setting lesson) A n t i c i p a t o r y S e t Make sure each student has completed the One Step inventory. Then write the following statements on the chalkboard: fy o u rp U it, Lead students in discussing the statements by asking the following questions: 1. What do both statements say about planning? 2. How is the first statement different from the second? 3. Nam e a few situations or occupations in which you believe that planning is important for success. If the discussion appears to m ove slowly, ask the students a concrete question such as What would happen if a teacher or coach failed to plan for his or her job? Explore the answers provided by the students. 345 As an alternative way to introduce the importance of developing life plans and using time wisely, you might speak to the students in these or similar words Few successes occur without a plan or a dream. As William Dye, a well-known judo instructor, noted, each person has to develop a plan and work that plan (Write this statement on the chalkboard.) Although his statement may sound simple enough, few people actually chart their courses for the future Consequently, few people reach their full potential. We would never begin a long trip by car without first consulting a map, but we do move through life without designing our own personal maps Planning provide* us with road maps leading to personal and professional prosperity. It increases our ability to make adjustments and to follow through On the other hand, lack of planning sets us up for failure. As a great scholar once observed, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail." (Write this statement on the chalkboard.) Today we are going to consider the importance of developing life plans and of using our time to achieve our life goals. INSTRUCTION Single out the statement: "If you fail to plan, plan to fail." Ask the students to raise their hands if they think they have planned for success. Give students an opportunity to comment. Instruct the students to takeout the personal goal statements they prepared as part of the goal-setting lesson. Review the rules for goal setting. Display sample good and bad goal statements as overhead transparenaes, if necessary, and discuss them with the sludenh Solicit a volunteer to share his goal statement and use it as an example to introduce the other students the fine points of developing a personal action plan. Tell the students that in the first phase of personal action planning, they will determine their needs. On the chalkboard write: Determine your needs. Ask the volunteer student to read his responses to all of the statements on his "One Step Closer to Success" inventory Involve the other students in this activity by asking them: What do we know about (student's name, say, John)? Briefly explore their responses. For example, John might want to be a doctor but acknowledges that he needs to improve his grades in science and stop practicing football so much. Suggest to the students that by rearranging his schedule to accommodate his career goal and improve his grades, John can reach achieve his goal Give the students some experience of scheduling their activities so they can assure that they reach their goals. Have each student design a weekly schedule form on notebook paper. Tell the students that their schedules should extend from Sunday through 346 Saturday and should provide space for them to indicate all the different kinds of things they do, including going to dess, eating, studying, sleeping, attending church, playing sports, socializing with friends, talcing part in clubs, and soon. Provide assistance as needed. When the students have finished designing their forms, tell them to fill them in by indicating what they actually do at the times and on the days indicated on the form Once again, provide assistance as needed. Have students examine their completed forms to uncover any patterns Assist them by asking questions such as the following: What percentage of your day do you spend on school work? Do you think that is sufficient? Are you getting the grades you want? What daily activity is most important to you? How does this activity help you to achieve your goals? How might you rearrange your schedule to help assure that you will achieve your goals? Tell the students that by assessing their needs in light of their goals and then rearranging their schedules as required, they move into the second phase of planning, which is design. On the chalkboard write: Design your plan. Emphasize the importance, in the design phase of personal action planning, of having clearly defined short-range and long-range objectives. To help the students understand what a long-range goal is, refer them once again to the first item on their One-Step inventories: My goal in the next 20 years is.... To help students understand what a short-term goat is, have them use a form such as the following to generate specific goals for school subject grades: 1st q u a r ttr R P 1st semester Srdquarter 2nd semester Math < • English S od alS tu d le*' P h y fc E d fe p : 1 Sd en ca^ P sL w i Elective 1 - n 1 E lective* - 1 1 . J Explain to the students that many people have long-range goals but that their short- range goals are not congruent with them. Emphasize that successful plans are congruent, that is, their short-range goals match their long-range goals. Individuals with successful plans behave and act consistently in ways that will assure achievement of their long- range goals. Ask the students to examine their long-range goals, as indicated in their responses to item 1 on the One-Step Inventory. Then have them recall their responses to the 347 questions you posed previously about their weekly schedules. Ask them to com pare the two to determine whether their daily activities are congruent with their stated long- range goals. Tell the students to rate their plans on a scale of 1-3(1 = Incongruent; 2- Sometimes Congruent; 3 ■ Almost Always Congruent) Ask the students what examining their life plans for congruence reveals to them Emphasize how important it is that one's behavior and actions be congruent w ith o n e s life goals. Suggest to the students that the One-Step inventories they com pleted can help them develop effective personal action plans. Focus their attention on particular items in the inventory that will help them gain a better understanding of themselves and increase the likelihood that they will be able to develop successful plans. Focus the students attention on the following: • Responses to item 4 will provide students with an understanding of the strengths upon which they can build. Suggest that students should focus here on specific skills rather than physical strengths or attributes. • Responses to item 5 will indicate the strength of the students' desire to succeed Explore with the students the qualities they will need to get them through difficult times. • Recall briefly the discussion you had with students in the previous lesson regarding responses to item 6 in which they considered possible obstacles to their achieving their goals. • Responses to item 7 will provide information about the students' self-image and about the strength of their belief in their ability to succeed. • Responses to item 8 will reveal areas in which the students think themselves vulnerable and thus will indicate areas in which the students may need special help Close your discussion by considering with the students the role that fear sometimes plays in one's ability to pursue a life plan. It might help if you reflect first on a fear or concern you had to overcome to achieve your own goals. Point out to the students that two kinds of fear often keep individuals from achieving their goals: fear of failure and fear of success. Whereas fear of failure may be easier to understand, it also is true that some individuals fear success—so m uch so that w hen they get dose to achieving their goals, they engage in self-sabotuging behavior. They may procrastinate, for example, putting off until it is too late some action they should have taken to achieve success, such as preparation for a test or completion of an assignment in school. It is not always dear why this is so—perhaps some individuals have been down so long, they do not believe they deserve an abundant life. Nor is such behavior necessarily a oonsdous process. Only by facing themselves honestly and compassionately are individuals able to overcome such fear and move on. 348 Write the following on the chalkboard: ZlgZiglar Discuss the meaning of this statement with the students. Encourage them to keep this statement in mind to help them confront their own fears realistically. Assure them that recognizing their fears and facing them honestly requires courage but can lead to an abundant life. GUIDED PRACTICE Ask the students to re-read the One Step inventories to identify their needs and then to develop short- and long-range improvement plans. Ask the students to assign probable times for completion of each short-range goal CLOSURE Summarize the lesson's content by asking the following questions; • Why is planning so important? • What are the challenges of planning? • Is planning active or passive? • Are planners in control of their goals? • What is the most challenging element of developing a plan? INDEPENDENT STUDY Encourage students to refer to their personal action plans daily and keep track of any changes or shifts in their academic/personal progress. 349 Don't Be a Victim by Doug Williams PURPOSE This lesson will help students understand that being a victim in life is often a matter ut choice. OBJECTIVES • Students will identify specific societal trends affecting African American males • Students will explain the notion "victim of the ghetto." • Students will state ways of avoiding being victimized. • Students will develop a written definition of African American males M a t e r ia l s • Newspapers (optional; at least one for each group of 3-4 students) • Recording of "Victim of the Ghetto" by the College Boys; tape, CD or record player (optional) ANTICIPATORY SET Set the stage for this lesson by describing the following situation and posing the question A friend of yours secretly places a sign "Kick me" on the back of another friend. What may result and why? Explore with the students the possibility that the first friend's action might be the start nt what is called a "vicious cycle" in which each friend tries to get back at the other Ask the students if they can think of other examples of vicious cycles N ow pose this question: If the second friend allows the sign "Kick me" to remain on his back, what may result and why? Explore with the students the possibility that the second friend's action might result in his being continually victimized. Suggest that by failing to remove the sign, he is allowing himself to be a victim. INSTRUCTION Explain to the students that in this lesson they will learn about a vicious cycle in which many African Americans become caught. Tell them that the purpose of the lesson is to help them avoid this cycle. 350 Begin by asking students the following question: How are African American males portrayed in the newspapers you read or in the television programs you w atch7 Cluster the students' responses on the chalkboard. Media portrayals of African American — "»i»« , -f Responses may include both positive and negative portrayals, e.g., dru g user, drug dealers, criminal, violent, helpless, welfare recipient, sports figure, entertainer Demonstrate that the media influence how African American males are perceived and how they perceive themselves. Use concrete examples from new spapers you bring to class, videos you have made of news stories, or references to television program m ing with which students are familiar to point out the significant media coverage given to such topics as drugs, gangs, poverty, homelessness, youth mortality, school dropout rates, racism. Note how often African American males are mentioned or depicted in re lation to these topics. If time permits, group your students in threes or fours and provide each group with copies of newspapers. Have the groups search the newspapers for stories that mention or depict African American mates in relation to the kinds of topics listed above Have students compare actual media coverage with the responses you clustered earlier on the chalkboard. Ask whether they would alter any of their initial responses in light of what you have shown them or what they have discovered from reviewing the news papers or television news broadcasts. Acknowledge that all citizens are affected or influenced by the kind of societal trends or events you have been describing. Acknowledge as well the tremendous challenge th ese trends pose for families and children. Point out that some of the trends do have a dramatic impact on African American male- in particular. Offer examples, such as the following: • Suspension rates. (In 1991, the suspension rate among African Americans males in San Diego City Schools was 21.9 percent.) • Homicide rates. (In 1988, the leading cause of death among African American male> between the ages of 15-24 was homicide.) • Incarceration. (In 1991, one out of every four African American males between the ages of 20-29 was under some form of criminal justice system control ) 351 (Note: To update such information on societal trends, obtain information trom such sources as the U.S. Census Report, the San Diego Unified School District Public Inform.i tion Office, Black Enterprise magazine, Ebony magazine.) Ask the students if they can think of other such trends that affect African American males in particular. Ask how they would interpret the fact that African American male appear to be so deeply affected by such trends. Suggest that many of the trends you have been discussing are interrelated Ask the stu dents to explain how that might be so. Offer explanations of your own, as needed, for example: School dropouts generally are forced into low-paying jobs or resort to unlaw ful activities because their lack of skills prevents them from filling many desirable fnrnw of employment. Unlawful activities, in turn, eventually lead to incarceration and mav even lead to violent death. Write the following on the chalkboard: If man li that entitle which * * ■ , ■ . ■ * ! i A . ■ : ■ . , ighbftrhood,' hook jfapoor paying jobs ye'inVpoor neighborhood. M alco lm X Ask students to explain in their ow n words what Malcolm X was expressing. Encourage them to describe what they think the future of this man and his family will be. Explain to the students that what Malcolm X described is what is called a "vicious cycle This man's children are likely to have children who attend poor schools and eventual! v have poor-paying jobs. Emphasize that this cycle is not inevitable, that the cycle can be broken by our response Stress that parental support for and involvement in schools as well as initiative on the part of students can assure a high-quality education that can destroy the vicious cycle Offer such examples of parent support as the following: parents' requesting conferences with teachers at the start of the school year, parents' serving on school and district committees, and parents' attendance of school open house. Offer such examples of student initiative as the following: studying for understanding rather than solely for a grade, asking questions in class, doing independent study in addition to assignments, and reading to expand personal knowledge. Suggest that our personal responses also can determine whether or not we are negatively affected by many of the societal trends you have discussed. Tell the students that we can take actions that demonstrate we will not allow ourselves to become victims 352 Ask students to give examples of actions that demonstrate they will not allow thomi-clv to become victims. List responses on the chalkboard. Ask students how many have heard the phrase "I'm just a victim of the g h e tto (It pos sible, play the rap song "Victim of the Ghetto" by the College Boys.) Elicit from the -to dents responses to the phrase (or the song) and argument for or a g ain st it Write the following on the chalkboard: Tv at, you will be a victim. Tell the students that they are not "victims of the ghetto" as some ra p p e rs m ig h t h a w u> believe. Emphasize that our success is determined in large m easu re by o u r o w n action- and attitudes. Encourage the students in these or similar w ords: M ake a d e te rm in a tio n that you w ill tv successful. Decide today that you will not see yourself as a victim Let o u r discussion to d ay help you envision your strengths and w e ak n esses an d chart y o u r path th ro u g h a n y environment. Ask students to indicate, either orally or in writing, how they p lan to av o id b eco m in g "victims of the ghetto * R efer to the media portrayals of African A m erican m ales that you d iscu ssed w ith the students and suggest that one way to reverse societal tren d s an d to keep from b eco m in g a victim is to redefine what and who A frican A m erican m ales are Ask students to suggest new definitions of A frican A m erican m ales that co n trast w ith societal trends. Offer a few qualities to get them started; for ex am p le, su g g est that African American males are responsible, motivated and supportive m e n C lu ste r then responses on the chalkboard. Suggest that by living up to these n ew sta n d a rd s, stu d i nt- will rewrite societal trends. CLOSURE Summarize the lesson's content by asking the following q uestions • How do the media influence our beliefs and attitudes? • Why is it important to be aware of societal trends? • When does one become a victim? • How does one avoid being a victim? • How can negative cycles be broken? 353 INDEPENDENT STUDY Have students write down the definition of the African American male they h av e d e v e l oped as a class, share it with three other African American males a n d e n c o u ra g e th em to live up to this standard. 354 It's Your Choice by Doug Williams PURPOSE This lesson will help students identify behaviors as growth enhancing or growth defeating. OBJECTIVES • Students will list five growth-enhancing behaviors and five growth-defeating behaviors. • Students will select two growth-enhancing behaviors to implement during the next week and write an action plan to implement the behaviors. • Students will select two growth-defeating behaviors to eliminate from their activitu". and write an action plan to eliminate the behaviors. M a t e r ia l s • Two chairs • Student Activity Sheet "Achieving Success Through Growth-Enhancing Behavior*" (blackline master provided) ANTICIPATORY SET Set the stage for this lesson by posing the question: If a student consistently comes to class late, disturbs classmates when he enters and refuses to complete assignments and tests, how successful in this class will the student be? Explore with the students the likelihood that the behaviors described will contribute to the student's lack of success in class and will cause him to experience problems with teachers and school administrators. INSTRUCTION Place two chairs in front of the classroom, approximately two feet apart Arrange students in a semicircle around the two chairs. Begin the lesson by asking students to give definitions of two concepts: behaviors and growth-defeating behaviors. Lead them to understand that growth-enhancing behaviors are behaviors that help a person achieve success and that growth-defeating behaviors are behaviors that cause a person to fail or to spend time unfocused Summarize the definitions on the chalkboard. Select two names, e.g., Jamal and Richard, and write them on 8 1 /i' X U paper. Attach the names to the two chairs in front of class. Or have students select and attach names Point to the chair designated "Jamal" (or another name assigned) and state that Jamal exhibits behaviors that are growth enhancing. Point to the chair designated "Richard" (or another name assigned) and state that Richard exhibits behaviors that are growth defeating. Remind students of the definition of growth-enhancing behaviors. Ask them to describe what they think Jamal's behavior would be like, that is, w h at kinds of things they think Jamal would do. Encourage them to include school an d com m unity activities and demonstration of attitudes towards school and success Help students appreciate that Jamal's behaviors probably will include com ing to class on time, being prepared, being attentive an d eager to learn, h aving a positive attitude, completing assignments, doing his best, etc Point to the chair designated "Richard." Ask students to describe w hat they think Richard's behavior would be like. Allow students to deb ate their responses Keep them focused on growth-enhancing and growth-defeating behaviors Help students appreciate that Richard's behaviors probably will include com ing to class late, being unprepared, being distracted, being uninterested in learning, h aving a n eg a tive attitude, being unfocused, not com pleting assignm ents, w o rk in g below potential, etc Ask the students to respond to the follow ing concrete situation Hoth Jam al an d Richard have been assigned homework to complete for school After school, so m e friends stop the guys and say, "Yo, let's go play some B-Ball." W hat is Jam al's response, k n ow ing that he has planned on studying? What is R ichard's re sp o n se7 Help students understand that Jamal's priority is stu d y in g and R ich ard ’s priority is anything but studying. Responses might indicate, for exam ple, that Jamal will m ake plans to study at another time if he chooses to play basketball Ask students how classroom teachers might typically respond to both stu d en ts Students' responses probably will show that (whether right or w rong) teachers respond positively to students who exhibit growth-enhancing behaviors and adversely to students who exhibit growth-defeating behaviors Point to the two chairs again and ask students to picture Jamal and Richard in their minds. Ask them how they think the two stu d en ts m ight be sim ilar Explore w ith them the notion that the two students might be quite sim ilar in m an y respects: popularity, athleticism , family background, etc. Point out that whatever responses students give, they are stu d en t-g en erated an d not teacher-generated. Emphasize that you have never m entioned an y th in g ab o u t stu d en t ability, ethnicity or social status. Challenge all responses that are w ith o u t fo u n d atio n or are based on stereotyping. For example, if a student suggests that Jamal, w h o d e m o n strates growth-enhancing behaviors, probably com es from a m iddle-class family in an affluent neighborhood or that Richard, who demonstrates growth-defeating behaviors probably comes from a poor family in a bad neighborhood, question the re sp o n se ’s validity. Ask: Are you saying that Jamal cannot come from a low -incom e n eig h b o r hood? Are you saying that Richard cannot come from a m iddle-class fam ily7 356 Ask students individually to indicate which student—Jamal or Richard—he is w -i like Encourage honesty. Do not allow students to identify with a position in between the two behaviors. Tell them it is important for each student to identify the behaviors he i- exhibiting. Write the following statement on the chalkboard: Before yotycno w where you are going, youmuafKnow whereyot* *re now. Ask students to explain what the statement means to them. Next, ask students to indicate which student—Jamal or Richard—each prefers to be like Have them e x plain their responses. Write the following statement on the chalkboard: If yoiralm ataothing, you will hit it every time. Ask students to explain what the statement means to them. Explain to students that they can achieve success if they aim at consistently demon strating growth-enhancing behaviors. G u i d e d p r a c t ic e Have students complete the Activity Sheet "Achieving Success Through Growth- Enhancing Behaviors." CLOSURE Summarize the lesson by asking the following questions: • How do you define growth-enhancing and growth-defeating behaviors7 • Why is it necessary aim consistently at growth-enhancing behaviors? • How difficult is it to move from growth-defeating to growth-enhancing behaviors'* INDEPENDENT STUDY Assign students the task of implementing the two growth-enhancing behaviors they listed on the activity sheet and eliminating the two growth-defeating behaviors listed 357 Name D ate Period Achieving Success Through Growth-Enhancing Behavior A. Describe five growth-enhancing behaviors. 1. _____________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 . _____________________________________________________ 4. ______________________________________________________________________ 5 . _____________________________________________________ B. Describe five growth-defeating behaviors. 1 . _____________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________ 3 . _____________________________________________________ 4. ______________________________________________________________________ 5. ______________________________________________________________________ C Star two behaviors in the Item A list that you need to develop. How will you make these behaviors a part of your life? D. Star two behaviors In the Item B list that you need to eliminate from your life. What can you do to eliminate these behaviors? Internal and External Influences by Doug Williams PURPOSE This lesson will help students understand the notion of growth-enhancing behavior and growth-defeating behaviors, It also will help them recognize that internal and external influences often determine in which type of behavior they engage OBJECTIVES • Students will review and describe the meaning of growth-enhancing and growth- defeating behaviors. • Students will identify behaviors as within or outside their control • Students will write a plan to correct two internal and external growth-defeating behaviors M a t e r ia l s • Role-playing Activities (blackline master provided) • Student Activity Sheet "Internal and External Influences on Success'' (blackline master provided) ANTICIPATORY SET Set the stage for this lesson by describing the following situation: Your family is doing spring cleaning. The sofa has been moved against the front door so the carpet can he cleaned. You are in the front yard doing yard work. You are waiting for a very important phone call. The phone rings and no one stops to answer it. You attempt to open the front door, but you can open it only slightly because the sofa is blocking it The radio is booming in the bedroom so that no one can hear you call What do you Jo and why? Explore with the students the thought process involved in making the decision Be su n to emphasize the heaviness of the sofa, the distance to the next opening to the house, the difficulty in getting the attention of family members. Ask the students how factors not of their making and outside their control influenced their actions In s t r u c t i o n Ask if any students can recall the definition of growth-enhancing behaviors and growth- defeating behaviors. (See "It's Your Choice.'') Review with students that growth-enhancing behaviors help a person achieve success and growth-defeating behaviors cause a person to fail or to spend time in unfocused activity or inactivity. 3 59 Ask students the following question: What are the growth-enhancing activities or behaviors that you see demonstrated on campus? List their responses on the chalkboard Student responses may include such student behaviors as arriving on time for class, being prepared for class, focusing on learning, being cooperative, serving as positive role models for younger students, applying positive peer pressure; such staff behaviors as demonstrating positive attitudes, fairness and equal treatment of students, offering high-quality instruction, having high expectations of self and others; and such special services as peer tutoring, leadership clubs, study skills support, motivational assemblies and mentor support. Next ask the students to list growth-defeating behaviors they see demonstrated on campus. List them on the chalkboard Student responses may include such student behaviors as being tardy, being dtsruptn e being unprepared for class, applying negative peer pressure; such staff behaviors as demonstrating racism, offering poor instruction, being unfair, showing lack of intcreM m students, having low expectations for student performance, exhibiting lack of cultural understanding, demonstrating or accepting curriculum bias. Explore with the students another way to categorize the behaviors on these lists Suggest that the behaviors can be labeled as within or outside an individual's control Explain that behaviors within an individual's control are personal actions or attitudes Give examples from the list. Explain that behaviors outside an individual's control are actions or attitudes of others. Offer examples from the list. Have the students indicate whether the behaviors listed on the chalkboard are within or outside their control. Write an I or E beside each behavior to indicate internal or external behaviors. Ask the students for additional examples of behaviors that affect student achievement and to categorize them as internal or external behaviors Ask for volunteers to participate in a role-playing activity. Select two students fur the first two activities described on the Role-playing Activities instruction sheet Have the students come to the front of the classroom. Distribute role-play assignments to the students Allow the students one or two minutes to study them. First have the volunteer students do Role-play Activity 1. Then, lead the class in discussing the attitudes expressed in and the results of the role-play Explore with the students the notion that not all students accept responsibility for their own behavior or level of achievement as students. Now ask for volunteers to participate in Role-play Activity 2. Allow the students one or two minutes to study their roles. Then, have the students do the role-play. 360 Have (he students compare and contrast the attitudes and results of the two role-pb\ - Explore with the students the notion that students must accept some responsibilit\ tor their own behavior and levels of achievement in school. For Role-play Activities 3 and 4, follow the procedure just described Then, lead the cla*'. in comparing and contrasting the attitudes expressed in and the results of these two rok- plays. Explore with the students the notion that students can and must seek help to de.il with external, growth-defeating influences. Explain that when a person sees his situation as hopeless, he also sees himself as powerless Clarify the notions of hopelessness and powerlessness by using the following examp:--' If students believe that failure in mathematics is hereditary. i e , that it runs in the t.im-lv they will not seek additional help if their parents were not successful in math It studi ni'- are receiving failing grades at the 12-week grading period, they will not turn in dail\ assignments because they believe they have no hope of improving their grades m the -i > weeks remaining. If all students believe that the school administration will support teachers in all student-teacher conflicts, most students will not report inappropriate teacher behavior. GUIDED PRACTICE Refer to the scenario with which you began this lesson. Explain that although it invok id physical barriers as obstacles to particular achievements, the same thought processes involved when countering such physical obstacles also apply to countering a varietv m internal and external obstacles to their achievement as students Assist the students in completing the activity sheet "Internal and External Influences on Success." Challenge the students to select behaviors that would have the greatest effect on their success. Encourage them to be creative in developing strategies to improve on or correct selected behaviors. C l o s u r e Summarize the lesson by asking the following questions: • How do growth-enhancing and growth-defeating behaviors affect you? • What are some of the behaviors that affect student achievement that are within vour control? • What are some of the behaviors that affect student achievement that are outside v on r control? • In what ways can you respond to external behaviors that negatively affect your achievement? • What should you do to keep yourself from developing an attitude of hopelessness or helplessness? INDEPENDENT STUDY Assign the students the task of implementing the plan developed in the activity sheet "Internal and External Influences on Success." 361 r.i» i. . i Role-playing Activities R ole-play A ctivity 1 Student 1 - You are a classroom teacher. The other student will play the part of a stu dent in your class. He has arrived at class late as usual He docs not come to class prepared. He has above-average ability, but is failing your class because he is unfo cused and unorganized. Dialogue with him to find out what he thinks are the reason(s) for his lack of achievement. Help him clarify his thinking by referring to me list of internal, growth-defeating behaviors on the chalkboard Student 2 - You are a student. Your teacher has stopped you for coming to class lam You are constantly late for class. You are failing the class, although you have the ability to maintain an A or B. You are not organized and you do not come to class prepared. Your teacher wants to discuss your reasons for your failure You think \ ou have all the answers. Coming to class tardy, being unprepared or unfocused are the fault of others. You think that you are not at fault Dialogue with your teacher and express you views for your lack of achievement R ole-play A ctivity 2 Student 1 - You area classroom teacher The other student will play the part oi a stu dent in your class. He has arrived at class late as usual. He does not come to class p re pared. He has above-average ability, but is failing your class because he is unfocused and unorganized. Dialogue with him to find out what he thinks are the reason(s) for his lack of achievement. Help him clarify his thinking by referring to the list of internal growth-defeating behaviors on the chalkboard Student 2 - Repeat the part of the student in Role-play Activity 1 You have accepted your responsibility for your lack of achievement. You are in the process of identify in ■ problem areas and developing strategies to improve your achievement Dialogue with j your teacher about your plans j R ole-play A ctivity 3 Student 1 - You are experiencing some difficulties on campus Select one external growth-defeating behavior listed on the chalkboard. This behavior is affecting your achievement. You feel defeated and cannot see past this problem. Your friend wants to help you with this problem, but you are convinced that there are no solutions Talk with your friend (the other student in the role-play). Do not accept his solutions for this problem Give opposing arguments each time your friend gives a suggestion Student 2 - Your friend is having a major problem on campus You are a concerned friend attempting to encourage your friend with the problem and to suggest solutions Persuade your friend that things are not hopeless. 362 : li : R ole-play A ctivity 4 Student 1 * Your friend wants to help you with the problem described in Role-play Activity 3, but you are not sure that there are any solutions. Talk with your friend and work with him to develop the best strategy for dealing with this problem Student 2 - Your friend is having a major conflict on campus. You are a concerned friend attempting to encourage your friend and to suggest solutions C onvince your friend that things are not hopeless. Work with him to develop the best strategy for dealing with his problem. 363 Nam* Date Internal and External Influences on Success S*l*ct from the list of b«havion developed in class two behaviors within your control that you would like to see changed. List them below. What can you do to improve on these behaviors? Select from the list of behaviors two behaviors outside your control that you w ould liU to see changed. List them below. What can you do to help change these behaviors? (Include any outside resources you might use.) 364

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Asset Metadata

Creator Brown, Dennis Wesley (author)

Core Title Improving the academic achievement of African-American males: a case study in San Diego, California

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Black studies,education, bilingual and multicultural,education, curriculum and instruction,Education, Secondary,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Advisor Ross, Maurice A. (committee chair), Broussard, Vernon (committee member), Eskey, David E (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c20-567658

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Identifier 9600954.pdf (filename),usctheses-c20-567658 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 9600954.pdf

Dmrecord 567658

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Brown, Dennis Wesley

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

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Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA