Urban public schools for African American students: critical issues for educational stakeholders.

Urban public schools for African American students: critical issues for educational stakeholders. In recent years, much attention in popular and scholarly literaturehas been given to urban education (Cartledge & Lo, 2006; Chambers,2006; Kozol, 1991, 2005). A critical review of this literature,alarmingly, illustrates a gloomy depiction of American urban schoolsystems. Low test scores, high dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human rates, run-down facilities, highteacher turnover, and excessive crime are some of the manycharacteristics used to describe urban school districts across theUnited States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. (Gale, McNally, & Pack, 2003; Kozol, 1991; Landsman lands��man?1?n.One who lives and works on land.Noun 1. landsman - a person who lives and works on landlandlubber, landman & Lewis, 2006). Some of the nation's most vulnerable studentpopulations are the individuals who frequently find themselves in theseschool environments (Cartledge & Lo, 2006). The demographic profileof urban schools is commonly Black, Brown, and poor, whereas thesuburban school systems are predominately White and middle class(Cartledge & Lo, 2006). Nevertheless, a high-quality education, toooften, seems unattainable for these individuals who attend inner-cityschool systems. Because of the apparent decline in urban schools, many Whites andaffluent families have fled to the suburbs and/or opted to transfertheir children to private schools (Gale et al., 2003). Consequently,numerous urban students are unable to access social and economicresources that Whites and middle class families traditionally bring tourban school settings (Darling-Hammond, 1997). Stated differently,schools of urban students are left segregated, due to White and middleclass flight from urban communities (Kozol, 2005). Urban students arealso unable to access important educational resources, such as smallclass sizes, high qualified teachers, advanced technologies, andaccelerated/gifted courses afforded to suburban school systems(Darling-Hammond, 1997), due to limited economic resources caused by thereduction of tax bases (Gale et al., 2003). Many stakeholders, both internal and external of urban schoolsystems, believe that urban youth are more at-risk than students livingin other places in America (Kozol, 2005; Obiakor & Beachum, 2006).Even with the odds against them, there are many success stories inpublic urban schools (Corwin, 2000; Reid, 2007; Suskind, 1998), but theyare rarely heard or chronicled. Instead, the public has focused much ofits attention on the failures rather than successes. To this end, theword urban has become synonymous with synonymous withadjective equivalent to, the same as, identical to, similar to, identified with, equal to, tantamount to, interchangeable with, one and the same as the terms poor or at-risk (Howard,2007). Aligned with this thinking, Obiakor and Beachum (2006) assertedthat urban schools reflect the apparent inequities in society, as wellas their communities where they reside. It is clear that inadequateresources and support of urban schools corresponds with the racial andeconomic inequalities found throughout American society. It is alsoevident that America remains deeply divided (Chambers, 2006; Kozol,1991, 2005; Noguera, 1996). Over the last couple of decades, research has focused more onAfrican American African AmericanMulticulture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.See Race. students in PreK-12 urban educational environments.Much of this research has been produced in the form of books,monographs, articles, conference papers, and policy briefs. Suchresearch has frequently provided in-depth details on the experiences ofAfrican American students in these kinds of educational settings(Flowers, Yang, Moore, & Flowers, 2004; Ford & Moore, 2004;Grantham & Ford, 2003; Lewis & Moore, 2004; Moore, 2006; Moore,Ford, & Milner, 2005, 2006; Thompson, 2004). However, very little,if any, of this research has provided answers to guide the practices ofeducational professionals (e.g., teachers, school counselors,principals, etc.) and other stakeholders (e.g., parents) in PreK-12urban educational settings. As a result, this special theme issue of TheJournal of Educational Foundations seeks to present comprehensiveresearch that focuses on pertinent, but often under- researched, topicsin urban education. To this end, the overall intent of this specialissue is to: (a) contribute to the scant and limited body of researchthat focuses on educational professionals in urban educational settings;(b) present findings of different studies that focus on the roleeducational professionals play in improving school outcomes for AfricanAmerican students in PreK-12 urban educational settings; and (c) providespecific recommendations to educational professionals and otherstakeholders for improving the school outlook for urban African Americanstudents. Crystallizing the Issues in Urban Educational Settings In the new millennium, urban public schools in the United Statesare at a crossroad when it comes to the quality of education theyprovide to their students. In many cities across America, AfricanAmerican students and many of their student counterparts (i.e.,Hispanics, low income, etc.) enter the doors of urban schools to findteachers who are incompetent, ill-prepared, or basically do not want tobe there. It is not uncommon for these students to find othereducational professionals (i.e., school counselors, principals, etc.)who provide little academic assistance and guidance on the college-goingprocess and/or the world of work. Even more astounding, it is notunusual that these schools are staffed with administrators who spendmost of their day dealing with disciplinary issues rather than providinginstructional leadership. Throughout the PreK-12 urban educational pipeline, six years afterthe implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), commonly known as NCLB (IPA: /ˈnɪkəlbiː/), is a United States federal law that was passed in the House of Representatives on May 23, 2001 , over 60 percent ofAfrican American students are still not proficient in critical subjects,such as reading and math (National Association of Educational Progress,2007). When one takes a critical glimpse inside many urban classrooms,he or she may find many African American students underachieving oracademically disengaged, due to unchallenging classrooms. Of course, onemay also find a few classrooms where students are high achieving andvery attentive to their education. There are some examples of urbanschools dispelling the myth that students who live in high-povertycannot achieve (Education Trust, 1998). African American students in these unique urban schools are some ofthe top students in their schools, school districts, and theirrespective states. As a result, we find that the maindifference--between African American students who are achieving andthose who are not--is the quality of educational professionals (i.e.,teachers, school counselors, principals, etc.). Such educators recognizethe significance of high-quality teaching and the importance of havinghigh academic expectations for their students. Further, these are theeducators who do not allow students to submit substandard work(Hill-Jackson & Lewis, in press) but only accept their best Due to the increasing importance of a quality education, now is thetime that the education profession lives up to "educating allchildren." We, in the field of education, cannot continue to standby and watch our children "fall between the cracks." To thisend, the goal of improving urban schools for all students, particularlyAfrican American students, from the perspective of educationalstakeholders (i.e., teachers, school counselors, administrators, policymakers, and parents), is the main foci of this special issue. Overview of this Special Issue The first section of this special issue contains seven articlesthat add to the extant literature Extant literature refers to texts that have survived from the past to the present time. Extant literature can be divided into extant original manuscripts, copies of original manuscripts, quotations and paraphrases of passages of non-extant texts contained in other works, on urban schools' success andchallenges for African American students. Many of the articles identifysome of the problems, as well as present solutions for improving theschool outcomes of African American students in PreK-12 urban settings.In the first article, Dorinda J. Carter examines the centrality of raceto students' self-definitions and their embodiment of a criticalrace consciousness. The interrelatedness in��ter��re��late?tr. & intr.v. in��ter��re��lat��ed, in��ter��re��lat��ing, in��ter��re��latesTo place in or come into mutual relationship.in of a positive racialself-perception and critical race consciousness is also discussed as itinforms these students' attitudes and beliefs about the pragmaticvalue of persisting in school as a vehicle for upward social andeconomic mobility. The findings from this study are illuminating andapplicable to urban educational professionals, as well as many others. Norvella P. Carter, Torrance N. Hawkins, and Prathiba Natesan, inthe second article, examine the relationship between verve and academicachievement of African American middle school students in urbansettings. This article is thought-provoking and significant, because itrenders specific recommendations to teachers on how to understand vervein African American students and use it as a positive attribute in theclassroom. It is likely that this article will fill a major void in theresearch literature. In the third article, Bruce Douglas Bruce Douglas may refer to: Bruce Douglas (basketball) Bruce Douglas (rugby union) , Chance W. Lewis, AdrianDouglas, Malcolm Earl Scott, and Dorothy Garrison-Wade examine theexperiences of African American high school students' interactionswith White teachers in the classroom. Using a qualitative research Qualitative researchTraditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. design, the authors interview African American students to assess theirperceptions on how teachers and other educational professionals viewedthem in the classroom. Based on the findings, the authors presentcomprehensive recommendations to White teachers on effectively teachingAfrican American students. Dorinda J. Gallant and James L. Moore III, in the fourth article,explore issues of equity in testing as reflected in teacher ratings ofstudent academic performance on a state-wide, curriculum embeddedperformance assessment for children in first grade. The overall goal ofthe study was to determine the extent to which ethnic-based differencesexist in teacher ratings of African American students and White studentson the language and literacy domain of a performance assessment. Thefindings of this study revealed no evidence of ethnic-based differencein teacher ratings. It is clear that this article will contribute to thedivergent research literature on a topic frequently discussed inside andoutside school classrooms. In the fifth article, Tyrone C. Howard and Rema Reynolds examinethe nexus between class and race and discuss parental involvement ofAfrican American students in middle class school settings, using aCritical Race Theory Critical race theory is a school of sociological thought and legal studies that emphasizes the socially constructed nature of race, considers judicial conclusions to be the result of the workings of power, and opposes the continuation of racial subordination. framework. In an interview with over 30 parents,the authors highlight the manner in which parents articulate theirvision of how they involve themselves with schools on behalf of theirchildren. Recommendations are provided to increase parental involvementand strategies for education professionals to consider when working withurban African American parents. This article presents a fresh view ofthe topic and is likely to be appealing to a number of constituentsinterested in parental involvement for urban African American students. Samuel R. Hodge, Francis M. Kozub, Adrienne D. Dixson, James L.Moore III, and Kwesi Kambon, in the sixth article, compare the beliefsof urban Black, Hispanic, White, and bi-racial students'intellectual and athletic abilities. Utilizing the Beliefs aboutIntelligence and Athleticism Scale (BIAS), significant group differenceswere found on questions of athleticism, sport dominance, andintelligence. This study adds to the limited research literature base onstudent perceptions of their own and others intellectual abilities.Based on their illuminating findings, recommendations are provided tomany different educational stakeholders. In the final article, Lamont A. Flowers uses nationallyrepresentative data to examine the long-term effects of participation inAdvanced Placement (AP) programs on educational and labor market labor marketA place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience outcomes. In this study, the author discovers that AP programparticipation is highly associated with higher college entranceexamination scores, undergraduate grade point averages, postsecondaryattainment, and incomes. With regard to the magnitude of the outcomes,he also found differences among the different racial groups. This studyis one of the few articles that focuses on AP. To this end, it is likelythat this article will garner a lot of interests from a number ofconstituents inside and outside of education. Book Reviews In addition to the seven articles, this special issue presents twobook reviews on the topics of mayoral control of urban schools andtuition guarantee programs for urban students. Each book review authorprovides a comprehensive analysis of these recently published works inthe field of urban education. The two book reviews have an indirect, ifnot direct, impact on the focus of this special theme issue. In thefirst book review, Malcolm Earl Scott reviews Mayors and schools:Minority voices and democratic tensions in urban education (Chambers,2006). This book review is a "must-read," because it providesa detailed summary of the ramifications of mayoral control over urbanschools. Further, it provides just enough information about the book tomake the reader want to review it more in-depth. In the second book review, Kamau Oginga Siwatu examines The gift ofeducation: How a tuition guarantee program changed the lives of innercity youth (Newburg, 2006). This review provides a snapshot of the mainfocus of Newburg's new book, which is a college tuition The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page.College tuition guaranteeprogram for 112 sixth-graders in Philadelphia. This book review is bothinteresting and thought provoking. To this end, Siwatu does an excellentjob of critically examining Newburg's work. Conclusion It is worth noting that the presented articles and book reviews allhave implications for improving school outcomes for African Americanstudents in PreK-12 urban settings. Additionally, they have implicationsfor educational stakeholders. It is our intent that the scholarship andresearch from this special them issue will contribute to the urbaneducation research literature and serve as a guide for urban educationalprofessionals and others. References Cartledge, G., & Lo, Y. (2006). Teaching urban learners:Culturally responsive strategies for developing academic and behavioralcompetence. Champaign, IL: Research Press. Chambers, S. (2006). Mayors and schools: Minority voices anddemocratic tensions in urban education. Philadelphia, PA: TempleUniversity Press. Corwin, M. (2000). And still we rise: The trials and triumphs oftwelve gifted inner-city high school students. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : William Morrow For other people named William Morrow, see William Morrow (disambiguation). William Morrow (d. 1931) was an American publisher. He married novelist Honore Morrow in 1923. He founded William Morrow and Company in 1926 and led it until his death. . Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The right to learn: A blueprint forcreating schools that work. San Francisco San Francisco(săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden : Jossey-Bass. Education Trust (1998). Good teaching matters: How well-qualifiedteachers can close the achievement gap. Retrieved April 23, 2007 fromhttp://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/0279CB4F-B729-4260-AB6E-359FD3C374A7/0/k16_summer98.pdf Flowers, L. A., Milner, H. R., & Moore, J. L., III. (2003).Effects of locus of control locus of controln.A theoretical construct designed to assess a person's perceived control over his or her own behavior. The classification internal locus indicates that the person feels in control of events; external locus on African American high schoolseniors' educational aspirations: Implications for preservice andinservice high school teachers and counselors. The High School Journal,87, 39-50. Flowers, L. A., Zhang, Y., Moore, J. L., III, & Flowers, T. A.(2004). An exploratory phenomenological study of African American highschool students in gifted education programs: Implications for teachersand school counselors. E-Journal of Teaching and Learning in DiverseSettings, 2, 39-53. Retrieved April 16, 2005, from http://www.subr.edu/coeducation/ejournal/v2i1 Ford, D. Y., & Moore, J. L., III. (2004). The achievement gapand gifted students of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed.See also: Color : Cultural, social, and psychologicalfactors. Understanding Our Gifted, 16, 3-7. Gale, W. G., McNally, M., & Pack, J. R. (2003). An economicperspective on urban education. Washington, DC: The BrookingsInstitution Brookings Institution,at Washington, D.C.; chartered 1927 as a consolidation of the Institute for Government Research (est. 1916), the Institute of Economics (est. 1922), and the Robert S. Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government (est. 1924). Policy Brief (Conference Report # 15). Hill-Jackson, V., & Lewis, C. (in press). Educating prospectiveTexas teachers about African American learners. Texas Journal for theAlliance of Black School Educators. Howard, T. (2007). The forgotten link: The salience sa��li��ence? also sa��li��en��cyn. pl. sa��li��en��ces also sa��li��en��cies1. The quality or condition of being salient.2. A pronounced feature or part; a highlight.Noun 1. of PreK-12education and culturally responsive pedagogy in creating access tohigher education for African American students. In J. F. L. Jackson(Ed.), Strengthening the African American educational pipeline:Informing research, policy and practice (pp. 17-36). Albany, NY: StateUniversity of New York Press The State University of New York Press (or SUNY Press), founded in 1966, is a university press that is part of State University of New York system. External linkState University of New York Press . Irvine, J. J. (Ed.) (2002). In search of wholeness: AfricanAmerican teachers and their culturally specific classroom practices. NewYork: Palgrave. Kozol, J. (1991). Savage Inequalities: Children in America'sSchools. New York: Crown. Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration ofapartheid schooling in America. New York: Crown. Landsman, J., & Lewis, C. (2006). White teachers/diverseclassrooms: A guide for building inclusive schools, promoting highexpectations and eliminating racism. Sterling, VA: Stylus. Landsman, J. (2001). A White teachers talks about race. Lanham, MD:Scarecrow Scarecrowgoes to Wizard of Oz to get brains. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]See : IgnoranceScarecrowcan’t live up to his name. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Am. Press. Lewis, C. W., & Moore, J. L., III. African American students inkindergarten through twelfth grade This article or section deals primarily with the United States and Canada and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject.Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. (K-12) urban settings: Implicationsfor teachers, counselors, social workers, psychologists andadministrators. E-Journal of Teaching and Learning in Diverse Settings,2, 1-8. Retrieved April 16, 2005, from http://www.subr.edu/coeducation/ejournal/v2i1 Moore, J. L., III, Ford, D. Y., & Milner, H. R. (2005).Recruiting is not enough: Retaining African-American students in giftededucation. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49, 49-65. Newberg, N. A. (2006). The gift of education: How a tuitionguarantee program changed the lives of inner city youth. Albany, NY:State University of New York Press. Noguera, P. (2004). Confronting the urban in urban school reform.The Urban Review, 28, 1-19. Obiakor, F., & Beachum, F. (2006). Urban education: The questfor Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby"quest after, go after, pursuelook for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the democracy, equity and excellence. In F. Obiakor & F. Beachum(Eds.), Urban education for the 21st century: Research, issues andperspectives (pp. 3-19). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Reid, M. J. (2007). First-Generation urban college studentsspeaking out about their secondary school preparation for postsecondaryeducation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University Ohio State University,main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark. ,Columbus, OH. Suskind, R. (1998). A hope in the unseen A Hope in the Unseen is a biographical novel by Ron Suskind about the life of Cedric Jennings through his last years in high school and first years in college.[1] It details his life in Ballou High School, an inner city school in Washington, D.C. : An American odyssey fromthe inner city to the Ivy League Ivy LeagueGroup of eight universities in the northeastern U.S., high in academic and social prestige, that are members of an athletic conference for intercollegiate gridiron football dating to the 1870s. . New York: Broadway Books. Thompson. G. L. (2004). Through ebony eyes: What teachers need toknow but are afraid to ask about African American students. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass. Chance W. Lewis is an associate professor in the Department ofTeaching, Learning, and Culture at Texas A&M University, CollegeStation, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in Central Texas. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near to three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San . James L. Moore III is an associate professor in theCollege of Education and Human Ecology, coordinator of the CounselingProgram, and the inaugural director of the Todd Anthony Bell NationalResearch Center on the African American Male at The Ohio StateUniversity, Columbus, Ohio.