So my selection for the “buzz” topic may not have gotten all of the media fanfare that the Donald Sterling fiasco has gotten and it is not my usual theme of some event that negatively impacts diversity and inclusion.
Today I highlight the academic achievements of 240 young black men who recently graduated from the nation’s first all-male public charter high school in Chicago. Urban Prep Charter Academy only opened four years ago and this is the third year that all 240 have been accepted into 4 year colleges.
What is so remarkable about this achievement is that the majority of these young men would likely be labeled as “at risk”. You see they come from low income neighborhoods and when they entered the school many were reading below grade level.
Nationally, data shows that more than 50 percent of Black boys drop out of high school, and only 37 percent of those who do graduate will go to college. A University of Chicago study found that only one in forty African-American boys in Chicago Public Schools will complete college by age 25.
Urban Prep is one of a number of charter schools across the country that recognized if we continue to educate like we always have we will get what we have always gotten. The new model includes innovative strategies like longer school days (they spend 72,000 more minutes in the classroom over the four years than traditional schools), focusing on core subjects, creating a positive culture, leveraging all-male education benefits, and teaching methods that are relevant to African American culture.
In our highly competitive world, we need all of the talent that we can get to take on the increasingly technical roles. There are predictions of major talent shortages in the future.
Congratulations to the Urban Prep, the parents, teachers and administrators but most of all congratulations to these 240 young men for dispelling the myths and stereotypes about the capabilities of African American young men.
