Dana has a piece up today from the December print issue on Ossining, New York's attempt to close the achievement gap with race- and gender-focused programming:
Nationwide, about half of black males drop out of high school. Of those who do make it to college, only 43 percent will graduate, compared with 63 percent of white students. More young black males are behind bars than in university lecture halls.
These statistics have penetrated deep into the consciousness of Ossining's school administrators, who for the past two years have declared it a foremost priority to combat them. Using earmarked funding -- much of it donated by a nonprofit founded by upper-middle-class white parents in the district -- Ossining is providing segregated enrichment activities to at-risk black and Hispanic boys in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as parenting support for their caregivers.
The theory behind such programming is that poor minority kids need something different from their school experience than their affluent, white peers. But Ossining is swimming against the tide. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Seattle's integration program -- which considered race when assigning students to schools -- was unconstitutional. Immediately, all public school programs that categorize students according to race became potentially illegal. On the legislative front, President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act mandates that schools close the academic achievement gaps among races and classes by 2014 or risk losing federal funding. But the menu of solutions NCLB funds mostly ignores the benefits of integration.
Still, Ossining is standing by its methods. Having committed itself decades ago to integration, it now depends on that integration -- and the largesse of its wealthier families -- for the resources to segregate and educate by race and gender. Superintendent Phyllis Glassman says that as an Ossining administrator since 1992, she's seen enough numbers to convince her that the district's focus on males of color makes sense. "I believe that we're doing the right thing on behalf of students," Glassman says. "If it is challenged in the courts, then let the courts decide."
Read the rest (and comment) here.
--The Editors
