Academic and Social Supports for Young Urban Men

Chautauqua Short Course      June 28-29, 2012, California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson, California (Los Angeles Area).

INSTRUCTORS.

Quentin Brown, Long Beach Unified School District

Lionel Gonzalez, Long Beach Unified School District

and Amy Colcord Stuht, Long Beach Unified School District and CSU Dominguez Hills.

Note:  This course has a fee of $150, which covers course-related expenses.  Travel and lodging expenses are the responsibility of the attendees.

Closing the achievement gap in urban areas cannot be addressed without considering ways to support at-risk adolescent males.  African American, Latino, and Pacific Islander males in urban settings score the lowest on various measures of achievement compared to other student subgroups. As a whole, only students enrolled in special education classes fare consistently worse.  Standardized test scores, attendance, course grades and completion, and high school graduation rates are notoriously low among these young men, while school discipline and incarceration rates are skyrocketing. 

Some districts, such as Long Beach Unified School District in Long Beach, California, have recognized the persistent problem of underachieving young men, particularly of African American, Latino, and Pacific Islander descent, and are developing programs to address their social and emotional needs as well as accelerating their academic progress.  The “Male Academy” serves as a model for other districts interested in having a real impact on student growth and academics.

We will explore:

• How to identify individual and group needs based on disaggregating and analyzing multiple data streams,
• How to recruit adults to design effective programs and work with disaffected populations,
• How to recruit students into programs,
• How to recruit community partners for the program,
• How to design and implement these programs,
• How to pay for these programs,
• How to differentiate and improve classroom instruction to accommodate student needs,
• How to reach out to the whole family, but move on if the family is not involved,
• How to assess and recalibrate programs, and most importantly,
• How to recognize the individual and group effect of quality programs on individual young men, families, schools, and communities.

For:  College/University teachers and researchers of education, public policy, counseling, and critical theory/social justice, and urban K-12 educators at school site and district levels.

Prerequisites: Read The Trouble with Black Boys… and Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education, 2008, by Pedro A. Noguera, and Whatever it Takes:  Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America, 2008, by Paul Tough.

About the Presenters:  Quentin Brown is a long-time administrator and teacher, and Lionel Gonzalez is a respected counselor and program facilitator in Broad-winning Long Beach Unified School District.  Dr. Amy Colcord Stuht is a teacher and former administrator in that district, and has served as faculty at CSU Dominguez Hills as a teacher and writer.  This team has presented at conferences and Mr. Brown and Mr. Gonzalez serve as mentors for other districts designing similar programs.