Making Schools Work for African American and
Hispanic Students
The College Board held its first conference for school counselors, Destination Equity: Charting Bright Futures for All Students, in Houston April 13-15. Two colloquiums at the conference provided hands-on advice for making schools work for African American and Hispanic students.
The first of the two was Making Schools Work for African American Students. Courtland Lee, director of the counselor education program at the University of Maryland, College Park, and his colleague Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, associate professor in the department of counseling and personnel services at the university, talked about training urban counselors and making schools work for African American students. The four-year high school graduation rate of African American students is 51 percent, while the rate of graduating white students is 72 percent. However, there is evidence that the gap is closing. Lee asked, “How will the data influence your work as school counselors?”
He talked at length about how to foster African American male student achievement. These students need to be empowered to
be academically and socially successful. His systematic
approach includes:
- Mentoring and social support beginning in third grade;
- Offering developmental counseling for adolescent African American males, teamed with successful African
American men;
- Preparing African American men to serve as role models and mentors for young African American men;
- Providing educational advocacy for African American male students who are often misunderstood by the primarily white, female school system; and
- Providing empowerment strategies for African American parents to keep students out of special education classes.
Lee noted that, in at least one of the districts with which he works, professional development for teachers working with black males
in grades three and seven was mandated. The teachers learned about African American male culture in a 13-week course. Once teachers had a better understanding of how to better work with these students, performance went up and disciplinary problems went down.
Holcomb-McCoy went on to say that all of the points made by
Lee could also be applied to work with African American girls.
She reviewed the evidence and then discussed what works:
small learning communities; support with caring adults; connections between the school, families and the community; school support teams; academic interventions; academic rigor; staff development; and transforming the school culture. “Focus,” she said, “on can, not on can’t.”
The second colloquium, Si Se Puede: The State of Latina/o Students in Education and Interventions for Equity, featured
Carlos Hipolito-Delgado, assistant professor of counseling psychology and counselor education at the University of Colorado, Denver. Hipolito-Delgado discussed the state of Latinos in education. His presentation highlighted the growing number of Hispanic students, and he pointed out that the largest increases have taken place in the Midwest and the South. Hipolito-Delgado also discussed persistent gaps in performance, as shown in a National Assessment of Educational Progress study as well as in SAT® scores and AP® grades. He set forth steps that need to be
taken toward educational equity for Latino students.
Although 40 percent of Hispanic students in 12th grade are below the proficiency level, according to the recent NAEP report, more Latinos are taking AP Exams and the SAT. (Several states have closed the equity and excellence gap for Hispanic/Latino students, according to 2008 “AP Report to the Nation.”) Drop-out rates
have seen a significant improvement since 1972, but in key cities the rate is still unacceptably high — e.g., 50 percent in Denver.
Latinos who do go to college are more likely to enroll in a
two-year program.
Jesus Jara then explained the work of the College Board Florida Partnership and how successful it has been. The partnership, under Florida law, has been working to raise the achievement of minority and underrepresented students in schools designated by the state as failing. The partnership has fostered a leadership culture involving counselors and principals in high schools and their feeder middle schools to set goals and monitor progress. Access, attainment (the equitable completion of courses and exams) and achievement of equity in grades have been key components of the partnership’s success. Florida data reveal
the results of these efforts. This data is available for review by policymakers and other constituents on our Web site.
