Lexington school officials have announced a new initiative aimed at addressing a long-standing perception of an "achievement gap" in public schools.
It’s an issue that’s been studied, and debated for more than two decades. A $600 thousand grant from the William R. Kenan Junior Charitable Trust will be used to establish an Office for Educating Boys of Color.
Superintendent Manny Caulk says the focus will be on black and Hispanic male students at all grade levels. “We are done admiring and studying the problem and these disparities, calling for task forces and shaking our heads at the data. Today we stand before our community to say we will no longer allow a child’s demography to equal their destiny,” said Caulk.
Among the statistics quoted: nearly 3 in 4 male students of color don’t meet the ACT benchmark score of 22 that UK suggests students need to succeed, while 67 % of white males do.
Six major projects are a part of the initiative, including increased mentoring in elementary schools. Caulk believes the hardest-to-reach students can be helped, “So we know by reaching them earlier and younger, that kindergarten k to 5, that’s gonna make a difference and an impact to make sure that that disparity doesn’t increase, if you will.”
In middle school, after-school tutoring programs will be established three days a week.
Dropout prevention through relevant job-based learning and ACT and college readiness support is part of the plan for high schoolers. Work will initially begin at eight partnership zone schools clustered in Lexington’s north-end.
Urban League C-E-O Porter Peoples chaired the first equity council in 1994 in Lexington. He thinks the new approach can build on previous stepping stones. “He has created the office that will focus on this and will coordinate everybody as opposed to all the different components going off in different ways,” noted Peoples.
Peoples announced plans to use a Gates Foundation grant to set up a program focusing on enhancing parental involvement.
Colett and Obie Taylor have six children in Fayette schools and all have participated in the Spanish immersion program. Colett agrees with the focus on young men and doesn’t think young ladies should feel left out. “From a female standpoint, there could be some wonderful programs that young ladies can be given and may need from that standpoint, but we’re giving opportunities way far at a level of disparity than the black counterparts at that point, so it’s gonna take the men of our community to grab our community and bring them back,” said Taylor.
Obie Taylor admits not everyone in the community will be on-board with the new initiative. He says some may question why the special office is being established, “Now the community within itself is gonna be able to stand up, stand strong, and stand together, and say, we don’t care about that. We’re gonna make this happen for these kids.”
Superintendent Caulk believes, once the program is fully in place and data come in, other grant funds may be sought. He also hopes to see this focused initiative discussed at statewide education meetings where information can be distributed to other Kentucky schools. ?
