WASHINGTON DC — Minority male students continue to face overwhelming barriers in educational attainment, notes a report released today by the College Board at a Capitol Hill briefing held in collaboration with the Asian Pacific American, Black, and Hispanic Congressional Caucuses.   The report highlights some of the undeniable challenges among minority students, including a lack of role models, search for respect outside of education, loss of cultural memory, poverty challenges, language barriers, community pressures and a sense of a failing education system. The report, released in conjunction with a Capitol Hill briefing tomorrow, will convene educators, policymakers and advocates to discuss the report’s findings and call on leaders and communities to address this national crisis.

Location: Congressional Meeting Room South of the Capitol Visitor Center
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Time: 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Re: Release of College Board’s report entitled The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color

Distinguished speakers will include:

•    Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
•    Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Congressional Black Caucus
•    Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Congressional Hispanic Caucus
•    Gaston Caperton, College Board President
•    Sidney Ribeau, President, Howard University
•    Lee Bitsoi, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University
•    Roy Jones, Project Director, Call Me MISTER Program, Clemson University
•    Luis Ponjuan, Assistant Professor, University of Florida
•    Tom Rudin, Senior Vice President, the College Board
•    Hal Smith, Vice President Education & Youth, National Urban League
•    Robert Teranishi, Associate Professor, New York University
•    Ronald Williams, Vice President, The College Board

Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA) said, “An educator for over 30 years, I know the vital role a high school and college degree serves in impacting socio-economic future of a young student.  We must remember that education is not only essential for surviving a tough economic climate where unemployment correlates directly with a lack of education, but it is also essential for empowering and mainstreaming minority groups who continue to struggle to break free from decades of marginalization.  As chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I am deeply troubled by the fact that many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – over half of all Cambodian, Laotian, and Hmong, for example – lack even a high school degree. This is inexcusable, especially for a country like ours that prides itself on providing opportunity for all.  We must fix this, which is why College Board’s efforts to raise awareness on the educational crisis facing young men of color are so necessary and timely.”

In The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color, the College Board gathered the insights and firsthand experiences of more than 60 scholars, practitioners and activists from the African American, Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islanders and Native American communities, based on a series of four, one-day seminars called Dialogue Days, in which thought leaders from each community participated in a meaningful discussion to address the education needs of minority males.  

Based on the report’s findings, a number of recommendations are made to erase the disparities in educational attainment and to demonstrate new ways of reaching the increasingly diverse U.S. student population. The report calls on policymakers at the federal, state and local levels, as well as foundation and community leaders, to heighten public awareness and explore policy options to improve the plight of young minority men.

The report identifies the need for a more coordinated effort of K–12 schools, colleges and universities, and state higher education bodies to forge partnerships to help males of color get ready, get in and get through college.  A number of ‘model’ education programs, for replication and expansion, were also identified.  These successful programs have multiple commonalities, including more empowered student voices, partnerships at all levels from parent to community action, mentoring programs, male role models and wrap-around services.  

One program particularly noteworthy in the area of wrap-around services is the Harlem Children’s Zone, http://www.hcz.org.  This school program offers an innovative community-based approach to learning including education, social services, and community-building services to children and families. It wraps a comprehensive array of child and family services around schools in an entire neighborhood — parenting classes, job training, health clinics, charter schools — convinced that schools reflect what is going on in the communities around them. Students in these school programs show impressive achievement gains.