Offical BME Report, Philadelphia (1)

7/26/2019 Offical BME Report, Philadelphia (1)

1/15

BLACK MALEEDUCATORS REPORT

PHILADELPHIA, PA

T H E F EL L O W S H I P - B MEC P RES EN T S

BY VINCENT COBB, MS.ED.

THE FELLOWSHIP-BMEC


2/15

CONTENTSEXEC UTIVE SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

MESSAGE FROM LEADERS WHO AGREE 2% IS NOT ENOUGH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

IN THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGION

B LAC K MALE EDUC ATOR C ONVENINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

K- 12 EDUC ATION LANDSC APE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

B LAC K MALE EDUC ATOR STATS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

ADVOC AC Y & POLIC Y MAKERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

TEAC HER EQUITY AS A SOC IAL JUSTIC E ISSUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

B UILDING A ROB UST PIPELINE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

HIGH SC HOOL TO C OLLEGE SUPPORTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

REC OMMENDATIONS

OVERVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

THE AUTHOR & REFERENC ES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

THE FE LLO W S HI P- B M E C PR E S E NTS

2% IS NOT ENOUGH


3/15

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTHE FELLOWSHIP- Black Male Educators Convening

(BMEC)started out as a monthly meetup of 17 Black male

educators in Philadelphia public schools at a black-owned

restaurant in the heart of West Philadelphia, 48th St. Grille.

In 2014, the only goal was to provide a space for conversationabout education landscape issues and the intersection of

race, identity in a predominantly white-run school system.

However, the future of this nascent group held more promise

than just another talk session, true leadership emerged to

address issues to uplift the voices of other Black men and

students of color in Philadelphia public schools and

communities. The following is summary of objectives:

(1) PRACTITIONERS AS PROBLEM SOLVERS

The Black Male Educators Convening is another platform forBlack men practitioners to address a deeply rooted problem of

the low presence of Black men in K-12 public schools and in

leadership. We, The Fellowship-BMEC are nonprofit leaders,

school principals, school administrators and community-

school liaisons who confront and live in the experiences of

public school students every day. The Fellowship-BMEC

represents a unique wave of practitioners working to solve a

problem vs the typical diagnostic academic leadership that

sometimes are out of touch with the realities of urban

communities.

(2) TEACHER EQUITY AS A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE

Currently, Black men make up just 4.56% of public school

teachers in Philadelphia. More concerning, Philadelphia

doubles the nation's average of just 2% of Black men teachers

in the US public school system at-large. This soaring lack of

teacher equity in our nation's public schools can effectively be

called a Black male educator crisis in urban education that

needs serious thought leadership and action to resolve a deep

systemic issue with practitioners, law-makers and systemsleaders.

(3) OUR COMMITMENT

The Fellowship was started to address the small number of

highly qualified and highly effective Black men leading our

classrooms and schools. We have three strategies to do this:

We aim to influence policy.We know that policymakers

need to hear from practitioners in order to make well-informed

decisions. We believe that too often, Black male educators

have not been afforded the opportunity to weigh in on

academic and instructional issues. We aim to amplify the

voices and leverage the experiences of Black male

educators. We intend to serve as effective change agents

that can wield a strong influence in regional and national

educational policies that impact our schools, students,

and communities. We embrace this role.

We want to help expand the pipeline.We believe that

Black youth represent a significant population of our public

schools and these students should see highly effective

reflections of themselves teaching and leading them. We also

believe that all children can benefit from seeing far more

diversity in their teachers. Too many students can go through

a K-16 education and never have interactions with a Black

male educator. That is a problem. Two percent is not enough.

We will convene Black male educators. We know that

because of our small numbers, many Black male educators

are alone in their schools and districts. We know that the

power of networking is real and can be a huge lever in

amplifying our voices, sharing concerns and problem-solving

around it, and collectively developing ourselves as

practitioners. Our collective experiences are to be shared and

used to grow and strengthen our work-accelerating student

achievement in our communities. We want to build

a collaborative network of Black Male Educators and theconvenings are how we do it.


4/15

LEADERS WHO AGREE 2% IS NOT ENOUGHDr. William Hite

Superintendent of Schools

School District of Philadelphia

Recruiting African American male teachers is an ongoing

challenge. At present, they comprise of only 2% of the teachingprofession. However, all students need a diverse group of high-

performing educators.

I am pleased that the Black Male Educators Convening (BMEC)

will launch The Fellowship's focus on diversifying the profession

by addressing issues related to career trajectory, upward

mobility and life cycle. This work will focus on policy and

practices that contribute to under-representation. I fully support

The Fellowship's mission to support the region's efforts to

recruit, retain and support African American male educators.

The [Black Male Educators Convening] is a great way to

ultimately develop support systems aligned to African American

male educators' unique needs.

Pedro A. Rivera

Secretary of Education

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

As you are acutely aware, Pennsylvania's educationallandscape is ever-changing and this includes demographics of

our students and educators. I applaud The Fellowship's

dedication to increasing that diversity of our Commonwealth's

educators, specifically encouraging black males to enter into

the teaching profession.

It is my hope that your initiative will inspire a state wide

discussion so that students in urban, suburban and rural

districts have the opportunity to be educated by a diverse,

dedicated and high quality group of teachers.

The Fellowship seeks to inspire more men of color in Philadelphia

to see teaching as a means of achieving social justice. The

Fellowship has hosted several Black Male Educator Conveningevents to provide peer support and guidance.

At these gatherings, teachers express a desire to be seen as

experts for their mastery of subjects they teach or for their

innovative teaching, as well as for any special connection they

might have to students. They want to be seen as a resource for

white colleagues to learn how to better support their African

American students.

I encourage school and district leaders to work with their teachersand other staff members to develop a vision for how to make their

campuses more inclusive by adopting proactive hiring processes,

providing professional support, using a multicultural curriculum and

offering cultural competence workshops for everyone. The burden

to end this tax shouldnt fall only to the people already paying it.

We have strong evidence that students of color benefit from having

teachers who are positive role models, as well as from the

changes in classroom dynamics that result. Teachers of color often

have higher expectations for students of color, are more likely touse culturally relevant teaching practices, are more likely to

confront racism in their lessons and, yes, also serve as advocates.

But its also important for our white students to see teachers of

color in leadership roles in their classrooms and communities.

Breaking down negative stereotypes helps all students learn to live

and work in a multiracial society. Ultimately, the work we can do

together to create opportunity for all students will determine not

only the kind of economy we have and the kind of people we will

be, but also whether we will become the nation we ought to be.

Dr. John B King

US Secretary of Education

United States Department of Education

*Photo of Dr. Hite taken by James Justin Muir featured in Philly mag


5/15

BLACK MALE EDUCATORS CONVENINGWe will convene Black male educators. We know that because of our small numbers, many Black male educators are alone in their schools and districts. We

know that the power of networking is real and can be a huge lever in amplifying our voices, sharing concerns and problem-solving around it, and collectively

developing ourselves as practitioners. Our collective experiences are to be shared and used to grow and strengthen our work-accelerating student

achievement in our communities. We want to build a collaborative network of Black Male Educators and the convenings are how we do it.


6/15

K-12 EDUCATION LANDSCAPEPHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS STATS FOR BLACK MALES

INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS FOR BLACK MEN

The reputation of K-12 education field as a white female dominated

profession, ones own perceived educational K-12 experience and the

stereotypes of urban schooling may influence the career choices of

Black male professionals. It is the responsibility of

colleges/universities, PA Department of Education (DOE) and local

school districts to own the severe underrepresentation of Black menin education as an institutional problem and not a lack of interest for

Black men to play integral roles in the education space. From this

lens, states have a legal responsibility to ensure that the barriers to

access and retention for Black men are addressed through policy

changes, partnerships and informed by voices of highly effective

Black male educators in schools to attract, develop and retain a more

diverse and quality teacher talent pool for PA public K-12 schools.

OUR THEORY OF ACTIONis that if Black male educators have a more

prominent voice in education policy, a mobilized network of empowered Black

men in schools and a comprehensive high school to career teacher pipeline

(with resources, coaching and incentives) then we heighten the chances of

high impact on student motivation (especially among Black and Latino boys) to

achieve as well as reimagine more culturally responsive PA K-12 schools. Thegoal is to help the PA schools increase the presence of 200 more Black male

teachers by 2020, making the School District of Philadelphia the highest

concentration of Black male teachers in the nation (where 6% of Philadelphia

public school teachers will be Black men). Through community partnerships,

there can be some breakthroughs in research on the additional impact that

Black men bring to the classroom. We know highly effective teaching is the

only proven driver of student achievement but a more diverse teaching force

creates a better quality K-12 educational experience increasing the chances for

students to experience more positive role models and feel more empowered to

succeed.

PA COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES PIPELINE

Traditionally school districts have relied on teacher prep programs for a teacher

pipeline from college to the classroom. However, sobering data on enrollment

and graduation rates of Black male educators indicate the enrollment for

African American males in PA education programs has decreased by 30.5%

since 2010 and even less graduate from these PA colleges/universities with 28

African American men graduating from PA schools in 2014 (PA Department of

Education, 2016). Since 2010 Cheyney University, Lincoln University, and

Temple University account for 59%, 57% and 55% of Black male enrollment ineducation programs in PA (PA Department of Education, 2016).

Due to low enrollment and graduation rates for Black males from teacher prep

programs, education advocacy is necessary to help build more teacher

diversity and equity in PA schools with a specific focus on attracting more

males of color to the teaching profession. Researcher Travis Bristol finds

"perhaps if schools can get better at attracting and retaining male teachers of

color, they might also be places where historically marginalized and

traditionally at-risk groups could begin to thrive, too". This indicates a need to

build a comprehensive pipeline from high school to career for promising Blackmale candidates.

130,075

34, 408

57%

STUDENT

ENROLLMENT

BLACK MALE

STUDENTS

BLACK MALE

GRADUATION

60%BLACK MALE STUDENTS

IN CHARTER SCHOOLS

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA



OF TOTAL PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT POPULATION


7/15

BLACK MALE EDUCATORS STATS

2016 2014-15 2010-15

2014


8/15

ADVOCACY & POLICY MAKERSWe aim to influence policy. We know that policymakers need to hear from practitioners in order to make well-informed decisions. We believe that too often,

Black male educators have not been afforded the opportunity to weigh in on academic and instructional issues. We aim to amplify the voices and leverage the

experiences of Black male educators. We intend to serve as effective change agents that can wield a strong influence in regional and national educational

policies that impact our schools, students, and communities. We embrace this role.

C Q S SOC S C


9/15

TEACHER EQUITY AS SOCIAL JUSTICEADVOCACY FROM THE CLASSROOM & SCHOOLS

The Fellowship sees teaching as a lever for social

justice for all students and in the fight for Black

lives. We believe liberation is tightly intertwined with the

quality of ones education. The Fellowship looks at

educational equity, in all its forms, as the natural baton

handed off to us by Freedom Fighters of yesteryear. We

know with certainty that a great education is not just the Civil

Rights issue of this generation. A great education has

always been a civil right and one of the first rights denied or

trampled on since antiquity. From Frederick Douglass to

Malcolm X to the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, the

role of education has always been prominent in the fight for

the liberation of our people.

We believe that increasing the percentagesof Black male

educators is not just about numbers, but also about mindset,

effectiveness, and improving the education of all children. It

is also about building a broad coalition that values the dire

need for the diversification of our schools educators and

collectively works to make systemic changes.

From the fight for Black Lives, President Barack Obama's

My Brother's Keeper initiative and Dr. John King's recent

Washington Post article on the invisible tax on teachers of

color further highlights the need for a consistent presence of

men of color in our nation's schools. The pathways to

teaching and leadership offer a sustainable impact on

students in K-16 public school experience along with

mentorship and community-based school partnerships. We

find that a conscious Black male educator is a social justice

leader that sees his impact in both relation to the profession

at large and as a transformational advocate for all students--

and more specifically boys of color.

Anywhere that there is a severe lack of leadership that

doesn't reflect the perspectives and realities of students,

families and communities, we will continue to undermine the

values of a great educational experience.

The injustices our students face in the world needs the

careful attention of caring adults who can relate and

understand the lived experiences of our youth without labels

and diagnosis.

The Fellowship looks at schools as ground zero in our

collective struggle against this countrys long history

of inequity. Inadequate and inequitable school funding, the

lack of teacher equity, diversity, meaningful professional

development, and teacher leadership are just a few of the

pressure points that have consistently held our students back

from being able to lead and succeed in this ever-changing

world.

The Fellowship-BMEC take our place in the struggle against

the socio-political forces that divide our communities through

policy, lack of investment that continues to underserve black

and brown communities. As with any movement, we aim to

target specific policy barriers through partnerships with local,

state and national policy makers.


10/15

BUILDING A ROBUST PIPELINEWe want to help expand the pipeline. We believe that Black youth represent a significant population of our public schools and these students should see highly

effective reflections of themselves teaching and leading them. We also believe that all children can benefit from seeing far more diversity in their teachers. Too

many students can go through a K-16 education and never have interactions with a Black male educator. That is a problem. Two percent is not enough.

HIGH SCHOOL TO CAREER SUPPORTS


11/15

HIGH SCHOOL TO CAREER SUPPORTSTHE FELLOWSHIP- Black Male Educators Convening

(BMEC)partners with PA Department of Education, Relay

Graduate School, Education Works, Educators Rising,

Graduate Philly, Teach for America, Philadelphia, School

District of Philadelphia, UPenn GSEand other key partners

in the Philadelphia public school district system to build a

city-wide Black male teacher pipeline. To do this, we must

first work with partnering PA colleges/universities and local

school districts to address the recruitment and low presence

of Black men in teacher prep programs and schools. It is our

aim to help build the capacity of local school districts through

community partners for collective efforts to identify biases in

selection processes, admissions and improve the reach of

school partners.

(1) EDUCATORS RISING- HIGH SCHOOL COURSE

ELECTIVE

In order to increase the number of Black men in schools, we

must provide an opportunity for our young men and boys to

seriously consider the teaching profession. The Fellowship

will partner with Educators Rising and a team of Black male

teachers to develop a year-long curriculum, internships,

summer opportunities and travel to conferences to fully

explore teacher impact, social justice and the power of

teacher effectiveness to transform communities. This course

will be offered as an elective at participating high schools

and led by male teachers of color.

(2) BLACK MALE EDUCATORS RESIDENCY

The Black male teacher residency is an opportunity for first

year to current Black male educators to receive real-time

coaching, resources that will help teachers master content

areas, inspire teacher led capstone projects and mentoring

from veteran teachers. Moreover all residents will receive

professional development on cultural context, addressing

institutional biases and social- emotional support PD for

Black male teachers.

Ultimately, we aim for the residency to expand the impact of

teacher-led initiatives in school communities driven by groups

of highly effective Black male teachers.

(3) RECRUITING ADULT LEARNERS AND

PARAPROFESSIONALS

To ensure that schools are recruiting diverse black male

candidates, there must be other innovative pathways to the

classroom. Namely, Black men from the school

neighborhoods who may not have the academic credentials

but still can make the kind of impact needed for all students.

The Fellowship is proposing a focus on paraprofessionals and

after school program staff as a way for Black men to build

their leadership profile and experience in schools before they

get to the classroom. As these promising candidates gain the

proper work experience, our partners can help guide these

men into academic programs to increase their profile as

"hirable" Black male candidates for schools.

The Fellowship is aware of the financial challenges that

prevent many men from pursuing the academic requirements

to teach. Through our partnership with the PA Department of

Education, we will identify scholarships, college partnerships,

work-study programs, loan forgiveness incentives and funds

to help subsidize costs for promising candidates to attain

certification, praxis support, and a master's degree.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE


12/15

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICEAfter year 1 of listening tours, forming partnerships and direct engagement with a base of 500+ Black male teachers, The

Fellowship recommends a call to action for the following initiatives to help increase the number of highly effective Black male

educators in the Greater Philadelphia region

RECOMMENDATIONS


13/15

RECOMMENDATIONSTHE FELLOWSHIP- Black Male Educators Convening

(BMEC): After year 1 of listening tours, forming partnerships

and direct engagement with a base of 500+ Black male

teachers, The Fellowship recommends a call to action for

the following initiatives to help increase the number of highly

effective Black male educators in the Greater Philadelphia

region (including but not limited to):

To effectively drive this vision to sustainable action, we

recommend a region-wide focus on:

(1) CITY WIDE BLACK MALE TEACHER PIPELINE

In collaboration with partners, the Fellowship will initiate a

city-wide Black male teacher pipeline engaging rising high

school juniors and seniors, college students,

paraprofessionals, afterschool program staff, first year to

current Black male educators. This pipeline will include

resources, financial incentives and specialized professional

development (cultural context, social-emotional support,

mentoring) designed specifically for Black male educators.

The Fellowship will work as consultants to major districts to

improve work conditions for teachers and build the capacity

of local school districts to implement and improve

recruitment, development, and retention practices. Partners

will add to and build out the Black male teacher pipeline for a

fully endorsed city-wide (and eventually, national) model for

attracting and retaining Black men educators. Our collective

goal is to make Philadelphia a national landmark for Black

men to teach and lead schools.

(2) NATIONAL BLACK MALE EDUCATORS CONVENING

Black male educator convenings help to keep the pulse of our

work relevant through the direct voices of Black men in

schools. Through these convenings, we want to build the kind

of momentum and supportive environments for Black male

educators to thrive. Through Convenings, we will continue to

build out programs, teacher leadership and upward mobility of

Black men. These meetings will help us to manage the

"leaks" in the pipeline that may need attention and better

inform our work with colleges/universities, policy-makers, and

local school districts. The Convenings helps to put Black men

at the center of the discussion as leaders and not subjects. A

national convening will help to drive attention and talent to the

Greater Philadelphia region as one of the major cities

elevating key issues and best practices for attracting,

developing and retaining Black men. The Convenings will

include trainings, forums, PD and strengthening the

partnerships with state and national leaders on teacher equity

issues.

(3) POLICY ADVISORY COUNCIL OF BLACK MEN

EDUCATORS WITH PA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The Fellowship realizes the power of engaging policy makers

to make the right investments and policy decisions that effect

students, communities, and schools. Policy roundtable

discussions with PA Senate leaders will help to sharpen our

work to address institutional barriers to quality education for

students and improving the work conditions for Black men to

commit to the work in schools. This policy advisory will help to

keep partners accountable and inform new legislation and

policy agendas. The Fellowship recommends using the

council to build an advocacy organization focussed on the

needs of schools and Black men educators. This platform will

also be an opportunity for policy makers to be informed about

the causes and effects of underrepresented leadership,

under-served students and the impact on student

achievement and school neighborhoods.

Robust incentives for Black men to teach in schools

Summer school job opportunities for matriculating college students

Interfacing with the Mayor's Office of Education and Philadelphia

groups like Black Male Engagement (BMe), Mayoral Commission on

African American Males (MCAAM), NAACP, MBK, Philly etc.

A campaign to elevate the profession with PSAs and other forms of

advertisement targeting high school/college students to strongly

consider fighting for social justice by leading classrooms

A central job referral service and city-wide job fairs for Black men to

teach in the School District of Philadelphia

THE AUTHOR & REFERENCES


14/15

THE AUTHOR & REFERENCESSHARIF EL-MEKKI- FOUNDER of THE FELLOWSHIP

Sharif El-Mekki is principal at Mastery Charter

SchoolShoemaker Campus, a neighborhood public charter in

West Philadelphia. Prior to becoming a principal in 2007, he

was a classroom teacher and later school administrator in

Southwest Philadelphia. He holds a bachelors degree from

Indiana University of Pennsylvania as well as a masters degree

and principal certification from Cheyney University.

VINCENT E. COBB II, MS.ED is the Manager of Family &

Community Engagement for Cleveland K-8, Clymer, Pastorius

Mastery Charter School campuses in North Philadelphia.

Vincent also serves as the Co-Founder of BMEC and founding

member of The Fellowship. Vincent holds a bachelor's degree

in policy studies and masters degree in cultural foundation of

education from Syracuse University.

The Fellowship-BMEC LEADERSHIP TEAM

(1) Sharif El-Mekki- Principal, Shoemaker campus

(2) Dr. William Hayes, Principal of East Camden Middle

(3) Jovan Weaver, Principal of John Wister Elementary

(4) Rashiid Coleman, Dean of Students, Douglass

(5) Vincent Cobb, Manager, Family & Community Engagement

THE FELLOWSHIP MEMBERS:

Zachary Epps, Manager, Community Advocacy (SDP)

Aaron Bass, Chief of Schools/ Principal

Dr. Kenneth Waters, Director for Center of Literacy

Robert Parker, High school Teacher Leader

Raymond Roy-Pace, Science Teacher, Grades 4&6

Vance Lewis, Assistant Principal of Operations

Kevin Gold, Teacher

James Brooks, Special Education Teacher

Sterling Grimes, High school Literature teacher

PARTNERS

In year 1, we would like to thank all of our partners who has

helped us to raise the issue of Black men educators. This list

does not represent contribution to this report.

US Department of Education (Office of the Secretary)

Teach to Lead Summit

Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development

National Board of Teaching Standards

PA Department of Education (Office of the Secretary)

Office of PA Senator Anthony Williams

Office of PA Senator Vincent Hughes

School District of Philadelphia

UPenn GSE

Teaching Matters

Educators Rising

Relay Graduate School

Graduate Philadelphia

Teach For America, Greater Philadelphia region

Education Works

Mastery Charter Schools

Boys' Latin Charter School

REFERENCES

Bristol, T.J. (2013). Calling Black Men to the Blackboard.

Albert Shanker Institute.

PA Department of Education data. June 2016 Report

O S O S C


15/15

ABOUT US- THE FELLOWSHIP-BMECTHE FELLOWSHIP- Black Male Educators Convening (BMEC) started out as monthly meet up of 17 Black male educators in Philadelphia public schools at a

black-owned restaurant in the heart of West Philadelphia, 48th St. Grille. In 2014, the only goal was to provide a space for conversation about education

landscape issues and the intersection of race, identity, gender in schools. However, the future of this nascent group held more promise than just another talk

session, true leadership emerged to address issues to uplift the voices of other Black men and students of color in Philadelphia public schools and

communities.

Offical BME Report, Philadelphia (1)

Documents

Transcript of Offical BME Report, Philadelphia (1)