Chicago's Urban Prep Charter School made national news with its announcement that 100% of its black male seniors have been accepted to college.

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Research Area

Gifted with emphasis on minority children and youth; recruitment and retention of diverse students in gifted education; underachievement among diverse students; equity issues in testing and assessment; multicultural education; issues in urban education.

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"Can African American children be

educated in a system that delegitimizes

their cultural capital?" is a question

that looms large in America.

Conclusion

Returning to our original premise, the majority of teachers in America are White and the student population is more diverse than ever before.

"Can African American children be educated in a system that delegitimizes their cultural capital?" is a question that looms large in America. If educators fail to consider ways that African American children are devalued in the current school culture, if teachers do not consider the efficacy of history and tradition in the daily rituals of teaching, and if educators fail to use critical self-reflection to surface deep-seated assumptions about race and culture, then the answer is a resounding "No, schools can not adequately educate African American students." The educational system is at a unique nexus that goes far beyond its original design by embracing the culture of all the children it serves and thereby advancing the cultural capital of society. If schools fail to meet this challenge, African American children will continue to achieve below their Euro-American counterparts. In that case, the legitimation gap will continue its existence behind the shroud of the espoused  value "all children can learn," when indeed "all children do learn."

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The California Academy of Mathematics and Science in south Los Angeles is one of the top high schools in the country, and senior Danial Ceasar is one of its top students, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. He's got an A average, and he's ambitious - he wants to be a psychiatrist.

"I'm looking at Berkeley and Stanford as my top schools," Danial said.

But here's a troubling sign of the times: achieving, black, male students like Danial are increasingly rare in America's schools.

Community Conversation with Baltimore City Schools CEO.

November 18, 2010, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm, St. Veronica Roman Catholic Church, 806 Cherry Hill Road. Join City Schools Chief Executive Officer Andrés A. Alonso for a conversation about American Education Week and how this year's theme applies to City Schools.

Kinetics mission is to develop new ideas that work to strengthen social movements within the African-American community by bridging the gap between church and community and providing them with the tools and skills to pursue justice and better address the needs of those whom they serve.