Publications
Education Today – February 14, 2024
New studies acknowledge that African-American male students have less of an opportunity to go to college than other students. Hear about the causes. Then hear heralded educator Jerome Gourdine discuss how his program changes that equation.
Access to black male achievement program lowered student dropout rates, Stanford-led study finds
The My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Challenge developed by President Obama supports communities that promote civic initiatives designed to improve the educational and economic opportunities specifically for young men of color. In Oakland, California, the MBK educational initiative features the African American Male Achievement (AAMA) program. The AAMA focuses on regularly scheduled classes exclusively for Black, male students and taught by Black, male teachers who focus on social-emotional training, African-American history, culturally relevant pedagogy, and academic supports. In this study, we present quasi-experimental evidence on the dropout effects of the AAMA by leveraging its staggered scale-up across high schools in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). We find that AAMA availability led to a significant reduction in the number of Black males who dropped out as well as smaller reductions among Black females, particularly in 9th grade.
To uncover the seeds of courage and determination that spurred a school district to make an unprecedented commitment to the education of African American male students. We invite you to step into the light of The Black Sonrise.
In 2011, the Office of African American Male Achievement piloted the Manhood Development Program, an elective course offered during the school day, taught by African American males for African American males. Today, the Manhood Development Program is offered at 17 school sites and the program is making great strides in engaging, encouraging, and empowering African American male students.
The Black Sonrise was funded by Open Society Foundations, The Institute for Black Male Achievement (IBMA), and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and was led by Vajra Watson Ed.D., Director of Research and Policy for Equity at the University of California, Davis.
Lean Into the Wind: Emerging Themes and Strategic Recommendations for AAMA 2.0 is the second installment in a series that documents and examines AAMA within OUSD. The themes outlined in the report document the approach, impact, successes, and challenges of the Office over the past four years (2010-2014). More importantly, emerging themes and recommendations provide the basis for executing the next iteration of the Office's work on behalf of District students.
Emerging Themes and Recommendations:
- Continue to Foster a District-wide Culture which Nurtures African American Male Achievement
- Create an OUSD Office of Equity and Build an Equity Data Dashboard
- Create Robust Professional Development and Supports
- Expand and Deepen the Manhood Development Program
- Engage Parents as Critical Allies
- Develop a Robust Communications Strategy
This research project was funded by Open Society Foundations, The Institute for Black Male Achievement (IBMA), and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and was led by Gregory Hodge, Khepera Consulting; in partnership with Quentin Sankofa, Sirius Creativity and Aman Sebahtu.
Community Update 2014: Engage. Encourage. Empower.
Community Update 2014: Engage. Encourage. Empower. chronicles the efforts of the Office of African American Male Achievement during its first four years. Led by Executive Director Christopher P. Chatmon the Office is a model for Changing the Narrative and is an example of how President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative can be actualized within a school district. In 2010 newly appointed Superintendent, Tony Smith, together with the OUSD Board of Education decided to create a Full Service Community School District. With the belief that every school should be the center of community life and provide a continuum of service in support of the development of healthy children; and understanding that across the country urban district reforms did little to transform the overall experiences, access, or education attainment of African American male students, OUSD courageously launched the Office of African American Male Achievement.