Summit on the Education of African American Students in the Dallas Independent School District

The Summit on the Education of African-American Students in the Dallas Independent School District was held at Friendship West Baptist Church on April 5-6, 2013. The Summit was very informative. However, more teachers, administrators, parents, and community members should have been in attendance. Perhaps this can be an annual event in which problems, solutions, and progress can be recognized.  Highlights from the Friday session include a speech by Commissioner John Wylie Price. Price outlined the history of education in America and in Dallas as it relates to African-Americans. He then criticized the current superintendent Mike Miles saying that he is" not ready for the job of leading an urban school district", and that he has targeted African-American female principals like Ms. Marrian Willard at Madison High School. Superintendent Miles gave a presentation on the huge achievement gap between African-American and other students in the district. His solutions: transformation as he called it. He called for the following: a great teacher in every classroom, touted the new principal evaluation system, Spot observations of teachers, his destination 20/20 plan, and spoke about plans for the strategic feeder patterns of Lincoln, Pinkston, and Madison where test scores are low and the drop out rates are high. Later a panel of CASE members, and parents took questions from the audience and posed several questions to the superintendent. As a librarian, one question I found interesting was about the digital divide, and the fact that minority students in the district do not have access to the internet along with tech devices (computers and tablets) outside of school; given that some schools do not have computer teachers in the building how would the district address this issue? Miles stated that the district is looking at ways that teachers can integrate technology into lessons, and that they are hiring people who are PC and MAC literate along with one to one computer initiatives for students. The "hiring people who are PC and MAC literate" is a red flag as many believe that the superintendent is targeting older teachers for non renewal of contracts some of whom may not be as tech savvy as young teachers fresh out of college.

The Saturday morning session included speeches from Texas State Senator Royce West, TEA Commissioner Michael Williams, and Dennis Bega from the Department of Education. West stated that he is an advocate in the legislator for public education. He criticized Michael William's proposed change to the school rating system from Exemplary, Recognized etc. to a letter grade of A, B, C, D, and F. "No child wants to attend or graduate from a school labeled F." stated West. But West touted Charter schools saying we must look at other public options. West also expressed concern about graduation plans that Texas students are currently on. He talked about the fact that a large percentage of African-American students are on the basic graduation plan which does not prepare them to attend college. Michael Williams answered questions about what is going on in Austin in regards to the new STAAR EOC tests and the possibility of reducing the required 15 tests to graduate from high school to 5. He thinks that 7 tests should be the right number and the subjects to be tested should be thought out as well. He also touched on proposed changes to graduation plans and endorsements.  Mr. Bega from the Department of Education talked about how the President is also concerned about the achievement gap between African-American students and their counter parts that has existed for decades. Hence, the White House Initiate on Excellence in African-American Education began this spring with the appointment of David  J. Johns as it's director. The Department of Education plans to look at issues like best practices in instruction to ensure our students are college and career ready along with college affordability, STEM education, minorities in the teaching profession, (K-12 & Higher Ed.) and a whole host of other issues that impact education for African-American students. Following Bega's presentation a panel of assistant superintendents from various districts, DISD Board members, and a parent answered questions about what they were doing to address the achievement gap. The Saturday session ran past schedule, and I left during the panel discussion. However, I am looking for a post from the Dallas Morning News Education Blog to give a recap of the Summit's events. Librarians can play a vital role in addressing the achievement gap by: introducing and exposing students to literature by African-American and Hispanic authors, book clubs and other innovative reading promotion activities, collection development with an eye on stories that are of high interest to minority students that include characters of various backgrounds, increased collaboration between teachers and librarians on lessons and projects, integrate technology and show students innovative ways to present information using tech like Prezi, Animoto, etc. teaching students the information search and retrieval skills needed to be college and workforce ready, and much more. Librarians: get involved in the discussion! Talk about the role we can play in reducing the achievement gap then take action on your campus!