The National Alliance of Black School Educators Common Core State Standards Impact Assessment Survey

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) is conducting a Common Core State Standards Impact Assessment Survey to ascertain the implementation level of the new standards by member school districts.

Please take 5-10 minutes to complete the survey conducted by K12 Insight, a national research and communication firm. All responses are strictly confidential; a report with results and findings will be shared with the NABSE Board of Directors in late October.

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE)

NABSE’s new partnership with The National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCUA) will be instrumental in achieving our goal of providing career resources to our members and high school students, and ultimately, increasing the pipeline for African American Teachers. My College Options is a nationwide service that gives college-bound students the ability to match their personal goals and interests (including academics, co-curricular activities, location preferences, and attitudes) with the offerings of 3,500 accredited post-secondary institutions in the United States. For more information visit http://www.mycollegeoptions.org/

Read the NABSE 2009 Student Survey Report.

The National Research Center for College & University AdmissionsTM (NRCCUA®), the leading organization connecting young people and their families with colleges and universities, has achieved a significant milestone in their partnership with the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) in creating the Pipeline for African American Teachers.

In order to encourage and support future African American educators, NRCCUA has contacted over eighty Historically Black Colleges and Universities and offered, free of charge, the names of African American seniors interested in teaching who live near those college and universities. In turn, each college was asked to reach out to these students with information about enrolling at their institution while encouraging them to continue working towards a career in teaching.

NRCCUA in conjunction with NABSE will be reaching out to future African American teachers with a quarterly newsletter designed to help them reach their teaching goals.

As one of NRCCUA’s first research partners, NABSE is the nation’s premiere non-profit organization devoted to furthering the academic success for the nation’s children, particularly those of African descent. Over the last three years the two organizations have worked to develop and build the Pipeline program.

Today, over 190,000 African American high school students have identified themselves as interested in devoting their lives to teaching.

NRCCUA – The National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) is a non-profit education research organization based in Lee’s Summit, MO. For over 37 years, NRCCUA has conducted the largest nationwide survey of high school students, which serves as a communications link between college-bound high school students and public and private colleges and universities. For more information, visit http://www.nrccua.org.

The National Alliance of Black School Educators – California

The National Alliance of Black School Educators has a network of over 100 Affiliates across the United States, Canada and the Bahamas. All Affiliates support the mission and goals of NABSE and work within their communities to affect change. If you want to become more involved in your community, feel free to contact the Affiliate closest to you.

California ABSE Dr. Sandy Carpenter-Stevenson drsrcarpenter@comcast.net

Elk Grove ABSE BernNadette Best-Green The_African_Butterfly@yahoo.com

High Desert ABSE Gwendolynne Y. Cole Cole_consultant@yahoo.com

Inland Empire ABSE Noaveyar Daily ieabse@gmail.com

Los Angeles ABSE Derotha Williams Deewms15@earthlink.net

Oakland ABSE Dr. Clifford Thompson cliffordthompson@sbcglobal.net

Pomona ABSE Linda Ursery-Fleming Linda.urseryfleming@pusd.org

Ravenswood ABSE Ms. Marti Hargrove jazzatoasis@sbcglobal.net

San Francisco ABSE Tareyton Russ tdruss@hotmail.com

Santa Clara County ABSE Leon Beauchman leon.beauchman@att.com

Valley Alliance of African American Educators Phillip Abode phillip.abode@fresnounified.org

Victory Valley Alaric Singletary alarics@hotmail.com

View Park Preparatory Charter High School (VPP) and Frederick Douglass High School

View Park Preparatory Charter High School (VPP) and Frederick Douglass High School (FD) are two of fifteen schools operated by the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF).

In 2007, VPP sent 100 percent of its graduating class to college, followed by FD in 2009. However, long before these benchmarks were reached, ICEF had garnered a strong reputation in South Los Angeles for providing African-American youth with rich learning opportunities.

What started out as a summer camp and after school program has grown into a network of K-12 institutions serving 4500 kids. A rigorous curriculum emphasizes critical thought, analytical writing and sustained silent reading as the keys to lifelong learning. In neighborhoods marred by poverty, gang activity and dropout rates as high as 50%, ICEF has maintained a record of graduating 95% of its students. Recent financial hardship has meant teacher layoffs and program cuts.

Here’s to hoping that in restructuring this hardworking community doesn’t lose ground.

Thurgood Marshall Academy – Washington DC

Situated in Washington DC’s Anacostia section, Thurgood Marshall Academy (TMA) serves grades 9-12. Started in 2001, the school takes law as its central organizing premise. Through its curriculum, enrichment programs and volunteer pool of attorneys, the school leaders endeavor to build a lasting appreciation of justice and human rights. A more concrete goal is to foster academic achievement.

It might have taken ten-hour school days and Saturday classes to get there, but among the city’s open enrollment high schools, TMA is number one in math and number two in reading. Add to this 100 percent college acceptance for five years straight and there is no doubt that students are receiving a solid education.

And whereas many institutions consider their job done once they’ve handed out diplomas, TMA maintains contact with alumni and allocates small grants to cover emergency expenses that might otherwise derail college pursuits.

Imhotep – Philadelphia

Imhotep may be situated in Philadelphia but its heart resides in Africa. Started in 2000, the school adheres to the premise that education meets its greatest possibility when it is culturally relevant. As such, the school takes the accomplishments and traditions of the African diaspora as its principle subject matter.

Interpreting each course through this lens is intended to build pride in addition to academic achievement. Rites of passage ceremonies line up next to internships as important aspects of students’ development. The formula appears to be working — for nine years straight, all graduates have been accepted to college.

Urban Prep Academy – Chicago High School

The picture sticks with you: black boys in black blazers, red and yellow ties, ecstatic for themselves and each other. They’re all going to college. It’s 2011 and the second year in a row that seniors at Urban Prep Academy have accomplished this feat. Started in 2006, the school enrolls African-American males in grades 9-12, across three Chicago campuses. Students typically arrive reading several years below grade level.

An extended school day and twice the English credits required by most high schools are designed to get everyone on course. And whereas many schools wait until junior year to begin earnest conversations about post-graduation plans, college advisors are assigned on day one at Urban Prep. Between the first and last days, the administration makes countless efforts to foster enduring achievement. But in a world where expectations for black men are so low, an idea captured in the motto might be more important than any action: “We Believe.”