Results in from Ohio
would constitute an improved learning environment, adding: “ I have yet to see that information or that evidence.”
Meanwhile, the proposal stirred up both cheers and cries of segregation.
Toronto sociology professor George Dei hailed the call for a black- focused school as long overdue in fighting the sweeping disengagement he says many black students feel with the public school system.
“I’d rather see four black-focused schools across Toronto, but I’ll take one as an experiment,” said Dei, a researcher on black education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
“ It’s not just about teaching about Africa and slavery. I’d like to see an experimental pilot project school with more black teachers that focuses on black achievement and culture and black contributions to society that sends students out into the world well- affirmed on who they are,” said Dei, whose research on black dropouts says many of them blame a lack of black role models and too little relevant curriculum.
However, he does not suggest that black- focused schools should only have black teachers.
It was Dei’s suggestion of black- focused schools last February at a Toronto forum on black education that sparked fiery debate among educators and black community leaders more than a decade after the idea was first posed by Ontario’s Royal Commission on Learning in 1991.
“ We’ve been talking about this idea for far too long. It’s time to try it, and if it fails, then we’ll shut up.”
In the United States, black- focused schools have been a controversial experiment in cities such as Detroit, Washington, Kansas City and Akron. There, “ Africentric” schools with black staff and a sharp focus on black issues have met with mixed results: Some have shown major leaps in achievement, while others battle low enrolment and sagging test scores.
Stewart Elementary School in Akron, Ohio, launched an “Africentric” approach in 2000, where its 183 black children start the day with a traditional African drum ceremony, chanting “ Harambee!” (“ let’s pull together” in Swahili). Some teachers dress in traditional African clothing, students pledge allegiance to both the United States and to the African race, and students sometimes are called by African names. Not all teachers at the school are black, however, but all have chosen to work there.
Black volunteers, many of them men, bring African art and history to students as well as the standard curriculum. Finally, last year, test scores began to climb, said board spokeswoman Karen Ingraham.
“ There was a lot of controversy at first. People said, ‘ So why not have an Irishfocused school too?’ But this year there have been huge gains in every subject and the school has gone from being ranked as an ‘ academic emergency’ to showing ‘ continued improvement.’ ” While black-focused schools spark cries of “ segregation” among critics, a successful native- focused program already runs in Toronto for First Nations students at risk of dropping out.
Likewise, the Toronto board also runs a special high school program for gay and lesbian students with a heavy focus on equity studies, located in an alternative high school.