Synopses & Reviews
As a group, Black and Latino boys face persistent and devastating disparities in achievement when compared to their White counterparts: they are more likely to obtain low test scores and grades, be categorized as learning disabled, be absent from honors and gifted programs, and be overrepresented among students who are suspended and expelled from school. They are also less likely to enroll in college and more likely to drop out. Put simply, they are among the most vulnerable populations in our schools.
Schooling for Resilience investigates how seven newly formed schools, created specifically to serve boys of color, set out to address the broad array of academic and social problems faced by Black and Latino boys. Drawing on student and teacher surveys, focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations, the authors investigate how these schools were developed, what practices they employed, and how their students responded academically and socially. In particular, they focus on the theory of action that informed each school’s approach to educating Black and Latino boys and explore how choices about school structure and culture shaped students’ development and achievement. In doing so, the authors identify educational strategies that all schools can learn from.
This thoughtful, passionately argued volume promises to influence efforts to improve the achievement and life outcomes of Black and Latino boys for years to come.
Review
“At a time of crisis among Black and Latino boys—the most vulnerable populations in our public schools—
Schooling for Resilience probes the souls of schools and provides a brilliant road map to better education.” —
Gilberto Q. Conchas, associate professor and chancellor’s fellow, School of Education, University of California, Irvine
Review
“
Schooling for Resilience not only lays out the issues, circumstances, and problems facing Black and Latino males in school systems, but offers a systematic statement of where and how intervention for improvement should be situated. . .This is clearly a work that will encourage collective action to address a standing crisis.” —
Alford Young, Jr., Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Sociology and Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan
Review
“This ground-breaking study of single-sex schools for young African American and Latino men provides deeply nuanced conclusions about the kinds of school interventions that may make a difference. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in creating true game-changing education for marginalized young men of color.” — Lisa Delpit, Felton G. Clark Distinguished Professor of Education, Southern University and A&M College
Synopsis
As the most vulnerable population in schools, Black and Latino boys are overrepresented as underachievers. This book identifies educational strategies schools have used to increase the success rate for these two groups.
About the Author
Edward Fergus is an assistant professor of educational leadership at New York University.Pedro Noguera is the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University.Margary Martin is a visiting professor at Brown University.
Table of Contents
CONTENTSChapter 1 Single-Sex Schools
An Intervention in Search of a Theory 1
Chapter 2 Assumptions and Strategies
A Model for “Saving” Boys of Color 23
Chapter 3 Curriculum and Instruction
Striving for Rigor and Relevance 55
Chapter 4 Building Community
A Climate That Supports Resilience 95
Chapter 5 Reconstructing Social Identities
Race, Ethnicity, and Gender 137
Chapter 6 Resilience and Achievement
Attitudes and Practices That Influence Performance 165
Chapter 7 Creating Protective School Environments
A Framework for Reform 195
Appendix 1 Descriptions of the Schools 205
- Thomas Jefferson Academy for Young Men 205
- North Star Academy for Young Men 212
- Westward Leadership Academy 218
- Salem Academy on Culture and Justice 226
- Washington Academy for Boys 234
- Kennedy College Preparatory Academy 239
- Bethune Academy 244
Appendix 2 Survey Measures and Instructional Action Codes 249
Notes 259
Acknowledgments 269
About the Authors 271
Index 273