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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Black Students Say They Need Support, Goals

By Martin Salazar
Journal Staff Writer
       Their recipe for educational success comes down to a few fundamentals.
    Start off with families who push kids to do well in school and to be successful in life. Toss in some high expectations and teachers who push students to tackle challenging coursework. Add a teacher, coach, counselor or other school role model who is invested in a student's success and who is there to listen, no matter the topic. Make sure someone is explaining to students why the courses they're taking are relevant.
    The advice didn't come from consultants, but rather from three African-American students who are overcoming the odds and doing well in school. They offered their advice during a panel discussion Monday at New Mexico's African-American Education Solutions Summit, geared toward increasing graduation rates and closing the achievement gap between Anglo and African-American students.
    About 100 participants, including educators, students, spiritual leaders and community members, took part in the summit.
    Roughly 3 percent of the state's K-12 students are African-American. While 71 percent of Anglo students in New Mexico graduate within four years, the figure for African-American students is 61 percent.
    The achievement gap is even wider when it comes to standardized test proficiency rates. The gap in fourth-, eighth- and 11th-grade proficiency rates between African-American students and their Anglo counterparts ranges from 18 to 26 percentage points.
    Still, New Mexico's African-American students generally fare better in the classroom than their Hispanic and American Indian counterparts, who have lower graduation rates and, for the most part, lower proficiency rates.
    "As you tackle this issue, I want some provocative recommendations," Gov. Bill Richardson told the group. "Be brave."
    He noted that education is critical for economic development, for attracting high-wage jobs and for tackling many of the state's social issues.
    The student panelists provided insight into what has worked for them.
    "If you don't feel challenged, you don't feel like you have to put forth that extra effort to be all that you can be," said Darnicia Hold, a freshman at Oñate High School in Las Cruces who wants to go to medical school and become an obstetrician.
    Brendan Holt, an eighth-grade student at Albuquerque's Menaul School, agreed, saying teachers need to push their students harder so they can become successful.
    Kyree McField, a freshman at Eastern New Mexico University, said her family has played a huge role in her academic success. But they weren't the only ones.
    "It was actually my theater teacher," she said. "And it wasn't just necessarily when she was teaching theater. Whenever I had a problem, a serious problem, she would always have her door open. And I could always run to her and talk about any of my problems."
    Monday's summit was the first of three aimed at closing the achievement gap. The next will be on Nov. 9 and will focus on American Indian students, followed by a third on the Hispanic achievement gap slated for Dec. 1. New Mexico First, organizer of the events, plans to release the formal recommendations once the final summit has been held.

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