Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 January 2004 — Page 5

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2004

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

EDUCATION DOES MAHER

PAGE AS

The Indianapolis Recorder newsroom and Papa John's Pizza on 6311 N. Keystone Ave. sponsored a pizza party for this 4th grade class at Hazel Hart Hendricks School No. 37. The students won the party for being the class with the fewest amount of fighting and violence incidences for the

month of December. (Photo/J. Cohen)

School 37 forms partnership to stop school violence

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SHUA COHEN

taffj Writer

Hazel Hart He'ndricks School 37 was ha\ing problems. Students were fighting a lot and there was too much physical aggression tak-

ing place.

Principal Jamie Wyatt knew she had to do something to stop this trend before it got worse. She met with her staff and they came together to think of ways to stop the violence in their school at 26’05

E. 25 th St.

One of the things they came up with was the High Five system. “They’re expectations, not rules,” said Wyatt. The five principles are to, “Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Peaceful, Be Kind and

Be Safe.”

Wyatt is not stopping there. Among other programs, she has recentlyjoined with Indianapolis Recorder newsroom employees to come up with more incentives for students to behave and focus on their schoolwork. “I agreed to have a unique partnership with The Recorder based on violence prevention,” said Wyatt. “They are a great partner

.because they already have a relationship with some of the students.” Two of Wyatt’s classes have already won pizza parties sponsored by Recorder newsroom employees. Papa John’s Pizza recently began co-sponsoring the

pizza parties.

“I don't know what kind of role models these kids may have, but to see people take time to reward them for getting good grades or behaving well gives them hope,” said Ericka Thompson, staff writer at The Recorder and the person who began the pizza parties with School 37. The current idea is for the students to write essays on violence prevention. The Recorder will read the essays and choose winners. Wyatt has not yet determined what the prizes will be, but with the newsroom’s help she is confident the students will be properly motivated. "It makes them want to be like us,” said Thompson. “Not necessarily journalists, but college students or just successful young people. Our visits give them something to look forward to.”

The chaHenge for Wyatt is to get students to want to learn and do well just for the sake of learning, and not because they will win a material award. “It’s always hard to have kids be intrinsic learners,” Wyatt explained. “Compromise, rewards and things like spending time with students builds a rapport with the teachers. That way kids w r ant to please, instead of win-

ning a prize.”

Wyatt believes working with parents also is important. “We try to educate parents with the students. We work with positives, instead of saying ‘this is what they don’t have’ we say ‘this is what we want from them.’” Wyatt is looking to make her school a model school for others with the same or similar problems. . “We also want the support of the whole neighborhood,” said Thompson who encourages other community businesses to help students. “There are other kids and other schools close to School 37. We can’t help them all.” But they still need help.

Colleges struggle to help Black men stay enrolled

By KAREN W. ARENSON From BlackNews.com Watching Simon Jackson in class is like watching a man who is conflicted about being in college. For long stretches, he huddles silently in the back corner, his head sunk into his bulky jacket. But every so often he strides to the front of the room to chat with the professor or to write on the chalkboard, selfassured to the point of cockiness. A lOth-grade dropout who earned a high school equivalency diploma, Jackson, 21, is now a freshman at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, eager, he says, to get a college degree. "I was in school trying to learn,” he said. “I liked to learn. I still do. That’s why I’m here now'.” As a Black man, he is also a rare commodity that the college, part of the City University of New York, is eager to hold on to. The class Jackson was sitting in recently was a freshman orientation class created this year for men only, in hopes of keeping Black male students on track. Over the course of the semester, class discussions veered from little things, like ways to remember to bring books to school, to how the students felt when they could not get waited on in stores and how' difficult it was to go anywhere, even to school, without money in their pockets. At Medgar Evers, where 97 percent of the male students are Black, the number of male students has been disproportionately low for more than a decade. Right now, only 22 percent of the students are male. And the men are far less likely

to graduate than the women. The discrepancies are not unique to Medgar Evers. Women outnumber men at most colleges, but the gap is especially large among Black students. Nationally, barely a quarter of the 1.9 million Black men between 18 and 24 - prime college-going years - w'ere in college in 2000, according to the American Council on Education's most recent report on minorities in higher education. By comparison, 35 percent of Black women in the same age group and 36 percent of all 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in higher education. And the graduation rate of* Black men is lower than that of any other group. Only 35 percent of the Black men who entered NCAA Division I colleges in 1996, for example, graduated within six years, compared with 59 percent ofthe white men, 46 percent of the Hispanic men, 41 percent ofthe American Indian men and 45 percent ofthe Black women who entered the sam& year. “It’s the shame of American higher education,” said Arthur E. Levine, the president of Teachers College at Columbia University. Researchers say the obstacles keeping Black men from earningcollege degrees include poor education before college, the low expectations that teachers and others have for them, a lack of Black men as role models, their dropout rate from high school and their own low aspirations. While most of these problems are common to disadvantaged minority students regardless of sex, Black men have the special burden ofbeing pigeon-

holed early in a way that Black female students are not. This was among the findings of the African-American Male Initiative, a program set up by the University System of Georgia to research and remove the obstacles to college enrollment and graduation for Black men. The system has 17,000 Black men among 250,000 students on its 34 campuses. The downward spiral begins in Head Start classrooms, said Arlethia Perry-Johnson, the chairwoman of the initiative and an associate vice chancelIpr ofthe Georgia system. Some Black male students are labeled dfevelopmentally delayed, funneled into special education and “never get mainstreamed," she said. Shoved off the college prep track, they begin a “cycle of being reprimanded, disciplined and ultimately suspended for negative behavior,” she said, leading to expulsion, unemployment and even crime and imprisonment. Solving the problem is beginning to get more attention at colleges. Nearly three dozen selective liberal arts colleges, including Amherst, Swarthmore and Wesleyan, have united to create a working group on minority at hievement issues, including the underrepresentation of Black and Latino men in colleges. Recently, Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., sponsored a symposium on the absence of Black men in highereducation. Women outnumber men by about 2 to 1 at Howard. Karen W. Arenson is a staff writer for the New York Times, which first printed this report.

Principles of Kwanzaa should be practiced all year around

By LEROY ROBINSON It is that time of the year again and everyone should be working on his or her second week of their annual New Year’s resolutions. Most people make these traditional promises to themsqlves in hopes that they will make improvements in their personal or professional lives during the upcoming New Year. The most popular ones always seem to be losing those extra pounds that many of us have been carrying around since last year, exercising more on a regular basis, and paying off those ever-increasing credit card bills. Since these top three resolutions are often forgotten by April Fools Day of the New Year, it is time that we focus on some New Year’s resolutions that really matter. As a community, we have to raise the bar and place more of our attention on improving our student’s dismal I-STEP scores. This minimal progress from 47 percent to 49 percent passing is unacceptable and should not be celebrated as if it were some major accomplishment. This minimal progress is only an illusion of progress. The eighth-graders that received the 47 percent pass-

ing scores are now ninth-grad-ers. The 49 percent so-called improvement is from a new group of eighth-graders. The scores that are being reported are not reflective ofthe same students who were tested during the prior year. So we really still do not know what types of improvement the first group of eighthgraders made. Parents and non-parents should take a more active role in the public schools in their neighborhood by volunteering their time, talents, and services, along with mentoring umd tutoring the students whom are in need of some assistance. And please, by all means, do not give up on our school children and end your resolution of dedication and commitment before the school year is over. Now that the actual sevend.ay Kwanzaa celebrations have come to an end, each of us should make a commitment or resolution to continue the celebrations throughout the entire year of 2004 and not sit around waiting until Dec. 26 These all too important principles should be practiced all year around. It is quite disappointing to witness all of the good will, volunteering, positive attitudes, support, and encouragement during the holiday season, only to get back to our selfish wishes and desires during the start ofthe New Year. In the process of losing weight and paying off your

credit card debt, find some tin/e each day to practice the principles of: unity, self-de-termination. collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity. and faith. \Ye need to lift up our schools, families, and our communities with a strong focus on unity, collective work and responsibility, and purpose. Practicing these principles daily may be difficult at first, but incorporating them into our daily lives will help to end many of the social ills that plague the African-American community. Happy New Year and Happy New Kwanzaa ... throughout the entire year. “It is easy to shout slogans, to sign manifestos, but it is quite a different matter to build, manage, command, and spend days and nights seeking the solution of problems." - Patrice Lumumba, former president ofthe Congo. Leroy Robinson is author of the newly released book, entitled Voluntary Servitude: Breaking the Chains: Mental and Psychological Slavery. It is on sale at X-Pression Bookstore and Gallery, 970 Fort Wayne Ave. For speaking engagements or education workshops, contact Robinson at: educationdoesmatter(« hotmail.com or write him at: 9701 E. 63rd St., Indianapolis, IN. 46236. His contact number is (317) 502-0272.

111 mi 11 IPS DAY ADULT HIGH SCHOOL

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JOHN HOPE EDUCATION CENTER 1301 EAST 16TH STREET Spring 2(X)4 Enrollment Now in progress - Dial 226-4116 for more information

Da) Adult lugh School, located at the beaultlul and spacious John I lope Education ( enter Is a division of the IPS S_\ stem Students attending will receive a diploma from Arsenal Technical High School DAY ADULT HIGH SCHOOL Adult Education Is For You il you are fired of being shortchanged in your job because you lack a high school diploma il you arc a teenager who dropped oul pi school because of poor attendance, insufficient credits or difficulty passing the 1ST HP il you are a homemaker with fnee time during the dav if you are a night or afternoon worker who can study at home if you want to improve your reading and math skills, il you want to improve your employment skills, if you have college entrance deficiencies. Now is the time to enroll in Day Adult We have instructor, trained and interested in working with you to enhance youi education experience Special adult type time block scheduling permits you to attend part-time or full-time Kim the requirements yon need for a diploma Day Adult High School offers the following classes

Problem Solving Pre-Algebra I & 2 Algebra 1-4 Geometry 1-2 Biology 1-2 Career Hxploratinn Opportunities (CFO) Consumer Business Economic English 18 English (GQE) Accounting Government Hcalth/Dnig Education Speech/Debate IJ.S History 1-2 Word Processing Nulntion/Wellness

Keyboarding 1-2 Life Skills Machine Cal/Eiling Math (GQE) Microsoft Excel Microsoft Word 1 Mixed Subject lab Music Craft Art l-T Physical Education 1-2 Aerobics Physical Science I -2 Psychology Sociology Teen Parenting Teen Pregnancy Library Experience

THE LEARNING CENTER The M’S Learning Center is designed to meet the needs ol pregnant and recently parenting students ol all ages I he mission ol the Learning Center is to help the student have and nurture a healthy hahy and to help hei continue on hei educational track Lor more information call 22<< V)V)

COMMUNITY CLASSES (iliD & LNGI.ISII AS A SIX (INI) I.ANUl .Mil (LSI.)

EXTERNAL DIPLOMA PROGRAM (EDP) the External Diploma Program (LDP) allows adults who cannot attend day or evening m-school classes to obtain a high school diploma by earning vlass credits from their homes These courses are recommended for students who work . well independently and are advanced readers Classes available this spring

Algebra 1-2 Problem Solving Consumer Math I Economics Family Living Child Dev 1-2 Physical Ed 1-2 Biology 1-2

English 18 hcalth/Dnig Ed Government U S. History 1-2 Psychology Sociology World History 1 -2 Physical Science 1-2

The cost of EDP Classes is $20 per subject for those who live in the Indianapolis Public Schools District and $90 per subject for non-IPS residents. The cost for the course workbook is $20. Textbook costs will vary

SECOND CHANCE CLASSES Earn credits by taking one class at a time or adding an extra class to your schedule after school:

Algebra 1-4 Prc- Algebra Geometry 1-2 Consumer Math I 2 Economics (GQE) Math Health

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To register, you must present the following information: 'i-.

An official transcript from your home school. (To obtain your official transcript, contact the Registrar at your home school)

Sludents who are 16 or 17 years old must bring an official withdrawal form signed by the student, parcnl(s) and school principal. (To obtain an official wilhdrawal form, contact the guidance department of your home school.)

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