The topic I wish to present is on the success of African American students. It is imperative that in attempting to rectify a problem you become very aware of exactly what the issues are and the degree to which they are affecting the overall organization. The first shift in mindset will be to consider the African American student population and disaggregate data to isolate their unique strengths and challenges. Due to the decades of failure in African American students it is easy to assume that black students and families are the problem. While it is rare that an individual would communicate this explicitly; it is implied through statements that place blame on home life, lack of preschool, student’s inability to do a particular thing, and lack of parental or family support as described by the aggressor. There exists micro-aggressions and implicit bias beyond our conscious state that influences how we interact with populations and what we set as our expectations. It is a paramount shift to the belief that African American students can succeed no matter what their background and the idea that “black male/female” and “achievement” do actually go together. The greatest shift in mindset is that the expectation is for them to succeed and not the exception. These students can become scholars, models for learning, assets to schools/districts, a boost to graduation statistics, and that college can be a part of their future.
In shifting the mindset of the value of the African American educator, following Brown v. Board of Education (1954) there were unintended consequences of desegregation. Once schools began to desegregate, our African American students were forced into school systems that were never designed for them; our African American educators were demoted from their positions and the achievement gap between black and white students continued to grow. Additionally, once our African American educators entered the Eurocentric school system, data began to show that African American teachers were not effective in this environment.
The goal of my talk will be to inspire future leaders and current community members to establish relationships, respond socio-culturally and provide the counter-narrative to African American students being able to succeed. Jaquet Monique Dumas, PhD is committed to educating those around her. She has served as a classroom teacher for over ten years, BTSA coach for new teachers, Principal and Full time faculty in Master's Program for teachers. Her research agenda is dedicated to finding ways to best serve African American students and their families. After years of being committed to serving in urban schools she could not settle for what our public school system could do alone. Her latest endeavor is pioneering “Black Schooled”, a non profit organization that provides supplemental education and resources for African American students grades 4-8. Her hope is that our community can come alongside families and traditional education settings to win in academics, business, and life - like we have never seen before. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx