See Forever Foundation and Maya Angelou Schools

Executive Director’s Blog

My Wish for Christmas…

December 22, 2011

Under the new evaluative framework adopted by the D.C. Charter School Board, the Maya Angelou schools—which since 1997 have served students with academic and emotional needs unmet by their previous schools have been deemed “low performing.” Unfortunately, the framework does not capture the progress we at Maya Angelou are making with our distinctive population.

Consider, first, the characteristics of our student population. In our high schools, 35% of our students are court involved, 66% have a history of suspensions/expulsions, 36% have repeated a grade, and 29% have special needs. In our middle school, nearly 30% of the students have been retained a grade, 13% are involved with the courts or Child and Family Services, and 26% have special needs. In fact, the percentage of special education students attending our schools is nearly twice the public charter school average.

This raises the question: What are the appropriate metrics to evaluate alternative schools like ours? We are proud that 73% of our graduates enroll in post-secondary education, and that 87% of these students successfully complete their first year of post-secondary school—a critical benchmark. We are proud that students who had dropped out or were at risk of dropping out are now attending school regularly and working toward a productive future. We are proud that so many parents and advocates seek us out because of our commitment to making school work for special needs children. But these are not characteristics that the framework captures.

This doesn’t mean that we are complacent. We continually strive to improve our students’ academic performance on such measures as the DC-CAS and college admissions exams. But a framework that judges us so harshly without allowing for the challenges associated with our mission does not advance the cause of educational equality.

We look forward to fruitful conversations with the Public Charter School board about the PMF and alternative schools. In the meantime, we will continue to be what parents have told us we are: “the hope on the hill.”

In fact, my wish for Christmas would be that all youth in D.C. be embraced by a school and staff as wonderful as those who work at the Maya Angelou Schools!

Related News:

“In D.C. Charter Schools, A Wide Variety of Challenges,” The Washington Post, December 22, 2011

Building Community at See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou Schools

November 6, 2011

To describe the 2011-2012 school year in one word, it would be: “Community.” Community is at the core of the See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou Schools’ work. This year, I am reminded of its importance and presence within our school walls, but also within our neighborhoods, wards and in the great city that we serve.
Why? Community is made up of people. And, it’s also about their dreams and vision for where they live.

And, our work would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers, as well as community partners who have supported our work — from mentors and tutors to internship site partners and enrichment teachers. As a result of the strength and support of our community members, our students have a legion of people who’ve made the commitment to see them succeed. Never has it been clearer that it truly “takes a village.”

As we continue to make our Evans Campus and Ward 7 our home, we look forward to finding ways to give back to a community that has given so much to us. To do this, we have challenged our youth to take action in addressing the injustices they see everyday in their communities.

The fall newsletter highlighted some of the ways Maya Angelou students are serving as leaders and change makers in their communities through service-learning, Semester of Service projects, and participation in the community-wide, Celebration of Service Days. I hope their stories inspire you to define what community means to you and consider giving back as often as you can.

You’ll also learn about the ways you can get involved in our school community – from small actions like joining us on Facebook and Twitter, pledging your support to the “Give to the Max Day” on November 9, and/or signing-up to be a volunteer or mentor in one of our schools.

Making a Difference in the Classroom…The Presence of Black Men at the Maya Angelou Schools

November 2, 2010

“It’s good to see black men in the school,” a student’s mother told me during a recent Family Night at one of our high schools. Her son is beginning his second year with us. He’s had his share of challenges at his prior school, and he struggled a bit with us during his first year. But now he is seeing success.

This mom wasn’t attributing her son’s change in performance and attitude solely to the presence of black males.  As she was quick to add in my presence, “Dr. White-Hood (our school’s director of academics and principal support) and his black women teachers were excellent..” So, she was not diminishing the black women and non-black educators that empower and guide the students that attend our Maya Angelou Schools.  This mother couldn’t help but consider, though, that the presence of black men in our schools “makes a difference.”  Researchers agree with this mother’s intuition. Findings from multiple studies suggest that the presence of black male mentors correlates with improved outcomes for black youth, particularly young black males.

The numbers of black men we have in our schools should help us realize this difference. This year we have two black male principals, nearly half of the middle school staff is black males, and at the high schools we have black male counselors, an assistant principal, deans, and teachers (including math and special education teachers). One of our  two black male principals, Mr. Geddis, recently spoke about the impact of his position as an educator at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School – Evans Middle School Campus as featured as a part of the TEACH Campaign – an initiative of the United States Department of Education designed to raise awareness of the teaching profession and get new generation of teachers to join the ones who are already making a difference in the classroom.

What we know for sure is that these men are critical partners to their colleagues and crucial supports for our students. We also know there is value in this mothers’ intuition, and we have high expectations for the black male educators among us to make a difference in the lives of all of our students, and in particular, our black male students.