The SOE Review - Volume 1 - Spring 2010

THE SOE REVIEW

MAY 2010

HOWARD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NEWSMAGAZINE Volume 1

Bridging the Opportunity Gap with IntegrityBased Teaching

Mr. DeShazor, Early Learning Program teacher with students

Letter from the Dean Dear Alumni and Friends:

W

elcome to the inaugural issue of the newsmagazine for the Howard University School of Education (HUSOE). This biannual

publication is designed to inform you about the advocacy, policy and research activities of HUSOE faculty, students and alumni. This edition highlights our work from 2007-2010.

Howard University’s commitment to preparing educational leaders dates back to 1890. We are not a newcomer to the enterprise of preparing educators and human service professionals. Rather, for nearly a century and a half, the School has been actualizing its mission to improve and expand educational opportunity and access, particularly for African Americans and other underserved communities.

Advocacy is the core of HUSOE preparation programs which equip graduates to be leaders of change, reflective practitioners, and engaged researchers. Graduates are steeped in a knowledge base that is designed to eradicate the effects of racism in education and human service delivery.

The School is home to the Journal of Negro Education, which recently celebrated its 75th year of continuous publication as a refereed scholarly journal; a NAEYC-accredited Early Learning Program that serves children ages 3-5 years old; an Upward Bound Program; the DC Area Writing Project; a Family Life Center; and, the Capstone Institute for School Reform. To learn more about the HUSOE visit www.howard. edu/schooleducation.

Enjoy reading this and future volumes. Let us hear from you!

Sincerely,

Leslie T. Fenwick, PhD Dean School of Education lfenwick@howard.edu

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Table of Contents 4

Research Perspectives

• Understanding African American Adolescent Males Who Succeed • African American Students and the Opportunity Gap

8

Policy Advocacy

• HUSOE and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Host Capitol Hill Policy Forum • White House Initiative on HBCUs Forum on Teachers and Teaching

9 • • • • •

LEADERSHIP FOR THE NATION

National Press Club Forum on MetLife Survey of Teacher Opinions Students Making A Real Difference Doctoral Student Named to APA Board Principal of the Year: From Courtroom to Classroom Alumna Named Regional Teacher of the Year

11 FACULTY PUBLICATIONS 12 NEWS • Education Returns to Miner Building • Alumna and National Academy of Education Member Named Visiting Scholar • HUSOE Selected as WW-RBF Designated Institution • Charles H. Thompson Lecture-Colloquium • Secretary of Education Duncan and Mr. Tom Joyner Visit • Faculty Member Receives AASA Humanitarian Award • Dean Appointed to Accreditation and Foundation Boards • Faculty Member Appointed to AEA Board • HUSOE Senior Named Allstate Give Back Hero

20 ADVOCACY • Howard University Family Life Center: A Haven for Area Teens

22 GRANT AWARDS • $2.1 Million Award Supports Ready to Teach Program • $1.1 Million NSF Award to Study HBCU Teacher Preparation Model • U.S. Department of the Interior Awards $800,000

24 PROGRAMS • A Writing Revolution

25 THE WORLD • HUSOE Faculty Member Collaborates with Australian Fulbright Scholar • From the Beltway to the Great Wall: A Journey toward Understanding • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Adolescents in the Gaza Strip Howard University School of Education

Executive Editor: Leslie T. Fenwick, Ph.D.

Please send address changes and alumni information to:

Spring 2010

Editorial Director: Grace Virtue, Ph.D.

SOE Review

The SOE Review is published by the School of

Contributing Editor: Constance Ellison, Ph.D.

Howard University School of Education

Education. The opinions expressed here do not

Layout and Design: International Graphics

2565 Georgia Avenue, NW

necessarily reflect those of the University or its

Copy Editors: Wilona Sloan and LaWanza Spears

Washington, D.C. 20059

administration.

Photography: Kerry-Ann Hamilton

Phone: 202 806 7340

Executive Assistant: Marie Palin

E-Mail: jelbedour@howard.edu The SOE Review

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Understanding African-American Adolescent Males Who Succeed

By Ivory A. Toldson, Ph.D. This study, Understanding African-American Adolescent Males Who Achieve, explored the protective and risk factors that are associated with academic achievement among the selected demographic. Currently, only half of black male students who start high school graduate within four years, compared to 75 percent of white students (Edney, 2004; Valentine, 2005). When assessing the achievement “gap� among African Americans, researchers also note disparities in standardized test scores, grade point averages and college enrollment.

Dismal statistics presented with little social or historical context have resulted in educational policies and practices that perpetually use a deficit model

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for black males. The deficit model focuses on problems instead of

After principal components analysis, stepwise multiple regression

evaluating strengths. Whitney Young High School in Chicago, IL,

analysis was used to determine which of the 12 factors best predicted

and Davidson Magnet School in Augusta, Georgia, are prominent

academic achievement. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed

examples of schools that defy existing educational gaps. Likewise,

that among the 12 statistically derived factors, four significantly (p <

every black community, regardless of economic resources, contains

.001) contributed to African American youth academic achievement:

shining examples of young men who achieve in school, regardless of

(a) aggressive Behavior (t = -9.3); (b) positive perceptions of school

immeasurable social disadvantages.

(t = 7.3); (c) positive communication with parents (t = 6.1); and (d)

1

In addition to the specific objectives of this study, the author

religious faith (t = 5.2).

challenges the tone and spirit in which research is traditionally

Discussion: This study provides insight into factors that may contribute

conducted about black male achievement and asserts that failure

to scholastic achievement among young African American males.

by some, should not be the guiding force behind policies aiming to

According to the data, African American adolescent males who

remediate education. Rather, policies should seek to re-create on a

achieve in school have good modulation of aggressive behavior,

macro level, the experiences of those who achieve.

a positive attitude toward school, positive communication with

Method: The study explored factors that improved educational outcomes for African- American adolescents, by analyzing data on those who achieved academically. Participants of this study were

parents, and some involvement with a religious faith. Delinquent behaviors in general (selling drugs, stealing, etc.) did not correlate with underachievement.

1,208 adolescent (age 12-17) males who completed the Youth

Parental discipline, as evidenced by limiting TV, limiting time spent

Experiences Survey on the most recent National Survey on Drug Use

with friends, and managing household chores, did not statistically

and Health. Protective factors explored included school experiences,

contribute to greater academic achievement. Positive communication

relationship with parents, exposure to prevention programs, and

with parents, including parents expressing praise, helping with

religious involvement. Risk factors covered drug involvement,

homework, and talking about the dangers of drugs and alcohol,

aggressive behaviors and antisocial behaviors. Academic achievement

predicted high achievement among African American male youth.

was presented as a continuous variable, which was based on the respondents self-report to the question, “What were your grades for the last semester or reporting period?” Responses included: “mostly A’s,” “mostly B’s,” “mostly C’s,” “mostly D’s,” and mostly F’s.”

Education programs and policies might enhance black male student effectiveness if they stress the importance of school and emphasize the supportive role of teachers. The data suggest that merely hearing a teacher say “Good job” can statistically improve

Results: Using principle component

academic achievement among Black male students. Parent training

analysis with varimax rotation, the 49

should stress positive communication and cooperative learning. The

variables from the Youth Experiences

findings clearly suggest that a “pat on the back” beats a “kick in the

subsection was reduced to 12 factors

rear” when fostering achievement among black males. Educational

accounting for 69% of the variance.

policies should also appreciate Black males’ spiritual faith by building

Criterion

1)

alliances and coalitions with religious institutions. Ultimately, this

parent’s perception of drugs; 2-4)

research represents a step toward supporting research and programs

youth perceptions and knowledge of

that improve life skills of young African American males, and

drug use; 5) positive communication

reform obstructive policies that focus more on punitive and less on

with parents; 6) perceptions of school;

preventative measures.

measures

included:

7) religious faith; 8) pro-social skills training;

9)

aggressive

behavior;

10) anti-drug education; 11) antisocial behavior; and 12) parental discipline.

Ivory Toldson, PhD is an associate professor of counseling psychology in the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies at the Howard University School of Education.

1. Predominately black high school that earned recognition as one of the top schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

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African American Students

Multiple Stories | By A. Wade Boykin

The educational plight of young African-American males is a matter of urgent national importance. Certainly, it is no secret that far too many black boys do not reach the educational attainments that we hope for them, indeed that we need from them. Until this challenge is successfully met, we will simply not be able to benefit from an important reservoir of human talent that our communities and our nation desperately need now and will do even more in the years ahead.

So what are the particular challenges facing young African-American males? Research shows that from very early in the formal schooling experience through the elementary school years, black boys are singled out for disproportionately displaying behaviors that are viewed as problematic by school educators. These include lack of concentration and non-compliance.

Whether these claims are accurate or not, to the extent that perceptions are reality, it stands to reason that these observations of young black males could lead to lower educational expectations for them, which in turn could lead to lower academic performance. In fact, recent research reveals that teachers often engage in classroom practices that convey lowered academic expectations for African-American boys. In racially integrated middle school classrooms, it was shown that African-American boys received the least amount of praise, had the fewest number of process questions directed at them, and were offered the lowest level of guided clues when they gave partially correct answers compared to black girls, and white boys and girls.

Given these kinds of differential educational experiences, it should not be surprising that many black boys come to approach and conceive of their schooling experiences in negative terms. It is likely that many (but certainly not all) become disengaged, alienated, feel unsupported, and come to distance themselves from striving for academic excellence.

The work of Sandra Graham at UCLA shows that in middle school, perceptions of black males as stereotypically low achievers and troublemakers are held not only by black girls, white boys and girls, but also by black boys themselves. Moreover, in this same investigation, Graham found that black girls, as well as white boys and girls, reported that they most admire their high achieving same race and same gender classmates. Black boys least admire their high achieving black male peers.

A Complex Story By now, we should be aware that there is a striking, rather persistent achievement gap between the performance 6

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of black students, both boys and girls, and their white counterparts. This gap shows up in grade point averages, in the taking of rigorous courses in high school. and in performance on district, state and national achievement tests.

But there is another story. American school children, broadly speaking, across kindergarten to the 12th grade, do not fare as well as expected when compared to international standards. Consider data from the recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS). The study used a common achievement test yardstick for discerning math and science performance among eight grade cohorts in 38 nations, primarily from North America, Europe and Asia. American students ranked in the middle in both math and science. They scored significantly lower than their counterparts from South Korea, Japan, Hungary, England, Canada, Belgium, and Singapore, among others. Similar results were recently obtained from an international reading study. Clearly, therefore, there is considerable room for improvement for all of our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children.

The findings of a persistent achievement gap strongly suggests that as educators endeavor to address this issue, we cannot approach our task merely in terms of helping certain minority group students to catch up to the levels of their white peers. Rather, whatever programs and interventions we enact to address the achievement gap must lead to raising levels for all of our children while simultaneously raising these levels more steeply for minority students.

s and the Opportunity Gap Strategies Fortunately, some strategies have already shown promise in closing the achievement gap through a process that raises the achievement levels of majority and minority students alike, but where the improvement slope is greater for example, for African- American students.

The Capstone Institute for School Reform at the Howard University School of Education has been at the forefront of researching and implementing such strategies. The Institute refers to such gap-closing schooling strategies as integrity-based because they are designed to acknowledge, build upon, or draw out the potential that students bring with them to school settings; and to eliminate hindrances in order to allow assets to manifest, or as the case may be, to help create assets in school settings for all students. These strategies fall roughly into five interrelated yet distinct categories. They are: (1) promoting meaningful learning that builds proactively on students’ experiences, prior knowledge, existing or emerging competencies, and that makes connections among and between school subjects and the significant events in students’ lives; (2) directly teaching learning strategies, while fostering critical and higher order thinking processes, toward deeper understanding of subject and transfer of knowledge across contexts; (3) building a learning community among students through devices that foster collaborative intellectual exchanges among them, and foster classroom learning as an inclusive process; (4) utilizing cultural resources of students, families, and their communities to include links to traditions and rituals, core cultural values, and popular culture; and (5) providing a supportive yet demanding learning environment where effort and improvement are emphasized along with sustained excellence. Evidence typically links the effectiveness of such strategies to the enhancement of critical thinking, strategic learning, motivation, sustained, active task engagement, self-efficacy, and positive academic identity in students, especially for African and Latino students from low income backgrounds.

However, we also have learned that we can’t just plop these strategies into existing business as usual ways of schooling. We submit that we must change the schooling paradigm, change the purposes schools serve, and change the organizational culture and routines. This is because historically our nation’s schools have served a talentsorting function. They have been excessively preoccupied

with classifying, and labeling children, and arranging them along a vertical pecking order from the best to the worst. They have worked to identify the relatively small number of allegedly talented students, who in turn will be given access to the best quality education. Those sorted out will be the “also-rans,” who will benefit less from their educational experiences. A major reason why this paradigm must be replaced is that the weeding out all too often is done along race, class, cultural and gender lines. By abandoning talent sorting, we will particularly address the one social group most victimized by the sorting process, namely African-American males. The sorting mechanism institutionally seeks the easiest, most obvious “prey” to weed out, and most certainly in our social order these have been African-American males.

In place of a sorting paradigm, the Capstone Institute promotes a talent development approach to schooling.

This is the notion that all students can learn to high standards, if all relevant stakeholders are suitably supportive and fulfill their various roles and responsibilities.

Certain key principles guide this approach to school reform. The first is to take an integrity-based approach to schooling. A second principle is over determination.

This means putting in place, multiple evidence-based activities, programs, practices and structures that become various pathways to success. This redundancy reduces substantially the possibility that children fall through the cracks of failure.

In our work with schools in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and elsewhere, our results to date have been very promising. Where we have been able to adequately implement components of our approach, we have seen increases in student engagement and achievement test scores, for both black male and female students. Teachers report that they have benefited from our activities, and we have witnessed positive changes in their instructional practices. We have also seen increases in constructive parent and community engagement in schools.

In all, we believe we are on our way to helping many African American students, both boys and girls, better realize their academic potential, as we strive to put them on track for academic success.

A. Wade Boykin, PhD is professor of psychology in the Howard University College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Capstone Institute for School Reform in the Howard University School of Education.

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Policy Advocacy HUSOE and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Host Capitol Hill Policy Forum WASHINGTON (April 24, 2009) – More than 200 Congressional representatives and educators from across the nation met Friday on Canapitol Hill in the Russell Senate Building under the leadership of the Howard University School of Education, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Open Society Institute to find ways to bolster education and social outcomes for African American males.

“The School of Education must have a leading voice in the nation’s discourse about education. It is critically important that our faculty’s research informs and influences education funding and policy decision making, particularly as each affects Black, brown and poor children,” said Dean Leslie T. Fenwick.

The conference, “Breaking Barriers: A Brain Trust for Educational Policy Reform for School-age African American Males” highlighted the groundbreaking research of Dr. Ivory Toldson, associate professor in the School of Education. During the three-hour forum, experts provided revisions to the No Child Left Behind Act and offered recommendations to the education funding provisions outlined in President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Mr. Shawn Dove, who manages the Open Society Institute’s

Campaign for Black Male Achievement, said the ultimate goal of the conference was “to develop workable solutions to the challenges that confront Black men and boys.”

Derek Black, a professor at Howard University School of Law, said there needs to be a better distribution of funds for public education. “We must revise the No Child Left Behind Act,” Black said. “Congress should not give any money to any state or school district before doing the necessary background research. The spending quotients are unfair.” Black also insisted that the government invest more money into early childhood education.“It’s harder to catch up,” he said. “A student in high school would have a harder time adjusting to new teaching methods and programs, as opposed to a child who has been receiving the proper education tools since kindergarten.”

To learn more about the 2010 Capitol Hill Policy Forum go to www.howard.edu/schooleducation.

White House Initiative on HBCUs Forum on Teachers and Teaching Dr. Jacqueline Jordan

and Universities (HBCUs) and The National Policy Board

Irvine, a member of

for Professional Teaching Standards (NBTS). The convening

the National Academy

opened with remarks from Secretary of Education Arne

of

and

Duncan, and was attended by HBCU presidents and deans

in

of Schools/Colleges of Education, as well as the presidents

Education

of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

at the Howard University School of Education, and Dean

(AACTE), the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher

Leslie Fenwick were invited to write and present the framing

Education (NCATE), and the Teacher Education Accreditation

paper for a conversation about teaching and teacher

Council (TEAC). To read an abstract of the framing paper go to

education in the new millennium to an audience convened

http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whhbcu/hbcu-role.doc

Education

Visiting Urban

Scholar

by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges 8

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Leadership for the Nation National Press Club Forum on MetLife Survey of Teacher Opinions Each year since 1984, The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher explores teachers’ opinions and brings them to the attention of the American public and policymakers.

The 2009 release of the survey results was held at the National Press Club. The press release featured Mr. Kheaton Scott as one of the panelists who responded to the survey findings. Mr. Scott is a senior human development major in the School of Education who aspires to be a school counselor. According to Dean Fenwick, “It is important for Howard University School of Education faculty and students to be ‘front and center’ at these and other national policy convenings. The perspectives that we provide about policy and practice can illuminate analysis and yield innovative and workable solutions to the nation’s education challenges.” Mr. Scott appeared on the panel with Dr. Mary Brabeck, Dean of New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and Mr. Sean Bulson, principal of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

Students Making A Real Difference The School of Education has partnered with The Heart of America Foundation to redesign libraries in urban schools and communities. Project READesign is the foundation’s signature work and has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Recently, School of Education students traveled to cities around the U.S. (including Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, Bronx, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis) to donate books and transform school and community spaces into functional libraries and reading corners for elementary school kids. According to Marquis Smith, President of the HUSOE student council, “The experiences we have on these READesigns are priceless! The joy and smiles on the faces of the children and administrators is something that will never get old. HUSOE students are making a real difference by encouraging reading and literacy in the nation’s urban schools and communities.”

Doctoral Student Named to APA Board Ms. Nichole Manns was elected to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2009 Commission on Accreditation Representing Graduate Student Consumers of Education and Training. Ms. Mann, who earned her MEd in counseling psychology, is a doctoral student in the program. In discussing the value of her appointment, Ms. Mann stated: Graduate students have to look beyond just getting accepted into a graduate program because earning a doctorate usually means devoting four to seven years to a program and taking on significant financial debt.

When making a decision to attend graduate school in counseling, school or clinical psychology, students need to become well informed consumers of their educational investment. The opportunity to have a voting seat on the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation as a graduate student is truly an honor. The driving force behind this board is to protect graduate student consumers of education and training in professional psychology programs.

My hope is that I can serve as a role model for other graduate students, so that they can see that it’s possible to have a voice in their respective professional fields while pursuing their academic degrees.”

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Leadership for the Nation Principal of the Year: From Courtroom to Classroom Nearly 20 years ago, a young attorney from Brooklyn, New York named Wayne Ryan decided he was tired of seeing young people, mostly uneducated, and mostly black boys, trapped in the justice system. He was frustrated that he couldn’t turn their lives around. He was tired of providing too little, too late. So he made a decision to leave his first passion behind.

Today, Wayne Ryan is one of the most lauded principals in the District of Columbia Public School System for his leadership at the Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus (formerly Noyes Elementary School).

Since his installation as principal, the school met NCLB targets in his second and third years as principal, and made gains each year thereafter.

Ryan’s change of heart came in 1991. As he saw more juvenile cases, the words of his law school mentor (Dr. Henry Jones of Howard University Law School) began to take on new meaning.

“He taught me that the greatest contribution to law may just be keeping somebody from becoming a part of it,” Ryan remembered. “I often think of that in my work today – having high expectations and working hard to keep my students out of the criminal justice system.”

Since then, Ryan has used his law school know-how and natural sense of determination to reinvent himself as an urban educator.

“I’ve always been fascinated by teaching,” he explained. Ryan taught a “street law” class years ago, so he knew teaching was something he enjoyed. “I started to realize that as an attorney by the time I got to these kids it was often too late. I wanted to get involved at a level where I still thought I had a fighting chance.”

After teaching three years, Ryan become a dean of students. By 1998, he had been assistant principal at two schools. Later that year, he was recruited and appointed to the principalship at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School in Washington, DC. Finally, in 2001, then-Superintendent Paul Vance designated Noyes Elementary School and eight other schools to become Transformation Schools. Vance appointed Ryan principal. He has happily been at the school ever since.

Ryan is the 2009 recipient of the U.S. Department of Education’s Terrel Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership. One of nine recipients, Ryan was also selected the 2008 National Distinguished Principal and 2005-2006 Washington DC Public Schools (DCPS) Principal of the Year. He is the current president of the DC chapter of the National Association of Elementary Principals (NAESP). There’s even a “Wayne Ryan Day” as resolved by the DC City Council. Somehow, Ryan transfers the benefits of his stellar reputation and attention it brings back to his students.

Continued on page 15 10

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HUSOE alumna and super teacher Angela Sims named Teacher of the Year by the Washington Post

Alumna Named Regional Teacher of the Year Howard University School of Education alumna, Angela Sims, was the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award, annually awarded to 20 MDDC-VA region teachers by the Washington Post Educational Foundation.

A 1998 master’s graduate of the School of Education’s early childhood program, Sims is a teacher at the Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center in Adams Morgan where she teaches reading, math, science and social studies in the school’s dual English-Spanish Language Program.

Over the course of her 10-year plus career at Marie Reed, Sims has worked as a special education teacher, and served as a member of the school’s restructuring team and as a summer school principal.

Named in honor of Agnes Meyer, a strong supporter of public education and the wife of Eugene Meyer, publisher of the Washington Post from 1933 to 1946, the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award is in its 25th year.

Sims received, $3,000 cash award and a Tiffany Crystal apple at a ceremony in May 2007.

Of her dedication to her students’ education, Sims says simply: “I think a child should be able to read.” To this end, she said, she is focused on the basics. “Determine to get it right by second grade!” she charges.

A consistently high achiever, Sims is currently preparing for National Board Certification, the highest credential in teaching.

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

The Last Word: Controversy and Commentary in American Education The essay, “Looking for Leaders in a Time of Change” co-authored by Dean Fenwick and Dr. Mildred Pierce appears in The Last Word: Controversy and Commentary in American Education alongside articles by former President Bill Clinton, noted historian John Hope Franklin and education experts Linda Darling-Hammond and Howard Gardner. The piece examines the changing nature of the school principalship and the underrepresentation of educators of color in the ranks of school leadership. The Last Word features Education Week’s best commentary essays which were selected for timelessness and tone on the occasion of Education Week’s 25th anniversary.

Breaking Barriers: Plotting the Path to School Success for School-age African American Males Written by Dr. Ivory Toldson, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies, the monograph provides statistical analysis of success patterns of 5800 African American PK-12 male students and presents policy recommendations for improving public schools and social services. The report, which was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and written for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), has been presented at Capitol Hill policy convenings and to PK-12 practitioner audiences across the nation.

Teaching the Holocaust in the Urban Classroom: The Need to Know

Written by Dr. Helen Bond, assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the chapter, “Paths to Teaching the Holocaust” appears in the text, Teaching the Holocaust in the Urban Classroom: The Need to Know. In her chapter, Bond argues that Holocaust education presents valuable content and learning opportunities that can empower students to learn how to protect their rights and the rights of others. She asserts that Holocaust education has the potential to “capture the imagination and address the promise of underserved youth as they learn to become ethical and responsible citizens.”

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SOE NEWS

Historic Miner Teachers College at 2565 Georgia Avenue is the new home of the Howard University School of Education

Education Returns to Miner Building

Originally located in the block bounded by 19th, 20th, N, and O streets, NW, Miner Hall, named for its founder Myrtilla Miner, was known as both the Miner School and the School for Colored Girls.

Historic Miner Building, once the premier institution

In 1863 Congress granted a charter to re-open the school

for training African-American teachers in the District of

as the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth, and

Columbia is reclaiming its place as the preferred venue

the first classes were held after the Civil War ended in

for training teachers of color in the United States. After

1865. In 1879, as Miner Normal School, it became part of

decades in which it was used for varying purposes, the

the District of Columbia public school system.

Miner Building, located at 2565 Georgia Avenue, NW, is the new site for the Howard University School of Education.

University officials say moving the School of Education from the old location where it has been since 1975 and into the renovated Miner Building fulfills a commitment made by then-President H. Patrick Swygert in Strategic Framework for Action II to situate the school in an updated facility. The move signals as well the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renewed commitment to expand and deepen the role of the School of Education in addressing education as a priority to the nation and the African American community.

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Howard University graduate Lucy Ellen Moten (class of 1870) served as principal of the school from 1883 until 1920. Moten oversaw the construction of the Georgia Avenue building from 1913-1914.

In 1929 Miner Normal School was renamed Miner Teachers College and expanded into a four-year curriculum, graduating its first four-year class in 1933.

Miner Teachers College became known as one of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier teacher education college graduating generations of stellar teachers, principals, and university professors.

SOE NEWS Alumna and National Academy of Education Member Named Visiting Scholar Dr. Jaqueline Jordan Irvine, a member of the National Academy of Education and the Charles Howard Candler Professor Emerita at Emory University, was named Visiting Scholar in Urban Education at the Howard University School of Education in January 2009. A nationally recognized scholar who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the School of Education, Dr. Irvine’s research examines urban education, the teacher pipeline, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Her books include Black Students and School Failure, In Search of Wholeness: African American Teachers and Their Culturally Specific Pedagogy and Culturally Responsive Lesson Planning for Elementary and

Dr. Jaqueline Jordan Irvine

Middle Grades.

Dr. Irvine is recipient of research, teaching and distinguished career awards from numerous prominent education organizations including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). In establishing the Visiting Scholar in Urban Education position, Dean Fenwick remarked, “This post and Dr. Irvine’s appointment signals to the educational policy and research communities that the Howard University School of Education is repositioning itself to assume a more nationally prominent role as it responds to the nation’s education challenges.” Dr. Irvine was also named a 2010 Charter Day honoree for her accomplishments in education and research.

HUSOE Selected as WW-RBF Designated Institution The School of Education was invited to apply to participate in The Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship (WW-RBF) program as an institution designated to receive WW-RBF Aspiring Teacher Fellows. After extensive review of 159 university applicants, the review team selected the HUSOE as one of the 29 Schools/College of Education in the nation eligible to receive WW-RBF fellows beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year. In his letter announcing the selection, James Fraser, Senior Vice President of Programs at The Woodrow Wilson Foundation, acknowledged that “receiving this designation is, indeed, a high honor and a mark of national recognition indicating the quality of your teacher preparation programs.”

Selected WW-RBF Fellows will only be able to use their $30,000 fellowship award to enroll in master’s degree programs (leading to teacher licensure) at one of the 29 designated universities. According to Fraser, “In the current and past years, Fellows have been able to use their

fellowship at any teacher education program in the United State, so this is a significant change aimed at increasing the quality of preparation offered to the Fellows.”

In discussing the selection as a WW-RBF institution, Dean Fenwick states that “This designation affirms the faculty’s work to innovate, to strengthen the rigor and relevance of our teacher preparation programs and to garner national recognition.”

Since the inception of the Fellowship program, the School of Education has had approximately 16 graduates selected as Aspiring Teacher Fellows. This year two human development majors, Nailah Jones and Shawdae Thorpe, were selected as members of the 2010 Fellows cohort which boasts graduates from Spelman College, Wellesley College, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, Dartmouth College, Yale University and Brown University among others.

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SOE NEWS Charles H. Thompson Lecture-Colloquium For 30 years, the Journal of Negro Education and the School of Education have co-sponsored the Charles H. Thompson Lecture-Colloquium. According to Dr. Aaron Stills, chair of the Charles H. Thompson Lecture Committee, “This seminal lecture features leading education and social policy scholars and constitutes the School of Education’s effort to lead scholarly engagement about the education of Black people throughout the diaspora.” This year’s lecture was presented

by Dr. Margaret Beale Spencer, the Marshall Field IV Professor of Urban Education at the University of Chicago. Dr. Carol Lee, professor of Learning Sciences and African American Studies at Northwestern University and president of the American Education Research Association (AERA) delivered the 2008 lecture, From Du Bois to Obama: The Education of African Americans in a Changing World. In 2007, Dr. Pedro Noguera, professor in the Steinhart School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University and executive director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education, delivered the address, The Significance of Race in the Racial Achievement Gap.

Secretary of Education Duncan and Mr. Tom Joyner Visit Arne Duncan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, underscored the need for a solid education for all Americans, particularly those in urban public schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) during his visit to Howard University on February 26, 2009. Mr. Tom Joyner inspired the Secretary’s visit by inviting him to tour HBCUs. The visit showcased the Tom Joyner Teacher Certification Scholarship Program made possible by a $100,000 award to the School of Education from the Tom Joyner Foundation. The teacher certification scholarships are awarded to teachers in the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)² who are completing teacher licensure requirements through an accelerated certification program delivered by the School of Education faculty. According to Ms. Sue White, Head of (MS)², “We were delighted to showcase the Joyner Teacher-Scholars and the Middle School of Math and Science during the Secretary’s and Mr. Joyner’s visit to the University.”

“I think what Howard is doing is phenomenal,” Duncan said. “I think all HBCUs have a critical and unique role to play as they have done an excellent job at nurturing students and ensuring that they succeed.”

The Secretary, Mr. Joyner, and Thomas Joyner, Jr, Foundation President and CEO, met with Howard University President Sidney A. Ribeau, Dean Leslie T. Fenwick, and Dr. Alvin Thornton, Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer before visiting the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)² .

“We are thrilled that one of Secretary Duncan’s first campus visits is to Howard and our Middle School of Math and Science,” President Ribeau said. “We engaged Secretary Duncan about our research and model programs, and we certainly look forward to more dialogue as the University continues to address the tough challenges facing the nation and the world.”

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SOE NEWS Continued from page 10

“It has given me a unique forum to share some of the wonderful things the students and staff are doing at Noyes, and to promote this school as a highpoverty, high-achieving school,” Ryan said.

By all accounts, the school and surrounding community have been invigorated with a sense of family and teamwork in the past few years.

Colleagues and staff attest to Ryan’s impeccable leadership and genuine concern for his students and his school.

Dr. Gloria Grantham formerly the Divisional Superintendent for DCPS Transformation School (Ryan’s immediate supervisor), is one such person.

“Mr. Ryan takes his work very seriously; his actions clearly show that he puts the children first,” she declared. “He has truly developed a climate of belonging at Noyes. “The children, teachers and staff feel as though they are family.”

Faculty Member Receives AASA’s Humanitarian Award Dr. Lois Harrison-Jones, professor and interim chair of the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, is the 2009 recipient of the Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award. The award, presented by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), recognizes

superintendents

for

lifetime

achievement in the field of education and honors the professional qualities of advocacy,

Ryan hopes that by focusing on three areas: recruiting and retaining highly qualified and effective teachers, ensuring standards, and cultivating excellence, Noyes will continue to improve and become the best public school in the city.

support, mentorship, and encouragement

As for him? “It is important for me to continue to build capacity and groom leaders for the future of Noyes. It will soon be time for some ‘young urban warrior’ to take over the helm,” he stated. “I always want to be involved in some aspect of education. Perhaps higher education is next.”

Richmond, VA and Boston, MA public school

Principal Ryan is currently pursuing the doctoral degree in educational administration and policy in the HUSOE.

of diversity in educational leadership. Dr. Harrison-Jones, a former superintendent of systems, was acknowledged by AASA’s membership for her exceptional commitment to advancing the status of women and minorities in education leadership.

Dean Appointed to AACTE Board and GLEF National Advisory Board Dean Leslie T. Fenwick was elected to the Board of Directors for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). AACTE is an 800 affiliate member organization representing a national alliance of educator preparation programs at colleges/ universities. The organization maintains a strong Capitol Hill presence in order to expand its congressional network and provides members with up-to-the-minute analysis of education policy. Dr. Fenwick joins board members from Columbia University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford University, Tennessee State University and Schools/Colleges of Education at other public and private colleges/universities.

Fenwick was also appointed to the National Advisory Board of the George Lucas Education Foundation. The founder and chair Continued on page 16

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SOE NEWS Continued from page 15 of the foundation, movie producer George Lucas, established the organization to support innovation in PK-12 schools. The foundation publishes EduTopia a widely recognized magazine for promoting positive change in education. Dean Fenwick joins council members from Harvard University, the Panasonic Foundation, Vanderbilt University, distinguished public school leaders, and nonprofit executive directors. In speaking about each of these appointments, Dean Fenwick noted, “This marks an opportunity for the Howard University School of Education to contribute to national conversations about innovation in P-12 teaching and learning as well as policy formulation related to educator preparation and quality.”

Faculty Member Appointed to AEA Board Dr. Veronica Thomas, Professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies, was recently appointed to the executive board of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). AEA is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEA has approximately 5000 members representing all 50 states in the US as well as over 60 foreign countries.

HUSOE Senior Named Allstate Give Back Hero Marquis Smith, Howard University School of Education (HUSOE) senior human development and teacher education major, was selected as one of four Give Back Heroes by Allstate Insurance Company. As part of the company’s recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision and its own commitment to volunteerism, Allstate honored four volunteers who generously serve their communities through extensive volunteer efforts and continuously make a positive impact in their neighborhoods.

According to Anise Wiley-Little, assistant vice president and chief diversity officer for Allstate, “Allstate Give Back Day reinforces the importance of giving back to your community and this year we’re excited to recognize four special individuals who demonstrate a commitment to volunteerism and giving back just as Martin Luther King, Jr. did. We hope their stories inspire people to put their ‘good hands’ to good work in their own neighborhoods, not just on Give Back Day but throughout the year.”

All his life, Marquis Smith has embraced the need for people to give back to their communities, and he took his mission of service one step further when he joined the Army. Upon his return from a three-year tour of duty, Smith compiled more than 600 hours of volunteerism as an AmeriCorps Jumpstart corps member. Today, he continues his community outreach as a student and president of the School of Education’s student council at Howard University. A human development and teacher education major, Smith is involved with Project READesign, a Heart of America Foundation project that helps renovate and build libraries in urban schools and communities. Smith also interns at the Heart of America Foundation promoting literacy and volunteerism. In his free time, Smith lends a hand to Washington, D.C.’s Sunday Suppers program where he helps prepare and serve more than 200 meals for the homeless on a bi-weekly basis. In 2006, shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Smith organized a clothing drive for the homeless in his former hometown of Baton Rouge, La., and collected over 3,500 items in just one month. Smith later organized a toy drive for low-income families in the city, donating more than 1,300 new toys to Toys 4 Tots, local churches and families. To view Allstate’s video about Marquis’ leadership go to www.youtube.com.

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It Starts Here Early Learning Program Prepares Children for Life

By Grace Virtue, Ph.D.

Tabitha Ishmael, Director of the Early Learning Program, believes that every child is capable of high performance. As a teacher, she guides studenets toward discovering their innate abilities.

Childhood is a world of miracles and magic brighter than light or even the purest sky, according to Romanian playwright, Eugene Ionesco. For author Elizabeth Lawrence, in every childhood there is a garden, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer and mornings more fragrant than they will ever be again.

Early childhood development specialists say it is more than that: it is a short, blessed window of opportunity to train young minds in the direction that will ensure lifelong learning. Studies, they say, have consistently shown that a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neurons are formed between ages zero and eight, a physiological fact that correlates with healthy cognitive and psychological development. Children who are properly cared for and stimulated during this stage, stand a very good chance of developing normally and realizing their full potential. Conscious of the special challenges facing African-American children, Howard University operates an innovative Early Learning Program (ELP) to provide a nurturing and enriching environment for young children.

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17

Play and laughter are essential ingredients to healthy cognitive and social development.

Philosophy

Meanwhile, John Harris III, in his article “Identifying and Nurturing the

Director Tabitha Ishmael says the program is guided precisely by the

Education laments not only the system of separating children based

philosophy that young children need a nurturing environment to

on intellectual superiority but the dearth of research focusing on

guide them toward discovering their latent interest and capabilities.

African-American children. He pointed out further that an examination

This, she says, has to be the focus of any program aimed at reducing

of the literature since 1924 reveals that of approximately 4, 000 articles

the disparities in learning outcomes between African-American

on giftedness, less than two percent were written about minority

children and their white counterparts.

students.

“We teach children—not subjects,” Ishmael says. “We focus on

According to Harris, “Educators find this proportion discouraging

the child’s needs and where they are, then move them along the

because less information means less understanding and less

continuum to where they can and should be.”

understanding

Ishmael says, unlike others of its kind, the program is not overly

definitions, theories, and programs –all of which results in an

focused on testing since it is rooted in a belief that all children are

underrepresentation of Black Americans in program for the gifted.”

gifted-- all are capable of high performance in intellectual, creative,

Verilyn Lee, the lone male teacher in Howard University’s Early Learning

artistic, or leadership pursuits. “Our responsibility is to look for that

Program is pleased that the program takes a different approach to

giftedness to see what sparks it, whether its music, art, or science,” says

intellectual giftedness. As an African American male, Lee says he is

the veteran teacher.

profoundly aware of the challenges facing children and particularly

Her views, which fly in the face of the mainstream’s obsession with

little boys. Like Ishmael, he embraces the notion that giftedness is not

testing, finds support in the work of Howard University professor Dr. A.

the exclusive preserve of a handful of students rather it is a quality that

Wade Boykin who argues that the education system’s preoccupation

is much more complex.

with testing serves to rank-order the classroom in ways that do not

“Our responsibility as teachers is to assess the children and ensure

favor African American males in particular.

that we are tuned in to their different needs. We must cater to the

“A major reason why this paradigm must be replaced is that the

total child and we must cater to every child, ” he argues.

weeding out all too often is done along race, class, cultural and gender

Teachers say the Early Learning Program is built on the premise that

lines,” Boykin says. By abandoning talent sorting, we will particularly

all students can succeed with a comprehensive school curriculum

address the one social group most victimized by the sorting process,

and a high expectation approach. This is reflected in four underlying

namely African-American males.”

principles, consistent with the conceptual framework of the School

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The SOE Review

Promise of Gifted Black American Children,” in the Journal of Negro

means

inadequate

identification

procedures,

of Education: (1) all students are capable of learning and there are no limits to their capacity, (2) each student learns in his/her way and at an individual pace; (3) the dignity of the student and respect for his / her personal circumstances and cultural diversity should always be affirmed and (4) the school community and family community must act together to support the student’s learning.

Curriculum and Structure A campus-based facility, Ishmael says the ELP’s three classrooms are designed to reflect the program’s philosophy within a community of learners comprised of children of various ages, interests and abilities.

Children are separated into one pre-school group of two years and nine months through three years and six months, and two Pre-K Kindergarten groups. The curriculum, meanwhile, evolves from the contributions of children, parents and teachers in an atmosphere of exchange and interaction and emphasizes basic readiness skills such as the ability to follow directions, know basic sight words and have basic numeric skills. Ultimately, Ishmael says, all the children leave the program reading at above grade level.

“Our school incorporates and demonstrates current and appropriate practices to the teaching of young children. We take pride in preparing a flexible learning environment with a wide variety of materials that motivate children to explore with confidence and comfort. In this atmosphere, children have the opportunity to enhance their self-concept, identity, confidence and independence.”

Established originally as a nursery school in 1944, the program was staffed by and functioned as a living laboratory for students in the University’s Department of Home Economics. Between 1987 and 1993, the program was configured as the Howard University Laboratory Preschool under the aegis of the School of Human Ecology. In 1993, it was expanded to include the Adele B. McQueen preschool, the Howard University kindergarten and Howard University Summer Day Camp, licensed to serve 80 children. In 2005, President H. Patrick Swygert relocated the ELP to a newly renovated facility with a playground, licensed to serve 60 children.

Now in its 63rd year, the program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and is also a member of the National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers (NCCCC). ¢ The SOE Review

19

Howard University Family Life Center A Haven for Area Tweens

By Valrie Brown, Ed.D.

Though surrounded by the wealth and grandeur of

Participants in the HUFLCYEP program are among those

the United States Capitol, many African-American and

exposed to high-risk behaviors. In fact, some have lost

Hispanic children live in conditions that negatively impact

family members, friends, or even classmates to violence. The

their academic performance and limit their chances of

effect of the constant exposure to criminal activities, as well

leading productive and meaningful lives. Data from the

as the less than desirable socio-economic environment,

U.S. Census Bureau (2004) show that nearly 60 percent

has resulted in some of children expressing the desire to

of African Americans and nine percent of Hispanics in

relocate to a safer neighborhood. Some have repeatedly

the District of 518,074 residents live in the most

expressed reluctance to leave the sanctuary of the Center’s

disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city. Inadequate

after-school program at the end of the day’s activities.

housing, homelessness, low performing or failing schools, limited employment opportunities, low career expectations, and high levels of violent crimes are among the problems in these communities.

The

Center

conducts

a

number

of

intervention

activities with the children it serves. Through its Youth Empowerment Program, funded by the Office of Minority Health, the Center designs culturally appropriate programs

In Ward 1, the areas served by the School of Education’s

to address unhealthy behaviors in at-risk minority youth,

Howard University Family Life Center Youth Empowerment

provides them with opportunities to learn about more

Program (HUFLCYEP), 36 percent of the children live in

positive lifestyles, and enhances their capacity to make

poverty, which is three percent higher than the city’s

informed and healthy choices and decisions. Among the

average (http://www.dcpca.org). These children are at risk

major program components are: academic enrichment,

of becoming victims or perpetrators of crime, more likely to

personal development and wellness, cultural enrichment,

be malnourished, have health or dental problems, and get

recreational enhancement, career development, and

less than adequate sleep--conditions that seriously inhibit

school and family bonding. Continuous dialogues are

the development of their cognitive and social skills. The risk

held with parents about various aspects of parenting,

factors are much greater for children living in single parent

conflict management, and family strengthening. Students

households. According to 2004 statistics, six out of 10

who need special services (like dental, vision, or other

children in the District of Columbia fall into this category,

individualized care) are recommended to the appropriate

with single women being the head of the household in the

social service agency.

vast majority of cases.

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To accomplish the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objectives, the Center works

Overall, teachers, mentors and family members have

with its partners--Allied Health Sciences, the Department

reported positive change in the behaviors of participants.

of Nutrition, Howard University Student Health Center,

This includes greater cooperation, completing assignments,

University of the District of Columbia DC Reads,

taking responsibility for their actions and assuming

Partners4Education, and SODEXHO-- to provide innovative

leadership roles.

results-oriented programming designed to educate and

2005-2006 academic year showed significant differences in

empower young people to reject violent activities, drugs

pre-test and post-test scores for the participants in spelling,

and unhealthy lifestyles. Student mentors from Howard,

reading and mathematics. Most important, interviews

the University of the District of Columbia and professionals

and focus groups with the students showed that they

in the areas of violence prevention, personal development,

believe they benefited considerably from the program.

health, nutrition, career development, and culture

Certainly, the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successes so far demonstrate that

and recreation frequently share their knowledge with

individuals and institutions can make a difference in the

participants and family members. Students, meanwhile,

lives of children by promoting positive lifestyles; helping

demonstrate their commitment to the program through

them develop a sense of purpose, and ensuring that they

regular attendance and dedication to their work.

commit to education and learning.

Further, data collected during the

â&#x20AC;˘ Valrie Brown, Ed.D. is director of the Howard University School of Education Family Life Center Youth Empowerment Program.

Valrie Brown, director of the Howard University Family Life Center, shares with FLCYEP Students The SOE Review

21

Grant Awards $2.1 Million Award Supports Ready to Teach Program Howard University School of Education Receives $2.1 Million Grant from the U.S. Department of Education to Train Teachers

In July 2007, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $22.1 million for 41 grants through the Transition to Teaching program. The program was designed to increase the pool of qualified teachers in high-need schools in high-need districts by recruiting nontraditional teacher candidates, preparing them through alternative routes to certification, and retaining them through strong mentoring programs. In writing the grant and serving as principal investigator, Dr. Marilyn Irving, professor and Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, was seeking to use district partnerships to build a stronger teacher pipeline for urban districts nationwide.

According to Dean Leslie Fenwick, “The $2.1 million award funds the HUSOE’s Ready to Teach Program, which is designed to diversify the nation’s teaching force which is only about 8% African American, 4% Hispanic, and less than 1% Asian. Ready to Teach and has focused on recruiting and preparing a diverse population of nontraditional teacher candidates, particularer African-American male teachers.” The HUSOE has partnered with five urban schools and districts ( in Chicago, Clayton County Schools in Georgia, Houston, Prince Georges County Schools in Maryland, and Washington, DC) to recruit and place candidates. Mr. Andre Evans, a member of the first graduating cohort, was named Teacher-of-the-Year at his school, Northwest Preparatory Academy, in Houston, Texas.

HUSOE was one of three awardees in the DC area. American University and the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence were also awardees.

$1 Million NSF Award to Study HBCU Teacher Preparation Model Dr. Kimberley Freeman, assistant professor of educational psychology in the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies, was awarded $1 million for a three-year education research grant from the National Science Foundation. The aim of What Works in Producing African American Science and Math Teachers at HBCUs is to

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The SOE Review

GRANT AWARDS discover those factors influencing HBCU’s production of African-American PK-12 science and math teachers. The multi-method investigation includes case studies of science and math teacher education programs at HBCUs; interviews with current African-American science and math teachers who are recent graduates of HBCUs; and, a longitudinal survey of a freshman cohort of science and math majors at an HBCU. Dr. Freeman expects the investigation to yield data that can be used to strengthen science and math teacher preparation programs at HBCU’s; improve recruitment of prospective science and math teachers; and inform higher education policy.

Without replenishing the supply of highly-qualified African-American science and math teachers, the continuation of future cohorts of African-American scientists and mathematicians is in jeopardy. Dr. Freeman believes that “equipped with reliable scientific data, HBUCs can expand their role as the nation’s leading producers of African American math and science educators.”

U.S. Department of the Interior Awards $800,000 for Miner Building Renovation At the beginning of the 2009-2010 academic year, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that are the beneficiaries of $14.25 million for historic preservation grants aimed at providing assistance to repair historic buildings on their campuses. Howard University received an $800,000 award to renovate the Miner Building. Built in 1913, the building formerly housed the historic and prestigious Miner Teachers College and was recently designated as the new home of the School of Education (see page 12).

In a press conference at Howard University with President Sidney A. Ribeau and Dean Leslie T. Fenwick, Secretary Salazar noted that the Department made these funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for projects that will repair and preserve campus buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The recovery funds not only will restore historic buildings on these campuses but also will provide a boost to individuals and companies performing the repairs, college communities and related local economies,” Secretary Salazar said.

The National Park Service invited all HBCUs to submit grant applications for grants to repair and preserve historic buildings on their campuses. The buildings selected for this apportionment of grant funds were assessed as being the most architecturally and historically significant buildings on these HBCU campuses, and as needing essential repairs to preserve them and make them useable.

The SOE Review

23

PROGRAMS A Writing Revolution

By Judith Moore Kelly Founded in 1974 at the University of California, Berkeley, the National Writing Project (NWP) was first authorized by Congress to receive federal funding in 1991. When the 2003 report, “The Neglected ‘R’: The Need for a Writing Revolution,” was published the question of why Johnny can’t read developed into why Johnny can’t write. The response was predictable: teachers were put on a fast track of scripted training on how to teach writing. In the midst of so many urgent calls for the improvement of student writing, NWP, an authorized program within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, received renewed attention.

As the only professional development network devoted to the teaching and learning of writing, NWP’s success may be accounted for by an approach that is distinctly different from other professional development organizations. First, the NWP model is a university-school partnership that acknowledges and makes use of the connectivity between K-12 and university education.

Second, the NWP model honors the professionalism of all of its participants and invites a dual commitment from teachers to share what they know and to learn from what their colleagues know.

The NWP approach, characterized by its social practices, is not a one-shot or one-size-fits-all model; it is an on-going collaborative, research-based model that consistently proves its value in the nation’s classrooms.

Established at the Howard University School of Education in 1995 by 22 teachers, the District of Columbia Area Writing Project (DCAWP) now boasts more than 175 educators. With a mission to improve the teaching and learning of writing in area schools, DCAWP annually provides more than 1000 hours of professional development to area schools, reaches more than 500 educators and sponsors six student-writing events. It is one of the most successful and long-running professional development organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Consistently cited for its high-quality offerings, DCAWP is a sought after professional development provider.

With more than 200 sites in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the NWP relies heavily on federal funds, matching university funds and support from school district partners to fulfill its mission of improving the teaching and learning of writing across the nation. Federal funding supports both the expansion of the capacity of existing sites and the expansion of the NWP network, while university matching funds support existing sites. The NWP goal is to bring a writing project site within the reach of every teacher and student in the country.

The success of DCAWP and other sites across the country can be directly attributed to social practices that are part of the national model. For instance, the bond that develops during the Summer Institute continues during the school year when teachers participate in study groups, facilitate workshops, make presentations at national and international literacy conferences and conventions, write professionally and creatively, and sponsor student writing events. Most recently, DCAWP hosted the NWP Annual Urban Network Conference that attracted more than 250 Urban Writing Project teachers. The DCAWP also hosts NWP’s Annual Spring Legislative Conference, a day on Capitol Hill for project leaders from across the nation to share success stories and lobby congressional leaders for project support.

So far, successful projects of DCAWP include: (1) Teacher on Call - a new initiative that provides quick and accessible answers to classroom dilemmas, especially incorporating writing into an already crowded curriculum with district mandates; (2) Promising Young Writers – a partnership with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Library that provides an avenue for area students to publish and share their writing; (3) Net Pals – an electronic support network for teachers to dialogue about writing and the teaching of writing; and (4) Writing Rights – a partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that uses writing to connect Holocaust study with other significant historical events, such as slavery and the Japanese Internment.

The notion that writing skills are required in all academic areas is not a novel idea. Rather, it is a realization that good writing is as important to student success as reading and mathematics. With a goal of improving student achievement through writing, DCAWP teachers share commitment, professionalism and expertise. Their passion about their own writing and that of their students makes them sought after consultants as area schools strive to improve the overall quality of education for urban students.

Judith Moore Kelly is director of the DC Area Writing Project at the Howard University School of Education.

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WORLD Australian Fulbright Scholar Studies at HUSOE Christopher Lawrence, recipient of the 2008 Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship, was one 24 Australians recognized as a Fulbright Scholar in 2008. Mr. Lawrence is completing a PhD in epidemiology at the University of Sydney Australia and holds an appointment as a Study Manager at The George Institute for International Health. He originally came to the U.S. to conduct his research at the Brigham Women’s Hospital in Boston, a teaching facility for Harvard University’s College of Medicine and School of Public Health. As an indigenous person himself, Mr. Lawrence explains his research interest this way, “Diabetes is Australia’s fastest-growing chronic disease and the seventh highest cause of death in Australia. Australia’s indigenous population suffers the fourth highest rate of type 2 diabetes in the world, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over 35 years among those at highest risk.”

In December 2008, Mr. Lawrence came to Howard University to collaborate with Dr. Angela Ferguson, associate professor of counseling psychology in the HUSOE’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Studies. Mr. Lawrence’s research is the design of interventions to reduce the incidence of obesity and the onset of type 2 diabetes among indigenous Australian populations. He undertook the opportunity to study with Dr. Ferguson to learn more about the social, emotional and socio-cultural aspects of risk factors associated with health-promoting lifestyles and social well-being among minority groups affected by obesity and diabetes.

The Influence of Islam and Muslims on the Science of Human Development Dr. Hakim Rashid, associate professor of human development in the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies, presented his research paper, “The Influence of Islam and Muslims on the Science of Human Development,” at the First International Conference on Arabs’ and Muslims’ History of Sciences at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Rashid’s research focuses on the historical influence of Muslims on the fields of psychology, sociology, and anthropology -- the fields that have most influenced the more recent discipline of human development.

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25

WORLD From the to the

Beltway

Great Wall

A Magnificent Journey Toward Understanding

By Fang Wu, Ph.D.

A section of the Great Wall of China. Built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty (221 B.C- 206 B.C.)., the Great Wall is one of the seven wonders of the world.

- Photo by Cristina Coleman

In the summer of 2007, 12 public school teachers traveled with me to China on a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad program. Entitled, “From the Beltway to the Great Wall: Experiencing Authentic Chinese Culture to Enhance Multicultural Curricula in the Washington D.C. Public Schools,” the project was sponsored by the School of Education and funded by the Office of International Education Program Service, U.S. Department of Education. The goal was to obtain first-hand experiences and information about Chinese people and culture and ultimately to design unit lesson plans to be used to teach in the Washington, D.C. public schools.

During the month-long trip, the group visited the ancient city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province; Tai’an, Qufu (Confucius’ hometown), Jinan in Shandong Province; and Beijing, the capital city of China. From June 20 to July 20, we attended 22 half-day seminars on a wide range of topics including the Yellow River Civilization, the impact of Confucian philosophy on the everyday lives of Chinese people, the amazing art of paper cutting, the music and costume of the Peking Opera and the moral values imbedded in the classic stories for young children. Additionally, site visits were made to schools, villages, museums, historical sites, parks and special streets.

Ultimately, the heartwarming kindness of the Chinese people, which was always on display, provided the most memorable feature of our trip. I will forever remember the visually impaired boy who dedicated his bamboo flute music entitled “Eternal Peace for Good People,” to us. And, I will forever be grateful to the villagers who invited us into their homes and treated us to vegetables grown in their gardens.

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The SOE Review

WORLD The value of the experience is most appropriately summed up perhaps with a trip we took before dawn on the Fourth of July to the peak of the majestic Taishan (Peaceful Mountain)--after which the popular panda baby in the National Zoo in D.C. was named. As the sun emerged from the Eastern Sea, its golden rays caressed indiscriminately each of the thousands of people gathered on the mountaintop. The joy and tranquility shared by all during that sacred moment was a grand exhibition of what our world could become if only we could know, understand and respect each other more. Facing the rising sun I made a silent wish--for harmony on earth and peace for all.

see62705_GY_SOE_1-19

Fang Wu, PhD. is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

A Howard University banner flies in Tiananmen Square, placed their by Dr. Fang Wu and teachers.

- Photo by Rachel Perla

Dr. Wu (stooping left) and teachers converge at the graveside of Confucius, the ancient Chinese thinker and philosopher.

- Photo by Ma Ming

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27

WORLD political trauma associated with the second Intifada affected the social and psychological adjustment of youth. In sharp contrast to the first, the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-present) is markedly distinguished for its severe, prolonged distress and extraordinary increase in the number of injuries and deaths of children and adolescents.

Because of the ongoing political turmoil and the legacy of occupation, the Gaza Strip is considered a socially, economically, and psychologically high-risk community (Fields, Elbedour, & Abu Hein, 2002). According to Elbedour and Fields (2002), relative to other places in the West Bank, the community of refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are often “invisible,” both within the Palestinian community and outside their cultural groups (Yahya, 1991). The present study was guided by the following three research questions: (1) What is the mental health status of adolescents from these two camps in Gaza? (2) How

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Adolescents in the Gaza Strip

By Salman Elbedour, Ph.D.

The Israeli-Palestinian land has been recognized as a fear and anxiety provoking region. Specifically, this region has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of deaths and injuries reported since the outbreak of the second “Al-Aqsa” Intifada or uprising (2000–present). Many studies have documented the adverse consequences of the first Intifada on the well-being of Palestinian children and adolescents. A study by Elbedour (1998)

second Intifada? and (3) What factors best predict their mental status? In the present study, we hypothesized that a significant proportion of the adolescents in these camps experience high levels of PTSD and other forms of psychological distress.

Method Participants: Data were collected in 2002. A slight majority of the 229 adolescents studied was male (52.8%). Ages of the participants ranged from 15 to 19 years (M = 17.13, SD = 1.51).

These adolescents belonged to families with an average of 4.1 members (SD = 2.15). Instruments and Procedure: The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview (PTSD-I; Watson, Juba,

of traumatic reactions to the first Uprising from 1987 to 1993

Manifold, Kucala, & Anderson, 1991), the Beck Depression

indicated a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) rate ranging

Inventory—II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996), the Beck Anxiety

from 12% to 18%. Garbarino and Kostelny (1996) reported a

Inventory (BAI; Beck & Steer, 1990) and the Coping Responses

similar rate of PTSD on the same population. In a more recent

Inventory (CRI-Youth Form; Moos, 1993).

investigation of the long-term effects of the first Intifada, Thabet

Results

and Vostanis (2000) reported an even higher prevalence of PTSD:

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have these adolescents coped with the traumatic events of the

41% of the sample showed moderate or severe symptoms. Most

PTSD: With respect to scores on the PTSD-I, 68.9% of the sample

of the data pertaining to the effect of the Israel-Palestine conflict

were classified as having developed PTSD. Depression: The BDI

on the well-being of Palestinian children and adolescents have

scores revealed that 13.5% of the sample was classified as having

come primarily from empirical studies conducted during the first

serious depression, 26.5% as having moderate depression,

Intifada. Logically, much work also is needed to capture how the

22.8% as having mild depression, and 37.2% as having minimal

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WORLD depression. Anxiety: The BAI scores revealed that 94.9% of the

particular, this study utilized a cross-sectional design and, thus, it

sample was classified as having severe anxiety levels, and 5.1%

is difficult to determine whether the psychological disturbances

as having moderate anxiety levels. Coping: Moos’ (1993) criteria

reported by the participants were the direct result of the

were used to determine coping responses that were below and

increasingly violent nature of the occupation, and/or whether

above average. T-scores above 54 were classified as representing

they were exacerbated by the absence of social services and the

above average scores (desirable response) for the four approach

poor fabric of community and governmental institutions in Gaza.

coping scales, and T-scores below 46 were categorized as

As stated by Summerfield (1995), trauma is more a by-product

representing below average scores (undesirable response) for

of the collapse in social justice than it is a medical problem. In

the four avoidance coping scales.

Gaza, which has a population density of 2,150 people per km2

Discussion In this study, 69% of the adolescents were classified as having developed PTSD. The present prevalence rate (i.e., 69%) is extremely disturbing, especially bearing in mind the fact that PTSD has been found to lead to negative outcomes, including depression and suicidal behavior (Grunebaum, Malone, & Mann, 2003). Nearly one-half of the Palestinian participants (40.0%) were classified has reporting moderate or severe levels of depression.

The results of the anxiety scale demonstrate that Palestinian adolescents are predominantly occupied with an intense experience of uncertainty and anxiety. Further, between 29% (Cognitive Avoidance) and 70% (Logical Analysis) of the sample reported undesirable coping responses.

The canonical discriminant analysis revealed that adolescents diagnosed with PTSD tended to be those who reported the highest levels of depression, anxiety, and positive reappraisal coping and the lowest levels of seeking guidance and support coping. Seeking alternative rewards served as a suppressor variable. Consequently, the inclusion of seeking alternative rewards in the canonical correlation model strengthened the multivariate relationship between coping responses, anxiety, and depression as independent variables and the occurrence of PTSD. Comparing the present results to those examining the rate of PTSD among Palestinian children and adolescents in Gaza during

(Thabet & Vostanis, 2000), 78% of the 825,000 inhabitants are still labeled refugees (Thabet & Vostanis, 2000), and because of the unresolved conflict between the Israeli and Palestinians, more than 50% still live in “permanently temporary” shanty-towns (Yahya, 1991), which are “places where people exist rather than live” (McDowall, 1989, p. 20).

It should be noted that no Palestinian control group was available for comparison because the whole Palestinian population is affected by the ongoing Al-Aqsa Intifada. The present findings also are limited by the fact that these data were collected using instruments that have been developed outside the cultural and linguistic context of the Palestinian sample. Thus, it is possible that this limitation may have skewed the reported prevalence of PTSD, depression, and/or anxiety among the participants.

However, it should be noted that every effort was made by the researchers to minimize error in translation, for example, by using the translation-back translation method (Herrera et al., 1993).

Regardless of the outcome of the Israeli and Palestinian peace talks, the international community must assist the Palestinian children growing up in enclaves known as refugee camps.

Indeed, unresolved trauma, absence of humane and therapeutic treatment, coupled with the aversive impoverished socioeconomic conditions, are potent risk factors that continue to damage the lives of adolescents and their families.

the first Intifada (1987–1993) (e.g., Elbedour, 1998), the current AlAqsa Intifada is notable for the number of deaths of children and adolescents (Amnesty International Press Release, 2003).

The current findings must be interpreted with some caution. In

Salman Elbedour, PhD is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies. He is widely published on the topics of war, violence and trauma.

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The Helen Matthew Rand Endowed Scholarship Fund This year, the Helen Matthews Rand

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scholarship for two years and a laptop

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a master’s degree in a HUSOE teacher

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scholarship in recognition of his mother.

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Mrs. Rand, a graduate of Miner Teachers

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for 34 years in the District of Columbia Public Schools as a counselor, assistant principal and principal at Neville Thomas Elementary School. Helen Matthews Rand’s distinguished career and dedication to urban education and community service was the impetus for her son’s generous gift and his abiding commitment to support the Howard University School of Education’s (HUSOE) legacy of preparing teachers for urban schools and communities.

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In thanking Mr. Rand for the scholarship, Ms. Miya Thomas, a 2005 Rand Scholar who now teaches in DC Public Schools, exclaims: “As a teacher at Highland Park Elementary, I have been able to fulfill my desire to have a positive impact on our youth. In addition to being a classroom teacher, I have assumed many leadership roles at my school. I am a mentor for the Lady Eagles – a group designed to build self-esteem and academic success among young girls. I serve as a tutor

The $500,000 gift was announced during

in our after-school enrichment program

Howard University’s 1999 Charter Day Dinner

and as the elementary science coordinator.

for which Mr. Rand served as corporate

I have the same love for education that your

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announcement, Mr. Rand was executive vice

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president of customer operations for the Xerox Corporation, which made a corporate matching gift of $500,000 to the fund.

Currently Chairman of the Howard University Board of Trustees and CEO of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Mr. Rand’s contribution continues to help the HUSOE attract students who have a record of academic excellence and a commitment to become urban school teachers.

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Since its inception, 30 students have been awarded the Helen Matthews Rand Scholarship. They serve in urban school districts through the nation as elementary and secondary school teachers. These Rand Scholars represent the next generation of urban school teachers who like Helen Matthews

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The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.

The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents.

The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities, shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right.

Principle 7 Declaration of the Rights of the Child Proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 1386(XIV) of 20 November 1959

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