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| | | | The US public school system is under attack In Philadelphia, the privatisation of the public school system isn't working - yet the stage is set for even more.  | | The public school system in Philadelphia is reported to be on the brink of insolvency. (AP) |
By Liza Featherstone May 25, 2012 New York, NY - The US public school system, once a model for the world, is under sustained attack by the nation's elites. Philadelphia, the latest casualty, is getting ready to sell off its schools - and their governance - to profiteers and snake-oil salesmen. We already know how this story ends. The situation in Philadelphia, which has received amazingly little attention from the national media in the US, offers a disturbing window onto what the US elite is planning for the rest of our public schools - disturbing because Philadelphia's experience has already demonstrated that turning public education over to private entities will ultimately lead to its destruction. The fact is Philadelphia is already the most privatised system in the US. In 2001, the state of Pennsylvania took over the city's school system and turned many of its schools over to private operators, even offering up 25 schools to for-profit companies. A study [PDF] by Vaughan Byrnes of Johns Hopkins University showed that, five years into this sweeping overhaul, the schools under private management were academically underperforming the public schools. |
Chronic absence, suspension derail Oakland black boys  By Joanna Lin May 25, 2012 High rates of chronic absence, suspension and poor academic performance signal that more than half of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District are at risk of dropping out, according to new research.. From kindergarten through 12th grade, researchers found that black boys struggled with regular attendance and suspensions and scoring proficiently on standardized tests or maintaining grades above a C average - warning signs that they might drop out. In kindergarten and first grade, African American boys in the district were more than four times as likely as their white peers to be chronically absent, the council found. "Five-year-olds don't miss school without an adult knowing at home," said Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, an initiative that seeks to improve student success by reducing chronic absence. |
Susan Taylor, the Mother of Mentoring in America, Is Asking You To Be "In" for Our Children. Become a mentor! Why Mentor? Because this is our state of emergency today: - Of all Black fourth-graders, 58% are functionally illiterate.
- In some cities, 80% of our boys drop out before finishing high school.
- Every day 1,000 Black children are arrested.
- 1 in every 8 African American males ages 25-29 is incarcerated.
- The number one cause of death for our boys is homicide.
If you wish to become a mentor in cities with National Cares Mentoring Movement Circles, Click Here or if you do not have a National Cares Mentoring Movement Circle in your city, Click Here to learn how to start one. I'm in!!! And you should be too! |
| Use A Library Card and Help Free Hundreds of Thousands of Black Men Incarcerated in America  Join the movement to stop the American system of The New Jim Crow by checking a book out of your local library or by buying and reading a paperback copy of The New Jim Crow. All high school and college students must read this book! |
| Last year, in 767 cities, more than 1 million fathers took their children to school on the first day. Parents, educators, faith leaders, elected officials, government agents, community members, business leaders, social service agencies and just plain people made the 2011 Million Father March the most successful ever. Before school ends this year, please sign up your school, your community and your city for the 2012 Million Father March. the Million Father March is easy to manage and The Black Star Project will help you all the way. Please call 773.285.9600 to get more information or to register your city for the 2012 Million Father March. Please click here to learn about the 2011 Million Father March. |
| Join Father Michael Pfleger and St. Sabina Church |
| A Call to Action National Summit on Black Male Achievement "Toward a Definition of Black Manhood" Hosted by Third World Press Foundation in conjunction with Kennedy-King College Friday, June 15, 2012 and Saturday, June 16, 2012 Kennedy-King College 6301 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60621 Invited speakers include: Susan L. Taylor (National CARES Mentoring Movement) * Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., J.D. (Harvard Law School) * Haki Madhubuti, Ph.D. (Founder of Third World Press) * Dr. Carl C. Bell (President/CEO Community Health Council, Inc.) * Marc Lamont Hill, Ph.D. (Author, Hip-Hop Intellectual) * Useni Eugene Perkins (author, Rites of Passage convener) * Bakari Kitwana (Journalist, Author, Activist, Educator), Dr. Gregory Primus (Orthopedic surgeon, former NFL Player) * Carol D. Lee, Ph.D. (co-founder of Betty Shabazz International Charter Schools, Northwestern University) * Peter St. Jean, Ph.D. * and others. $45 for general registration * FREE for Students * For registration and program information, please call 773-651-0700 Join us for a Pre-Summit Reception "An Evening with Charles J. Ogletree, J.D."; Thursday, June 14, 2012, 7:00-9:00 pm at the Chicago South Loop Hotel, 11 West 26th Street, Chicago, IL 60616 - Donation $25 Sponsored by the Open Society Foundations /Campaign for Black Male Achievement with support from the State of Illinois and The Lomax Companies of Pennsylvania |
| Listen to The The Black Star Project's Internationally Acclaimed Radio Program The Parent Revolution at 7:00 pm Eastern; 6:00 pm Central; 5:00 pm Mountain; 4:00 pm Pacific 3:00 pm Alaskan; 2:00 pm Hawaiian or at 7:00 pm Toronto, Canada; 7:00 pm Havana, Cuba; 8:00 pm Rio de Janerio, Brazil; 10:00 pm Kingston, Jamaica or Sunday morning 12:00 am Accra, Ghana; 12:00 am Lagos, Nigeria; 12:00 am London, England; 1:00 am Johannesburg, South Africa; 1:00 am Paris, France; 3:00 am Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; 7:00 am Beijing, China Call 773.285.9600 to start a parent revolution in your city. |
Will Globalization Destroy Black America? "We Are In Trouble!" By Phillip Jackson The lack of response to globalization by Black America is frightening and troubling. While much of the world has adapted to the new-world economy and new-world standards of existence, most of Black America is still operating much the same way it did in the 1950s and 1960s. But now, throughout Black communities in America, there is a whisper campaign by Black people who don't know each other and Black people who live in different parts of the country, saying to each other, "We are in trouble!" We know it and the rest of the world knows it! Black America, as we know it, is in danger of not surviving globalization. Black people in America must immediately disengage from the diversions of mind-deadening entertainment, useless sports, hyper-sexuality, excessive social celebrations, pointless conversations and debates, meaningless media and the civil rights issue de jour approach to managing our problems. We must focus on the most important issue in our communities - making education the highest priority. We must create a culture of literacy and learning that replaces intellectual apathy and resistance to educational progress. Somehow, we must re-inspire our children to want to learn and to love to learn. But having educated children is not enough. We must have educated families and educated communities. Every Black man, woman and child must become part of this new community of learners. |
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