School-Community

Partnership Plan
C&T 807 (M6)
Laura Hagenbaugh, Jaclyn Mack,
Danielle Saile, Kelly Ward
Developing a School-Community Partnership

Goal: To develop a school-community partnership that focuses on the academic intelligence and
academic proficiency of Black and Latino males.

Outcome: Is to advance the educational success of boys of color.

Success Criteria: To create and launch a program that bridges an opportunity for partnership
between our school and the community, and to secure a space to foster resilience development by
effectively launching a pilot program in the 2019-20 school year.
Why the need for a School-Community Partnership

“Frequently labeled as problems, prone to violence, invoking fear in many, and deemed as undesirable in certain circles, the view
of Black males is diverse and extreme on many levels. Loathed in various environments, applauded in others, perhaps no other
group of people are emulated yet despised simultaneously to the extent that Black men are today. However, the paradoxical
perception of Black males within the larger society remains puzzling. There are ongoing elements of mainstream and popular
culture that have been developed, sustained, and made into multi-billion dollar industries based on the talents, creative genius,
intellect, and identities of black males. Thus, in many ways, this love-hate affair represents the illogicality of how many Black
males are viewed within mainstream society.” (Howard, 2013, p. 55)
Why a School-Community Partnership Program is Needed That Seeks to
Advance the Educational Success of Boys of Color

“The characterizations of black males undoubtedly influences the manner in which the larger society may frame its perception of
the group, and most disturbingly these same characterizations can be internalized by the group itself, and subsequently have an
impact on the manner in which they view themselves and become complicit in their own challenges educationally and socially.”
(Howard, 2013, pg 58)

“...in an attempt to redirect explanations for Black males experiences and outcomes in U.S. schools these data are laid out in a
manner that suggests that the deficits may lie in the structures, policies, practices, and programs in schools that Black males
attend.” (Howard, 2013, pg 60)
Educational Experience of Boys of Color in school

Research: Education Experiences for Boys of Color in Schools

● Black and Latino boys are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their White and Asian peers, missing
valuable learning time in the classroom.
● Black and Latino males constitute almost 80 percent of youth in special education programs. Black boys are 2.5 times less
likely to be enrolled in gifted and talented programs, even if their prior achievement reflects the ability to succeed.
● Black (36%) and Latino (37%) males have the lowest third-grade reading proficiency rates of any students across the
county. Third-grade reading proficiency is often an important predictor of future academic success.
● Black and Latino males have the lowest graduation rates of any other subgroups in the county.
● Black and Latino males are two of the groups least likely to be ready for college-level math classes.
● Black and Latino males are the two groups least likely to be referred to or placed in gifted education, Honors, or Advanced
Placement (AP) courses.

(The Counter Narrative, 2016)

Dominant Narratives about Males of Color in Schools

Research: Dominant Narratives about Males of Color in Schools

○ Black males experience troubling social interactions at school due to diverse masculinities which in turn could
affect their academic outcome.
○ Howard states, “The reality that is frequently absent from the discourse on Black males is that not all of them are
suffering and dropping out of schools, most of them are not imprisoned, many of them do experience varying
degrees of academic success and social adjustment in schools, many are hardworking and disciplined, and yet their
accounts are frequently absent from the narrative on Black males' educational experiences and realities. In many
ways, the normalized depiction of Black males as academic failures has become so enmeshed in the educational
fabric of many schools and districts that it almost becomes alarming and inexplicable when Black male success
outside the athletic domain occur.” (2013, p. 63)
Dominant Narratives about Males of Color in Schools

“Brown suggests that from the 1930s to the present there have been foru recursive narratives about Black males that have
informed the general populace about Black males. He identifies these four narratives - (a) absent and wandering, (b) castrated
and emasculated, (c) soulful and adaptive, and (d) endangered and in-crisis - as being staples in the normalized manner in which
Black males are seen within popular media and how much of social science research feeds into this characterization of Black
males as being in need of interventions, lacking in emotional and social support, and in perpetual need of male mentorship and
role modeling.” (Howard, 2013, pg. 64)
Why the School to Prison Pipeline Negatively affects Males of Color at
Higher Rates than their Racial Counterparts

“One of the problems with the current literature on Black males is an almost exclusive focus on them as being poor and residing
in urban communities and the challenges that are present in such environments. Many of the challenges that confront Black
males in education goes beyond their communities and their social class status and is directly located in classrooms, the lack of
racial awareness and cultural ignorance among school personnel, apathetic teacher attitudes, and poor-quality instruction that
they receive, be it in urban, rural, or suburban schools.” (Howard, 2013, pgs. 61-62)

“Thus, even the so-called privileges that accompany social and economic mobility do not seem to thwart the presence of race and
racism when it comes to the schooling experiences of Black males. Therefore, understanding the challenges of race and gender
for Black males is crucial to any thorough examination of their schooling experiences. The intersectionality of race, class, and
gender and other identity markers are fundamentally critical in research concerned with young Black males as they are in the
case of any subgroup.” (Howard, 2013, pg. 62)
Why the School to Prison Pipeline Negatively affects Males of Color at
Higher Rates than their Racial Counterparts

Research: School-to-Prison Pipeline

Black males, often times at the earliest ages of primary school, are given deleterious labels and are victims of persistent
microaggressions, which suggest that they are not worthy of the very programs deemed to assist those in greatest need. In many
ways, the issue of who really cares about Black males (Howard, 2008) or that they are beyond love (Duncan, 2002) becomes loud,
clear, and prevalent through much of their schooling experiences.

“School-to-prison pipeline refers to the collection of policies, practices, conditions, and prevailing consciousness that facilitate
both the criminalization within educational environments and the processes by which this criminalization results in the
incarceration of youth and young adults. The pipeline analogy has become the dominant frame by which to discuss the lived
experiences of boys and girls, disproportionately Black, who are criminalized in their learning environments, ultimately leading to
contacts with juvenile and criminal justice systems.” (Morris)
What the Disportionality Suggests About Schooling Inequities and Racial
Oppression of Marginalized Groups

Research: The Counter Narrative: Reframing Success for High Achieving Black and Latino Males in Los Angeles County

Howard, et. al., “recommends several steps to address these inequities and to reduce the disproportionate number of Black
males: (a) implement culturally relevant professional development for classroom management, (b) establish a discipline advisory
committee, (c) enforce a three-strike rule for violent offenses, and (d) referral for counseling/therapy” (2013, p. 63).
What the Disportionality Suggests About Schooling Inequities and Racial
Oppression of Marginalized Groups

“Many of these challenges begin at birth and persist over time. Disproportionately high infant mortality rates, born and reared
into chronic poverty, overrepresented in underfunded schools, Black males, like many other individuals reared in economically
depressed areas, face major life challenges from the outset. What is perplexing is the intensity and persistence in which the
social ills continue to have a deleterious effect on Black males well into adulthood in ways that it does not affect other
populations. This is exhibited when looking at data that reveal the manner in which black males have chronically high
unemployment, are over-incarcerated, have disparate health conditions, and ultimately lower life expectations than any of the
largest racial/ethnic and gender groups in the United States.”

(Howard, et. al.,, 2013, p. 54)

How Male Students of Color Resist White Masculinity

○ Offer diverse and nuanced perspectives of their identities and achievement

● humanizes other young men in his life, identifies with them, and acknowledges his own
potential engagement with hegemonic masculinity (p. 21)
○ Being aware of hegemonic masculinity
● “Their awareness of the existence of hegemonic masculinity was not always translated into explicitly aligned
dominant behaviors” (The Counter Narrative, p. 23)
● “Their homes conveyed vigor and strength that challenged traditional notions of masculinity and demonstrated a
dedication to the growth and happiness of all members” (The Counter Narrative, p. 23).
○ Show empathy and care for others
● They express emotional intelligence and progressive forms of masculinity (p. 21)
How Teachers can Help with the Redefining of Masculinity on a Student of
Colors Own Terms.

“From a theoretical and methodological stance, one of the tools that may be used to combat age old and narrow constructions of
Black males experiences and can be useful in the paradigm shift is to center them as the author of their experiences and can be
useful in the paradigm shift is to center them as the author of their experiences...It can be helpful to acknowledge the
permanence of storytelling from the dominant paradigm when it comes to ideas such as meritocracy, democracy, and equality;
ideas and concepts that many citizens in this country believe are just that - ideas and concepts, not realized ways of life. Thus, in
constructing the new paradigm on black male experiences and outcomes, new voices must be centered in the analysis, voices that
are often overlooked, ignored, or outright dismissed - and that is the voices of Black males themselves.”

(Howard, et. al., 2013, p. 64)

Community Partnership Opportunities

[Community partnerships are a shared responsibility and

reciprocal process where schools and community organizations
engage families in meaningful and culturally appropriate
ways.]

- Volunteer mentorship
- After school clubs and organizations
- Speaker Series
Recruiting Community Partners

Ways to recruit community partners for collaboration:

- Recruitment letter, recruitment brochure, recruitment

email
- Phone call
- Application with guidelines
- Site visits
- Community site data form
Advancing Educational Success of Boys of Color
The Importance of School: Personnel and Organizations

Mentorship

○ Demonstrating investment
○ “The ability to have personal relationships, making oneself available, and serving as a parental figure helped school
personnel and students forge a bond that allowed for the mentorship necessary to be successful in school.” (Howard, et.
al., 2016, p. 16)
Advancing Educational Success of Boys of Color
The Importance of School: Personnel and Organizations

Role modeling

○ “Rigorous, relevant, and responsive teaching required thoughtful unit and lesson plans to make learning
meaningful. In addition,the participants also explained the importance of teachers making learning relevant.”
(Howard, et. al., 2016, p. 14)
○ “Having knowledge that school personnel not only care but are willing to demonstrate that care were significant
factors associated with the participants’ success in schools.” (Howard, et. al., 2016, p. 15)
Advancing Educational Success of Boys of Color
The Importance of School: Personnel and Organizations

Care

○ “Showing interest in the “whole” person, being available and flexible with your time, establishing high expectations,
and developing initiatives for the participants were just a few of the ways school personnel signified that they cared
about the male participants and wanted them to have success in school. In addition to demonstrating care, providing
mentorship for the young men was also a salient factor in their success.”(Howard, et. al., 2016, p. 16)
Action Plan Overview

○ Space in the Community to Foster Resilience Development

○ Helping Others and Giving Back
○ Community Supportive Spaces
Space in the Community to Foster Resilience Development

Action: Partner with local churches and Boys & Girls Clubs to host after school activities.

○ STEM
● Robotics
● Science labs
● Logic puzzles
○ Tutoring
● Enrichment
● Peer Tutor
○ Leadership building
○ Writing
○ Art
Work on Identity Development

“They discovered two theories of change that guided their work: understanding the social and emotional needs of Black and
Latino boys and understanding how the academic needs of Black and Latino boys have surfaced and how to target strategies and
interventions to address those needs. What is important to note about the findings from Fergus and Noguera are the foci on
changing boys’ notions of masculinity, helping forge an academic identity that is connected to their social identities, and an
explicit and sustained focus on developing and enhancing core basic academic skills.”

(Howard, et. al., 2013, p. 71)

Engage Students Through Cultural Narratives

“Camangian used critical autoethnography with African American high school youth as a means to engage them in literacy, and
he discovered that the cultural narratives used in the process were instrumental in building critical social analysis of their lives,
their communities, and ultimately putting forth more effort and having better outcomes with course content. He asserted that
such approaches can have a dual purpose as they can tap into youth confusion and anger in order to engage them as critical
readers, writers, and oral communicators.” (Howard, et. al., 2013, p. 71)

“Moreover, the critical race, counterstory framework provided the students a well-received opportunity to frankly discuss race
and their opportunities to learn. These students from a diverse set of socioeconomic backgrounds offered quite similar accounts
of how they are frequently punished harsher than their non-Black peers, held to a different standard are expected to excel
athletically, but not do so academically.” (Howard, et. al., 2013, p. 73)
Engage Students Through Cultural Narratives

“In one of the more under researched areas of school performance, literacy for African American male adolescents, Tatum asserts
that improving their performance is contingent on ‘engaging these young males in reading and writing texts that pay attention to
their multiple identities - academic, cultural, economic, gendered, personal, and social -becomes a bridge to opportunities...One of
his contentions is that a wider construction of literacy must be developed that goes beyond merely teaching students how to read
and write, but an approach that incorporates what he calls enabling texts, situated within an ethic of care from teachers,
structured within collaborative learning environments, and mediate by culturally and socially responsive literature...when a more
critical approach to literacy is developed, on that is situated within popular culture, social media, and engaged in the social
critique of circumstances and communities that young men are familiar with, their levels of literacy performance are quite
robust.” (Howard, et. al., 2013, pg 75)
Helping Others and Giving Back

Action: Contributing through various formal and informal service opportunities.

○ Fundraising
○ Community Beautification
○ Civic Engagement
Community Supportive Spaces

“Baldridge, Hill, and Davis (2011) explored the role of community-based organizations and how they support the academic and
personal development of Black males. Their work is important because they shed insight on how Black males make sense of their
schooling experiences. Critical to their accounts is the manner in which the young men discussed tolerating school as opposed to
immersing themselves in it, the persistence of non-caring teachers, and a host of other social and academic obstacles that exist
in schools and how they were often smart enough to drop out’ rather than continue to locate themselves within a space that did
not foster their development, affirm their identities, and speak to their realities. However, their involvement with a
community-based organization designed to assist young men transition into adulthood proved to be helpful because teachers in
the program built positive relationships with them (unlike teachers in school), provided them with relevant skills and knowledge
for their community context, and helped them to learn ‘real-world skills’ that schools did not teach.”

(Howard, et. al., 2013, pgs. 71-72)

The Presence of Many “Social Actors”

“Duncan-Andrade asserts that the difficulty that many teachers experience with some of the most recalcitrant students in the
classroom are quite different from the types of relationships that athletic coaches establish with them outside of the classroom.
The level of investment, commitment, and overall concern that coaches demonstrate toward young men is instrumental in their
development, and that teachers, unlike many coaches are often unaware or unconcerned about the social and cultural realities
that many young men encounter. Thus, a pedagogy consisting of authentic care, concern, and investment is critical to the
optimum development of Black males.”

(Howard, et. al., 2013, pg. 72)

Why Should Educators Support this Program?

○ Relationships between teachers and students are reinforced

● “Students found it encouraging that a number of faculty and staff members came from similar
neighborhoods and were making a positive contribution to their community.” (Howard, et. al.,, 2016, p.
14)
○ “Teachers’ care, guidance, and role modeling were critical characteristics that the young men offered about
certain school staff that contributed to their success.” (Howard, et. al., 2016, p. 14)
Teacher Training/Opportunity for Involvement

Invite and create opportunity for Involvement-

○ Book Study
○ Authentic Facilitated Conversations related to race, ethnicity, culture, equity, gender, sexuality, culturally responsive
teaching
○ Professional Development/clock hour opportunity
○ Volunteerism
● School or community events

“They need to challenge stereotypes about young Black and Latino men in the classroom and create safe classrooms where
students are willing and comfortable expressing their feelings” (Howard, et. al.,, p. 27)
School Recommendations

Teacher-student relationships beyond the classroom.

School and community organizations: providing social and emotional support.

Developing a school culture of success

Challenge traditional notions of masculinity for Black and Latino males.

Recognize Black and Latino male resiliency.

Rethinking school success.

(Howard, et. al., 2016, p. 28)

Community Recommendations

Opportunities to volunteer in structured school or community based programs.

Legislators investing in additional local parks and gang prevention programs.

Sports and youth development programs.

(Howard, et. al., 2016, p. 29)

 ● Howard, T. C. (2013). How does it feel to be a
problem? Black male students, schools, and
learning in enhancing the knowledge base to
disrupt deficit frameworks. Review of Research
in Education 37(1), 54-86.
● Howard, T., Woodward, B., Navarro, O., Haro,
B. N., Watson, K. T., Huerta, A. H., & Terry, C.
L., Sr. (2016). The Counter Narrative:

Citations
Reframing Success for High Achieving Black
and Latino Males in Los Angeles County. The
Counter Narrative: Reframing Success for High
Achieving Black and Latino Males in Los
Angeles County. Retrieved from
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2sv226tf.