Looking to close the achievement gap between white and black students on standardized tests, The Charlotte Post Foundation has announced it will launch a program to raise $75,000 to fund after-school programs for underserved children.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools data released earlier this school year showed that 42.9 percent of black students were proficient on reading exams in elementary and middle school, compared with 81.4 percent of white students.
The Charlotte Post Foundation is dedicated to serving black youth in the city. Money raised will go toward African-American students in elementary schools, the foundation said. About $15,000 has been donated so far in the six-month drive.
Many CMS elementary schools already have after-school care programs, that run from $35 to $65 per week.
The district has also started putting some free, specialized after-school programs in underserved communities. For example, Bruns Academy in west Charlotte has brought in a South Carolina nonprofit, WINGS for Kids, to run a five-day-a-week program centered on emotional learning.
“It’s time to put our money where our mouth is," said Gerald Johnson, president of the foundation and publisher of The Charlotte Post. "The reality is that if these students fail, our entire community fails. And we cannot afford for that to happen.”
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Charlotte Post Foundation raising money for after-school programs
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15 comments:
PETA is going to get involved in this.
...so many dead horses and now more to come.
How can an elected Board of Education official REFUSE to talk with the media. They are a representative of CMS and the county taxpayers.
Board of Corruption is more like it. This entire mess reeks of more stink than the Cannon scandal. Oh well he will be out in about a year and hopefully so will the Board of Education after the next election.
“It’s time to put our money where our mouth is," said Gerald Johnson, president of the foundation and publisher of The Charlotte Post. "The reality is that if these students fail, our entire community fails. And we cannot afford for that to happen.”
Can someone please let Mr. Johnson know that per student expenditures are already exponentially higher for the non-white CMS students, and thus "we are already putting our money where are mouth is".
8:09
I think this is where we're headed. I actually watched this entire sickening interview.
Rob from one group to give to another by government fiat:
...In an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested Democrats should double down on progressive policies to better their political standing.
He said Democrats need to be more creative when addressing so-called income inequality by "attacking from enough angles" to "put money in the pockets of folks" with free child care, affordable housing, paid sick leave, raising minimum wage, and "creating a living wage program where government subsidizes employers."
de Blasio said,"Pre-k does put money in the pockets of folks who don't have to pay for child care and other options after school we're doing the same reality. Building affordable housing addresses the number one expense in people's lives. Giving people paid sick leave, raising minimum wage, creating a living wage program where government subsidizes employers," he added, "You attack from enough angles, enough directions then it starts to add up to something. On top of that you go to Washington where you can make the real big changes. If you're talking about having real regulation in the financial industry, The kinds of things that would be transcendent in this nation."
Here is the White/Black historical reading gap from 1971 to 2004:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/NAEP-longterm-Black-reading-ss07-17.gif
Here is math:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/NAEP-longterm-Black-math-ss09-17.gif
At what point do we stop the madness and the status quo that been happening over and over and over again for the past 45 years?
The "achievement gap" will not be "fixed" with $75,000. That's like spitting in the ocean to make the seas rise and spit into a gale force wind when you do.
I'm sure trillions of dollars have been spent since 1970 on public education to close the achievement gap and it hasn't worked.
CMS is ALREADY spending 3x the amount on students in Westside schools than in the suburbs. This does not even include the private $55 Million if funding from project lift.
Learn how to fish for a change and quit reaching out your hand to be given a fish.
I can't believe Mr. Johnson stated we need to put our money where our mouths are. Is he not aware of the huge investment already made in the name of helping minority children. When is enough enough? When do we finally admit publicly this is a cultural issue, more money is not the answer. Not to beat a dead horse, but when 73% of african american children are born to a single parent home, are we surprised to see such data!
Having worked for the Harris YMCA for many years, I wholeheartedly support high quality after-school programs of this nature.
As I recall, Dr. Gorman criticized CMS' after-school programs.
Alicia
Some of my after-school dance students at the Harris YMCA include girls who won the NC Governor's School Award (in dance), earned acceptance into UNC-Chapel Hill, Georgetown University and Brown University and one student who performed an ariel dance over the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra last Christmas.
I'm all for quality after-school programs!
Alicia
We tax payers have already made massive investments in order to help black kids catch up and the results have been dismal at best. In short, I believe spending even more money would be a mistake. Perhaps redirecting funds from existing failed programs such as Bright Beginnings would be a better course of action.
Alicia,
There's a big difference between after school enrichment programs than the achievement gap.
The After School Enrichment Program provides a warm, caring environment beyond school hours where your children have the opportunity to play with school friends and get homework out of the way before the family sits down to dinner. ASEP offers exciting activities which stimulate children to be healthier and happier, including sports, art activities and computer exploration.
So which is it? Solicit funding for learning how to dance, draw or type on a keyboard or learn how to do math and read on grade level?
I don't recall ever hearing about an achievement gap in dance.
Wiley,
You're missing the point.
I was one of the first people to totally lambast CMS' Board of Education for voting to standardized test the system's dance teachers on a pay-for-performance scale. In fact, I was physically present at the school board meeting where the majority of board members voted to standardized test EVERY subject and EVERY elective. Pamela Grundy can confirm my presence after participating with me in a "protest dance".
I strongly believe that what children do after school matters in overall educational development. At age 11, I had the opportunity to audition for the NYC Ballet's production of the Nutcracker under the artistic direction of world renowned choreographer, George Balanchine. My 15 minutes of fame on stage with a full symphony orchestra was an experience of a lifetime. The two people who currently direct Charlotte's ballet company are former Balanchine principals.
I stand firmly behind quality after-school programs similar to those offered through the Greater Charlotte YMCA with proven outcomes.
May I suggest a look-see into Charlotte's YMCA 'Y-Reader' program because learning should be comprehensive.
Alicia
Alicia,
I don't believe I'm missing the point.
Dance, music, art theater, etc. are all very important subjects and I believe they should be in ALL schools paid for through the budgets which are supplied by taxpayers, with none of this "pay to play" crap.
However, this article is about the achievement gaps that matter above all others, which are reading and math.
If you read my post at 9:09 and looked at the graphs, you'll see what I'm talking about. Failure for decades to close the gaps.
Johnson says "the reality is that if these students fail, our entire community fails".
Okay, which community? The Black community or the region as a whole? Because from what I have seen, the Black community has done little to nothing over the past years to stop the madness.
The greater community has already given trillions for a myriad of programs that have failed.
What community has failed in Chicago? Why is it that we don't see the same bloviating ambulance chasers in Chicago - some of who actually live there - but see them show up in Ferguson and Florida?
Surely by now you know my stance in all this which is to totally dismantle the system and start over again and not use any of the liberal, status quo prime directives/buzz words that have totally failed over the past 45 years.
I'm willing to put the programs in place in EVERY school and fund them which will give every child the OPPORTUNITY to succeed.
If they or their parents don't get it, too bad and if they cause problems in school on a regular basis, kick them out.
It is way past time to get real and get serious from everyone, no matter what your color or household income is.
So if there is failure, it's on the individual and not the community.
Alicia, so playing video games after school for hours at a time is not beneficial? (note the sarcasm)
Wiley,
I suspect that the US public educational system long ago stopped being about education and the kids.
It's just another branch of the government feeding trough now.
It is more about income redistribution for the educrats and those who manage to live off the system.
The gap has longer legs than either of us.
We will both probably be dead long before it is.
And if our internal "gap" between the races diminishes due to the dumbing down of our entire country (which is what I suspect will the the favored "solution"), it will only be replaced with a more serious gap between us and the rest of the world.
People could change and bridge the gap today if they tried.
But it's too much trouble with too little benefit for most of them to put out the effort, so the gap will remain.
It has become institutionalized.
An entire industry now depends on it continuing.
I'm pretty sure things won't be that different within the US in 40 years, except we'll be studying more Mandarin and trying to bridge THAT "gap", too.
Asia won't accept the guilt trip for our "minorities" that has plagued the US for the past few generations.
They can travel much faster and farther without all our baggage.
And they will, too.
Shamash,
No question we're screwed as a country.
What's really sad is the fact that for all the "income inequality" BS talk by liberals, their solution is only going to make matters worse.
Why are companies merging and sending dollars out of the US?
Why do people who can afford it, move when things get bad in school systems to a better place or put their kids in private school?
When government steps in and tries to pass laws or take unilateral action against people with means or corporations to force them to pay more and more, they will find ways to avoid being forced, even if that means moving out of the country.
There is only so much juice you can squeeze from an orange.
There is only so much BS taxpayers are willing to put up with that is outside the real of realistic expectations.
I've said countless times I'm willing to spend money to ensure that within a generation we don't have to talk about income, diversity, race, zip codes, etc. and that generation will have succeeded in school and will then pass down that ethos to their kids and then their kids.
The problem is, much of the populace doesn't give a damn about that. It's all about them and what are you going to do for or give to me. Hard work be damned.
That's why I have gotten to the point that if a kid doesn't make it in school, too bad.
If they wind up going to jail, so be it. I'll gladly pay to incarcerate them, especially since they've been given opportunities in school to succeed and have a better life than where they came from - on the taxpayer's dime.
The entitlement mentality is killing this country.
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