Flag Day Letter to the Editor

Ref: Grade Inflation Making It Tough To Evaluate Students’ Performance, Tribune Editorial, June 14

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jun/14/na-grade-inflation-making-it-tough-to-evaluate-stu/ 

 

Your editorial on Flag Day discusses some of the flaws in the grading system as it relates to students pursuing academic excellence.  The Florida Partnership for Minority and Underrepresented Student Achievement Act of 2004 increased the availability of college-level AP classes to high school students.  The Class of 2008 is the first to spend four years in high school under this legislated initiative.  In Hillsborough County, 31 percent of the senior class graduated with a 4.0 or better grade-point average. 

 

Hillsborough County schools provide opportunities for even unprepared students to LEARN how to grasp college-level concepts.  There are drawbacks to pushing some students towards AP classes.  Nevertheless, the school district helps change outcomes for a number of these students who otherwise would not be in AP classes. 

 

Flag Day is a reminder that America is the “Land of Opportunity.”   Teachers who embrace the challenge of helping unprepared students grasp college-level concepts add value to that phrase and America’s system of public education.

 

 

Jason D. Mims
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army, Retired
3906 W. Tyson Ave. Tampa, FL 33611
CELL: (813) 787-0392

 

Nick and Christian Village Inn Fellowship

Nick’s mom recruited me to be a presenter at the recent Middleton High School Coming Together Expose for students, parents, and members of the community.  Nick is a freshman there in the Engineering Magnet program and a member of the Air Force Junior ROTC unit.  I agreed to make a presentation and suggested the title be: “Secret Handshakes for the College-Bound Student.”  

 

Media reporting the following day highlighted the principal’s determination to keep trying to get parents involved after the dismal turnout that Saturday.  There was only one parent who stopped by the room where another gentleman and I had set up to share information with students and parents.  This mom did not have children at Middleton.  Nevertheless, the previous evening she learned about the Expo from Ms. Buchanan, the school’s parent liaison and decided to explore opportunities available for students at Middleton.

 

CW spent enough time to get an idea of what the two presenters in Room 211 had to offer and she took our handouts with her.  She mentioned that she would get back to me.  She has a son who is a junior in Pasco County and a freshman daughter at the Brooks-Debartolo Academy.

 

A week later, Debbie, Nick and I agreed to fellowship at the Village Inn Pancake House.  Debbie has an issue that Middleton and the school district have yet to address to her satisfaction.  I cannot change that, but at least, I can listen and offer encouraging words.  When CW called me, I invited her to the Village Inn so that I could also fellowship with her and her son, Christian.  They joined us about an hour into the fellowship.

 

Before they arrived, I got Debbie’s version of the week’s events that related to an unresolved incident at Middleton.  Nick had on his 2007 Notre Dame “The Shirt” and ND shorts.  His older brother, Joshua, will graduate from ND this year.  I also congratulated him on contributing to the recent award that his Junior ROTC unit received.   “The Distinguished Unit Award is limited to the best of the best of our nation’s 879 Air Force Junior ROTC units.”

                               

Christian sat across from me when he arrived and his mom sat to my right.  For the next couple of hours, once again, I received “the paycheck” for what I do.  As I asked questions of him, Christian’s responses indicated that he is making use of already existing opportunities to prepare himself to become a competitive applicant to America’s Best Colleges.  As it turned out, both he and his mom were interested in finding out more about the exceptional opportunities that Notre Dame offers young people.

 

Christian plays football.  He is also the vice-president of the Student Council at his high school.  He has done some volunteer work and frequently attends church at First Baptist Church of College Hill in Tampa.  He is uncertain of his college major, but has a strong interest in Math and Engineering.

 

Last year, Christian took a college-level class, Advanced Placement World History as a sophomore.  This year, he is taking AP English, AP US History, and AP Statistics.  During the summer, he will be taking AP Microeconomics and AP US Government.  His schedule during his senior year will include AP English Literature, AP Calculus and Physics.  Once again, I found myself sitting with “Gold” at the Village Inn Pancake House! 

 

It has been a little while since I last had something worthwhile to post to The MIMS Institute blog at www.mimsinstitute.wordpress.com.  Three 21^st Century graduates of Yale University helped me get started with this way of putting my reflections in Cyberspace.  Who’d a thunk that, after a week of “No’s” from the likes of the School District of Hillsborough County and the College Board, the Good Lord would send me fuel to keep the lamp of hope burning in the form of a “Christian” to forward to Notre Dame’s admissions and Engineering officials?

 

Visit with Not Just Ministries Co-founder’s Middle School Teacher

Document for Discussion

AP Report to the Nation 2008

I have some questions (and comments) about the tables in Appendix B of the AP Report to the Nation 2008.

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/ap-report-to-the-nation-2008.pdf

Pages 51 and 52 tell me that 51,423 black members of the Class of 2007 (US Public Schools) took a total of 113,590 AP exams. 

For clarity, I’d like to know if the exam totals for each course included in the table represent Class of 2007 black members who took the exam at the end of the 2006-07 school year.  In other words, if Jasmine took AP Human Geography as a freshman, but graduated in 2007, is she counted in the total for AP Human Geography in a table titled: “AP Exams Taken In US Public Schools by Class of 2007″? 

Or does the Human Geography exam total represent members of the Class of 2007 who took the exam in 2007? 

Or does the Human Geography exam total represent all black students taking the exam in 2007?
 

My thought is that the table reflects the exams that members of the Class of 2007 took during their high school career, but that would not accurately portray the mean scores listed for each exam, which I must assume are the mean scores for exams taken in 2007.

On the other hand, maybe the table is just a snapshot of exams black and other seniors took only in 2007.  That would certainly make sense relative to the number of students and total exams taken. A simple fix might be to add “in 2007″ in the title of the table, i.e., “AP Exams Taken In US Public Schools by Class of 2007 in 2007.” 

A significant phenomenom occurring in Florida and I suspect other places is the rising number of AP classes seniors have on their final high school transcripts.  The annual AP reports remain silent on this “invisible gap” that exists for black students. 

A St. Petersburg Times reporter did a story about our celebration for seniors from Florida House District 59 who were graduating in May 2007 with four or more AP classes. Within “Signing Day isn’t just for athletes”

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/18/Hillsborough/Signing_Day_isn_t_jus.shtml, we learned that “District 59 claimed just one percent of more than 2, 800 Hillsborough students with four or more AP classes on their resumes. Most individual high schools count more students reaching that bar. Plant High School, at the high end, has 339.”

When I look at the tables, I notice that the mean score for the exams rarely is 3.0 or above.  This leads me to surmise that the true value of these reports is in the subliminal message to the majority: “Keep having children take as many AP classes as possible.” 

Now that the door is closing

Higher Education on the Brink Final Draft This ENLACE report alerts legislators in Florida of potential (real) impacts on college access for students seeking admissions to the state’s public universities. 

This is a good time for community leaders to watch out for and guide students who have the academic potential to prepare for college success.  This is a great time at the local level for this type of affirmative action—and strategic leadership—now that the door to higher education opportunities at state universities is closing.

A relatively small pool of black students who live in key urban zip codes still may benefit from the limited enrollment opportunities in the years ahead.  For them to do so, though, it will take some hard work on their part and on the part of those who serve as advocates for them.

In zip code 33610 for example, there are over 60 black, faith-based organizations.  Hard work may result in 10 black females and 10 black males from the zip code receiving acceptance letters from state universities each year.

Vigilance is key.  Nothing states that the local public education system has to produce this outcome.  Nothing states that local churches will go out of business if the zip code does not produce 20 competitive applicants for state universities each year.  The systems in place can still blame students, parents, schools—and legislators—for not producing this outcome.

Perhaps future ENLACE and other reports will highlight affirmative actions taken by community leaders to help minority students gain access to the dwindling number of seats available at state universities.

Affirmative Action and the PSAT

We are a proud people.  When we screw up royally we are big enough to admit it and take affirmative action to fix it.

Long ago (in the 1960’s and 1970’s), affirmative action was a primary tool available to help black people access America’s unlimited opportunities.   By the 21^st century, commentaries about affirmative action have little value.  We expect those who wish to access America’s unlimited opportunities to do the hard work and make the relationships with those who can help us “live our dreams.”

A PSAT Freebie The School Board of Hillsborough County pays for high school freshmen to have access to the PSAT for free in October.  The State of Florida pays for all high school sophomores to take the same test for free as well.  The College Board gets $12 for each student taking the test.  The PSAT Score Report can give an indication of how well a student is doing towards developing the critical reading, math, and writing skills required for college access and success.

Officials at most if not all high schools arrange a time to distribute the PSAT Score Report to parents and students in January. These officials can explain what the information in the report means.  With this and other information provided during the sessions, a “go-to-college wannabe” can get a clearer picture of the preparation required to get there.  There are educators present during these sessions who have a sign on their foreheads, “Establish relationships with us and we will help you get there.”

 It will take a new brand of affirmative action on the part of leaders in the black community to guide parents and students toward these resources.  Marching and singing in January and February are great.  But will “marching and singing” result in parents and students sitting down with educators to discuss the PSAT Score Report?  Until it does, the College Board and its associates will be marching and singing …all the way to the bank! 

In His Service,

Jason

Superintendent’s Bonus and Minority Academic Achievement

Thanks for sharing Marilyn Brown’s article about superintendent’s bonus with those on your email list.  I attended the School Board meeting on Dr. King’s birthday (January 15).  It is a small thing–but significant to me–that three others who have an interest in promoting academic excellence in zip code 33610 sat through most of the four-plus hour meeting with me.  There are 20 more scheduled School Board meetings this calendar year (2008 School Board Scheduled Meetings).  I suspect that there will be a number of other articles in the press again this year that make us wonder “How did our children get left behind while others reap the benefits generated by Title I and other funding provided to educate low-income, minority, and, indeed, black children in key urban zip codes?”  Maybe we can get the Florida Sentinel to publish numbers of folks from our community who attend each of the remaining 2008 School Board meetings and write an editorial in early 2009 about the impact our presence has on the bonus the superintendent receives next year.  More importantly, the editorial might highlight some of the exceptional academic opportunities available in all public schools that the black community helped guide parents and students toward.

In His Service,

Jason

School Chief Earns $37,620 In Bonuses

By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa TribunePublished: January 15, 2008 TAMPA – Hillsborough Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia will make $290,518 this year after adding a bonus for improved student performance during 2006-07. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jan/15/me-school-chief-earns-37620-in-bonuses/?news-metro

Florida’s Council on Social Status of Black Men and Boys Releases First Annual Report

  http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JFAO-7AVKYG/$file/FinalReport.pdf

Pages 25-35 of the report at this link describe the environment in which black boys learn and provide some researched outcomes.   None of the committee’s recommendations “at this time” embraces the concept of paying close attention to black males with strong reading skills in urban zip codes where there are a large number of black faith-based organizations.

=======

January 15, 2008 Press Release

  en Español

Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150

Council on Social Status of Black Men and Boys Releases First Annual Report

~ Prominent among recommendations is the need to make the Council, housed in the Attorney General’s Office, a permanent commission ~

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum and Levi Williams, Chairman of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, today announced that the Council has released its first annual report. The report covers the topics addressed by the Council’s five subcommittees on improving economic outcomes, foster care and families issues, education outcomes and health status and developing legislative review.
http://myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/B20CCBCCC280D205852573D1005331A5

1975 Plus 33 Years

The Sunday, January 13 Washington Post included a feature on US Army Lieutenant General Lloyd J. Austin III http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202394.html?referrer=emailarticle. 

General Austin graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1975, the same year that I graduated from the University of Notre Dame.  Edward Maney, a high school classmate of mine from Sam Houston High in San Antonio graduated with General Austin from West Point. 

Edward eventually became an Army chaplain.  His last assignment was as chief of chaplains at Fort Sam Houston were he oversaw the ministry serving servicemembers recovering from Iraqi and Afghanistan war injuries at Brooke Army Medical Center in our hometown.  He now leads a Baptist congregation in the zip code (78220) where I grew up. 

General Austin “stayed the course.”  As I read the Washington Post feature, I realized that the story has some lessons for others.  Before General Austin entered West Point as a plebe, folks in the black community were talking about racism, civil rights, and what is wrong with America.  Thirty-three years later, those same discussions continue. 

I do not have exact data, but the Army commissioned less than 250 Regular Army Infantry second lieutenants in 1975.  It established a roadmap, expecting some of us would journey along a challenging path.  A few would eventually become generals, prepared and qualified to respond to the national security challenges of the early 21^st century.  Lloyd is about to assume the day-to-day oversight of US military operations in Iraq.

General David Petreaus, commander of US Forces Iraq, had to approve Lloyd’s assignment as his deputy commander.  David graduated a year before Lloyd from West Point.  He and I served together in our first Army assignments in Vicenza, Italy.  Over the years, both David and Lloyd remained on a path preparing them for their current challenges.  Each had mentors along the way investing their time, talents, and skills. 

Thomasville, Georgia where Lloyd spent his high school years is 133 miles from Chauncey, Georgia where my late father grew up and where our family still holds reunions on Thanksgiving Day.  We can be thankful to live in a country where mentors mold black males “from the sticks (country)” to go on to make significant contributions to the nation.

Perhaps we can put a check in this “I Have a Dream” box in celebration of Dr. King’s birthday!

Black Male High School Students – Zip Code 33610

This is raw data from a Request for Information.  It shows the number of black male high school students from zip code 33610 in East Tampa and the high schools they attend.

Some number of the young men have strong reading skills.  Perhaps, the School District of Hillsborough County will help us identify who they are.  We want community leaders and members to be aware of the students capable of taking rigorous academic classes.