The Institute of Urban Education at Central State University has been awarded a two year grant by the Governor's Closing the Achievement Gap office. In March the Institute convened a meeting of nationally renowned education scholar-practitioners (with specialties and experience that include teaching African American males) to design culturally competent program standards, a program curriculum, conduct research, and provide professional development training and assessment for teachers in thirteen districts in the state.

The CCDT Training will take place April 29-30th at the Institute of Urban Education. Program managers from the Governor's Closing the Achievement Gap office, including the Honorable C.J. Prentiss, along with the consultants and CSU faculty have designed and will deliver a professional development curriculum and program for one hundred teachers and principals. The teachers will be trained to become school site professional development planners for teachers at their particular schools. They will also be assisted in their own schools and classrooms by Teacher Facilitators which include faculty members from Central State and several other universities in the state.
The highlights of the program include keynote addresses by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu and
Dr. Gary Howard. Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu has been a guest speaker at many colleges and universities throughout the United States and has been a consultant to many urban school districts. He has authored 25 books including national best sellers: Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys; An African Centered Response to Ruby Payne's Poverty Theory and, Black Students-Middle Class Teachers. Dr. Gary Howard is the author of We Can't Teach What We Don't Know. He will be speaking on "Cultural Competence and Courageous Practice- Bring Equity Alive in the Classroom".

Some of the sessions included in the training are:

An Educator's Perspective: the Challenges of Educating African American Males

Leadership for the Culturally Relevant School and the Improvement of Achievement for African American Males

Achieving Cultural Competence in the Educational Setting with the Adolescent African American Male

Successful Teaching Strategies for Increasing the Achievement of African American Males

Using Assessment Data to Increase African American Male Achievement

L.E.A.S.T.: Providing an Environment for Academic Success for African America Males

The Voices of African American Males: Educational Experiences

A Team Approach: Successfully Closing the Achievement Gap for Arican American Males

The Governor's Closing the Achievement Gap Initiative addresses the low graduation rates of students in urban settings by providing professional development training to teachers. The population most affected by low graduation rates is African American males. The Governor's Closing the Achievement Gap office has focused on the needs for improvement with this population first.

Consultants who will participate in the training are: Dr. Andrew Griffin, Dr. Raymond Hart, Dr. Kevin Johnson, Dr. Earl Holliday, Dr. E. Timothy Moore, Mrs. Patricia Payne, Debra Brathwaite, and Gloria Towner.

Contact: Venita Kelley, PhD Interim Urban Scholar, Institute of Urban Education VKelley@centralstate.edu 937-376-6302 or Venita_Kelley@juno.com