State-Journal.com - Male boarding school may open by 2010

Kentucky State University could open a boarding school aimed at preparing African American males for college as soon as 2010, according to President Mary Sias.

High school students would live in campus dorms, with their own teachers and an on-site principal. They would have access to KSU facilities and dual credit courses, bridging them into college life.

The plan is part of an effort to increase the number of black men who earn postsecondary degrees, Sias told The State Journal.

“We believe it’s a good way to save those students, and actually stop many black males from dropping out,” she said.
“We, as a nation, are going to have to figure out how to push more African American and Hispanic students, and other students of color, through that pipeline (from high school to college).”

If federal and grant funding is secured, Sias said a pilot program for 30 to 50 high school students could open in the fall of 2010. The university met with representatives from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and other foundations about the program, she said.

The university had already set aside space to launch the program this fall, she said, but the money didn’t come through.
Officials will know by January if the boarding school will become a reality, she said. The pilot program would cost $250,000.

“We’re going to be aggressively working on it this fall,” she said.

African American youth who show potential for academic success - but are limited by environmental, social and economic factors - would be recruited, said KSU spokeswoman Felicia Lewis.

Students in Kentucky’s urban and rural areas would be targeted, she said, but those from neighboring states would also be included. KSU has analyzed Franklin, Fayette, Jefferson, Christian and Hardin counties for participation, Lewis said.

The expense to run the school after the pilot phase, nor the grade level of the potential students, has been determined. But the university could work with public school districts to identify high-risk students, anticipating that state funds would follow them and defray some of the cost, Lewis said.

Boarding school students would live together in KSU residence halls, Sias said.

There isn’t enough space for the students now, Lewis said, but plans to expand university dorms are under way.

“In the fall, we have 100 percent occupancy in the residence halls,” Lewis said.

“In the next 18 months, with the university’s plan for new residence halls, the university should be able to accommodate the residents in the program.”

Students would be identified by uniforms, and they would be supervised at all times, Sias said. The school would primarily serve black males, but it could be open to some female students too.

Sias says she was inspired to pilot the program after visiting Vivian E. Summers Alternative School in Chicago. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan toured the school the same day, she said.

“I was surprised when I went in,” Sias said “There was order, they were teaching calculus, they had a radio station, and the school had a 95 percent graduation rate.

“Our agreement was that if we were going to pilot this program, I wanted that principal. So that principal would be here to get the program up and running.”

More African American students would be successful in college if they had minority teachers - especially male teachers, Sias said.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, 4.5 percent of the state’s public school teachers are minorities, compared to more than 16 percent of students.

“Having someone who looks like you in the classroom is critically important,” Sias said.

Sias said that the public school system must do more to prepare its graduates for college, particularly in math and reading, and for the ACT college entrance exam.

University leaders need to collaborate with middle and high school educators too, she said.

“Many students come to us not knowing how to be a student,” she said.

“Those are skills that need to be developed in the middle schools and high schools.”