KSU to Open Boarding School for AfrAm Males

This from the State Journal:

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).”...

Hat Tip to KSBA

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Showcase in The Ville

ANNUAL HBCU SHOWCASE GAINS NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Director Featured in Essence Magazine; 3rd Showcase of HBCU in Louisville

Education First Foundation, Inc. hosts the third annual Showcase of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in Louisville, KY on Friday, April 4th, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

Since reaching over 5,000 students and parents in the previous years, the programs recently gained national praise when founder and Executive Director, Andrea Houston was featured in the February issue of Essence magazine. The “She’s Got the Power” special ad section features African American women who are leading the way to positive change.

Alarmed by the small percentage of black high school students in Louisville who enter college, Houston founded The Showcase of HBCU to expose them to more opportunities.

The 2008 Showcase of HBCU consists of three student components: 1) The HBCU Champions Program, designed to prepare students for the college and career showcase and to introduce them to the Showcase University; 2) The College and Career Fair; and 3) The Step and Talent Exhibition, featuring the bands and Greek letter organizations of the Showcase University.

The Showcase University, Kentucky State University co-sponsors the entire event and is the featured school. The Showcase of HBCU also includes the Urban Jazz Exchange, a networking event that gives high school administrators and youth service providers the opportunity to meet with college administrators. The Urban Jazz Exchange will take place at 6:00 p.m. on April 3rd in downtown Louisville, at the Galt House hotel.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are postsecondary academic institutions founded before 1964 whose educational mission has historically been the education of Black Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Education, HBCU matriculate masters degrees and first-professional degrees to about one in six African American students. In addition, 25% of all baccalaureate degrees earned by all African Americans nationwide are awarded by HBCU. HBCU make up 3% of the nation’s institutions of higher learning.

The Showcase of HBCU is an educational program designed to raise awareness of opportunities at HBCU. The Showcase of HBCU emphasizes education first by providing each student with an educational assignment. Each assignment requires the students to attend college preparation workshops on admissions, college life, financial aid, and more.

Additionally, students are required to attend career-planning sessions with professionals in various fields and careers, and to attend a minimum number of college and university booths. New this year, the Champions Program teaches students college fair etiquette and guides them in the best questions to ask representatives.

The Showcase’s mission is to assist in narrowing the educational and economic achievement gaps, through the empowerment of youth in America. All students are welcome.

See more on Andrea Houston in the February issue of Essence magazine.

To obtain more information about The Showcase of HBCU events in Kentucky, to request a Champions session for your school/organization, or to reserve tickets to the Urban Jazz Exchange, please visit www.showcasehbcu.com and e-mail your request to Victoria Hamilton at vhamilton@showcasehbcu.com or call 502-552-7647.

SOURCE: KDE press release

My new gig.

Well...it seems I'm continuing my tour of central Kentucky colleges and universities.

In recent years I have been teaching in the graduate education programs of the University of Kentucky and Georgetown College. But this fall, I had a lighter schedule than usual. So when Eastern Kentucky University contacted me to consider a one-year appointment as a visiting lecturer, it sounded like fun. So until the middle of May 2008, I am serving as a visiting lecturer in EKU's College of Education, teaching an educational foundations course called "Schooling and Society." This is my first time working with undergraduates. So far, so good.

Schooling and Society allows old generalists, like me, to "work out" on a variety of topics including social and cultural influences on the schools; the purposes of schooling; the role of the individual educator and school governance, finance and administration.

In addition, the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University have worked out a cooperative effort to prepare a number of minority educators to assume school leadership roles. So one of UK's cohort groups meets at K State for the School Leadership Practicum, which I teach.

I seem to be making the rounds. Perhaps this should serve as a warning to Transy and Asbury. It also helps explain a lower story count on KSN&C.